The Spanish moved residents around Gibraltar, built fortifications and reinforced railways, which naturally could not hide the eyes and ears of the British Empire.

"The next target of the Germans must be Gibraltar!" In the wartime command of the British cabinet at King's Avenue in Charles, London, Sir Deere, Chief of the General Staff of the Empire, told Churchill with great certainty. "There are not too much risks in the Red Sea and East Africa for the time being."

This is obvious. Even without the Spanish's great fanfare, the General Staff of the British Empire could have come to such a conclusion. Taking over the Red Sea and East Africa, Germany only opened up the waterway to enter the Indian Ocean. Taking over Gibraltar, the Italian and French fleets could rush out of the Mediterranean and the German fleet met in the Atlantic.

At that time, the Royal Navy of the British Empire will be forced to fight with the German, Italian and French fleets near the English Channel. Considering the strength of the German and Italian shore-based air force, as well as the number of super battleships owned by Germany, Italy and France (2 Bismarck, 2 Venetto, and 2 Richelieu), the Royal Navy is likely to suffer a fatal blow.

"So we must defend the Gibraltar Fortress, which is related to the survival of the British Empire!" Winston Churchill made the decision immediately.

"Admiral," Churchill said to Sir Deer while smoking a cigar, "The Fortress of Gibraltar is the most solid in the world. It once blocked the footsteps of Emperor Napoleon, and now it must be able to block the so-called German god of war Hessman, right?"

Admiral Deere wrinkled his face and shook his head slightly and said, "Prime Minister, Napoleon did not have planes and caliber cannons at that time."

The British Chief of Staff did not know that Germany had a caliber Gustav cannons, but he knew that Germany had a caliber "Big Besha". Moreover, "Big Besha" was a product from the First World War. Today, Germany must have even more terrifying cannons.

"And the terrain of the Gibraltar Peninsula is actually not very conducive to defense." Admiral Deer's words were much better than Churchill's expectations.

"How is that possible?" Churchill smiled. "That is the most dangerous fortress in the world. I have been there. Gibraltar is a long and narrow peninsula. Most of the peninsula is limestone mountainous. It is particularly steep and very narrow at the entrance to the north. It is simply a natural fortress."

Admiral Deer shook his head and said, "But the airport in Gibraltar is on the north side of the Gibraltar Rock Peak, close to the land of Spain. As long as there is a battalion of howitzers can block the airport."

Churchill was stunned, and a deadly map of Gibraltar fortress suddenly appeared in his mind.

The Gibraltar Fortress is of course strong and dangerous. The Gibraltar Rock Peak and its left and right are covered with air defense trenches and trenches. In the northern section of the rock peak is the Fengmu Platform, with an altitude of 95-125 meters. Three very strong turrets were built in the northern section of the platform, with many 6-inch cannons and a large number of anti-aircraft artillery deployed, with enough firepower to block the entrance to the northern side of the Gibraltar Peninsula. In the southern section of the Fengmu Platform on the south side of these three turrets, close to the edge of the Mediterranean, four other large armored turrets were built, and 9.2-inch caliber shore defense artillery were arranged.

There is also a smaller Europa platform south of the Wind Mill Platform. The Europa platform is located at the southernmost end of the Gibraltar Peninsula, with an altitude of only 15-30 meters. There is also a small valley between the two platforms. Four turrets were built in the valley, three of which had 9.2-inch cannons and one with 6-inch cannons. In addition, many anti-aircraft cannons were also deployed around these turrets.

In addition to these fixed turrets, Gibraltar Fortress also has many 6-inch howitzers and anti-aircraft guns that can be arranged manually.

It can be said that the entire Gibraltar Peninsula is a non-sinking battleship full of 9.2-inch shore defense guns, 6-inch howitzers/cannons and various anti-aircraft guns.

However, there was indeed no safe enough place to lay the flight deck on this "unsinkable battleship". So a large airport was built on the flat ground north of the Gibraltar Rock Peak, which was leaning against Spanish territory. If Spain remained neutral or formed an alliance with Britain, the Gibraltar Fortress would certainly not be captured.

But once Spain leads to Germany, Gibraltar Airport will be exposed to enemy artillery fire, and it is impossible to deploy aircraft.

Once the Gibraltar Fortress loses the ability to deploy aircraft, its air defense power will be greatly weakened, and it can only rely on anti-aircraft artillery to protect itself from enemy air strikes.

