"Before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the generals of the National Army had been in contact with the ambassadors of Germany and Italy, and we have reason to believe that the Spanish military would not have been able to start a civil war without the covert support of both countries. Moreover, immediately after the outbreak of the civil war, the Nationalist Army received military assistance from Germany and Italy.

In the first few days, German and Italian planes moved more than 14,000 soldiers and large quantities of military supplies from Morocco to the peninsula. And according to our estimates, if it were not for the help of Germany and Italy in the early stage, the national army would have been defeated under the suppression of the Madrid government. Because the Spanish Navy is still in the hands of the government. ”

In the conference room, intelligence chief Hall Monkman personally introduced to the senior military and political officials present the role of Germany and Italy in the Spanish Civil War.

There was certainly a reason why Romania had spent so much effort studying the situation in Spain, and the National Army turned to Romania for help.

This may be because the Nationalist Army felt that Romania, as the front line of resistance against the Soviet Union, must be very interested in fighting communism. Although the Nationalist Army has received strong support from Germany and Italy, who would be afraid of a lack of support. In line with the idea that one point is worth one point for its own strength, it is very understandable that Spain asked Romania for help.

And in the face of Spain's request for help, the military and the government were very interested. Not to mention Spain's abundant resources, but its geographical location is worthy of Romania's efforts.

So after Holmonkmann finished speaking, looking at the high-ranking military and political officials who were eager to try, Eder knew that Romania would inevitably participate in this Spanish Civil War.

So he asked, calling Fereit's name. "Admiral Fereitt, what about your military's attitude?"

In the face of Eder's inquiry, Fereitt, who had already made up his mind, said. "Your Majesty, our military sees Spain's preparation for war as our opportunity, and the Spanish military forces led by General Sanhujo are clearly more likely to be our allies in the face of a clearly left-leaning Spanish government. This is therefore a great opportunity to expand our Romanian influence in the Mediterranean and in Southern Europe. I think we should support the forces on the side of the Nationalist Army in this civil war. ”

The decision had already been made by the military, and Eder asked about the government. "And what about the government's opinion?"

Prime Minister Mihalakei, as head of government, also voted in favor.

"We believe that it is possible to support Spain in secret, which will not only increase the influence of our country, but also benefit it economically."

It is clear that His Excellency the Prime Minister has the intention of taking advantage of the fire to rob.

Since both sides have no opinion, the debate about which side Romania is in favor of is over. In fact, the rebels were far more aid than Germany and Italy; The British comptoirs supplied the Nationalists with oil and planes, Franco received weapons and ammunition from the British military base in Gibraltar, and the French "Renault Company" secretly sold planes and automobiles to the Nationalists, and more than 75 percent of the oil needed by the Nationalists was supplied by the American oil companies.

Now that it has been decided to give support to the National Army, it is impossible not to mention the issue of aid, and Eder continued. "How do you military plan to provide assistance to the national army?"

Fereit, who was clearly prepared, spoke. "Your Majesty, we intend to provide Spain with the weapons and equipment they need most. It is mainly equipped with rifles, artillery, tanks and aircraft. In order to help the training of the National Army, we intend to send a military advisory group to help it improve its combat level. In addition, the Navy will also send a task force headed by the Mircha-class battleship and the heavy cruiser Brebista to ensure the safety of navigation in the area. ”

It is obvious that Fereitt's words were discussed within the three armed forces, otherwise why would Fereit make a decision for the navy.

Now that the military has decided to secretly send a military advisory group, Eder is a little curious about the head of the advisory group this time.

"Who are you going to let lead the team this time?"

"After our deliberations, Lieutenant General Hoffman is the best choice to lead the team this time."

Fereitt's words made Eder a little alarmed, because the choice of the head of the advisory group was very important, not only to represent the importance of the level of support, but also to the scale of the support.

"So how big do you plan to send this advisory group?"

Sure enough, as Edel asked, Fereit gave the answer. "We will send an advisory group of more than 8,000 people, mainly in the air force, air defense forces, and mechanized units."

It is clear that such a large advisory group is not just advisers, and it is clear that the military intends to participate in this civil war shirtless.

In fact, the size of the Romanian advisory group has surpassed that of the German Condor, which never numbered more than 7,000 in the Spanish Civil War. It's just that Germany has to test the performance of equipment and train troops, so the replacement rate is very high, and in the entire Spanish War, the replacement rate of the Condor Legion before and after the replacement rate reached 50,000.

In fact, the Condor Legion's help to the National Army was far less important than that of Italy. In order to help the National Army, at the beginning of 1937, Italy sent an intervention force composed of black shirts, military experts, and regular troops, with more than 50,000 people, organized into four divisions to help the National Army fight.

This also has a lot to do with Spain's position, because Spain and Italy are on the left and right of France, much like Germany before World War I. It could be threatened by both sides, both on land and sea, and this is what Italy learned from the Franco-Russian alliance in World War I.

In addition, tungsten, mercury, iron ore and agricultural products in Spain are urgently needed by Italy, and half of the iron ore demand for raw materials in the Italian steel industry is from Spain.

Therefore, it was very important for Italy to help Spain, and in order to bring the national army he supported to power, Mussolini naturally wanted to protect him from power.

Romania, on the other hand, immediately after deciding to intervene in the Spanish Civil War, held secret talks with the Nationalist Army. During this period, however, the plane crash of General José Sanhujo had some impact on the negotiations.

As the leader of the civil war after the outbreak of the civil war, he was supposed to join the National Army in Lisbon, but the plane he was flying on was overloaded and crashed. The main reason was that he and his entourage insisted on bringing the military dress into Madrid, which caused a crash on takeoff.

There are also rumors that he was assassinated by Franco to prevent his political opponents, but there is no evidence of this.

The chaos in the Nationalist Army during this period also affected the negotiations, but fortunately, Franco, who initially controlled the Nationalist Army, attached great importance to Romania's assistance, and the subsequent negotiations proceeded very quickly.

Eventually, Spain secured 150 million lei worth of weapons and equipment from Romania as collateral for future customs revenues, and a Romanian advisory group under the leadership of General Hoffmann also set off for Spain.