After the fall of France, Hitler turned to the subjugation of the United Kingdom through air power, an attempt that was defeated in the Battle of Britain. When the direct approach failed, several alternative courses were proposed. One of the most viable was the conquest of Gibraltar to help out the italians in the Mediterranean, closing its western entrance.
Negotiations started with Franco right after the french campaign was succesfully concluded, but Franco stalled, correctly believing that the benefits of entering the war would be balanced with the loss of the Canaries and overseas colonies, opting instead for neutrality, although biased towards the axis. In the fall and winter of 1940 negotiations dragged on as german demands were met with continuous request for economic and military aid.
In the end, Hitler discarded an invasion of the Iberian peninsula, believing that it would be difficult and its benefits would be outweighted by a protacted guerrilla war that would tie significant forces on the eve of Barbarossa.
In this scenario, the aim is to explore what might have happened had he decided to go ahead. Since no operational plans had been prepared I borrowed the name from a similar operation.
Operation Isabella was conceived in April 1941, originally due to Hitler's fear of British landings on the Iberian peninsula. Rather than an Axis invasion of Spain, Isabella was designed as a measure by which German troops would advance into Spain to support the Franco regime and defeat the British expeditionary force.
