19 Feb 1936 - Toulouse

[Diarist]

It was a very constructive evening with King Umberto yesterday. We discussed the importance of Italy having a good relationship with Yugoslavia and Greece. He listened attentively when I explained that all European nations have the same problem with their armed forces, i.e. they need to be modernized. Italy has a large army and air force but the equipment is hopelessly outdated. He expressed great interest in joint ventures with other nations but insisted on producing the equipment under licence where possible. Understandable of course but we need as many production facilities as possible so it's not an obstacle. Italy would also benefit from the technology transfer. I later spoke with a few of his top generals who expressed the desire to send a delegation to TRADOC.
Good news is that the navy isn't as badly damaged as we originally thought. Most of the capital ships can be repaired and upgraded but it will take several years. Their factories in Genoa and Torino have also received considerable damage especially Genoa where battleships pulverized anything within range. The Italian people have also come to terms with the new situation. They put the blame for their defeat mainly on Mussolini but no love is lost on the French. France occupies Aosta, half of Liguria and western Piedmont and has no intention of returning these territories in the near future.
We left the palace early and flew to Toulouse without incident. Wilhelm Canaris arrived just before 13:00 so we decided to find a restaurant to have a late lunch and discuss our next move.

[Diarist]

"Thanks for your telephone call, Bob. I needed to get away from Berlin for a while and Spain could be interesting. Have you anything new about the situation there?"
"There's nothing new on the radio but I haven't read any newspapers yet. Have you heard from your embassy in Madrid?"
"There were demonstrations again yesterday and a couple turned violent. About a dozen were reported killed. Do you have any plans how to get there?"
"You're asking me? You are the Meisterspion and that's one reason for calling you. What options do we have?"
"We could call Madrid again and talk to Franco's adjutant."
"He was very busy yesterday and he might tell us to stay away from Spain. What do we do then?"
"Enjoy a few days in France then fly home?"
"Wilhelm, I have orders to get to Madrid somehow and Winston expects me to get there. I could call General Rodriguez in Zaragoza, the father of our Spanish friend in their embassy in London."
"I was just joking. The Zaragoza idea sounds promising. Did you ask about flights at the airport?"
"No aircraft have arrived from Spain this morning but it was too early for the one from Madrid."
"Let's fly to Zaragoza then call the General from there."
"Good. Officially we are in Spain because our governments want to ascertain the validity of the election or do you have a better idea?"
"That's fine. And unofficially?"
"Find out anything we can. My government can't support Franco if the election victory wasn't legitimate..."
"....and it would be difficult for Germany to support a fascist government under any circumstances," Wilhelm added.
"Ideally they won't require any support at all. I hope that Franco can show restraint. The last thing Spain needs is a repeat of 1934 in Asturias."
An hour later we were on our way to Zaragoza in my aircraft. His Ju-52 was flying back to Germany.