Although Churchill is widely regarded as the most giftless strategist, he is indeed the most morale-boosting leader and certainly the most persistent politician. He is keenly aware of what the public and the military want and need, and can solve it in the simplest way.

So as soon as Franco's death arrived, he knew that the opportunity had come.

After these warm and encouraging words, the generals were all mobilized and showed amazing enthusiasm. Relying on the phone in the conference room and the inaccurate information at hand, he came up with all the landing plans in just three hours. The plan was to first use Gibraltar's air force to raid Spanish airfields such as Madrid. After destroying the Spanish Air Force, the first battalion of paratroopers, which had just completed training, was sent to the first battalion of paratroopers that had just completed training by using the Y-5 transport planes purchased from China before the war and the American DC-3 transport planes. Then, using superior naval forces, the two infantry divisions that should have been sent to North Africa landed simultaneously from Gibraltar, the Costa Blanca and the Ballianan Islands in three routes.

But he was still not satisfied with this plan, and twisted his eyebrows to his chief of the Air Force General Staff, Charles Porter: "Charles, do you have any French relatives?" ”

Charles was stunned when asked: "Prime Minister, I was born in Hengelford. The generals and Attlee and other officials around him were also surprised. You must know that Charles is the father of Britain's strategic bombing, creating a precedent for large-scale bombing at night, and even China's "rainbow bombing" has learned from his experience and tactics. So everyone is very puzzled, what kind of demon moth is the old lord making trouble? Charles did a good job, do you want to withdraw people?

Churchill ignored his gaze, stood up, bit down his cigar into a row of deep tooth marks, and pointed his carrot-thick fingers at the railway network in the south of France: "The train station, the dispatch room, the railroad tracks are all destroyed!" And here, here! Every passage into the Pyrenees had to be completely destroyed and the German tanks would climb it!! ”

The generals are okay to say. But Attlee was taken aback when he heard that he was going to send the air force to bomb the railway network in the south of France: "Prime Minister, this will affect the relationship between France and us. ”

"Relationship? Hum! Churchill was unimpressed. He doesn't care about Anglo-French relations now, and let's talk about those things when victory is in sight. So he shook his hand: "Attlee, do you think we can get along amicably with Philippe (Philippe Petain, President of Vichy France)?" Everyone shook their heads, the catapult action had already torn apart Britain and France, so what did it matter if they stabbed a few more times. But Attlee was still worried: "But what about General de Gaulle and Free France?" ”

"I'll explain it to him personally." Churchill looked decisive and said firmly: "Charles, while the Germans have not yet come." Blow them up! ”

Compared with Hitler, this time Churchill was simply shocking, and he didn't even ventilate with Roosevelt first. It was not that he was arrogant enough to think that Britain could hold Spain on its own, but that he knew that Spain was a big dunghill! If the British army does not take action, the US military will definitely drag its feet, and only by doing it first will Roosevelt fight ruthlessly. After all, if Gibraltar is lost. The American nouveau riche will have to pack up and go home empty-handed.

In the early morning of April 4, Ribbentrop arrived in Vichy with Hitler's instructions to start so-called "transit negotiations" with French President Petain. Just as the negotiations were underway, the Spanish operation, codenamed "Lynx", officially began. Two aircraft carriers in the Bay of Biscay and more than two hundred British Spitfires and bombers departed from Gibraltar. Sudden air strikes were carried out on nine airfields, including Madrid, and more than a dozen Spanish barracks. The whole air raid was very neat, and in only half an hour, the Spanish Air Force was completely destroyed. Before the Spaniards could understand what was going on, 3,700 British paratroopers who had just finished their training. More than 200 transport planes landed quickly at Madrid airport.

At the same time, the British battleships Prince of Wales and George V led five light and heavy cruisers to block the port of San Fernando. Eleven warships of the Spanish Navy, including the heavy cruiser Canarias and two Alfonso-class light cruisers, were blocked in the harbor and ordered to disarm immediately.

