"The situation in the Mediterranean has reached a very critical moment, and if we cannot come up with a solution within two months, then the Allied Mediterranean Fleet will have to retreat to the Adriatic Sea and hand over to someone else the sea control of the Mediterranean, which has been acquired for nearly two years. The Italian side has repeatedly asked for reinforcements. The army can free up about 50,000 elites, but the navy can't help it. After all, we can't let the battleship fly over Europe and land in Italy. Scheer said, holding the telegram from the Count of Spee.

"We can transfer the naval aviation that is being formed. There are also some stocks of materials that can also be appropriately selected and sent over. "Although Tirpitz knew that doing so would delay the fleet's recovery, the situation in the Mediterranean had reached a critical juncture, and the high seas fleet must also be subordinated to the overall situation." And the torpedo planes and bombers we ordered from Huaxia should also be sent over, the British will not hit our doorstep, and we will not need them for the time being. ”

"I'm afraid that's not enough, isn't there a better way up there?" Scheer pondered for a moment and then thought for a moment and said. These things can only be said to be a drop in the bucket at the moment. As long as the Americans continue to send supplies to the Mediterranean, the gap between the two sides will only widen.

"Naturally, there will be a way to deal with it. Time is not necessarily on the opponent's side. As long as this plan can be successful, not only the entire Mediterranean, but even the entire situation of the war will change radically. Tirpitz said with a smile. Also, I feel like you've been more cautious since the last naval battle. ”

"Oh, I always felt that the fleet that we had worked so hard to run for nearly 20 years should not end up as scrap metal at the bottom of the sea. What do we get in the end by doing so much? Wouldn't it be nice to choose a suitable time to reap the fruits of victory? Scheer said calmly. Although it is not broken. But the intention to negotiate an armistice is already clear.

"It's good, you finally know the meaning of the army, the meaning of the army's existence is not to fight. It's about getting benefits, and when the benefits aren't proportional to the pay, it's time to think about how to end up. But now is obviously not the time, if we can negotiate with the Allies before the United States enters the war, but after the United States enters the war, before they realize that they cannot win. They won't negotiate with us, we've been holding out for 3 years, can't we just keep going? Tirpitz replied.

"If that's the case. I wish the plan to turn the tide of the battlefield will be executed soon. Scheer said helplessly. Even though Cheng Dù has received new aid from China since the war, Sher is still not very optimistic about the prospects of the war. Especially the current situation in the Mediterranean, in the French theater, the Allies are on the offensive. And in the Mediterranean it is on the defensive. The most important thing is how the Mediterranean Fleet of the Allied Powers can withstand this period of time, and this problem cannot be solved.

Didn't Wilhelm II see this? Apparently he knew that, too. And his plan was indeed formulated in response to the situation in the Mediterranean, but this plan was not to mobilize the existing military forces of the Central Powers, but to try to use the strength of others to accomplish it. Could it be that there are fleets of other countries in the world that can challenge the American fleet? The answer is that, as far as the current situation is concerned, there is no other fleet that can be put into battle that can be compared with the American fleet, and the former has decided to be neutral. Since you can't take advantage of the frontal battlefield, you can only look elsewhere. And this place is called Spain!

It turned out that Wilhelm II's solution was to find a way to draw Spain to the side of the Central Powers. In the event that Spain suddenly entered the war, the fortress of Gibraltar, the most critical fortress in the entire Mediterranean, would be under attack by the Spanish Army. If this fortress can be captured, then the entire American fleet will be completely blocked in the Mediterranean! All foreign aid channels by sea will be cut off! Although the U.S. fleet can theoretically still continue to fight with its back to the military ports in southern France, whether the Americans will be willing to keep all their elite in the same place and say that even if the Americans decide to continue fighting in the Mediterranean, the British will not agree, after all, the British still plan to use the strength of the U.S. fleet to consolidate the defense line in the North Sea! After the end of this naval battle, the British Admiralty was still very jealous of the German Navy. In order to ensure the foolproof nature of the homeland, the British still had to do everything possible to pull the American fleet to the North Sea!

And if Spain launched another attack from the Spanish Sahara, the Entente African Korps would be in an extremely disadvantageous position. North Africa's problems will be solved. And if Spain attacks the southwest of France from the north, it will definitely make France, which is close to exhaustion, even more overstretched, although the combat effectiveness of the Spanish army is not very well understood, but the power of the whole country can at least contain the energy of France! Since Spain was very important to the status of the Central Powers, it was now only one question left, namely, whether Spain would join the Entente. Or in other words, why should people help you!

