"Before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the generals of the National Army had contacted the ambassadors of Germany and Italy, and we have reason to believe that without the covert support of the two countries, the Spanish military would not have launched a civil war. Moreover, after the outbreak of the Civil War, the National Army
The army immediately received military assistance from Germany and Italy.
In the first few days, German and Italian planes transferred more than 14,000 soldiers and a large amount of military supplies from Morocco to the peninsula. And according to our estimation, if it were not for the early help of Germany and Italy, the National Army would probably be in Madrid.
It failed under the government's suppression because the Spanish navy was still in the hands of the government."
In the conference room, intelligence chief Hall Monkmann personally introduced to the senior military and political officials present the role of Germany and Italy in the Spanish Civil War.
Of course, there was a reason why Romania spent so much energy studying the situation in Spain. The National Army asked Romania for help.
This may be because the National Army feels that Romania, as the front line against the Soviet Union, must be very interested in fighting communism. Although the National Army currently has strong support from Germany and Italy, who would complain that there is little support. In order to strengthen itself,
Considering the idea of one point, it is very easy to understand that Spain seeks help from Romania.
Faced with Spain's request for help, both the military and the government were very interested. Not to mention Spain's rich resources, its geographical location was worthy of Romania's war.
So after Hall Monkman finished speaking, and looking at the eager military and political officials, Edel knew that Romania would definitely participate in the Spanish Civil War.
So he called Freit's name and asked, "General Freit, what is the attitude of your military?"
Facing Edel's inquiry, Ferreit, who had already made up his mind, said, "Your Majesty, our military believes that Spain's preparations for war are our opportunity. Facing the Spanish government that is obviously left-leaning, the government headed by General Sanjujo
The Spanish military is obviously a better ally for us. Therefore, this is an excellent opportunity for us to expand Romania's influence in the Mediterranean and Southern Europe. I think we should support the National Army in this civil war.
"
Regarding the decision that the military had made, Edel asked the government again. "What about the government's opinion?"
Prime Minister Mihalakai, who is the head of the government, also voted in favor.
"We believe that we can secretly support Spain, which will not only increase our country's influence but also gain economic benefits."
It is obvious that the Prime Minister has the intention to take advantage of the situation.
Since both parties have no objections, the discussion about which side Romania supports is over. In fact, the rebel forces received assistance from far more than Germany and Italy; British merchants supplied the National Army with oil and aircraft, and Franco received aid from the British in Gibraltar.
Military bases received weapons and ammunition, and the French Renault Company secretly sold aircraft and cars to the National Army. More than 75% of the oil needed by the National Army was supplied by American oil companies.
Now that it has been decided to provide support to the National Army, the issue of assistance cannot but be mentioned, and Edel continued to ask, "How does your military plan to provide assistance to the National Army?"
Ferreit, who was obviously well prepared, said, "Your Majesty, we intend to provide Spain with the weapons and equipment they need most. Mainly rifles, artillery, tanks, aircraft and other equipment. In order to help the training of the National Army,
We plan to send a military advisory group to help it improve its combat level. In addition, the Navy will also send a task force headed by the Mircea-class battleship and the heavy cruiser Brebista to ensure the safety of navigation in the area."
It is obvious that Freit's words came from internal discussions among the three armed forces. Otherwise, why would Freit make decisions for the navy?
Now that the military has decided to secretly dispatch a military advisory group, Edel is a little curious about the candidate for the head of the advisory group this time.
"Who do you plan to let lead the team this time?"
"After our discussions, Lieutenant General Hoffman is the best choice to lead the team this time."
Freit's words made Edel a little scared, because the selection of the leader of the advisory group is very important, which not only represents the emphasis on the intensity of support, but also the size.
"So how large a group of advisors do you plan to send this time?"
Sure enough, following Eder's inquiry, Freit gave the answer. "We will dispatch an advisory group composed of more than 8,000 people, mainly air force, air defense force, and mechanized force."
It is obvious that such a large advisory group is more than just advisers. It is obvious that the military intends to participate in this civil war naked.
In fact, the size of the Romanian advisory group has exceeded that of Germany's Condor Legion. During the Spanish Civil War, the number of the world-famous Condor Legion never exceeded 7,000. However, Germany had to test the performance of equipment and train troops, so the replacement rate was very high.
High, throughout the Spanish War, the replacement rate of the Condor Legion reached 50,000.
In fact, the help of the Condor Legion to the National Army was far less important than that of Italy. In order to help the National Army, in early 1937, Italy dispatched an intervention force composed of black shirts, military experts, and regular troops. Their number was as high as
More than 50,000 people were organized into four divisions to help the National Army fight.
This also has a lot to do with Spain's position, because Spain and Italy are on the left and right of France respectively, which is very similar to the German environment before World War I. Its sea and land can be threatened by both sides, which is why Italy has always
Lessons learned from the Franco-Russian alliance in World War I.
Moreover, Spain’s domestic tungsten, mercury, iron ore and agricultural products are all urgently needed by Italy. Currently, half of the iron ore demand for raw materials in Italy’s steel industry comes from Spain.
Therefore, helping Spain is very important to Italy, and in order to bring the National Army he supports to power, Mussolini will naturally have to fight to the death to ensure that he seizes power in Spain.
After Romania decided to intervene in the Spanish Civil War, it immediately entered into secret negotiations with the National Army. However, during this period, the plane crash of General Jose Sanjuho had a certain impact on the negotiations.
As a leader after the civil war broke out, he was originally in Lisbon and wanted to join the National Army, but the plane he took had an accident due to overloading. The original reason was that he and his entourage insisted on taking the general uniform into Madrid, which resulted in
Crashed during takeoff.
There are also rumors that he and Emilio Mora, the second-largest figure in the National Army, were assassinated by Franco to prevent his political opponents, but there is no relevant evidence.
The chaos in the National Army during this period also affected the negotiations. Fortunately, Franco, who had initially taken control of the National Army, attached great importance to Romania's assistance, and the subsequent negotiations went very quickly.
In the end, Spain used future customs taxes as collateral to obtain weapons and equipment worth 150 million lei from Romania. At the same time, the Romanian advisory group, led by General Hoffman, also set off for Spain.
