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On April 2, 1941, at two o'clock in the afternoon Berlin time, the strongest wind in Europa rose over the Iberian Peninsula. Hitler even canceled the scheduled Yugoslav military conference and hurried back to Berlin from the Eagle's Nest on the top of the Obersalzburg hill.

Returning to Berlin at about the same time were Ribbentrop, whose face was blackened by the bombing, and Sunel, who had a broken arm. "What the hell is going on? Who did it? As soon as they met, Hitler pulled Ribbentrop aside and asked him in detail. When he heard that all three gliders were made in France and that tokens of the Catalan partisans had been found on the bodies of the pilots, Hitler was furious: "I knew, I knew!" It must be those GC molecules! They should all be killed! Throw the Bolsheviks in the trash! ”

Hitler was very annoyed, and suddenly remembered Yang Qiu's proposal to flank the Soviet Union first. Of course, this thought only flashed through the air. Ribbentrop watched him shout and curse, but never mentioned what Spain would do, and was very anxious. The GC elements are hateful, but now is not the time to storm the USSR. So bring the topic back to reality: "Führer, I believe that the news of Franco's death will soon spread in Spain, and those GC elements will also be revived. If Spain were to relapse into civil strife, Britain and the United States would most likely prop up their proxies. ”

Hitler was still furious! Truth be told, it's really a pivotal moment. Seeing that the army is about to conquer Yugoslavia and Greece, and after establishing the control of the Balkans, it can force Turkey to turn to itself, as long as the army can cross the strait into the Middle East, it can cooperate with North Africa to sweep the Suez Canal, and even destroy the Chinese Persian army entrenched in the Middle East. But at this juncture, there is a problem in Spain, isn't this a hindrance?! Because if Spain is attacked first, it is necessary to temporarily stop the offensive to the east and let Turkey continue to swing. What's more, the Soviet army stuck in the Persian Gulf and the Caucasus has always been two thorns in his heart, the former may be able to swing his army westward into Turkey at any time, and the latter is not a good man, will he covet the Suez Canal?

"What to do, do you want to help Spain? Mr. Ribbentrop? ”

"Ask me? I'm not a staff officer. Ribbentrop muttered to himself, staring at Hitler, as if he had known him for the first time. To tell the truth, since the defeat of France, His Excellency the Führer seems to have lost his opinions, or he has too many opinions, and he thinks about unrealistic things all day long, which is really unbearable. However, Spain was too important, and if Britain and the United States were allowed to enter first, it would be equivalent to breaking the German army's strategy of trying to keep Britain and the United States out of the European continent in one fell swoop, so he hurriedly hinted: "Führer, Your Excellency Sunel has been sent to the hospital, and the doctor said that it will take at least twelve weeks to be discharged." There is now a lack of prestige in Spain, and the dissidents are huddled in Mexico City awaiting restoration, believing that our opponents will consider bringing them back. ”

Ribbentrop cleverly said that Sunel was injured and hospitalized and that the others lacked prestige, and then he referred to the Second Spanish Republic in exile in Mexico, suggesting that Hitler should have intervened on his own initiative.

However, Hitler seemed hesitant, and his fingers tapped lightly on the table. It was at this time that Halder and Goering and other officers rushed to hear the news, interrupting the dreary atmosphere. "Führer, you should enter Spain at once!" Guderian was the most impulsive, and the first thing he said when he saw Hitler was to demand that he immediately wave his army into Spain. Halder and Brauchitsch also nodded their heads repeatedly, although the Wehrmacht was helpless with Hitler's policy of continuous expansion, but it was too late to say anything, and as the leaders of the army, they had to carefully consider the consequences of losing Spain. From their point of view, the main task now is not to immediately defeat Britain and the United States, after all, the United States is too far away to threaten at all, but to keep the enemy out of the European continent. Attacks on North Africa, Yugoslavia and Greece were all for strategic purposes. But now, there is a huge loophole in this plan that was not expected, the Iberian Peninsula!

The Iberian Peninsula is connected to the European continent, and even Napoleon suffered a great loss in the endless mountains, so if it cannot be controlled as soon as possible, once Britain and the United States see the opportunity to enter the peninsula and establish an outpost to attack the European continent, the strategic goal of rejecting the enemy outside the continent will fail! So Guderian is really anxious, war is not child's play, even if the decision is made now, to seize the railway network in the south of France, army mobilization, material transportation, etc., it will not be a small half a month for the main German army not to think about crossing the Pyrenees. Therefore, his proposal was immediately supported by everyone, and even Goering, who had always been at odds with the army, said that the air force could first send in airborne troops and learn from the experience of the Netherlands.

The only one who didn't speak was Reddell.

There was no way, he was sad again, because two Scharnhorst-class battlecruisers were damaged by the bombing of the British Air Force a few days ago, and they are currently unable to fight. He now hoped that Hakan would come back as soon as possible, bring back the key technologies and sectional construction methods mentioned in the telegram, and raise a small German fleet in the Mediterranean as soon as possible, and for this reason he even abandoned the "Rhine Exercise" that had planned to send the Bismarck and Zeppelin to France to join the Scharnhorst.

