Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 434 The Defeat of Portugal
As it turned out, the United States, located far across the Atlantic, was also quite concerned about the war that was breaking out on the European continent.

When the Spanish ambassador contacted the US government, the Americans were actually quite clear about the Spanish intentions. However, at that time, Britain was still the powerful world hegemon, and the Americans were not entirely confident that they could successfully seize the Cuban colony from the British.

Ultimately, the United States' military strength was still too weak at this time. Although the United States had surpassed Britain in industry and economy, it was not even as strong as Italy in terms of military strength, let alone capable of launching a preemptive attack on Britain, the world's leading power.

Even when the Spanish ambassador offered his terms, supporting the US acquisition of a stake in the British-controlled Panama Canal, the US government remained unmoved.

After realizing it couldn't win over the US government, Spain had no choice but to abandon its plans. Since it couldn't force the British government to back down through external forces, Spain had no choice but to defeat the British on the battlefield and force them to surrender.

On September 8, 1904, multiple Spanish armies marched from the border region into Portuguese territory, officially declaring their intervention in the Portuguese civil war.

Because the British troops were still en route, the Spanish had an advantage. The Spanish army could deploy to the battlefield in a shorter time, giving them more time to maneuver effectively.

By September 9th, Spanish troops had completely entered Portuguese territory from the border of Extremadura and were deployed in the most intense areas of the Portuguese civil war, namely the Évora to Mora line.

This region is considered the epicenter of the Portuguese civil war because of its strategic importance; whoever controls this region can threaten the opposing capital.

Lisbon, the capital of the Portuguese Republic, is located west of Mora, while El Václav, the capital of the Portuguese Democratic Republic, is located east of Évora.

In order to protect their own capital and to capture the enemy's capital as soon as possible, both the Republican Party and the Iberian Party have deployed a large number of troops on the front lines. The total number of troops on this battlefield is now close to 20 and is still increasing.

Although 20 people is not a large number for the major European powers, for Portugal, with a population of just over 500 million, a battle involving more than 20 people was already a large-scale battle.

There is good news for the Iberian Party: there is a railway between Lisbon and El Václav that passes right through Évora.

More importantly, the railway runs all the way across the border and connects eastward to Badajoz, the capital of the Spanish state of Extremadura.

This also means that troops and supplies from Spain can be continuously transported along this railway to El Václav and Évora, and then westward to Lisbon, the capital of the Portuguese Republic.

Although the Republic of Portugal could also transport supplies to the front lines via this railway, the Portuguese Republican Party relied on British support for a range of strategic materials, including weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies.

Britain had to transport supplies from its homeland to Portugal before they could be transported to the front lines by rail.

With this back and forth, the time it took for the two sides to transport supplies to the front line varied drastically.

Thanks to its railway system, Spain can transport goods in as little as a few hours and at most a day.

As for Britain, the time required to transport goods from the British mainland to Portugal alone would be at least three to four days. Adding the time for loading and unloading at the port and subsequent rail transport, the time would be extended to at least five to six days.

Besides the significant time difference in transporting goods, there were also risks involved in transporting goods from Britain to Portugal.

With Spain's formal intervention in the Portuguese civil war, the Spanish navy could also openly blockade the Portuguese coast, preventing Britain from transporting various strategic materials to Portugal.

As a result, the supply capabilities of the Portuguese Republic and the Portuguese Democratic Republic are actually quite different.

With a large number of Spanish troops being deployed to the Portuguese civil war, the Portuguese learned what a truly elite army was like.

On September 9, the Spanish army quickly took control of the situation around Évora and drove the Portuguese army back nearly ten kilometers.

Don't underestimate the distance of ten kilometers; it's important to remember that the straight-line distance from Évora to Lisbon is only 113 kilometers. At this rate, the Spanish army could even reach the vicinity of Lisbon within ten days. Such a pace would be fatal for the Portuguese Republic, because Portugal's strategic depth is limited. Beyond Lisbon lies the sea, leaving the Portuguese government with nowhere to retreat.

On September 10, in an attempt to salvage the situation, the Portuguese Republicans mobilized nearly 50,000 troops and constructed a defensive line about 15 kilometers west of Évora, trying to slow down the Spanish army's advance.

And they did indeed succeed. On September 10, the Spanish army advanced less than 5 kilometers along the front line, a pace less than half that of the previous day.

But this is not bad news for Spain. In order to block the Spanish army, the 5 troops sent by the Portuguese Republican Party suffered at least 2 casualties, and their combat strength has been reduced to about 3.

If this casualty ratio is followed, the Republican Party would face an embarrassing situation of having no troops available, even without reaching Lisbon.

If the rapid advance on the front lines was a fatal problem, then the excessive number of military casualties was an even more fatal problem for the Republicans.

Before Britain and Spain each sent volunteers, the Republican Party had a force of nearly 10 men, which was an important reason why they were able to maintain the situation.

After the battle on September 10, the Republican Party had only a little over 70,000 troops left with fighting capacity, and their numbers were still decreasing.

At this rate, the Portuguese civil war might be over before the British army even reaches mainland Portugal.

The British were also paying close attention to the two battles fought after the Spanish army entered Portugal. They had anticipated that the Spanish entry would immediately change the course of the Portuguese civil war, but they hadn't expected the Portuguese Republican army to be so easily defeated.

Logically speaking, the number of troops on both sides at the front should be roughly the same. Even if the Portuguese army's fighting strength was far inferior to that of the Spanish army, it shouldn't have been a problem to fight a defensive battle and hold out for a few days.

