Chapter 366: 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 along the Morocco border, then the Spanish army's offensive at Ceuta fully demonstrated that the two sides' armies were simply not on the same level.

Although Spain only deployed two Guard infantry regiments, one Guard cavalry regiment, and one Guard artillery regiment—a total of just over eight thousand troops—at Ceuta, these Guards were clearly incomparable to ordinary units.

The combat effectiveness of this force of over eight thousand men was not only no weaker than the firepower of an 11, 00-man infantry division, but it even surpassed it in terms of weaponry and equipment.

A single Spanish Guard division, with a total strength of 15, 00 men, was touted as being able to take on at least three ordinary infantry divisions. The soldiers of the Guard were selected from the most outstanding soldiers in the Royal Army, and the officers of the Guard were either young officers who had performed exceptionally well in the army or graduates with excellent records from the Royal Military Academy who had the opportunity to become officers in the Guard divisions.

With both soldiers and officers carefully selected, it would be a problem if the Guard divisions were not combat-effective.

The person responsible for commanding this Guard force was the Commander-in-Chief of the Guard and Commander of the Guard Division, Gao Da.

Since the establishment of the Spanish Guard, this was the first time it had participated in large-scale combat.

Gao Da attached great importance to this operation; he was determined to fight a brilliant battle, on one hand to repay the trust Wang Gong had placed in him, and on the other to broaden his own future path for promotion.

Although the Commander-in-Chief of the Guard only commanded this one division, his status in the military was far superior to that of those ordinary infantry division commanders.

The promotion channels for the Commander-in-Chief of the Guard were limited; one either became the Minister of Defense or could only enter the General Staff to serve in high-level military positions such as Chief of the General Staff.

The former Commander-in-Chief of the Guard, Ceng Bei, had done exactly that. 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 Wang Gong to be the Minister of Defense in the new cabinet government.

Gao Da also held such thoughts. As the saying goes, a soldier who does not want to be a general is not a good soldier; a general who does not want to become the highest level of the military is naturally not a good general either.

After arriving at Ceuta, Gao Da first carefully studied the terrain map of Morocco, and then formulated the Guard's operational plan.

The operational plan was actually very simple: to head south from Ceuta and attack Morocco's capital, Rabat, along Morocco's Atlantic coast.

Along this route, besides the Moroccan capital of Rabat, there were also larger Moroccan cities such as Tangier, Larache, Kenitra, and Salé.

As long as the line from Ceuta to Rabat was occupied, it could be said that at least one-third of the Moroccan population was already under Spanish control.

Although this region possessed over a million Moroccans, the Guard did not need to worry about management issues after occupying this area.

After the Guard occupied these cities, Spain would dispatch officials to carry out militarized management to maintain local order while awaiting the subsequent handling of the entire Moroccan territory.

With sufficient supplies of weapons and ammunition and no worries of his own, all Gao Da had to do was turn the Guard into a sharp flying arrow, tearing through the Moroccan defense lines with an unstoppable posture and forcefully piercing into the Moroccan capital, Rabat.

In the first battle of the march to the southwest, the Guard led by Gao Da demonstrated powerful combat effectiveness.

Tangier was a major coastal town in northern Morocco and a bridgehead for trade between this unique African white nation and European countries.

Precisely because Tangier was located in northern Morocco, it was also the first battle for Gao Da's southward offensive toward 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 clear that these Moroccan troops had no power to resist in front of the Spanish army, and the so-called major town of Tangier was broken through in less than a day under the Guard's offensive.

One artillery regiment of the Guard possessed 140 cannons, a number of cannons greater than the total number of cannons that could be found in all of Morocco.

More importantly, the Guard not only had a large number of cannons, but the calibers of the cannons were also varied.

In addition to light cannons with a caliber of 75mm or less, the Guard infantry regiments were also equipped with some larger-caliber cannons, such as the 8-inch howitzer, the same model as those on cruisers, which had a caliber of 203mm and a range of over 6 kilometers, mainly used to destroy the enemy's reinforced concrete fortifications.

To deal with Morocco's fortifications, the Guard carried 10 203mm heavy cannons, and Wang Gong personally promised Gao Da that however much ammunition was consumed, that much would be transported to the front line.

Under such circumstances, Morocco's fortifications could not stop the Spanish army's offensive at all.

The so-called major northern defensive town of Tangier ultimately became a ruin under the continuous bombardment of over a hundred cannons.

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

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

He was the 5th Earl of Rosebery, an ordinary, as ordinary as could be, British aristocrat. If the Boer War had not broken out early in 1895, his term as prime minister might have ended this year.

Such a prime minister with no outstanding abilities had no decisiveness regarding Spain's sudden declaration of war on Morocco.

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

The safety of Morocco concerns our control of the Strait of Gibraltar; this is a major event of equal importance to the Boer War.

