Spanish offensive goes as planned. Massina is reacting in a way i wasnt anticipating meaning he seems to be sending reinforcements to the south. Where? MED? SPAIN? I'll be sure to stay tuned.
Seray, Southern Vichy France (2 days before the declaration of war with Spain )
The german recon patrol was hicking up the trail under the cover of night. At the moment, they were on the french side. The ground was firm because they were walking on a very old Roman road, going up and over the Pyrennées, and into Spain... Their mission was one of
reconnaissance, as the germans needed much needed intel on the disposition of spanish forces on the border. Hauptmann Gretch, standing tall over the special squad of 10 soldiers walking behind him, was wondering if they would fight in this moonless night. All was quiet except for the noises of the woods around them. Some little animals were lurking near, and ocasionally he would hear the clicks and bangs of weapons and boots.
They had landed in Seray via train with the approval of the Vichy French regime. They had then proceeded right into the woods towards the old roman road. It seemingly soo simple. Go up, then observe while on top of the mountain range (not very high in this area), then go down on the spanish side and try to get a feel for military preperations. German intelligence reported that there should not be too many troops, since Franco's forces were still very busy at repression, fillip up prisons and killings the reds as Franco called them.
3 week before the exact reason for the german patrol had unfolded...
Hendaye, France (3 weeks before the declaration of war)
With an hour late on schedule, the Spanish delegation arrived at the station of Hendaye. Following the presentations, for hitherto neither Hitler nor Franco had met personally, noth gathered in the parlor car of the Führer, at a rectangular table occupied besides the two leaders, the Minister of foreign Affairs, Ribbentrop, Field Marshal Keitel, Serrano and the two performers, prohibiting entry into the room to anyone else.
Hitler, after initial small talks and drinks with everyone, started to talk about the fact that Germany, as new master of Europe, was in an excellent position to takeover Britain and needed Spain to do its part to make this happen by letting german forces in for them to capture Gibraltar. The spanish delegation, listening to the opening speech, stayed uncommital. The meeting started and after several hours of talks and non-commitment from the Spanish, Hitler had had enough. Franco, far from being excited about the prospect of german boots on his soil, dodged the whole meeting and did not commit to help the Axis in anyway. At that point, right off the meeting while getting back into the train that would bring him back to Germany, the german dictator asked for maps of Spain... he also drew up quick orders to look into a number of detailed reconnaissance missions by officers wearing civilian clothing and studying the Rock from Spanish soil as well as seaward perspectives, the Wehrmacht in the summer and autumn of 1940 drew up detailed plans for Operation Felix, the assault on Gibraltar.
Operation Isabella: The invasion of Spain (march 1940)
Under the overall command of Field Marshal Walter von Reichenau, the German plan called for two INF corps and 2 ARM divisions (to be joined later by 2more mechanized division and another INf corps) to move into Spain in the middle of march 1940 without the consent of Generalissimo Francisco Franco, thus implicating an Invasion of Spain. The plan was simple: Move as much overwhelming force as possible and as fast as the machine would let them go, thrust directly for Madrid. Then, with just enough time to pause to take a breath, the germans would go south, to their real objective...
Tnanks south of Zaragoza making good ground toward Madrid
Infantry also advancing rapidly.
Machine-gun position south of Zaragoza.
Operation Felix: Assault on Gibraltar (estimated july-august 1940)
German Plans )
General Rudolf Schmidt's XXXIX Corps would cover the flank of the Gibraltar assault against any British intervention: the 16th Motorized Division would concentrate in the vicinity of Valladolid, the 16th Panzer Division around Caceres, and the SS Totenkopf Division at Sevilla.
General Ludwig Kuebler's XLIX Corps would control the actual attack on the Rock. The assault forces would comprise the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment, the 98th Regiment of the 1st Mountain Division, 26 medium and heavy artillery battalions, three observation battalions, three engineer battalions, two smoke battalions, a detachment of 150 Brandenburgers, and up to 150 radio-controlled midget tanks ("Goliaths") packed with high explosives.
Two additional divisions were earmarked to cross the Straits of Gibraltar and garrison Morocco after the successful completion of Felix.
Due to the limited capacity of the Spanish rail system (which was not of the standard European gauge), much of the German ground force would move by road to its objectives.
The Luftwaffe would contribute Ju 88As, Stukas, Messerschmitts, three light AA battalions, and three heavy AA battalions. The Kriegsmarine would cooperate by using U-boats to interfere with British naval movement and emplacing coastal batteries to further discourage the Royal Navy.
From staging areas on the Spanish border near Bayonne, the ground troops would cross the frontier simultaneously with an initial raid by Ju 88As flying from Bordeaux against British vessels in the Gibraltar anchorage. While the Ju 88As carried out their mission, Ju 87s and Me 109s would transfer to airbases at Sevilla and finish the job of sinking British ships or driving them away from Gibraltar.
With its flank protected by XXXIX Corps, XLIX Corps would move into position for the attack. A tremendous barrage was scheduled to knock out every known defensive emplacement in the Rock, followed by the arrival of the Luftwaffe for a succession of Stuka strikes against positions still firing when the assault troops began moving forward. German artillery fire would methodically demolish surviving casemates while smoke-generating units shrouded Grossdeutschland and the 98th Mountain Regiment. Due to the extremely limited frontage of the position, only those two regiments plus supporting engineers would be committed in the actual assault.
Meanwhile, the Brandenburgers -- disguised as sailors abandoning a sinking ship -- intended to land inside British defenses in small boats and clear the way for the assault troops
German bombers over Zaragoza[/b]
