"That may be the twelve weeks before our defeat, and the most painful year!"

"I was in Gibraltar at the time. When I learned that the USS Enterprise was sunk and saw the battleship Nelson slowly sinking into the harbor, I thought we were done. But afterwards, I told me that... it wasn't the worst!"

-----Elms, British Reuters war correspondent.

In March 1941, for the Allies, there was almost no good news except the Truke and Marshall Islands, which were irrelevant to the overall situation. On the fourth day of North Africa's landing, the successive sinking of the USS Enterprise and the battleships Nelson once again severely damaged the already paralyzed British and American navies. So much so that in the following weeks, Bismarck and two Schonhorst-class battlecruisers almost dominated the Atlantic Ocean. If it weren't for the natural barriers of the Strait of Gibraltar, Redell might have been able to control the Mediterranean sea in advance. In this round of attacks, the Allies paid a heavy price, with a total of seventeen merchant ships, three troop transport ships and destroyers sunk. With the wolves of Denitz, Britain and the United States lost an aircraft carrier, a battleship, five destroyers, thirty-one merchant ships and three thousand soldiers...

Fortunately, with the efforts of British and American workers, the battleships of the North Carolina were delivered in advance on March 6. At the same time, the Royal Navy's George V-class battleship, the Prince of Wales, the second ship of the Royal Navy's George V-class battleship, was officially put into service, and the third ship Duke of York will also be put into service in early April. The injured battleships of the George V and the Warriors in Operation Thrower were also repaired on March 7. Finally, the British Navy also sank the Queen Elizabeth and Warwear in Alexandria.

The water was salvaged (the USS Colorado aircraft carrier could not be repaired) and towed it to Durban Port in South Africa for overhaul. At this point, the British Navy gathered seven battleships and four aircraft carriers to the main lineup. In addition, the US Navy transferred the USS Colorado battleship, five cruisers and twelve destroyers to Gibraltar. Britain and the United States once again gathered a total of twelve battleships, five aircraft carriers and twenty-two cruisers in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and continued to carry out a comprehensive encirclement and suppression of the Italian and German navies.

The sinking of the Enterprise deeply hurt the US Navy and Army Air Force. When the Chinese Navy had already begun to attack the Marshall Islands and the Gilbert Islands, but he was completely unable to interfere. Roosevelt had to give in and order a full support to China in accordance with the support agreement reached by Hopkins and Yang Qiu. The first batch of them provided China with $500 million in loans and $500 million worth of supplies. This also means that throughout 1941, the US Navy would basically not appear in the Southwest Pacific except Australia.

This major change finally made the US General Staff led by Marshall finally relieved. Without the drag of the Pacific Ocean, they could finally provide the greatest strength to Europe! The day after Roosevelt made the decision, Marshall signed the second batch of troops to increase the troops. These included 13 Army divisions, 600 tanks, 4,000 anti-aircraft guns, eighteen warships, and 2,000 B-17 bombers (2,576 before the war, because the Chinese H-7 stimulus was higher than history). 1,200 B-25 bombers (1,767 before the war), 1,872 P-40, P-38, and F4f fighters (3,379 for the three aircraft before the war) were transferred to Europe and North Africa. Finally, the US Army Airlines and the Navy were unwilling to wait for new aircraft from domestic aircraft companies, and immediately formally submitted a patent to the Chinese government for the purchase of "Shuang Electric" fighter jets in accordance with the terms of the alliance.

Marshall's reinforcing troops was very determined, but Rommel's advancement was also sharp and fast! After Kiskenner, east of Algeria, was blocked by Britain and the United States, he deliberately let the large troops move towards Batner in the south, luring two American divisions to intercept, and then personally led an armored division to suddenly attack Mira north. Because the Allies did not expect that the Germans would dare to walk on the coast blocked by naval guns, it was not until the vanguard appeared on the periphery of Setif that they intercepted in a hurry.

The Battle of Setif was the first major battle after the Allied forces landed in North Africa. The two sides invested a total of seven divisions. But the result was unforgettable for the US military! Around the Krier Hill Gorge north of Setif, Colonel Menton's 288th Armored Regiment gave a good lesson to the US Army's First Armored Division. In just one day, the 41 No. 4 tanks under his command destroyed a total of 104 US m3 tanks, armored vehicles and trucks, and finally defeated the British 26th Tank Brigade and the Free French Army's 3rd Tank Regiment who came to assist. In the following two days, the Allied forces lost more than 8,000 people. They also lost Setif, allowing Rommel to approach less than 230 kilometers from the Algier landing field.

