Borisov's unexpected death naturally made Stalin furious, and he did not believe that Kirov was "accidentally assassinated", and he took it for granted that this qiē was a conspiracy, and it was a conspiracy specifically against him.

Anyway, from the end of 1936 to April 1937, the focus in the Soviet Union was not actually on the Spanish civil war, but on the question of the rebellion.

Stalin strongly demanded that a large-scale campaign of suppression be launched immediately, and that all the dangerous counter-revolutionary elements hiding in the Party and in the country must be wiped out, especially those who are dressed as comrades.

If, as in history, comrades of steel were in charge, a purge was inevitable. Fortunately, it was not Trotsky who was in charge now, and even Sverdlov and Lenin, who was recuperating from his retirement, were adamantly opposed to Stalin's blind expansion of the scope of the attack.

For this reason, Lenin, who was recuperating in Sochi, rushed back to Moscow by special train, personally summoned Stalin in the office reserved for him in the Kremlin, and the two of them talked alone for nearly three hours.

Lenin's sudden move caused a stir in the Soviet political arena, and since his retirement for more than two years, Lenin has been living in seclusion, basically not appearing and acting in public in the outside world, and has not even set foot in Moscow. And this time, the sudden return of his old man is a signal in the eyes of some people, is his old man ready to make a comeback?

"Sue Comrade Igor. There are people from outside who come to ask for instructions or report on work. All of them are in the driver's way. I'm retired. If they want to ask for instructions and report on their work, they should go to their superiors and come to me?! ”

In the two years since Lenin left politics, the changes have been a bit big, the hair on the top of his head is getting less and less, and his beard is getting whiter and whiter, and compared with the shrewd and capable state when he was in power, he is almost a dozen years old.

There may be comrades who want to ask. Mentor, this is a retired cultivator, why is it that the more you cultivate, the worse it is at the beginning?

In fact, the answer is very simple, when Lenin was on the stage, he worked hard and devotedly, and this state of affairs was actually quite exhausting. He has maintained this state, and with his body, it is estimated that he will not live to be seventy years old.

And after retirement, I suddenly relaxed, and as soon as the energy passed, the sequelae of the previous overconsumption came out. So it's normal to get old all of a sudden. Of course, old age will return to old age, but if you recuperate slowly. Not to mention replenishing the body, but it is still possible to extend the longevity a little.

And don't look at Lenin's old age now. But his mental head is much better than back then, and he himself is more satisfied with the current state of life. The only thing that displeased him was the opportunists in the party, whose noses were bigger than those of a rat, and as soon as they heard that he had a conversation with Stalin, they all popped up one by one.

To be honest, when Lenin returned to Moscow this time, he was not very satisfied with the political atmosphere in Moscow. Stalin didn't talk about nonsense, and Trotsky's cousin did not satisfy him, and it took more than two years to control the overall situation, but over time, step by step, Stalin and Sverdlov led the nose away, and this state looked like a crumbling state.

Lenin was disappointed with Trotsky's expression, and Lenin was hopeless with Kamenev and Zinoviev's. Lenin thought that to give these two goods one last chance, they would have to come up with a little different expression. Hehe, don't say it, it's really different, these two goods have once again lowered the lower limit of the festival. In Lenin's opinion, the two of them caused more trouble to Trotsky than Stalin and Sverdlov.

Lenin had to admit that he had seen the wrong person, and that in the final political arrangement, these two bastards should have been eliminated, or at least one of them had to be resolved. If the co-optation of these two goods had been replaced by the co-optation of Kalinin, Trotsky would have been in a much better position.

Thinking of this, Lenin sighed again, he had misread Kalinin. He had always thought that this too "steady" comrade was of little use, but looking at the actual performance of Guò in the past two years, Kalinin impressed him. Lenin only now saw through that the good old man was just a disguise for Kalinin to protect himself, and he relied on this trick to climb up silently, until he climbed to the peak of state power.

However, at this time, it was too late for Lenin to regret it, the wood was already in the boat, and since the pattern had been formed, it was probably quite risky to break it lightly, and now that he had retreated, there was no need to wade into this troubled water. Besides, he was able to deal with Trotsky, and as for Trotsky's end, it was up to him to make it. This time, for example, was the last time he wiped Trotsky's ass.

"Tomorrow, no, return to Sochi this afternoon."

After thinking about this, Lenin in Moscow couldn't stay for a minute, compared to Sochi, the air here is filled with a rancid stench, which he didn't feel before, but after living in Sochi for two years, now he can't stand it anymore.

Lenin came and went in a hurry, much to the disappointment of a group of ambitious fellows, but they didn't have to be disappointed for long, why? Because they will soon despair! If you want to speculate, you have to pay a price, and neither Trotsky, nor Stalin, nor Sverdlov do not like these half-hearted guys.

