The problem with the Spain scenario is fourfold.
1. Spain is a freakin mess and has been for several years, a pronunciamento by some guy on a white horse is only to be expected and not totally unwelcome in the rest of Europe and Spain itself. There is continuing debate as to whether the 36 Elections were rigged and certainly at the time the Right - which is CEDA Monarchists and Catalan Nationalists not Falange believe it to be so.
2. While the at start and totally ineffectual Republican Government is 'moderate' by September ( the attempted coup is17/18 July) its headed by Largo Caballero a self proclaimed Marxist Revolutionary ( PSOE Left is a marxist and revolutionary faction) and Lenin of Spain, backed by the Communist party which is important in Madrid if nowhere else. without the inconvenience of elections or stuff, who has been circumventing the Government institutions since the beginning. To be clear this means that the various Militia columns have been going Shooty Stabby Rapey on behalf of the government but not necessarily under the control of anyone but their political leadership, and the Nats have been doing the same. There are no good guys here to back really at any point.
3. The Broad Left catechism is No Enemies on the Left which has traction in Spain and France, unfortunately not in Britain or the other English Speaking countries where the reaction FROM THE TRADES UNION MOVEMENT is, 'Sure there are you commie bastards now lads put the boot in.'
4. It does nothing to accelerate British rearmament, in fact more likely to retard it as it did Italy and arguably the USSR by forcing the continued production of obsolete weapons. Britain does not need Spanish gold it can print fivers which are good anywhere. While Germany may learn valuable lessons from Spain its difficult to see what they are outside a fairly minor issue on fighter tactics and lessons on how to operate sizeable forces at range, which the UK have been doing for centuries and kinda goes over their head anyway. Where it is valuable is in testing weapons and training for a military that has had no real chance to do either with its current inventory, unlike everyone else. Versailles has a very long shadow.
On some of the other tropes. Aircraft MG, while the 20mm is better than .303 even in a large battery and .50 even in a large battery its not there yet. There early models are all 35/36/37 and all adopted very very quickly anyway. The only allegedly earlier one is the Madsen which has the fundamental problem of only firing 180 rpm.
The Eries, ah the Alaska class of Escort ships. Its slow, underarmed even compared to a german merchant raider and needs the crew of three Flowers. Really neat idea on paper, dumb stupid in practice.
Also whats with the Ocean escorts. Its 1935 start date. There is no hard coding requiring France to collapse in 1940 and Germany to occupy northern Norway, to get to an operational area the U boats - the entire U boat arm in 1935 is 15 seamen, 8 engineering officers and 150 ratings btw- have to exit the North Sea sail around the British Isles and down into the western channel Biscay or randomly search the Atlantic for Convoys which can be routed just bout anywhere.
1. Spain is a freakin mess and has been for several years, a pronunciamento by some guy on a white horse is only to be expected and not totally unwelcome in the rest of Europe and Spain itself. There is continuing debate as to whether the 36 Elections were rigged and certainly at the time the Right - which is CEDA Monarchists and Catalan Nationalists not Falange believe it to be so.
2. While the at start and totally ineffectual Republican Government is 'moderate' by September ( the attempted coup is17/18 July) its headed by Largo Caballero a self proclaimed Marxist Revolutionary ( PSOE Left is a marxist and revolutionary faction) and Lenin of Spain, backed by the Communist party which is important in Madrid if nowhere else. without the inconvenience of elections or stuff, who has been circumventing the Government institutions since the beginning. To be clear this means that the various Militia columns have been going Shooty Stabby Rapey on behalf of the government but not necessarily under the control of anyone but their political leadership, and the Nats have been doing the same. There are no good guys here to back really at any point.
3. The Broad Left catechism is No Enemies on the Left which has traction in Spain and France, unfortunately not in Britain or the other English Speaking countries where the reaction FROM THE TRADES UNION MOVEMENT is, 'Sure there are you commie bastards now lads put the boot in.'
4. It does nothing to accelerate British rearmament, in fact more likely to retard it as it did Italy and arguably the USSR by forcing the continued production of obsolete weapons. Britain does not need Spanish gold it can print fivers which are good anywhere. While Germany may learn valuable lessons from Spain its difficult to see what they are outside a fairly minor issue on fighter tactics and lessons on how to operate sizeable forces at range, which the UK have been doing for centuries and kinda goes over their head anyway. Where it is valuable is in testing weapons and training for a military that has had no real chance to do either with its current inventory, unlike everyone else. Versailles has a very long shadow.
On some of the other tropes. Aircraft MG, while the 20mm is better than .303 even in a large battery and .50 even in a large battery its not there yet. There early models are all 35/36/37 and all adopted very very quickly anyway. The only allegedly earlier one is the Madsen which has the fundamental problem of only firing 180 rpm.
The Eries, ah the Alaska class of Escort ships. Its slow, underarmed even compared to a german merchant raider and needs the crew of three Flowers. Really neat idea on paper, dumb stupid in practice.
Also whats with the Ocean escorts. Its 1935 start date. There is no hard coding requiring France to collapse in 1940 and Germany to occupy northern Norway, to get to an operational area the U boats - the entire U boat arm in 1935 is 15 seamen, 8 engineering officers and 150 ratings btw- have to exit the North Sea sail around the British Isles and down into the western channel Biscay or randomly search the Atlantic for Convoys which can be routed just bout anywhere.