-- Berlin

"Dream! Franco, that guy is just dreaming!! "After reading Franco's conditions, Hitler was almost out of interest in talking. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

"Franco's strength is completely out of proportion to his ambitions, they want too much and are willing to give too little!" Hitler put down the papers, his fingers tapping on the table.

Hitler's idea was very simple, take advantage of Spain's geographical advantages to block the Strait of Gibraltar, so that it would be difficult for Britain to support Egypt from home, and after taking Egypt, Britain's ties with those Asian colonies would be basically severed, and Britain could only bypass Africa to get reinforcements from all over the world, and its own wolves could slowly harvest those ships in the Atlantic, and the plan to trap Britain was basically equivalent to success.

Hitler closed his eyes and thought for a while and said, "Go and tell Franco that Germany is willing to consider his request, but we need him to give us some sincerity." ”

On September 23, 1941, Spain announced that it would change from a "neutral country" to a "non-belligerent country" and at the same time send troops to Tangier, which was then under the international condominance, thus taking half of the rights to the Strait of Gibraltar.

Hitler was overjoyed when he got the news, and he happily said to the people next to him, "Franco has not forgotten the help we helped them in the Spanish Civil War, and then, after taking the damned fortress of the British, we will erect forts on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar." ”

The fortress of Gibraltar was built by the British since the occupation after defeating the Spanish in 1704, and after more than 200 years of operation, it was extremely fortified, with many turrets, and the British naval advantage was also used here to the fullest, and it was really not easy to take it.

-- Madrid

A middle-aged man in a black suit took out a document and handed it to Franco, who was wearing a military uniform, and said, "Prime Minister Franco, Britain and the United States are extremely worried about your country's sudden attack on Tangier, and the current situation in Spain is not good. ”

Anglo-American?

Franco looked at the middle-aged man opposite with suspicion, he is the US ambassador to Spain, but he now actually says that he still represents the United Kingdom, could it be that the United States and Britain have come together?

Although Franco is very worried about the domestic situation, but Hitler's conditions are indeed good, especially the Strait of Gibraltar is a golden strait, Franco has actually been red for a long time, Franco also started because he originally planned to take advantage of the chaos to completely take Gibraltar, and in Franco's eyes, the outcome of the European hegemony war is already obvious, at this time Hitler is stronger than Napoleon back then, Britain is beaten and can't shrink, if there is no accident, Germany will undoubtedly win.

But the unexpected came along.

The United States is going to war? Franco felt the roots of his teeth ache when he thought of the behemoth on the other side of the Atlantic to enter the war, that is a country that is still above Germany in terms of industrial strength even if Germany occupies most of Europe, it is said that the steel production has reached almost 70 million tons, and at the same time there is a naval force as strong as Britain, although there is no combat experience, but if you think about the last war, you will know that this experience is there, and the United States is not afraid of a war of attrition....

Is Germany going to fail again like last time? Franco's heart is starting to feel a little bottomless. Spain was too weak at this time, the rebel guerrillas everywhere had been strangled for a long time, the economy was sluggish, food was in short supply, the industry was backward, and the unemployment rate remained high.

Seeing that Franco had been shaken by himself, the middle-aged man took the opportunity to say, "We believe that there should be a green country in Europe without war, and we can promise not to take the initiative to carry out any unfriendly actions against your country, and in addition, we will give your country a large amount of materials so that your country can rebuild internally." ”

Material? This is what Spain needs most right now.

Franco asked, "I wonder what supplies you're willing to provide?" ”

The middle-aged man pointed to the document and said, "As the document says, we are willing to directly supply your country with enough oil and other materials needed by your country, and we can also assist your country with 500,000 tons of oil, 500,000 tons of wheat, and 500,000 tons of fertilizer within three months..."

-- Berlin

"What? YOU'RE ASKING US TO SUPPLY 12 380MM CANNONS FIRST? Hitler looked at the Spanish envoy across in disbelief.