If we lose Morocco, even if we win the war against the Boers, it will still be a loss for us." The Foreign Secretary spoke eloquently at the British cabinet meeting, arguing that Britain absolutely could not abandon Morocco because the safety of Morocco directly concerned whether Britain could continue to control the Strait of Gibraltar.

Furthermore, if Spain had the courage to occupy Morocco, would it have the courage to recover Gibraltar in the future?

Losing Morocco would inherently cause Britain's control over the Strait of Gibraltar to drop significantly, not to mention that if Spain were to recover Gibraltar, Britain's control over the Mediterranean would drop significantly, thereby affecting Britain's various layouts in the Mediterranean.

Before the Prime Minister, Archibald Primrose, could answer, the British Secretary of State for War immediately stood up and refuted the Foreign Secretary's point of view.

"Please allow me to remind you that our existing forces do not seem sufficient to support our intervention in the war between Spain and Morocco.

The Boers have created great trouble for us, and Spain may have seen the difficulty of the Boers, which is why they declared war on Morocco at such a critical juncture.

Unless we are willing to conduct large-scale conscription at home or even in all colonies, we simply cannot deal with two enemies, the Boers and Spain.

If I may be blunt, the current Boers are already a big enough trouble, 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 trouble of Spain."

The Secretary of State for War was very clear about the capabilities of the British Army.

Yes, there was indeed a portion of the British army that was well-equipped and had quite good combat effectiveness.

But the problem was that the part with good combat effectiveness was only a small portion of the British Army. The combat effectiveness of most of the British Army could only be described as average, and the number of domestic troops was not even as high as Spain's; were they supposed to rely on colonial troops to defeat Spain?

In Britain's current situation, unless the government was determined to preserve Morocco at all costs, it was impossible to stop Spain from annexing Morocco.

To preserve Morocco, besides investing a large amount of military expenditure, it would also require investing at least hundreds of thousands of troops.

If it were in normal times, these things could naturally be done easily. But currently, Britain was already engaged in the Boer War, and for this war, Britain had already invested tens of millions of pounds in military expenditure, so it was naturally impossible to give up halfway.

If they were to fight on two fronts, let alone the question of whether they could win on both sides, the massive military expenditure brought by two wars alone would be enough to drag down the finances of the British Empire.

Hearing the reminder from the Secretary of State for War, some cabinet ministers who had intended to support pressuring Spain gave up their ideas one after another.

Since Wang Gong became the King of Spain, Spain had made quite a name for itself on the international level.

Whether it was the move against Britain during the colonial dispute between Portugal and Britain, or helping Italy snatch two colonies when France attacked Tunisia, all were enough to show the strength of this country, Spain. The relationship between Britain and Spain was already bad; forcibly pressuring Spain would not achieve any effect, but would only further damage the relationship with Spain and even drag themselves into this war.

Since there was no high chance of winning, why would Britain bother itself and bother its own wallet?

Seeing that the words of the Secretary of State for War were almost making the cabinet give up on pressuring Spain, the British First Lord of the Admiralty could not sit still and stood up to remind them: "

Gentlemen, do not forget that we possess a powerful navy that far exceeds other countries. If Spain does not listen to advice and continues to fight against Morocco, we can easily blockade the Strait of Gibraltar and cut off the supply line from the Spanish mainland to Morocco.

In this way, the Spanish army in Morocco will lose its supplies, and it will not be so easy for them to annex Morocco anymore.

If the Spanish government does not know what is good for them, their army in Morocco could be caught in a pincer attack by us and Morocco at any time.

As long as the navy docks in the Strait of Gibraltar, we can easily end this war, can't we?"

The words of the First Lord of the Admiralty made several cabinet ministers regain their thoughts.

Indeed, for Spain to want to attack Morocco, the Strait of Gibraltar was very important.

Although it was on their doorstep, with the separation of the Strait of Gibraltar, supplies from the Spanish mainland could only be transported to Morocco by sea.

As long as it involved things related to the ocean, it was destined to be inseparable from the navy. And Britain was the most powerful naval country in the world, and the gap with other countries' navies was a generational one.

Who said that only the army could be used to stop Spain's war against Morocco? Using the navy could also have an effect, and it might not even require too much military expenditure.

"Then what if Spain does not back down at all?" The Secretary of State for War asked again: "The navy alone cannot affect the Spanish mainland. If Spain is still unwilling to end the war, are we supposed to rely on the navy to eliminate the Spanish army in Morocco?

I still do not think this is a good time to go to war with Spain; we do not have the ability to deal with two enemies at the same time for the time being."

Amidst the arguments, the British cabinet split into two factions.

One faction believed that Britain should maintain a tough attitude and could not lose Morocco, which had extremely important strategic value.

The other faction 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 great powers and Britain's strategic layout, the former ultimately received broader support.

After the British cabinet had a slightly clearer opinion, they first had the British Ambassador to Morocco contact the Moroccan government, demanding that the Moroccan government resist resolutely and promising to provide Morocco with weapons and equipment.

