Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 369 The British Threat

If the rapid progress of the two Spanish colonial divisions in the south could be explained by the insufficient deployment of troops on the Moroccan border, then the Spanish army's offensive in Ceuta fully demonstrated that the armies of the two sides were not at the same level at all.

Although Spain only deployed two Guards Infantry Regiments, one Guards Cavalry Regiment and one Guards Artillery Regiment, totaling over 8,000 troops in Ceuta, these guards were obviously not comparable to ordinary troops.

The combat effectiveness of this army of more than 1.15 people is not only not weaker than the firepower of an infantry division of people, but even exceeds it in terms of weapons and equipment.

A Spanish Guards Division has a total of 1.5 soldiers, but it is said that it can fight at least three ordinary infantry divisions. The soldiers of the Guards are the best soldiers selected from the Royal Army, and the officers of the Guards are also young officers with outstanding performance in the army, or students with outstanding grades who graduated from the Royal Military Academy. Only then can they have the opportunity to become officers of the Guards Division.

Soldiers and officers are carefully selected, and it would be a problem if the Guards Division did not have strong combat effectiveness.

The person in charge of commanding this Guards Army was Andrew, the commander-in-chief of the Guards Army and commander of the Guards Division.

This was the first time the Spanish Guard had participated in a large-scale battle since its establishment.

Andrew attached great importance to this operation. He was determined to fight a good battle. On the one hand, it was to repay Carlo's trust in him, and on the other hand, it was to broaden his future promotion path.

Although the commander-in-chief of the Guards only commands the Guards Division, his status in the military is far higher than that of ordinary infantry division commanders.

There are not many channels for promotion for the Commander-in-Chief of the Guards. He can either become the Minister of Defense or join the General Staff and serve as the Chief of the General Staff or other high-ranking military positions.

This is what the former commander-in-chief of the Guards, Jyoti, did. Because he led the army to defeat the Sokoto Caliphate and opened up millions of square kilometers of colonies for Spain, he was promoted by Carlo to become the Minister of Defense of the new cabinet government.

Andrew also had this idea. As the saying goes, a soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier, and a general who doesn't want to be the highest level of the military is naturally not a good general.

After Andrew arrived in Ceuta, he first looked at the topographic map of Morocco in detail, and then formulated a combat plan for the Guards.

The battle plan was actually very simple, which was to go all the way south from Ceuta and attack the Moroccan capital of Rabat along the Atlantic coast of Morocco.

In addition to the Moroccan capital of Rabat, there are also larger Moroccan cities such as Tangier, Arraesh, Kenitra, and Salé along the way.

As long as the line from Ceuta to Rabat is occupied, it can be said that at least one-third of the Moroccan population has been controlled by Spain.

Although the area has a population of over one million Moroccans, the Guards do not have to worry about management issues after occupying the area.

After the Guards occupied these cities, Spain would send officials to carry out militarized management and maintain local order, waiting for subsequent processing of the entire land of Morocco.

With sufficient supply of weapons and ammunition and no worries of his own, all Andrew had to do was to transform the Guards into a sharp arrow, tear through the Moroccan defenses with an unstoppable attitude, and forcefully penetrate into Rabat, the capital of Morocco.

In the first battle of the march to the southwest, the Guards led by Andrew demonstrated their strong combat effectiveness.

Tangier is an important coastal town in northern Morocco and a bridgehead for trade between this special white African country and European countries.

Because Tangier is located in northern Morocco, this is also Andrew's first battle when he went south to attack Rabat.

At this time, one day had passed since Spain declared war on Morocco, and Morocco also had troops deployed in the north.

But it was obvious that these Moroccan troops had no power to resist the Spanish army. The so-called important city of Tangier was breached in less than a day under the attack of the Guards.

One of the Guards' artillery regiments had 140 guns, more than could be found in all of Morocco.

More importantly, the Guards not only have a large number of artillery pieces, but also artillery pieces of various calibers.

