Chapter 1116: Chapter 834: Italy-France Game_3

As for threatening France with war, that was only the last resort, neither the German nor Italian government would do so in the short term.

In the plans of the German and Italian governments, they would contemplate taking action against the Frenchmen only after they had won the Spanish Civil War and secured Spain as a fairly strong ally.

By then, with the deployment of forces from Germany, Italy, and Spain, the French would have to face military pressure from all three sides, which would stretch the French Army thin.

If they could capture French native land, France’s vast colonies would become leaderless territories.

Thus, a large colonial empire would crumble without a fight, and Germany would become the strongest country on the European continent, the true hegemon of Europe.

Although public opinion pressure did not make the French government concede, it was forced to disclose the number of fighter aircraft sold to the Spanish Republic, a total of 120.

The number of fighter aircraft France sold to Spain even exceeded the original scale of the Spanish Air Force, thus proving that the Spanish Republic had fallen into a complete disadvantage in the civil war and was desperately seeking to find other allies to break the deadlock.

However, this also signified something else, that there might not be enough available pilots in Spain.

Having airplanes doesn’t mean they can be flown; capable and sufficiently skilled pilots are needed to pilot these aircraft.

This is why the aircraft France sold to the Spanish Republic were all single-seat, otherwise, the shortage of pilots in Spain would be even greater.

To counter the pressure of these 120 fighter aircraft, Italy urgently dispatched over a hundred fighter aircraft to Spain.

Meanwhile, the situation of aerial combat at the front revealed the model of the fighter aircraft France sold to Spain: the French D.500, the first modern monowing fighter designed by Dewoitine, created in 1933.

It was coincidental that the main fighter aircraft used by the Italian Air Force, the Fiat CR.32 Arrow Fighter, was also a new generation fighter developed and completed in 1933.

The CR series of fighters were developed by the famous Italian engineer Celestino Rosatelli and originated over a decade ago.

Over the years, the CR series had evolved to include the CR.1 Fighter, CR.5 Fighter, CR.20 Fighter, CR.20ldro Seaplane Fighter, CR.20B Two-seater Trainer, CR.20bis Fighter, CR.20Asso Fighter, CR.30 Fighter, and the latest CR.32 Fighter.

Developing so many generations of fighters in over a decade was evidence of just how legendary the career of the renowned engineer Celestino Rosatelli truly was.

As the latest model of fighter that started mass production last year and was officially equipped into the military this year, the Fiat CR.32 Arrow Fighter was not only the fruit of Celestino Rosatelli’s recent years’ labor but also represented the most advanced model of Italian fighter aircraft.

The fact that Italy could employ over a hundred Fiat CR.32 Arrow Fighters against France’s 120 D.500 Fighters already spoke volumes of how seriously Italy regarded the French aircraft.

Indeed, France could be considered one of the more advanced among European nations in terms of aircraft development.

Possibly only Britain could surpass France; other countries like Germany and Austria, which had strong scientific research capabilities, had lagged in the development of military aircraft due to various restrictions.

Of course, Australasia was an exception. As the country that pioneered around-the-world aircraft travel, what level Australasia’s military aircraft development had reached was unclear to any country at present.

However, considering Australasia’s formidable transport planes, the DC-2 and Boeing 267, it’s believed that their military aircraft designs are surely not outdated.

This is the view of most European nations, including the German-Italian and Franco-Australian blocs, regarding Australasian aircraft design.

Most Europeans thought that even if not surpassing the British, the aircraft manufacturing level of Australasia should at least be on par with the French.

The aerial engagements above Spain between French and Italian planes caused envy in another powerful nation on the European continent, the German Empire.

If one considered the overall strength of the nations, Germany had recovered most of its might and was set to surpass Italy in terms of comprehensive national power.

But in terms of developing heavy weapons, Germany clearly fell behind Italy, which represented Germany’s greatest problem at the moment.

To tackle this significant issue, the German government quickly issued the “Military Industry Reform Decree,” intending to make substantial developments in the field of heavy weapons.

The so-called reform decree was essentially about utilizing every means to encourage the development of the military industry, particularly the heavy weapons military industry.

Compared to previous militarization efforts, the German government wasn’t hiding its intentions now, practically making an open declaration to France of its intent to vigorously develop the heavy weapons industry.

What could the French do in response? The people of Paris had just erupted in anti-war protests; if the French government were to impose certain restrictions on the Germans now, wouldn’t that be delivering themselves to the gunpoints of the anti-war faction?

After all, for the current French government, reputation was their own concern, but the government itself was not. Muddling through in order to maintain their current position and garner support from the people was what mattered most.

As for considering the interests of the nation, preparing against Germany – a critical threat – oh, that was not a problem the French government should bother with.

In keeping with the idea that problems should be left for the next French government to handle, the French government completely loosened up, showing no reaction to Germany’s almost open provocations.

The German government was also pleased with this, as they could freely develop heavy weapons and equipment without worrying about French reaction.

As for the British, the British were the least likely to take any action.

If France hadn’t made any move, could one expect Britain to stand up against Germany on its own?

Considering Britain’s history, for a country that advocates a policy of regional balance, nothing could be worse than taking matters into its own hands.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com