Before the German Navy water reconnaissance aircraft S-02, S-03 and S-05 flew over the fortress of Gibraltar, the sky was calm. In addition to the birds, the planes of the British and the Spaniards have left their mark here, but no one has ever used violence here, and no one has been injured or killed.

Once upon a time, Alfonso XIII's army had been deployed far away from Gibraltar, with only a few garrisons within a radius of tens of kilometers. As the war approached, the Spanish army was hastily mobilized. It wasn't until 23 February, one hour before Spain declared war, that Spanish Army planes appeared near Mount Gibraltar for the first time ever, although the British did not send planes to intercept them.

By the time the Spaniard's plane flew over the British for the second time, war had already broken out between Spain and the British. Two British "Handley-Pédge G" reconnaissance planes took to the air and attempted to expel one Spanish plane that had entered the fortified area, but the Spanish pilot and his plane were as dexterous as hummingbirds. After playing the British hard, the Spanish plane reluctantly left. Out of the last hope for Anglo-Spanish relations, the British planes did not fire from beginning to end.

The third time, the day before the arrival of German planes, two Spanish planes again entered the British sphere of influence, and the British again sent two "Handley-Petti Gs", this time again without an exchange of fire.

The Spanish troops assembled north of Mount Gibraltar had not yet taken any offensive action except for frequent reconnaissance operations, and the whole land was enveloped in a strange atmosphere.

At present, there are only 11 German-made reconnaissance/school-launched aircraft, 7 small airships and a number of school-launched balloons in the whole of Spain, and the air force is very limited. Previously, air transport in Spain had been monopolized by Germany's Thomas Airlines, which had established airports and air mail offices in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and other large Spanish cities, but all planes were shipped back to Germany before the outbreak of the European war.

Although there are no aircraft manufacturers in the country and aircraft and parts are dependent on imports, the Spanish Army has a small group of highly skilled pilots. They share the same dream of flying, they aspire to be eagles that fly freely, so they practice hard with all the resources they can use. For the decaying Spanish Empire, this small aviation unit was like a rare sprout on a decaying tree.

The German-made Sky 1 and Sky 2 were on par with the British Handley-Petti G in terms of performance, but it was undeniable that the Spanish pilots performed far better than their rivals. However, their excellence is limited to juggling flight maneuvers, and the German pilots who arrive later will show them what air combat is!

February 27, 1915. On the fifth day of the declaration of war by the Spanish government, the first shipment of equipment aided by Germany arrived at the Gibraltar front from the port of Santander, accompanied by a military observer mission composed of 15 German officers.

In addition, in order to help the Spanish army make better use of the guns aided by Germany, the German Army also sent a teaching team of more than 100 people, which will arrive at Qianhui with subsequent equipment

On the Spanish side, the Navy sent almost all of its capital ships to participate in the blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar, while the Army prepared to assemble 25 infantry regiments and 5 artillery regiments in southern Spain and northern Morocco, under the command of Admiral Chaparo, commander of the First Army.

At the same time, the German Himpel fleet, which had entered the port of Santander, set sail again after unloading the designated supplies. Two days later. They arrived at the port of Cádiz, just a step away from the western end of the Strait of Gibraltar.

On 3 March, a reconnaissance flotilla consisting of the battlecruiser "Seydlitz", the light cruiser "Fort Regen", the seaplane carrier "Norden", and the destroyers G7 and G8 set sail from the port of Cadiz for the Strait of Gibraltar. Although the reconnaissance fleet did not approach the British-occupied Mount of Gibraltar, they were the first to start the tragic Battle of Gibraltar.

11 a.m. The sailors of the "Norden" began to lift the "Exocet-3" seaplane carried on the mothership to the surface. A quarter of an hour later, the S-02, S-03, S-05 slipped out of the water for the first military operation of German naval aviation near the Strait of Gibraltar.

The Exocet 3 is one of the most advanced seaplanes currently in service in the German Navy, with several in every Atlantic raid fleet, capable of not only conducting long-range reconnaissance, but also attacking enemy air and sea targets with airborne weapons. It was precisely during the previous operations in the Atlantic that a large number of naval pilots received valuable combat training, which was also beyond the reach of pilots of other countries.