In addition to light artillery with a caliber of 75 mm and below, the Guards Infantry Regiment is also equipped with some larger caliber artillery, such as the same 8-inch howitzer as the cruiser, with a caliber of 203 mm and a range of more than 6 kilometers. It is mainly used to destroy the enemy's reinforced concrete fortifications.

In order to deal with Morocco's fortifications, the Guards carried 10 203mm heavy artillery pieces, and Carlo personally promised Andrew that as many shells as were consumed would be transported to the front line.

Under such circumstances, Morocco's fortifications were simply unable to stop the attack of the Spanish army.

Tangier, the so-called important defensive town in the north, was eventually reduced to ruins after being bombarded by hundreds of artillery pieces.

While the Guards were besieging Tangier, the British government finally received news that Spain had declared war on Morocco.

The British Prime Minister at that time was Archibald Primrose, a prime minister who was not outstanding in British history.

He is the fifth Earl of Rosebery, an ordinary British aristocrat. If the Boer War had not broken out in 1895, his term as prime minister might have ended this year.

Such a prime minister with no outstanding abilities had no decision-making ability when Spain suddenly declared war on Morocco.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, we should immediately express our attitude to Spain and prevent the Moroccan capital of Rabat from being captured by the Spanish.

The safety of Morocco concerns our control of the Strait of Gibraltar, which is as important as the Boer War.

If we lose Morocco, even if we win the war with the Boers, it will be a loss for us. "The Foreign Secretary spoke at a British cabinet meeting. He believed that Britain must not give up Morocco, because Morocco's safety was directly related to whether Britain could continue to control the Strait of Gibraltar.

What's worse, if Spain has the courage to occupy Morocco, will it have the courage to retake Gibraltar in the future?
Losing Morocco would significantly reduce Britain's control over the Strait of Gibraltar, not to mention that if Spain recaptured Gibraltar, Britain's control over the Mediterranean would be significantly reduced, thus affecting Britain's various layouts in the Mediterranean.

Before the Prime Minister, Archibald Primrose, could reply, the Secretary of State for War rose to his feet and challenged the Foreign Secretary's point.

"Allow me to remind you that our current military strength does not seem to be sufficient to support us in intervening in the war between Spain and Morocco.

The Boers caused us a lot of trouble. Perhaps it was because Spain saw how difficult the Boers were that it declared war on Morocco at such a critical juncture.

Unless we are willing to impose large-scale conscription on our home front and even in all the colonies, we will be unable to cope with our two enemies, the Boers and the Spanish.

With all due respect, the Boers are already a considerable trouble at present, and Spain is an even more powerful enemy than the Boers.

Under certain circumstances, I think we can temporarily abandon Morocco and focus on attacking the Boers. As long as we can eliminate the Boers, it will not be too late to come back and solve the problem of Spain. "

The Secretary of State for War was well aware of the capabilities of the British Army.

Yes, it is true that some British troops are well-equipped and have quite good combat effectiveness.

But the problem is that only a small part of the British Army has good combat effectiveness. The combat effectiveness of most of the British Army can only be described as average, and the number of native army is not even as large as that of Spain. Does it have to rely on colonial troops to defeat Spain?
Given the present situation in Britain, it would be impossible to prevent Spain from annexing Morocco unless the government was determined to keep it at all costs.

In order to save Morocco, in addition to investing a large amount of military expenditure, it is also necessary to deploy at least hundreds of thousands of troops.

If it were normal times, these would be easy to do. But Britain was already engaged in the Boer War, and had invested tens of millions of pounds in this war, so it was impossible to give up halfway.

If the war was fought on two fronts, let alone whether it could win on both fronts, the huge military expenditures from the two wars alone would be enough to bankrupt the finances of the British Empire.

After hearing the reminder from the Minister of War, some cabinet ministers who had originally planned to support putting pressure on Spain gave up their ideas.

