Located in the foothills of the Alps, next to Salzburg in Austria, Berchtesgaden is a picturesque place away from the hustle and bustle. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 InfoQuaint inn sits on a hillside overlooking the town, and although it is a far cry from the royal palace, it has been carefully decorated to host European monarchs and dignitaries.

After all, most of these continental countries have been interfered by Britain in history, and they have no good impression of the British, and they are not willing to let the Americans who lack cultural background set foot in Europe and thus influence the domestic and foreign affairs of European countries. In addition, the "European barrier" facing the Atlantic Ocean is connected by Iceland, Ireland, France, and Spain. The first two countries are monarchs by members of the Hohenzollern family, and have close military relations with Germany, while France is nominally an independent country, but in fact it has become a vassal state of Germany, and has to obey Germany's orders in terms of military strategy, so as long as the Germans get Spain, this barrier has no political problems, and the rest of the matter is how to turn the barrier on the map into a real line of defense, as for the other European allies, it is indispensable to contribute money and efforts, and wave the flag to cheer, but the real big head must be the Germans, once faced with the United States and Britain attack, It was certainly the German army that played the main role.

The heads of the monarchs of the European allies gathered here, and there were many issues on the table, but most of them were mere formalities and lacked substance. Vacationing to cool off, relax, connect, enhance friendships, explore each other's style, and communicate privately, these are the original intentions.

Berchtesgaden has a turquoise lake called the "Königslake". On this day, Xia Shu was boating on the lake at the request of his brother Oscar, when the boat sailed to the middle of the lake, there was no third party in a radius of two or three hundred meters, the king of Iceland showed a depressed look, he revealed to Xia Shu that abandoned kayaks have been found on the coast of Iceland many times recently, and suspected ill-intentioned people arrived in the coastal waters by ships, and then landed in small boats, and the rumors that the US and British troops were about to attack Iceland made people panic. Not only that, but the US government also used neutral people to turn around the obscure remark that after the US and British troops completely occupied the Azores, the next target would be Iceland, and hoped that the Icelandic royal family, government, and army would not resist when the US and British troops landed in the future, and in exchange, the US government would guarantee that the status of the Icelandic royal family would not be violated.

There is a saying that Iceland is sparsely populated and economically backward, but it is an independent and sovereign country after all, if Oscar loses the throne and returns to Germany, he will be an ordinary royal, far less comfortable as being his Icelandic king. Because of this, Oscar I sighed: "Now it seems that the Azores cannot be defended, Iceland is not in danger, and Germany cannot send heavy troops, although my family and I have no nostalgia for Iceland, but if I leave Iceland, I will become an exile, you say...... Is it possible for me and my family to return to Iceland in the future? ”

Natsuki nodded, then shook his head again.

Oscar didn't ask Natsuki what he meant, he stared at the clear lake for a moment, and then asked Natsuki: "When the American and British troops occupy Iceland, they will definitely recover the British, and then it should be Ireland." If you really get to that point, do you plan to fight to the death with the United States and Britain, or compromise with them? ”

After pondering for a moment, Natsuki replied lightly: "Someone asked me this question six years ago, remember?" ”

Oscar squeezed out an embarrassed smile on his face: "The worries at that time have now become a reality, and I had no feelings for that strange country at that time, and now I have regarded it as my home." ”

"When one's homeland is threatened by the enemy, shouldn't the true king find a way to defend it?" Natsuki asked rhetorically.

"Ho, you are the beloved king of six million Irish people, you are the supreme commander of the Irish army and the object of absolute allegiance, you have the strength to defend your homeland, but what do I have?" Oscar spread his hands in frustration.

"But you have a country that's 50 percent bigger than Ireland." Natsuki replied categorically, "The wonderful scenery that the Creator has bestowed, the magnificent fjords and peaks, the beautiful lakes and tundra, and the nearly 200,000 Germanic Icelanders willing to be at your disposal, these are all unique treasures to you, His Majesty Oscar I!" ”

Oske was encouraged at first, but when he thought about it, his expression was still gloomy, and he said in frustration: "Even if I can gather 20,000 Icelandic men to form an army, and this army can use the terrain to resist the enemy for a few weeks, who can give me an absolute promise to protect Iceland from the enemy's occupation?" Even if Germany and Ireland had a large number of troops in Iceland, if the battle at sea was unfavorable and our sea routes were cut off by the enemy, we would still be doomed. ”

The Icelandic king's vision of a situation could indeed become a reality, but it would be too pessimistic to look at the future at the beginning of the war, knowing that no one can always have smooth sailing on the battlefield, and the true victors know how to overcome adversity, such as Alexander, Hannibal, and Napoleon, who have created classic battles in which the weak defeat the strong and the less victorious, and are praised by later generations.