"It's not a request, it's a request, our country is surrounded by the sea on three sides, and if we don't have enough self-preservation, it will be difficult for even Prime Minister Franco to convince the country, after all, your country knows the situation in the country, and in addition, we also ask your country to provide sufficient supplies to convince the opposition forces in our country. Also, these cannons were built to capture the fortress of Gibraltar, which the British operated there for hundreds of years with strong defenses, and we simply could not take the fortress without such artillery. The Spanish envoy said with a sincere face.

Hitler rolled his eyes and pulled it down, Franco was a centralized ruler like himself, and he was still opposition, and your opposition forces had all become partisans. And not to mention how expensive a cannon of this caliber is, what if it is given to Spain, and Spain proposes other conditions?

HITLER SHOOK HIS HEAD AND REFUSED, SAYING, "GERMANY CAN PROVIDE YOUR COUNTRY WITH ENOUGH GUNS UNDER 100 MM, AND 380 MM GUNS ARE EXTREMELY PRECIOUS EVEN FOR GERMANY." ”

I can't talk about it anymore.

At this time, Italy had agreed to Germany's conditions and was ready to sign the Axis alliance at any time, Hitler thought about it and felt that he wanted to talk to Franco in person, so the two agreed to negotiate in the small French border town of Hendaye.

- Hendaye, October 1, 1941

In the car, Franco said to the entourage next to him, "This is the most important negotiation of my life... I'm going to do whatever it takes to deal with it..."

At the beginning of the meeting, Hitler was still very satisfied, Franco could be said to have great respect for him, and constantly mentioned the help given by Germany during the Spanish Civil War, but when it came to key issues, he immediately began to talk about him.

Hitler said impatiently, "We hope that your country can give an accurate time to enter the war, and we can agree to another 12 cannons, but there should be German instructors among the personnel who use these coastal defense guns, and in addition, there must be German troops in the Strait of Gibraltar." ”

Franco shook his head and said, "Honorable Führer, we are glad that Germany can take into account the special circumstances of our situation, and as you know, the situation in our country is very difficult, and I must first get some supplies to appease the country." ”

Hitler asked, "How much do you want?" ”

"800,000 tons of oil, 800,000 tons of wheat, 100,000 tons of cotton, 30,000 tons of rubber, 600,000 tons of fertilizer..."

Listening to a long list, Hitler, who had become accustomed to being domineering in international affairs, almost wanted to pry Franco's head open, and he immediately threatened: "If this happens, maybe Germany will be forced to go directly to Spain to take the Strait of Gibraltar." ”

Franco shook his head and said, "In this case, I am afraid that the German army will face a lot of partisans who are not controlled by the government, and I believe that this is not what Germany wants." ”

Hitler's eyes were closed, and he felt as if the negotiations had pulled out a few of his teeth, and he really did not want to force Spain to the side of Britain and the United States.

Hitler put down his pen and said, "Well, I'll give you 100,000 tons of wheat, and how about you declare war on Britain first to show your sincerity?" ”

Hitler thought about pulling Franco on board first.

Franco shook his head again and said, "It's almost winter, and this is not the right time to fight." ”

Hitler took a breath and said, "Then we are about to establish a military alliance with Italy and Japan, are you interested in joining it?" ”

Franco shook his head again and said, "I think a neutral Spain should be more beneficial to Germany now, and we can import some supplies instead of Germany, right?" ”

Hitler could no longer talk and unceremoniously got up and left to express his displeasure.

Just when Hitler was breaking up with Franco, Mussolini of Italy had a new idea, he compared himself with Germany, and felt that his current record was too poor, and if he continued like this, it would be difficult to obtain enough benefits in the future, so Mussolini looked at the Balkans next to him.

