On January 1, 1936, it was the coldest world in Leningrad. In the cold weather, an unusually thin ship slowly slid from the platform into the water. ◎After the semi-finished product stopped steadily on the water surface, with the help of several tugboats, it slowly leaned on the outfit terminal of the Leningrad Hongqi Shipyard.

A year later, the Type 33 destroyer named Excellence officially joined the Northern Fleet sequence, and her other three sister ships will also serve in the Northern Fleet one after another. This is the Excellence class destroyer that started the modernization of the Red Navy.

Starting from the level of excellence, the Red Navy began to catch up with the world's advanced level. A large number of new ships greatly improved the combat effectiveness of the Red Navy and played an important role in World War II. In history, this period was also called the Red Navy's shipbuilding frenzy in the 1930s. The Soviet Union officially called it the 33-year shipbuilding plan.

However, what we are going to focus on today is not the Red Navy's shipbuilding plan, because during this period, there are too many similar shipbuilding plans in countries around the world, such as the Nazi Germany's shipbuilding plan, and the Spanish large fleet plan.

When the Sun Never Sets Empire, when you mention this word, the first thing you think of comrades may be the British Empire in the Victorian era. But the first Empire of Sun Never Sets Empire was Spain, which originated from the words of Carlos I (that is, the Holy Roman Emperor Carlos V): "In my territory, the sun will never set."

However, the glory of the Spanish Empire ended with the end of the Age of Discovery. Spain in the 19th and 20th centuries was already a second-rate country in Europe, especially after being humiliated by the US imperialists in the Spanish-American War, they all ranked last among the second-rate countries in the world.

However, Spain, whose ancestors had been rich, didn't like this second-rate status. In order to safeguard overseas colonial rights and to make a little faint sound in Europe, after the end of the Spanish-American War, we have been discussing how to build a "big navy". Of course, it is hard to cook without rice. The Spanish talked happily and had a lot of shipbuilding plans, but they had never really put dumplings on it.

This situation continued until the end of World War I. During the famous naval holiday, Alfonso XIII approved a new naval budget on July 14, 1926. This was the famous 1926 shipbuilding plan.

This plan is quite awesome, and the key project is to spend 260 million pesettas to build three "treaty" heavy cruisers. Let's put it this way. The entire 1926 shipbuilding plan was even twice the budget for the construction of similar ships in the British Navy in the same year!

Alfonso XIII has released a super satellite!

Of course, there is a price to pay for the release of satellites. As we all know, within a few years, Alfonso XIII was forced to abdicate and run away abroad. The Kingdom of Spain also became the Second Republic of Spain. What kind of government is this Second Republic of Spain?

Let's put it this way, it's very similar to the state of Russia in 1917. The left and the right attacked each other. First, the left had the upper hand and established a "socialist" government and carried out a failed reform. By 1933, the reform could not continue, and the right-wing forces rose and established a right-wing coalition government, which abolished all reform measures of the former government.

But this behavior greatly angered the left. In 1934, a general strike broke out in Asturias led by socialists and anarchists. The strikers occupied the capital Oviedo, assassinated officials and clergy, and set fire to the theaters and universities. The unrest continued until October 19, until Francesco Franco and others led the army to quell the unrest, which killed about 3,000 people, arrested between 30,000 and 40,000 people, and the city was destroyed on a large scale.

This general strike and bloody suppression can be said to have directly ignited the anger of the left and right in the Spanish political arena. The conflicts between the two sides were simply irreconcilable, laying the groundwork for future civil wars.

Sure enough, two years later, when the rightists could not bring any improvement to the country, or even worse. In the 1936 general election, the left, who was slogan "Fascism brings you 'work' and also hunger; the fascism brings you 'peace' and also five thousand graves; the fascism brings you 'order' and also gallows. What the People's Front provides you is bread, peace and freedom!", won the victory.

It can be imagined that the left will soon counterattack and count the right, and comprehensive social reform will be carried out again. This is something that the right will never tolerate. On the day the left won the election, the right began to prepare to use the army to solve the problem, and this opportunity appeared in July in history. First, the right assassinated the important figure of the left, Jose Castillo, and then the left killed the right-wing Jose, Carl Sotero, with a tooth, and the deaths of the two Jose Jose kicked off the national unrest in Spain, which took three years!

However, in Li Xiaofeng's opinion, the Spanish civil war actually does not require three years to fight. The Republic had an advantage and once gained the upper hand, but these funny guys liked to commit suicide and ruined their advantages in a mess, which implicated communist elites from more than 50 countries around the world to be buried with them. If there was a choice, Li Xiaofeng really didn't want these pig teammates. Unfortunately, there was no choice at all.

In order not to let a large amount of aid go to waste, and to not do useless work, Li Xiaofeng began to prepare on the day when the Spanish left won the election. What preparations are made? Naturally, it is to attack the forces of the National Army in advance, and the focus is on the two heavy cruisers in the 1926 shipbuilding plan mentioned earlier.

