Chapter 437

Time passed quickly for more than two months, and the UK also mobilized a total of nearly 100,000 troops from the mainland and various colonies to Portugal for support.

In order to improve the resistance morale of the Portuguese Republican government and the soldiers of the Republican Party, and also to let these Portuguese people see the strength of the UK, when the first batch of troops supported by the British mainland arrived in Lisbon, the British side did not have any plan to hide the whereabouts of their troops.

Facts have indeed proven to be as the British government expected. The arrival of the British army effectively improved the morale of the Republican Party to resist the Iberian Party's offensive, and also made many Portuguese people think that the war would spread to the outskirts of Lisbon before long.

For most Portuguese people, they don't care about the outcome of this civil war. But whether the civil war will affect the city they are in is something the Portuguese care about very much.

With the blessing of batches of British troops continuously coming to Portugal, the Portuguese Republican army on the front line finally stabilized, at least the military heart was not as chaotic as it was a few days ago.

In the nearly two months that followed, almost every few days, British troops landed in Lisbon and then invested in the fighting on the front line.

These troops come from all over the world; they have white people, black people, and yellow people from Asia. This can be considered a feature of colonization in this era; colonial empires can effectively utilize multiple races within their colonies and arm them all into their own armies.

Of course, the skin color of the army is so chaotic, and the discipline and combat effectiveness of the army naturally cannot be counted on.

If the combat effectiveness of the British mainland standing army can be considered to be at an upper-middle level, then the combat effectiveness of these colonial troops from all over the world can only be said to be barely available.

The only advantage of these colonial troops compared to the Portuguese Republican Party's army is that British officers can execute these indigenous soldiers unscrupulously.

Under the requirements of quite strict supervisory teams, these indigenous soldiers can only charge towards the enemy regardless of their lives. Once they stop their steps, even if they just want to stop and rest for a while, they are likely to be treated as deserters by the supervisory team in the rear.

In this era, compared to European white people, these colonial soldiers have no human rights at all. White soldiers from Canada and Australia can enjoy treatment equivalent to the British mainland army, and they also received winter uniforms issued by the British government in November, providing warmth for them on the battlefield.

In addition to uniforms, the food of these white soldiers is also better than that of soldiers of color from other regions. White soldiers can eat white bread, while soldiers of color can only eat black bread.

In addition to the different treatment of white soldiers and soldiers of color, their situation on the battlefield is also completely different.

Although the overall combat effectiveness of British soldiers is not as good as that of Spanish soldiers, it is no problem to hold the position if they work hard. These indigenous soldiers from various colonies are different; let alone whether they can hold the position, their casualties are extremely huge, and the average daily casualties are as high as nearly 2,000.

A colonial division of more than 10,000 people is invested in the battlefield, and it can completely lose its combat effectiveness in just a few days. This also forces the British side to invest more colonial troops to the front-line battlefield, and only by letting these indigenous soldiers constantly sacrifice themselves can they barely hold the defensive line on the front line.

Although this will lead to indigenous soldiers bearing a large number of casualties, for the British government, as long as the casualties of the mainland army are not large, it is completely acceptable.

The UK is completely not short of indigenous soldiers. Just an Indian colony can provide the UK with millions or even tens of millions of indigenous troops; let alone the daily casualties of only one or two thousand, even if the daily casualties of indigenous people are as high as tens of thousands, it will not hurt the British government's muscles and bones at all.

Don't say, under the defense of the British colonial army regardless of casualties, it did effectively block the Spanish army's offensive.

Although the Spanish army was only a feint to attract the UK's attention, the firepower of the Spanish army on the front line could not be fake. Under the bombardment of such powerful firepower, the British army firmly held Montemor-o-Novo, making the Spanish army unable to push the front line forward by even one kilometer for several days.

Although the number of casualties of the British and Portuguese Republican armies is not small, for them, as long as they can block the Spanish army's offensive, they have already won more than half.

The unfavorable offensive on the front line is bad news for Spain, but it is also good news.

While the UK and the Portuguese Republican government put all their attention on the front-line battlefield, on the outskirts of Ma Deli, the capital of Spain, a heart-stirring pre-war mobilization is taking place.

The soldiers of several divisions participating in the attack on Lisbon have gathered around Ma Deli, and they are about to take a train south to Andalusia, and then take a ship at the port there, and under the protection of the navy, head north to Lisbon, forcibly occupying this city that is extremely important to the Portuguese and the British.

Since it is a forced landing, it also means that this battle will definitely produce a large number of casualties. These troops even have to be prepared for the failure of the landing, and perhaps a considerable number of soldiers will be buried in Lisbon and the surrounding sea areas.

This is an extremely arduous task, and both the Spanish government and the soldiers participating in the mission understand the arduousness of the mission.

For Gao Da, although he can accept the casualties of Spanish soldiers in this war, this does not mean that Gao Da is indifferent to the heroic and fearless sacrifice of these soldiers.

Before these soldiers went south to Andalusia, Gao Da decided to hold a small mobilization ceremony, incidentally letting these heroes who were about to rush to the battlefield understand that no matter what the outcome of this battle, they are all heroes of Spain.

Only the officers of these troops participated in the mobilization ceremony, and ordinary soldiers could not participate. After all, in order to attack Lisbon, Spain mobilized tens of thousands of troops, involving several divisions.

If all these soldiers were allowed to participate in the mobilization ceremony, the scene would be large-scale, and it would be more difficult to keep it secret.

In order to keep the action secret, only these officers were allowed to participate in the mobilization ceremony, and then these officers were asked to convey Gao Da's promise to all the soldiers.

The so-called mobilization ceremony is actually very simple, and Gao Da's speech was also very short.

Gao Da first affirmed the contribution of these soldiers who were about to rush to the battlefield to Spain, and stated that no matter what the outcome of this battle, all soldiers participating in the battle would receive a large reward, and soldiers who died in battle would also receive rewards, and the pension stipulated by the government would be doubled.

Subsequently, Gao Da emphasized the importance of attacking Lisbon to this war. Gao Da promised that if Lisbon could be successfully captured, Gao Da would hold a grand celebration banquet for them in Ma Deli, and personally award medals to officers and soldiers who made outstanding contributions in this landing battle, and grant them titles and rewards.

No one can refuse to let the King personally award them medals, especially for these soldiers loyal to the royal family.

Letting His Majesty the King personally award them medals is a great honor for them, and this honor also overcame the fear of death, making them no longer afraid of this landing battle, but feeling excited and agitated.

Death is indeed terrible, but if one's death can bring a large income to one's family, then what is there to be afraid of?

Moreover, this trip is not a narrow escape. The landing battle will only face huge casualties, but under the premise of Spain dispatching tens of thousands of elite troops, the probability of the landing battle succeeding is still very high.

Coupled with the cooperation of the navy, if Lisbon can be successfully captured, it is a great honor and opportunity for all soldiers and officers participating in this battle.

Not only can they quickly accumulate merit to obtain promotion, but they can also obtain a large batch of rewards including funds, land, and even titles, allowing themselves and their families to achieve class leap.