The envoy sent by Franco was very smart. His master needed the equipment provided by the Germans so much that he could not refuse Reinhardt's request no matter what.
Once he wins this war, he and everyone behind him can ascend to the throne of power. If he loses, there is no need to dwell on those illusory chips.
However, the special envoy still wanted to struggle, and said in an almost pleading tone: "Mr. Prime Minister, the price we have paid is too great. I hope you can think about it for us, can you..."
Reinhard laughed loudly and interrupted the special envoy: "Did I not think of this? I know you can't be too greedy. Besides, these aids will not be effective immediately. You have to wait until your troops are deployed.
Only then can it work.”
Reinhard's words were quite polite. It seemed that he would provide him with something else. The envoy felt relieved.
I saw Reinhard cheerfully saying to the special envoy: "Well, let me lend you 50 more state-of-the-art aircraft, flown by German pilots. In addition, I will send a German armored division to Spain to help you win this war."
.Don’t be in a hurry to ask for the rent, just pay it back slowly after you win the battle.”
With the German armored forces and air force, Franco's special envoy naturally wanted it. But this "rent", according to the tactics of the German Prime Minister in front of him, may not be too low.
Franco's envoy only heard Reinhardt continue: "Well, the rent will be cheaper for you. It will be paid according to the value of 50 tons of gold, and tungsten ore and other resources can be used to replace the repayment."
The special envoy just felt dizzy, but Reinhard kept chattering: "This is much cheaper than the price we sold it to the Republican Army. Don't be embarrassed, we are ideological friends. This price is not
I'm sorry, you must never refuse again. If you continue to refuse, I will be really embarrassed."
At this time, the special envoy couldn't laugh or cry. He had seen shameless people, but he had never seen such a shameless one! The special envoy wanted to beg, but Reinhard grabbed his hands and shook hands enthusiastically: "No need.
Let's argue, it's settled. If you refuse again, I'll fall out. It's not a huge favor, so I won't be moved like this."
Franco's envoy had the urge to slap Reinhardt in the face, if not anywhere else! Just because this shameless scoundrel deserved a slap.
Reinhardt, who had no self-awareness at all, was still chattering: "When you win and seize power, I will definitely go to see your General Franco. Maybe we will be allies in the future. If you need help, please feel free to ask me."
Open your mouth. Although our German military expedition is very troublesome, we are all willing to help the suffering Spanish people out of the sea of misery. Germans are generous and generous by nature, and I myself like to help others. What I dislike the most in my life is that
The kind of person who keeps fighting over a small amount of money, that kind of person... Bah!"
In the end, the envoy from Spain no longer remembered how he walked into the secret conference hall and signed a secret covenant with the Germans. He only remembered that when he left with a copy of the secret covenant, Reinhard ran to the airport
He made a special trip to see him off, waving his hands and shouting: "Go back and tell General Franco for me, asking him to accept Germany's aid with peace of mind. If you refuse any of them, you are looking down on me and disrespecting the goodwill of the German people."
....."
On August 11, 1936, Spain and Germany signed a secret alliance and assistance treaty. Since then, Franco's envoys have achieved the goal of uniting Germany, Italy, and Portugal respectively.
With the cooperation of the Italian Navy, the German transport fleet and the Italian transport fleet transported a large amount of personnel and equipment to Portugal. The large amount of equipment promised by the Germans was transported to the port of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, and then transported by road to the rear area of Papa under the control of Franco's army.
Dahoz. The first phase of transportation equipment alone enabled Franco's National Army to replace 5 German armored infantry divisions.
The armored division promised by Reinhardt was the 5th Armored Division of the Wehrmacht led by Rommel. This division is equipped with the latest improved Panzer II Type B, which weighs only 10 tons and is equipped with 20mm artillery and 2
A light tank armed with an MG33 machine gun.
When Reinhard ordered the development of this light tank, it was originally intended to be an air-dropped light tank. However, it was unable to meet the air-drop standard due to its heavy weight. However, as an infantry support light tank,
The No. 2B straight-inclined car body is equipped with a subtractive gear at the front and is replaced with a Bamacher HL62 140-horsepower gasoline engine. It has the advantage of being able to flexibly cooperate with infantry operations. Used in backward Spain, it is enough to defeat their
Republican Army.
At the same time, because Germany's real armored main tank T3 type is not used, the true strength of the German armored forces can be hidden during combat.
In addition, the Type 2B tank is also sufficient to test the armored force combat theory proposed by Reinhardt. The German 5th Armored Division's operations in Spain can further improve the details of the armored force combat theory. It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone.
.
As Germany's secret force to assist Franco, the 5th Armored Division assembled in Porto, Portugal, but did not immediately enter the battlefield.
Contrary to the German Expeditionary Force, the 50,000 Italian infantry sent by Mussolini were eager to attack Oviedo on the third day after arriving in Ferrier in northern Spain, trying to quell the main force of the Republican Army in northern Spain in one fell swoop.
In response to this, Franco, who was supported by 8,000 Portuguese volunteers, launched a counterattack in the area of Cordoba, which was about to be lost. Although a breakthrough was not achieved, it stabilized Cordoba's defense line and relieved him.
Crisis at the frontline headquarters in Seville.
At the end of 1936, the German Fifth Armored Division assembled in the Toledo area, but still did not go into battle. As the commander of the German-Spanish Combined Corps, Rommel now had a total of 7 main divisions, including: 1 German light armor
division, 1 Spanish quasi-armored division, and 5 German-armed Spanish infantry divisions. (The other 5 German-armed Spanish infantry divisions were used to stabilize the northern front.)
At Mussolini's request, Italy added a total of 100 heavy machine guns, 50 artillery pieces, 68 old biplanes, and about 30 light tanks to Franco's National Army. With the stingy Reinhardt
Differently, the generous Mussolini provided these supplementary equipment free of charge.
On the other hand, the Spanish Republican Army also received US$2 million in aid and some war materials from Mexico at the end of 1936, including 20,000 rifles, 280,000 bullets, 8 cannons and a handful of American-made aircraft. These equipment further armed the Republic
The People's Guard was temporarily established with 300,000 people. In addition to the 100,000 Gew.98 Mauser rifles that Germany had previously bought to the Republican Army, the People's Guard in the hands of the Republicans has become a quasi-army with considerable combat effectiveness.
Since the 500 tons of gold in history were not pledged (all went into the pockets of the German government), the Comintern under the control of the Soviet government only provided limited assistance to Spain: a Comintern column containing 3,000 high-spirited fighters.
.
By January 1937, the Spanish National Army was surrounded on three sides.
To the north is the Italian Expeditionary Army, which has just received more than 20,000 additional soldiers and has a strength of more than 50,000. This Italian Expeditionary Army has just clashed with the Santander garrison of less than 4,000 people and defeated the Republican Army in northern Spain.
The morale of the main force was high. The originally scattered National Army of five German weapon divisions also gradually gathered around the Italian Expeditionary Force.
In the center, the 100,000-strong German-Spanish Combined Corps under Rommel, which has never been put into battle, is standing ready, threatening Madrid, the capital where the Republican government is located, at all times.
On the southern front, Franco, who had just acquired a Romanian volunteer regiment, was strengthening his offensive and was about to encircle the 100,000 People's Guard troops deployed by the Republican Army in Poso Blanco.
Today, the Spanish Republican Army has reached the point where it is fighting with its last resort.