In the early spring, everything is revived, and the continent is full of green grass and flowers, especially the Iberian Peninsula, which borders the Mediterranean, with its sunny and warm climate, but the people here are not happy, because their country is in the midst of the most chaotic and brutal civil war, and every Spaniard, whether sympathetic to the royal family, inclined to revolution or in the most primitive dazedness, can not really stay away.

In contrast, the Nordic countries are still not fully shaken off the cold of winter, but the situation there is a calm not seen in many years, but behind this calm, there are undercurrents surging in places that people cannot see.

Russia, Murmansk.

Late at night, not a single worker could be seen on the wharves around the harbor, and in the sparse light a small group of soldiers with long rifles could occasionally be seen passing by; In the silence of the harbor, freighters and warships are quietly docked at their berths, and only the petite patrol ships are still dutifully patrolling their precincts.

As the largest military and commercial port on the coast of the Arctic Ocean, Murmansk has always been the most important port in the north of Russia because of its geographical conditions that do not freeze all year round and the strategic location of transportation for ships to enter and leave the port without passing through the straits controlled by other countries. Looking at the territory of Soviet Russia today, the Black Sea ports are still trapped by the deadly geographical factor of the Dardanelles, ships entering and leaving the Baltic Sea ports also have to pass through the sea areas under the strict control of foreign powers, and the return of Vladivostok is still far away, which makes the military significance of Murmansk even more important.

The Finns, whose most prominent representatives were the Finns, who had advanced their border outposts to 12 km from Murmansk through the Soviet-German and Soviet-Finnish armistice signed in 1928, took advantage of this situation and took advantage of it in every possible way. A 280mm heavy howitzer made by Krupp in Germany or a 365mm super howitzer made by the Škoda Arsenal in Bohemia could deter the entire port of Murmansk from that position, and although the Finns did not deploy this terrible weapon on their borders, the Russians were disturbed by reliable intelligence that the Finnish Army had indeed secretly imported six or eight of these long-range heavy guns from Germany. Moreover, bombers taking off from the Finnish side of the border were able to fly over Murmansk before Russian fighters could react.

This. It was also called the "Murmansk pain" from the north by Soviet and Russian military experts. As for how many foreign intelligence agents operate in and around Murmansk every day, no one can say at all

When the breath of the night faded and dawn was approaching, people thought it would be another quiet night, but at this time, a freighter with a displacement of about seven or eight thousand tons quietly left its berth and sailed to the port channel, without the long whistle before departure, and without the flower-waving send-off, it was like a cat looking for prey. It is like a dancer moving on tiptoe, light, vigorous, and silent. At this time, the vision on the sea surface was still very blurry, but the harbor navigation tower did not release a pilot light pillar, and in this way, before people woke up from their sleep, it quietly disappeared into the depths of the sea.

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A ray of vivid sunlight shining through the observation hole into the icy interior of the tank shone right on Conrad's face, and he opened his eyes alertly, and his surroundings seemed calm except for the familiar snoring.

He felt his limbs. OK. Everything was fine except for some soreness, and he turned his head to look at Abel beside him, his own gun commander staring seriously at the periscope.

"It's all right!"

Conrad rubbed his eyes. Without disturbing others, he moved his waist and legs in a small area.

Abel turned his head, and what he looked at Conrad was a safe signal that "everything was normal".

The night that had just passed was noisy and bloody, the fighting was fiercer than the day, and the attackers tried to break through the line under the cover of night, desperately pushing forward, launching wave after wave of charges, while the defenders blocked the streets with every weapon in their hands as much as they could, and the sound of Maxim, MG17, Mauser rifles, and explosives continued to irritate people's eardrums, even though the other side did not get any more old or new tanks from nowhere. However, Conrad's crew encountered an unprecedented challenge - from midnight to the end of the attack at 4 a.m., no less than 10 grenades, three bundles of cluster grenades or explosive packs exploded very close to the Tiger-1, so that after the battle, Conrad was quite worried that the driver started the tank and conducted some basic action tests, but fortunately, except for the front lights could not be turned on, the Tiger-1 did not show any other abnormal conditions, This was a great relief to Conrad and his crew.

"Let's rest for you!"

With that, Conrad looked around through the captain's periscope, and the street in downtown Madrid was in shambles, and the American M1919 Hamilton medium tank that was destroyed yesterday afternoon was still parked. The embers above had long since been extinguished, leaving only a pair of black wreckage. Half of the large signboard on the outside of a three-story building next to it was faintly recognizable, but there was not a single intact window on the street side, and a few blue curtains fluttered in the wind. Further from there is the main battlefield here, and the huge craters and bullet holes on the street are clearly visible, all of which are the masterpieces of the powerful 88mm main gun of the Tiger-1, and the exterior walls of the houses on both sides of the street are full of bullet holes of various sizes, as well as two buildings that were directly destroyed by the Tiger-1's main gun.

