Barcelona, Spain.

When the procession of revolutionaries marched into this historic city, they were greeted with a warm welcome, flowers, coloured stripes and warm smiles, and the whole of Barcelona celebrated that it was a great day of freedom and rebirth.

The soldiers of the revolutionary armed forces marched into the city in high morale and full of emotion, they did not have uniform clothing, some looked like peasants who had just laid down their hoes, some were ordinary workers, and many had previously served in the Spanish government army—they had all stripped away the symbols of royal power, as well as the epaulettes and collar badges, leaving only a bright yellow suit and large black leather boots; They did not have a uniform range of weapons, the Spanish homemade, copied and imported from abroad were varied, and most of them were rifles and other light weapons, they did not have perfect logistics, and most of the ammunition had to be captured from the enemy, but it was such a team that terrified Alfonso XIII's army and even fled without a fight, and also repeatedly frustrated the well-equipped and well-trained foreign intervention forces.

The cheers were so loud that when a blue-and-white seaplane flew quietly over the city, not many Barcelonans noticed it, and no one expected what terrible things would happen next.

About 20 nautical miles east of Barcelona, a powerful fleet was advancing rapidly, led by the Italian battleship "Rome", which claimed to be the largest in the Mediterranean.

This battleship named after the Roman Empire and its sister ship "Caesar" is the largest displacement warship in the history of Italy, this class of battleships because of the design, layout and even shape of the German Caesar Frederick III class, so it is called the Italian "Caesar Fitrerick III class battleship" by many naval circles, despite this, its 9 343 mm guns and a top speed of 28 knots are at the first level in the entire Mediterranean. Mussolini's followers hyped it as a symbol of the rise of the new Roman Empire, so the "Roma" has a high reputation not only in Italy, but also in Europe and even the world.

This time, the mighty "Roma" came to the waters east of Spain with a mission of "goodwill" or simple show of force in the past. Its sturdy cannon is filled with powerful blasting grenades, which are incredibly lethal to city buildings and people.

Around the "Rome" site, the heavy cruisers "Humou", "Taranto" and a dry destroyer are basically the warships built and put into service by Italy in the last 10 years, and they are not only new, but also adopt quite advanced design and technology, of course, this is inseparable from the military cooperation between Italy and the United States and Italy and Japan for many years.

In the rear of these combat ships. More than 10 transport ships carrying more than 20,000 Italian army officers and men, escorted by destroyers, headed for the Spanish coastline, but this was not an invasion, but a "peacekeeping force" sent by the Italians to "help friendly countries stabilize the situation and quell the rebellion".

While the blue-and-white seaplane reported the situation of the port and city of Barcelona to the Italian fleet on the sea, the celebration of the people of Barcelona was still going on. The Spanish government forces stationed in the area around Barcelona had long since withdrawn, and all the capital ships of the Spanish navy were now concentrated in the southern port of Cádiz, nominally to defend the royal power, but in fact Alfonso XIII and his admirals were afraid that their ships would only be controlled by the revolutionary forces, so they concentrated all the ships and officers and men, and moreover, once the situation got out of control. The German naval and air forces stationed in Gibraltar could also sink ships that fell under the control of the revolutionary forces in the first place.

For these reasons. The Spanish revolutionary forces that occupied Barcelona did not think that their celebrations would be disturbed by others, and not only that, but they also wanted to bring in some arms and medicines through the port. Those revolutionary comrades from abroad can also enter Spain through here.

However, when the rumbling of artillery came from the sea, these ideas that had not yet had time to be put into practice came to naught. Rows of shells whistled, the whole earth trembled in the violent explosion, buildings were toppled in the smoke and flames, large pieces of stone, sawdust, glass slag, and concrete were splashed in all directions, the helpless wails of the wounded were incessant, whether it was the soldiers of the revolutionary armed forces or ordinary civilians of Barcelona, whether young or weak, women and children, and every uniform shelling by the Italians could take the lives of hundreds of Spaniards. The brutal shelling lasted for two hours, and when the Italian soldiers' leather boots set foot on the port of Barcelona, the city fell silent, as if all signs of life had disappeared......

In the face of this sudden blow, the nearly 40,000 soldiers of the Spanish Revolutionary Armed Forces failed to display their usual formidable fighting force, and this time, they were completely defeated by the ferocious shelling of the Italian fleet, many fled in fear, and many more were stunned. It was not until the bayonets of the Italian soldiers appeared in front of them that they came to their senses, but it was too late.

In this battle, the Italians occupied Barcelona with more than 600,000 inhabitants with almost no effort, killed and captured more than 10,000 Spanish ** armed soldiers, and when the battle report was transmitted back to Rome, the dictator was ecstatic and ordered to use his propaganda machine with all his strength to build momentum for the victory of the Italian army, and the ruler did not show the slightest mercy for the death of tens of thousands of innocent Barcelona civilians.

At the time of the Barcelona tragedy, on the high seas west of France, a Soviet and Russian ocean-going freighter named "Red Whale 9" and a cruiser "Saxon Knight" belonging to the German continental fleet were heading for the waters north of Spain.

"It's worthy of the German Navy, no matter how you shake it off!"

On the rear command platform of the ship, a middle-aged man dressed in the uniform of a Soviet Russian army colonel stared at the German ** ship that had been keeping a distance of 3 or 4 nautical miles from him, and said with some envy and some loss.

Standing next to him was a much younger lieutenant with a pair of thick glasses on the bridge of his nose, which, like the former, did not retain his number and rank on his uniform, but the Russian army took a big step forward in the direction of internationalization after the large-scale reorganization and distribution of new uniforms in 1930, and now their uniforms of ordinary soldiers, non-commissioned officers, lieutenants, colonels and generals can be easily distinguished by style and texture.

