Before the German naval s-02, s-03 and s-05 water reconnaissance planes flew to Gibraltar fortress, the sky was peaceful here. Apart from birds, the British and Spanish planes had left their own figures here, but no one had ever used violence here, nor were injured or killed.

Once upon a time, Alfonso XIII's army had been deployed far away from Gibraltar, with only a few guards within a radius of dozens of kilometers. As the war approached, the Spanish army was mobilized in a hurry. It was not until February 23, one hour before Spain declared war that the Spanish Army's planes appeared near Mount Gibraltar for the first time in history, but the British did not send planes to intercept them at that time.

When the Spanish plane flew over the British for the second time, a war between Spain and Britain had already broken out. Two British "Handley-Peji G" reconnaissance planes took off and attempted to expel a Spanish plane into the fortress area. However, the Spanish pilot and his plane were as clever as hummingbirds. After playing tricks on the British, the Spanish plane left reluctantly. Due to the last hope of the relationship between Britain and Spain, the British plane did not fire from beginning to end.

The third time, the day before the German plane came here, two Spanish planes entered the British sphere of influence again, and the British sent two "Handley-Perji G-types", and this time the two sides did not exchange fire.

The Spanish troops gathered north of Mount Gibraltar have not taken any offensive actions, except for frequent reconnaissance operations. The entire land is shrouded in a strange atmosphere.

Currently, there are only 11 German reconnaissance/school-shooting aircraft in Spain, 7 small airships and several school-shooting balloons, and the aviation power is very limited. Previously, domestic air transportation in Spain has been monopolized by Thomas Airways in Germany. The Germans have established airports and air post offices in Spanish cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, ​​and Seville, but before the outbreak of the European war, all aircraft were transported back to Germany.

Although there are no aircraft manufacturers in China and aircraft and parts are imported, the Spanish Army has a small group of skilled pilots. They have the same flying dream. They are eager to become free eagles, so they use all the resources they can use to practice hard. For the decaying Spanish Empire, this small aviation force is like a rare bud on a rotten dead tree.

The German "Sky 1" and "Sky 2" are comparable to the British "Handley-Peji G-type" in terms of performance, but it is undeniable that the Spanish pilots performed far better than their opponents. However, their excellence is limited to juggling flight actions, and the subsequent German pilots will tell them what air combat is!

On February 27, 1915, on the fifth day of the Spanish government's declaration of war, the first batch of equipment assisted by Germany arrived at the Gibraltar front from the Port of Santander, and a military observation team composed of 15 German officers were accompanied.

In addition, in order to help the Spanish army better use German aid guns and cannons, the German Army also sent a teaching team of more than 100 people, which will subsequently arrive in the front emblem one after another.

On the Spanish side, the Navy sent almost all the main ships to participate in the blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar, while the Army was preparing to assemble 25 infantry regiments and 5 artillery regiments in southern Spain and northern Morocco. These troops were commanded by General Chapalo, the commander of the First Army.

At the same time, the German Hippel fleet entered the port of Santander and re-started after unloading the designated supplies. Two days later, they arrived at the port of Cadiz, just one step away from the western end of the Strait of Gibraltar.

On March 3, the reconnaissance fleet consisting of the battlecruiser "Sedlitz", the light cruiser "Regenburg", the seaplane aircraft carrier "Norden", and the destroyers G7 and G8 set sail from the port of Cadiz to the Strait of Gibraltar. Although this reconnaissance fleet was not close to Mount Gibraltar occupied by the British army, the tragic Battle of Gibraltar was first launched.

At 11 a.m., the sailors on the Norden began to lift the "Flying Fish 3" seaplane carried on the mothership to the water surface. A quarter of an hour later, s-02, s-03, and s-05 slid off the water surface one after another, which was the first military operation of the German Navy Air Force near the Strait of Gibraltar.

This "Flying Fish 3" is the most advanced one of the German Navy's current seaplanes. Each Atlantic raid fleet has several such aircraft. They not only can conduct long-distance reconnaissance, but also use airborne weapons to attack enemy air and maritime targets. It is in the Atlantic operations that a large number of naval pilots have received valuable practical training, which is also something that other pilots from other countries are not able to reach.