As early as the last war, the Balkan Peninsula was known as the powder keg of Europe, where there are many small countries, many nationalities, rich resources, is an important stage for the European powers, as early as 1939, Italy sent troops to annex Albania, and Mussolini decided to send troops because not long ago, Romania's fascist Prime Minister Antonescu has promised more than 500,000 German troops to enter Romania, and is also economically ready to sign a cooperation agreement with Germany, So that Germany could better borrow Romanian resources. This greatly stimulated Mussolini, and when he looked at his side, he still felt that Greece was the most suitable, and Germany had not agreed to give Greece to himself, so it would be nothing for him to take it now.

Mussolini was not prepared to inform Germany in advance, and in his heart, he was still angry that Germany would take Romania without telling Italy, so he was also ready to come to an undeclared war, a fait accompli.

On October 3, 1941, Italy launched an attack on Greece with eight divisions of its own without informing Germany.

Italy's raid was very effective at first, easily breaking through the Greek defense line, but the Greek army immediately fought back, in fact, from the number of troops, the number of Italian troops is lower than that of Greece, plus Greece has a favorable location and the support of the local people, and constantly harassed the rear of the Italian army with guerrilla warfare, after more than ten days of war, Italy stopped its offensive momentum, but turned to attack and defensive, and even began to retreat.

When Hitler in Germany got the news, he was tired... The fire in Africa has just been extinguished, and you Italy are burning the fire in Greece again, you can burn it, and you can't extinguish it yourself, you still have to help, Hitler reluctantly ordered the German army to prepare to enter Greece to help fight.

-- Washington, D.C., U.S.A

Roosevelt looked at the several pieces of information in front of him, took a long breath and said to Hull, "It seems that the future of the world is not dark, and we have won a diplomatic victory." The victory was more than enough to offset the British defeat in North Africa. ”

Hull nodded and said, "Mr. President, I think so too, Spain has indeed maintained neutrality as we expected, so that Britain will continue to control both ends of the Mediterranean, and Italy's attack on Greece indicates that Italy should continue to get involved in the Balkans next, so that Turkey and the Soviet Union should have ideas." ”

Turkey has been rebuilding since the Kemal Revolution, but Turkey's geographical location is too good and too bad, with the Balkans to the west, the Soviet Union to the north, and the Arab world dominated by Britain and its allies to the south. In addition, Turkey is holding back the main routes of communication between these groups. If it was a time of peace, Turkey might be able to take advantage of such a geographical location to make a fortune, but in the war years, he became the meat on everyone's lips, and the result of the First World War made Turkey completely unwilling to be involved in a new big war again, after the Italian-Abyssinian War, Italy became Turkey's most worried country, and then Germany annexed Czechoslovakia, Turkey was even more afraid, Turkey first pinned its hopes on the alliance between the Western powers and the Soviet Union, thinking that it would protect its south, The northern flank was not invaded by Germany and Italy, as a result of which Britain and France were defeated and fled, and then the Soviet Union became half an ally of Germany and carved up Poland.

Since Poland can be divided equally, it does not seem that it is a non-negotiable matter to divide Turkey equally.

What's even worse is that Turkey has signed a lot of agreements with Britain and France long ago, and some of them are military, and Germany and Italy want to go to war with Turkey, so there is really no need to find an excuse. The outbreak of the Greek war provoked Turkey's nerves even more.

As for the Soviet Union, it is not surprising that the Soviet Union made an offer to Germany for the Balkans.

Roosevelt agreed with Hull's view, saying: "Our intelligence services have received information that Germany's intention to win the Soviet Union into a military alliance seems to have been unresolved on the question of the division of power between the two countries, and I think that our next step should be to win over the Soviet Union as a force on the side of justice." ”

Hull shook his head and said, "It's difficult, the Soviet Union is caught between Japan and Germany, unless Germany or Japan takes the initiative to attack the Soviet Union or the main Japanese force leaves Manchuria." ”

Roosevelt squinted his eyes and said, "There is already a gap between Germany and the Soviet Union, I can foresee their war, maybe we don't need to do anything at all, Hitler himself will push the Soviet Union into our arms." ”