Some comrades may say that they are strange. Didn’t they say that the 1926 shipbuilding plan was to start construction of three heavy cruisers? Why did it turn into two in the blink of an eye?

There was no way. In 1928, the construction of the No. 1 and No. 2 started, and the No. 3 was originally scheduled to start construction in 1931. But wasn’t Spain in civil unrest that year? Alfonso XIII, who supported the 1926 shipbuilding plan, ran away, and the national finances were unsustainable, so the No. 3 was cancelled.

Not only was the No.3 ship cancelled, but the shipbuilding projects of No.1 and No.2 were also delayed. By the time the civil war broke out in July 1936, the installation projects of No.1 Canary were not completed, and the two sister ships were parked at the Ferrol Naval Shipyard, waiting for an unpredictable fate.

When the civil war broke out, the National Army, which represented the fascist forces, defeated the sailors and workers representing the Second Republic and seized the two heavy cruisers that had not yet been completed. It was precisely by these two heavy cruisers that the National Army was able to break the maritime blockade of the Republic and transport Franco's army in Monaco to the local area to participate in the war. Objectively speaking, these two heavy cruisers played an extraordinary role, of course. The main reason was that the Second Republic was careless and transferred the main force of the navy to the Bay of Biscay, giving Franco an opportunity to take advantage of it.

Therefore, Li Xiaofeng was preparing to deal with these two heavy cruisers in advance. Even if he could not help the Second Republic to retake them, he would have to destroy them on the outfit dock.

According to the original plan, the kgb agents only need to pay attention to the situation of these two heavy cruisers. They do not need to take any special actions until the conflict in Spain completely broke out. But what Li Xiaofeng did not expect was that in this time and space situation in Spain deteriorated much faster than in history. The election just ended. When the left was still celebrating victory, the right fired the first shot - assassinating the Jose mentioned above.

The hornet's nest was pierced. The leftists had almost no thoughts and immediately killed the second Jose in a targeted manner. The deaths of the two Jose directly announced the beginning of the turmoil. Franco quickly instigated the turmoil in Spanish Morocco. The fascist madmen immediately responded and set off a rebellious craze in Spain.

"The headquarters has issued an order. Once the fascist bandits are ready to seize the ship, they will be destroyed in advance!" kgb Spanish station station manager Rakorov issued an order to the Gruu Operation Team in Spain.

However, what Rakorov did not expect was that the National Army was moving faster than he imagined. Before his order reached the Ferror Naval Shipyard, the shipyard was seized by the National Army. The Gruu Operation Team lurking in the shipyard was controlled by the National Army, just like other workers, resulting in the destruction of the two heavy cruisers being unable to be carried out at all.

Not only did they fail to destroy these two new heavy cruisers, but Li Xiaofeng was even more angry that the local kgb almost watched helplessly as the National Army occupied Ferro, allowing these fascist madmen to use bayonets and rifles to force shipyard workers to speed up the project progress of the Canary and Balearic 24 hours a day. According to the project schedule, these two new heavy cruisers will be put into service by October at the latest.

Li Xiaofeng knew very well what the Spanish navy was. Although the Republic controlled most of Spain's maritime power, this navy was really outdated. If the National Army allowed to complete the construction of the new heavy patrol, the balance of strength at sea would be reversed.

Moreover, Li Xiaofeng was very clear that the most critical factor affecting the direction of Spain was the Franco army of Spanish Morocco. If Franco's army was allowed to return to the local area as easily as in history, the battle would be difficult to fight.

If he could, he really wanted to immediately order the main fleet of the Red Flag Baltic Fleet, including two aircraft carriers, to immediately attack the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean, assist the Second Republic in blocking the Strait of Gibraltar, and blocking the main rebels' forces overseas.

However, this matter cannot be done by Li Xiaofeng just said that. After all, it was Spain, not the Soviet Union. The international influence of armed interference in other countries is really bad, especially since the Spanish civil war has just broken out and the Second Republic government did not ask for help from the Soviet Union. What's the matter if you rushed over so anxiously?

"It's too sensitive to sending a fleet at this time?" Even Stalin, who has always advocated toughness to the outside world, was hesitant. "This section of international public opinion is not very beneficial to our country. If it is used by imperialism, it makes a big fuss..."

This statement received a unanimous response from the Politburo. Things on the other side of Japan were not smooth. Now that Spain's problems have emerged again, it seems that it is not good to intervene at both ends. Of course, the most important thing is that Spain has not yet asked for help? We have no reason to go!

Li Xiaofeng was speechless. When he thought of asking for help from the funny Second Republic, he was really too late. The soldiers were very fast. It was not close to the Baltic Sea to the Bay of Biscay. If you don’t act quickly and let Franco transport his men back, it was really too late.

"How about this? Send the fleet out in the name of Yuanyang training. If the Second Republic can control the rebellion, then we will do the training sincerely. On the contrary, once the Second Republic asks us for help, the fleet will react immediately!"

