Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 432 The Democratic Republic of Portugal
When the more heavily armed Spanish army was on the defensive, attacking their positions was an ordeal for the British forces.

Under intense Spanish fire, the British army was unable to advance an inch. After several hours of continuous fighting, the British army not only failed to get close to the Spanish fortifications, but was also forced to retreat more than a kilometer.

While this did indeed put Britain out of range of Spanish artillery, it also meant that Britain had virtually no chance of winning this engagement.

And indeed, as expected, no matter how the British army launched its offensives afterward, they were unable to overcome the problem of their firepower being suppressed by the Spanish army.

Although this British army was considered elite, it was clearly wishful thinking to expect them to act like a suicide squad, braving Spanish artillery bombardment and machine gun fire to capture Spanish defensive positions.

If they had the added bonus of defending their homeland, these British soldiers might have done so. But the problem is that they are now fighting in Portugal as civilian volunteers. Although Spain is also an enemy of Britain, the fighting spirit of the British army in a foreign land has never been that high.

Seeing that their attacks had been repelled by the Spanish army several times, the commander of the British volunteer army had no choice but to retreat.

In this situation, narrowing the encirclement is completely impossible. The only option now is to request more reinforcements from Lisbon, using several times the number of troops to forcibly surround the Spanish army, and then slowly wear them down. Only in this way can the entire encirclement plan be completed.

Seeing the British army choose to retreat, Spain was not about to let go of the opportunity to strike while the enemy was down. Large numbers of Spanish troops rushed out of their positions and gave chase to the gradually retreating British troops.

Seeing the Spanish troops charge out of their positions, the British troops did not panic much. They intended to launch a counterattack on the spot to ensure that their formation would not be broken by the Spanish.

But to the British soldiers' surprise, before they could even organize a counterattack, their own incompetent allies betrayed them.

Compared to the elite British army, the Portuguese Republican army was nothing more than a ragtag bunch. The real elite troops remained on the main battlefield, while these Republican troops who followed the British south were more like ordinary civilians carrying weapons than a regular army.

Seeing the Spanish troops charge out of their positions, the Republican soldiers panicked instantly. They had just been pinned down by Spanish artillery and machine gun fire, and now, seeing the Spanish army launch an attack, many soldiers immediately scrambled to their feet and hastened their retreat.

At first, only a small number of soldiers attempted to evacuate at a faster pace, but due to the individual efforts of the soldiers, it quickly turned into the collapse of the entire Portuguese army.

Although the army was still carrying out the evacuation mission, the Portuguese evacuation was chaotic compared to the orderly withdrawal of the British army on the other side.

The soldiers were completely out of formation and disorganized. The biggest drawback of this was that the Portuguese soldiers didn't recognize the officers around them, so they naturally wouldn't obey the orders of unfamiliar officers.

By the time Portuguese officers realized something was wrong, the situation was completely beyond saving. The Portuguese army suffered a massive rout, with many soldiers, desperate to retreat, even stepping over fallen comrades.

The chaotic situation caused panic among all the soldiers. Some soldiers didn't even notice their comrades on the ground and tripped over them.

Such behavior occurred repeatedly within the Portuguese army, ultimately leading to widespread chaos and a stampede.

At this point, the Portuguese officers' orders had no effect whatsoever. The Portuguese soldiers were only thinking about running away as quickly as possible, and no one was willing to stay and launch a counterattack against the advancing Spanish army.

Although the chaos in the Portuguese army did not affect the British army, their rout completely exposed the British flanks.

The disadvantages of having such incompetent allies were fully demonstrated. The British army could have launched a counterattack on the spot. If they had just repelled the Spanish army's pursuit, they could have ensured the safe withdrawal of all troops to the rear at Bolicame.

However, with the collapse of the Portuguese army, the flank of the British army was completely exposed to the Spanish army. If the British army dared to remain in place and launch a counterattack, the Spanish army could attack the flank of the British army with impunity and form a counter-encirclement.

