Chapter 422: The Outbreak of the Anglo-Spanish War

On July 20, 1904, the British fleet officially arrived at the port of Cadiz in Spain, where they spent over ten hours replenishing supplies and resting, before continuing their journey south in a grand formation, planning to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar.

When this fleet submitted its request to the Spanish side to dock for rest, the commander of the fleet's flagship, Rear Admiral John, was still feeling slightly nervous.

This was because he was leading a fleet that had been cobbled together temporarily; the fleet had no designated commander, and he, as the commander of the lead flagship, was acting in the role of the fleet's temporary commander.

Although the Rear Admiral was already among the ranks of generals, he held the lowest status among general-grade officers. Rear Admiral John had not been serving as flagship commander for long, and he felt quite anxious about such an important mission.

As the temporary commander of the detachment, Rear Admiral John certainly understood the true purpose of his fleet. Although the British Empire's naval strength was more than double that of Spain's, it was not the entire Royal Fleet responsible for provoking Spain, but rather this detachment composed primarily of five battleships.

If the Spanish side chose to swallow their pride, it would be fine; they could easily obtain supplies, and once they successfully completed their patrol mission, they would earn a merit.

If the Spanish were unwilling to submit, as the detachment commander, Rear Admiral John needed to be prepared to respond to war and link up with the Mediterranean Fleet as quickly as possible to guard against a surprise attack by Spain.

Britain did not intend to back down on the issue of Portugal; after all, this concerned Britain's control over Gibraltar. If they backed down on the issue of Portugal, would they then have to back down on the issue of Gibraltar?

Retreating again and again, where else could Britain retreat to?

At this time, there was no interference from the Boer War, and Britain's greatest threat, Russia, had just suffered a crushing defeat in the Far East.

Under these circumstances, if the Spanish side did not know what was good for them, the British Empire would not mind using its naval power to let Spain understand that the world's number one naval power was not to be trifled with.

The previous repeated concessions to Spain had already reached Britain's bottom line; whether it was Portugal or Gibraltar, the British Empire could absolutely not give them up.

If Spain insisted on pressing hard on these two issues, the British Empire would have no choice but to fight a war with Spain and let their respective military strengths decide the final outcome.

Departing from the port of Cadiz and sailing south along the Spanish coastline, Rear Admiral John's mood was quite relaxed.

Judging by the Spanish side's current performance, they would likely choose to take a step back. After all, the British Empire had dispatched warships this time, and in terms of naval power, Britain would not fear any nation.

In fact, the scale of this detachment alone, combined with the Mediterranean Fleet, was already enough to rival all of Spain's naval forces.

On what grounds could Spain compete with the British Empire in naval terms? Britain also possessed the Channel Fleet, the Home Fleet, the Atlantic Fleet, and a series of other naval forces equipped with battleships.

Simply mobilizing a few battleships might represent at least one-third of the Spanish Navy's strength. Under these circumstances, Rear Admiral John had reason to believe that Spain would choose to back down; after all, not every country was willing to contend with the British Empire, which was the most powerful nation in Europe and even the world.

When this British fleet happily sailed to the Strait of Gibraltar, they suddenly discovered something was wrong.

They entered the Strait of Gibraltar from Cape Marroqui, the southernmost city in Spain, and the fleet sailed along the southern coast of Africa, almost reaching Ceuta ahead.

Just as everyone thought they could pass through the Strait of Gibraltar with ease, a Spanish fleet suddenly appeared in front of them.

This Spanish fleet was flying the flag of the Kingdom of Spain, looking as if they had been waiting expectantly. Upon seeing the arrival of the British fleet, the Spanish fleet pointed their cannons at the British warships, clearly looking like they had ill intentions.

"Shit, what are these Spaniards doing?" After hearing the report from the lead battleship, the fleet's temporary commander, Rear Admiral John, felt somewhat depressed, unable to figure out for a moment what these Spaniards were up to.

However, out of caution, Rear Admiral John still ordered the lead battleship to use signal flags to communicate with the Spanish warships and ask for their purpose.

At the same time, Rear Admiral John ordered the other warships to be ready for battle at any time, aiming their cannons at the Spanish warships as well.

Naval warfare is different from land warfare; being prepared and not being prepared are two completely different situations. Right now, the British warships were being targeted by Spanish warships; if any accident occurred and the naval battle broke out, the opponent's shells would fall on their side like they were free of charge.