The Battle of Setif once again showed the defects of poor tactics and experience of the US military. In order to restrain Rommel and ensure the safety of the landing field, Britain and the United States increased their troops to North Africa, while ordering the Egyptian army of Wevel to attack Benghazi.

At this time, Yang Qiu's early action of Bai Chongxi in attacking East Africa was finally reflected. After Zhu Jiande eliminated nearly half of the 600,000 Italian East African Legion and rushed to Somalia and southern Ethiopia, Weiville's Egyptian Legion finally had no worries. So he immediately dispatched eleven infantry divisions and three armored brigades to attack Benghazi, a major Syrian city. Cunningham also seized the opportunity to mobilize three heavy patrols and two American New York-class battleships to shell the harbor. Since this place is very close to the oil field sold by Jin Bihui, Hitler, who was worried that the "future resources" were stolen by Britain and the United States, was "dizzy" again. Despite Rommel's protests, he ordered him to ensure Benghazi's safety first, and deliberately transferred General Kleist to North Africa to serve as the commander of the group army.

This made Rommel very angry and immediately called the General Staff to request the transfer back to Europe. After hearing the news, Hitler, as long as he appeased the beloved general, he promised that he would immediately discuss with Mussolini, and then dispatched three German armored divisions, five German infantry divisions, and ten Italian infantry divisions to support him, completely "driving Britain and the United States into the sea", which made Rommel slightly relieved. However, he also knew that Benghazi was very important. Once Benghazi fell, he would be attacked from both sides, so he had to turn around and deal with Vevere's Egyptian army first.

When he learned that Rommel turned around, Eisenhower, who was responsible for the landing in North Africa, breathed a sigh of relief. However, the US military had not yet fully stood firm in North Africa, and bad news came from Europe! On March 8, 700,000 German troops suddenly attacked Yugoslavia and officially burned into the Balkans in the war. Prime Minister Peter II and Simovich immediately asked for help from the allies. At the same time, they had always opposed them. Yugoslavia's GC International headed by Tito also turned to resist the invasion in full and hoped that the Soviet government would provide support. However, considering its own situation, they were worried that they would anger Germany and be attacked by two lines, so Stalin refused to provide assistance. This move angered the radicals led by Tito, and immediately rejected the order proposed by the Moscow Party Central Committee to "abandon resistance and preserve vitality." He announced his joining the Yugoslav Resistance Army headed by Peter II, and vowed to lead the Yugoslav people to fight to the last moment!

This incident also became the fuse for the complete fall of GC International. In the face of national interests, this institution, which was once regarded as a savior by the proletariat in the world and regarded as a "political ATM" by the Soviet Union, finally came to an end.

Tito's active joining made Yugoslavia unite. This was also great news for the alliance. The 15 million people made Britain and the United States, who were worried about not being able to find "cannon fodder", ecstatic and immediately supported it with high profile. And on the second day of the German attack, the US military sent 200 transport planes to transport a large number of weapons and equipment from Greek airspace to Belgrade. For post-war considerations, Yang Qiu also instructed Bai Chongxi to send transport planes to provide Tito with necessary assistance such as weapons and medicines, and sent "military observers" to him for the first time to help him form his own resistance army.

But at this time, bad news came from distant Central Asia. On March 4, the Soviet army assembled four tank divisions, twenty infantry divisions, and a total of 300,000 troops set out from Akjiubinsk (now Kazakhstan, Aktobe) and launched a counterattack on the Ilguz River stationed by the Chinese Defense Forces under the command of Rokosovsky. Although the air force provided support at the first time, the bombing effect was very poor due to wind and snow. In addition, the front-line commander made a mistake in judgment, the garrison led to the garrison.

Two infantry divisions on the Great Boktbay Mountain were surrounded. More than 20,000 soldiers stood in the position of more than minus 20 degrees Celsius for five days and five nights. Finally, due to poor supply, they had to break through to the Ilguz River east. In the end, more than 6,000 soldiers who were on the blocking mission were killed. Among them, a major general division commander and nineteen senior officers died. More than 5,000 people were captured. Finally, among the more than 7,000 people who broke through the siege and returned to the Ilguz River, nearly half were frostbitten.

