Chapter 367: The Joint Exercise

What Gao Da said was truly not a lie.

On April 30, 1895, before the British Navy had time to reach the Strait of Gibraltar, the joint exercise between the Spanish Navy and the French Navy had already begun.

While called a joint exercise, in reality, it was just the two navies gathering together to take a few old, decommissioned warships as targets and practice shooting at them.

The propulsion systems inside these warships and vessels used as targets had undergone simple repairs to ensure they could sail at a certain speed for a period of time.

The task of the Spanish and French navies was to simulate the process of discovering and sinking enemy warships; whoever could sink the so-called enemy ships in less time with fewer shells would naturally be the side that performed the best.

As the organizer of this joint naval exercise, Spain had also made careful preparations for it.

There were a total of 12 decommissioned warships that had undergone simple repairs to serve as targets, allowing the Spanish and French navies to have their fill of fun at once.

Although it was a joint exercise, good or bad performance concerned the face of their respective navies, so both sides still attached considerable importance to this exercise.

In order to show its strength to France, Spain dispatched two of its newest battleships in this joint naval exercise, namely the *Ferdinand II* and the *Isabella I*.

Only when Spain showed its strength would France value Spain and offer more generous conditions in order to win Spain over.

One must know that as one of the most powerful countries in the world today, France's battleship, the *Brennus*, was still sitting in the shipyard's dock.

As a latecomer, Spain had already built two battleships; such speed was something the current French Navy could not compare to at all.

In this joint naval exercise, the performance of Spain's two battleships was quite excellent, even making the French naval sailors envious to the point of almost drooling.

France's *Brennus* battleship had started construction as early as January 12, 1889, and had begun sea trials on October 17, 1891.

According to normal logic, such a completed battleship should basically be ready for official service after 1 to 2 years of sea trials.

France originally had the hope of becoming one of the first countries to possess battleships, but the construction of the *Brennus* battleship played a huge joke on the French Navy.

Since its launch in October 1891, this battleship, on which the French Navy had pinned its hopes, had stubbornly and repeatedly gone through the three cycles of sea trials, discovering problems, and returning to the factory for modifications; up to now, it had not officially entered service.

Originally, for this joint naval exercise between the two countries, the French Navy wanted to include the *Brennus* battleship to highlight the strength and foundation of the French Navy.

But unfortunately, the modification work on the *Brennus* battleship had not yet been completed, and the Navy could not possibly take a semi-finished battleship to participate in a joint exercise.

This was also the reason why the French Navy looked at the Spanish battleships and drooled; Spain really built them when it had battleships, and it built five at a time, and the construction speed was especially fast—where could one go to reason with that?

In fact, this joint naval exercise would not take long, but the French government also knew the purpose of Spain organizing this naval exercise, and they did not mind helping Spain in such small matters to make Spain lean more toward their side.

It was precisely for this reason that such an exercise, which was not very large in scale, lasted for a full three days.

On the second day of the exercise, a British detachment arrived at the Strait of Gibraltar and sent a message via flag signals to the Franco-Spanish joint fleet located in the Strait of Gibraltar, requesting to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar.

The Spanish and French fleets had no objections, but during the process of the British fleet passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, the coastal defense batteries on the Spanish coast and the naval guns of the two battleships were already aimed at the British fleet.

If the British fleet were just passing through the Strait of Gibraltar normally, there would naturally be no problem. But if the British fleet wanted to look for trouble, Spain would not mind having a naval battle with Britain.

The total scale of the British fleet did indeed crush the countries of Europe, but the British fleet was not just in one place in Europe. Looking at this fleet currently in Gibraltar, their tonnage was not as large as the scale of the fleet Spain was using for the naval exercise, so naturally, there was no need to worry too much.

The unusual move by the Spanish Navy immediately attracted the attention of the British Navy and the French Navy.

Aiming with artillery batteries was no joke; once Spain gave the order to fire, it was very likely that several British warships would sink in the Strait of Gibraltar.

