Berchtesgaden is located in the foothills of the Alps, adjacent to Salzburg, Austria. It is a picturesque place far away from the hustle and bustle of the world. The antique hotel is located on the hillside overlooking the town. Although the specifications and grades are quite different from the royal palaces, it is carefully decorated and decorated to welcome the monarchs of European countries not only without any politeness, but also unique.

During the meeting, the "European Barrier" plan proposed by the German Crown Prince William on behalf of the empire's top leaders was positively responded. After all, most of these continental countries have been interfered by Britain in history. They have no good feelings for the British, and they are even less willing to let Americans who lack cultural heritage set foot in Europe and influence the internal affairs and diplomacy of European countries. Furthermore, the "European Barrier" facing the Atlantic Ocean connect the four countries Iceland, Ireland, France, and Spain. The first two countries are monarchs by members of the Hohenzollern family.

It has a close military relationship with Germany, while France is nominally an independent country, but in fact it has become a vassal of Germany. In terms of military strategy, it has to obey Germany. Therefore, as long as the Germans deal with Spain, there will be no political problem. The rest is how to turn the barrier on the map into a real line of defense. As for other European allies, they will pay money and work hard and cheer for the flag. But the real big head must be brought forward by the Germans. Once they face the attack of the United States and Britain, the German team will definitely be the one who takes the main force.

The heads of the monarchs of European allies gathered here, and there were many issues on the table, but most of them were formal and lacked connotation. The original intention was to cool off on holidays, relax the body and mind, connect with each other, enhance friendship, explore each other, and communicate in private.

There is a green lake in Berchtesgaden, called "King Lake". On this day, Xia Shu was rafting on the lake at his appointment with his brother Oscar. When the boat reached the center of the lake, there was no third party within two or three hundred meters. The king of Iceland showed a depressed look. He revealed to Xia Shu that abandoned kayaks have been found on the coast of Iceland recently. Those who suspected of having bad intentions arrived at the nearshore waters by ship, and then transferred to the small boat to land. The rumors that the US and British troops were about to attack Iceland caused panic. Not only that, the US government also used neutral people to lead the way to speak in a vague manner. After the US and British troops completely occupied the Azores, the next target was Iceland. I hope that the Icelandic royal family and government will not resist when the US and British troops landed in the future. In exchange, the US and British government will ensure that the status of the Icelandic royal family will not be violated.

It is said that I would rather be a chicken head than a cow. Iceland is now sparsely populated and economically backward, but it is an independent and sovereign country after all. If Oscar loses the throne and returns to Germany, he will be an ordinary royal member, which is far less comfortable than being his Iceland king. Because of this, Oscar I sighed: "It seems that the Azores cannot be defended now. Iceland has no danger to defend, and Germany cannot send heavy troops. Although my family and I have no attachment to Iceland, if I leave Iceland, I will become an exile. Do you think... Is there any possibility of returning to Iceland in the future?"

Xia Shu nodded and shook her head again.

Oscar didn't ask what Xia Shu meant. He stared at the clear lake for a while and then asked Xia Shu: "When the US and British troops occupy Iceland, they will definitely recover Britain, and then it will be Ireland. If it really comes to that point, do you plan to fight the US and British to fight to the death or compromise with them?"

After brewing for a moment, Xia Shu replied lightly: "Someone mentioned this question to me six years ago. Do you still remember it?"

Oscar squeezed a hint of embarrassing smile on his face: "The worries at that time are now possible, and he had no feelings for that strange country at that time, and now he has regarded it as his home."

"When your home is threatened by the enemy, shouldn't the real king try every means to defend it?" Natsuki asked back.

"Wow, you are the king whom six million Irish people sincerely love. You are the supreme commander and absolute loyalty of the Irish army. You have the ability to defend your home, but what do I have?" Oscar spread his hands in regret.

"But you have a country that is 50% larger than Ireland." Xia Shu replied firmly, "There are wonderful scenery given by the Creator, magnificent fjords, peaks, beautiful lakes, tundras, and nearly 200,000 Germanic Icelanders who are willing to wait for your order. These are the unique wealth of your Majesty Oscar I!"

Osk was initially inspired, but after thinking about it, his expression was still gloomy. He said in frustration: "Even if I can summon 20,000 Icelandic men to organize an army, and this army can use the terrain to resist the enemy for several weeks, who can give me an absolute promise to protect Iceland from being occupied by the enemy? Even if Germany and Ireland station a large number of troops in Iceland, if the sea battle is unfavorable and our sea route is cut off by the enemy, it will still be difficult to escape the bad luck."

The situation imagined by the King of Iceland may indeed become a reality, but it is too pessimistic to look at the future like this at the beginning of the war. You should know that no one on the battlefield can always be smooth sailing. The real winners know how to overcome adversity. For example, Alexander, Hannibal, and Napoleon have created classic battles that defeat the strong with the weak and the more with the few, and have been praised by later generations for this.

