If you look at the map of Spain, you can see that the Baleari Islands in the Mediterranean Sea have an unusual role. The archipelago not only guards the eastern gateway to the Strait of Gibraltar, but also controls mainland Spain's shipping routes to the Near East and the Black Sea. Especially the latter, for the Second Republic, the assistance delivered by the USSR from the Black Sea direction played a crucial role for them.

Unfortunately, from the outbreak of the Civil War, both the Baleari Islands and Spanish Morocco were part of the territory of the Franco rebels, which meant that the Second Republic's overseas situation was quite bad.

Since April, the Italian side has been sending all kinds of supplies to the port of Palma in the Baleari Islands, and if it were not for the strong Red Navy and the Second Republic's control of the vast majority of Spain's maritime power, these large quantities of arms and supplies would have arrived directly in Cádiz instead of Palma.

In order to hit the lifeline of the Nationalist Army, and also to allow Soviet aid to enter Spain more freely. In May, the local government of Catalonia made an ambitious plan to prepare for a direct landing in the Baleari Islands!

To be honest, you have to admire the courage of the Spaniards, the Catalan government did not inform the central government in Madrid of the plan to land on the Baleari Islands. And the whole plan is so sloppy and chaotic that it can be said to be unprecedented!

Let's put it this way, the entire landing plan took only one week, and a series of specific issues such as cover, unloading, landing, and grouping, which were crucial for amphibious landing operations, were all ignored. The Catalans probably thought that as soon as their warships arrived in Bareari, the next thing would be an armed march.

If the plan is sloppy and sloppy, forget it, and what is even more terrifying is that the secrecy of this plan is also a mess! At the initial stage of preparation. Several radio stations could not wait to clamor and say: "The army of the Republic will immediately launch an amphibious landing operation to recover the Baleari Islands!" ”

However, this qiē did not stop the Spaniards from carrying out their operations at all. Despite the strong opposition of the Tukhachev base, which had just learned of this plan. The battleship Jaime I and the cruiser Liberty and two other destroyers approached Formentera and Ibiza with four transports, and the ensuing scene was very joyous - when the battleships, cruisers and destroyers rained down on the "rebel targets", the landing force sent back a shocking telegram: "No main rebel force was found in the area, only about 50 Phalangist militiamen, stop the shelling immediately!" Your shelling is driving our lads crazy! ”

Similarly, the landing in Mallorca was a complete farce, and the landed Republican militia went ashore without any resistance, but when it was time to advance inland. Commander of the landing force, Albert A. Bayeux was inexplicably worried about an ambush that did not exist at all, and was stuck on the outskirts of Santa Culna and Porto Cristo. Not only did the commander's brain get into the water, but the soldier's appearance was also quite bad, and the anarchists who were full of the republican army immediately suffered from the problem of free distraction after the landing, and flatly refused to continue the fight, and began to rest on the spot.

And the opponent of the Republican Army, led by Garcia. The Nationalist Army commanded by Ruiz seemed to be much more capable, and when they heard that the Republican Army had landed on the island, they immediately organized a force that could be organized to fight back. After a battle that was not fierce at all, the Republican army slipped away with astonishing speed. A large number of guns were lost, and 12 artillery pieces and two armored vehicles were given to the National Army for nothing.

About this ridiculous landing battle. Kuznetsov, who was watching the battle aboard the Red Pskov, recalled: "It was not a military operation, but a complete farce...... It turned out that the Spaniards were not at all suitable for war, and bragging on sunny sands was more suitable for them...... If I were given a battalion of soldiers, even if it was a new recruit, I would have been able to accomplish this task, but the higher authorities did not give me this opportunity. So I could only watch the Spaniards play a farce from afar with a telescope......"

This is all quite polite, but privately Kuznetsov's assessment of the Republican Army is even more unimpressive, as he described it in a telegram to Li Xiaofeng: "The Popular Front is full of monsters, all kinds of strange arguments are endless, if I may say, this is not a revolution, but an anarchist carnival......"