Coastal defense guns were not small-caliber artillery. The coastal defense batteries deployed by Spain around the Strait of Gibraltar had a minimum caliber of 234 mm, and the most important ones were the same 343 mm giant batteries as the battleships, which could potentially severely damage a battleship with a single shot.

It was true that the British fleet's intentions were not pure. Although the British had no plans to go to war with Spain, their idea of using the navy to deter Spain had never been dispelled.

Don't look at the small scale of this British fleet before them; it actually contained three battleships, namely the *Royal Sovereign*, the *Revenge*, and the *Resolution*.

The *Royal Sovereign* was the lead ship of the *Royal Sovereign*-class battleships and the first warship to usher in the pre-dreadnought era. Since its official completion in May 1892, the *Royal Sovereign* had been serving in the British Channel Fleet.

The *Revenge* and the *Resolution* were the same; they both served in the British Home Fleet. This time, Britain transferred them to the Strait of Gibraltar, clearly wanting to use the numerical advantage of battleships to deter the Spanish Navy.

But what the British Navy did not expect was that Spain was not only not afraid, but instead had an attitude of "life and death are indifferent, let's fight if you're not convinced."

This stunned the British fleet and made them afraid to make any other moves.

No one could guarantee whether Spain would fire first. If they were careless for a moment and let Spain launch a sneak attack, resulting in the loss of several battleships, then that would be a huge joke.

The British were indeed wealthy and imposing; they not only pioneered the pre-dreadnought era but also built a full eight *Royal Sovereign*-class battleships in one go.

But this did not mean the British could accept the result of losing several battleships in a short period of time. The total construction cycle for any battleship was as long as two years or more; even for Britain to build a battleship, it took 2 to 3 years from the start of construction to the completion stage after sea trials.

If too many battleships were lost at once, it would not only wipe out the naval advantage Britain maintained relative to other countries but also allow other countries to catch up to Britain in terms of pre-dreadnoughts, which was something the British side absolutely could not accept.

"Your Excellency Commander, the Spanish coastal defense batteries have aimed at us. Should we continue to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar?"

On the flagship of the British fleet, the *Royal Sovereign*, a messenger looked at the fleet commander with a worried face.

At this moment, the fleet commander was also unsure of the Spaniards' thoughts. At such a critical juncture, any choice could potentially completely change the diplomatic relationship between Britain and Spain.

After a moment of silence, the fleet commander gave his order: "Pass the order down, continue to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar.

Change our destination and head directly to Malta. In addition, send a telegram to the home country to inform them of our situation.

If the home country has any thoughts of fighting the Spaniards, let them send more battleships."

Although there was a certain advantage in battleships, the overall scale of the Spanish Navy was larger than this British fleet.

Furthermore, around the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain had also deployed a large number of coastal defense batteries.

The role of these coastal defense batteries was no worse than that of battleships; if a real fight broke out at this time, the British fleet would not be able to achieve victory.

Under the close watch of the Spanish Navy, the British fleet cautiously passed through the Strait of Gibraltar. After crossing the strait, the British fleet immediately headed east to Malta, with no intention of staying in Gibraltar at all.

Although Gibraltar was an important naval base for Britain, under the current circumstances, being stationed in Gibraltar was no different from breaking into an enemy's encirclement.

Although Malta was slightly further away from the Strait of Gibraltar, the advantage was that it was closer to Britain's colonies and friendly countries.

Even if a war broke out, this fleet would not have to worry about being surrounded by the Spanish Navy. They could choose to be stationed in Greece or Egypt, or they could withdraw through the Suez Canal and head to the more distant India.

Not long after, the British government also received relevant information.

They were astonished by the bold actions of the Spanish Navy, and the British government was also worried about whether continuing to deter Spain would trigger a major war between the two countries.

However, Britain was Britain after all; even for the sake of its own face, relevant protests were a must.

Shortly after the incident, the British government formally lodged a protest with the Spanish government.

They accused Spain of having no right to blockade the Strait of Gibraltar, and that locking onto the British fleet with artillery batteries while the British fleet was passing through the Strait of Gibraltar was an even more barbaric act.

