Transmigrated as the Crown Prince

On the other hand, sudden changes in Italy shocked the British top brass. First, there was the inexplicable assassination of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy, and then there was news that the German army had fully invaded Italy in the name of supporting a new queen.

At first, the British senior officials were quite happy, thinking that a war would break out between Germany and Italy, which would buy Britain a lot of time. However, just a few hours before they were happy, the envoy they had sent unexpectedly confessed that the British Empire had conspired with Mussoorie. Ni assassinated Vittorio Emanuele III.

The fall of such a big black pot really stunned the British; before they could recover, Italy's General Rodolfo Graziani arrested the leader of the black shirts Itano Balbo; announced that Italy The army will support the new queen.

The angry Italian people rushed into the British Embassy in Rome and consulates in various places. The British Ambassador was beaten to death; there were countless casualties among the British staff in the embassies.

Churchill issued an emergency radio speech, repeatedly stating that this incident had nothing to do with the British Empire and that everything was a German conspiracy.

You must know that although there is a certain gap between the strength and the top powers such as Britain, France and Germany, Italy is fully qualified to be a great power. Italy is the seventh largest industrial country in the world, accounting for about 3% of the world's industrial share. It can manufacture all aircraft, tanks, and warships; it is one of the few countries in the world with a complete industrial system.

Italy is an old colonial empire with a colonial area of ​​more than three million square kilometers. It occupies the fourth position in the world and has a strong international influence.

The most important thing is that Italy has an all-round and three-dimensional modern combat military force. As for the army, Italy has millions of well-equipped soldiers with good training and quality. In terms of air force, Italy has world-class fighter aircraft and top pilots, and the air force is not small. In terms of navy, Italy has one of the top naval forces in the world.

It is too late for the UK to win over such a country. If a conflict breaks out, it will really make things worse for the UK.

It's a pity that no matter how much he promised or swore, the previous "Operation Ballista" had already made the British Empire notorious. Most people felt that this British man could even attack and rob his own allies, so what other crazy things could he do? Not coming out? !

Just as the German army was advancing furiously on Italian soil, the special envoy sent by Germany came to Spain.

"Hello, distinguished President Arias."

General Franco was unfortunately assassinated during the Spanish Civil War. His right-hand man Arias naturally took his place. As soon as the civil war ended, all other political parties were banned and he became the lifelong head of state.

"Welcome friends from Germany."

After the guests and hosts exchanged pleasantries for a while, the German envoy revealed the purpose of his trip. "I am here this time on the order of His Highness Yannick to borrow something from your country."

"His Royal Highness Yannick is so polite. I don't mind borrowing anything. Your country is Spain's most sincere friend. If you need anything, just ask." After the Spanish Civil War, Germany began to vigorously aid Spain. First, he helped Spain improve its military industrial facilities for free, and then placed an extremely large arms order. Relying on the profits from arms exports and the export income from various ore resources, Spain's economy has developed rapidly, and the wounds of the civil war have gradually healed. The Spanish government is also sparing no effort to promote the noble friendship between Germany and Spain.

But what everyone expected was that when Germany launched the war, Spain declared its neutrality and did not participate in the war.

Germany has not expressed any dissatisfaction, and the relationship between the two countries remains as before.

After thanking President Arias for his generosity, the German envoy spoke. "We're going to borrow a road, a road to Gibraltar."

This short sentence made the atmosphere at the venue a little more solemn.

After a few minutes of silence, Head Arias smiled. "Your Excellency, the special envoy, is tired from the journey. Please rest first. We will talk tomorrow."

After the German envoy left, Head of State Arias looked at the people present and asked. "It seems that we can't stay out of the matter after all. Do you want to agree to the Germans' demands?"

Gibraltar is the last British colony on the European continent, located on a narrow peninsula on the Mediterranean coast at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula.

Gibraltar is about 6 kilometers long from north to south, about 2 kilometers wide from east to west, and covers an area of ​​about 8 square kilometers. It is a triangular rock area. The total population is about 30,000, of which Gibraltar has a local population of about 20,000.

Although Gibraltar is a small place, it is truly a battleground for military strategists.

Geographically, Gibraltar is the bridgehead on the northern shore of the Strait of Gibraltar and can effectively control sea lanes. It is only a dozen kilometers away from the port of Ceuta on the south coast of the strait, making it easy to block the strait.

After the opening of the Suez Canal in the 19th century, the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal played a role in shortening the shipping distance between the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean.

For more than two hundred years since it occupied Gibraltar in 1704, Britain has continued to strengthen its military construction of Gibraltar, building it into a giant fortress integrating land, sea and air force.

Germany in the original time and space has always wanted to capture Gibraltar, but unfortunately it has never been able to do so. After all, the German navy can play with submarines, but it is delusional to conduct landing operations and so on. The United Kingdom controls the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and German battleships cannot reach Gibraltar at all. And if you land from a distant coast, you need to use transport ships to transport troops across the ocean, so you can easily be attacked by the British on the ocean.

Airborne operations are theoretically feasible. However, in view of the tragic experience of the German airborne troops in Crete, this plan was also rejected.

In the end, the land route was also unfeasible. At that time, Franco had already considered the situation of Spain after the war and actively maintained contact with Britain and the United States during the war, hoping to benefit from both sides. Therefore, Franco refused Mustache's coercion and inducement, and refused to let go, and would not open the land route to allow Germany to attack Gibraltar.

There is another interesting anecdote here. Spain has not joined the war for a long time. Mustache was a little annoyed, so he said to Franco: "How about you give us a way to the Strait of Gibraltar." Franco replied: "We Spaniards take everything The entry of foreign troops is considered an invasion. If you enter our country, you may be attacked by spontaneous guerrillas, which I have no control over. And you must know that the word 'guerrilla warfare' was invented by us Spaniards." That's it. We can see that he is different from many dictators. He loves his country more than himself. He puts the interests of Spain first. His dictatorship just wanted him to restore Spain to the traditional Spain with his own hands. For this reason, he became an executioner and a dictator. He didn't care. He let his hands be stained with blood and entrusted a Spain that could be reborn to the king.

It is a pity that this patriotic dictator is no longer alive. Most of the current Spanish top officials are in favor of lending the road to the Germans.

Just then a discordant voice sounded. "Your Majesty the Head of State, I object. If the road is lent to the Germans, wouldn't we openly declare war on Britain?" It was Deputy Head of State Salazar who spoke.

This guy seems to have a natural problem with Arias, and he raises objections at every turn. No one knows why President Arias appointed this naysayer as deputy head of state. Some people also suggested that the head of state should kick this annoying guy out of the political arena. Anyway, the deputy head of state is almost a decoration and has no real power. It will not have much impact if he has it or not.

But President Arias seemed to be imitating the story of President Lincoln and Secretary of Defense Stanton in the United States. He had always been kind to Salazar and never lost his temper.