What suggestion did Trotsky shock the Politburo and the Military Commission? He proposed to form an international column in the name of the Communist International to support the Spanish People's Front.∷

Of course, this suggestion is not shocking. It is amazing at the back. Trotsky also suggested that this international column should be handed over to soldiers with combat experience to command, and who is this person? That is Tukhachevsky!

Tukhachevsky faded out of the Soviet political and military stages in the second half of 1934. As the main responsible person for the Leningrad case, the dignified Soviet Marshal and Chief of General Staff were forced to withdraw from active service and could only go to the reserve force to fight soy sauce.

Even after Trotsky came to power, Tukhachevsky's situation did not change much (Lao Tomo has no power in the Military Commission). This situation made Trotsky feel heartbroken. He has always admired Tukhachevsky and was once prepared to make Tukhachevsky his main pillar in the Military Commission. Who would have thought that this pillar would be poached by Stalin and Sverdlov.

Trotsky could not tolerate the complete loss of control over the Military Commission. For more than a year after he came to power, he had been looking for opportunities to make Tukhachevsky make a comeback. The outbreak of the Spanish civil war, especially after the Politburo made a resolution to support the Spanish People's Front, Trotsky believed that the time was ripe.

"It is very reasonable to let Comrade Tukhachevsky command the international column. First of all, Comrade Tukhachevsky is no longer an active-duty soldier in our country. He will not cause international political criticism when he goes to Spain in his personal name. Moreover, Comrade Tukhachevsky has rich combat experience and is an outstanding military talent in our army. It is most reasonable to let him command the international column..."

Anyway, Trotsky said all the reasons and excuses he could think of. Anyway, according to his intention, the commander of the International Column is Tukhachevsky!

Trotsky's proposal was naturally strongly resisted by the Stalin-Sverdlov group. How could Tukhachevsky be brought back after it was easy? Especially the Stalinist regime, which has always hated Tukhachevsky, was constantly opposed. Seeing that this matter was about to cause a great division within the Soviet Communist Party, Li Xiaofeng put forward his opinion:

"I think it's a good thing to let Tukhachevsky go to Spain." He stopped Voroshilov who was trying to interrupt. "Objectively speaking, although Tukhachevsky retired, his huge influence on the Red Army still exists. We will not be able to completely eliminate these influences for a while. What is the best way? It is to send all the people who follow Trotsky and Tukhachevsky wholeheartedly. Isn't it a good thing to send them to Spain?"

Stalin and Sverdlov looked at each other. They really didn't expect that a certain immortal had this trick. If this could be achieved, it would not seem bad. They could take the opportunity to get rid of all the thorns of Trotsky and Tukhachevsky within the army, and their control over the army would be more stable!

After figuring this out, Stalin smiled and everyone knew what Trotsky had made this time. This was to prepare to resume the Spanish civil war and restore his power in the army. But in the end, it led to a completely opposite result. When he thought of this, Stalin was so happy!

But Voroshilov was unhappy: "What if Tukhachevsky performed well in Spain?"

Li Xiaofeng said lightly: "Spain is Spain. The International Column is an International Column and has nothing to do with the Red Army!"

Stalin also nodded repeatedly: "The Politburo has always emphasized that it will not interfere in Spain's internal affairs. Therefore, the International Column has nothing to do with the Soviet government and the Red Army!"

Soon, Trotsky's proposal was passed. To be honest, Lao Tuo was a little surprised. He was ready to fight a fierce battle, but who would have thought that Stalin and Sverdlov agreed with just a casual whisper. Lao Tuo was quite happy at that time, thinking that this was a manifestation of his gradual control of the situation.

However, soon after, a large number of pro-Trotz and Tukhachevsky's middle and senior officers received instructions from the Military Commission: "Retire the active service immediately and join the international column with Comrade Tukhachevsky!"

At this time, Trotsky realized something was wrong, but even if he had to regret it, he would not be able to agree to the Military Commission's suggestion that a group of officers temporarily retire from active service and go to Spain to fight?

Of course, not all those who went to Spain were pro-Trotsky and Tukhachevsky officers, and a large number of good seedlings were sent there, but they were different from the former in that after the end of the Spanish Civil War, they could resume active service, and the former was truly permanently retired.

Anyway, through this move, the Trotskyist forces were almost completely cleared from the army. Although the great purge in history achieved the same effect, the price paid was extremely heavy, almost burning. Now, due to the intervention of a certain immortal, the methods are more hidden and gentle.

The International Column immediately began to form, and the Red Army drew a large amount of elite forces from the three navy, army and air forces, especially those commanders and fighters who had just experienced the test of the Battle of the Halaha River, were sent there. The first batch of ships were equivalent to an infantry brigade, and this infantry brigade was not the type of infantry brigade in the general sense, and it carried a motorized infantry regiment and a tank regiment. In other words, the Red Army sent it to was actually a mechanized infantry brigade.