Of course, Li Xiaofeng knows what kind of virtue the People's Front is, but who made this pig teammate unable to help? He could only order Kuznetsov to help the IRA as much as possible within the scope of the CMC's permission, such as helping the IRA train sailors and officers, and giving it strong intelligence support.

But truth be told, the IRA seemed unimpressed, and even somewhat resistant, to such help. They always think that they are doing a good job, and they also think that the shape is very good for them. Then an even more absurd scene appeared, after the failure of the landing operation in the Baleari Islands, the Admiralty of the Second Republic seemed to be relieved, and immediately forgot about the Baleari Islands, and transferred the main forces of the Navy to the direction of the Bay of Biscay, saying that it was preparing to cooperate with the militia and the international column to recapture Gijón!

This decision left Kuznetsov stunned, because it was obvious! The most important reason why Franco's rebels could not get close to the Spanish mainland was that the main force of the Republican Navy was in this direction, which made them throw a mouse. Once the Navy of the Republic is gone, who in the Mediterranean can stop Franco's return? Is it to let the Red Navy play in person?

Kuznetsov immediately expressed his strongest objections, but what is laughable is that Prieto, the Minister of the Navy of the Second Republic, was completely unimpressed and did not take the opinion of the Soviet side seriously at all. In his words, after Gijón and Ferrol had eliminated the rebels, the army could move south, and Franco returned just in time to wipe them out, saving the Republicans from crossing the sea.

This Nima. It's just a wonder of wonders. Kuznetsov wrote in his diary: "I have a strong premonition that the recapture of Ferrol and Gijón by the Republicans will not be easy, and that Franco in the south will take advantage of the situation when they are all on their way to the north, and the time will come for the north and the south to flank." I'm afraid things will not be good for the Second Republic......"

It should be said. Kuznetsov was right in his hunch. The only difference is that Kuznetsov overestimated the combat effectiveness of the Spanish army, the republican army was a rabble, and the national army was not much stronger. The whole Spanish Civil War was a bunch of rotten boys fighting each other, strictly speaking, just to see who was worse.

Of course, Kuznetsov dutifully informed the military commissar of his concerns, and at the same time, Tukhachevsky, who had just arrived in Spain, expressed the same concerns. Even in his words: "The Republican Army is full of guerrilla habits, and it is simply embarrassing." It is foreseeable that in the future the only thing that can defend the gains of the Spanish Revolution is the international column! ”

Although Stalin did not like Tukhachevsky, that did not mean that Steel did not approve of Tukhachevsky's ability, and in the face of Tukhachevsky's warning, he said: "We should send another international column to Spain as much as possible, preferably directly in the direction of Malaga." As soon as Kuznetsov and Tukhachevsky feared, there would be an international column in the north and south, so that the situation would not immediately deteriorate! ”

Voroshilov also asked: "Can we take over the duties of the Navy of the Second Republic by a more direct way?" ”

Frunze immediately shook his head: "This is impossible. As required by the Politburo, our troops could not directly intervene in the Spanish Civil War. It's about the international picture! ”

Voroshilov ignored Frunze, but looked at Stalin with blank eyes, until the latter spat out a cigarette, shook his head and said: "Comrade Frunze's opinion is more correct, we must pay attention to the overall international situation, the Navy still only performs patrol tasks, and does not directly intervene in the battle!" ”

The Red Navy could not participate in the war, and the Strait of Gibraltar was tantamount to being undefended, and there was no doubt that this was quite dangerous and unacceptable to Li Xiaofeng.

