Anti-Japanese War: My equipment is infinitely refreshed

"This is exactly where I hesitated." Franco frowned, his face full of helplessness, and sighed deeply.

Although the attitude of the US military seemed very sincere and they vowed to persuade the British army to allow Spain to gain certain benefits in this game of interests, Franco felt that this hope was too slim.

You know, the importance of Gibraltar is second only to India, and its strategic position is extremely critical.

The British have always regarded Gibraltar as their own treasure. How could they easily agree to share its interests with others?
Franco was well aware of Britain's tough stance on the Gibraltar issue, so he did not dare to have too high expectations for the US military's promise.

"General, why are we still hesitating? Compared with the conditions proposed by Britain and the United States, the conditions offered by the German army are already very generous." The subordinate said anxiously. He felt that Franco was too indecisive on this matter.

In his opinion, the cooperation conditions now offered by the German army are already quite good, and are very attractive both from the perspective of economic benefits and military security.

Moreover, not to mention that the German army had helped them before.

The two sides already had a good cooperative relationship. Under such circumstances, the subordinates really didn't understand why Franco was still so hesitant.

"I always feel that the German army will lose." Franco finally said what he had kept in his heart for a long time.

There was a hint of worry in his eyes. Although the German army's current performance on the battlefield seemed very strong, Franco had his own concerns.

Hearing this, the subordinates were obviously stunned and full of confusion.

What do you mean?
Will the Germans lose?

How is this possible?
Now the German army is sweeping across the entire European continent like a hurricane.

Even the Soviet army was defeated and retreated under the powerful offensive of the German army.

In this situation, how could we lose?

Although the German army seemed to have suffered some minor defeats on the Eastern Front, in the eyes of their subordinates, this meant nothing at all and was not enough to affect the overall advantage of the German army.

"Forget it, let's wait until the German army takes Gibraltar before making a decision." Franco was silent for a while, as if he had finally made up his mind, and spoke again.

He felt that the current situation was not clear enough and that the battle in Gibraltar would be an important turning point, so it would be safer to wait until the German actions in Gibraltar had clear results before making the final decision.

"Yes, but General, I suggest that we should prepare the troops." The subordinate thought about it and put forward his own suggestion.

He felt that no matter what decision Franco made in the end, it would always be a good idea to let the troops prepare in advance so that they could respond quickly when the situation changed and avoid being in a panic.

Hearing this, Franco did not refuse. Instead, he thought the proposal was quite reasonable, so he nodded and agreed to it.

……

On the other side, after receiving the telegram for help from Gibraltar, Vice Admiral Tovey, commander of the H Fleet, was stunned. He stood there for a long time without saying a word, his face full of shock and anger.

"Damn it, how did they get around us?" Lieutenant General Tovey roared angrily with his eyes wide open and his face flushed.

He really couldn't understand what tactics or routes the German army used to bypass their fleet without being noticed and launch an attack directly on Gibraltar?
"Commander, they should be hiding from our detection by following the French coastline," the subordinate guessed cautiously. As he spoke, he observed the expression on Lieutenant General Tovey's face, not quite sure whether his guess was correct.

Upon hearing this, Lieutenant General Tovey was stunned for a moment, and a map of the southern coast of France immediately flashed through his mind.

He thought carefully about the geographical conditions of the area and felt that his subordinates' guess was indeed possible.

Because only in this way, by taking advantage of the complex terrain of the coastline and possible radar blind spots, can it be explained why the German fleet was able to evade their detection and arrive in Gibraltar quietly.

"That's not right. Where's our radar? Wasn't there any warning?" Lieutenant General Tovey frowned and asked in confusion.

In his opinion, the fleet's radar system should be able to detect the approaching enemy fleet, so why did it seem to be completely ineffective this time?

"I don't know, maybe it's broken?" The subordinate spread his hands helplessly, indicating that he didn't know the specific reason.

