Iron Sonata of World War II

"That's right! We need to establish an independent rocket force, a strategic strike force directly controlled by Your Excellency the Head of State! Although it will take some time to develop rockets that can be used in actual combat, I think the preliminary preparations for the establishment of a new military branch There are many, so some things can be done now." Helena answered without hesitation at first, but then said with some hesitation: "However, the independent establishment of the rocket force may have resistance from other military branches, the head of state. Your Excellency must be mentally prepared."

"Resistance? Does Miss Helena mean that the Army will disagree?" Hitler asked.

"It's not the Army, I'm talking about the Navy, Your Excellency the Fuhrer." Helena replied: "As far as I know, most of the old diehards in the Army are not interested in rockets. What the Fuhrer really needs to worry about is Admiral Göring of the Navy. Remember? Last time, Admiral Göring demanded that all aircraft under the command of the Air Force be brought under the jurisdiction of the Navy’s shore-based aviation, on the grounds that all flying things in Germany should be under the jurisdiction of the Navy. The problem now is that Rockets can fly too..."

Chapter 378

随着性能参数大幅提高FR-2型液氧煤油火箭发动机在佩内明德基地完成首次百秒试车，以这款先进发动机为基础研制性能比先前的A-4火箭更强的A-5火箭便成了顺理成章的事情。考虑到FR-2型发动机的海平面最大推力是A-4型火箭所用的FR-1型发动机的三倍，新设计的A-5火箭在块头方面自然要比前型火箭大很多：最大直径将从A-4型火箭的1.25米提高到1.75米，总长度也将从A-4型火箭的12米左右延长到16.5米，直径和长度的增长使得A-5型火箭的最大起飞重量从A-4型火箭的七吨级提高到20吨左右。如果我们将先前的A-4型火箭的体量比作襁褓中的婴孩，那么A-5型的火箭的体量就可以被看做是刚刚学会独立行走的儿童。

Just as a child is not distinguished from a baby by growth in height and weight, the A-5 rocket in development is not simply a scaled-up version of the A-4.No matter from the point of view of rocket body structure or guidance system, the A-5 rocket in this plane is closer to the modern rockets that appeared in later generations than the A-4 rocket, and even in many respects it is better than the original historical plane. The doomsday technology is more advanced, and in Helena's eyes, this advancement is mainly reflected in the following two aspects: First, the load bearing method of the rocket body has changed from the original shell load bearing to the propellant. The storage tank bears the load, and the second is to increase the rocket's guidance accuracy and increase the radio command correction of the rocket's ascent stage.

When Helena and the research team she sponsored were developing various types of rockets from A-1 to A-4, the main scientific goal was to verify the engine, control and aerodynamic characteristics of the rocket. The optimization of the rocket structure was naturally It is placed in a relatively secondary position, and this has led to the use of a relatively conservative suspended non-load-bearing storage tank structure by the previous German rockets.Specifically, the metal bracket and the skin together form the outer shell structure of the rocket, and the propellant storage tank is directly suspended inside this shell structure. The outer shell structure is responsible for maintaining the rocket's aerodynamic shape and bearing The payload of the rocket, while the internal propellant tank is responsible for storing the propellant and preventing it from leaking.

The essence of adopting a non-bearing storage tank structure is to decompose the structural design of the rocket into two parts that perform their duties: the outer shell structure responsible for maintaining aerodynamics and bearing loads, and the internal storage tank structure responsible for containing the propellant. A clear division of functions is beneficial to simplify the structural design of the rocket, so the V-2 missile brought to him in the original historical plane and the German A-4 rocket in the original plane adopt the structural design of the non-load bearing tank .However, this nesting doll structure in which the outer shell is covered with the inner storage tank is obviously too bulky, so smart scientists naturally thought of fusing the outer shell and the inner storage tank, and the result of this fusion was born The so-called load-bearing storage tank.

This kind of load-bearing tank can also be used to directly bear the rocket load while storing propellant, so that a separate outer shell can be omitted in the structural design of the rocket, because the outer wall of the load-bearing tank itself is Can act as a shell for a rocket.With the combination of the outer shell and the internal storage tank, the rocket using the load-bearing storage tank not only reduces the structural weight, but also improves the utilization rate of the internal space. farther.Therefore, in the original historical plane, the load-bearing storage tank quickly replaced the non-load-bearing storage tank after the war and became the mainstream form of rocket structure design.It is this load-bearing tank structure that Helena plans to adopt in the structural design of the new rocket.

Speaking of this, some people may have doubts: the rocket shell using a non-load-bearing storage tank relies on a strong structural frame with a tensile skin to withstand the load of the rocket, while the load-bearing storage tank can only rely on one layer How can the thin walls of the tank withstand the huge load of the rocket?The answer to this question is actually very simple: rely on the boost pressure in the tank to share the axial load of the axial rocket.Because the rocket, whether it is an oxidant storage tank or a fuel storage tank, whether it is a low-temperature propellant storage tank or a normal temperature propellant storage tank, needs to maintain a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure inside the rocket to force the fuel to flow into the turbo pump. Some of them rely on propellant Its own heat-absorbing boiling maintains the pressure in the storage tank, and some rely on an external booster device.

We should all have this kind of life experience: empty cans are easy to collapse when external force is applied, but if you shake the canned Sprite vigorously for a few times, the pressure inside the can will dissolve with the Sprite The large overflow of carbon dioxide gas will increase, and the cans filled with Sprite will also become stronger and not so easy to collapse.The same is true for the emergence of rocket propellants. When the atmospheric pressure in the propellant tank is significantly higher than the external environment, the boost pressure of the tank can be used to share a considerable part of the axial load of the rocket.This is why the shell of a modern rocket's storage tank, if calculated according to the ratio, is relatively thinner than the wall of the can, but it can not only stably support the rocket's own weight of hundreds or thousands of tons, but also bear the increased rocket acceleration. Reason for axial overload without collapse.

