Iron Cross

"You mean..." Ribbentrop, who was originally full of hope, was suddenly stunned when he heard Sune's reply. "Lease the port of Ceuta to us, and then let our troops have the right of passage in Spain." , but you don’t participate in the war?”

"That's understandable." Sunai spread his hands, "As you know, Spain lacks strength, resource reserves and equipment. It must leave enough time to prepare. Now we still have many trading companies collecting resources and materials for your country. , if war is declared rashly, this line will be cut off immediately, which will be very detrimental to your country, especially the channels for that batch of 'special commodities' will be cut off at once; in addition, our air defense capabilities are also very poor, lacking aircraft, Anti-aircraft guns, if Britain and the United States bomb us, it will be difficult to defend them, so..."

"Well, your country's attitude can at least help us solve the Gibraltar problem first." Ribbentrop knew that this was Spain's final reply, and it was only because of Malta's rapid capture that Franco made some concessions. He said no more immediately and just reported the news back to his country.

As soon as Hoffmann returned to Berlin he received Ribbentrop's final terms from Madrid.

"Franco asked for 200 Bf-109s, 100 Stukas, 100 Panzer IV tanks, 100 88mm anti-aircraft guns and the equipment of 4 infantry divisions?" Hoffman asked with a frown, "Then he only Give us the port and the necessary rights of way?"

"Perhaps we can also add garrison rights in Spanish mainland ports to facilitate the entry and exit of U-boats."

"He did all this and still wanted to stay out of it?" Hoffman sneered, "This is a complete act of war."

"So the Spanish don't say neutrality, they only say non-belligerent state." Keitel explained, "I asked officials and legal experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and they said that there is no international law to support this kind of behavior, but... this is Spain "

Spain is now a neutral country, but this neutral country has an attitude. It is called a "non-belligerent country". If you have to compare it with other countries, this attitude is a bit similar to France. It allows the use of its own territory, but its own country is allowed to use its territory. The armed forces will never participate in any military operations - France and Spain agree to borrow the knife, but they don't care what you do after borrowing the knife.

"It's really great!" Hoffman said in sarcastic language, "Mr. Franco used his actions to illustrate his perfect understanding of the non-belligerent state. What do you think about this?"

"The high command believes that it is okay to temporarily accept this ambiguous position, because then we do not have the obligation to defend Spain. Spain's defense strength is weaker than the Italians. We cannot put another burden on ourselves, and..." Keitel Explained, "Minister Ribbentrop considers it more advantageous to maintain a line of communication between Spain and Latin America than to have Spain fight the war for us now."

"Where are the others?"

"Minister Speer believes that Spanish workers can be introduced. Their quality is not too bad and can greatly alleviate the domestic labor shortage problem; Leader Himmler believes that 1-2 volunteer divisions can be recruited in Spain to enrich the SS troops." Keitel looked down upon the current strength of the Spanish National Army, but he saw the merits of the Spanish Falangists from the performance of the Blue Division, so he did not reject the recruitment of Hispanic volunteers.

"Pick Himmler up for me." Hoffman thought for a moment and immediately came up with an idea. He said into the microphone, "I authorize you to recruit two Spanish volunteer divisions, but you must pay attention when selecting personnel. You should increase the number of Catalans appropriately." It is best for each division to have more than half of the ethnic groups from the Romanian and Basque regions.”

"Fuhrer, what do you think?" Himmler immediately became excited on the other end of the phone.

"Do the job, but don't let people see it. You will know later, and we have to be patient."

Although Hoffmann said nothing, Himmler and Keitel immediately understood the meaning behind the Fuhrer's words.

After putting down the phone, Hoffman thought calmly: "Tell the Spaniards to rent the Canary Islands to us, and I will agree to all other requests."

"I'm afraid it's difficult," Keitel said awkwardly. "He pays close attention to that archipelago."

"He will agree. You ask Ribbentrop to tell him that I will take Gibraltar first and then ask for the Canary Islands. We Germans are measured and will not invade territory that cannot be defended."

"What if he still doesn't agree to let go?"

"You won't let go after taking Gibraltar? Franco is not that stupid." Hoffman laughed loudly, "If he doesn't agree with me, why won't he take it by himself? We are not a Spanish colony, and we don't need to conquer everything. With Madrid’s consent.”

These two sentences made Keitel stunned for a long time. After a long time, he responded to the situation with a compliment: "Führer, you said it very well."

