On the 1st November, the Draka garrison of Ceuta found itself shelled (from Gibraltar), while the Luftwaffe airdropped 9,000 men in the city. At the same time, a combined fleet of four battleships, two heavy cruisers, five light cruisers, ten destroyers and five torpedo boats engaged the Draka squadron (made up of two battleships and twelve destroyers), with Axis aerial and submarine support. The ships were Spanish, French and German.
The aerial and submarine superiority of the Axis carried the day. The Axis lost one battleship (another had to be repaired), one heavy cruiser, four destroyers and three torpedo boats, but the Draka squadron was destroyed, and Ceuta was taken.
Then, the Luftwaffe, Armée de l'Air and Ejército del aire started to airlift an expeditionary corps of 130,000 men into Morocco.