To avoid excessive casualties, the commander of the British volunteer army had no choice but to order the troops to retreat and return to Bolicame for rest and reorganization.

Because the Portuguese army was in complete disarray, the British army naturally had no intention of interfering with it.

This led to the Portuguese soldiers fleeing in a frenzy, disregarding the lives of their comrades. In order to gain even the slightest chance of survival, they used both hands and feet to escape towards Bolicame in the rear.

For the Spanish army, this was certainly a good opportunity to strike a fatal blow against a defeated enemy. Although only the Portuguese army was in disarray, the Portuguese army was also their enemy.

The thousands of British troops evacuated in an orderly fashion, while the tens of thousands of Portuguese troops were not so lucky. Although several thousand managed to escape, nearly half of them did not flee for various reasons.

According to a rough estimate, the Spanish volunteer army suffered only a few hundred casualties, with fewer than one hundred dead and just over one hundred seriously wounded.

The Iberian Party forces suffered slightly more casualties, but the total casualties were still less than a thousand.

The exact number of casualties on the British side is uncertain, but the number of British soldiers killed is close to 500, which means that the casualties of this British volunteer force must have been considerable.

The Portuguese Republican army suffered the most severe losses. Of its initial force of over ten thousand men, fewer than five thousand escaped after the battle.

Spain and Iberia captured nearly 3,000 Republican soldiers, more than 1,000 of whom died in the battle, and hundreds more perished in the retreat of the Portuguese army.

This war directly changed the landscape of southern Portugal and thwarted the British army's plan to encircle the Spanish army.

After several battles, the British volunteer force had less than 3,000 combat-ready troops, and the more than 10,000 troops sent by the Republicans had been reduced to less than 5,000 combat-ready troops.

It was easy for these soldiers to hold Bolicame, but it would be quite difficult for them to continue their eastward advance towards Faro or Lolei.

With no other option, the British volunteer commander could only request the Portuguese Republican government to send more reinforcements to ensure that the situation on the southern front would not be affected.

After winning the war, approximately 3,000 captured Republican soldiers were incorporated into the Iberian Party, which brought the Iberian Party's army in the southern theater back to a size of 7,000.

After numerous battles, the Spanish volunteer army is now reduced to only about four thousand men. The remaining soldiers have either been killed in action or have been transported back to Spain for medical treatment due to severe injuries.

Although the Spanish forces had mixed results in their battles against the British volunteers, they generally came out on top. However, because the Spanish volunteers numbered only a little over 5,000, they were unlikely to play a crucial role on the main battlefields of the Portuguese Civil War.

The role of the Spanish volunteers was simply to tie down the British volunteers and incidentally help the Iberian Party occupy more Portuguese territory; nothing more.

The main battlefront will still have to be fought by the armies of the Iberian Party and other opposition parties. This will not only reduce the hatred between the Spanish and Portuguese, but also put the Iberian Party completely on the opposite side of Britain.

Carlos did not want a repeat of the Portuguese Republican Party's defection, and he wanted to maintain diplomatic consistency with Spain regardless of who came to power in Portugal in the future.

News of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's setbacks quickly reached Britain, which angered the British government, which had hoped to change the course of the Portuguese civil war through the Volunteer Army.

The British government decided to abandon its pretense and forcefully intervene in Portugal's civil war, using Portugal as a springboard to attack the Spanish interior.

On September 1, 1904, the British government announced that it would send an additional 15,000 volunteers to Portugal and signed the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance Treaty with the Portuguese Republican government.

Unlike previous economic alliances, this alliance treaty includes cooperation in all areas, including military and economic matters, and targets the common enemy of both countries: Spain.

The following day, the British government announced a high-profile loan of £1000 million to its ally Portugal, of which £500 million was an interest-free loan with a 25-year repayment period, and the remaining £500 million was a low-interest loan with a 35-year repayment period.

The British government's objective is also clear: to publicly announce its support for the Portuguese Republican government and to help the Republicans win the civil war at all costs.