"Get ready for the Battle of Gibraltar. No matter how good you are, it won't matter. You have to be able to fight. Germany's status and future are won by fighting, not by talking. If the negotiations were so effective, maybe we are still fighting for the Rhineland now." We are arguing over the issue of regional ownership.”

After Keitel left, Hoffman paced around in his office and began to think: Judging from the situation in Spain, although Franco has taken a step back from his original position, he has obviously not made up his mind yet. Moreover, the intelligence system told him that the heads of state of France, Italy and Spain have frequent contacts and have a vague intention to contact each other. Madrid's attitude may have been prompted by Pétain, which is something that needs to be paid attention to in the future. Giving this little military aid to the Spaniards is insignificant. Franco must also know that Italy has obtained a large amount of military aid. The conditions he offered are a little high but still within his tolerance, which shows that Madrid has carefully considered and considered.

"This old fox." He couldn't help but curse in his heart.

There has been news that the United States and Spain have maintained a relatively close relationship. The Americans even semi-publicly allowed the Jews to exchange materials through Spain. This shows that Madrid and Washington have a tacit understanding. Franco dared to agree to borrow the road and lease today. It is estimated that he must have a way to deal with Washington and gain the understanding of the Americans.

He couldn't help but sigh. Politicians really need ability and talent. Not everyone can master the strategy of walking a tightrope. This time, Franco's scale was very good - he did not participate in the war but provided convenience, leaving him speechless. The Axis side, which had gained benefits, certainly could not be aggressive anymore; and the Allies could not take tit-for-tat hostile actions - that is, it is obvious to continue to push Spain towards the Axis. Churchill and Roosevelt were both smart people and would not do such a stupid thing.

Today, he finally understood why the Spanish regime after the end of World War II could stand firm. Spain not only ignored the sanctions of canceling its membership in the United Nations and international isolation, but also slowly developed. What's more amazing is that the dictator Franco actually lived to the end of his life and finally brought out the king to serve as his successor.

He originally wanted to find anti-Franco forces in Spain so that he could launch a small-scale palace coup if necessary. As a result, Martin-Baumann searched around and told himself helplessly that all the people above the ministerial level in Spain were personally selected and appointed by Franco, and they were all his confidants. Not to mention that there was no one in the Falange Party who could compete with Franco, there was no one who could threaten his position, and if there was, they would have become a cold corpse. Pétain's natural enemy was his age, Mussolini's natural enemy was his frivolity and carelessness, and Franco was almost impeccable.

Hoffman strongly felt the difficulty of being a politician: if it weren't for the foundation laid by the head of state and the military strength of the Third Reich, which was unrivaled in Europe, his political level would have been swallowed up by others without leaving any residue.

The news of the fall of Malta reached London in the evening of the same day. The first reaction of the wartime cabinet was to think that this was a rumor deliberately fabricated by Germany and Italy. You know, the defenders had vowed to hold out for three weeks, and even the most pessimistic people thought they could hold out for three days. But after verification and investigation, the news was true. Unexpectedly, only three hours later, the cornerstone of the British Empire in the Central Mediterranean had fallen into the hands of the Germans. Now Gibraltar is really in danger.

"News from Spain, Franco has been forced to agree to Germany's request for a passage and lease. Madrid asked us one last time, whether we agree to peacefully transfer Gibraltar before the German armed forces arrive in Spain? If so, they will reject Germany's request."

"Should we talk to the Spaniards again?" Marshal Brooke said, "It's better to delay a little time."

"It's too late." Eden said, "If we agree, the Spaniards will ask to move in tonight."

The meeting fell into silence, and everyone looked at Churchill, looking forward to his final decision-this decision is not easy to make.

"Will Spain declare war on us?"

"No, the United States has repeatedly confirmed that Spain will not take any other hostile actions except borrowing the road and leasing it, so they will not take any other hostile actions. At most, they will launch air strikes on German targets in Spain. President Roosevelt suggested that we can understand Spain's special position-just treat them as French."

"Very good, let them come. Anyone who wants Gibraltar, whether it is Germany or Spain, must step over our corpses." Churchill said proudly, "Gibraltar will be lost if it is handed over to Spain, and it will also be lost if it is taken down by the Germans. If I have to choose between the two ways, I would rather lose it to the Germans in a vigorous resistance than to the Spanish who are double-faced and good at conspiracy."