A total of nearly a hundred T-26 and BT-2 were transported to Spain and unloaded directly in Santander Port. After a brief adaptive training, under the command of Tukhachevsky, the brigade, with the cooperation of militia supporting the People's Front, launched an attack on Gijon, who had just been occupied by the rebels.

For Tukhachevsky, commanding a brigade was really useless. But he had no complaints. It was unimaginable for him to return to the army and command the troops to fight again. His unemployment career has almost tortured him to death. As long as he can fight, not to mention being a brigade commander, even a platoon leader!

When the news of Gijon being attacked by armored troops reached Ferro, Emilio Mora was surprised at first. Where did the tanks come from in the militia's mud legs? He even thought that this was a mistake at one point. However, when Gijon's rebel commander told him that the troops driving the tanks were speaking Russian, Mora was immediately surprised to be angry. Damn, it goes without saying that the Russians were doing it!

While Mora reported the news to his German and Italian godfather, the other party also strongly accused the Soviet Union of roughly interfering in Spain's internal affairs through international public opinion. However, everyone knows that except for the British who are a little interested in this, they will help fuel the fire, other big gangsters should do whatever they should do. And the Soviet Union immediately explained: "No active-duty Red Army soldier or active-duty Red Army weapons and equipment flowed into Spain. The news released by the National Army was completely slander and spread rumors. The Soviet government reserved the power to further respond to this despicable frame-up."

Regarding the Soviet Union's explanation, Mora took photos taken on the battlefield as evidence. The Battle of Haraha made the Soviet Union's T-26 and BT-2 known to the whole world. He believed that this could slap the Russians in the face.

Who would have thought that Livinov immediately retorted: "I repeat again that the Red Army's active soldiers and weapons and equipment have not entered Spanish territory. The so-called T-26 and BT-2 tanks displayed by the rebels are just tanks similar to the Red Army, but they are definitely not the Red Army's active equipment!"

Not only Livinov spoke, but as the general manager of EO Company, Ms. Victoria also immediately clarified: "The batch of T-26 and BT-2 tanks belong to EO Company, and was purchased and leased by EO Company from the international market and leased to the international column for use. It has nothing to do with the Soviet government and is a normal business behavior of EO Company. Please do not over-interpret it!"

After leaving a circle behind, the eO company took the blame, the Soviet government was completely ruled out, and even the British could only make a few sarcastic words. As for the National Army, there was nothing we could do.

The international column joining the battle is just a small episode. The situation in Spain is still very calm, and the real key point of the confrontation is still overseas. The Franco rebels in Spanish Morocco are still sighing. Even though the Strait of Gibraltar is not wide, it is indeed difficult for Franco's army to cross over.

Why? The main force of the Spanish Navy is still in control of the People's Front. The National Army only controls about a quarter of the Spanish Navy's military strength. And this quarter is also obtained by cheating and deceiving.

For example, the rebel cruiser Severa, mentioned earlier, was not under the control of the National Army at the beginning. When the rebellion broke out, the main force of the fleet, including the cruiser Severa and the Spanish battleship (please note that this Spanish battleship was not the first Spanish-class battleship, but actually the second ship Alfonso XIII. Fortunately, the first ship Spain sank in 1923. After driving away Alfonso XIII, the original Alfonso XIII was renamed Spain) did not immediately fall into the hands of the National Army.

At that time, the only maritime power that the National Army had truly mastered was the old destroyer Velasco. When Emilio Mora led the National Army to rebel, he was immediately hit by the Spanish and Sevilla. Even the two unfinished Canary-class heavy cruisers fiercely resisted the rebels' attacks under the control of the watermen, which once made the rebels unable to raise their heads.

Seeing that it was so tough, Emilio Mora had to use a trick. The National Army forged an order from the Navy, causing Ferro, including the sailors and militias, to lay down all the arms. At that time, at the negotiating table, Emilio Mora hypocritically expressed that he would forgive the "mutineering" sailors and militias. However, when the sailors and militias put down their weapons, the guy changed his face and ordered the shooting of all the sailors and militias without hesitation.

It was precisely because of the carelessness of the sailors and militia that the rebels gained a battleship, a light cruiser, a destroyer and two unfinished heavy cruisers. After capturing the ship, Lieutenant Colonel Fransco Moreno immediately organized a fanatical fascists to act as sailors, and they were really practicing day and night and ready to go into battle at any time.

The National Army not only attempted to capture the fleet in Ferro, but also frequently took action in Cadiz and Cartagena. Because of its strong rebel power, Cadiz quickly captured the light cruiser of the Republic (renamed Navarra) and the Canovas de Castillo gunboats. Even the Zacatecas gunboats built for Mexico became the trophy of the rebels (renamed Culver Sotero).

Of course, the rebels did not always succeed. Most of the time they encountered a crushing defeat. When Franco had just launched a mutiny in Morocco, the Admiralty of the Republic ordered three destroyers to suppress the rebellion. At that time, the officers on the three ships were more inclined to support Franco, so they blatantly violated the orders of the Admiralty and prepared to drive the warships to a port controlled by the rebels.