By 1 p.m., the British had not only taken control of the three airports in Madrid, but had also occupied the Spanish Air Force quartermaster depot next to the airport, as well as important facilities including the Prime Minister's Office and the Parliament building in Madrid. Subsequently, transport planes and bombers also distributed millions of leaflets to more than 10 cities, including Madrid, with the words "Franco was assassinated by German spies, German troops are coming, and British troops will temporarily take over Spain." The British raid and Franco's death threw the whole of Spain into chaos, and the opposition, which had been suppressed, celebrated with revelry, while the Nazi and government forces led by the Falangists dismissed it as a rumor and began to organize troops to try to regain control of Madrid. By evening, the number of British troops in Madrid had increased to 5,300, and transport planes had brought in more than 200 artillery and anti-tank guns.

The raid on Madrid coincided with the raid on Madrid, with the Royal Navy stationed in Gibraltar cramming 2,200 army vanguard troops into destroyers and torpedo boats, and landing at the same time on Mallorca and Menorca in the Ballanan Islands later in the day and shelling the airfields. By the afternoon of the next day, with the support of 6,000 troops, the important facilities and airfields on the two islands had been completely controlled. In order to prevent the Luftwaffe stationed in Italy, the British Air Force also dispatched more than 60 Spitfire fighters from the North African battlefield to Mallorca as soon as possible, cutting off the sea route from Italy to Spain.

This series of rapid raids stunned Hitler, who was still waiting for the results of the negotiations, until the Ballianan Islands, which he wanted to belong, were lost, and then he realized that he had made a serious mistake! So he called on the pro-Falangists and government forces in Spain to attack the British army, and asked Guderian to set off immediately, and finally ordered Rommel to turn around and attack Algeria. The German staff was annoyed that he had given the order to bypass him, but it was expedient and could only order the German troops stationed in France to leave immediately. But the German army had not gone far, and at 8 p.m. Charles Potter dispatched more than 600 bombers to launch a fierce air raid on railway junctions and bridges in southern France. Since the Luftwaffe was in Paris, by the time the fighters arrived, the British bombers had already gone with the record of destroying more than 100 hubs. In the following days, the British Air Force set out from the mainland and Mallorca, day and night, regardless of losses. Churchill also used his nephew to provide support as a bait to cause the guerrillas of Catalonia and other guerrillas active in northern Spain to carry out major damage to all roads and railways entering Spain, blowing up more than 40 bridges and railway bridges of various types, and laying mines on the main roads.

The sudden bombing of the British army caught Hitler by surprise and overwhelmed the Vichy French government. Without warning and preparation, at least 1,000 French people were killed and more than 200 railway stations and more than 40 bridges were damaged in several days of high-intensity air raids. There were also hundreds of facilities such as train repair plants and coal filling stations. Even Charles de Gaulle and the Free France were very annoyed to learn of the large number of civilian casualties caused by the bombing. In the end, under Churchill's explanation, he had to pretend to be deaf and dumb for the sake of the final victory.

Of course, the actions of the British army were not all smooth sailing, and the forces loyal to Franco and the Nazi Phalangists continued to attack the British army, and even the Blue Division, which was still being formed, was thrown in, resulting in heavy casualties among the British army. But these did not shake the determination of Churchill and the British government to seize Spain, gritted their teeth and ordered more troops! Surge! More troops! Churchill explained the need to send troops to Spain in Parliament. The phrase "Europe's last line of defense" was even used to emphasize to all the British public and soldiers that it would be defeat or defeat! Hold on to Spain either!

No matter how much the British army suffered losses, Operation Lynx can be called the war to this day. One of the most perfect military operations of the British army on the European continent was also a major personal victory for Churchill! It completely dispelled the doubts and uneasiness of the British people and government in opening up a new battlefield. In just five days, not only successfully entered Spain. He also successfully destroyed the Southern Railroad of France, blocking Guderian's army outside the Pyrenees. Seeing the steady flow of British troops into Spain, their own troops were struggling. Only then did the enraged Hitler tear off his disguise and, under the pretext of "protecting France", ordered the postponement of the plan to attack Greece and ordered more than one million German troops stationed in France to advance southward. As German troops continued to advance into the south, the Vichy government existed in name only, and France once again entered a period of turmoil.