He immediately said: "The navy cannot directly participate in the war, but that does not mean that we cannot block the Strait of Gibraltar. Our Air Force can go to war in the name of an international column at all! ”

After a moment's pause, he continued: "Didn't the first batch of B17 and BT-1 dive bombers (the predecessor of the SBD) that we ordered from the United States already arrive? Send them to Malaga! The Red Navy was responsible for monitoring and indicating targets, while the attack was left to the Air Force! ”

This is a way, the Red Navy can directly attack the Nationalist Army, but it can completely act as the eyes and ears of the Air Force, once they find the target, they will immediately track and monitor, and immediately guide the Air Force to attack, although the effect is not as good as the Navy's direct action, but it is better than nothing!

Soon Li Xiaofeng's construction was cleared, and 12 B17 bombers and 18 BT-1 dive bombers, which had just arrived in the Soviet Union from the United States, were immediately urgently packed and sent to Spain.

At the same time, the self-confident Republican Army began to prepare to fight north. However, the operation did not go well from the beginning, and the Ju52 of the Vulture Legion suddenly attacked Cartagena before the operation began, damaging the battleship Jaime I in the harbor. It stands to reason that the main battleship was injured and should be repaired before going into battle. However, at the strong insistence of the anarchists on board, the Jaime I could only go into battle with wounds.

As soon as the order to go out was read, the whole fleet was immersed in an atmosphere of revolutionary romanticism, and all the sailors believed that the operation would be a great success. Especially when Mendes. This sentiment reached its peak when the cruiser Nunez sailed into port!

Why? Because when Mendes. The cruiser USS Núñez had been on duty in Spanish Guinea, and after the rebellion, the officers and men of the ship could sit back and watch the success or failure, but the officers and men on board still chose to return to China to join the side of the Republic. On the way home, the ship overcame many unimaginable difficulties, so when Mendes. When the cruiser Nunez entered port, the entire fleet was shouting: "Long live the Republic!" ”

Mendes. The addition of the cruiser Nunez undoubtedly boosted the morale of the fleet of the Republic, and that evening, after assembling off the coast of Malaga, the fleet began to cross the Strait of Gibraltar. Interestingly, though, Spain was not alone, in the rear of the fleet a German cruiser was watching them, and not far from the German cruiser, the Red Donetsk of the Red Navy was also close behind. Under this double surveillance, the fleet of the Republic cautiously crossed the Strait of Gibraltar (there were batteries in the port of Ceuta that monitored the strait) and marched north.

So why didn't the Nationalist army in the port of Ceuta react? The reason is obvious, Franco wanted the fleet of the Republic to leave the Mediterranean Sea and leave the Strait of Gibraltar. This allowed him to cross the sea in the open.

On the third day of the departure of the fleet of the Republic from the Mediterranean. Franco, who couldn't bear it, immediately gave the order to cross the sea. At this time. The fleet of the Republic had already arrived in Ferrol, and after a heavy bombardment of the port, it was headed for Gijón, and it could be said that it was impossible to interfere with Franco at all. The only thing that could contain Franco was the Air Force of the International Column, stationed in Malaga.

At this time, the International Column Air Force had 24 I-153 and 18 I-16-18 in Malaga, in addition to 12 SB-2, 10 B17 and 12 BT-1 (the remaining two B17 and 6 BT-1 were tested in the country).

On the whole, the air power of the international column is still relatively objective. The only thing that bothered the international column air force was the lack of skilled pilots for the new arrivals B17 and BT-1. The pilots who flew these two planes had only received a dozen hours of training in China, and most of them could only ensure smooth take-off and landing, and it was really reluctant to go directly into combat.

Other words. The only thing that the international column can show is the familiar SB-2. However, as we all know, the SB-2 is a horizontal bomber, and it is really reluctant to attack sea targets, and the number of SB-2s is too small, and it is really whimsical to want to complete the task of naval blockade with only 12 planes.

Therefore, at that time, the international column on the one hand stepped up to familiarize itself with the performance of the B17 and BT-1, hoping to form combat effectiveness as soon as possible, and on the other hand, it also opened up and drove the SB-2 to give the national army a head-on blow!