As the sun sets, a cool breeze blows on the lake. The summer trees take off their sun hats and enjoy the gifts of nature. When they feel relieved, he said to the Oscars: "It seems that the defeat of the Battle of Azore and the launch of the European Barrier Plan have made everyone lose confidence in this war, but in my judgment, the chance of winning and losing of the war is still 55, which means that neither side has won a decisive victory. At this time, whoever has the courage and strong tenacity will have the chance to become the final winner. Imagine... the great King of Iceland led his military and civilians to fight against the powerful enemy with his allies, defending his country in an extremely difficult environment. His reputation will always be recorded in the history of Iceland and become the most glorious chapter of this Nordic country... How about it?"

"But Johen, I don't have the military talent like you, and I haven't even commanded a decent battle. I... lack the confidence and courage like you. If it were you, you might be able to lead the weak Icelandic army to resist the invasion of the enemy, but I can't." Oscar sighed.

Xia Shusui said kindly and comforted: "Confidence and courage do not come from the sky, but should be accumulated gradually through continuous trials and experience. You can rest assured that as long as you have the determination to defend your country, I will do my best to help you. Even if you retreat due to the huge difference in strength, as long as the counterattack comes, I will definitely help you return to the throne of Iceland."

Oscar nodded, then shook his head, and his eyes still showed melancholy and confusion.

After a secret conversation, Xia Shu failed to change her brother's pessimism. Then, after a quiet night of thought, he suddenly realized that what Oscar wanted to express to him might be another layer of intention. Why did he ignore the fundamental interests of his country and get involved in this unjust battle of a great power?

Four days later, the Berchtesgaden meeting was about to end, and at this moment the Germans suddenly announced a shocking news: the German army captured the Gibraltar Fortress!

British-occupation Gibraltar is a narrow and long enclave, only 5 kilometers long from north to south, about 2.1 kilometers widest from east to west, surrounded by the sea on three sides, and bordered Spain on the north. The British army built the famous Gibraltar Fortress based on Mount Gibraltar. If an attack was launched from the sea, even if the attacking fleet could completely suppress the artillery fire of the fortress, the landing troops were directly exposed to the enemy's gun before they even arrived ashore. Moreover, as soon as the battle started, the US and British fleets launched a large-scale raid on Azores.

The archipelago thus restrained the main force of the German navy, and Germany's naval power in Europe alone could not defend the strong Gibraltar fortress. At this time, there were three ways to solve Gibraltar. One was that Germany transferred back to the main fleet from Azores to conquer Gibraltar from sea, the second was that Spain participated in the war, and Germany captured Gibraltar from land through Spain, and the third was that the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy participated in the war, and the German navy joined forces to push Gibraltar from sea.

The main content of this agreement is very clear. The German team took Gibraltar from the British and returned it to Spain. In other words, Spain can enjoy the fruits without spending one soldier.

At the beginning of the war, the German government made this generous deal to Spain. After more than a month of thought and weighing, the story behind this was enough to write a wonderful drama.

The Germans finally got what they wanted. On July 3, before the opening of the Allied Summit of Berchtesgaden, Germany and Spain signed a secret agreement, and the German troops and equipment entered Spain through France and arrived in southern Spain by railway.

The main weapons to attack Gibraltar Fortress are super-large caliber siege mortars and heavy howitzers, including the 406mm caliber siege mortar "Victoria" with a range of 22 kilometers, with a range of 35 kilometers, and a 380mm caliber heavy howitzer "August" that can be transported quickly by railways, and a 420mm caliber manufactured by Skoda Arsenal.

The heavy howitzer "Barbara" and the "ultimate killer" 508mm caliber siege "Maria" launched by the Skoda Arsenal in the late 1920s. These curved guns only need to be deployed behind hills near the Port of Gibraltar, and a few hours of bombardment are enough to clean up the external fortifications of the British Gibraltar Fortress, and the attack mission can be handed over to the German assault forces carrying high explosives and flamethrowers.

On July 13, all German heavy artillery arrived on the front line. Four fighter squadrons and 12 bomber squadrons of the Luftwaffe also transferred to Estepona in southern Spain. At this time, there were only 27 combat aircraft deployed in Gibraltar, 19 combat ships, and none of them had water displacements of more than 3,000 tons.

In the early morning of the 14th, the German heavy artillery group began to show its power, and the German-class battleship "Saxony" that returned to Europe from the Azores for maintenance went on a battle with injuries. He carried two King-class battleships and a Caesar-class battleship into the Strait of Gibraltar and launched long-distance artillery bombardment on the British fortress. Throughout the day, the German Air Force dispatched more than 1,200 bombs, dropped more than 800 tons of bombs, and carried out long-distance artillery bombs and
Chapter completed!