At the moment when the Spanish War was about to break out, the atmosphere in the manor outside Washington, D.C., was still quiet and peaceful.

Roosevelt sat at the window, with a thick cashmere blanket on his knees, his eyes on, listening to Hull and Marshall's debriefings, pen writing and stopping.

At this time, the United States was gradually entering the rhythm of war, factories closed due to the economic crisis and recession were revived, and orders from the military and government made arms tycoons and capitalists smile. In the fifth month after the declaration of war, the strong industrial manufacturing capacity finally showed its strong strength, and the tanks, trucks, ships, planes, guns, ammunition, etc., etc., were continuously rolled off the production line and delivered to millions of young people who had left their jobs and put on military uniforms under the slogans of revenge and the liberation of Europe.

"This is the latest statistic, all the factories are starting to expand in order to meet more orders. So far, it has been able to build 3,200 aircraft, 400 tanks/armored vehicles, 4,000 cannons, 100,000 rifles, and 20 ships per month. We have made a statistical table, and we expect to return to the level before the stock market crash (1929) by the end of this year, and reach a peak in October next year, when we can build at least 50 ships and 8,000 planes per month. ”

"This is the conscription process, and four million people have joined the army, including 750,000 in the navy, and 15,000 pilots with civilian pilots are being trained. The USS Raider was delivered in two weeks, and the USS Long Island escort was delivered in a week. The five Shooter-class escort aircraft carriers that were converted for the British Navy in December last year will be launched one after another in four weeks, and our own 24 Borg-class escort aircraft carriers have also entered the slipway construction, and the first one will be delivered by October at the latest. The patent drawings and six prototypes of the Storm fighter purchased from China have all been sent to the factory, and Ron told me that the drawings and prototypes are fine, and that pre-production can be arranged in four weeks. The thriving industrial boom made the corners of the Secretary's mouth slowly curl. As more warships and escort carriers hit the slipway, the shadow on Wake Island seems to have begun to dissipate. However, Roosevelt knew very well that the loss of more than 10,000 outstanding naval personnel was the most fatal, and it would be difficult for the US Navy to recover to the level it had in front of without a year or two of training.

And in front of him, there is now another battle similar to Wake Island, which he doesn't want to fight but must fight! "You know what?" Roosevelt took off his glasses, rubbed the corners of his sour eyes and said, "What was the reaction when I received a call from Churchill?" I am thinking, I am afraid that there is no more pure politician in the world than him! Even Yang Qiu couldn't do his kind of weight-lifting method. ”

Both Hull and Marshall glanced at the corners of their mouths, and the current situation was almost the same as that of Wake Island. Previously, after Yang Qiu captured Marianas, he put on a posture of attacking the Ryukyu Islands, forcing Japan to fight to the death to ensure that it was not flanked. Now that Hitler's army was crushing the Iberian Peninsula, the Strait of Gibraltar could be cut off at any moment, and Churchill's deliberate early action forced them to follow in the footsteps of the British army and send troops to Spain.

So, will the result be the same?

"I have ordered a second batch of reinforcements to go directly to Gibraltar, and the navy has begun to speed up the delivery, so that we and the British together have twenty-three divisions, totalling about 650,000 troops. As long as it can hold out until the end of August, the first batch of 30 recruit divisions will be ready for Europe. Marshall said.

"To help him is to help ourselves. So George! Gibraltar and Spain must hold! No matter what the cost! ”

"Yes President, I know very well." Marshall nodded.

Roosevelt turned around and was about to continue working, but suddenly raised his head: "Can you tell me what Yang Qiu is doing?" ”

"Colonel Stilwell said that China is accelerating the mobilization of troops and supplies to the southeast coast in preparation for an attack on the Ryukyu Islands and opening the southern gate to Japan." "One more thing, Nimitz told me in the morning that their fleet in the Marshall had captured Kwajalein Atoll and Orr, and had begun its assault on Majuro Atoll the previous night," Marshall said. ”

Roosevelt was silent for a while, but finally picked up the pen and asked lightly: "By the way, who will go to Spain, do you have anyone to choose?" ”

"General MacArthur, he wants to go to Spain." …… (To be continued......)