Faced with the biggest failure since the war started, Rokosovsky's fierce counterattack also temporarily freezes the operation of landing in Ryukyu. Army Commander Long Yun and Deputy Chief of General Staff Liu Mingzhao also immediately went to the front line to take charge.

-----

"The German army attacked Yugoslavia, and Tito threw himself into the arms of the capitalists!"

"This traitor!"

"No, he should not be criticized like this. He is a comrade of our International Column, and I believe he made this difficult decision in order to protect the country."

"I heard that the General Secretary refused to support Yugoslavia, but China provided weapons and medicines to Tito and Yugoslavia's comrades."

"We should believe in d and not be blinded by the propaganda of capitalists. General Secretary Stalin needs to solve the threat from the East first, so I believe that as long as we can persevere to the counterattack, the Red Army will definitely come back."

"Okay, okay, stop arguing. Everyone, the purpose of our meeting today is what we should do next!"

In a small town in the western part of the Catalonian province of Spain, fifty or sixty representatives from the left-wing group gathered in the gloomy basement. Among them are the Spanish GCD, the Workers' Union, the Basque, Galicia and Catalonian separatist guerrillas, and the anarchist who was stranded in Spain by the International Column. The increasing scale of Eurasian wars made these guys who were chased like rats by Franco active again. Starting from Germany's occupation of France, various destruction, assassination, attacks and guerrillas rekindled in Spain. However, because Britain and the United States firmly supported Franco for their own interests, and Franco itself received support from Germany. Even Moscow refused to support it again because it refused to support it, so they were like a group of clowns sandwiched between the lions, ruthlessly abandoned by all parties, or "gifted" back and forth as political chips.

This situation was unbearable for them, and it also caused the hearts of these people to become increasingly distorted! Seeing that there was no hope of recovery, it was suddenly heard that Britain and the United States landed in North Africa and the two main battleships were sunk. The ignorant people also knew that Gibraltar's status had risen to an infinite height for Britain and the United States at this moment, so their minds became active again. Trying to find a way to make Britain and the United States recognize them.

"Of course this is impossible!" Liu Xianghui sat quietly beside him, putting on a deep thought expression, and sneered in his heart as he looked at the group of people.

He was originally a naval intelligence officer arranged by the Military Intelligence Agency in France. During the Spanish Civil War, he was ordered to sneak into the international column in the name of French workers.

As the mainstay that blocked the Soviet Union's infiltration into Asia, the GC thought that broke out after Europe actually had a great influence in China. Because of the direct confrontation between geopolitical borders, a considerable number of people joined the organization, many of them were intellectuals. Even during the First Afghanistan War between China and the Soviet Union, many people in China received orders from the Soviet Union to act as vanguards against persecution and against capital. This situation was not until the Soviet army formally invaded Iran, threatening the national oil security, and then invaded the northwest that a huge reflection broke out, and everyone drew a clear line with the Soviet Union.

In fact, the reason why the president asked the Soviet Union to take action first may not have let these people see clearly the true face of the Soviet Union.

So there were many Chinese and international students who came with him who accepted GC ideas. Because of his bravery, alertness and proficiency in mechanical maintenance, he quickly became the backbone of the international column. After the war, he was imprisoned by Franco and was imprisoned in concentration camps by Franco. Fortunately, he had a good relationship with Franco at that time and sold a large number of weapons, so he escorted all Chinese back to China in the name of exchanging wanted criminals. Some of these people repent, and some are still imprisoned. After deliberately staying in prison for a few years, he forged the illusion of escape. He returned to Spain to find his old comrades who were back then.

Because of this legendary experience, he became a little famous in the Spanish Resistance Organization. In addition, after he came to Spain, he had been smuggling and processing bristles from China (China is the largest exporter of bristles and one of the strategic resources at that time). He made a lot of money in just a few years. This money was used by him to support the left-wing guerrillas, or to win over relations. Finally, relying on his kindness and iron-core support, he gradually became an important core member of the Catalan guerrillas.

His mission this time is to assassinate Franco!

In his opinion, this incident is both a harm to Britain and the United States and a helping Britain and the United States.

