Chapter 444: The Grand Parade of Cádiz

Most European countries attached considerable importance to this Spanish military parade. First, following this war, Spain's international status and influence had both increased significantly.

Second, in the official reports regarding this grand parade, Spanish authorities mentioned that it would be an unprecedented, large-scale event covering the army, navy, and air force.

European nations were quite curious whether Spain would showcase its mysterious and powerful battleship designs during the parade, and what exactly this unprecedented air force was.

Aside from countries with less-than-friendly relations with Spain, such as the United Kingdom and republican France, most nations sent very prestigious diplomatic delegations to participate in the parade.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy, two countries with relatively good relations with the Spanish royal family, both sent delegations consisting entirely of crown princes and prime ministers.

For the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy, the outcome of this war was an absolute pleasant surprise. Neither Carlo's father-in-law, Emperor Franz Joseph I of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, nor Carlo's nephew, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, had imagined that Spain would win this war so decisively.

Of course, Spain's victory in this war brought them more benefits than drawbacks. Both the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy are Mediterranean coastal nations, and they naturally had needs regarding passage through the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal.

Compared to the Strait of Gibraltar being controlled by the United Kingdom, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy were clearly more accepting of the strait being recaptured by Spain.

After all, relying on the friendly relations between the two countries and Spain, warships and merchant vessels could still manage to enter and exit the Strait of Gibraltar freely.

Kings and emperors of major powers generally do not travel in person, and kings of smaller nations lacked the status to be received by Carlo personally, which left Carlo as the most relaxed person before the parade ceremony.

Aside from practicing horseback riding to prevent any accidents on the day of the parade, Carlo had nothing else to do.

For Carlo, he quite enjoyed this leisure. Important matters of receiving various countries were handled by the government and the crown prince; this was one of the few times Carlo had been completely free since becoming the King of Spain.

Time always passes quickly. One day after the dignitaries from various countries gathered in Spain, on January 31, 1905, Spain's grand military parade officially took place at the port of Cádiz in Andalusia.

The Spanish public's attention toward this parade was unprecedented, which led to a large number of people arriving from all over Spain the day before the parade, all to ensure they could clearly witness the grand spectacle on the day of the event.

Outside the parade grounds designated by the Spanish government, a large number of Spanish citizens gathered. Some even brought tents and food to stay overnight a day in advance just to secure a better spot.

As more and more people gathered outside the parade grounds, the government mobilized a large number of police from various provinces to maintain order at the port of Cádiz.

This was no laughing matter. At least tens of thousands of people were gathered around the parade grounds, and the number would only increase as time went on.

According to current trends, on the day of the parade, at least over one hundred thousand people would personally arrive around the port of Cádiz. The more people who came to watch the parade, the greater the possibility of various accidents occurring.

To prevent such accidents, sending additional police was necessary. The police force around the port of Cádiz increased from the initial few hundred to nearly a thousand, and a steady stream of police continued to arrive.

Facts proved that the government's action of mobilizing police from various provinces to maintain order had a very good effect.

Although tens of thousands of people were gathered around the port of Cádiz, under the order maintained by over a thousand police officers, the situation around the port remained relatively stable.

The government also blocked the road from San Fernando to the port of Cádiz; apart from government and military vehicles, only the vehicles carrying guests from various countries could travel to the port of Cádiz via this route.

All remaining citizens could only travel on foot and had to undergo inspections at checkpoints. The purpose of establishing these checkpoints was to prevent individuals with ulterior motives from carrying weapons to the parade site.

The parade site contained a large number of dignitaries from various countries; if any unexpected incident were to occur, it would be a huge trouble for the Spanish government.

For the sake of safety, most soldiers participating in the parade were not equipped with ammunition. Aside from Carlo's Royal Guard, the only soldiers on site carrying real guns and live ammunition were those from the 1st Infantry Company, 1st Infantry Battalion, 1st Guards Division of the Royal Guard, who were the first to be inspected.

