"This is where I hesitate." Franco frowned, his face full of helplessness, and sighed deeply. Although the US military's attitude seemed very sincere and they vowed to convince the British army to allow Spain to gain certain benefits in this game of interests, Franco felt in his heart that this hope was too slim. You know, the importance of Gibraltar is second only to Tianzhu, and its strategic position is extremely critical. The British have always regarded Gibraltar as their treasure, how could they easily agree to share its benefits with others? Franco knew very well the UK's tough attitude on the Gibraltar issue, so he really didn't dare to have high expectations for this commitment from the US military. "General, why are we still hesitating? Compared with the conditions proposed by Britain and the United States, the conditions offered by the German army are already very generous." The subordinate said anxiously. He felt that Franco was too indecisive on this matter. In his opinion, the cooperation conditions currently provided by the German army are quite good, and they are very attractive from the perspective of economic interests and military security. Moreover, not to mention that the German army had helped them before. The two parties already had a good cooperative relationship. Under this situation, the subordinates really didn't understand why Franco was still so hesitant. "I always feel that the German army will lose." Franco finally said what he had hidden in his heart for a long time.

There was a trace of worry in his eyes. Although the German army's current performance on the battlefield seemed very strong, Franco had his own concerns. Hearing this, the subordinates were obviously stunned and filled with doubts. What's the meaning? Will the German army lose? How is this possible? Now the German army is sweeping across the entire European continent like a violent wind. Even the Soviet army was beaten back steadily by the powerful German offensive and retreated all the way. In such a situation, how could it be possible to lose? Although the German army seemed to have suffered a small defeat on the Eastern Front battlefield, in the eyes of his subordinates, this did not mean anything at all and was not enough to affect the overall advantage of the German army. "Forget it, let's wait until the Germans take Gibraltar before making a decision." Franco was silent for a while, and then spoke again as if he had finally made up his mind. He felt that the current situation was not clear enough and that the battle in Gibraltar would be an important turning point, so it would be safer to wait until the German army's actions in Gibraltar had clear results before making the final decision. "Yes, but General, I suggest that the troops be prepared." The subordinate thought for a while and put forward his own suggestion. He felt that no matter what decision Franco made in the end, it was always right to prepare the troops in advance so that they could respond quickly when the situation changed and not be in a hurry. After hearing this, Franco did not refuse, but he felt that the proposal was quite reasonable, so he nodded and agreed to his proposal. … On the other side, Lieutenant General Tovey, commander of Fleet H, was stunned after receiving the request for help telegram from Gibraltar. He stood there without speaking for a long time, with a look of shock and anger on his face. "Damn, how did they bypass us?" Lieutenant General Tovey's eyes widened, his face flushed, and he roared angrily. He really couldn't figure out what kind of tactics or routes the Germans used to bypass their fleet without anyone noticing and launch a direct attack on Gibraltar? "Your Excellency, Commander, they should have avoided our detection by following the French coastline." The subordinate carefully guessed. As he spoke, he observed Lieutenant General Tovey's face, and was not sure whether his guess was correct.

