Chapter 654： Aid from Romania

Latest website: "Before the Spanish Civil War broke out, the generals of the National Army had contact with the ambassadors of Germany and Italy, and we also have reason to believe that the Spanish military would not be able to launch a civil war without the secret support of the two countries. And the civil war broke out. After that, the National Army immediately received military assistance from Germany and Italy.

In the first few days, German and Italian aircraft transferred more than 14,000 soldiers and a large amount of military supplies from Morocco to the peninsula. Moreover, according to our estimation, if it were not for the early assistance of Germany and Italy, the National Army would most likely have failed under the suppression of the Madrid government. Because the Spanish navy is still in the hands of the government. "

In the meeting room, the intelligence chief Holmonkman personally introduced to a group of senior military and political officials present, the role of Germany and Italy in the Spanish Civil War.

Of course, there is a reason for Romania to spend so much energy studying the situation in Spain. The National Army asked Romania for help.

This may be because the National Army felt that Romania, as the front line of resistance to the Soviet Union, must be very interested in fighting communism. Although the National Army has now received strong support from Germany and Italy, who would think that there is little support. In line with the idea that one point counts for one's own enhancement, it is very easy for Spain to ask Romania for help.

In the face of Spain's request for help, both the military and the government are very interested. Not to mention Spain's rich resources, even its geographic location is worth Romania's fight for this.

So after Holmonkman finished speaking, looking at the eager military and political officials, Edel knew that Romania would inevitably participate in this Spanish Civil War.

So he clicked on Fereit's name and asked. "Admiral Fereit, what is the attitude of your military?"

Facing Edel's inquiry, Feleit, who had already made up his mind, said. "Your Majesty, our military believes that Spain's preparation for war is our opportunity. In the face of the clearly left-leaning Spanish government, the Spanish military forces headed by General Sanjujo are obviously more likely to become our allies. Therefore, this is a great opportunity for us to expand Romania. In terms of influence in the Mediterranean and southern Europe, this is an excellent opportunity. I think we should support the forces of the National Army in this civil war."

The military has already made a decision, and Edel asked the government again. "So what about the government's opinion?"

As the head of government, Prime Minister Mihalaki also voted in favor.

"We believe that we can secretly support Spain, which will not only increase our country's influence, but also benefit economically."

Obviously, the Prime Minister meant to take advantage of the fire.

Since the two sides have no objection, the discussion about which side Romania supports is over. In fact, the rebel forces received aid far beyond Germany and Italy; British firms supplied oil and aircraft to the National Army, Franco obtained weapons and ammunition from the British military base in Gibraltar, and the French "Renault Company" secretly sold aircraft and aircraft to the National Army. For automobiles, more than 75% of the oil required by the National Army is supplied by American Petroleum Corporation.

Now that it has been decided to give support to the National Army, it is necessary to mention the issue of assistance, and Edel continued to ask. "How does your military plan to provide assistance to the National Army?"

Obviously, Fereit, who had been prepared early, said. "Your Majesty, we intend to provide Spain with the weapons and equipment they need most. Mainly with rifles, artillery, tanks, aircraft and other equipment. Among them, in order to help the training of the National Army, we intend to send a military advisory group to help them improve their combat level. In addition, the navy will also dispatch a task force headed by the Mircea-class battleship and the Brebisa heavy cruiser to ensure the safety of navigation in the area."

Obviously, what Fereit said was the result of internal discussions among the three armed forces. Otherwise, why would Fereit make decisions for the navy?

Now that the military has decided to send a military advisory group secretly, Edel is a little curious about who will be the head of the advisory group this time.

"Who do you plan to let lead the team this time?"

"After our discussion, Lieutenant General Hoffman is the best choice to lead the team this time."

Fereit’s words shocked Edel, because the choice of the head of the advisory group is very important, which does not necessarily mean the importance of support and the scale.

"Then how large-scale do you plan to send this advisory group?"

Sure enough, following Edel's question, Feleit 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."

Obviously, such a large-scale advisory group is more than just advisors. It is obvious that the military intends to go shirtless and participate in this civil war.

In fact, the size of the Romanian advisory group has surpassed that of the German Vulture Corps. In the Spanish Civil War, the number of the world-famous Vulture Corps has never exceeded 7,000. It's just that Germany has a very high replacement rate because it needs to test the performance of its equipment and train its troops. In the entire Spanish War, the replacement rate of the Vulture Corps reached 50,000.

In fact, the help provided by the Vulture Corps to the National Army is far less important than that of Italy. In order to help the National Army, Italy dispatched an intervention force composed of black shirts, military experts, and regular troops in early 1937. The number was as high as 50,000 and formed into 4 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 the right of France, just like the German environment before World War I. Its land and sea can be threatened by both sides. This is also the experience that Italy learned from the French-Russian alliance in World War I.

Moreover, Spain's domestic tungsten, mercury, iron ore and agricultural products are all urgently needed by Italy. At present, half of the iron ore demand for the raw materials of the Italian steel industry comes from Spain.

So helping Spain is very important for Italy And in order to get the National Army he supports to come to power, Mussolini naturally has to desperately protect him from seizing power in Spain.

After Romania decided to intervene in the Spanish Civil War, it immediately held secret talks with the National Army. However, during this period, the plane crash of General Jose Sanjuho had a certain impact on the negotiations.

As the leader after the outbreak of the Civil War, he was originally in Lisbon and wanted to join the National Army, but the plane he was on was overloaded. The main reason was that he and his entourage insisted on bringing the general's dress into Madrid together, causing it to crash during takeoff.

There are also rumors that he is the same as Emilio Mora, the second figure of the National Army, who was assassinated by Franco to prevent his political opponents, but there is no relevant evidence.

The chaos of the National Army during this period also affected the negotiations, but fortunately, Franco, who initially controlled the interior of the National Army, attached great importance to Romania’s assistance, and the subsequent negotiations proceeded very quickly.

In the end, Spain used future customs taxes as collateral to obtain 150 million lei worth of weapons and equipment from Romania. At the same time, the Romanian advisory group, led by General Hoffman, also set off for Spain.