Chapter 0882: The Assault

On January 31, 1916, not long after the conclusion of the Great War, ominous clouds of conflict once again gathered thickly over the Mediterranean. The core fleet of the German Navy's Mediterranean Squadron had assembled near Gibraltar, accompanied by the 2nd Marine Division of the Navy.

Initially, the German Navy had planned to secure Gibraltar with merely a regiment of marines. However, with Spain now involved, it was deemed necessary to deploy the entire 2nd Marine Division to both ensure Gibraltar's capture and withstand any Spanish retaliation. This caused some delay.

After all, though Spain may be weak, it remains a nation of 20 million people. At the very least, it could muster a force of two to three hundred thousand troops. If mobilized, an army numbering in the millions would pose little challenge. A force too small to withstand such resistance would surely falter.

Fortunately, the narrow geography of Gibraltar worked in their favor. By fortifying the thin, one-kilometer stretch of land at the northern base of the Rock of Gibraltar, they could repulse any Spanish advance. The limited space required fewer troops, and with the added firepower support from the German Navy's warships, no matter how many troops Spain mustered, they would be obliterated.

On January 31, the German Foreign Ministry issued a statement accusing the Kingdom of Spain of conspiring with Britain, threatening the interests of the Central Powers, and demanding Spain's withdrawal from Gibraltar.

However, Spain vehemently denied the accusation, claiming no such collusion with Britain, and refused to abandon Gibraltar. This denial was met with widespread disbelief. If Spain and Britain truly had no secret pact, how could Britain have possibly returned Gibraltar to Spain? The general consensus was that Britain had tricked Spain into a dangerous alliance, yet Spain seemed oblivious, unwittingly stepping into the trap.

Spain's refusal provided Germany with the pretext it needed. That very afternoon, the German Navy's Mediterranean Squadron launched its assault on Gibraltar.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, seven of the Mediterranean Fleet's capital ships positioned themselves less than ten kilometers from Gibraltar, their hulls turned sideways as they trained their formidable main guns on the fortress.

Despite Gibraltar's own heavy fortifications, including 305-mm coastal guns, these were no match for the formidable firepower of Germany's newest battleships. Even if struck, these coastal guns could scarcely penetrate the armored plating of the German vessels. These battleships were the product of post-defeat British design, intended to remedy past failures. Their armor was substantially reinforced, sacrificing some speed for greater resilience.

After Britain's defeat, they recognized their strategic missteps, but by then it was too late. The battleships they had designed to restore British naval supremacy had instead bolstered the German fleet, enhancing their strength further.

"Commence the attack!" ordered Vice Admiral Mauve from aboard the flagship Helgoland.

This would be the Imperial Navy's first engagement since the Great War, the first battle for the Mediterranean Fleet, and Vice Admiral Mauve's first command since assuming the position of fleet commander. Naturally, he aimed for a swift and decisive victory to cement his authority within the Imperial Navy.

At Mauve's command, the Helgoland's three 380-mm guns, with their 50-caliber barrels, roared to life, sending heavy armor-piercing shells, each weighing over a ton, whistling toward the Gibraltar fortress.

Following Helgoland's lead, three more battleships of the same class and three Moltke-class battlecruisers opened fire, unleashing a barrage of 72 380-mm guns in a devastating salvo.

Originally, these battleships had been equipped with 381-mm guns of 45 calibers, as designed by the British. However, in a strategic move to standardize ammunition across the German fleet, they had been refitted with 50-caliber 380-mm guns. Though this altered the ship's performance somewhat, the engineers had minimized the impact as much as possible.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The heavy shells slammed into Gibraltar's fortifications, their immense kinetic energy tearing into the defenses.

The fortress, built on the rock of Tarik Mountain, had withstood the test of time, but it was no match for such a barrage. Many fortresses built into mountains were naturally well-protected.

"Boom!" A 380-mm shell struck one of the fortresses, sending debris flying. However, the armor-piercing shell failed to breach the fortress entirely, instead merely destroying one layer of its defenses. Yet, the shockwave from the explosion was enough to kill every Spanish soldier inside.

"Counterattack! Counterattack now!" Major General Donald, stationed in the fortress's underground command center, listened to the thunderous roar above with a grim expression.

When his forces had taken control of Gibraltar, he had initially planned to return to his division's headquarters. But a directive from Madrid had ordered him to establish his headquarters within Gibraltar itself, leaving him in a situation he could scarcely endure. The Germans were too powerful—how could his troops, formidable as they were within the Spanish Army, hope to withstand such an elite force? And with the added strength of the German Navy's capital ships, their chances of success seemed virtually nonexistent.

When the Spanish Army took control of Gibraltar, they also inherited the fortifications. The British had left the fortifications, including the coastal guns, intact, storing vast quantities of ammunition in the supply depot. It seemed evident that the British had deliberately left these supplies behind to fuel the impending conflict between Spain and Germany.

Yet, Major General Donald lacked the artillery support necessary to effectively utilize the coastal guns. His army's artillery, though skilled, was no match for the fortress's naval artillery, which had been specifically designed for coastal defense.

"Boom! Boom!" The fortress guns fired, but only a few of the larger caliber guns were in action. Their shots fell short by several hundred meters from the German fleet—such poor marksmanship could only result in the intervention of divine providence to strike their targets.