Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 423 Blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar
If the British Navy notified the Spanish government in advance before arriving at the port and then docked in a Spanish port only after obtaining permission from the Spanish government, it would prove that their fleet's circumnavigation of the Mediterranean had no other purpose.

But it was clear that the British did not do so. The fleet approached the Spanish port of Cádiz in a very aggressive manner without prior notification to the Spanish government.

After alerting the port authorities and prompting them to signal the British warships' purpose, the British side indicated that they needed to stop at the port of Cádiz to replenish supplies.

This act of forcibly entering a Spanish port without any prior notice is undoubtedly a provocation against the Spanish government, as well as a deterrent, warning Spain not to get too involved in Portuguese domestic affairs.

If it were Queen Isabella in the past, she might have backed down in the face of British provocation on her doorstep. But for Carlo, no matter who the provoking enemy is, anyone who dares to challenge Spain must be prepared to stay here forever.

When Carlo learned that the British fleet was arrogantly demanding to dock at the port of Cádiz, he immediately decided to respond.

The British navy was indeed powerful; they strictly adhered to the standards of two superpowers, and their total naval size was larger than that of the second-ranked French and third-ranked Spanish navies combined.

France and Spain possessed 24 and 21 battleships respectively, while the British had an astonishing 40. France and Spain combined had just over 90 cruisers, while Britain had well over 100 cruisers, plus a large number of armored cruisers, bringing their total to approximately 130.

In this situation, the British were quite confident. They believed that even if a naval war broke out between Spain and Spain, they would be the victors, let alone merely deterring Spain.

Carlo certainly understood the gap between the Spanish and British navies, but this was not a hellish challenge for Spain.

Firstly, while the total tonnage of the British navy does indeed far surpass that of Spain, their navy is distributed all over the world, with only the home fleet and the Mediterranean fleet in Europe.

The Mediterranean Fleet was not large, which is why Britain had to draw battleships from its home fleet to deter Spain.

Even including this intimidating fleet, Britain's naval presence in the Mediterranean is still inferior to that of Spain.

This is actually quite normal, after all, in addition to the Mediterranean Fleet, Britain also has the Channel Fleet, the Home Fleet, the Pacific Fleet, the North American Fleet, and the West Indies Fleet, etc.

Spain only had three fleets in total: the Home Fleet, which was split into the Atlantic Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet; the African Fleet, which protected the African colonies; and the Philippine Fleet, which was stationed in the Philippines.

Only the home fleet and the African fleet possess battleships, while the Philippine fleet is a coastal fleet composed of outdated cruisers and small gunboats retired from the home fleet.

The vast majority of Spain's naval power was concentrated in the Atlantic Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet, which can actually be regarded as a whole, namely the Spanish home fleet.

The reason for splitting the fleet into two was that the Spanish coast was not connected. The Atlantic coast and the Mediterranean coast were separated by the Portuguese coastline, and one fleet was not enough to fully protect all of Spain's coastlines.

The Atlantic Fleet was based in A Coruña at the mouth of the Betanços River, while the Mediterranean Fleet was based in Valencia, the second largest port in the Mediterranean.

In the event of war or other important circumstances, these two fleets can meet at any time in the Strait of Gibraltar to control and blockade the western outlet of the Mediterranean Sea.

Since the British wanted to teach Spain a lesson, Carlo naturally couldn't remain indifferent. Since the British had come to him of their own accord, he had to make them feel Spain's strength and understand that Spain was not to be trifled with.

The port of Cádiz is located on the southern coast of Spain, and not far to the north is Seville, the capital of Andalusia, the most populous state in Spain.

After replenishing its supplies at the port of Cádiz, the British fleet would head east through the Strait of Gibraltar to officially begin their so-called circumnavigation of the Mediterranean.

Carlo would certainly not allow this fleet to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar so easily. If the terrain around Gibraltar were likened to an hourglass, then the Strait of Gibraltar would be the narrowest part in the middle, connecting the two areas.

It is impossible to blockade the sea areas on both sides of the strait. Both sea areas are extremely large, and it would be extremely difficult to blockade a relatively small fleet in such a vast area.

However, if the Strait of Gibraltar were blocked, the difficulty would decrease dramatically. If this British fleet were completely trapped in the Strait of Gibraltar, wouldn't the British panic?
Thinking this, Carlona's anger at the British provocation on his doorstep subsided considerably. If this fleet were blocked in the Strait of Gibraltar, it wouldn't just be Spain that lost face once the news got out.

If the British wanted to intimidate Spain, they had to be prepared to be intimidated in return.

As for whether the British fleet would resort to desperate measures and attack the Spanish fleet after being blocked in the Strait of Gibraltar, Carlo remained completely unperturbed.

If the British Navy dared to open fire, the Spanish Navy would immediately destroy the fleet in the Strait of Gibraltar.