Following the British statement, Spain immediately took action.

Spanish media extensively reported on Britain's forceful intervention in the Portuguese civil war, providing public support for the Iberian Party. With Spanish backing, the Iberian Party established the Portuguese Democratic Republic on September 3, 1904, with its capital in El Vács, and declared the Portuguese Republic in Lisbon illegal.

The term "Democratic Republic" adds the word "democracy" to the term "Republic," which is also a silent condemnation of the Republican Party by the Iberian Party, implying that the Republican government in Portugal is not democratic.

The Democratic Republic established by the Iberian Party received support from several opposition parties, including the Liberal Party. Cities in northern Portugal, such as Braganza, Braga, and Porto, responded to the call, and the fighting spread to Coimbra in central Portugal.

The day after the Iberian Party announced the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Portugal, on September 4, 1904, Spain officially announced a military alliance with the Democratic Republic of Portugal and provided it with a low-interest loan of 200 million pesetas.

Because Spain was at war with Britain, the loan was not provided by the Spanish government, but by the royal family.

Since the royal family is not short of money, lending this money to the government of the Portuguese Democratic Republic as a low-interest loan will generate interest in the future.

On the very day the military alliance was formed, the Democratic Republic of Portugal formally declared war on the British government, joining the war as an ally of Spain.

As for why Portugal did not declare war, it is because there is only one legitimate government in Portugal. In the eyes of the democratic republic, it is the true legitimate government, while the republic of Lisbon is unjust and illegitimate, so there is naturally no need to declare war on it diplomatically.

The British government was furious at being declared war on by the Democratic Republic of Portugal, but it hesitated to declare war on the Democratic Republic of Portugal.

Declaring war on Portugal would essentially mean that the British government recognizes the Portuguese Democratic Republic as the legitimate successor state of Portugal.

However, a lack of response would inevitably disappoint the British public. After all, the Portuguese Democratic Republic's declaration of war was a high-profile and clearly provocative act against the British government.

If the British Empire could tolerate such provocations, it would have completely lost its dignity and status as the world's leading power.

In response to the declaration of war by the Democratic Republic of Portugal, the British government held a meeting that lasted for several hours before finally coming up with a solution.

First, the British government will not declare war on the Portuguese Democratic Republic, nor will it recognize the legitimacy of the democratic republic established by the Iberian Party.

The British government publicly condemned the democratic republic established by the Iberian Party, stating that such actions were dividing a historically significant European nation.

Meanwhile, the British government condemned Spain's support for the Iberian Party's efforts to split Portugal. British Prime Minister Arthur James Balfour stated angrily that Spain's actions not only harmed the interests of the Portuguese people but also exposed a threat from an ambitious figure to all of Europe.

Britain was determined to help its ally win the war. For the sake of the innocent Portuguese people and its ally, the Portuguese Republican government, Britain decided to send more troops into Portugal to fight until the Portuguese civil war ended.

As it turned out, the solution devised by the British government was quite effective. It neither implicitly affirmed the legitimacy of the Portuguese Democratic Republic through a declaration of war, nor did it mislead some uninformed citizens into believing that Spain was forcibly supporting the Portuguese opposition and attempting to divide this historically significant nation.

Carlo was not unprepared for the British's shameless behavior.

After the Portuguese Democratic Republic declared war on Britain, Carlo understood that Britain was unlikely to declare war on the Democratic Republic in return. After all, doing so would bring Britain no benefit; declaring war would simply be acknowledging the legitimacy of the opposing government.

Carlo's solution to the British government's media attacks and smears was to use even stronger media to turn the tables on Britain.

If Spain was suspected of interfering in the Portuguese civil war, then the British government was not pretending at all; it was clearly interfering in the Portuguese civil war.

Spain has far more evidence than the British government, and when it comes to waging a propaganda war, Carlos is not afraid of anyone.

