The Komsomol freighter is a new type of 10,000-ton bulk carrier built by the Soviet Union after breaking through the imperialist blockade in the late twenties. Previously, she had been on a trade mission in the Baltic Sea, and only after receiving a temporary assignment did she join the task force led by Kuznetsov. After a few days at sea, the task force arrived in the waters of the Bay of Biscay, with the British and French ships still hanging behind them like ghosts.

Captain of the Komsomol Ivan. Repin put down his binoculars and said to the first mate beside him: "Damn the British and French, when do you think we will get rid of them?" ”

The first mate smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid it's unlikely, after all, this is the high seas, unless we disband the formation, these miscellaneous things will always follow us." ”

Disbandment of formations? Liepin shook his head, this possibility is not too big, the top has sent a fleet violently, how can it be possible to break up without a fart? No matter how you look at the center, you are in the next big game of chess.

Repin was very concerned about this, because if the Central Committee was really playing chess, then he and the Komsomol members were undoubtedly pawns on the chessboard. In case the Central Committee makes a stinky move, then as the weakest storage in the special task force, the Communist Youth League member will definitely not be pleased.

The only thing that can reassure the column now is that the task force is still very strong, and those two battlecruisers alone can kill the Spanish Navy in an instant. With a strong fleet escort, he really doesn't have to worry too much.

However, what Repin did not expect was that a secret battle against the Russian task force was going on in secret, whether he wanted it or not. The Komsomol members are the most pitiful pieces on the chessboard. Not long after the task force arrived in the waters near the Bay of Biscay. Kuznetsov received an order directly from the Military Commissariat. Let the Kursk freighter in the formation go to the port of Santander to unload!

This order was so sudden, and it was pointed out that no warships should be sent to escort the escort, no matter how you look at it, there is a smell of conspiracy. Kuznetsov did not like the order, because he knew very well what cargo the Kursk was carrying - 16 I-15 fighters, 150 DP27 light machine guns, 9,000 Mosinagan rifles and 1 million rounds of ammunition, 6 107mm Schneider cannons, and 40,000 shells.

Let's put it this way, these arms loaded on board the Kursk. Enough to arm a fully armed infantry division!

The situation in Spain is so bad, and the amount of this batch of arms is so large, but the Military Commission still ordered not to escort the convoy, no matter how you look at it, it is death!

At one time, Kuznetsov was quite resistant to this order, and was even ready to disobey the order to let the two light cruisers in the formation, the Red Donetsk and the Red Pskov (formerly the Cologne and Dresden), go to escort the convoy. But then the Military Commission sternly warned him, ordering him to carry out the order without any discount, otherwise he would be punished for the crime of counter-revolution.

Under intense pressure from above, Kuznetsov could only give in, but he wrote in his diary: "This is madness, and the order of the military commissar is to let the Kursk go on an adventure." Is the life of a Russian sailor so insignificant? ”

It should be said that Kuznetsov misunderstood, and the Military Commissar did not mean to risk the lives of Russian sailors. Because according to the KGB's intelligence, the fleet of the National Army has all gone south, all operating near the Strait of Gibraltar, seemingly preparing to break through the naval blockade of the Second Republic. There was no activity of national ships in the vicinity of the Bay of Biscay. That is, the operation in Kursk is safe.

The CMC's decision proved to be correct, and the Kursk, laden with munitions, sailed safely into the port of Santander, delivering valuable weapons and ammunition to the local militia pro-Second Republic, a move of great significance for the defense of Santander. Militias, quickly armed, repelled the National Army offensive over the next month, ensuring the security of Santander and Bilbao.

For this in just from Diego. Bally beats José who took over as prime minister. Kilar spoke highly of it and strongly demanded that the Soviet government provide another batch of valuable munitions.

Trotsky hesitated when he received the request from the Kiral government, because the previous one had been a sideshow, and had created a fait accompli before Britain, France, and the international community could react.

Now, however, the situation is no longer the same, and the imperialists, led by Britain and France, have spoken out, demanding that all members of the League of Nations refrain from sending arms to any side in the Spanish Civil War, and even specifically named the Soviet Union through diplomatic channels, demanding that the Soviet Union remain strictly neutral and not interfere in Spain's internal affairs.

"It is ridiculous that, according to the information I have received, at the same time that Britain and France are demanding that the European countries remain neutral and not interfere in the internal affairs of Spain, German and Italian freighters are sailing for Cadiz with munitions, ready to arm the rebels on all fronts. This kind of biased neutrality is simply ill-intentioned, and this further proves the essence of the League of Nations as an institution, which we should resolutely resist, and it is better to withdraw from the League of Nations immediately, as soon as possible! ”

Trotsky's face was ugly, because he could also see the essence of the so-called neutrality of Britain and France, but was it too much of a fuss to withdraw from the League of Nations for this reason?

"Well, then, first issue a statement through diplomatic channels telling the world that we are willing to observe neutrality and that we are not prepared to interfere in the internal affairs of Spain, but this must be all-encompassing, and it must be ensured that no country imports arms into Spain, especially Germany and Italy. If Germany and Italy do not observe neutrality, then we will not have to abide by this obligation! ”

Does this statement have any effect? Certainly not, Stalin said something similar in history, and the result was that Germany and Italy were not the same thing, and they should do what they should do. On the contrary, the Soviet Union was forced by political pressure to secretly transport arms, which is really disgusting!