Since Carlo became King of Spain, Spain has gained considerable fame at the international level.

Whether it was responding to Britain's actions during the colonial dispute between Portugal and Britain, or helping Italy seize two colonies when France attacked Tunisia, it was enough to show the strength of Spain. Britain and Spain had a bad relationship to begin with, and forcing pressure on Spain would not achieve any results, but would only further damage the relationship with Spain and even drag itself into the war.

Since the chances of winning are not very high, why should Britain make things difficult for itself and its wallet?

Seeing that the words of the Minister of War were about to make the cabinet give up on putting pressure on Spain, the British Minister of the Navy could no longer sit still and stood up to remind them:

Ladies and gentlemen, don't forget that we have a powerful navy that far exceeds that of other countries. If Spain does not listen to our advice and continues to fight against Morocco, we can block the Strait of Gibraltar and cut off the supply line from Spain to Morocco.

As a result, the Spanish army in Morocco will lose supplies, and it will not be so easy for them to annex Morocco.

If the Spanish government does not appreciate our kindness, their troops in Morocco may be attacked from both sides by us and Morocco at any time.

It would be easy to end the war if the navy were to stop in the Strait of Gibraltar, wouldn't it?"

The words of the Navy Minister made several cabinet ministers change their minds again.

Indeed, if Spain wanted to attack Morocco, the Strait of Gibraltar would be very important.

Although it is at Spain's doorstep, due to the Strait of Gibraltar, supplies from Spain can only be shipped to Morocco by sea.

As long as it involves anything related to the ocean, it is bound to be inseparable from the navy. And Britain is the most powerful naval country in the world, and the gap between the navies of other countries is huge.

Who says that the only way to stop Spain's war against Morocco is to use the army? Using the navy can also be effective, and it doesn't even require too much military expenditure.

"What if Spain refuses to give in?" the Minister of War asked. "The navy alone cannot affect the Spanish mainland. If Spain is still unwilling to end the war, does it mean that we have to rely on the navy to destroy the Spanish army in Morocco?
I still don't think it's a good time to go to war with Spain. We don't have the ability to deal with two enemies at the same time."

Amid the arguments, the British cabinet was divided into two factions.

One group believes that Britain should maintain a tough stance and not lose Morocco, which is of extremely great strategic value.

Another group believed that Britain's focus should be on the war with the Boers and Morocco could be temporarily abandoned.

Considering that the Strait of Gibraltar would affect Britain's control over the Mediterranean, and the Mediterranean would affect a series of powerful countries and Britain's strategic layout, the former ultimately received wider support.

After the British Cabinet had a slightly clearer opinion, they first asked the British ambassador to Morocco to contact the Moroccan government, asking the Moroccan government to resist firmly and promised to provide Morocco with weapons and equipment.

Subsequently, the British ambassador to Spain asked to meet with Carlo and expressed the British attitude to him.

May 1895, 4, Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain.

In the medium-sized reception room of the Royal Palace of Madrid, the British ambassador looked calm, but his words were a little tough: "Your Majesty, Morocco is our ally. Your rash declaration of war has violated Morocco's territorial security. As an ally, we have the obligation to protect Morocco's independence.

We hope that your country and Morocco can sit down for peace talks to avoid war that would cause huge casualties to both countries.

During this period, our fleet will dock around the Strait of Gibraltar to help the two countries restore peace and order.

I hope His Majesty the King can respect Morocco's territorial sovereignty and avoid expanding this war, which would affect peace in Europe."

Hearing the British ambassador's hidden threat, Carlo smiled and said nonchalantly: "The Strait of Gibraltar does not belong exclusively to Spain. If your country is willing, you can certainly station your navy around the Strait.

But I need to remind your country that our naval department plans to hold an exercise in the near future, and the scope happens to be around the Strait of Gibraltar.

I hope your navy will not approach our coast to avoid accidental damage to your fleet by coastal defense artillery."