The reason is that if Spain continues to be neutral, then North Africa and Egypt will be under too much pressure. The current German army is like a pressure cooker. If it cannot dilute the German army as soon as possible and open up a new battlefield, it will definitely increase its troops in North Africa quickly and seek the possibility of defeating the inexperienced US army in one fell swoop. Therefore, only by using the Balkans in the east and Spain in the west, it can dilute millions of German troops by relying on the width and depth of the battlefield. Even if the two places lose on the surface, Britain and the United States will definitely support the local guerrillas as much as possible because of the need for "cannon fodder" and will definitely support the local guerrillas and hold the Germans alive. Moreover, Vichy France is neutral. If the German army wants to attack Spain, it will inevitably occupy France in full. In this way, it is equivalent to giving some of the French forces to the Allies for free.

The reason is that supporting the Balkans requires exhausting a lot of financial resources from Britain and the United States, while Spain can only fight by themselves because of Gibraltar. In this way, the battlefield seems to be wider and dilute the German forces, but in fact it invests more materials and troops. Britain and the United States are not stupid and Spain cannot save it, which means losing the Mediterranean and the war will be over. So as long as Spain provokes Spain, Roosevelt will never dare to be slow again. He must do his best. Even if he pulls the recruits to die, he must fill the meat grinder!

"British and the United States will not support us, and those capitalists need Franco."

"Yes, in order to win over Franco, the United Kingdom gave him a lot of arms and supplies, and also provided bank loans."

"We can go and find Comrade Picasso, who has a high reputation in Britain and the United States. Yes! And Romile, who is the nephew of Prime Minister Churchill, perhaps we can contact Prime Minister Churchill through him." (Romile Churchill, Churchill's nephew, participated in the international column during the Spanish Civil War and was sent back to England after the war).

While he was secretly thinking about the gains and losses of the mission, the left-wing members around him had already started to discuss it. But these unrealistic things made him shake his head secretly, and finally he had to pull the man beside him.

If he is the money bag of the Catalan guerrillas, then a man named Andrew Wagsi, with a big bearded face and bloodshot eyes, was the number one thug of the guerrillas. In the past year alone, there have been more than dozens of assassinations and attacks he has created. At least five National Army officers and more than a dozen soldiers were killed by him, and hundreds of innocent people were affected by death. Because of his "outstanding" work, he is now the most important officer in the left-wing alliance.

But no one knew that he had been secretly controlled by Liu Xianghui. Over the past ten years, with the help of the country, Liu Xianghui has been constantly using special drugs, hypnosis, suggestion and other means to make him his "downline", and has also used a lot of money to help him climb to this position. Of course, Wagshi himself did not know about these things. He just subconsciously regarded Liu Xianghui as his most important confidant and aide, and was also a "brother" who shared life and death.

After receiving the hint, Waggsey, who always carried a submachine gun on his back, stood up. Because of his burly figure, he immediately attracted all his attention. "You are too careful! Why don't Britain and the United States need us? Just because we have been making small fuss! In my opinion, this problem is easy to solve. Those damn long spear parties are calling for joining the Nazi camp every day and are still forming troops to help the Germans, but because Franco has not agreed. Then as long as we assassinate Franco, they will immediately join the Nazi camp. At that time, the British can only rely on us!"

"Assassinate Franco? Oh my God, there are many soldiers around him. And killing him will only give Hitler an excuse for invasion. We cannot stop so many German troops." As soon as Wagsey said, there were people immediately. Of course, some people thought this method was good, but it was not easy to assassinate Franco. The protection power around him was very strong.

Liu Xianghui continued to be a "spectator", and his skin color made him not suitable to be involved, so this matter could only be faced by Wagshi.

"Then kill his lackey Sunel!" Wagessi's words were astonishing.

Sunel is the Spanish Minister of Interior and the most important cadre under Franco. He has been in contact with Germany recently. If he can kill him, he will anger the Spike Party and may lead to their public joining the Nazis. Moreover, Sunel, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Interior, has used military and police to suppress the left-wing alliance in recent years, and has died at least hundreds of thousands of "comrades" and supporters at his hands!

Killing such a person will cause no psychological burden.

"But is Sunel the only one who assassinated?" Liu Xianghui looked at them and slowly opened a trace of the corner of his lips.

.(To be continued...)
Chapter completed!