And now it is almost the same, Germany and Italy are really not the same thing, and Britain and France chose to remain silent about the actions of Germany and Italy, anyway, staring at the Soviet Union and constantly exerting diplomatic pressure. Under these circumstances, even Trotsky's desire to continue his diplomatic efforts could not restrain the anger of Stalin and Sverdlov. Even this time Dzerzhinsky was on the side of Stalin and Jr. An "ultimatum" was given to Trotsky:

"If you can't do the work of connecting English and France in the near future. Ensuring the interests of the Spanish people. Then there is no point in remaining in the League of Nations. The Soviet Union did not have to and could not remain in such an imperialist institution and let imperialism play its tricks. ”

At the same time as this conclusion, the Politburo made a decision to continue the delivery of arms to the Second Republic. Soon Kuznetsov's task force again received an order from the Military Commissary: "The Komsomol immediately went to Santander to unload." ”

Moreover, this order also re-emphasized: "Before entering the territorial waters of Spain, a certain amount of escort may be carried out, but the warships of the Red Navy shall not enter the territorial waters of Spain for a single step, and it is better not to approach within 100 kilometers of the line of Spanish territorial waters, and especially not to engage in any kind of conflict with the rebels!" ”

Needless to say, the latter half of this order was added by Trotsky, who was genuinely not prepared to intervene directly in the Spanish Civil War, and was very worried that Stalin and Junior would suggest that Kuznetsov was deliberately looking for fault and stirring up trouble. So I just made a hard and fast rule.

In the face of this regulation, Kuznetsov could not do anything, he could only let the Red Donetsk escort the Komsomol to the sea off the port of Santander, and then pray that the Komsomol would be as smooth as the Kursk.

So is a qiē all shun lì? Hehe, that's really not going well at all! Before entering Spanish territorial waters, the Komsomol was intercepted by the long-lying cruiser Sevila of the National Navy. Captain of the ship Salvador. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Moreno, the Severa lay in front of the Komsomol like an old cat that had spotted rats, and eight 152-mm cannons aimed at the Komsomol members' thin hull, which could be torn to shreds at the slightest order.

"Captain, what should I do?"

Face-to-face pale first mate's inquiry. Lieping also sweated in his palms, he really didn't expect his luck to be so bad. Turned out to hit the enemy cruiser headlong. Is it to turn around and run away? Or is it arguing with reason?

"Sue them, we are a Soviet cargo ship carrying humanitarian relief supplies to Spain, let them get out of the way!"

Humanitarian supplies?

Lieutenant Colonel Moreno sneered, the polar bear really took him for a fool, what kind humanitarian relief supplies would he send? In fact, he has been waiting for several days, according to the intelligence above, the Komsomol is transporting arms, if he can intercept this batch of arms, not only can he slap the Soviet Union in the face in the international community, but also use this batch of enemy arms to arm his own army, it is simply a double win!

"Order them to stop the ship immediately for inspection, or open fire immediately!"

Tut...... In the face of the unreasonable Spanish rebels, Liepin was also speechless for a while, Nima, Lao Tzu has not entered your territorial waters, why are you checking me?

"Send a telegram to Comrade Kuznetsov, please tell him what to do!"

Kuznetsov was also speechless when he received the telegram, he had already said that he would escort the escort, but what kind of hypocrisy was he talking about, now it's okay, the Komsomol members have been intercepted, what should I do?

The only thing Kuznetsov could do at this time was to report to the Military Commission, of course, in this report telegram, his tone was not very good, and through the telegram, it could be seen that this outstanding admiral of the Red Navy was full of resentment.

"Let's protest first!" Trotsky immediately concluded: "Demand that the Spanish rebels stop their vexatious aggression at once!" ”

Is this a good solution? I can't see it for the time being, but the protest of the Soviet government just came out, and the British just said next to it: "According to reliable information, the Komsomol is loaded with munitions, which is a flagrant violation of the neutrality requirements of the League of Nations by the Soviet government, and the Soviet Union should be severely sanctioned!" ”

In this regard, Litvinov made a strong protest: "Not to mention that the Komsomol is carrying humanitarian relief materials, and the Komsomol is on the high seas, no matter what materials it carries, it has nothing to do with Spain. The Spanish National Army did not have the right to inspect Soviet freighters! ”

Litvinov's protest was a bit self-defeating, and naturally the British became more and more proud, and once again used all kinds of methods of the big hooligans in diplomacy, and for a time international public opinion was unprecedentedly unfavorable to the Soviet Union.

"Hmph, the polar bear should know that it is awesome now!" Learvin said to M with some smugness.

The latter also nodded happily, and in the past ten years, M has frequently eaten deflated at Maozi. This time, I can get back to the field. Naturally, she was very cool.

"The Prime Minister is very happy with this. I hope that our MI6 will continue to do its best! ”

Learwin nodded, in fact, she also had this intention, this success proves a point, MI6 station in Russia has finally come out of the failure of more than ten years ago, it is time to find Mao Zi to collect interest.