On 12 June, under the cover of the gunboat Datto and the armed fishing boat Kett River Plate. Three troop carriers, Ciudad Ceutta, Ciudad Algeciras and Arango, followed. At the very end of the fleet was a tugboat, the Benoit, which was actually a full-fledged ship. Because the cargo quickly turned around and returned to the sea under the pretext of bad sea conditions.

Because of the large waves, the whole formation was torn apart after leaving the port due to the different speeds, and the Dato, which was less than 15 knots, fell behind first, and the Ket River Plate spewed a large puff of smoke to try to maintain its position in the formation, but the two troop transports rushed to the front of the group.

It should be said that the organization of this sea-crossing operation was quite bad, and for the officers and men of the 1st Battalion of the Spanish Foreign Legion and the 3rd Melilla Semi-Battalion of the Nationalist Army, which were carried by the fleet, it was tantamount to risking their lives of more than 1,700 people. And the subsequent encounters proved it!

The Nationalist army's crossing of the sea was soon discovered by the cruiser Red Pskov, which was near the Strait of Gibraltar, and immediately informed the destroyers of the Republic cruising nearby. The Rebanto immediately sped to the scene, and at the same time the Galliano received the news.

The first to arrive at the scene, the Lebanto, immediately spotted the Ciudad Ceuta and began shelling it at a distance of 10,000 meters. However, because of the distance, he never got a hit. And at this moment, the sea-crossing formation, startled by the sudden appearance of the Rebanto, immediately asked Franco for help, who immediately made a phone call to the Vulture Legion.

Soon four Ju52s quickly took off and arrived at the scene, and the four bombers entered the attack route and dropped bombs in succession. The Lebanto was unable to dodge and was immediately hit by a 100-kilogram bomb.

It stands to reason that the power of a hundred kilograms of bombs is really not good, and in fact Rebanto was only slightly injured, but the ship's appearance is really bad. After being shot, the Rebanto's sailors' committee was frightened and fled without saying a word, rushing headlong into the port of Gibraltar and asking for asylum from the British.

If you think about it, the British can give the warships of the Second Republic a good face, and let the Rebanto get out of the way without saying a word, otherwise the shells will be served. In desperation, the Rebanto hurried in the direction of Malaga, ignoring the telegrams sent to him again and again by the Red Pskov: "The enemy planes have retreated, and the fighters of the international column will immediately rush to the scene to continue the battle, and the enemy transport ships must be intercepted!" ”

It has to be said that the Sailors Council, the actual controller of the Navy of the Republic, is really a bunch of garbage, usually blowing and whining, as if the revolutionary fervor was stronger than the flames, but once they encountered a setback or an unsatisfactory situation, these grandsons were intimidated in minutes. It can be said that it is not reliable at all!

Of course, the Navy of the Republic is not all like Rebanto, and the Galliano, which arrived later, held out a little longer, but their appearance, to be honest, was also quite speechless.

The Galliano took advantage of its high speed (36 knots) to quickly approach the National Army formation, and at one point they locked onto the gunboat Dato, preparing to take out the enemy's escort ships first. When the distance between the Galliano and the Dato was reduced to about 5,000 meters, the two sides began to fire each other.

Uh, barely say it's a counter-shooting. Because the Galliano is really speechless, in the face of an old-fashioned slow-moving gunboat, the Galliano with its guns fired can't hit (because the Galliano had just thrown the ship's gunners in prison the day before). Facts have proved that the Navy, a technical service, cannot exert its combat effectiveness without a competent commander, and the Galliano was suppressed by the Dato!

Then, even more stunned, when three Savoia S.81 bombers of the Nationalist Army arrived on the scene and casually dropped a few bombs at the Galliano (none of which hit), the Galliano began to feel a lot of pressure. Especially when they found out that the National Army T-19 torpedo boats, which were not carrying torpedoes, also arrived at the scene. In an instant, the Galliano was like a deflated ball, running away at full speed with its tail between its legs...... (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you to Wen Chuan, Kill Potato, hzwangdd and Comrade Juventus!