In addition to greatly optimizing the structural design of the rocket, the guidance technology of the A-5 rocket on this plane is also more advanced than that of the A-4 rocket, because compared with the A-4 rocket that only uses inertial guidance, Siemens The function of radio command correction in the ascending stage is added to the A-5 rocket, the purpose is to more accurately control the engine shutdown speed of the A-5 rocket.However, when the designers of the A-5 rocket were immersed in writing and drawing in front of the drawing board, the Spanish Civil War, which was late but never absent, finally broke out in Helena's expectation, although it seemed a little bit to expect another country to fight a civil war Wicked, but this was indeed Helena's truest thought when she heard the news, but Helena would never publicly admit her dirty thoughts.

Chapter 379 Planning a Rebellion

In fact, the Spanish Civil War was supposed to break out in mid-July in the original historical plane, but the outbreak of the war in this plane was postponed to the end of August.The main reason is that Italy in this plane has just suffered a disgraceful defeat in the war of aggression against Ethiopia, and the subsequent serious currency crisis even threatened the ruling foundation of the Mussolini government, although Mussolini In the end, Italy's economic situation was barely stabilized by relying on the loans obtained from France, but the huge hole created by the failure of the Ethiopian war in the country's finances was obviously impossible to eliminate in a short period of time.

Therefore, although Mussolini in this plane is still flirting with the Spanish right-wing forces who conspired to rebel, Italy's support for the Spanish rebels cannot be compared with the original historical plane, let alone Germany in this plane. As in the plane, he stood with Italy on the side of the Spanish rebels. The reduction of foreign aid caused the leader of the Spanish right-wing officer, Jose Sanjujo, to dare not act rashly before, because he needed to spend a longer time than the original historical plane. With the accumulation of rebel forces, the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War on this plane was postponed until the end of August.

However, it is impossible for Jose Sanjujo to postpone the rebellion indefinitely after all. Although the Spanish left-wing coalition government led by Largo Caballero did not dare to attack the right-wing officers for fear of turmoil in the country, it would never Not so dull as to be blind to the danger of a defection by right-wing officers.In fact, since the left-wing coalition government came to power, it has used various reasons to transfer right-wing officers who hold real power to relatively idle places. At the same time, it is speeding up the demobilization of the army and stepping up the arrest of fascists.

These actions of the left-wing coalition government undoubtedly made the right-wing forces in Spain feel a sense of crisis. They realized that if the left-wing coalition government continues to gradually weaken the influence of the right-wing forces on the army, the right-wing forces, which have been deprived of military power, will definitely lose the last chance to launch an armed rebellion. time window.Therefore, although the preparations for the rebellion were not fully completed until the end of August, Jose Sanjujo, as the number one figure in the Spanish right-wing military officer organization "Spanish Military League", after repeated weighing, finally strengthened his determination to immediately launch an armed riot .

In fact, for this Jose Sanjujo, this is not the first time he launched an armed rebellion against the left-wing government. As early as 1932, he launched a military coup aimed at overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic. After the coup failed, Jose Sanjujo Sanjujo was originally sentenced to life imprisonment by the left-wing government, but because the right-wing forces won the election in 1933, Jose Sanjujo in prison was not only granted an amnesty by the right-wing government, but also Many conservative forces in Spain regard him as a hero who dared to resist the left-wing republican rule.After receiving the amnesty, Jose Sanjujo did not stay in the politically turbulent Spain, but has been settling in nearby Portugal waiting for the opportunity to make a comeback. The "Spanish Military Alliance" organization we mentioned earlier is Sanjujo in this way created under the circumstances.

There were also two senior generals in the Spanish army who supported Jose Sanjujo's rebellion, Emilio Mora and Francisco Franco.These two generals who hold military power and Jose Sanjujo jointly agreed: on the 28th of this month, use "clear skies throughout Spain" as the code of action, and rely on the troops that the right-wing officers can still control to launch a campaign across Spain. Large-scale armed riots. Among them, Emilio Mora, who lived in the country, was mainly responsible for instigating the army and the National Guard stationed in Spain. Francisco Franco, who was sent by the government to the Spanish Moroccan colony, was in charge of instigating the troops stationed there. The elite foreign mercenary corps, and the most prestigious Jose Sanjujo will return from Portugal to take command of the center.

We all know that it was Francisco Franco who finally established a dictatorship in Spain in the original historical plane, but now Franco can only be ranked last among the three main figures who planned the military rebellion.Because Franco's qualifications and influence in the army are slightly weaker than the former two.However, in the original historical plane, Jose Sanjujo, the leader of the rebel army, suffered an air crash on his way back from Portugal, and less than a year later, Emilio Mo La died because of another air crash. As a result, Francisco Franco, who was originally ranked third in the rebel army, took over most of the political affairs of the former two by virtue of his status as a direct disciple of Jose Sanjujo. The military heritage has completely secured the top spot in the right-wing national army, and eventually became the integrator of various right-wing forces in Spain.

Because the fact that Jose Sanjujo, the leader of the rebel army, and Emilio Moura, the second child, had air crashes in a short period of time is too coincidental, and Francisco, who was originally the third child in the rebel army, Franco was indeed the most direct beneficiary of the accidental death of the first two, so some historians in later generations suspected that the air crash of the first two was a conspiracy planned by Franco to become the boss, but this guess has not been found clearly evidence support.

After all, the reasons for the crashes of José Sanjujo and Emilio Mora seem almost too plausible: Jose Sanjujo’s plane crashed because it was seriously overloaded with too much luggage, and Emilio Mora Mora's plane crashed because of rare bad weather.But then again, if the two air crashes were really a conspiracy planned by Franco, then Franco, as the planner of the incident, would definitely try to make the reasons for the air crashes look more reasonable.

Whether the plane crashes of Jose Sanjujo and Emilio Mora in the historical plane were caused by Francisco Franco's conspiracy Helena is naturally difficult to verify, but in the original historical plane, it should have been returning home from Portugal Jose Sanjujo, who suffered an air crash on the way, landed safely in Spain in his own plane. This deviation was somewhat beyond Helena's expectation.