He also found it very strange. The fact that the radar did not work was indeed very suspicious, but there was no other reasonable explanation at the moment.

"There must be something we don't know about. Never mind. It doesn't matter anymore. We must mobilize the fleet and return to Gibraltar immediately. We must repel the enemy fleet there." Lieutenant General Tovey frowned and shook his head helplessly.

In his opinion, the most important thing at the moment is to quickly defend Gibraltar. Once this place is lost, it means that their retreat will be cut off and the entire strategic layout will fall into an extremely passive situation, so they must rush back as soon as possible to deal with it.

"Yes." After receiving the order, the subordinates immediately began to arrange for the fleet to return.

As a result, not long after returning, Lieutenant General Tovey received another urgent telegram.

He picked up the telegram and looked at its contents. He couldn't help but gasp, his face full of shock.

"Damn it! They dispatched so many warships? Are they crazy?" Obviously, Vice Admiral Tovey was stunned when he looked at the telegram in his hand. He stood there for a long time without coming to his senses.

The Four-Power Combined Fleet has almost mobilized all of its main forces this time, which is tantamount to abandoning its own rear. This is too bold, and this approach is totally uncharacteristic of the German army.

After all, in Lieutenant General Tovey's impression, although the German army acted decisively, they would not be so bold and aggressive.

Even the Italian and French navies would not normally be able to make such a bold decision.

Originally, Vice Admiral Tovey thought that only a small part of the enemy fleet was attacking Gibraltar, so he wanted to quickly mobilize the fleet to rush back for support. But now, after seeing the content of the telegram, he realized that he was really dumbfounded and completely underestimated the size of the enemy's forces.

"Commander, do you want to continue to return?" Seeing that Lieutenant General Tovey did not respond for a long time after reading the telegram, the subordinate urged again. This time, Lieutenant General Tovey hesitated.

He knew very well that the number of warships he had mobilized to return this time was actually not large. Even if he rushed back at full speed now, it might not be of much use facing the opponent's huge fleet.

So he was hesitating whether to continue returning as planned, or simply change his strategy and head directly to the enemy's rear, perhaps disrupting the enemy's deployment.

But after thinking about it, he decided to forget it.

After all, Gibraltar is so important that if it is lost because of his own wrong decision, he really cannot bear the responsibility.

"Tell the other side to hold on for two hours." Vice Admiral Tovey quickly estimated the remaining range of the fleet and the possible attack speed of the other side, and gave this reply.

He thought that with the existing coastal defense artillery in Gibraltar, they should be able to hold out for two hours. As long as he could arrive within these two hours, there might still be a chance to save the situation.

"Yes." After receiving the order, the subordinate immediately went to convey the news.

A short while later, another telegram arrived.

Lieutenant General Tovey opened the letter and turned pale. It turned out that the German army had actually sent out the army to attack Gibraltar from land, and had already captured many positions.

If their fleet cannot arrive at Gibraltar for support as soon as possible, the troops stationed there will probably be wiped out.

Upon hearing this, Lieutenant General Tovey was completely dumbfounded. He stood there blankly, his face full of disbelief.

"Damn it, it must be Spain. If it weren't for them, how could the German army appear in Gibraltar?" Lieutenant General Tovey was so angry that he was shaking all over and roared angrily.

In his opinion, if the German army wanted to reach Gibraltar, it would have to pass through Spanish territory. If Spain had not secretly let them go or provided assistance, it would have been impossible for the German army to appear in Gibraltar so smoothly and launch a large-scale attack.

He was extremely angry at Spain's behavior at the moment, and felt that it was Spain's inaction or secret collusion that led to the current extremely critical situation.

"Commander, the most important thing right now is to ensure that Gibraltar is never lost, otherwise a military court may be waiting for us." The subordinates' voices trembled and their faces were as pale as paper.

He never expected that this time the enemy would be so aggressive and adopt a strategy of attacking by land and sea, which was completely beyond their expectations.