Hearing this, Lieutenant General Tovey was stunned for a moment, and a map of the southern coast of France immediately flashed in his mind. He carefully recalled the geographical situation in that area and felt that his subordinate's guess was indeed possible. Because only in this way, using the complex terrain of the coastline and possible radar blind spots, can explain why the German fleet was able to escape their detection and arrive at Gibraltar quietly. "That's not right. Where is our radar? Didn't there be a warning?" Lieutenant General Tovey frowned and asked with some confusion. In his understanding, the fleet's radar system should be able to detect the approaching enemy fleet, but why does it seem to have no effect at all this time? "Then I don't know. Maybe it's broken?" The subordinate spread his hands helplessly, saying that he didn't know the specific reason. He also felt it was strange that the radar was not working. It was indeed a very suspicious place, but there was currently no other reasonable explanation. "There must be something we don't know about here. Forget it, it doesn't matter anymore. Now mobilize the fleet to return to Gibraltar immediately and be sure to repel the enemy fleet there." Vice Admiral Tovey frowned and shook his head helplessly. In his opinion, the most important thing at the moment is to quickly defend Gibraltar. Once this place is lost, it means that their retreat will be cut off, and the entire strategic layout will fall into an extremely passive situation, so they must rush back as soon as possible. Just deal with it. "Yes." After receiving the order, his subordinates immediately started arranging the return of the fleet. Not long after returning, Lieutenant General Tovey received another urging telegram. He picked up the telegram and looked at the content on it. He couldn't help but gasped, with a look of shock on his face. "Damn it, so many battleships were dispatched? Are they crazy?" Obviously, Lieutenant General Tovey was stunned when he looked at the telegram in his hand. He stood there blankly for a long time without coming back to his senses. The four-nation combined fleet has deployed almost all its main forces this time. This is tantamount to abandoning its own rear. This is too bold. This approach is not like the usual German army. After all, in Lieutenant General Tovey's impression, although the German army acted decisively, it was not so bold and rash. Even the Italian and French navies would not be able to make such a bold decision under normal circumstances. Originally, Lieutenant General Tovey thought that only a small part of the enemy fleet was attacking Gibraltar, so he thought of quickly mobilizing the fleet to rush back for support. But now that he saw the contents of the telegram, he realized that he was really dumbfounded and had completely underestimated it. The size of the opponent's force. "Your Excellency, Commander, do you want to continue returning?" Seeing that Lieutenant General Tovey did not respond for a long time after reading the telegram, his subordinates urged him again. This time, Lieutenant General Tovey hesitated. He knew very well that the number of warships he had sent back this time was actually not many. Even if he rushed back at full speed now, I am afraid that it would not have much effect in the face of such a huge fleet. So he was hesitating whether to continue returning as planned, or to simply change his strategy and go directly to the enemy's rear, which might disrupt the enemy's deployment. But after thinking about it, he decided to forget it. After all, the importance of Gibraltar is too great. If Gibraltar is lost due to his own mistakes in decision-making, then he really cannot bear this responsibility. "Tell the other party to hold on for two hours." Lieutenant General Tovey quickly estimated the fleet's remaining voyage and the opponent's possible attack speed in his mind, and then gave this reply. He thought that with the existing coastal defense guns in Gibraltar, he should be able to hold on for two hours. As long as he could arrive within these two hours, it might be possible to save the situation. "Yes." After receiving the order, the subordinates immediately went to convey the news. Not long after, another telegram came. Lieutenant General Tovey opened it and his face suddenly turned pale. It turned out that the German army actually dispatched its army to launch an attack on Gibraltar from land, and had already captured many positions. If their fleet cannot arrive at Gibraltar for support as soon as possible, I am afraid that all the troops stationed there will be wiped out.