If the British fleet were not prepared, it would be very difficult to effectively target the enemy's warships amidst the enemy's bombardment.

That would lead to a disastrous situation where British warships were being hammered while finding it difficult to hit the Spanish warships. Such a naval battle could never be won, so before the war broke out, the British warships had to be prepared with every possible countermeasure.

On the Spanish fleet's side, the one leading the warships to block the entrance from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Mediterranean was none other than the Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish Mediterranean Fleet, Vice Admiral Roque Alvadrez.

"Your Excellency, the British fleet is signaling to ask our purpose in blocking the Strait of Gibraltar, demanding that we clear a passage so they can enter the Mediterranean." A messenger walked up and reported very respectfully to Vice Admiral Roque Alvadrez.

Vice Admiral Roque Alvadrez nodded and said with an indifferent expression: "Tell these British that the Spanish Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet needs to conduct naval exercises in the Bay of Algeciras, and we have already laid a large area of naval mines, so this sea area is temporarily impassable.

Tell them to wait 24 hours; once our naval exercises are over and these mines are all cleared, we will naturally leave a passage for them.

If they insist on passing through this sea area, then remind them that if they trigger a mine, it has nothing to do with us; it will be their own fault."

What Vice Admiral Roque Alvadrez said was no joke; the Mediterranean Fleet had indeed deployed naval mines in specific areas of these waters.

If this British fleet disregarded the Spanish Navy's warning, they would likely dive straight into the Spanish minefield. Then there would be a show to watch; in any case, the Spanish Navy had already warned these British in advance, and if they insisted on passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain would not bear any responsibility for it.

"Damn it! These Spaniards are clearly making things difficult for us; they have no intention of letting us pass through the Strait of Gibraltar." Upon hearing the report from his messenger, Rear Admiral John immediately understood the purpose of these Spaniards.

Although the other side claimed to be conducting naval exercises, why did they have to choose to exercise exactly when the British Navy was crossing the Strait of Gibraltar?

Besides, Spain did not only have this little bit of coastal area. If they really wanted to conduct exercises, they could have done so in the Atlantic to the west or in the Mediterranean; why did they have to block the Bay of Algeciras between Gibraltar and the Mediterranean?

"Your Excellency, what should we do?" Rear Admiral John's adjutant asked.

For the current British Navy, their options were already very limited. Either they disregard the Spanish Navy's warning and force their way through the Bay of Algeciras.

If the Spanish had really deployed mines in this sea area, and they were unlucky, this British fleet would lose a few warships.

Even if the British Navy accidentally hit a mine in these waters, the Spanish side would have plenty of excuses to shirk their responsibility.

But if they were just blocked in the Strait of Gibraltar by the Spanish Navy, it would also be unacceptable for the British Navy.

The purpose of their trip was to deter Spain; if they were blocked in the Strait of Gibraltar by the Spanish Navy, wouldn't that mean they were the ones being deterred by Spain instead?

If they were really blocked in the Strait of Gibraltar by the Spanish Navy, Rear Admiral John would no longer be fit to be a general, and upon returning to Britain, he would certainly become the biggest scapegoat for this incident.

After pondering for a moment, Rear Admiral John spoke up: "Tell these damned Spaniards that we are carrying out an important military mission.

They must clear a safe passage for us within two hours; they have no right to refuse our passage through the Strait of Gibraltar.

We will rest in place for two hours; if the Spanish cannot clear a path for us within two hours, we will proceed to the Mediterranean on our own.

If any accident happens to our warships during this period, all of it will be the responsibility of Spain for conducting unauthorized military exercises in public waters, do you understand?"

Upon receiving Rear Admiral John's order, the adjutant nodded quickly and relayed the order to the other warships.

Vice Admiral Roque Alvadrez, who eventually received the news, did not care about the British fleet's demands. His main goal was to delay time and keep this British fleet blocked in the Strait of Gibraltar for 24 hours.

If the British were desperate enough to jump over the wall, the two Dreadnought-class battleships ten kilometers away would teach them a lesson. If the British were sensible, blocking the British fleet in the Strait of Gibraltar for a day would also, in turn, make the British lose face.

Upon learning that the Spanish would not clear a path for them as he had demanded, Rear Admiral John's expression changed.