Starting from September 5th, major Spanish newspapers went on a frenzy of reporting on Britain's various acts of interference in Portugal's internal affairs, and repeatedly mentioned Britain's glorious history as a troublemaker in Europe.

Europeans may not know much else, but they are very familiar with Britain's history of meddling. Britain's regional balancing policy is notorious. While it has indeed protected the country, it has also led to prolonged competition among nations around the world, including in Europe, making it difficult to have a truly peaceful and stable environment for development.

In other words, the United States' long-term pursuit of isolationism has prevented interference from the UK's regional balancing policy.

Of course, there were definitely some impacts. This also made Europe and even countries around the world quite hostile towards Britain, and Britain's reputation as a troublemaker was well-known.

Given Britain's reputation for meddling, the credibility of these Spanish news reports undoubtedly increases significantly.

In addition to reporting these news stories within Spain, Carlo also spent a great deal of money contacting major newspapers across Europe to ensure the stories were widely disseminated throughout the continent.

Although this did not cause any real harm to Britain, it did severely damage Britain's prestige.

The British government had no good solutions to this problem and could only focus on the battlefield, hoping to retaliate against the Spanish through military means.

On September 7, 15,000 British soldiers assembled at the port and then boarded transport ships prepared by the British government, sailing south under the escort of the Royal Fleet.

Unlike the previous British volunteers, this time the deployment of soldiers was completely aboveboard, so there was no need to disperse and transport them.

These 1.5 British soldiers were the elite of the army, equipped with a wide variety of weapons and equipment, and were confident that they were no less powerful than the Spanish army in terms of firepower.

The British government was determined to win the Portuguese civil war. Leaving aside long-term plans, their primary objective was to keep most of Spain's attention focused on the Portuguese civil war in the short term.

In this way, Britain will have enough time to design its new warships. Once the new warships are completed and officially commissioned, the British Navy will have the confidence to compete with the Spanish Navy.

Sensing that the British intended to exploit the Portuguese civil war, Carlo also planned to use the opportunity presented by the Portuguese civil war to hone the Spanish army.

Although the Spanish army's fighting spirit and morale were relatively high, most of the soldiers had never actually been on the battlefield and had never seen blood. How could soldiers who had never seen blood be considered elite?
Even the most elite Royal Guard in Spain has a large number of soldiers who have never actually seen combat.

Since the British want a proper showdown in Portugal, Spain is ready to oblige. This is a good opportunity to rotate most of the Spanish army, letting the soldiers experience the atmosphere of the battlefield and undergo a true test of life and death, thus transforming them into qualified elite troops.

Of course, this excludes the troops that previously besieged Gibraltar. Those troops had already experienced a brutal battlefield and suffered heavy casualties, so there was no need for them to be deployed to fight in Portugal.

The real force that needed to enter Portugal to fight was the Royal Army, which had never seen combat, and the Royal Guard, which had been training outside Madrid.

Carlo didn't want his Royal Guard to be just a figurehead. The soldiers of the Royal Guard were selected from the elite of the Royal Army, and Carlo wanted the Spanish Royal Guard to be the country's most elite army, the greatest support for himself and the Spanish royal family, and the ultimate trump card for consolidating the monarchy.

Therefore, the Imperial Guard was bound to go to Portugal to fight, and would have to undergo a long period of combat testing in order to forge a truly elite army.

As for the casualties that would result from the fighting, those are unavoidable in war. Compared to the two world wars that would follow, fighting in Portugal was merely a minor skirmish. If Spain couldn't even bear these casualties, then there was no point in Spain participating in a world war.

After all, world wars typically result in casualties starting in the millions, with millions more easily falling victim. If Spain wanted to gain sufficient benefits from World War I, it had to be prepared for casualties of the millions.

Carlo didn't mind if the Spanish army suffered heavy casualties, but only if the Spanish army inflicted even greater casualties, or even several times greater, on its enemies.

Regardless of who the enemy was in World War I, they all had to be prepared to be badly beaten or even crushed by the Spanish army.

(End of this chapter)