After thinking about it, Helena thinks that Jose Sanjujo did not die in an air crash like in the original historical plane. It may be because the air crash that Jose Sanjujo suffered in the historical plane was indeed an accident, or it may be Jose Sanjujo in the historical plane was indeed killed by Francisco Franco, but Francisco Franco in this plane gave up killing Jose Sanjuo through an air crash for some reason Huo's plan may be because the foreign aid of the Spanish rebels in this plane is not as powerful as the original historical plane. Franco is afraid that after killing Jose Sanjujo, he will not have enough capital to integrate the rebel forces. Franco's ranking among the rebels will only be meaningful if he is ultimately victorious.

Chapter 3 Eighty Twice Reversed

As the rebellion date agreed in advance by Jose Sanjujo and others officially approached, radio stations across Spain suddenly received the weather forecast of "clear skies throughout Spain" from the Moroccan colonies. Brigadier General Emilio Mora immediately received the signal. Using the forces under his own control to take the lead in erecting the anti-flag in the Navarra region in the north, the Canary Islands commander Francisco Franco immediately led his Foreign Legion to announce the response in Morocco in the south.

Immediately afterwards, armed rebellions broke out in major Spanish cities one after another, and the left-wing coalition government caught off guard suddenly fell into a passive position.Panicked government officials, like ants on a hot pot, dialed around to try to mobilize troops to suppress the rebellion, only to find that in the chaos sweeping the country, they could not tell which troops were loyal to the Madrid government and which troops had defected. rebels.

Sometimes the help calls made by the Madrid government were successfully connected, but the other end of the phone responded to their expectations with a cold declaration of betrayal. In just a few days, the Spanish left-wing coalition government lost its support. With more than half of the country's army in control, the troops led by Emilio Mora have even begun to threaten the capital Madrid from the north. Now the domestic situation in Spain seems to have deteriorated to the point where it is completely irreparable.

However, just as the Republic was facing a critical juncture of life and death, the militia organizations urgently mobilized by various left-wing political parties unexpectedly played the mainstay role. In the middle of the war, they often suffered heavy casualties due to the lack of basic military literacy and combat skills, but they succeeded in curbing the previous triumphant advance of the rebel troops with their fighting spirit of sacrificing their lives.Especially in the eastern and central regions where the industry and commerce are most developed, the armed riots launched by the right-wing rebels were basically crushed.

After repelling the attacks of the right-wing rebels in the large and medium-sized cities in the eastern region, the left-wing republican army that stabilized its position also launched a counterattack against the western region where the rebels were entrenched and made important progress in some areas. The liberation of Badajoz, an important city near the Spanish-Portuguese border, split the rebel forces between Emilio Mora's forces on the north and Francisco Franco's on the south open.

However, although the counterattack of the left-wing Republican Army was very threatening at the beginning, it even made the top of the right-wing rebels suspect that their cause of armed power seizure was about to fail. idea.But just when the whole world believed that the left-wing Republican Army would wipe out the right-wing National Army in one go, the left-wing Republican Army, which was in a good situation, inexplicably stopped its counter-offensive steps on all fronts. The defeated right-wing national army thus gained a valuable respite and quickly stabilized its position.

It turned out that as the offensive of the right-wing National Army was repelled by the left-wing Republican Army, those left-wing militia organizations that had shown heroism in the early battles quickly exposed their limitations.In addition to the overly superstitious belief in courage and enthusiasm we mentioned earlier and the lack of necessary professional military qualities, the strong rural plot and lax discipline of these militias also make it impossible for them to fight far from their hometowns, although they performed well when defending their cities. They are quite brave and tenacious, but as long as the combat area is a little far away from their hometown, these militiamen who are used to going home to sleep will come up with all kinds of lame and old-fashioned excuses to refuse to participate. The most common excuses include sick children at home and wives in labor , Mother dying and so on.It is conceivable that even the best commander would not be able to command such a loosely disciplined force to attack the hinterland where the rebels are entrenched. If he did so, the army might disband before reaching the place.

However, compared with the lack of military literacy and lax organizational discipline of the militia, the most fatal problem for the left-wing Republican Army may still be the government order that can never be unified.Although the various left-wing factions in Spain finally agreed to establish a "war committee" in Madrid composed of left-wing officers and politicians to take charge of overall planning after more than ten days of quarreling.

However, the goal of coordinating the overall situation is obviously impossible to achieve, not to mention that the so-called "war council" is often deadlocked in decision-making due to differences in partisan opinions. Effective implementation, because as the left-wing parties in Spain successively pulled up armed forces in their own control areas, the control area of ​​​​the left-wing Republican Army has actually shown a state of armed separatism by various parties. The so-called war council does not have sufficient authority and integrity. Mandatory to ensure that their decisions will be carried out.

In this way, the newly established militia units of the Spanish Left-wing Republican Army have brave but lacking military literacy and organizational discipline. As long as the battlefield is a little far away from their hometown, they will lose their will to fight.Then, because the coalition government simply did not have the ability to lead the overall situation, the result was an international spectacle of various left-wing parties scolding each other over trivial issues in the central government, and fighting each other for turf at the local level.Soon the right-wing rebels were pleasantly surprised to find that each unit of the left-wing Republican Army was basically fighting on its own. If the National Army concentrated its forces to attack a certain Republican army in a certain place, they didn’t even need to worry about the surrounding Republican Army. Troops came to the rescue, especially if the surrounding Republican troops were from different parties than the one being attacked.

In this way, the situation of the Spanish Civil War ushered in a reversal in a short period of time. The right-wing National Army, which was respite, began to re-accumulate military strength and adjust its deployment, preparing to launch a large-scale counterattack against the scattered left-wing Republican Army.At this time, the number of right-wing National Army assembled in the hands of Emilio Mora in northwest Spain was close to 7. About 8000 members of the Foreign Legion were repatriated from Morocco to consolidate the right-wing National Army's territory in southwestern Spain.

The attack plan of the Spanish right-wing National Army is: after the mobilization of the elite foreign legion in Franco's hands, Franco's troops will launch a new attack from Seville on the south flank to the north, aiming directly at the The purpose of Badajoz, restored by the Republican Army, is to re-open the land connection between the north and the south of the right-wing national army separated by the city, so as to ensure the smooth logistics supply line of the right-wing national army and provide a stable base for the next attack on the capital Madrid. rear base.