Upon hearing this, Lieutenant General Tovey was stunned and stood there blankly, his face full of disbelief. "Damn it, it must be Spain. If it weren't for them, how could the German army show up in Gibraltar?" Lieutenant General Tovey trembled with anger and roared angrily. In his opinion, if the German army wanted to reach Gibraltar, it must pass through Spanish territory. If Spain had not secretly released water or provided assistance, the German army would not have been able to appear in Gibraltar so smoothly and launch a large-scale attack. He was extremely angry at Spain's behavior at this moment, and felt that it was Spain's inaction or secret collusion that led to this extremely critical situation. "Your Excellency, Commander, the most important thing right now is to ensure that Gibraltar is never lost, otherwise we may be waiting for a military court." The subordinates' voices were trembling, and their faces were as pale as paper. He never expected that the enemy would be so aggressive this time, adopting a strategy of attacking both by sea and land, which was completely beyond their expectations. Originally thought it was just a simple sea fleet attack, but the German army also dispatched an army to launch an offensive from land. Under this double attack, the situation in Gibraltar has become extremely critical. "Report the intelligence here to His Excellency the Prime Minister, and also send a telegram to the US fleet, telling them to all return and be sure to hold Gibraltar." Lieutenant General Tovey looked seriously and ordered loudly. He is fully aware of the seriousness of the situation at this moment. I am afraid that the strength of his own fleet alone may not be able to cope with such a powerful offensive. He must let the Prime Minister know the latest battle situation, and at the same time, he must unite the US fleet to act together. Only then can he hope to defend this crucial moment. of Gibraltar. At this moment, Lieutenant General Tovey's heart was already heavy, and he was even mentally prepared for the loss of Gibraltar. He understood that once this strategic location was really lost, the consequences would be disastrous. But even so, he was never willing to just watch Gibraltar fall into the hands of the enemy. He secretly made up his mind that once he really got to that point, he would lead the entire fleet to engage in a life-and-death battle with the opponent. No matter what the cost, he must try his best to recapture Gibraltar and defend this area of ​​​​the British Navy. A crucial position. Because he knew that the loss of Gibraltar would not only be a military failure, but also a major setback for the entire British naval strategic layout, so even if there was only a glimmer of hope, he would fight with all his strength. "yes." Not long after, far away in the solemn office of Downing Street, Churchill was busy dealing with many matters. At this moment, the assistant hurriedly delivered a telegram from Lieutenant General Tovey. After receiving the telegram, he quickly browsed its contents, but after just reading a few lines, he was stunned, his eyes widened, and his face was full of disbelief. "Damn it, what does our intelligence department do? No news at all about such a big operation?" Churchill suddenly became furious, slammed the table, and immediately asked loudly. He really couldn't accept this fact. The German army and other forces launched such a large-scale land and sea attack on Gibraltar. This was not a small move, but the intelligence agency actually didn't let him know anything about it in advance. How could he not be angry? Woolen cloth? Hearing this, the person in charge of MI6 hurried over. When he saw Churchill's angry look, he suddenly became panicked. He was also very aggrieved. It was true that he had not received similar information during this period, and he did not know why such an omission occurred. "How is it possible that you didn't receive any intelligence about such a big operation?" Churchill frowned, with deep dissatisfaction in his eyes, and raised his voice again. He felt that MI6, as an important intelligence agency in the UK, shoulders the important task of obtaining key intelligence for the country, but now it has dropped the ball on such an important matter. This is simply unforgivable. "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I have indeed not received it. Not only that, the information about the German army has become very scarce during this period." The officer in charge of the intelligence said with a helpless look. He was also very puzzled. Although it was difficult to obtain German intelligence in the past, it was not like this time when almost no valuable intelligence was returned. It was as if the German army suddenly became mysterious and covered up all its actions, leaving those responsible for intelligence work completely confused. This was a good thing, as it directly led to the current passive situation. "Didn't you decipher the German code? Didn't you receive it?" Churchill frowned, with a look of confusion and anxiety on his face, and raised his voice again and asked. He really couldn't understand. He had gone through so much trouble to decipher the German army's code. He thought he could use this to grasp many of the German army's movements. But at this critical moment, there was no news about such a large-scale German army's Gibraltar operation. Didn't you receive any relevant information? This is really unreasonable.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I suspect that the German army has changed the code." Seeing Churchill's question, the officer in charge of intelligence became more and more nervous. He quickly straightened up and explained with a serious and helpless face. He also knew in his heart that this matter was too strange. He had been able to obtain some information about the German army with the help of deciphered codes before. Although it was not particularly comprehensive, it was not as complete as it was now. Therefore, he speculated that it was very likely that the German army had noticed that the code had been deciphered, and had quietly changed the code in order to prevent the leakage of intelligence. This resulted in them having very little information about the German army during this period, let alone being able to know it in advance. The German army launched a large-scale operation against Gibraltar. (End of chapter)