Moreover, the attack power of Gibraltar Fortress, which lost the airport, was greatly weakened. Its firepower coverage was the range of the 9.2-inch cannons deployed on the peninsula. Although it could block the Strait of Gibraltar and prevent Italian and French battleships from approaching, it could not attack a long-range cannons and train cannons with large caliber and long-range cannons arranged on Spanish territory.

"We can't hold the fortress?" Churchill looked at General Deer with some disappointment.

General Deer Chief of Staff General Deer and Marshal Pound looked at each other, and Marshal Pound took over the issue.

"Prime Minister, without the support of air force, it is very difficult to stick to the Gibraltar Fortress. The Germans have many large caliber heavy artillery, which can eventually destroy the defense of Gibraltar Fortress. So, it is only a matter of time before we lose the fortress!"

"It'll really lose the fortress..." Churchill bit the cigar's butt, "and then the Italian and French fleets will rush out of the Mediterranean! Is that?"

"It may not be impossible to defend," said Marshal Pound, "but you cannot rely solely on the power of Gibraltar Fortress itself to defend."

"Do you want to use the local fleet?" Churchill suddenly became anxious. After the Battle of the Mediterranean, the comparison of British and German naval strength was changing. Britain's overwhelming advantage no longer exists, and as France is becoming increasingly pro-German, the British local fleet is likely to be at a disadvantage overnight.

In this case, if the local fleet suffers setbacks again, the next battle is likely to be fought on the beaches of England!

"Not only do we need to use the local fleet," said Marshal Pound, "and we must also take the Canary Islands and Madeira Islands as support points.

The Canary Islands belong to Spain, while the Madeira Islands belong to Portugal. Both archipelagos are located in the Atlantic Ocean, with the Canary Islands being south and close to French Morocco in Africa, while the Madeira Islands are a little north, almost opposite the exit of the Strait of Gibraltar.

“The straight-line distance between the Canary Islands and the Madeira Islands is over 1,000 kilometers from the Strait of Gibraltar,” said Marshal Pound. “We can deploy bombers and torpedo bombers there to support Gibraltar operations.”

"Is this OK?" Churchill shook his head and said, "We don't have escort fighters like the Folk Zero."

"We can use aircraft carriers," said Marshal Pound. "The carrier-based aircraft of the aircraft carrier can not only escort the bombers taking off from the Canary Islands and the Madeira Islands, but also cover battleships close to the Strait of Gibraltar and support the defense of the Gibraltar Peninsula with large caliber guns."

"How many aircraft carriers do we have now?" Churchill asked immediately.

"If we do not count the three aircraft carriers in the Indian Ocean, we now have three aircraft carriers, Ark Royal, Bainya (Free France's aircraft carrier) and Awesome. Victory and Introspector will also be completed soon and are expected to join the Royal Navy in May. In addition, there are two aircraft carriers in the Evil class that will be put into service next year."

After the Scapa Bay air strike on September 3, 2019, the construction speed of British aircraft carriers was also accelerated due to the loss of three aircraft carriers. The two Anglicans, which had slowed down due to the shortage of raw materials, also obtained enough materials and could be put into service in 1942.

"In addition, the Royal Navy has a training aircraft carrier, the 'Revenge'," Marshal Pound continued, "and a newly transformed escort carrier, the Pretoria (which was directly converted from a cruise ship into an aircraft carrier), and the escort carrier that will soon be modified. These three aircraft carriers can also be incorporated into the fleet to participate in the decisive battle at sea when necessary."

Churchill was calculating in his heart while listening to Pound's speech that the Battle of Gibraltar may not begin immediately, there should be a lot of preliminary preparations. Maybe it can be dragged to the Victory, the Forbidden and the Bold. In this way, the local fleet will have 8 aircraft carriers to use!

"That is to say, the local fleet will soon have eight aircraft carriers to use, right?" Churchill asked.

"Yes," replied Marshal Pound, "we will have eight aircraft carriers by June at the latest."

"How many aircraft carriers did the Germans have at that time?" Churchill asked again.

"Two ships," Marshal Pound replied, "according to current intelligence, they only have two aircraft carriers to use."

The British intelligence was accurate. Germany now has two "Sedlez" class in service, and two "Zepplin" class in place, which will not be put into service until 1942. There are four "Zepplin" class in place, and will not be put into service soon. They will be put into service as soon as 1943. There are five "Blue Streamer Carriers" in place, which will not be put into service until 1942.

"That is," Churchill said, "we have an overwhelming advantage in aircraft carriers at the moment?"
Chapter completed!