Chapter 381 A Moment of Tranquility

As time came to mid-September, three weeks after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the redeployed Spanish right-wing National Army not only successfully reversed the passive situation on the battlefield, but also regained the ability to show sharp fangs to the left-wing government forces. Tens of thousands of elite foreign legionaries who had just been transferred back to Europe from the Moroccan colony in North Africa assembled in Seville, and then, under the leadership of Franco, launched a massive attack on the area controlled by the left-wing Republican Army from southeast to northwest. General Mora's troops entrenched in the north and the rebel forces residing in Portugal also supported Franco's offensive in the north and west, and the spearheads of these three troops' attacks were all directed at The restored Spanish-Portuguese border town of Badajoz.

The Spanish right-wing national army's offensive on Badajoz City went smoothly beyond imagination. As the most elite force in Spain, the Yaguer column under Franco has about [-] motorized infantry and several supporting troops. Motorized light artillery company, and this valuable motorized unit also logically became the vanguard of the right-wing National Army's offensive operations.

After the offensive of the right-wing National Army began, this motorized unit quickly crossed the Morena Mountains, and it took only a week to successfully reach the outside of Badajoz. At this time, although the number of left-wing republican troops around Badajoz It is impressive, but there is no time to respond effectively to such a rapid offensive, so when this elite enemy vanguard suddenly appeared in front of them, the panic of the local republicans can be imagined.

In fact, if you look at it from the perspective of hindsight, even when the Battle of Badajoz progressed here, the Spanish left-wing Republican Army did not have no chance of a comeback.The motorized units of the right-wing National Army advanced too fast, resulting in a serious disconnect between the elite vanguard and the slow-moving main force behind.Although the motorized troops that arrived outside the city of Badajoz advanced quickly, they only had [-] infantry and a small number of accompanying light artillery in terms of strength, and such troops were actually not suitable for urban battles. After all, it is difficult for the mobility advantages of light motorized troops to be brought into play in the complex terrain of the city.

However, the high-level Republicans in Badajoz may have been frightened by the sudden appearance of the enemy at this time. As a result, the morning when the motorized troops of the right-wing National Army arrived outside Badajoz, Badajoz The mayor of the city rolled up his bed and ran away with a vote of republican high-level officials. Before abandoning the city and running away, he didn't even think about checking the opponent's reality.And the officers and soldiers of the Republican Army who are building barricades can only sigh after learning the news of the leader's escape: We are about to fight to the death, why did the mayor escape first?

The Republican militia, abandoned after the leaders of the city of Badajoz fled, also put up a heroic resistance.However, these stragglers who lost their command were the opponents of the elite troops of the well-organized National Army. The vanguard of the National Army took control of most of the city of Badajoz in just one day, so this strategically important city became This easily fell into the hands of the right-wing National Army.The sporadic resistance of the Republicans in Badajoz lasted for another two days. The last remnants of more than 50 militia fighters of the left-wing Republican Army locked themselves in the cathedral in the center of the city, fighting with the besieged right-wing National Army troops until they were bombed. After running out of food, all sacrificed heroically.But their bravery could not undo the damage done by the faltering flight of the top republicans.

The Spanish right-wing National Army captured this important city through the Battle of Badajoz, and successfully reconnected the territory divided by Badajoz into the north and the south.Although General Mora's troops previously entrenched in the northwest had a large number of troops, at this time the left-wing Republican Army still controlled several important port cities along the northern coast of Spain, so the National Army troops led by General Mora were always facing logistical challenges. The problem of supply difficulties, and now the military supplies from Italy are being unloaded at the port in southern Spain controlled by Franco, and are being continuously transported to General Mora through the transportation hub of Badajoz. Therefore, a relatively stable offensive base was obtained.

After winning the Battle of Badajoz, the right-wing National Army did not launch a new attack on the Left-wing Republican Army immediately, and the Left-wing Republican Army did not carry out large-scale military mobilization as if it had an agreement with the Right-wing National Army. The exchange of fire is still going on, but on the whole, the fronts of the two sides have entered a temporary stable stage. However, this calm does not mean that the two sides who fought in full swing in the early stage are ready to shake hands and make peace. In fact, the whole of Spain is now in a suffocating battle. A new and more violent storm of war is brewing in the low pressure, and the temporary stability on the front line between the two sides at this time is nothing more than a moment of tranquility before the new storm comes.

Chapter 382 Arms Embargo

After the Battle of Badajoz on the real plane, the domestic battlefield situation in Spain has entered a short period of stability. Both the left-wing Republican Army and the right-wing National Army are using this precious war gap to race against time to expand their strength. Take advantage of the upcoming new round of military contests.However, this bloody war at this time is no longer simply a contest between the left and right political forces in Spain. Although the war between the left-wing Republican Army and the right-wing National Army did not burn the Spanish border, the Spanish Civil War Gaming tables have begun to spread all over the world, and this change begins with the exchange of notes between Britain and France after the outbreak of the Battle of Badajoz, and the subsequent statement of avoiding intervention in the Spanish Civil War.

In fact, when the Spanish Civil War just broke out, the French government was sympathetic to the Spanish Republican government. After all, the People's Front, which had just won the parliamentary election in April, was in power in France at this time. The ruling coalition formed by the French Communist Party and other left-wing parties, and the newly appointed French Prime Minister Leon Bloom is also from the French Socialist Party.This makes the current French government ideologically closer to the Spanish Republican government, which is also governed by a left-wing party.In fact, on the third day after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, France received a distress telegram from Spanish Prime Minister Jose Girard, hoping to obtain political support from France and purchase weapons from France. He was indeed ready to agree to Spain's request, but the rapidly changing international situation soon forced him to change his position on the Spanish issue.

It was mainly the attitude of the British that forced France to give up its support for the Spanish Republican government. The British right-wing conservative government did not have a good impression of the Spanish left-wing government. After warning that the situation in Spain was very similar to Tsarist Russia before the revolution, the British government was always worried that the Spanish left-wing government would find it difficult to solve social problems, which would lead to further turmoil in Spain, which in turn would lead to similar incidents in Spain by the Spanish Communist Party. The Socialist Revolution in Russia.In addition, Britain was worried that participating in the Spanish Civil War would drag itself into unpredictable regional conflicts. Therefore, unlike the French government, which was emotionally sympathetic to the Spanish Republican government, the British had firmly stayed out of it since the Spanish Civil War just broke out.