After a night of fighting, the blood of the revolutionaries finally flowed to the foot of Tiger Mountain, and as the commander of this violent machine, Conrad's mentality quietly changed, he opened the captain's hatch located above his head, let the golden sunlight shine quietly on his slightly curly blonde hair, then took a deep breath, took out his water bottle, poured the cold water on his face, and then took out a square loaf of bread wrapped in brown paper from his canvas bag, and while observing the street ahead, he tore off a small piece of bread and stuffed it into his mouth.

It wasn't long before there was a roar in the sky, and Conrad looked up, as the sound got closer. He finally saw a yellow-painted biplane flying overhead, and at this moment, he could hardly resist jumping up from his position, because it was the first plane he had seen since yesterday morning, and judging from the model, it should be an Italian designed and manufactured Marqui-30 reconnaissance/bomber, and the purchase and equipment of this long-range and relatively inexpensive military aircraft mainly include southern European countries such as Italy, Spain, and Portugal. By the time the civil war broke out, the Spanish Air Force was armed with a total of 40 such aircraft. They are usually used to carry out reconnaissance and patrol missions, and if necessary, they can also carry a 250-kilogram ground bomb for ground bombing, which can be said to be a multi-purpose fighter for small and medium-sized countries!

"Eber! Eber! You must not believe what I just saw! Conrad nudged Ab, who had just closed his eyes for a moment.

"Spanish planes?" In a daze, Abel seemed to have heard the movement just now.

"That's right! Looks like we're finally getting air support today! ”

Hearing Conrad's words, not only Abel, but also the three below woke up.

"Our planes? Is it our plane? ”

Hahn seemed to have misunderstood Conrad's last sentence, so Conrad immediately corrected it seriously:

"To be exact, it is our Spanish ally, and judging from the appearance, it should be an Italian-made Macchi-30 reconnaissance aircraft!"

Hahn had a look of abrupt realization, but judging by his expression, this brilliant German loader did not trust much in air power other than the German Air Forces.

"Louiser. Get in touch with the battalion command. We desperately need information on the enemy's movements! ”

"Good land!"

The mechanic who had just woken up didn't bother to drink his saliva first, so he immediately put on his headphones and got busy with the car radio.

"Land! Land! This is G-Island, here's G-Island...... Yes. We just saw a Spanish plane flying overhead...... Got it......"

Taking advantage of the time between Louise and his superiors, Conrad took out a photo from his jacket pocket, which was a half-length photo of his fiancée, the smile of this beautiful blonde girl was so charming, Conrad's heart was immediately full of longing, he wanted to immediately put on his wings and return to his sweetheart, no matter what war or not.

"Ensign! Lieutenant! ”

The shouts of the mechanics brought the young officer, who was caught in lovesickness, back to reality.

"What did the battalion command say?"

"Well, the reconnaissance plane found a large number of rebels gathering outside Madrid, and it seems that there are tanks and armored vehicles inside! Other than that...... They said that it was not a Spanish plane that flew over our heads just now, but a dispatch from the Italian government! ”

"Italian planes?"

Conrad didn't know what to say for a while. What was behind this was obviously not something that a low-ranking officer like him could understand, in fact, whether it was a Spanish plane, an Italian or even a French plane, as long as it could help the situation on the battlefield, Conrad and his soldiers were very satisfied.

The appearance of an Italian reconnaissance plane did not disrupt the plans of the Spanish anti-government forces, and shortly after breakfast, their new offensive began. This time, they apparently learned the lesson of the previous day and did not again push howitzers directly into the streets, but deployed them behind buildings, so that German tank guns with low ballistics could not attack them. But their shells could go over the buildings in front of them and bombard the opposing barricades and the evil German tank.

Shells fell one after another, and the vibrations were stronger and stronger for the crew inside the tank, but what worried Conrad more was whether the relatively weak armor on the top of his tank would be able to withstand the blow of a grenade falling from a wide angle. If there were enough armored vehicles and infantry to follow, he would definitely choose to launch a counterattack and destroy the few cannons hidden behind the buildings, but with the Turkish infantry battalion that was ordered to come to reinforce last night, the defenders here were still far fewer than the attackers, and in desperation, Conrad's Tiger-1 began to move backwards, and after retreating a little half a street, only to hear a shout from the opposite side, and the other party took advantage of the situation to launch a charge.

"Stop reversing and move forward!"

There were still hundreds of coalition soldiers in the buildings on either side of the street, and Conrad gritted his teeth and ordered to return to the street.

"Ensign!"

Abel stared at Conrad with sincerity in his eyes.

"Do you just give up?" Conrad was reluctant.

"Stop, artillery support on the spot!" With that, Abel kicked Hahn and motioned for him to reload his cannonballs.

"There are only armor-piercing shells!"

Hahn shouted helplessly, although the Spanish troops in charge of logistics sent a cart of ammunition last night, but there was no shadow of shells in it, and the command explained that the shells were given priority to the tank crews with the most urgent situation, and promised to send a base number of shells before dawn. But it hasn't been fulfilled until now.