Subsequently, the British Ambassador to Spain requested an audience with Wang Gong to express the British side's attitude.

April 29, 1895, Royal Palace of Madrid, Spain.

In the medium-sized reception hall of the Royal Palace of Madrid, the British Ambassador looked calm, but the words he spoke were slightly tough: "Respected Your Majesty the King, Morocco is our ally. Your country's rash act of declaring war has infringed upon Morocco's territorial security, and we, as allies, have an obligation to protect Morocco's independence.

We hope that your country and Morocco can sit down for peace negotiations to avoid the war causing huge casualties to both countries.

During this period, our fleet will be docked around the Strait of Gibraltar to help both countries restore peaceful order.

We hope Your Majesty the King can respect Morocco's territorial sovereignty and avoid letting this war expand, thereby affecting the peace of Europe."

Hearing the British Ambassador's veiled threat, Wang Gong smiled and said indifferently: "The Strait of Gibraltar does not belong solely to Spain. If your country wishes, you can of course let the navy enter the vicinity of the strait.

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

I hope your country's navy will not approach our coast to avoid accidental injury to your fleet by our coastal defense artillery."

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

But after all, the Strait of Gibraltar was located on Spain's doorstep; it was not that easy for Britain to blockade the strait.

The coastal defense artillery deployed by Spain around Gibraltar was not just for show; as long as the British Navy dared to approach, sinking one or two battleships would be no problem.

Even for the British Empire, it took 2-3 years for a battleship from construction to commissioning. The investment during this period was as high as millions of pounds, and Wang Gong did not believe that Britain would not feel the pain of losing a few battleships.

Even if the coastal defense artillery could not cause too much damage to the British Navy, Spanish transport ships could disguise themselves as fleets of other countries, flying the flags of other great powers including Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

If Britain dared to intercept cargo ships from all countries, then Wang Gong would not even need to take action; the protests from these countries would be enough to give the British a headache.

Britain was indeed powerful, but Britain was not invincible. If these British guys really wanted to stand on the opposite side of all of Europe, then Wang Gong would not mind inciting Europe to have an anti-British war before the outbreak of World War I.

Hearing Wang Gong's overt and covert threats and counterattacks, the British Ambassador's face turned dark. He did not expect Wang Gong to fight back without hesitation after hearing his threat, completely not taking Britain's threat seriously.

This was no longer looking down on him, but looking down on the power behind him. In all the years he had served as a British diplomat, he had rarely been looked down upon by leaders of other countries.

Britain was the most powerful country in the world; how did a small Spain dare to do this?

"Your Majesty the King, the Strait of Gibraltar is not Spain's private sea area. Even if your country's navy is conducting exercises, it seems you do not have the power to prohibit the passage of other countries' fleets," the British Ambassador retorted.

"That is of course." Wang Gong smiled and said words that made the British Ambassador's face look even worse: "Forgot to tell the Ambassador, this naval exercise is in cooperation with the French Navy. Because the number of warships participating in the naval exercise from both countries is too large, we had no choice but to blockade a part of the Strait of Gibraltar.

However, please rest assured that even in the strait stage, ships from various countries are allowed to pass. We will also try our best to stay away from cargo ships of various countries to avoid accidental injury as much as possible."

"Damn Frenchies, when did they stand with these Spaniards?" The British Ambassador was surprised in his heart about when France and Spain stood together, but his expression did not change much, still wearing a slight smile, and he asked: "When will your country's naval exercises begin and when will they end?

Our navy will arrive at the Strait of Gibraltar in three days, and I hope it will not affect your country's exercises."

Even though France and Spain stood together, the British Ambassador still did not retreat in the slightest. The British Navy was invincible; even if the Spanish and French navies were added together, they were destined not to be the opponents of the British Royal Fleet.

Hearing that the British were still not giving up, Wang Gong smiled again, not caring at all about the British Ambassador's words: "Our exercises with the French Navy will begin soon and should end in a few days.

However, the navies of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire have also sent us exercise requests. Perhaps after the naval exercises with France are over, we will have to conduct corresponding exercises with the navies of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which may take longer."

French support alone is not enough to scare off the British, but what if Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire are added to the mix? As long as they do not send troops, I believe these two countries would be very willing to support Spain.

Yu Kaluo does not believe that the British would insist on interfering in this war when so many great powers support Spain; if the British are truly that rigid, then at worst, we will have a war with Britain.

We can take this opportunity to recover Gibraltar and drive the British completely out of the Strait of Gibraltar.

As long as this step can be completed, even if a war with Britain breaks out, the Spanish people would be very willing to fight for their country.

In terms of the navy, Spain is indeed inferior to Britain, but a war cannot be won by the navy alone. Spain's advantage in land warfare is not necessarily smaller than Britain's advantage in naval warfare.

By vigorously transporting strategic supplies to the Boers on one hand and fighting a land war against the British on the other, Yu Kaluo does not believe such a war would be lost.

(End of this chapter)