"The Germans have the most advanced radar in any country, and the radar of a medium-sized warship like this is said to be able to detect up to 20 nautical miles, so even in the dark. Our every move is also under the control of those Germans! ”

"It is said that our own radar is still in the research stage?" The officer asked uncertainly.

To this question about technical secrecy, the bespectacled lieutenant only responded with a slightly helpless expression.

The officer understood what he meant, thought for a moment, and then asked:

"Comrade Moroshov, do you say that the Germans were able to discover and track our secret weapon?"

"Of course they have it!" The bespectacled young officer, who looked like he was serving in the technical department of the Soviet Russian army, replied without thinking: "The Germans are equally advanced in sonar technology, and with the current level of technology in our country, it will take at least 20 years to catch up with them!" ”

"Then ......" the officer was a little puzzled. At the same time, I was a little worried.

"Don't be nervous, I'm just saying that the Germans are capable of spotting our Dolphin 1, and besides, it's not a secret weapon, someone made something similar a hundred years ago, and the Germans are just as far ahead of the rest of the world in this regard!" The lieutenant pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose and said very calmly: "However, sonar, radar and the human eye have one thing in common, that is, there is a range of action, once this range is exceeded, they will all lose their effect!" ”

Listened to these words. The expression on the face of the middle-aged officer softened a little. But then he turned his mouth to the German cruiser behind, "Then, Comrade Moroshov." Do you think it's safe at the current distance? ”

The bespectacled technical officer had probably thought about this question dozens of times, so his answer seemed quite confident:

"With the size and engine noise of Dolphin 1, coupled with the cooperation of Red Whale 9, we are at least 90% sure!"

The school officer, who had been in a series of vicissitudes, breathed a sigh of relief, and said after a while:

"Comrade Moroshov, to tell you the truth, the cargo on this ship is of great importance to our Spanish comrades. Now, the governments of Germany, Turkey, Italy and other countries have sent troops to assist Alfonso XIII in his war, and they have the best army and air force equipment in the world. Our Spanish comrades, who had only rifles and a small number of machine guns and artillery, were brave and had a very strong revolutionary convictions, but in such a situation they had to pay far more casualties than the enemy for every victory they won in a battle! ”

"I understand this, and I can imagine how difficult the revolutionary situation there is!"

The glasses officer in charge of technology seems to be only in his thirties, and he also said this in a tone that has gone through vicissitudes, but it is no wonder that Russians around the age of 30 have personally experienced the fall of the Tsarist Russian Empire in 1914, the separation of the revolutionary government and the Agrini regime, the subversion of the Agrini triumphant revolutionary regime, and the subsequent more than ten years of rule of the Neo-Tsarist Empire, the German-Russian War and the collapse of the Neo-Tsarist Empire, the confrontation between Soviet Russia and the Republic of Russia, and the unification of most of Russia's lands by Soviet Russia. The whole of Russia has not only been in turmoil for nearly two decades. Many Russians often find it difficult to adapt to the upheaval of the times, but those who have lived through turbulent times often feel an indescribable feeling when they think back to the past or see the situation in other countries.

"One box of weapons may save the lives of ten, twenty or even more revolutionary fighters! Whenever I think about our fighters having to strappen grenades to blow up enemy tanks, it hurts me here! ”

The school officer pounded his heart with his right hand, and the hatred in his eyes was burning.

"Evil imperialism!"

Next, the two stood silently, and neither said anything more.

"Comrade Oleg!"

A young man in a brown khaki uniform staggered up the gangway, and when he heard his voice, the middle-aged officer turned around first.

"Comrade Oleg, Comrade Captain said that in four or five hours we will reach the No. 5 target point!"

"Oh!" The middle-aged officer raised his left hand and looked at his watch, "It's still a few hours before dark!" It's good to act after dark, right, Comrade Moroshov! ”

The bespectacled officer nodded, "Tell Comrade Captain to let him take the Germans around in a circle and wait until it gets dark before entering the 5th target area!" ”

The young man did not immediately agree, but glanced at the middle-aged officer, and it was clear that there was a clear division of ownership here.

"Just tell Comrade Captain that!"

The middle-aged officer didn't think much of it, and after he had said this, the young man went down the gangway again.

"It's time for the crew to make final preparations, too!" The lieutenant turned, "Make sure our Dolphin 1 can complete its mission without a hitch!" ”

"I'll go too!" The middle-aged officer's tone was like an application.

The lieutenant thought for a moment, "Well, Comrade Oleg! ”

After the two of them went down the gangway, they walked around the dimly lit cabin passage for about ten minutes before finally arriving at the largest cargo hold under the freighter. Although the steel roof of the cargo hold is closed, the light here is no worse than the outside under the illumination of the high-powered wall lamps around it, and if the human eye looks directly at those headlights, you will immediately feel dizzy.

In the place where the lights are most concentrated, it is also the center of this cargo hold, at this time there is a huge "black fish" lying quietly, the smooth lines and metallic appearance make people see its identity at a glance, but compared with most "similar kinds", the volume of this "black fish" is too small: plus the low conning tower is more than two people tall, about 10 meters long, and the diameter of the hull is less than 2 meters, this is the "dolphin" of the Soviet Russian Navy - a special submarine that can perform special tasks near the shore. Although it can only carry three heavily armed soldiers or about 1 ton of cargo at a time, its range of 200 nautical miles and 5 knots of underwater speed is enough to allow it to cross enemy blockade lines to perform tasks that are difficult for surface ships and large submarines to perform.