At 11:3, Mount Gibraltar, at an altitude of 1,408 feet (about 429 meters), appeared in the sight of the German pilots. Under the command of the long aircraft, s-02, s-03, and s-05 were lined up in battle. Their mission this time was mainly reconnaissance. However, the pilots had learned from previous information that the British army also had some combat aircraft, so they did not dare to neglect them at all.

Sure enough, when the German plane formation flew near Mount Gibraltar, two British planes slowly flew from north of Mount Gibraltar. The British army built a medium-sized airport where they could accommodate dozens of aircraft as early as 1907. However, with the beginning of local defense, most of the planes were transferred back to the British Isles, and the remaining planes and pilots were far from elites.

Just as the German pilots and their fighter planes were preparing to take action, they found that three more seaplanes had taken off from the southeast military port. The chief aircraft immediately made an order: first attack the British land-based aircraft, and then turn back to deal with the three seaplanes!

Hearing the buzzing sound of flies from the sky, the soldiers of the two armies confronted each other through the British land defense line raised their heads and looked up at the sky. The next scene was unforgettable for many people.

The planes of both sides flew towards each other face to face. The British pilots obviously didn't know the German plane flying opposite. They were planning to avenge the revenge of a single arrow that was humiliated a few days ago, but they heard a crisp "click" sound coming from the front. A British plane in front was hit by a string of bullets before they even had time to dodge. In an instant, countless Mars produced by high-speed collision between metals and metals popped up. The propeller was still rotating under the action of inertia, but the engine had already rolled out. In a shrill whine, the biplane fell to the ground helplessly, and finally it was just a muffled sound.

Such a wonderful and rapid air battle left the officers and soldiers on both sides stunned on the ground, without waiting for the Spanish soldiers to applaud or the British soldiers to sigh. The German three-plane formation quickly turned, and during the entire turn, the three aircraft still maintained a neat formation, just like the infantry of various countries in the era of the flintlock.

Since the only machine gun of the "Handley-Peji G-type" was installed in the co-pilot position, after the two sides flew over, the remaining British aircraft opened fire at the German aircraft in the distance. The sound of the machine gun lasted for more than ten seconds, and a whole string of bullets passed through the air, and eventually all missed the target.

The German pilots obviously did not have as luxurious as the British for precious bullets. After turning, they rushed towards the British plane that dared to fire at themselves like hungry wolves. The pursuit between the biplanes was soon determined by engine performance. The 175-horsepower Fierce Wind Inline Engine produced by Jiji Airlines had an absolute advantage against the British 100-horsepower Anzane ten-cylinder star engine. Although the body of the "Flying Fish 3" was larger than the number one, they quickly caught up with the British and punched them with a long shot. When the three British seaplanes arrived, the two land-based planes were left with only smoked wreckage.

Compared with the "Handley-Perji G-type" biplane single-engine two-seater reconnaissance aircraft, the biplane "Vicks Seabirds" seem to be both bulky and slow, and they are not even a match for the Germans. However, these "Seabirds" are on the ground, the British pilots should be very grateful because they did not meet the real German fighter force today. When they found that the situation was not good and then turned around and fled, the Germans did not pursue it. Instead, they were unhurriedly carrying out their main mission - reconnaissance.

When the British ground fire rang out, the silent Mount Gibraltar suddenly became noisy, with anti-aircraft artillery, machine guns and machine guns fired one after another, as if they were trying to shoot down any object above Gibraltar. Three German planes sometimes flew into the sky. Sometimes they turned sideways near Mount Gibraltar, and sometimes even roared across the port from a low altitude of 20 or 30 meters. Due to the lack of effective aiming equipment and the limited anti-aircraft artillery technology, the British army's firepower sounded very dense, but basically did not pose any threat to German planes.

About 20 minutes later, three German seaplanes began to gather over Gibraltar. Before returning, they flew to the Spanish control line to greet their allies. The Spanish excitedly threw their hats into the air, but the British officers and soldiers with a depressed look could only watch the German plane go away helplessly.

