Spanish-Portuguese War 1910

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Okay people, here is the spanish-portuguese war thread, finally being moved over from the old board.

A recap:

This thread is a continuation of my "Spain annexes Portugal in the early 1900s" thread:
https://www.alternatehistory.com/Discussion/messages/4/3599.html?1061543469
I will now post the Spanish-Portuguese War to date:


October 4, 1910- The military takes control in Portugal and Dom Manuel II is forced into exile in Brazil.
In Madrid, Dom Alfonso XIII looks on with interest and suspicion...

October 5, 1910- Portugal is declared a Republic. Immediate support for the Republic is not extended by Britain, though this support is expected shortly.
In Madrid, D. Alfonso XIII is not at all pleased with the revolution in the old rival, Portugal. He certainly does not want to lose his Kingdom to revolution and the fact that France seems willing to extend support rather quickly to the new Republic of Portugal does nothing to allay his worries. Some of his advisers however, point to a "golden opportunity" ,in their words, to bring back some of Spain's glory which has been all but lost since the defeat of 1898. Alfonso remembers that defeat all too well, which had occurred under his mother, the regent. Being young, at 24 and prone like most men between 14 and 30 to adventurous ideas (not to mention gambling), Alfonso begins to look into the possibilty of intervening in Portugal. His advisers could assure him that in such a military venture, Spain would most certainly not have to face the United States. Also they argued that most if not all European monarchies would welcome the crushing of this new republic as they would see republics as a threat. They said, only France would possibly oppose this, and even then the French themselves were more concerned with Germany than with the quiet, isolated Iberian corner of Europe. Alfonso begins to like the idea and now seriously considers invading Portugal.

October 7, 1910- With the approval of the rest of the Spanish government, D. Alfonso XIII officially condemns the revolution in Portugal and insists upon the reinstatment of D. Manuel II. D. Alfonso also condemned the regicide of Dom Carlos two years earlier and said that "the murder of one King and overthrow of his successor were despicable, interconnected acts conducted by barbarous thugs." In Spain, the milirary began to plan for an operation involving up to 160,000 Spanish troops and began to search for Portuguese monarchists who could be used in support of an invading Spanish army (of course the Portuguese did not rush to fill this role, but a small amount were found). The Spanish high command also initiated contact with the German High Command to try and get the Germans to bring about a bit of reform in the Spanish military. This met with a bit of success as within a few days the Germans decided to send some "observers" to oversee small reforms throughout the Army. Germany did this as it saw an advantage in creating links with Spain to France's rear and thus doing to France what France seemed to be doing to Germany with the new Triple Entente.

October 11, 1910- German observers arrive and begin to teach their Spanish officer counterparts some new combat tactics and disicplinary procedures which are carried out with renewed intensive training.
In Lisboa (Lisbon) the new republican government begins to show some concern over recent Spanish behaviour, but still doubts that Spain will actually try anything funny.

October 22, 1910- The new German tactics begin to show fruit in the Spanish Army during its operations to pacify the Rif and in controlling some small riots in Barcelona and a small Basque revolt. This only adds to Spanish confidence. The fact that Britain has not actually recognised the Portuguese Republic as yet, gives Spain even more hope.
In Lisbon, the new government begins to take precautions against Spain and starts setting up small scale defences throughout the country and begins to make plans to defend Lisbon (a "theoretical exercise" of course).

October 25, 1910- Alfonso and his government, now begin to search for ways to ensure that Britain will not intervene on Portugal's side. A German hint that the Kaiser would not be opposed to "receiving" some Portuguese colonies, gives them the idea of offering Germany and Britain the Portuguese African colonies in return for not opposing (or supporting) a Spanish attempt to restore D. Manuel II as a constitutional monarch. The Spanish minister in London suggests all this, as just theoretical small talk of course (using a lot of "ifs") and doesn't get an entirely negative or hostile reply, but the Portuguese minister Gomes has been working much harder and his offer that Britain alone would have access and privilegies over the other countries to the Portuguese colonies, seemed much more enticing.

October 27, 1910- Figuring that as time went on British support for the Portuguese offer and for the Portuguese Republic would only increase, D. Alfonso XIII orders that the restoration of the Portuguese Kingdom begin. Spanish soldiers cross the border the same day and the Spanish Navy sets sail to establish a blockade of Portugal and land soldiers along the coast. By the end of the day, the area of Portugal east of the Guadiana and a number of towns on the south coast from Tavira halfway to Portimao were under Spanish control. In the north, Viana do Castelo, Braga and Braganca were under Spanish occupation. Spanish troops had also taken Portalegre and Elvas and were outside Guarda in the central area of the Spanish-Portuguese border.
The Portuguese fought back bravely and fiercely and in many areas under nominal Spanish control, there was a fair amount of resistance in the urban areas. This held up the Spanish advance and aided the Portuguese Army in its fight against the invaders.