So when French Prime Minister Leon Bloom went to London to participate in the three-nation meeting with the participation of Britain, France and Belgium, British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden asked him whether he had any plans to send arms to the Spanish Republic. After Prime Minister Ang Bloom's affirmative reply, Eden warned him: "This is France's own business, but I only ask you one thing, and that is to be cautious." It sounds nothing wrong, but the implication is that if the French government chooses to send weapons to the Spanish Republican government, then Britain will draw a clear line with France on the Spanish issue.

The attitude of the United Kingdom made the French government apprehensive about the sale of arms to the Spanish Republican government. In addition, the right-wing forces in France tried their best to obstruct the arms sale plan. After repeatedly weighing the pros and cons, Leon Bloom finally decided to Decided to abandon the plan to sell weapons to the Spanish Republican government. This decision of the French government in this plane is exactly the same as the original historical plane.Subsequently, France and the United Kingdom jointly signed and issued an agreement to prevent the continuation of the Spanish Civil War, imposing an embargo on the arms and war materials between the two warring parties in the Spanish Civil War.In addition, the United Kingdom and France are also preparing to establish a multinational "International Committee for the Non-Intervention Agreement with Spain" in the international arena, which is responsible for managing the embargo on Spanish weapons and other war materials.

Chapter 383 Refused to join the group

"The United Kingdom and France recently established the Non-Interference Committee on Spanish International Agreements in London and invited European countries to participate. Now more than 20 European countries, including the Soviet Union and Italy, have decided to join the committee. Our foreign departments have also received many Considering the proposal issued by the committee to avoid interfering in the Spanish Civil War, it seems that among the major European countries that have not decided to join the non-intervention committee, we are the only one left, Germany." Hitler handed the brewed tea to Helena.

Hitler is no longer willing to bother the waiters in the Führer's Palace for serving tea and water to Helena, because whenever Hitler and Helena discuss important issues, they don't like others to come in and disturb their elegant mood, so Hitler simply took over the work of the waiters.

Helena took the teacup handed by Hitler in relief, and gently stirred the tea leaves floating in the water with the edge of the lid.After thinking for a moment, she slowly said: "There is no need for Germany to dance to the rhythm of Britain and France on the Spanish issue. Britain and France actively promote other European countries to join the non-intervention committee. The main reason is that they are afraid that the spread of war in Spain will endanger their own interests. Even involving himself in the war, followed by the fear that the Spanish Civil War would eventually lead to the outbreak of a more radical communist revolution."

"There is also a reason why Italy and the Soviet Union agreed to join the British-French-dominated non-intervention committee. By joining the committee, Italy needed to cover its illegal behavior of supplying arms and sending fighters to the rebels, while the Soviet Union tried to do so by joining. The committee reassures Britain and France about exporting revolutions to improve the international environment, but Germany has no reason to join the committee similar to these two countries. So my suggestion to the country is to promise not to interfere in Spain's internal affairs, but not to participate in Britain and A non-intervention committee led by France." Helena put down her teacup and said.

"Miss Helena means that Germany should promise not to interfere in Spain's internal affairs, but at the same time refuse the invitation of Britain and France to participate in the non-intervention committee? The question is, what is the difference between this approach and directly joining the non-interference committee?" Hitler He asked suspiciously: "And since major European countries have accepted the invitations of Britain and France and agreed to participate in the committee, if Germany refuses the invitations of Britain and France, wouldn't it be a bit out of place in diplomatic occasions?"

"There is a difference between making a non-interference commitment but not participating in the non-interference committee and directly participating in the non-interference committee. There is not only a difference between the two, but there is still a big difference." Helena held out a finger and said: " The biggest difference between the two is the right to define the word 'non-interference'. If Germany alone promises not to interfere in Spain's internal affairs and does not participate in the so-called non-interference committee, Germany has a complete definition of the meaning of the word 'non-interference' rights, such as not selling arms to the legitimate government of a sovereign country that has not invaded other countries, should not be regarded as interference in its internal affairs in our definition system. But as long as we join the so-called non-interference led by the United Kingdom and France Commission, the definition of the word 'non-intervention' falls to Britain and France, which do not take our German interests into account when manipulating international affairs."

"As for the issue of whether Germany will appear to be out of the group if it does not join the group, I think there is no need for you to worry about it. You must know that although there are many members of the so-called non-intervention committee, it is not because of some common interests. At the same time, such an organization has no cohesion at all, and regardless of those small countries that can only act as echoers, even the four major European countries that have confirmed their participation, Britain, France, the Soviet Union and Italy, have very different interests on the Spanish issue. The so-called non-interference committee has no ability to restrain the behavior of these big countries. It is foreseeable that it will not take long before the committee will become as noisy as a country fair. By then, Germany, which did not participate in the committee, will be able to Automatically obtain a relatively detached international status." When Helena mentioned the Non-Intervention Committee, her tone was very obviously contemptuous.

"In fact, Germany's choice not to participate in the non-intervention committee led by the United Kingdom and France has another political meaning. It will backfire on the issue of arms sales for its own benefit. Even the Soviet Union, which is an ideal country in the minds of many socialists, will choose to compromise with Britain and France in order to get rid of international isolation. As for Italy and Portugal It even used the cover of the non-intervention committee to actually support the right-wing rebels. Looking around, only we, Germany, can withstand political pressure and continue to speak out for them in the international arena. This fact alone is enough to make the Spanish Republican government Many people who are still skeptical have given up their illusions about France and the Soviet Union, and threw themselves into our warm embrace wholeheartedly." Helena smiled as she said, "I think we can already expect the Spanish Republican government to come up with something. How much gold has come to buy weapons from us, after all, Germany is irreplaceable in terms of political reliability, and the Spanish Republican government has no choice."