Such behavior would not only damage the diplomatic relationship between Britain and Spain but would also cause unnecessary disputes and conflicts between the fleets of the two countries.

After the protest, the British government demanded that Spain provide an explanation for this and promise that such barbaric behavior would not happen again.

Regarding the British government's diplomatic protest, the Spanish side did not care much.

A diplomatic protest actually represented a compromise; in other words, a war was basically impossible to happen again. If Britain still wanted to have a war with Spain at this time, they would not use such a weak method as a diplomatic protest.

If one could get the desired result through protests, then the great powers would no longer need armies. Only war could make other countries submit; diplomatic protests were just for the sake of one's own face, to make things look passable.

Since the British government wanted face, then the Spanish side would give them face.

Regarding the British government's diplomatic protest, the Spanish government also had a relevant statement.

First of all, Spain explained that the so-called artillery batteries aiming at the British fleet was just a misunderstanding.

At that time, the Spanish Navy was conducting a joint military exercise with the French Navy, and the Spanish Navy's batteries were only aiming at targets in the same direction as the British fleet.

The Spanish government also provided several photos, in which the targets hit were indeed in the same direction as when the British fleet entered the strait.

As for the matter of Spain blockading the Strait of Gibraltar mentioned by the British government, that was even more of a misunderstanding.

After all, the British fleet had passed through the Strait of Gibraltar safely, which already showed that Spain's blockade did not exist.

The French government also provided certain evidence to prove that the Spanish Navy was indeed aiming at the targets agreed upon by both sides at the time, not the British fleet crossing the strait.

Since the Spanish and French governments had said so, the British government naturally gave up the diplomatic protest.

Continuing to make a scene would not only fail to save face but would instead cause the relationship between Britain and Spain to become sharp.

British Prime Minister Archibald Primrose was not stupid. The reason he agreed to launch the Boer War was because Britain was in an absolute position of advantage.

Even if one used their toes to plan the war, the probability of Britain winning this war was extremely high.

But Spain was different. Currently, Spain's naval power could be said to be firmly in the top three in the world. If it were just that the navy was strong, that would be fine, but Spain's army strength was also quite good.

Fighting a war with such a Spain, Britain really could not be sure who would win and who would lose.

Although Britain could indeed reduce the transport of supplies from the Spanish mainland to the front line by blockading the Strait of Gibraltar, this ultimately could not change the situation of Morocco being in a disadvantageous position in the war.

The British army personally entering the field could indeed slow down the Spanish army's offensive speed, but that was just slowing it down.

The British government had self-knowledge about its own army. The British army could indeed bully some great powers with weak combat effectiveness, but in front of a country like Spain with relatively strong army combat effectiveness, the British army's combat effectiveness was still not enough to look at.

Although giving up Morocco would affect the control of Gibraltar to a certain extent for Britain, as long as Gibraltar was not lost, Britain would still be the controlling country of the Strait of Gibraltar.

This incident could only be handled this way, using a Morocco to exchange for the opportunity for Britain to deal with the Boers with peace of mind.

After Britain finished dealing with the Boers, it would not be too late to consider the layout for the Strait of Gibraltar.

At worst, increase investment in the Mediterranean Fleet, and it would still be able to control the two exits of the Mediterranean. At least in terms of the navy and the speed of naval construction, Britain was not afraid of any country in the world.

The speed of building battleships like making dumplings was something only the British Empire could achieve in the current world.

At the same time as this farce between Spain and Britain occurred, the Guard's offensive against Morocco was quite smooth, having already pushed the front line to the important city of Larache in northwestern Morocco.

Because the logistical supplies were quite abundant, the Guard soldiers were enjoying fruit and beef and mutton from Spain while mercilessly venting their bullets at the Moroccans.

Don't look at the fact that there were only 8,000 troops in northern Morocco; in these few days of war, the Guard's bullet consumption had reached as high as over a million rounds, and artillery shell consumption was also close to six figures.