This was also part of the British plan: to hold back the Portuguese Republican army for a few days until the British army arrived in Portugal, then launch a more powerful defense and counterattack, and wage a war of attrition between Portugal and Spain.

However, the current situation has far exceeded Britain's expectations. Based on the current development, this Portuguese civil war cannot possibly become a war of attrition, because the small Portuguese Republic is simply incapable of resisting a Spanish offensive. Indeed, Portugal and Spain are not comparable in size, and with Portugal now divided, the remaining part of the Portuguese Republic is even less able to withstand a Spanish attack.

Furthermore, with most of the Portuguese people having lost faith in the Republican Party, it was already good news that the army did not mutiny. To expect these troops to withstand the Spanish army's attack was simply wishful thinking.

With no other option, the British government accelerated the troop transport and hoped that Portugal could hold out until then.

In order to enable the Portuguese government to hold out, Britain advised Portugal to carry out a national mobilization, arm more troops, and stop the Spanish attack at all costs.

The Portuguese government did indeed do this, launching a nationwide mobilization in the areas it could currently control, calling on all Portuguese citizens to enthusiastically join the army to defend their homeland.

Despite a nationwide mobilization, the number of people signing up for military service in various cities dampened the spirits of the Portuguese Republic.

On the first day of the general mobilization order, the total number of people who signed up for military service in all cities under the control of the Portuguese Republic was less than a thousand.

The Republicans initially thought that the news simply hadn't spread, and that as more Portuguese people learned about the national mobilization order, the number of people signing up for the army should increase.

But in the following days, only a few hundred people signed up for the army each day, and the number kept decreasing.

The casualties of the front-line troops reached thousands or even tens of thousands every day, while the rear could only recruit a few hundred soldiers a day, which was clearly insufficient to make up for the shortage of troops at the front.

The massive troop losses severely dampened the morale of the Republican army, and if it weren't for the strict control exerted by the supervisory teams over the frontline troops, some units would likely have already mutinied.

Even if there were no problems within the military, it was clear to the naked eye that most of the Republican soldiers had lost their fighting spirit.

The soldiers were already afraid of war, because war only brought death and disaster, and there was never any good news.

On the other hand, the Iberian Party's army breathed a sigh of relief due to the strong intervention of the Spanish army.

The initiative in the war was completely seized by the Spanish army, and the Republican army could only be forced to defend, and then suffered heavy losses and had no choice but to retreat.

Despite the intense fighting these past few days, the Iberian Party's army has actually had little involvement. To train its troops, the Spanish army has been at the forefront of all offensive battles, while the Iberian Party's army, one of the main players in the civil war, has become relegated to a supporting role. Their primary tasks are cleaning up the battlefield after battles, collecting usable weapons, equipment, and supplies, and dealing with the wounded and dead.

Although it was already September, the temperature on the Iberian Peninsula hadn't completely dropped. If the large number of corpses on the battlefield weren't dealt with promptly, it could easily lead to plague or other diseases.

There wasn't much time to bury the bodies on the battlefield; they could only dig a large pit and hastily bury the fallen soldiers.

The wounded soldiers would receive basic medical treatment. Whether they were Republican or Iberian soldiers, they were essentially Portuguese.

The soldiers responsible for cleaning up the battlefield did not discriminate against these wounded soldiers; they were all sent to field hospitals further back to receive basic treatment and then rest temporarily.

During the recovery period of these wounded and sick soldiers, the Iberian Party and the Spanish Congress jointly provided them with education.

It was called knowledge education, but in reality, it was brainwashing. Regardless of the reasons for the war, it was a war in which the Portuguese killed each other, or even the Spanish killed the Portuguese.

In order to prevent these Portuguese people from hating the Iberian Party and Spain, it is still necessary to educate and indoctrinate them to a certain extent.

On this point, the Iberian Party and Spain share the same goal: to make these soldiers understand who is truly responsible for the war, and who is the culprit behind the Portuguese fighting amongst themselves and the Spanish intervention.

Only by shifting all the blame onto the Republican Party and the British government can the Portuguese animosity towards Spain be effectively reduced.

Only by effectively reducing the Portuguese people's animosity towards the Spanish can the subsequent work of merging the two countries be promoted.

Yes, Carlo intends to use this opportunity to truly put Spain in control of Portugal.

As the saying goes, "How can one tolerate another's snoring beside one's bed?" Even though Portugal itself was not very strong, Carlo would never allow a country that went against Spain's will to exist next to Spain.

The best way to ensure Portugal's permanent allegiance to Spain is to annex Portugal into Spanish territory, uniting the two countries into one.

Although this move would certainly provoke fierce opposition from a small number of Portuguese people, their opposition was no longer of any concern to Carlo.

With a population of nearly 4000 million, why can't Spain annex Portugal, which has a population of just over 500 million?

By differentiating the population like in Catalonia and the Basque Country, emigrating Portuguese who were less supportive of national unification, and then bringing in large numbers of Spaniards, Spain could have maintained a long-term rule over Portugal.

As for ordinary Portuguese citizens who did not vehemently oppose the war, a long-term brainwashing and historical education would make them understand that Portugal and Spain were actually one entity, and that the separation was a forced act by the evil British government to divide the people of the Iberian Peninsula.

Regardless of the truth of history, as long as these Portuguese people believe this statement, they will accept the fact that the Portuguese and Spanish are one, and they will naturally acknowledge that they are Spanish and part of the Iberian Peninsula.

(End of this chapter)