Perhaps it was the Spanish gold that Helena mentioned at the end of this conversation that successfully moved Hitler's hesitant heart, and Konstantin von Neureit, head of the German Foreign Office, made the final reply to the invitation of Britain and France : "The German government promises to continue to adhere to the political principle of non-interference in Spain's internal affairs, and believes that the future of Spain should be determined by all Spanish people. But Germany will not go to London to participate in the so-called non-intervention committee, because the Republican government in Madrid is Representing the only legitimate government in Spain, the non-intervention committee's resolution prohibiting the sale of arms to both sides of the Spanish Civil War seems fair, but in fact it puts the legitimate democratically elected government on the same footing as the rebels trying to overthrow the legitimate government. It is wrong to give to the rebels, but it is also wrong to refuse to sell weapons to the legitimate government. This will weaken the ability of the legitimate government to quell the domestic rebellion. Such a resolution is unacceptable, but Germany is willing to cooperate with the non-intervention committee on banning arms sales to the rebels."

Chapter 384 The Beginning of Cooperation

This statement made by Germany on the Spanish issue in the original plane can be said to have caused a thousand waves in the world. Many international observers who watched the play were shocked by this sudden plot twist and almost dislocated their jaws.Originally, England and France took advantage of the Spanish Civil War to invite poker players from all over Europe to come to London to gather. Everyone sat around the poker table with the words "Committee of the International Agreement of Non-Interference in Spain", talking and laughing, waiting for the start of the game. Card.

Although the vast majority of these poker players invited from the UK and France came to watch the fun, and although the Soviet Union and Italy, which were really able to play poker, were not prepared to strictly abide by the rules on the poker table, at this time The two countries are planning to secretly cheat under the poker table under the cover of the tablecloth, but at least on the poker table, the countries are willing to continue to maintain a happy and harmonious atmosphere.At this time, the vast majority of international observers believed that the game between various countries on the issue of the Spanish Civil War would be carried out within the framework of the Non-Intervention Committee, but this time they were obviously wrong.

Because this false harmonious scene was quickly broken by a new poker player named Germany. Not only did the new poker player named Germany reject the invitation to play poker together at the table from England and France, but even It also began to question the legitimacy of the "Non-Intervention Committee of the Spanish International Agreement" card table itself. If you use the words of Konstantin von Neureiter, head of the German Rubber Department, when answering reporters' questions: " Germany believes that the so-called non-intervention committee cannot solve Spain's problems at all, and in fact the so-called non-intervention committee itself is Spain's problem."

The lethality of Germany's attitude on the Spanish issue lies in this: whether all other countries support the Spanish Republican Army on the left or the National Army on the right, they try to confine the game within the framework of the non-intervention committee, while Germany chooses to directly Pointing the finger of criticism at the card table itself, although the severity of this criticism is far from overthrowing the card table, Germany has responded by refusing to participate in the non-intervention committee led by the United Kingdom and France this time. Expressing a position can still achieve the international political goals that Helena wants to achieve without paying additional political costs.

The most direct impact of Germany's outspoken attitude on the issue of the Spanish Civil War was the rapid warming of relations between Germany and the left-wing Republican government of Spain.Originally, in the Spanish left-wing republican government, there were many voices advocating being close to France or the Soviet Union in diplomacy, mainly because of similar ideological reasons. unrealistic fantasy.

However, as France and the Soviet Union successively agreed to impose an embargo on arms and war materials against the Spanish Republican government, these beautiful illusions soon turned into a heavy sense of disillusionment. Allies of the Soviet Union deserted.At this time, Germany, which stood up to withstand strong international political pressure and was willing to make a lonely and firm call for justice for Spain, suddenly became tall and majestic in their eyes.

However, in the face of the Spanish Republican government's gratitude to Germany, Helena can only say one thing in her heart: Although you have too much brain-filling content, I like your brain-filling talent.

In fact, Germany really did not have to bear huge international political pressure on this matter as the outside world imagined. However, the current German diplomatic situation is: as long as France and Italy continue to be allies and continue to be hostile to Germany, Britain will inevitably continue to rely on Germany to balance France's influence on the European continent; as long as other capitalist countries are still unwilling By accepting the red Soviet Union without any grievances, Germany and the Soviet Union have the possibility to continue to cooperate, and the possibility of cooperation between Germany and the Soviet Union can in turn become a bargaining chip for Britain to help Germany share diplomatic pressure.

Although on the surface, Germany seems to be reckless about offending the whole of Europe for Madrid on the issue of Spain, but in fact, Germany's diplomatic situation has not changed significantly during this process, and the so-called international political pressure naturally has no way to deal with it. Speaking of which, this is exactly where Germany dared to go it alone on the Spanish issue. As long as Germany's aid to Spain does not reach the level of directly changing the political landscape in Europe, Germany's diplomatic situation will still be quite stable and controllable.

With the rapid warming of the relationship between Germany and the left-wing republican government of Spain, coupled with the possibility of launching a new offensive by the Spanish right-wing National Army at any time, the Spanish republican government urgently issued the first arms order to Germany, which included 100 weapons Rifles, [-] machine guns and more than [-] small and medium-caliber artillery.The republican government will pay for these weapons with foreign exchange, gold and mineral resources.

It is not difficult to find that this arms transaction does not involve heavyweight equipment such as aircraft, tanks, and heavy artillery. On the one hand, it was because the right-wing National Army also lacked these "hard goods" in the early days of the Spanish Civil War. After all, the weapons and equipment of both sides of the war were always upgraded as they chased each other.But in any case, this transaction has made a good start for the cooperation between Germany and Spain, and now Helena feels that Spain's gold is one step closer to her.

Chapter 385 The Cabinet Crisis

While the relationship between the German and Spanish governments is heating up sharply with the conclusion of the arms trade agreement, the left-wing cabinet led by French general manager Leon Bloom is increasingly caught in internal and external difficulties.With the French Communist Party, the French Socialist Party and the French Radical Socialist Party, the political alliance "People's Front" jointly formed by the three left-wing parties, won the French parliamentary elections in May. He was also high-spirited when he first ascended to the throne of general manager, but now that his career as general manager has entered the fourth month, the general manager who was born as a literary and drama critic has long lost the spirit of giving advice, because The ruling coalition "People's Front" led by him is falling apart in the increasingly fierce internal and external struggles.