Soon she ordered: "Continue to follow the progress of the Komsomol members, try to find out what the Soviet Politburo thinks about it, we must get ahead of the Soviets!" ”

Did Learwin succeed? It should be said that it was relatively successful, and she seemed to have a clear understanding of the attitude of the Soviet side. If nothing else, the Soviet Union will lose its weight in the international community this time.

After two days of stalemate on the sea, with the connivance and intelligence of the British, the Nationalist army suddenly took coercive action, and the sailors on the Severa boarded the Komsomol with rifles, and after arresting all the sailors, they took the Komsomol to the port of Ferrol.

"Are the reporters ready?" Emilio. Mora asked, a little smugly.

"As you ordered, as soon as the ship docks in port, the ugly deeds of the Soviets will be exposed!"

As the leader of the National Army in the north, Mora's status is naturally needless to say. However, in terms of political prestige, he still lost to Franco in the south. If this time it can succeed in slapping the Soviet Union in the face. Surely, he'll pull one back.

In Mola's anticipation, the Komsomol was escorted into the harbor by the Severa, and before the ship could be stopped, the impatient Lieutenant Colonel Moreno triumphantly escorted the Soviet sailors to the dock with bayonets.

At that moment, the shutter sounded continuously, and reporters flocked to Lieutenant Colonel Moreno like a tide, and there were even more British reporters than local Spanish reporters, and they were even more enthusiastic, so that Lieutenant Colonel Moreno was overwhelmed.

"Your Excellency General, I have completed the task smoothly, please speak!"

It was easy to get rid of the enthusiastic reporters, and Lieutenant Colonel Moreno solemnly saluted Mora with excitement. The latter smiled reservedly, and after returning the salute, he took Lieutenant Colonel Moreno's right hand. Facing the flashing lights, the two of them smiled so beautifully!

For a long time, the British reporter couldn't help but remind: "Gentlemen, isn't it time to show the evidence you have seized?" ”

"Of course!" Only then did Mora remember that there was still business to be done, and the most important thing at this time was to expose the arms carried on board the Komsomol membership. He waved his hand, and immediately a large number of dock workers poured into the Komsomol and moved the boxes of munitions.

"Gentlemen, as you can see, this is what the Russians claim to be humanitarian aid!" Mora proudly picked up a crowbar and inserted it into the box, put a POSE and said, "And I'm going to show the world what the Soviets are about to do their so-called humanitarian supplies!" ”

With a click, the box was pried open, and at that moment the flash nearly blinded Mora's dog's eyes. Anyway, he only felt a white light in front of him, and he couldn't see anything for a while. However, Mora has no complaints about this state, and he wishes that the reporters' flashes would be more intense.

At that time, Mora maintained his posture with a faint smile on his face, and was already imagining himself appearing on the front pages of newspapers around the world, but to his surprise, a discordant voice shattered his sweet dream.

"These don't seem to be munitions, do they?"

When the first person said this, Mora was still very disdainful of the other party, thinking that the other party was blind, and this green solid wood box was not loaded with munitions, what else could it be!

But then, the reporters' comments surprised him:

"It's not like munitions, it's like medicine?"

"Well, it's like medicine!"

Mora quickly wiped her eyes, turned to look, and suddenly felt half cold, the green wooden box was really full of medicine!

"Got it wrong! Got it wrong! Mora suddenly glared at Lieutenant Colonel Moreno next to him, thinking that the other party had made him make a fool of himself. The latter also hastened to explain and ordered the workers to open more boxes.

When the boxes were opened and the boxes of medicines were placed in front of Mora and Moreno, the two were completely dumbfounded - could it be that the Soviets were really bringing humanitarian relief supplies? If that's true, then they're really poking a big basket!

"There is indeed a large amount of arms on board! It's just that I haven't moved out yet. Please be patient, tomorrow, tomorrow the whole world will see the ugly face of the Soviet government! ”

Mora, who was in a cold sweat, hurriedly found himself under the stairs, and now the most important thing is to send the reporter away, and then step up the inventory of the materials on the ship, if there are arms, it is naturally the best, if not, then you can only think of some shady tricks overnight.

So is there any arms on board? There must be none, not only are there no arms, but even as Repin said before, all of them are humanitarian relief supplies, except for medicines, medical equipment, or food.

Mora yelled violently: "I don't care, you should immediately find a way to get some Soviet arms out for me, otherwise there will be no way to end this matter!" Tomorrow, by tomorrow afternoon at the latest, we must show the world's journalists the arms from the USSR! ”

In fact, Mora's move was a little late, who made him make such a big noise before, who made him prepare to disgust Mao Zi to death in one go, among these reporters invited, not all of them were inclined to the national army. If you don't have a conscience, or who is ready to become famous in one fell swoop, she will expose Mora on the same day.

On this night, the truth about the so-called Soviet munitions ship was put in the newspapers, and the whole world knew that Mora had put on a big oolong, and that tomorrow he would be greeted by a bloody storm...... (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you FFG570, the armored train, the glorious charter and Comrade Juventus!