It was originally thought that it was just a simple naval fleet attack, but unexpectedly the German army also dispatched the army to launch an offensive from land. Under this double attack, the situation in Gibraltar has become extremely critical.

"Report the intelligence here to the Prime Minister, and also send a telegram to the US fleet, telling them to return and make sure to defend Gibraltar." Lieutenant General Tovey ordered loudly with a serious expression. He knew the severity of the situation at the moment. It might be difficult for his fleet alone to cope with such a powerful offensive. He had to let the Prime Minister know the latest situation, and at the same time, he had to work together with the US fleet to hope to defend the crucial Gibraltar.

At this moment, Lieutenant General Tovey's heart was heavy. He was even mentally prepared for the loss of Gibraltar. He knew that if this strategic location was really lost, the consequences would be disastrous.

But even so, he would never be willing to watch Gibraltar fall into the hands of the enemy.

He secretly made up his mind that once it really came to that, he would lead the entire fleet in a life-and-death battle with the enemy. No matter what the cost, he would do everything he could to retake Gibraltar and defend this position which was vital to the British Navy.

Because he knew that if Gibraltar was lost, it would not only be a military failure, but also a major setback in the entire British naval strategic layout, so even if there was only a glimmer of hope, he would fight for it with all his strength.

"Yes."

Not long after, in the solemn office far away in Downing Street, Churchill was busy dealing with many affairs.

Just then, the assistant hurriedly delivered a telegram from Lieutenant General Tovey.

He took the telegram and quickly browsed through its contents, but after reading only a few lines, he was completely stunned, his eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.

"Damn it, what's our intelligence department doing? There's no news at all about such a big operation?" Churchill was immediately furious. He slammed the table and asked loudly at the first moment.

He really couldn't accept this fact. The German army joined forces with other forces to launch such a large-scale sea and land offensive against Gibraltar. This was no small move, but the intelligence department didn't even give him any hint of it in advance. How could he not be angry?
Upon hearing this, the head of MI6 hurried over, and when he saw Churchill's angry expression, he immediately became panic-stricken.

He felt very aggrieved. He had indeed not received any similar information during this period, and he didn't know how such an oversight occurred.

"How is it possible that you didn't receive any intelligence about such a large operation?" Churchill frowned, his eyes full of dissatisfaction, and raised his voice again to question.

He felt that MI6, as an important intelligence agency in the UK, was responsible for obtaining key intelligence for the country, but now it had failed in such an important matter, which was simply unforgivable.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, we indeed did not receive it. Not only that, the intelligence about the German army has become very scarce during this period." The officer in charge of intelligence said helplessly.

He was also very puzzled. Although it had been difficult to obtain intelligence on the German army in the past, it was not as severe as during this period, with almost no valuable intelligence being transmitted back.

It was as if the German army suddenly became mysterious and kept all its actions secret, leaving those in charge of intelligence work completely confused. This has directly led to the current passive situation.

"Didn't you crack the German code? Didn't you receive it?" Churchill frowned, his face full of confusion and anxiety, and raised his voice again.

He really couldn't understand. He had gone through so much trouble to crack the German code, and thought he could use it to grasp many of the German army's movements. But how come at this critical moment, he didn't receive any relevant intelligence about the German army's large-scale Gibraltar operation?

This is really unreasonable.

"Mr. Prime Minister, I suspect that the German army has changed the code." The officer in charge of intelligence became more nervous when he saw Churchill asking this question. He straightened up quickly and explained with a serious face and a little helplessness.

He knew in his heart that this matter was extremely strange. He had been able to obtain some intelligence on the German army before with the help of deciphered codes. Although it was not particularly comprehensive, it was not as complete as it was now.

So he speculated that it was very likely that the Germans had noticed that the code had been cracked, and in order to prevent intelligence leaks, they had quietly changed the code, which led to the fact that they had very little intelligence about the Germans during this period, not to mention being able to know in advance about the Germans' large-scale operation against Gibraltar. (End of this chapter)