Hitler, of course, knew the importance of Spain, and if Spain was lost, the Allies would be able to look down on the entire French plain from the Pyrenees. But there was one thing that made him in a dilemma, and he raised his head with a look of great difficulty on his face: "But how do we get through the south of France?" ”

How, how, how to pass through the south of France and the officers such as Brauchitsch and Guderian were dumbfounded, and one by two squinted.

Isn't that a joke? For the German army, the current Vichy France was a blank sheet of paper, which could be broken with a casual stab. But in Hitler's mind, it was a big deal! Because he claimed to be the conqueror of France, after defeating France, he pursued a pro-people policy, and promised Vichy France that the German army would not enter the south of France. Although you are going to Spain now, you always have to use the French rail network, and you always have to build a base. Nearly a million troops crossed the border, isn't this a slap in the face?

When Mr. Corporal got into the horns, the old gentleman, who had suffered enough in Norway because of his slow movements, could not wait. As a good politician, you must first have the ability to quickly understand the pros and cons in emergencies. The civil strife in Spain was certainly contrary to British policy, but on the other hand, it also provided Britain and the United States with an opportunity to establish an outpost on the European continent without a landing war. Besides, it's better to blow up Spain than to blow up Britain, right? Churchill naturally understood the importance of dispelling the troubles, and faced Marshal Alexander and other officers, pointing to the Iberian Peninsula and holding a coarse cigar with the symbol xìng: "Tell me, how long will it take, and how many troops can be put in?" ”

"Three hundred thousand, including four armored brigades and ten infantry divisions, 200 Soviet T34/76 tanks delivered by China are already on the way and can be delivered to Spain. That's the most we can do before the end of August. Marshal Alexander was also very crisp and immediately said what troops he could draw. After more than a year of setbacks, the British army was no longer the unit with only a few guns. Up to now, relying on the backing of the British Commonwealth countries and the huge colonization, the total strength of the British army has exceeded 5 million (including 800,000 naval personnel), because there is no longer a need to take care of Asia and East Africa except India, so the European part of the force is more concentrated. Although most of them are second-line troops such as air defense and patrol, there are still 1.8 million troops capable of fighting. Of these, 600,000 are in the Middle East, Egypt and North Africa, 300,000 in India, and the rest are all in the UK itself.

"The French and Polish forces should still be able to provide 100,000, and the second batch of American reinforcements is on the way, and the first troops will not arrive until two weeks at the earliest. And our ships suffered significant losses and needed adequate logistical support. Admiral Pound also reminded Churchill of logistics and ship problems.

Politically also settled, Javier. Morality. Bourbon (Prince of Parma) is in exile in England, but there are really not enough troops! 400,000, at most, can only be used for the first batch of investment. You must know that although the German army was partially reduced after the French campaign, the total number was still about four million, of which two-thirds could be immediately put into battle. One million of them were in the Balkans, two million in France and other occupation zones, and the rest in Germany and on the Soviet-German border.

So this little bit of force is far from enough! Churchill always had a lot of strategic ideas, but the basic force was clear. The pro-German forces in Spain were strong, and once the British army entered, they would inevitably be blocked, and the poor terrain was a serious test for both the defenders and the attackers. It is impossible for a superior navy to run ashore, and the effectiveness of air force bombers in mountainous areas will be much reduced, so if there is no continuous two or three million troops thrown into it, it will not be consumed at all. Britain's own mobilization is saturated for the time being, and it is impossible to invest more until the arrival of new troops from Commonwealth countries such as Australia and Canada at the end of August, after all, the threat on home has not yet been lifted.

China is not to count on, the matter of Taranto has already made Yang Qiu very angry, not to mention that they are preparing for a decisive battle with Rìmoto. Once the decisive battle begins, the Soviet army will definitely fight back in Central Asia and Iran with all its might, and it is difficult to say whether it can hold it.

So the only thing that can be counted on is the United States.

But the first units of the American army have already left for North Africa, and by the time the second batch of reinforcements arrives two weeks later, it is estimated that the Germans will have reached Gibraltar.

"I will ask the king to have a good talk with the Prince of Bourbon, and I will also let Romeli go back to Spain." In just a few minutes, Churchill made a decision that pleased everyone. Everyone knows that Romeli was his nephew and participated in the Spanish Civil War. Sending him back to Spain meant that he was determined to take advantage of the opposition to Franco in Spain and draw them to the side of the Prince of Bourbon. Of course, this will also bring trouble with the international penetration of GC, but with the precedent of Yugoslav Tito, coupled with the fact that the Soviet Union and Germany are working together, many people should have seen the reality clearly.

"We have suffered in Norway and we can no longer make the mistake of falling behind! Go, go now. Put the soldiers on the boat, get ahead of Germany, and go to Spain! After Churchill finished speaking, he held a cigar between his fingers, and his loud voice could be heard throughout the Prime Minister's Office: "We must not live up to the opportunity God has given us to counterattack on the mainland, there will always be troops, and there will definitely be supplies!" Now all you have to do is go now! Take a boat, take a plane, whatever it is, and land from Gibraltar in no time! Landing from the Ballianan Islands! Landing from White Sè Beach! Landing from the Bay of Biscay! ”

"Take Spain!" …… (To be continued.) )