With so much political pressure on his shoulders alone, poor Leon Bloom seems to have aged ten years in a matter of months, and his already rather high hairline is now receding all over the place at a speed visible to the naked eye, The fuse of this political crisis of the French Popular Front was Leon Bloom's attitude towards the Spanish Civil War.

Not long after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Leon Bloom received a telegram from the general manager of Spain, José Girard: "A dangerous attack has occurred, I am terrified, please give us the aid of weapons and aircraft immediately. "Leon Bloom immediately decided to agree to the request of the Spanish Republican government, but in order to prevent the right-wing forces in the country from making use of the problem, he planned to keep the military aid to Spain in a secret state. However, this so-called secret disappeared within a few days. Leaked by a right-wing Spanish diplomat, the result was an instant political storm at home and abroad.

Leon Bloom's plan to assist the Spanish Republican government was first met with fierce obstruction and opposition from its allies Britain and Italy in the international arena. Here we have to say that the Spanish right-wing National Army has a good understanding of the British psychology. José Sanjujo reassured London that their goal was a purely anti-socialist national regime, and that his new regime would neither propose amendments to Gibraltar nor break the alliance with other continental powers. The interest in the balance of power, let alone the left-wing republicans, hurt British investment interests in Spain.These promises of Jose Sanjujo have caused the political balance of the group of conservative British politicians to further tilt towards the Spanish right-wing National Army.

British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin clearly told Leon Bloom that if France continues to send arms to the Spanish left-wing republican government, it is likely to lead to new revolutions and armed conflicts on the European continent, and Britain will not be like last time. Support France as they did during the war.At the same time, Italy's Mussolini also accused Leon Blum of supporting the Republican Army. The practice of supporting the Republican Army will only make Germany and the Soviet Union proud of trying to destroy the peace of the European continent.If it is said that accusations from international allies made Leon Bloom's cabinet's diplomatic situation isolated, then the turbulent waves from the domestic political arena made poor Leon Bloom fully experience what is called the boat of friendship among colleagues. Turn it over and over again, what is the giant ship of political alliance?

Although France's right-wing parties lost 222 seats to 377 seats in the previous parliamentary elections to the left-wing party alliance, the majority of the left-wing seats obviously did not reach an absolute majority. The frustrated right-wing parties are always ready to regroup and launch a counterattack. The revelation of Leon Bloom's plans to sell arms to Spain has given right-wing parties an excellent target.

The right-wing control "French Action" took advantage of the general dislike of war among the French people to exaggerate: "Because of the stupid decision of the Popular Front, France is losing the friendship between Britain and Italy, and the Spanish National Army will become our new enemy after victory. General Manager Leon Bloom is leading our country into a war of destruction."

The "Le Figaro" even published a signed article by the famous writer and later Nobel Prize winner François Mauriac, declaring: "If it turns out that our general manager actively participates in the Iberian Peninsula massacre on the battlefield, then we will understand that France is not ruled by politicians but by mob leaders. We do not want Spain to shed blood for France's fault, and if Bloom decides to intervene in the Spanish Civil War, we will never be able to forgive this sin!"

Because these remarks by the right-wing media are often under the banner of opposing war and supporting humanitarianism, it is easy to arouse the emotional resonance of the general public under the overall political atmosphere of France tired of war, and the previous mistakes in economic policy are even more serious. Things got worse for the Bloom cabinet.

When Leon Bloom's cabinet came to power, it blindly implemented the nationalization policy without supporting measures. As a result, the panic flight of capital led to the drastic depletion of France's already poor gold reserves. In just a few weeks The value of gold outflowed from France was as high as more than 30 billion francs. At the same time, the government's fiscal deficit soared to a suffocating 200 billion francs. Leon Bloom, who was in a state of distress, had to put aside the good promises made during the election. , and then announced the depreciation of the franc while announcing the withdrawal of the newly promulgated benefits, which led to a rapid rise in prices in France...

The forced compromise of Leon Bloom's cabinet was a blatant betrayal in the eyes of French left-wing voters who had supported him, and even the ruling foundation of the Popular Front began to be shaken violently.

It is worth mentioning that a considerable proportion of the funds escaping from France have flowed to Germany next door, because at this time Germany is selling the so-called "franchise rights" to foreign countries according to Helena's suggestion, that is, part of the investment returns are huge but the capital is recovered. The infrastructure construction projects with a long period of time are open to foreign investors for bidding. As long as foreign investors pay according to the requirements of the German government to complete the project, they can automatically obtain the right to operate the project for a period of time. Pass it on to the German government.Due to the current sluggish global economy, there are very few investment projects with stable return expectations. These franchise projects auctioned by the German government are naturally very attractive to the panic-stricken French fleeing capital.

Of course, the return expectations here are all based on the premise that there will be no war between Germany and France in the future. In a state of war, these construction projects invested by French capital will naturally be confiscated as enemy property. After all, liquid capital is solidifying into The reinforced concrete infrastructure will lose its liquidity. Even if the French investors find that the situation is not good, they will have no way to escape. The only thing they can do is to try their best to ask the French government to compromise with Germany to avoid a war. It will undoubtedly make France more restrained in the post-German political game in the future.

The failure of Leon Bloom's economic reforms had already stretched his cabinet to the left and right, but now that Leon Bloom's arms sale plan to Spain was exposed by the right-wing media, the more serious cabinet crisis has finally come to an end It broke out, but the epicenter of this crisis is within the left-wing ruling coalition. The French Communist Party, French Socialist Party, and French Radical Socialist Party that make up this ruling coalition already have relatively large political differences, but now the turmoil caused by the plan to sell weapons to Spain , undoubtedly superficialized the internal contradictions of the French Popular Front.