Among them, the officers of Sanchez Bakestergi and Admiral Valdes were once successful. At that time, the captain of Sanchez Bakestergi read a statement from Franco to all the crew and hoped that all the officers and soldiers of the ship would follow him to carry out the "just cause". However, what greeted the captain was not unanimous support, but silence!

A dozen seconds later, a voice rang out: "We should return to Cartagena (a naval base controlled by the Republic)!"

As soon as the voice fell, the sailors rushed forward and took down the captain and other officers who supported Franco without saying a word. The sailors of Admiral Valdes followed suit, arrested all the officers of the ship, and then quickly shot all the officers.

As for the last Rebanto, the captain of the ship was very hesitant about whether to support Franco, and hesitated. However, before he could make a final decision, the sailors seized all the officers of the ship, and then violently bombarded the rebels of Mellilla with the first two destroyers, and then happily returned to Cartagena.

However, the encounter between these three destroyers was not very fierce. The previous battle between the Cervantes and the Liberty light cruiser in Ferrore was bloody and tragic. The officer Cervantes, who was sailing outside Portugal at the time, announced his joining the rebels. A fierce gun battle broke out in every cabin on the ship, and it was not over until the last rebellious officer was shot dead.

At the same time, from the battleship Jaime I, Bigo, the rebel officer plotted to leak the matter and fired wildly with machine guns and finally was shot dead in the sailors' charges.

However, in this crazy and bloody battle to seize the ship, there were not all bloody conflicts, and funny incidents also occurred. For example, the destroyer Chucaru, Captain Fernando Barreto, led a group of confidants to control the warship and docked the warship hostage in the port of Ceuta controlled by the rebels. Then an order asked Colonel Barreto to transport a unit to Cadiz opposite the strait.

After arriving at the destination, an officer and Moroccan soldier volunteered to stay and monitor the sailors, but the Colonel Barreto waved his hand proudly and said, "This is absolutely unnecessary!"

As a result, not long after leaving Cadiz, when the sailors learned about the telegram from Madrid and asked them to distribute weapons and ammunition immediately to take over the warship. The sailors who heard the news immediately took action without hesitation and locked all the proud Colonel Barreto and his confidants into the anchor warehouse of the ship's head.

This battle for warships caused great damage to the Spanish Navy. Not only did it pay a lot of blood and sacrifice, but it was also difficult for the officers to survive. At that time, 230 of the 675 front-line naval officers of the Spanish Navy were executed for suspected or directly involved in the rebellion, but more were imprisoned. Those who were lucky enough to save their lives were also neglected for a long time.

Let me put it this way, although the Second Republic controlled the vast majority of warships, the command power of the navy was completely paralyzed. In the later civil war, the important reason why the Republic's navy performed poorly was also here. After all, the "Sailing Committee" composed of ordinary sailors was still much worse than professional officers. It can even be said that the Sailor Committee is more interested in political activities than military training and combat. These people are only enthusiastic, but cannot do practical work well.

If, as in history, the Red Navy has not even been able to get the role of playing soy sauce, then Franco could easily carry out "victory transportation", taking advantage of the Republic's Navy being attracted by Ferro in the north, transporting the main force of his troops across the Strait of Gibraltar, thereby achieving a north-south attack on Madrid.

However, in this time and space, when the Republic's Navy made mistakes as usual, the powerful Red Navy strangled Franco's throat. A powerful fleet, including the USS Leningrad, the red Samara, the red Kharkov battle cruisers, and the red Donetsk and the red Pskov light cruisers, have been operating in the Strait of Gibraltar, closely monitoring the movements of the rebels of Tangier, Ceuta and the port of Melilla, and firmly nailing the main force of the Franco rebels to Morocco.

Not to mention the victory transportation like in history, Franco had crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in a swaggering manner, it was difficult for him to transport soldiers secretly and scatteredly to the other side of the strait. At one point, he could only use transport planes provided by Germany and Italy to air transport soldiers, so there was no need to mention the low efficiency.

Franco in the south had a difficult time, and Emilio Mora in the north was as miserable as Emilio Mora. The naval formation led by the Moscow blocked the Severa firmly in the port and could not move. Four Type 36 frigates began to patrol and search closely at sea. Any ships attempting to transport to Ferro and Gijon would be stopped and inspected, which made the German arms ships unable to get close to Ferro and Gijon at all, and could only go south to Tangier and Ceuta.

Even though the Nazi government led by Hitler once strongly protested the atrocities of the Red Navy, the Soviet Union did not retreat at all. It even sent forces from the Black Sea Fleet to patrol the Baliarie Islands... (To be continued, please search for astronomy, the novel is better, updated and faster!

ps: Bow to thank xvxinyi, glorious charter, hzwangdd, instantly killing potatoes and comrade Juventus!
Chapter completed!