Several elders, look at me and I look at you. They are a little moved by the idea of ​​a certain immortal. This is indeed a good excuse. Anyway, the Bay of Scai is the high seas, so why can't the Red Navy go there to train?

Even Stalin, who had reacted, immediately said: "Since that's the case, considering the most extreme situation, we can consider carrying a batch of arms, which we can deliver immediately as long as the government of the Second Republic needs it."

"Tsk..."

Li Xiaofeng and Stalin's proposal made Trotsky suck his teeth. To be honest, he was not very interested in war responsibilities. Finally, the Japanese side was calmed down a little, and it was not even finished completely. Spain jumped out again. This year he was still planning to carry out construction, but this was done. Military spending would occupy more resources, which really didn't meet his wish.

But Trotsky cannot directly object. The reason is very simple. The Second Republic has a relationship with the Communist International. No matter how you look at it, they are all their own people. Now they are in trouble. As the big brother of the world's Communist Party, the Soviet Union cannot react without reaction, right? If they are indifferent, who will still be with the Soviet Union in the future? How can they export the revolution?

After pondering for a long time, Trotsky squeezed out a sentence from his teeth: "It is okay to send a fleet, but you must not directly interfere in Spain's internal affairs, and you must not have direct conflicts with the rebels... In the absence of the Second Republic requesting us, the fleet should not approach the Spanish waters..."

Trotsky added a lot of restrictions to the fleet's activities, but at least he agreed to the fleet's departure. Five days later, the fleet, including Leningrad, including an aircraft carrier, two battlecruisers (Red Salama, Red Kharkov) and four destroyers, hurriedly came from Kronstadt to anchor, and in the North Sea, two light cruisers (formerly high seas fleets Cologne and Dresden) that had just completed their visits to Sweden and Germany, headed towards the Bay of Biscay at high speed.

Also two days later, two 10,000-ton oil tankers and two 10,000-ton bulk cargo ships also set up anchor troops to strike the Bay of Biscay under the escort of four destroyers.

The Red Navy's operations attracted great attention from neighboring countries from the beginning. The Royal Navy and the German Navy sent ships to follow and monitor almost immediately. When Britain and Germany discovered that the Soviets were in the Bay of Biscay, they were both shocked.

Because the two countries were relatively cautious in the reactions to the unrest in Spain, especially the British, who did not like either of the two political forces that dominated the Spanish political situation. The left was too communist, and the right was extremely fascist. In the eyes of the British, these two groups were bastards. Therefore, the British were preparing to watch and make a fuss about this bastard battle.

As for the Germans, Franco was his own, but his own people did not start very well. The main cities in Spain were still under the control of the Second Republic. The rebellion did not happen overnight as the Nazis imagined, but was severely resisted. In this case, it seemed that it was not the best way to go to the muddy waters regardless of their care. Anyway, the Germans were still waiting, waiting for the Spear Party to give them an explanation.

In this case, the Soviet Union responded in advance, and this reaction was so decisive. Although the explanation given by the Soviet People's Committee on Foreign Affairs was the normal ocean training of the Red Navy, it could only be fooled. The Red Navy had not been to Biscay Bay for training for more than ten or even twenty-thirty years before, why did it suddenly go to train at this moment?

Moreover, the scale of this training was still so large that the size of this fleet could withstand the maritime power of the entire Spain. Anyway, the Germans did not believe that the Red Navy was engaged in training, and no matter how they looked, they were full of maliciousness. So under the stimulation of the Red Navy, the Germans also responded decisively - sent the Germans and the Admiral Spel to the Bay of Biscay, and the Germans' excuse was also ocean training.

It has to be said that the German navy is a bit embarrassing this day. It has just gotten rid of the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles, and a large number of new ships are still being designed and built. I really can't come up with any decent fleet to go with the Red Navy. The two pocket battleships sent out have no advantage when facing the modernized Red Samara and Red Kharkov. Not to mention that the Red Navy also has an aircraft carrier. If it really starts, the Germans will probably be very bad.

Of course, this possibility is very small, and neither the Soviet Union nor Germany may have the intention of directly conflict. What's more, the two governments are still very friendly on the surface, and both sides pretend to speak and communicate through diplomatic fields, saying: "This operation is absolutely not targeted! It's just routine maritime training."

However, no one believed this kind of nonsense. After the Soviet Union and Germany sent fleets, the two major European gangsters, Britain and France could no longer sit still. In Europe, the three-point land of Britain and France have always had the final say. When will it be the second- and third-rate polar bears and Hans turn to steal the show?

Anyway, Britain and France had a lot of opinions about this and were not satisfied with it. On the one hand, they shouted loudly internationally: "The internal conflict in Spain is Spain's internal affairs, and no other country shall interfere!" On the other hand, they asked their respective fleets to move out quickly, and also went to Spain's seas to regain their presence under the name of training and routine patrols.

For a time, the seas around Spain were not ordinary, and a large group of irrelevant big gangsters watched the fun and strongly watched the battle between the Second Republic and the National Army... (To be continued, please search Piaotianwen, the novel is better and faster!
Chapter completed!