Chapter 386 The Cabinet's Downfall

It turns out that although the "People's Front" jointly formed by various left-wing political parties in France won the parliamentary election, 377 of the 330 seats won by the alliance in this election were controlled by the French Socialist Party and the French Radical Socialist Party. Among them, the French Socialist Party has the most seats with 149 seats, the Radical Socialist Party has 109 seats, and the French Communist Party has the fewest seats with 72 seats.The unity and cooperation of the three left-wing parties mentioned above can be said to be the cornerstone of supporting the ruling status of Leon Bloom's cabinet, because no matter which party's political support is lacking in Leon Bloom's cabinet, it means that in the future Bills enacted by the government may not be able to secure a majority in parliamentary votes.

However, where there are crowds, there are left, center and right. This sentence is applicable even in Europe. Although the three main parties that make up the ruling coalition of the "People's Front" belong to the left wing on the French political spectrum, their respective political stances I am afraid that the distance between them can only be measured in astronomical units.Among them, the French Communist Party, which requires communism, belongs to the left wing of the left camp, the French Socialist Party, which demands social democracy, belongs to the center wing of the left wing camp, and the French Radical Socialist Party, which favors reformed capitalism, belongs to the right wing of the left wing camp.You read that right, this party called the "Radical Socialist Party" is the most moderate and conservative political party among the French left-wing parties.If we compare the political views of these left-wing parties together, we will find that apart from resisting the seizure of power by fascist organizations and opposing religious forces intervening in the political field, they basically cannot find any other common language.

In fact, the differences of opinion between the three major left-wing parties that make up the "People's Front" have been revealed as early as when Leon Bloom implemented his economic reforms. The French Communist Party on the left felt that the general manager of the Socialist Party The reform measures were too conservative, while the Radical Socialist Party on the right thought his reform measures were too radical.And when Léon Bloom's reforms had little effect or even caused more serious economic problems, the French Communist Party on the left felt that it was because the pace of economic reforms was too slow, while the Radical Socialist Party on the right thought it was all because of the economic problems. The pace of reform was so fast that even Leon Bloom's own Socialist Party split into two factions and accused each other, making Leon Bloom, who was trying to mediate, like a mouse in a bellows.

However, when the French government's plan to sell arms to Spain was exposed, Leon Bloom's two-sided situation within the ruling coalition reached new heights: the vast majority of radical socialists strongly opposed the government's efforts to sell Spain. The Republican Army's plan to provide aid. After all, the main supporters of the Radical Socialist Party are the urban middle class and wealthier farmers. These people are very afraid that the government will involve the country in a war that has nothing to do with them.Jean Nane, the president of the Senate from the Radical Party, even questioned Leon Bloom in an extremely excited tone: "How can you do this? No one here will understand. Earlier this year, Germany sent troops to occupy the Rhineland region." , when it directly threatened France's own security, France finally chose to make concessions to Germany. If we are now involved in a war because of Spain, which has nothing to do with us, the people will not understand us."

It is not only the President of the Senate Jean Nané who opposes Leon Bloom's sale of weapons to Spain. Bloom don't get involved.Albert Le Brun, then President of France, also warned Léon Bloom that sending arms to Spain would mean the outbreak of war or revolution in France, and emphasized that not even the general manager of the government could Act alone.However, even the cabinet formed by Leon Bloom did not support him, whether it was the deputy general manager Camille Chautang, the head of the Ministry of Housing Edward Daladier or the head of the Foreign Rubber Department Yvonne Delbos , have clearly expressed their opposition to the plan to aid the Spanish Republican Army.

Outside the ruling coalition, the right-wing forces frantically focused fire, and within the ruling coalition, he was opposed by his so-called allies in turn. Leon Bloom, who was physically and mentally exhausted, could only inform the Spanish envoy of the cabinet's opposition to the arms sale. Leon When Bloom talked about the saddest place, he couldn't help crying and hammering his chest and said: "My heart is about to break."So much so that the Spanish envoy said in a letter to Madrid overnight that he "has never seen Bloom so emotional."

In fact, even Helena felt that what Leon Bloom did on the Spanish issue was really interesting enough. His final compromise was due to the political environment in France, but the French Communist Party, which advocated aiding the Spanish Republican Army, could not understand Leon Bloom's grievances, their fierce criticism of Bloom's policy of non-intervention, which made the differences within the "Popular Front" public for the first time, and the hapless Leon Bloom is now again Became the two-headed mouse in the bellows, and the position of Leon Bloom's cabinet was really in jeopardy at this time.

However, even Helena didn't expect that the final straw that put the last straw on the panting camel of Leon Bloom's cabinet turned out to be the German government's diplomatic statement in support of the Spanish Republican government.Originally, the turmoil in France surrounding the issue of arms sales to Spain has subsided with Leon Blum's compromise and concession. It has been heated up again by the French right-wing media and has become a new focus for attacking Leon Bloom's cabinet.

According to these French right-wing media reports, Britain and Italy are allies of France, while Germany is France's old enemy, and Leon Bloom did not stand with France's allies, Britain and Italy on the issue of the Spanish Civil War. , but trying to stand with France's old enemy, Germany, is definitely colluding with Germany secretly to prepare to betray France's interests.At the beginning, such malicious speculations were only published in right-wing tabloids with a small circulation, but then the mainstream media controlled by the right wing also began to follow up, and added a lot of details of the story in the report. Comparable to a detective novel, and then right-wing politicians began to use this to publicly question Leon Bloom's loyalty to France, and then even Leon Bloom's Jewish ancestry inexplicably became his familiar The evidence of Germany, who said that the relationship between Germany and the Jews in this plane happens to be pretty good.

Faced with the sudden "Tongde" accusation, the unlucky Leon Bloom is really sitting at home, and the blame comes from the sky.But Leon Bloom, who was born as a literary and theater critic, made a mistake that intellectuals often make at this time: when faced with the obvious attacks of right-wing political opponents, he always tried to analyze them in the same way as he did literary criticism. Reasoning with his opponents, but the political opponents who are determined to oust him are not prepared to reason with him at all. Every time Leon Bloom refutes a piece of "evidence" on the opposite side, the other side can come up with ten new "evidences" in a blink of an eye. Evidence", Leon Bloom, who is essentially a scholar in the study, can't let go of his figure and fight with his opponents. As a result, in the reports of the right-wing media, it becomes a lack of reasoning in the face of "ironclad evidence"...