At 11:03, Mount Gibraltar, at an altitude of 1,408 feet (about 429 meters), appeared in the field of view of German pilots. Under the command of the long plane, the S-02, S-03, and S-05 lined up in a horizontal battle line. Their mission this time was mainly reconnaissance. However, the pilots had already learned from previous intelligence that the British army also had some combat aircraft, so they did not dare to slack off.

Sure enough, when the German aircraft formation flew close to the mountains of Gibraltar, two British planes slowly flew from the north of the mountains of Gibraltar, where the British army had built a medium-sized airfield that could accommodate dozens of aircraft as early as 1907, but with the beginning of the defense of the homeland, most of the planes were transferred back to the British Isles, and the remaining planes and pilots were far from elite.

Just as the German pilots and their fighters were preparing to make a move, they discovered that three more seaplanes had taken off from the military port to the southeast. The long plane immediately gave the order: first attack the British land-based aircraft. Then go back to those three seaplanes!

Hearing the buzzing sound of flies in the sky, the soldiers of the two armies facing each other across the British land defense line looked up at the sky, and the next scene was unforgettable for many people.

The planes of the two sides flew face to face with each other, and the British pilots, apparently unaware of the German planes flying on the other side, were about to avenge the humiliation they had received a few days earlier, when they heard a crisp clatter in front of them. A British plane in front of it didn't even have time to dodge before it was hit by a string of bullets, and countless sparks from the high-speed collision of metal and metal instantly popped out from the nose. The propeller was still spinning under the action of inertia, but the engine was already billowing smoke, and in a terrible wail, the two-winged plane fell helplessly to the ground, and finally it was only a muffled sound.

Such a brilliant and swift air battle stunned the officers and men on both sides on the ground, waiting for the Spanish soldiers to applaud or the British soldiers to sigh. The German three-plane formation quickly turned, and the three planes remained in a neat formation throughout the turn, just as the infantry of various countries did in the flintlock era.

Since the only machine gun of the Handley-Petti G was installed in the co-pilot position, it took a few moments after the two sides had staggered past the remaining British aircraft to open fire on the German aircraft in the distance. The clatter of machine guns lasted for more than ten seconds, and a whole string of bullets swept through the air, and finally all missed the target.

For precious ground bullets, the German pilots were clearly not as extravagant as the British. After turning, they pounced like hungry wolves on the British plane that dared to fire at them. The biplane chase was quickly decided by engine performance, with the 175 hp Tornado in-line engine produced by Gigi Aviation having an absolute advantage over the British 100 hp Anzane 10-cylinder star engine, and although the Exocet 3 was one size larger, they quickly overtook the British and smashed them to the ground with a long shot. By the time the three British seaplanes arrived, all that was left of both land-based planes was the smoking wreckage.

Compared with the "Handley-Petti G" two-wing, single-engine, two-seat reconnaissance aircraft, the two-wing water reconnaissance aircraft "Vickers Seabird" appeared to be bulky and slow, and they were no match for the Germans. However, the British pilots on the "seabirds" should be very glad that they did not encounter a real German fighter unit today, and when they realized that the situation was not good and turned around and fled, the Germans did not pursue them. Instead, they carried out today's main task -- reconnaissance -- in a hurry.

Wait until the ground fire of the British army rang out. The silent hills of Gibraltar suddenly became noisy, and anti-aircraft artillery, machine guns, and machine guns opened fire one after another, as if they wanted to shoot down any flying object over Gibraltar. Three German planes flew into the air from time to time. From time to time, they spun sideways near Mount Gibraltar, and sometimes even whistled past the harbor from a low altitude of twenty or thirty meters. Due to the lack of effective sighting equipment, coupled with the very limited anti-aircraft artillery technology, the British firepower sounded intensive, but basically posed little threat to German aircraft.

About 20 minutes later, three German seaplanes began to close over Gibraltar and flew to the Spanish side of the Line of Control to greet their allies before returning. The Spaniards excitedly threw their hats into the air, but the British officers and soldiers with depressed faces could only helplessly watch the German plane go away.