Soon a wave of small-scale (relatively speaking) purges swept through Soviet officialdom, and those half-hearted guys were mercilessly stripped of their official hats or driven to the second line to retire.

With the acquiescence of Britain and France and the active operation of Germany and Italy, the League of Nations issued a proposal condemning the Soviet Union, calling on all members of the League of Nations to boycott the Soviet Union politically and economically. Isolate the "cancer" of this world.

Naturally, a large number of countries in Europe are responding en masse. Political and economic ties with the Soviet Union were severed one after another. Attempts were made to use this pressure to force the USSR to comply. However, this kind of pressure had little effect on the Soviet Union, as it was said before, the Soviet Union had already introduced almost the technology that should be introduced, and it was difficult for Soviet products to enter the markets of these countries. In a sense, the economic circle of the USSR was relatively closed, and the problem of playing self-sufficiency behind closed doors was not too big, not to mention that the Americans did not close their doors.

In this way, such penalties and sanctions were an itch for the USSR, but for those European countries that had previously sold industrial products to the USSR. For example, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, and France, it seems more sad. The international market was already sluggish, and the isolation of the Soviets made it even more uncomfortable for them!

As a result, the sanctions were imposed for only half a year, and the French, together with Czechoslovakia, took the lead in violating the resolutions of the League of Nations and reinstated economic relations with the Soviet Union. This made the British scold France for not being disciplined and not having much to do, for the simple reason that the previous resolution was actually a verbal commitment, and there was no punishment for violating the agreement.

France and Czechoslovakia opened the door. The rest of Sweden and Denmark couldn't help it, so they simply pretended not to see the butt paper - the first to make money!

That is to say, it entered October 1937. The bad effects of the sinking of the Leipzig by the Soviet Union were almost digested, and apart from the Germans and Italians, who continued to make a fuss about this matter and cried, made trouble and hanged themselves, including the British, did not have much interest in it.

Why are the British not interested? The reason is very simple, who made the Germans and Italians react less forcefully than they expected?

According to the British thinking, the Germans will definitely break out this time, and they will definitely fight the Soviet Union to the end, but who would have thought that the result would not be like that at all. The mustache kept saying cruel words on the radio, as if he was going to tear the Soviet Union apart, but in fact? In fact, the Germans did not make any major moves, except for the announcement of the official severance of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. Even the Admiral Scheer and the Count Speer were transferred back from the Spanish seas, and the whole thing was shrunk.

Anyway, the British have seen what it means to be afraid of death, and when the iron rod in the polar bear's hand is black and thick, everyone has to weigh it.

In this conflict, the British seemed to recognize one thing - the greatest enemy of the Reich was not Germany but the Soviet Union, and that curbing the growing ambitions of the Soviet Union in the future was the most important thing. Therefore, in the following period, Britain quickly adjusted its foreign policy, and the appeasement of Germany became more and more frenzied, and the vigilance and restrictions on the Soviet Union also increased.

However, this qiē has little to do with the Spaniards, and when Su De made such a fuss, the People's Front was immediately refreshed, and these two goods felt that their waists were stiff - it turned out that Lao Tzu's backstage was so awesome! Needless to say, we have won this war!

So is this actually the case? Did the Popular Front really win or lose? Hehe, that's not necessarily. Franco's previous plan to rely on cruisers to cover the main force crossing the sea was sabotaged by the Red Navy, and the port of Ceuta was subjected to several rounds of air raids by the Red Navy. At one time, the naval power of the national army in the Strait of Gibraltar was almost destroyed, but Franco was able to succeed in history, and he was still a little level. On the one hand, he began to urgently requisition merchant ships, and on the other hand, he continued to return to small-scale smuggling.

By August 1937, Franco's main forces had finally crossed the strait, and although there were certain losses, they were still acceptable. The only thing that gave Franco a headache was that his logistical supply was very problematic, and the army could be smuggled, but the arms and supplies could not be supplied by smuggling.

At this time, under the sweep of the iron rod of the Red Navy, Germany and Italy were a little cowardly, and they were hesitant to continue to intervene deeply in Spanish affairs, and in this case, Franco's plan to march to Madrid was naturally not going well, especially Emilio in the north. Mora was also killed in an inexplicable plane crash, which can be regarded as bad luck for the national army.

At this time, the People's Front, which felt very good and strong, began to counterattack, and they formed two large armies to launch a general offensive from the Nationalist Army in the north and south directions.

Two large-scale battles broke out in Seville and Lugo. That truth is that the sky is dark, the sun and the moon are dark, and there is no light. The result? The result was a thwart attack by the Popular Front and the wolf drove out of Seville and Lugo. If it weren't for the fact that the international column was broken and the situation stabilized. Otherwise, it will really be a crushing battle. Even so, the Popular Front fled all the way back to Madrid, and even almost lost Malaga.

