Empire Rising: Spain

Chapter 38: Chapter 37: The Overconfident Carlos

Prim is indeed the anchor of Spain.

With Prim around, the Spanish Army naturally wouldn’t face the risk of division. United, the Spanish Army harbored a strong desire to fight against the Carlist rebels.

On February 17, 1870, the Spanish Army led by Prim encountered the Basque Rebel Army in the La Rioja Region, and intense firefighting immediately ensued between the two sides.

Although the Spanish Army still had many shortcomings compared to the Franco-Prussian Army, when facing the Basque rebels with inferior numbers and equipment, it was like a father disciplining his son, leaving one speechless.

The Basques might have gathered thousands of muskets, but they simply couldn’t muster even double-digit artillery.

Counting on linear infantry tactics to defeat the abundantly cannon-equipped Spanish Army was as hopeless as hoping the Spanish Army would just surrender.

But Spain is not Italy, much less France; they don’t have that kind of tradition of surrendering.

After a round of bombing from Italian cannons (cannons made in Italy), the Basques instantly became obedient.

This is the greatest difference between a regular army and a militia hastily formed by civilians, which is discipline and morale.

As long as someone panicked and started to flee, it dealt a heavy blow to the Basque army.

The feeling of panic spread through the Basque army like a plague, soon affecting the entire army’s morale.

For a temporary army composed entirely of civilians, once the morale dispersed, the army fell apart as well.

The subsequent scene was predictable; after suffering casualties of several hundred people, this Basque Rebel Army straightforwardly chose to surrender.

Although this wasn’t the entirety of the Basque Rebel Army, it was undoubtedly a harsh blow to the Basque separatists.

The Basque army, painstakingly assembled by them, couldn’t hold out even a day in front of the Spanish Army, collapsing completely in just an hour and a half.

Among this, artillery deployment took up more than half an hour, and the actual combat time between the two armies wasn’t even an hour.

By the time the news that the Basque vanguard had been successfully annihilated by Spain reached the Carlist side, it was already February 18, a day later.

Even though Carlos VII was slightly surprised by the speed of the Basque army’s collapse, he certainly wouldn’t lament the Basque losses.

Far from lamenting, Carlos VII was even a bit excited at this moment.

Because he self-assumed he found an opportunity to defeat the Spanish Army, identifying a chance to flank and encircle them perfectly.

Why did Carlos VII think this way?

Because the place where the Spanish Army and the Basques encountered each other is located in La Rioja, which is south of the Basque and Navarre regions.

Meanwhile, the Carlist rebels had already successfully moved westward from Catalonia into Aragon, situated southeast of the Spanish main forces.

If the Carlist troops could pass through Aragon into the south of La Rioja, they could join forces with the Basque army in the north of La Rioja to encircle the Spanish Army.

No matter how strong the Spanish Army’s combat capability is, if they’re surrounded from both sides, they are destined not to escape the grasp of the Carlist faction.

Carlos VII took a map and silently mulled over his plan several times in his mind, eventually feeling it was an opportunity he could not miss.

Several high-ranking officials in the Catalan army also concurred with Carlos VII, which filled him with confidence, dismissing the alleged military talents of Prim touted by the Catalans as mediocre.

On February 18, the Carlist rebels marched toward Zaragoza in the Aragon region.

Zaragoza is centrally located in Aragon; advancing would enable them to encircle the Spanish Army in La Rioja, while retreating would provide the first defense line to protect Catalonia’s safety.

This is also one of the reasons for Carlos VII’s confidence, believing his plan to be perfect, considering both the success and failure of encircling and having corresponding solutions for both.

The problems Carlos VII could see, would Prim be oblivious to them?

Of course not.

In fact, after entering the Castilla y León region south of La Rioja, the Spanish main army led by Prim immediately split into two to deal with the Basque and Catalan rebels.

Prim’s plan was to eliminate the Basques first, and then proceed through Navarre and northern Aragon straight into Catalonia, completely quelling the rebellion.

He led the main force of the Spanish Army, about thirty thousand men, northward to La Rioja, eventually encountering the Basque army.

The other smaller contingent, with just about ten thousand soldiers, carried several dozen cannons, intending to establish a defensive line in Aragon before Prim dealt with the Basques, to prevent the Catalonian rebels from seizing the opportunity to enter Castilla-La Mancha from Aragon and Valencia, threatening the heart of Spain, Madrid.

It’s the same reason; because Zaragoza is centrally located in Aragon, it is very important either for offense or defense.

The branch of the army tasked with defending against the Catalonian rebels also prioritized the defense at Zaragoza, and set up the artillery positions the moment they arrived.

So, it seems Carlos VII did indeed have some military insight.

But tragically, Carlos VII never contemplated that Prim had divided his forces in advance; he mistakenly thought the entire Spanish main forces were all in La Rioja.

When the Carlist rebels painstakingly arrived at Zaragoza, what greeted them were ten thousand well-prepared Spanish soldiers and dozens of cannons.

The Carlist rebels did have artillery.

But their artillery were antiques from decades ago, lagging far behind the Spanish Army’s newly acquired advanced cannons in terms of firing rate, range, and accuracy.

The difference was quite apparent in the artillery duel, and the soldiers’ experiences were worlds apart.

The Spanish Army could calmly cope with enemy artillery bombardment, as the enemy lagged far behind in both artillery number and advancement.

However, it was not a pleasant experience for the Carlist rebels.

Even Catalonian separatists found the sight of someone being blasted into pieces before their eyes to be an absolute visual shock.

Just one glimpse could lead the Catalonian separatists to seriously reevaluate their stance.

And for those civilians brainwashed into the rebel army, the brutal scenes of war presented an immense spiritual shock.

Ordinary people had never seen such scenes; much less, it currently seemed more like a one-way bombardment they were enduring.