In 1945 the United States initiated Project paperclip, a secret program in which more than 1,600 Nazi German scientists, engineers, and technicians were taken from Nazi Germany into the employment of the United States government. And, of course, the Soviets were not going to be left behind. But their project, Osoaviakhim, was very different from paperclip.
The Reconquista, or Christian reconquest of Iberia, took nearly 800 years. The fighting did not come without great attempts by Muslim powers across the strait trying to reestablish their presence in mainland Europe. The last gasp of that effort came in the 1330s, when the powerful Marinid sultanate of what is modern Morocco invaded in an attempt to reverse Christian gains and secure the perilous position of the Sultanate of Granada.