This plane is very different from history, at least for Spain, life is not bad now, thanks to the time-travelers, Cuba and the Philippines are still under Spanish control, and the Spanish government and merchants can also reduce wool from the colonies. But at present, it seems that the good days are coming to an end, for the simple reason that the United States is a member of the Entente bloc, and as long as the Entente wins the war, then the Americans will not hesitate to bring Cuba under their control. Will there be any other choice for Spain?

Another factor has to do with Huaxia, although Huaxia only makes money doing business in the Philippines as a dumping ground for raw materials and commodities. But Spain was still very afraid of this behemoth. So he always wanted to pull a backer to help him hold the colony. Needless to say, the Entente is the only one left that can make the superpower of China jealous, and Germany does have the idea of returning to the Far East. Although the colony that was sold will definitely not be recovered. But if you can use the place of Spain to show your savings, it is also a good choice. And Spain does have the meaning of a fox and a fake tiger! Therefore, the two sides still have a basis for cooperation on this point. Of course, if China is really hostile to Spain, whether Germany will make a move, the answer is almost certainly not to move, but it is better than nothing!

For these two reasons, Spain and Germany actually have a basis for cooperation. After careful study and bargaining with the Central Powers, Germany finally pulled Spain into the Central Powers on the condition that it would secure its colonies in the Americas and Asia, and that it would be willing to help Spain gain territory in French North Africa.

Judging by the current shape of the war, the Allies had a huge advantage on the Western Front. IN THE END, THE BATTLE LINE WAS MAINTAINED ONLY 80 KM FROM PARIS. The feeling for Spain is that it can be defeated with more effort. And although Spain is not a great power, it still has some family background, and it is not a problem for the army to mobilize 800,000, although the equipment is poor, but at least the absolute number is quite a lot. As for the naval side? The Spaniards also had 3 Spanish-class battleships! Similar to the British and German battleships of the same name in history, because of Xu Jie, the Spanish-class battleships are also much stronger than in history. So much so that in this plane, this class of battleships still has a certain combat effectiveness!

Since Cuba and the Philippines were still in Spanish hands, it was necessary to maintain a decent fleet. From the economic point of view, Spain, which was still in the colony at this time, was indeed much stronger than the Netherlands, which lost its colony and was bleeding a lot, so the Spanish Admiralty set a technical standard for the new battleship to be at least not lower than the Dutch's new Amsterdam-class fast battleships, and at the same time, the Spaniards also realized the finality of the speed for this relatively weak fleet, so in the end, the three Spanish-class battleships on this plane were transformed into super dreadnought fast battleships.

With the idea of revitalizing the country's shipbuilding industry, creating employment, and not flowing into the fields of outsiders. The Spanish-class battleships were eventually built at a shipyard in China, but the design drawings and some of the subsystems came from abroad. This type of battleship was modeled after the German Moltke-class fast battleships. Originally, the commander of the Spanish Navy, Cervera, wanted to use the overseas consular battleships of China as a model. However, because the cost was too high, and the speed was not up to the standard required by the Spaniards to absolutely throw off a threatening battleship, it was finally abandoned. The Spaniards positioned this class of battleships as guerrilla warfare, capable of fighting and running, rather than fighting to the death. The requirements for speed are a bit higher.

(In fact, the cost of armor is very high, the average hardened armor is worth about 110 pounds, if you take the German battleship as an example, it accounts for at least about forty percent of the cost, and on the contrary, the cost of the power system is not particularly high, the reason why the cost of BC is high, is because the power system takes up a lot of space and elongates the hull, and the elongated power compartment requires additional armor protection, although the thickness does not go up, but the total weight of the armor is still very high.) For example, the armor weight of the historical battle cruiser Ryutsov was more than 9,000 tons. ）

On the principle of absolutely not getting along with money, the German Volken shipyard agreed to provide technical support to the Spaniards, and the construction of three battleships of this class was carried out in 1910 and 1911. It was expected to enter service in 1914, but due to the outbreak of the world war, the Germans themselves were overwhelmed, so naturally they could not provide turret artillery to the Spaniards as planned. As a result, the Spaniards ordered weapons systems from China, and although there were several setbacks and delays, the three battleships were finally completed in 1916. And now this class of battleship is as chilling as a sharp blade that has just been opened!

Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976 and hukaikaka for the tip~~~. As well as the little pig running away from the book friend, the eternal eucalyptus, my favorite Zhao Yun, and the monthly pass support of Kuaifeng ~~~~. (To be continued......)