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“Steps 5, speed 20!”

After giving the order, Admiral Velmotz Yankel habitually looked at the surrounding sea surface. There was nothing but a few groups of seagulls chasing warships on the bay in the south of Biscay. ￠￡ ￡ In the distance was a green Spanish coast, which looked very quiet, but in fact the whole country had been trapped in a civil war.

With the issuance of the order, the "Grand Duke of Frederi" led by the Austro-Hungarian fleet began to turn first. After a year and a half of comprehensive modernization, this old battleship, which had been nearly twenty years old, seemed to be rejuvenated.

After the Naval Exercise in 1934, all the main battleships of the Imperial Navy began to enter the shipyard one after another to carry out modern modifications, mainly to replace the power system and increase the air defense firepower and horizontal defense capabilities of the warships. The two "Markenson"-class battleships of the Imperial Navy were first modified, and the power system was replaced from the original 42 oil-fired boilers to the 12 latest naval high-pressure heavy oil boilers, and the steam turbine was also replaced with the new Steel multi-class steam turbine. The total power increased from the original 93,000 horsepower to the current 160,000 horsepower, almost half of it.

Due to the addition of two layers of upper horizontal armor and the increase in the bandwidth depth of the side-side anti-torpedo, the standard displacement of the "Markensen-class" battleship increased to 43,270 tons, so the speed increased to only 31 knots.

Another significant change is that the thickness of the upper part of the main turret has increased significantly. The main gun is replaced with the skd35 380mm/l50 main gun, and the length of the body tube has increased slightly. In addition, the pitch angle has increased to 42 degrees. The maximum range has increased to 43 kilometers. The 16 150mm secondary guns on the side have been replaced with 8 dual-mounted 127mm high-level dual-purpose guns and 8 105mm dual-purpose guns. In addition, the battleship is also equipped with 8 quad-mounted Isleia 37mm anti-aircraft guns, 8 quad-mounted and 8 dual-purpose guns, and the overall anti-aircraft firepower has been greatly enhanced.

The fleet quickly completed its turn and began its cruise in the Bay of Biscay.

After the Spanish Civil War began, the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire "adhered to justice" and announced an arms embargo on Spain. In fact, Germany, Austria and Italy were supporting the rebellious Saint-Hulho's National Army not only provided weapons and equipment, but also sent a large number of "volunteers" with the purpose of stifling the Communist C regime in Madrid.

In February 1932, the "People's Front", composed of the Spanish Communist Party, won the general election army and came to power in Spain. Due to the implementation of "public ownership" in China, the contradiction between the government and capitalists, old nobles and landlords intensified. The entire society fell into chaos.

The C-C Party of Spain accused the Catholic Church of being the mastermind behind social conflicts and pointed the finger at the church forces at home. At the instigation of Soviet advisers, in 1935, the Republican government ordered the closure of churches and church schools and forcibly changing people's beliefs, which undoubtedly added fuel to the fire.

Spanish financial capitalists, landlords and church bishops all supported armed rebellion. Under their agitation, the colonies in Morocco began to rebel first, and then began to spread to Spain.

As a traditional Catholic country, Germany, Austria and Italy supported the rebellious "National Army". Because France was also ruled by the "People's Front", the Bruno government supported the Spanish Republican government, especially the Second International supported by the Soviet Union, which provided heavy weapons such as aircraft, tanks, cannons and other heavy weapons to the Spanish Republican government, and also organized an "international column" of more than 30,000 people to enter Spain to cooperate with the Republican army in combat.

With the support of the Allies, the National Army began to land on Spain, first occupying Seville and Malaga, and then the rebellion spread throughout the country, but the urban workers supported the "publicly owned" republican government, while the traditional peasants supported the "National Army" who believed in Catholicism. For the sake of faith, the whole Spain was divided.

By November, the "National Army" had occupied the provinces of Cadiz, Velfa and Seville in the south, as well as gaining a foothold in the northern regions of Galicia, Navarra, Old Castilla and Aragon. The National Army was divided into two parts: the northern troops led by General Mora and the southern troops led by General Franco, while General St. Hurho established the National Military Government in Ceuta.

The situation was not beneficial to the National Army. Spain's main industry and national finances were in the hands of the Republican government, and in the cities, workers had the Republican government. In view of this situation, the Allies simply took the battle personally and formed a 50,000-man interference army to go to the Spanish battlefield. With the support of the Allies' interference army, Franco's army finally stood firm.

Germany, Austria and Italy even dispatched naval fleets to block the Spanish coast. The famous saying is to implement an "arms embargo", but in fact the purpose is to block the Soviet Union's aid to the republican government.

It was early winter. Yankel was wearing a blue military coat and stood on the bridge of the "Grand Duke of Frederi", thinking about the orders issued by the emperor himself with some concern - this might trigger a war.

Just yesterday, a Soviet fleet crossed the blockade line of the German-Austrian fleet and entered the southern part of the Bay of North Scay. Then, under the surveillance of the German-Austrian fleet, entered the Port of Santander in northern Spain. This situation was immediately reported to the country. The German-Austrian fleet received an order: try to monitor the Soviet-Austrian fleet, but try to avoid causing conflict.

This Russian fleet consists of a cruiser, two destroyers, and a supply ship, which is not very strong. However, in peacetime, if there is a conflict with other countries' warships, it is undoubtedly an act of war, so the German and Austrian fleet did not forcibly intercept the Soviet Russian fleet and forcefully enter Spain.

But this morning, General Yankel, the commander of the Austro-Hungarian Blockade Fleet, suddenly received an order from the emperor himself: If the Soviet fleet leaves the port, it will be detained immediately, and if the other party fights back, it can be sunk!

This was simply a declaration of war, which puzzled Yankel. He replied with a telegram, and the emperor told him to act according to the order and would send a special commissioner to explain the details to him.

Now the commissioners sent by the emperor have flew to Porto, Portugal and are preparing to fly to La Coruna occupied by the National Army. Yankel sent a cruiser to La Coruna to pick up the commissioner, and he led the fleet to continue to monitor the movements of the Soviet fleet in the Bay of Biscay.

This Soviet fleet stayed in Santander Port and did not take any action for the whole day.
Chapter completed!