Tukhachevsky, commander-in-chief of the international column and general adviser of the Popular Front, recalled this for this campaign: "From the very beginning, the government of the Second Republic was greedy for perfection and threw the already insufficient troops into two operational directions at the same time. This is tantamount to weakening one's own offensive strength. Moreover, the Republican Army was not prepared for battle, believing that as long as the troops were in the city, they could scare the enemy away...... The training of the soldiers was also sloppy and generally lax. The soldiers' council always likes to interfere with the command of the superiors......"

As for Halepsky and Gamarnik, who were sent to Spain at the same time, they made a big mockery of the Republican army: "The lazy Spaniards can't do anything, the only thing they want is to lie on the ground and sleep, or drink and dance for fun...... They are the worst soldiers I've ever seen......"

Franco's excellence seemed to give hope to the Germans and Italians, and after some hesitation, the Italians and Germans returned to the Strait of Gibraltar, only this time, they were no longer as aggressive as before, but cautious.

This time, the Italians sent two Cavour-class battleships and two Trento-class heavy cruisers, which had just completed modernization, to accompany the Admiral Scheer and the Admiral Count Speer sent by the Germans to escort the merchant ships of the two countries throughout the process.

It should be said that the investment of the Italians is considerable. The only two battleships were dispatched, and it was clear that their goal was to confront the two battleships of the Red Navy (the Marat and the Comintern).

And the two Duke Cavour, which have been modernized and refitted, basically have this strength. Anyway, compared to the original state, it is a world of difference.

Why? The reason is simple, the renovation work of the Italians is almost equivalent to demolition and reconstruction. The middle of the two Duke Cavour-class ships was cut open and a ten-meter section was inserted, changing the length of the ship from 176 meters to 186 meters. The original main gun in the middle of the hull was also removed, along with all the engine equipment and secondary gun profiles.

After the transformation, the Duke of Cavour class can be said to be reborn (the waterline armor is still the same rotten), the maximum speed has jumped from about 22 knots to 28 knots, and the main gun has also been reamed from 305 mm to 320 mm, which is generally not bad.

Of course, the former King-class battleships of the Red Navy against the two Cavour-class are not bad, and the modernization in the thirties has also given her a new life, with a maximum speed of around 27 knots and 8 305 weapons, but the defense is much stronger than the Cavour-class, which is not good by nature, and it is difficult to say who wins and who loses in a head-on battle.

However, at this time, the possibility of a frontal attack is not high, as mentioned earlier, the punishment of the Soviet Union is limited, and it is not to have a full-scale conflict with Germany and Italy, and the front has already regained face, and there is no need to tear the face immediately. In the face of the escort of Germany and Italy, the Red Navy appeared to be more restrained and did not intercept it forcefully. Of course, this is a situation with escorts, and in the face of German and Italian cargo ships that attempt to enter Spanish territorial waters without escorts, they will be seized and seized.

After coming and going, the Germans and Italians also understood, and it turned out that Maozi's bottom line was here. In the next period of time, they tried their best to arrange escorts, so that Franco was getting stronger and stronger.

At the same time, the Soviet side was not idle, but also hurriedly transfused blood to the Popular Front, a large number of I-15 and I-16 and BT-2 tanks were sold to the Popular Front at factory prices, and even more and more Red Army soldiers turned into international columns and rushed to the Spanish battlefield in person.

Of course, the Red Army's equipment was still much stronger than that of the Republican Army, and the latest SB-2, B17, MiG-1, Yak-1, and BT-5 tanks were loaded almost as soon as they left the factory, and then completed the run-in with the troops on Spanish soil.

By the end of October 1937, the total strength of the international column had reached 50,000, most of which were regular troops of the Red Army. According to Tukhachevsky's plan, about 40,000 of them, or three divisions, would be used on the northern front, and the remaining forces would be used to cooperate with the Republican forces in the south to defend against Franco's attack.

On 11 November, three days before Tukhachevsky's planned attack began, Franco in the south took the lead. Sixty thousand ground troops, including one hundred No. 1 tanks, were directed at Madrid.

However, it was not the ground troops that were the first to attack, but the National Army Air Force composed of vulture regiments, and countless Ju87A, He111, and Ju52 rushed directly to the front-line airfield of the Republican Army under the cover of Bf109, and a Spanish version of the blitzkrieg kicked off!

This wave of attacks was so sudden that the international column air force was caught off guard, and at the Malaga airport, the I-15, I-16, MiG-1 and SB-2 that had just arrived at the airport were directly destroyed on the airfield...... (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you to hzwangdd, agz00025 and comrades Juventus!