As the sun sets, a cool breeze blows on the lake, and Natsuki takes off her sunhat and enjoys the gifts of nature. When he was in a good mood, he said to Oscar: "It seems that the defeat in the Azores and the introduction of the European Barrier Plan have made everyone start to lose faith in this war, but in my judgment, the odds of victory or defeat are still five or five, that is, neither side has won a decisive victory." At this time, whoever has enough courage and tenacity will have a chance to become the final winner. Imagine this...... The great King of Iceland led his army and his allies to defend his country in extremely difficult circumstances, and his reputation will forever be recorded in Iceland's history as one of the most glorious chapters of the Nordic country...... How is it? ”

"But Johen, I don't have the military talent of yours, and I haven't even commanded a decent battle, I ...... Lack of confidence and courage like you. If it were you, you might have been able to lead a weak Icelandic army against the enemy's invasion, but I can't. Oscar sighed.

Xia Shu then reassured with kind words: "Confidence and courage do not fall from the sky, but must be gradually accumulated through continuous attempts and experiences. You can rest assured that as long as you have the determination to defend your home and country, I will do my best to help. Even if you are defeated due to the disparity in strength, as long as the time for a counterattack comes, I will definitely help you return to the throne of Iceland. ”

Oscar nodded, then shook his head, his eyes still showing melancholy and confusion.

After a secret conversation, Natsuki failed to change his brother's pessimism, and then after a quiet night of reverie, he suddenly realized that what Oscar wanted to express to him may be another layer of purpose - why should he ignore the fundamental interests of his country and get involved in this unjust war of great power competition?

Four days later, the Berchtesgaden meeting was coming to an end, and it was at this moment that the Germans suddenly announced the startling news: the Germans had captured the fortress of Gibraltar!

British-occupied Gibraltar is a long, narrow enclave, measuring only 5 km from north to south and about 2 km wide from east to west. 1 km, surrounded by the sea on three sides, only bordering Spain to the north. If the British army relied on the Gibraltar Hill to build the famous fortress of Gibraltar, if it launched an attack from the sea, even if the attacking fleet could completely suppress the artillery fire of the fortress, the landing force had not yet landed on the shore and was directly exposed to the enemy's guns, not to mention that as soon as the battle began, the American and British fleets raided the Azores on a large scale, thus containing the main force of the German navy, and only Germany's naval strength in Europe could not help to defend the fortified fortress of Gibraltar. At this time, there were three ways to solve Gibraltar, one was for Germany to transfer back the main fleet from the Azores and conquer Gibraltar from the sea, the second was for Spain to enter the war, and Germany used Spain to conquer Gibraltar by land, and the third was for Austria-Hungary and Italy to enter the war and force Gibraltar from the sea with the German navy.

The main thrust of the agreement was very clear - the German army would take Gibraltar from the British and return it to Spain. In other words, Spain was able to sit back and enjoy the success without spending a single soldier.

At the outset of the war, the German government offered Spain a lucrative deal, and it took more than a month for the Spanish kingdom's power to agree, and the story behind it was enough to write a wonderful drama.

The Germans finally got their wish, and on July 3, before the opening of the Allied summit in Berchtesgaden, Germany and Spain secretly signed an agreement under which German troops and equipment entered Spain via France and were transported by rail to southern Spain.

The main weapons for attacking the fortresses of Gibraltar were oversized siege mortars and heavy howitzers, including the 406 mm siege mortar "Victoria", which was improved on the basis of the "Great Belta" and the "Great Belta" and had a range of 22 km, the 380 mm heavy howitzer "August" with a range of 35 km and capable of rapid transportation by rail, the 420 mm heavy howitzer "Barbara" manufactured by the Škoda Arsenal, and the Škoda Arsenal launched in the late 20sThe "ultimate weapon" - the 508 mm siege mortar "Maria". The guns were simply deployed behind the hills near the port of Gibraltar, and a few hours of bombardment were enough to clear the British fortifications of the fortress of Gibraltar before the attack was handed over to the German assault forces armed with ******** and flamethrowers.

On July 13, all German heavy artillery arrived at the front line, and four fighter squadrons and 12 bomber squadrons of the Luftwaffe also arrived in Estepona in southern Spain, while the British army deployed in Gibraltar at this time had only 27 combat aircraft and 19 combat ships, none of which had a displacement of more than 3,000 tons.

In the early morning of the 14th, the German heavy artillery group began to exert its power, and the German-class battleship "Saxony", which returned to Europe from the Azores for repairs, went into battle with wounds, sailed into the Strait of Gibraltar with two King-class battleships and a Caesar-class battleship, and launched a long-distance artillery bombardment of the British fortress. During the day, the Luftwaffe flew more than 1,200 bomber sorties and dropped more than 800 tons of bombs, turning the fortress of Gibraltar and its surrounding defensive positions into a sea of fire. In the evening of the same day, the German commandos crossed the border of Gibraltar under the cover of tanks, and the ground advance was blocked for a time, but after the Germans broke through the two outer positions, the ensuing battle was like mercury pouring ground, the German commandos quickly approached the fortress, the explosives and flamethrowers began to exert their power, and the two sides fought fiercely until late at night, and the British defenders ceased fire and surrendered while still having some combat strength......

(End of chapter)