October 28, 1910- D. Alfonso XIII announced that the invasion of Portugal was to "free the country from an unstable republican government and restore the fair and benign monarchy." In Berlin, the Kaiser did not condemn the Spanish action and urged other European governments to work together to resolve the matter diplomatically (i.e. not to get involved directly). France condemned Spain and Russia said while, it thought the Spanish action rather rash and hasty, would not immediately take up a position on the matter. Italy adopted a similar attitude to Germany as did Austria-Hungary.
Britain said it was opposed to the Spanish move, but that it would work for a diplomatic solution (for now).
Meanwhile in Portugal the Spaniards had advanced again, but not much farther than on the first day. They managed to get soldiers into Macedo de Cavaleiros and Guarda and landed soldiers outside Portimao, Oporto and Figueira de Foz. The Spanish Navy also blockaded Lisboa, but this blockade was broken twice in the day, by the Portuguese Navy. By now the Spanish had decided to up the number of soldiers they planned to send to Portugal to 190,000. In the Spanish occupied areas, the Spaniards flew both the Portuguese royal flag (as well as the Spanish flag at times) and in some towns put Portuguese royalists in control.

Ocotber 30, 1910- The Spanish-Portuguese War was by now in into its 4th day and the Spaniards had swept through (or ploughed slowly due to Portuguese resistance) most of Portugal north of the Douro river and the only major town north of the river which did not have any Spaniards in it was Oporto (which was under siege). Figueira da Foz had been captured though with heavy casualties on both sides and all of the Portuguese south coast from the Cape of St. Vincent to the Spanish border was technically under Spanish control. The Spaniards were now outside Evora and Almodovar and had captured Beja. As the Spaniards advanced, Portuguese resistance stiffened and the portrayal of the Portuguese in British newspapers increased support for the Portuguese. The British began sending arms supplies to the Portuguese by October 31st and were allowing volunteers to go to Portugal. France also sent materiel to the republicans, while the Germans sold supplies to the Spanish.

November 1, 1910- The rate of advance being much slower than expected, D. Alfonso begins to pressure his Army to capture Lisboa for him, seeing this city as an all important prize. With Lisboa under royalist Portuguese and Spanish control, Spain would then have placed a new government in the Portuguese capital, strengthening its case and allowing for a smoother deal with regards to getting the British to cease support and accept the Spanish proposal about the Portuguese colonies. By November 1 Oporto had been surrounded but not captured, while two main Spanish thrusts from Evora and Portalegre had been set in motion to capture Lisbon.

November 4, 1910- The Spanish had finally reached the edge of the towns of Sines and Grandola and had captured Lamego. However a Portuguese counter-attack had freed Covilha and threatened to free Guarda. Meanwhile the Spanish blockade of Lisbon had been broken yet again and the Spanish did not try to re-form the blockade, but attempted to engage the Portuguese Navy........


and a continuation:

November 7, 1910- In Lisboa, the Portuguese President and PM, Teofilo Braga is beginning to get worried. The Spaniards have now seized Abrantes, north of the Tejo River (known to the Spanish as the Tajo River and known to the Romans and us as the Tagus River). From Abrantes, the Spanish moved on down the river to Santarem and are now a few miles outside Villa Franca, which itself is approximately 20-25 miles from Lisboa. The Spanish have also now cut off the town of Torres Vedras and have isolated the Portuguese around Lisbon/Lisboa. To the southeast, the Spanish moving from Evora have captured Setubal and are aiming for Almada, just across the bay from Lisbon. At Setubal, meanwhile, fresh Spanish soldiers are being landed to support the new seige of Lisbon and to aid in quickening the capitulation of that city. A glimmer of hope had come a couple days before when Brazil announced its firm support for the Republic of Portugal and even offered to send soldiers to aid the new republic. Such aid though seemed a long way off and Braga and his government now seriously debate options that were unthinkable before, such as offering Britain some of Portugal's colonies in return for British entry on the Portuguese side. Another option being debated is trying to bring the King back, but before the Spanish try to force their way into Lisbon and thus, maybe, pull the rug from under D. Alfonso XIII's feet. As the King would have returned then the entire reason for the Spanish adventure would have evaporated and Spain would have to bring her soldiers home or face European-wide anger. This option though, was not supported by many.
In Madrid, D. Alfonso XIII now begins to consult with his advisers on how best to retrieve D. Manuel II from London. D. Manuel II would have been a great assest if he had been captured before he reached London, or better yet Gibraltar which was before the Spanish went into Portugal. D. Alfonso decides that it may be best if he either persuade or trick D. Manuel into coming within the grasps of the Spanish soldiers....
Off the Gulf of Guinea, a Spanish task force, comprised of soldiers from the homeland and from the Canary Islands, Ifni, Spanish Morocco and Spanish Sahara, is slowly making its way to Bioko island (owned by Spain as part of Spanish Guinea) to refuel, restock and pick up a force of Spaniards from the colony. This task force has the job of seizing Portuguese West Africa from the Portuguese republicans and thus allowing Spain to back up her secret offers of the Portuguese colonies to the Germans and British. They are expected to Luanda by November 15.