Long before declaring war on Morocco, Carlo had considered whether the British Navy would blockade the Strait of Gibraltar.

But the Strait of Gibraltar is located at Spain's doorstep after all, and it is not so easy for Britain to block the strait.

The coastal defense artillery deployed by Spain around Gibraltar is not to be trifled with. As long as the British Navy dares to approach, it is no problem to sink one or two battleships.

Even for the British Empire, it took 2 to 3 years for a battleship to be put into service from the start of construction. The investment during this period was as high as millions of pounds. Carlo didn't believe that Britain would not feel bad if it lost a few battleships.

Even if the coastal defense artillery could not cause much damage to the British Navy, Spanish transport ships could disguise themselves as fleets of other countries and fly the flags of other powers, including Italy and Austria-Hungary.

If Britain dares to intercept cargo ships from all countries, Carlo won't have to take action. The protests from these countries will be enough to give the British a headache.

Britain is powerful, but it is not invincible. If these British really want to stand against the whole of Europe, then Carlo would not mind inciting Europe to fight a war to destroy Britain before the outbreak of World War I.

Hearing Carlo's threats and counterattacks, the British ambassador's face darkened. He did not expect that Carlo would immediately fight back without hesitation after hearing his threats, and did not take the British threats seriously at all.

This is not looking down on him, but looking down on the cause and effect behind him. In all the years he has served as a British diplomat, he has rarely been looked down upon by leaders of other countries.

Britain is the most powerful country in the world. How dare you, a small country like Spain?

"Your Majesty, the Strait of Gibraltar is not Spain's private waters. Even if your navy conducts exercises, it seems that you have no power to prohibit the passage of fleets from other countries," the British ambassador asked in return.

"Of course." Carlo smiled and said something that made the British ambassador look even worse: "I forgot to tell the ambassador that this naval exercise is in cooperation with the French Navy. Because the number of warships participating in the naval exercise between the two countries is too large, they had to block a part of the Strait of Gibraltar.

But please rest assured that even in the strait stage, ships from all countries are allowed to pass through. We will also try to stay away from cargo ships from all countries to avoid accidental injuries as much as possible. "

"Damn the French, when did they stand with these Spaniards?" The British ambassador was surprised when France and Spain stood together, but his expression did not change much. He still had a slight smile on his face and asked: "When will your naval exercise start and when will it end?

Our navy will arrive at the Strait of Gibraltar in three days and we hope it will not affect your country’s exercises.”

Even though France and Spain stood together, the British ambassador still did not back down. The British navy was invincible, and even if the Spanish and French navies were combined, they were destined to be no match for the British Royal Fleet.

Hearing that the British were still not giving up, Carlo smiled again, not caring at all about the British ambassador’s words: “Our exercises with the French Navy will begin soon and should be over in a few days.

However, the Italian and Austro-Hungarian navies have also sent us exercise requests. Perhaps after the French naval exercise is over, we will have to conduct corresponding exercises with the Italian and Austro-Hungarian navies, which may take longer. "

If the support of France alone could not scare off Britain, what about Italy and Austria-Hungary? As long as they did not send troops, I believe these two countries would still be happy to support Spain.

Carlo didn't believe that Britain would insist on interfering in the war when so many powers supported Spain. If the British were really so rigid, the worst that could happen was a war with Britain.

This is a good opportunity to recapture Gibraltar and completely drive Britain out of the Strait of Gibraltar.

As long as this step can be achieved, the Spaniards will be happy to fight for their country even if war breaks out with Britain.

Spain is indeed inferior to Britain in terms of navy, but it is impossible to win a war by relying solely on the navy. Spain's advantage in land wars is not necessarily smaller than Britain's advantage in naval wars.

On the one hand, Carlo was vigorously supplying strategic materials to the Boers, and on the other hand, he was fighting a land war with Britain. He did not believe that such a war would be lost.

(End of this chapter)