The Spanish civil war broke out in March 1936 and fought fiercely for half a year. That is to say, by September, the situation was still tense.≥The People's Front had already stood firm and stabilized the core area centered on Madrid. The National Army took Ferro as its base in the north and Cadiz as its core in the south, and overseas still belonged to Franco.

After the fierce battle for half a year, both the People's Front and the Fascist bandits of the National Army began to understand that this war was not as easy as before. It would be a competition of will and endurance. Only the stronger side could win.

So both sides began to make further adjustments. For example, after the People's Front regained Gijön, it did not continue to attack Ferro, but trained its troops with the help of Soviet "volunteers" led by Tukhachevsky. In the previous battles, the People's Army, which had revolutionary enthusiasm, performed in a mess, and was simply a group of mobs.

As for the National Army, both Franco and Mora began to understand that the People's Front, supported by the Soviet Union, was not a native of the country, and they could bully it at will. To win, they had to get more aid.

In September, after Mora in the north and Franco in the south, Franco was elected as the commander-in-chief of the National Army and began to coordinate the planning and make a comprehensive layout. First, expand the army. Under the armed forces of Germany and Italy, this work is not particularly difficult. It is even more efficient than the People's Front. After all, the National Army has received the support of most officers and has the help of professional officers, whether it is to expand or train the troops. It is much easier.

The People's Front lacks qualified officers. The Soldiers Committee is performing its command function. To be honest, this institution is really useless. Although it can greatly reflect the demands of soldiers, it has caused many difficulties in expanding and training because it carries too much care for the interests of soldiers.

For example, the military training problem should be strictly trained to form combat effectiveness as soon as possible, but the troops of the People's Front are filled with many anarchists. These people refuse to obey orders, are lazy and fond of labor, and always do what they do, resulting in a guerilla habit in the army.

For example, the execution of orders. If you think about these anarchists being half-hearted about military training, they are even more careless about war. For a lot of times, if you want these old men to obey orders, you have to speak out. Even though these guys have agreed well, they have encountered some difficulties in the execution of orders. The guys immediately chose to give up. When you question them, the guys still talked about the power given to them with freedom.

In short, the army of the People's Front is full of free and scattered atmosphere. When revolutionary romanticism prevails, they will be full of passion. Once they encounter setbacks, their morale will collapse instantly and move towards pessimistic arguments.

Do you still remember the Republic fleets that went north to attack Ferro? The group of people drove to the sea outside Ferro and surrounded Ferro for a while, but when Ferro's fort began to show their power, they immediately chose to retreat.

In Gijon, in Santander, and in Bilbao, the sailors of the Republic forgot their oath before the expedition, and they all hugged wine bottles and died of drunkenness. To be honest, when Tukhachevsky saw this scene, he was quite angry.

Because in the Strait of Gibraltar, volunteers from the Soviet Air Force fought to the death for the Second Republic of Spain and paid a lot of blood and sacrifice. What is the fundamental reason for these sacrifices? It is not that the fleet of the Second Republic went north to make a comeback. Since going north was proven to be wrong, the fleet should be withdrawn immediately and the Strait of Gibraltar should be continued to blockade.

When Tukhachevsky thought the Second Republic's Navy Department made this request, the reply he received turned out to be: "The fleet needs rest in urgent need of rest, and the sailors are extremely tired, wait and talk about it!"

Tukhachevsky really wanted to curse himself on the spot. This is the legendary cub sold his god. He doesn't feel sorry for the lazy Spanish, right? He was quite angry at the lazy Spanish and filed a lawsuit directly from Trotsky.

"What do you think about the opinions put forward by Tukhachevsky?" Trotsky asked.

Li Xiaofeng laughed secretly in his heart. He had known that the Spanish was this kind of ghost. Now he really became the emperor and was not anxious. Of course, what made him most funny was that when he decided to aid the Second Republic of Spain, he once proposed: "Free aid? There is no such reason? We are willing to support the revolutionary struggle of the Spanish people, but the Spanish people can't be rude, right? If you don't say that you have to buy our arms at the market price, you have to give a cost price?"

Both Trotsky and Sverdlov seemed disapproving of the idea that a certain immortal said "to be money dead", and even the retired Lenin said after hearing this: "How can we talk about money when supporting the revolutionary struggle of the world? If this is spread, wouldn't the great unity of the proletariat become empty talk? I suggest that we should understand the difficulties of the Spanish people and provide free support!"

With Lenin's suggestion and Trotsky and Sverdlov's approval, Li Xiaofeng's opinion was naturally rejected. The only person who expressed certain support for a certain immortal was Stalin (historically, steel also collected money, and was deducted from the gold treasury transported from Spain to the Soviet Union). All the arms and materials spent in the past six months were free aid. But now after hearing the complaints of Tukhachevsky and Kuznetsov, the Politburo was also very angry - Damn, the Spanish regarded the Soviet Union as a sucker!