Where did Carlo get his confidence from? Of course, it was from the Dreadnought battleship, which was already in service and had achieved considerable combat capability.

无畏号战列舰自1901年4月份开工，1902年3月份就已经正式下水开启海航测试。到了1903年的4月份，这艘战列舰正式服役在西班牙海军，目前为止已经过去了一年多的时间了。

After a long period of testing and service, the HMS Dreadnought has achieved initial combat capability and will definitely give the British Navy a surprise.

Not only the Dreadnought battleship, but also the Courageous and Furious battleships have completed construction and entered the naval trials phase.

If the British are not sensible, all three battleships can be deployed to the battle, ensuring that all the British warships sent can be destroyed in one fell swoop.

If all five battleships and twelve cruisers were left in Gibraltar, the British naval strength would be significantly affected, and the threat to the Spanish navy would be greatly reduced.

Unless they are willing to draw warships from other fleets, or send all the warships from the Home Fleet and the Channel Fleet to the Mediterranean, Britain is unlikely to gain a significant advantage even if a naval battle breaks out.

Before the British acquired dreadnoughts, Spain, with its own dreadnoughts, was able to maintain a certain advantage in naval battles and even had the hope of defeating the British.

To avoid alerting the enemy, Carlo decided to play along. He first agreed to the British fleet's request to replenish supplies at the port of Cádiz, Spain, and then dispatched his fleet to directly surround the British fleet in the Strait of Gibraltar, forcibly blockading it for 24 hours.

After the 24-hour period ends, release the British fleet to make them understand that the situation in the Mediterranean, especially around the Strait of Gibraltar, is controlled by Spain.

If the British dared to take desperate measures, Carlo wouldn't mind fighting them before the outbreak of World War I.

At worst, Spain could simply side with France and form a Franco-Russian-Spanish military alliance to counter the German-Austrian-Italian military alliance.

Carlo didn't believe Britain would decisively side with Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy like Spain had. After all, Anglo-German relations were no longer what they were at the end of the 19th century; Germany had been vigorously building and developing its navy since then.

Britain was indeed wary of France's military strength, but they were equally wary of Germany's. Helping Germany defeat France would only make Germany even stronger, a more invincible enemy for Britain.

For this reason, it was impossible for Britain to so readily side with the Austro-German alliance unless Germany was at risk of defeat.

It was precisely because of the Franco-Russian alliance that Carlo had no worries when facing the British.

At this time, Russia, having just suffered defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, still harbored considerable resentment towards the British. After all, the island nation was backed by the British, who were arguably one of the main culprits in Russia's defeat in the war.

Without British support, the island nation could not have defeated Russia. The island nation's navy was built for them by the British; without this navy, Russia would not have suffered such a rapid defeat on the front lines.

France and Russia remain hostile to Britain, which is one of the biggest differences in the world compared to its history.

Carlo has now basically determined that the world war that is about to happen in this world will be quite different from the world wars in history.

A historical alliance between Britain, France, and Russia is unlikely to materialize. The French government clearly prioritizes its ally Spain, and Spain has already reached several cooperation agreements with France, practically ready to announce its joining the Franco-Russian alliance. Germany, too, is not without options. They initially sought to bring Britain into their alliance, but the British government remained hesitant about forming a German alliance, and an Anglo-German alliance never materialized.

However, Germany's efforts to win over Russia were not without their gains. Britain and Germany had signed a non-aggression pact several years earlier, and Germany also supported Britain's colonial expansion in Central and East Asia, eager to see the British cause more trouble for Russia.

When the German government learned of Russia's defeat and heavy losses, they visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Russia was a huge problem for Germany, with a population of hundreds of millions that could escalate into an army of millions or even tens of millions.

Although these armies were not particularly strong, it would still have required Germany to deploy millions of troops to defeat and annihilate them.

For Germany, if war broke out, they would certainly choose to attack France first.

France was Germany's true mortal enemy, and the greatest foe in the eyes of the Germans. If millions of German troops were tied down by Russia, the number of troops available to deploy on the Western Front would certainly be insufficient.

Although the German Empire was hailed as the world's leading land power, the Germans lacked sufficient confidence to quickly defeat France, given that a significant portion of their army was tied down by Russia.

Russia is currently suffering heavy losses on the Far East front, with its navy losing seven battleships, which has given Germany a sense of relief.

On the one hand, Russia, having lost seven battleships, has fallen to the fifth strongest naval power in the world, surpassed only by Germany.

On the other hand, Russia invested a large amount of money and resources in the Russo-Japanese War, which was a huge burden on Russia's already meager finances.

Moreover, the war was not yet won. This was a heavy blow to Tsar Nicholas II, who had expressed a tough stance during the war.

Although it did not yet threaten Tsar Nicholas II's position, his prestige had been severely affected. Considering Russia's dire finances and the corruption of the Tsarist government, coupled with the numerous strikes, demonstrations, and uprisings that had already broken out, the Germans did not consider Russia a formidable enemy. They believed that Russia could no longer tie down too many German troops and that a few hundred thousand men could easily withstand a Russian offensive.