After lunch, Admiral Sheppel held the first operational meeting of the fleet since its arrival in Cadiz on his flagship, in addition to the senior staff officers and captains of the ships. There were also Marine Corps officers who accompanied the fleet.

On the front wall of the conference room hung a huge operational map, a map of the area of Gibraltar provided by the Spanish military, and the staff officers of Shepar had made some corrections on the basis of the reports of the reconnaissance planes in the morning, and the forts and batteries were specially marked in very obvious colors.

"It's not too good, but it's not too bad!" Looking at the map with circles and strips, Hippel gave a very vague assessment.

"Note that there are three submarines there, and I think we must send planes to blow them up before we get close to the British fortifications!" Rear Admiral Richtenfeld (commanding the 4th Squadron of the 2nd Battleship Detachment of the German High Seas Fleet during the Battle of Jutland) pointed his baton at a corner north of the British harbor, and the report of the reconnaissance planes in the morning confirmed this information provided by the Spaniards, and the three British submarines were still moored in their old positions.

"I can get my lads to try to get rid of them. It's just that I suspect that the British will deploy mine nets around the submarines, in which case we will have to rely on aerial bombs. As you know, that kind of thing doesn't have a high hit rate, especially against small targets! In response to Richtenfeld's proposal, Colonel Marco, who commanded two seaplane carriers and all seaplanes in the fleet, responded immediately, and he currently had a total of 10 Exocet 3s ready to take off, 2 spare planes, and enough good pilots.

"It looks like the British have poor planes, we shouldn't have to worry about threats from the air!" Rear Admiral Helmuzi, commander of the battle cruiser detachment and captain of the "Moltke", seemed to be very satisfied with the results of the air battle between the two sides in the morning, and in fact his battle patrol detachment was the least afraid of enemy air attacks in the fleet, and they could use their flexible maneuver to avoid torpedo and bomb attacks, not to mention that the British had never had the terrifying air attack capability of the German air force.

"The worst problem at the moment seems to be the British fortresses and artillery! When our battleships approached the British fortress from the west, the main artillery fire could not be used to the fullest! It was Commodore Hasius who spoke the captain of the Hindenburg, and in addition to the firepower problem, he should probably also worry about the defense of his battleship, although the armor of the British St. Vincent-class battleship had been somewhat strengthened before joining the German Navy, but the German King-class battleship could not withstand the shells. In the British fortress of Gibraltar and the surrounding batteries, there were large-caliber fortress guns and shells, which suffered a heavy loss from the British fort guns when the combined Franco-Spanish fleet besieged Gibraltar in 1799.

"Don't the gentlemen of the Marine Battalion want to have an opinion?" Despite the relatively low rank of the other party, Xipael still asked politely.

The Admirals all looked at the two Army officers at the end of the room, who had been silent since they entered the room. Previously, the Hirper fleet did not have a dedicated Marine Corps, and the 1,100-odd Army Corps had boarded Hillal's ship a week before it set sail. Although they were small in number, they had a very honorable tradition, as they came from the 1st Hussar Regiment of the Praetorian Guard in front of the German throne.

One of the majors stood up unhurriedly, "Honorable Admiral, with all due respect, our mission on this trip is not to directly storm Gibraltar, but to wait for the Spanish army to attack and wait for the opportunity. ”

The admirals were in an uproar.

The Spanish-American War was the best military example, both at the Naval Academy and at the admirals' tables, and the Spanish army was seen to be rotten to the extreme. So when Germany signed an alliance with Spain and stipulated that the Spanish army must capture Gibraltar within a month, the generals generally believed that the course of the war would be a defeat of the Spanish attack, followed by the complete destruction of the British fortified by the German battlefleet, and then the accompanying marines would land and take over.

"Quiet!"

Shepal first quieted the generals, then tepidly turned to the army major.

"Ewald von? Major Kleist, do you mean to say that the Spanish army can capture Gibraltar in 1 month, or that my fleet is not capable of taking Gibraltar? ”

"No, honorable general!" The Major's expression and tone were still calm and somewhat respectful, "The Spanish army did not have the strength to capture Gibraltar, and neither did my marines!" ”