The consumption of these munitions was not in vain. In addition to the Guard's offensive being quite smooth, they also created huge casualties for the Moroccan army.

The northern region had always been a place where the Moroccan army was heavily stationed, and there were tens of thousands of Moroccan soldiers here.

After Spain declared war on Morocco, the Moroccan government organized the army to move south to defend, while also strengthening the defensive forces in the northern cities.

Originally, Tangier and Tetouan each had thousands of soldiers stationed, and after the war broke out, the number of soldiers had increased to tens of thousands.

During Spain's attack on Tangier, these tens of thousands of Moroccan troops were almost completely wiped out. The number of Moroccan soldiers who died under the fierce bombardment of the Spanish army reached thousands, and thousands more Moroccan soldiers were captured and held in the prisoner-of-war camp established in Ceuta.

Spain did not intend to establish a long-term colony in Morocco, so it did not abuse these captured Moroccan soldiers too much.

Except for those Moroccan soldiers who were relatively extreme and highly hostile to Spain, the remaining Moroccan soldiers would receive better treatment, and two meals a day were still guaranteed.

Although these prisoners needed to help Spain transport supplies under the supervision of soldiers, such labor was not without reward.

Fruit and canned meat were the most direct rewards and also the most popular things in the prisoner-of-war camp.

For these Moroccan soldiers, fruit and meat were things they could only eat after a long time.

Being a prisoner and still being able to eat fruit and meat, such treatment was already quite merciful.

After the Guard captured Larache, the number of Moroccan prisoners held in the prisoner-of-war camp had already risen to tens of thousands.

The larger the number, the harder it was to manage these prisoners. In order to prevent any accidents in Ceuta, Andrew decided to manage these prisoners separately and re-establish a prisoner-of-war camp in Tangier.

Although Tangier was a city just occupied by Spain, because it was a port city, the officials sent by Spain and the soldiers maintaining order had already arrived in Tangier, and militarized management had also begun a few days ago.

Currently, the order in Tangier was still stable, and accommodating a portion of the prisoners was no problem.

After dispersing these prisoners, Andrew set his sights on Ksar el-Kebir, southeast of Larache.

Not far to the east of Ksar el-Kebir was the M'da Reservoir; this reservoir provided a large amount of drinking water and agricultural irrigation water for the surrounding cities, and its strategic value was evident.

As long as Ksar el-Kebir could be occupied, Spain's influence could expand to a range of tens of kilometers around.

Further south were Morocco's capital, Rabat, and the important central Moroccan towns of Meknes and Fez.

As long as these cities were nibbled away step by step, ending this war would just be a matter of time.

The 8,000 men of the Guard also suffered quite a few casualties during this period of fighting. The good news was that the number of deaths and serious injuries combined was less than 100, which was one of the benefits brought by firepower coverage.

Those soldiers whose injuries were not too serious could basically be put back into battle after simple treatment at the field hospital established in Ceuta.

And those soldiers with more serious injuries needed to be transported by transport ships to the mainland to receive treatment in hospitals in large cities.

The hospitals in the two cities of Seville and Valencia were already prepared to receive the relevant wounded, and the current treatment work for the wounded could be considered quite smooth.

Although the offensive on the front line was quite smooth, Gao Da did not intend to let these soldiers fight the whole war. Gao Da's purpose was to let these Guard soldiers see blood and personally experience the real battlefield and war.

After the Guard soldiers on the front line adapted to the war, it would still be necessary to let other troops rotate.

This Moroccan war could be considered a very good testing ground, allowing most of the Spanish army to personally experience the cruelty of the battlefield and exercise the soldiers' will.

Of course, whether it was the Guard or the Royal Army, there would definitely be casualties when they stepped onto the battlefield.

This was also unavoidable. Using a small amount of controllable casualties to exchange for the rebirth of the Spanish army after experiencing war, this deal was cost-effective.

As for the soldiers who died on the battlefield, their families would receive good arrangements and a considerable amount of pension, which could be considered a reward for their death on the battlefield.

I was too sleepy at night, so I slept for a while, sorry.

(End of this chapter)