As for the remaining troops, they would naturally be deployed to the Western Front. If France could be defeated quickly, Russia could not afford to continue its stalemate with Germany, as doing so would not bring them any benefit and would only increase Russia's financial burden.

Let's return to Carlo's layout.

After receiving Carlo's orders, the Spanish side quickly granted the British fleet's request to stop at the port and replenish supplies.

Before knowing Carlo's next plan, many officials had doubts. After all, this was a blatant threat and provocation from the British; to allow the British fleet to dock would be tantamount to swallowing their anger.
But when these officials learned of Carlo's next plan, they applauded it.

As it turned out, the Spanish had a lot of backbone. These cabinet ministers were not worried about potentially offending Britain; they simply felt that Carlo's plan could not only avenge Britain's threats and provocations but also directly eliminate the impact of previous British provocations.

Because the cabinet ministers unanimously approved the plan, the defense department also acted quickly.

This plan will mainly be carried out by the Navy, but the Army will also have its own tasks.

Although it is highly unlikely that the British will resort to desperate measures, after all, breaking out into war with Spain at this time would not be a good thing for Britain.

But what if? What if some British official has a brain fart and insists on going to war with Spain? Spain should also have a contingency plan.

To prevent the possibility of such an irrational person appearing in the British government, Carlo decided to prepare for all eventualities.

If a war were to break out between Spain and Britain, Spain would not only need to deploy its navy but also its army to quickly conquer Gibraltar and reclaim the lost territory.

Then it would be Portugal. If war did break out with Britain, Carlo would have no more reservations.

Carlo would strongly support the Iberian Party in overthrowing the Portuguese Republican government and establishing a new government controlled by Spain, and would vigorously promote Pan-Iberianism within Portugal.

Once most of the Portuguese people believe that Pan-Iberianism will bring them a brighter future, Carlo will initiate the process of merging the two countries and bringing Portugal under Spanish rule as soon as possible.

Although Portugal has a population of over 500 million, it is undoubtedly a tiny fraction compared to Spain's 3887 million population.

Even if Portugal were forcibly annexed, as long as the more than 500 million Portuguese people were quickly divided and dealt with, there would be no need to worry about the stability of the Portuguese region.

After millions of Spaniards immigrate to the Portuguese region, it will forever belong to Spain, and Portugal will never again have the possibility of separating from Spain.

Recapturing Gibraltar was clearly more difficult than annexing Portugal.

Although the Gibraltar region is only six square kilometers in size, the British government was well aware that it could be forcibly taken back by Spain at any time because it was forcibly seized from Spain.

Gibraltar is the safeguard for Britain's control of the Strait of Gibraltar, and also an important supply base and base for the British Mediterranean Fleet.

To prevent the region from being reclaimed by Spain, Britain stationed thousands of troops in Gibraltar.

Such a garrison size is quite exaggerated, after all, Gibraltar's area is only 6 square kilometers, which is roughly the size of a small village in later times.

In addition to the garrison of several thousand troops, the British also built a strong military fortress in Gibraltar, precisely to prevent an attack by the Spanish army.

Because Gibraltar is located on a small peninsula, which is shaped like an inverted spear, with Gibraltar at the tip of the spear.

This military fortress blocked the connection between Spanish territory and Gibraltar; to capture Gibraltar, one had to first capture this fortress.

If it were just a matter of dealing with the few thousand troops stationed in Gibraltar, that would be one thing. But if war broke out with Britain, the British Mediterranean Fleet would continuously transport supplies and even soldiers to Gibraltar.

This is why conquering Gibraltar was considered more difficult than annexing Portugal. To completely occupy Gibraltar, the military fortress had to be captured quickly before the British could react, and then the actual occupation of Gibraltar had to be completed.

Although the army stationed in the military fortress numbered only a few thousand, a fortress is still a fortress, and it is not so easy to conquer.

Besides deploying some large-caliber artillery, the Spanish army also had to suffer some casualties. After all, defensive battles are the easiest to fight, while offensive battles result in the greatest casualties, especially when attacking the Gibraltar fortress, which the British had painstakingly built.

Regardless, given the already strained relations with Britain, Gibraltar was undoubtedly Spain's top priority.

Carlo quickly issued two orders, mobilizing the Spanish army and navy to carry out his plan.

Whether war will break out between Spain and Britain depends on the British choice. If Carlo's plan succeeds, Spain will certainly be the one to benefit.

If the British choose to remain silent, Spain can end the dispute and turn its attention to the situation in Portugal.

However, if the British are unwilling to back down and are even willing to pay any price to protect Portugal, then it means that Spain and the British will have to go to war to decide the ownership of Portugal and Gibraltar.

(End of this chapter)