"Pretend!" Eber's answer remained simple and straightforward, though he was well aware that the two shells had very different uses.

After the bombardment, the dust suddenly flew on the other side of the street, but not many Spaniards fell because of it.

"Three rapid fires!"

Eber, who was shouldering the heavy responsibility of the artillery commander, decisively ordered.

The loud sound of the continuous fire of the Tiger-1 drowned out almost all the sound in the street, the shells landed exactly a few tens of meters in front of the barricade, and the attacking Spanish militants hesitated, they noticeably slowed down, and their commander was aware of this. Their shells kept coming closer to the tank, which was parked on the side of the street, and buildings were constantly hit by shells, and the violent explosions lifted many stones, cement and debris into the air and scattered them all over the street.

"Let them retreat!"

Conrad finally recovered from his emotions and asked the mechanics to advise the infantry guarding to retreat, but Luiser soon reported that he could not be contacted, and that the radio on the infantry's side was likely to be broken.

At this moment, the characteristic roar of propeller planes came from the sky again. This time, flying from east to west over downtown Madrid was a large fleet of 70 to 80 aircraft. The Spanish anti-government army, which was on the offensive, obviously did not expect such a scene, and they did not know for a moment whether to continue the attack or avoid the impending air raid, but the black aerial bombs that fell with a sharp voice quickly made a decision for them. The sound of explosions filled the entire city of Madrid. After the bombers finished dropping the bombs, the escort fighter pilots did not forget to show off their skills, and the shuttle of bullets caused the Spaniards in the confusion to completely disapprove. Many simply abandoned their weapons and fled the battlefield without looking back.

"It's the Macchi 133 fighter and the Caproni 350 light bomber! Italian Air Force! ”

After the Spanish anti-government forces temporarily retreated, Conrad opened the hatch and carefully examined the planes returning with his binoculars. The planes were painted in yellow similar to those of the Spanish Air Force, but under the wings were a distinct round black-bordered logo on a white background, with a scepter in the middle — a logo used only by Mussolini's Italian Air Force.

As Conrad could see, more than 300 meters above the city, 53 Italian Air Force DiCaproni 350 light bombers were returning to Arganda, escorted by 22 Maqui-133 fighters. These planes have just flown from the Italian island of Sardinia this morning, and they will later be based in Arganda to join the Spanish war.

The position in the storm was held again, but in the hearts of Conrad and others, there was such a question: when will this battle have a result?

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February 15, 1932, in the middle of the Norwegian Sea.

Norway, located in northern Europe, was one of the European countries that did not get involved in a single war in the first 30 years of the 20th century. Its territory, territorial waters, and airspace are recognized and respected by all European countries, including Germany and Russia, and its limited military is always in a cautious defensive posture. Against this backdrop, the Norwegian Sea, between Norway and Iceland, is one of the most peaceful and free seas in the world, but due to its geographical location away from the main shipping routes between the European continent and Europe and the United States, not many ships pass through it.

On this sunny day, a Russian-flagged freighter was moving fast from north to southwest. It was a freighter of less than 10,000 tons, but more suitable for ocean-like sailing, and a few nautical miles behind it, a simple, sleek and elegant cruiser was sailing in the same direction at the same speed.

Since they were moving on the high seas, the two ships neither signaled nor showed hostility to each other. But both sides knew that this was not a companion voyage after a chance encounter. As both the captain and the officers on board knew that this was not the first Russian steamer to carry special cargo to Spain, all of which had been tracked by German ships and planes on the way.

The Russians knew very well that their freighters were carrying out the task of transporting cargo to ports controlled by the revolutionary forces without being detected by Spanish government warships, and that if the freighters had been watched by the Germans, the Spanish naval ships would have been able to intercept them as they entered Spanish waters, and the end result would have been a serious international dispute – there was no doubt that the cargo on board would be very unfavorable evidence to the Russian government.

After discovering that their ship could not get rid of the tracking of the Germans at all, the previous Soviet and Russian freighters obediently chose to return halfway. In order to avoid the surveillance of the Germans as much as possible, the freighter departed from Murmansk before dawn and did not travel along the sea close to the Norwegian coastline, as is customary, but did not want to be discovered by the Germans anyway! Once they were targeted by a German cruiser with superior speed and equipped with radar and carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft, the captain and commander of the Soviet and Russian freighters knew that they had almost no chance of slipping away.

However, if the Soviet and Russian governments were to abandon arms shipments to Spain, they would be unwilling. It is important to know how much the revolutionaries in Spain were in need of outside assistance at this time, and that this cargo could play an immeasurable role in promoting their revolution.

Sometimes, ten ships of gold can't change the status quo of a country, but sometimes a shipload of arms is enough to change the fate of a country.

The Russian government was well aware of what its Spanish counterparts urgently needed.

"Leave it alone, keep going!"

The Russian captain with a beard and a mustache gave a categorical order. (Full Text)