If the Guards Division was Carlo's trusted force, then the 1st Company of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Infantry Regiment of the Guards Division was the most trusted among the trusted forces.

As the earliest established unit in the Guards Division, this entire company of soldiers was hand-picked from the entire division; they were extremely reliable in both military proficiency and loyalty to the royal family.

This was the only unit among all the troops participating in the parade equipped with real guns and live ammunition, and this was also to prevent any accidents from occurring at the parade site.

In addition to dignitaries from various countries and a large number of Spanish citizens, gathered around the parade grounds were newspaper media and reporters from European countries and even the whole world.

Except for a small number of internationally renowned newspaper media, most other newspaper reporters were only allowed to film from the periphery, as the venue could not accommodate so many reporters.

Although they could only film from the periphery, these less-known reporters dared not have the slightest complaint. After all, Spain's grand military parade had become a hot topic in Europe and even the world; if they could not capture a few valuable photos, their newspapers would miss the opportunity for this big scoop.

Under the expectant gazes of nearly one hundred thousand people, as the time reached 8: 0 AM on January 31, Spain's grand military parade was officially announced to begin.

The motorcade carrying the King of Spain, Carlo, the Prime Minister of Spain, Orcajo, members of the Spanish royal family, and a host of European dignitaries and royal members slowly drove toward the reviewing stand.

Upon reaching the reviewing stand, the dignitaries from various countries took their seats below, while Carlo, the Spanish Prime Minister, and Prince Juan Fernando walked up to the reviewing stand.

This parade was hosted by Prime Minister Orcajo himself, while Minister of Defense Choti served as the commander-in-chief of the parade.

Following a speech by Prime Minister Orcajo, the grand parade was officially declared open.

The first event was the flag-raising ceremony. For this parade, Minister of Defense Choti had specifically formed a national flag honor guard. Escorted by the honor guard, a brand-new Spanish national flag rose into the air as the national anthem, the Royal March, was played, followed immediately by the cheers and applause of a large number of Spaniards.

As the Spanish national flag slowly rose, the most important part of the parade celebration, the grand military parade, officially began.

After the parade segment started, the scene fell into a silence lasting less than a minute.

From the road where the crowd was craning their necks to see, there suddenly came the rhythmic thumping sound of leather boots hitting the ground.

With the arrival of this sound, the vast majority of people at the scene turned their eyes toward the end of the road.

The leading national flag honor guard held the Spanish national flag and the royal standard high to lead the way, followed by the first unit to be inspected, the 1st Infantry Company of the Royal Guard.

When passing the reviewing stand, the leading commander shouted, "Salute!" Except for the soldiers in the rightmost column, all other soldiers turned their respectful and fanatical gazes toward the reviewing stand.

The soldiers' hands were not idle either; they quickly performed a three-stage rifle salute, shifting the rifles they had been carrying on their shoulders into a posture of holding them tightly with both hands, slanted forward.

When this set of eye-catching movements was displayed, whether it was the citizens outside the venue or the high-ranking officials of various European countries sitting below the reviewing stand, their eyes could not help but be drawn to the soldiers on the field.

This set of movements was simply too dashing; even though Carlo had seen these movements many times, he still could not help but praise in his heart, "Truly dashing."

Only three companies of the Guards Division participated in the parade; after the infantry company passed, it was the turn of the cavalry company and the artillery company to make their appearance.

The cavalry company's appearance was just as dashing as the infantry company's. All soldiers rode on chestnut horses, and what they held in their hands were not rifles, but military sabers over a meter long.

The artillery company no longer transported their cannons via horse-drawn carriages; instead, they used automobiles to tow the cannons. This method of transport also caught the eyes of high-ranking military officials from various countries, as automobiles were much faster than horse-drawn carriages.

Originally, the high-ranking European officials thought the leading Guards Division was already quite shocking, but they did not expect that the subsequent performance of other Royal Army units would be just as impressive.