Prompt Cast
Operation Felix: The German Plan to Take Gibraltar during World War II
TLDR Operation Felix was a German plan to remove British control of Gibraltar and gain access to the Mediterranean Sea during World War II. However, negotiations with Spain fell through and the plan was abandoned, preventing Germany from cutting off the British from the Suez Canal and potentially gaining control of Malta, Cyprus, and the Middle East.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The Germans planned to invade Gibraltar to remove British control and gain access to the Mediterranean Sea during World War II.
02:00
The Germans needed to remove the British from Gibraltar in order to control the Mediterranean during World War II.
03:48
Spain, under the leadership of Francisco Franco, offered to join the Axis powers in World War II in exchange for help in expanding its overseas empire, including gaining control of Gibraltar, but the negotiations with Hitler went nowhere and Spain remained neutral throughout the war.
05:42
Operation Felix was a German plan to drive the English out of the Western Mediterranean and besiege Gibraltar, assuming the support and cooperation of Spain.
07:27
The British fortified Gibraltar with tunnels and anti-aircraft guns, and British Intelligence, including Ian Fleming, was sent to monitor Spanish activity and potentially undertake sabotage operations in Spain in the event of Spanish-German collusion, but German Admiral Wilhelm Canaris was refused permission by Franco to enter Spain and take Gibraltar, leading Hitler to abandon Operation Felix.
09:15
If Germany had taken Gibraltar, it would have cut off the British from the Suez Canal, prevented the Allied invasion of Sicily, and potentially resulted in German control of Malta, Cyprus, and the Middle East.
11:02
Operation Felix, the potential German plan to take Gibraltar during World War II, may have been one of the most important non-events of the war, as Franco's decision not to enter the war allowed him to remain in power for another 30 years.