In addition, Li Xiaofeng "blows the cold wind and lights the ghost fire" on the side, the Politburo soon changed its argument. Starting from September, the free aid strategy will no longer be implemented. The government of the Second Republic of Spain must purchase arms at the ex-factory price!

This time, the Spanish funny men were stunned. They tried several times to get the Soviet Union to take back the resolution, but they were all toughly rejected. In desperation, they had to untie their pockets and buy arms with real platinum.

The first batch of arms "sold" to the People's Front include 100,000 rifles (Mosinnagan), 1,000 machine guns (Maxim), 100 mortars, and 100,000 shells. This is the army. As for the air force, it includes 100 I-15s and 40 I-16.sb-2 bombers, and twenty-four were bought.

This batch of aircraft was no longer piloted by Soviet pilots to participate in the war. Instead, they were driven by the Spaniards themselves. The Soviet Union only provided free training for instructors and provided a full set of logistics support.

To be honest, the latter point is particularly important, because other worlds sympathize with the fighter jets given by the people of the Second Republic of Spain, and there is no supporting logistics system. Basically, after a few use, these fighter jets can only be thrown aside as garbage. With the support of the logistics system, Soviet fighter jets can persist for a long time (and in history).

Of course. Starting from September to January of the following year, this period is an adjustment period where both sides accumulate strength. In addition to small-scale conflicts, large-scale battles, whether naval or air combat, are basically extinct.

During this period, the Red Navy and the International Column Air Force participated in the war in Spain for a series of rotations, such as the return of the aircraft carriers of Moscow and Leningrad to the factory for maintenance. The Red Kharkov and the Red Samara battlecruisers were also replaced by the Red Orenburg and the Red Caucasus. It is particularly noteworthy that the first ship of the Type 33 destroyer, the Excellence, was declared in service after intense construction and assault sea tests. Her first deployment after joining the Red Navy was Spain. There she would be tested by the war.

Of course, from September 1936 to January 1937, although there were fewer hot wars, there were quite a lot of cold wars. A big debate broke out in the international community over the issue of the Spanish Civil War.

Among them, the British, who performed poorly before, were the most active. After some adjustments, the British were preparing to treat Spain as a big quagmire and were ready to kill Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union, three culprits who destroyed the stability and order in Europe, together.

For example, he hypocritically condemned Germany and Italy's smuggling arms to support the National Army, pretending to warn Germany and Italy, but before he finished speaking, he began to strongly criticize the Soviet Union.

"In the past six months, the Soviet government has ignored the strong call from the international community, turned a deaf ear to the voice of peace, and has been exporting arms to Spain on a large scale in violation of the restrictions of international conventions. This behavior has greatly damaged regional peace and has caused innocent Spanish people to suffer from the war. Such behavior is never tolerated!"

"We once again strongly appeal to the Soviet government hopes that the unilateral acts will be stopped immediately and the export of arms will be stopped immediately!"

It seems that this is still a verbal shot, but everyone should know that these verbal shots are actually used to create momentum and are laid the foundation for what the British want to say later. So where do the British really want to make a fuss?

Bosphorus!

That is, the Soviet Union made a fuss on the throat of the Mediterranean from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. The Bosphorus problem seemed to be long. It started with the defeat of Türkiye in the first battle.

As a defeated country, Turkey paid a heavy price. According to the provisions of the Treaty of Seffer (part of the treaty signed by the Peace Conference in Paris), the Ottoman Turkish Empire not only wanted to cede a large amount of territory, but also designated the "strait areas" on both sides of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus as demilitarized zones, and the Allies had the right to operate military over the area.

Not only that, it also includes: the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Japan, and Russia forming the "Strait Management Committee" to be responsible for the regional shipping, lighthouse management and navigation. Moreover, the Ottoman must abolish the conscription system, and the national military force shall not exceed 45,000, and shall not possess heavy weapons, air force, navy, or large merchant ships.

Let me put it this way, Ottoman Türkiye was almost hollowed out by the Allies Group, and the actual control of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus Straits also fell into the hands of the "Straits Management Committee" composed of the six countries.

However, as we all know, not long after the Ottoman Turkey was forced to sign the treaty. After the revolution led by Kemal broke out and defeated Greece, the Allies could only declare the Severus Treaty expired, and in 1923, it replaced the Severus Treaty with the Lausanne Treaty.

According to the Treaty of Lausanne, Turkey's independence and sovereignty have been maintained, but the management of the straits is still not something Turkey can say. The surroundings of the straits still belong to the demilitarized zone, and in order to protect the power of countries to access the straits, the right to manage the straits still belongs to the Strait Management Committee of the G6.

This situation continued until 1936. Starting from 1934, with the rise of the fascist forces in Germany, Italy and Japan, the international order faced a new round of reshuffle. With the continuous demands of the Turks and the actual decline in Britain and France's control over the world, the Strait Annex of the Treaty of Lausanne was revised at an international conference held in Montreux, which was the later Montreux Convention.