After lunch, Admiral Hippel held the first combat meeting after the fleet arrived in Cadiz on his flagship. In addition to the senior staff and the captains of each ship, there were also Marine Corps officers accompanying the fleet.

On the front wall of the conference room was a huge combat map, which was provided by the Spanish military. The staff of Cipher made some revisions based on the report of the morning reconnaissance aircraft, and the fortresses and forts were specially marked in very obvious colors.

"The situation is not too good, but it is not too bad!" Looking at the map full of circles, Xipar gave a very vague evaluation.

"Note that there are three submarines there. I think we must send planes to blow them up before we get close to the British fortress!" The captain of the "Prince William", Rear Admiral Richtenfell (the fourth team of the second battleship squadron of the German High Seas Fleet during the Battle of Jutland) pointed his baton at a corner north of the British port. The report of the morning reconnaissance aircraft also verified the information provided by the Spaniards, and the three British submarines were still anchored in their old positions.

"I can ask my young men to try to kill them. But I suspect that the British would deploy lightning protection nets around the submarines, so that we would have to rely on aviation bombs. As we all know, the hit rate of that kind is not high, especially against small targets!" In response to Richtenfell's proposal, Navy Colonel Marco, who is responsible for commanding two seaplanes and all seaplanes in the fleet, responded immediately. He currently has a total of 10 "Flying Fish 3s" that can take off at any time, 2 spares and enough excellent pilots.

"It seems that the British's planes are very bad, so we should not have to worry about threats from the air!" Major General Haier Muzi, commander of the Battlecruiser Detachment and captain of the "Moltke", seemed very satisfied with the results of the air combat between the two sides in the morning. In fact, his battle patrol detachment is the least afraid of enemy air strikes in the fleet. They can use their flexible maneuvers to avoid the attacks of torpedoes and bombs, not to mention that the British have never had the terrifying air strike capabilities of the German aviation forces.

"The worst problem at present seems to be the British fortress and cannons! When our battleship approached the British fortress from the west, the main artillery fire could not be maximized!" The speaker was the captain of the Hindenburg, the Navy Brigadier General Hathuss. In addition to the firepower issue, he might also be worried about the defense of his warship. Although the armor of this British St. Vincent-class battleship was strengthened to a certain extent before joining the German Navy, the shells that the German King-class battleship could face may not be able to withstand. In the British Gibraltar Fortress and the surrounding fortresses, there were some large-caliber fortress guns and artillery shells. In 1799, the Faspiscopter Combined Fleet suffered a great loss from the British fortress guns.

"Don't the gentlemen of the Land War Camp want to express some opinions?" Although the other party's military rank was relatively low, Xiptor asked politely.

The naval generals all turned their attention to the two army officers at the last place in the conference room. They remained silent after entering the conference room. Previously, the Shipor fleet was not equipped with a special Marine Corps. This group of more than 1,100 army soldiers boarded Shipor's ship a week before the departure. Although they were not large, they had a very glorious tradition because they came from the First Hussar Regiment of the Imperial Guards in front of the German Empire.

One of the majors stood up calmly, "Dear General, please forgive us for your frankness. Our mission on this trip is not to directly attack Gibraltar, but to wait for the Spanish army to attack after the attack."

The navy generals were in an uproar.

Whether in the Naval Military Academy or the dining table of the naval generals, the Spanish-American War became the best military case. In the eyes of everyone, the Spanish army had become extremely corrupt. Therefore, when Germany signed a covenant with Spain and stipulated that the Spanish army must capture Gibraltar within one month, most of the generals believed that the course of the war would be the failure of the Spanish attack, and then the German battle fleet completely destroyed the British fortress, and then the accompanying Marines landed on the shore to take over it.

"Quiet!"

Shiptor first calmed the generals, and then turned to the army major tepidly.

"Major Eibardevon Kleist, do you mean that the Spanish army can capture Gibraltar in one month, or does my fleet have no ability to capture Gibraltar?"
Chapter completed!