According to the Treaty Straits were really returned to Türkiye, and the restrictions on the Straits Management Committee and the Demilitarized Zone were lifted. But at the same time, please note that in order to ensure the power of countries to access the Straits, another provision has been made:

During peacetime, warships and merchant ships of countries along the Black Sea coast can pass through the strait freely without any restrictions. Instead, merchant ships on the Black Sea coast countries are not restricted from passing through the strait, but warships are restricted from passing through the strait (the cumulative tonnage of warships passing through the strait at the same time shall not exceed 15,000 tons, the cumulative tonnage of warships staying in the Black Sea shall not exceed 30,000 tons, and the residence time shall not exceed 21 days). In addition, all warships shall not use carrier-based aircraft when passing through the strait.

This is a provision in peacetime. So what about the situation of war? Merchant ships can freely pass through the strait in war situations, but warships have to be divided into two situations: the first is that Turkey is a neutral country, and the warships of each belligerent country shall not pass through the strait. The second is that Turkey belongs to the participating country, so Turkey will decide whether to allow other ships to pass through the strait.

Objectively speaking, the Montreux Convention is fair and fully protects the rights and interests of Turkey and the countries along the Black Sea coast. If everyone abides by it, there will be no problem. But unexpected situations have occurred in history. The Turks themselves violated the treaty. He was neutral in World War II. According to the requirements of the treaty, they should prevent the warships from passing through the straits. However, the Turks ignored the German Navy's entry into the Black Sea. This also caused high dissatisfaction from the Soviet Union after the war. They once demanded to share the management rights of the straits with Turkey. If the Americans had not supported Turkey, they would have almost gone fire.

Of course, this is a historical trend. Now, the Montreux Convention has not been signed yet, and this strait is still under "international co-management". As a member of the Strait Management Committee, the Soviet Union wanted to pass the strait without any restrictions.

It is precisely because Soviet merchant ships and warships can pass through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles calmly, which can provide timely assistance to the Second Republic of Spain. Otherwise, the English Channel in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea will be much farther away. Especially for the Red Navy that lacks overseas bases, it is difficult to maintain its existence in Spain.

This time, the British discovered this weakness of the Soviet Union and were ready to use political means to cut off the Soviets' access to the Mediterranean. Secretly, through diplomatic channels, the British signaled that the Turkish government could strengthen the call to revoke the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, and the British government was willing to loosen Türkiye.

As expected, starting from June, Türkiye launched rounds of offensives internationally, strongly demanding the abolition of unequal treaties and the revocation of control of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.

The Turkish motion was quickly responded with the British opening the back door. In July, a special meeting on the Straits issue was held in Montreux, Switzerland, and representatives of countries related to the Black Sea had a fierce confrontation.

At the beginning, the British were trying to wear small shoes for the Soviet Union. The British insisted that non-Black Sea countries enjoy equal rights with Black Sea countries. Whether in peacetime or wartime, any country's warships must obtain the consent of the League of Nations through the Strait. Without the consent of two-thirds of the League of Nations, no country's warships may pass through the Strait.

Obviously, this is to get stuck in the neck of the Black Sea Fleet of the Red Navy. The Soviet Union could not agree to such a request. In order to fight back against the provocations of the British, the Soviet Union proposed: "Peaceful passage through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles is the power of the people of all countries along the Black Sea coast, and non-Black Sea countries have no reason to enter the Black Sea. They should strictly prohibit warships from passing through the straits, which will only destroy regional balance... The Soviet people's position is that warships of non-Black Sea coast countries must obtain the unanimous consent of the governments of the Black Sea coast countries through the straits, otherwise they cannot enter the Black Sea... As for warships of the Black Sea coast countries through the straits, they should not be restricted in peacetime, and during wartime, the Turkish government should directly block the straits and do not allow any country to pass through any excuses!"

It can be said that the Soviet Union and Britain had a dispute at the beginning. Anyway, the two sides refused to give in and the fierce quarrel continued for three months. Until January 1937, as Germany and Italy suddenly strengthened their aid to Franco, the People's Front was a little shaky. The British took a step back and reached the Montreux Convention in history.

In fact, this convention has little restrictions on countries during peacetime. Unless Turkey suddenly breaks away from neutrality and participates in the fight between big hooligans, warships from countries along the Black Sea coast will be passed just by thinking about it.

Of course, the Turks did not lose money. They disbanded the Strait Management Committee and regained the sovereignty of the Straits. They could finally arrange defenses in the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, which was also a reward.

In this big quarrel, if there are victims, it is the Second Republic of Spain. At first, these funny guys did not agree to pay for Soviet arms, and then the Soviet Union directly terminated aid through negotiations on issues on the Strait. It was not until January of the following year that Franco launched a round of fierce attacks and was overwhelmed by the pressure that the Second Republic government had to open the money box. (To be continued, please search for astronomy, novels are better and faster!

ps: Bow to thank the sweet potatoes in the melon field, yzg20042004, holding Polunzi, guerrillas, plane wanted criminals and comrade Juventus!
Chapter completed!