November 8, 1910- Off coasts where the borders of Spanish and French Morocco meet, a small naval skirmish between Spanish and French vessels occurs, and causing D. Alfonso to actually pause and wonder whether his bid at an Empire renewed might get out of control.
In London, Ambassador Gomes has now become a familiar face to many diplomats and he now begins to give interviews to the Times and other newspapers regularly. The stories published in British newspapers about the suffering of the Portuguese in the Lisbon region begins to stir anti-Spanish sentiment and a number of newspaper editorials begin to talk about "the old alliance" and "our trusted friend, Portugal" and to look upon the years 1809 to 1814 and cite British aide to Portugal then (noting especially that 100 years after 1810, Portugal faces a similar situation and should be helped now as it was then). The government, however, has no wish to enter the war yet, but repeatedly warns Spain that her troops have become more destructive as of late and that such actions may force Britain to react.
In Berlin, the Portuguese Ambassador, Pais, is busy trying to get the Germans to support Portugal and drop Spain. He gets some support from some German officials, but others see too much potential in the ongoing war to want to stop it altogether. After all, Germany may gain new colonies, as well as a potential ally to France's rear. It is for this reason why France has not gotten more involved yet (wish to preserve the new Entente Cordiale with Britain and Russia).

November 9, 1910- In London, D. Manuel begins to have ideas of returning to Portugal, not as a King, but to fight the Spanish. He was somewhat tempted at first by D. Alfonso XIII's supposed public offer to restore his throne, though the plight of the Portuguese around Lisboa began to turn him off the idea. Now he has received a letter from D. Alfonso, basically asking him to come down to Portugal and Spain and to help "broker a deal". He wondered what kind of deal could be made between Portuguese republicans and Spanish monarchists, but he decided to look into it further if it had a chance to end this 2 week long war before Lisboa was reduced to ruin. Looking at the day's newspaper, he saw the headline about the Spanish taking Almada and Mafra and being within 7 miles of Lisboa.......

November 12, 1910- ex-King D. Manuel II is bound on a ship for the besieged Portuguese port of Oporto, which is where Alphonso XIII had requested his arrival. Before leaving he had informed his British hosts of his intentions and though they warned him of the dangers of entering a war-zone, they wished him well nonetheless. About 5 miles off the coast, his British escort ships held back as they were under strict orders, for now, not to do anything that might get Britain accidentally drawn into this war, including approaching within 5 miles of Portugal's coast. Half-a-mile out of port, some Spanish ships intercepted D. Manuel II's vessel and instructed it to call at the Spanish-held port of Matozinhos (giving the excuse that Oporto's port had been damaged in the siege and that Oporto was not safe anyway). Once Manuel II had landed in Matozinhos he was escorted to a representative of Alphonso XIII who offered him the chance of the restoration of the kingdom of Portugal (while indicating that Alphonso XIII's Spain would have a "special relationship" with Portugal thereafter). The Spaniard also indicated to Manuel II that in such a dangerous area as this, his ex-majesty (who could soon be restored) could quite easily loose his life from such things as artillery fragments and stray bullets.....
In London meanwhile, Gomes had offered the British government Braga's next deal (which went just short of bargaining away the Portuguese empire- that would be the deal if this one fell on deaf ears.. ). The deal was that the Portuguese republic would grant Britain the exclusive right of freedom of trade with and transit (including British military forces) through all Portuguese colonies. The Royal Navy was also free to use all Portuguese coaling stations and had the right to build new joint British-Portuguese coaling stations and other naval bases in any Portuguese colony. The British Army could also build and maintain joint British-Portuguese bases in any Portuguese colony (subject to Portuguese approval). And to sweeten the deal, the Portuguese were willing to turn their colony of Goa (and Diu) into a joint British-Portuguese colony, meaning that both the Portuguese and the British Raj would appoint commissioners for the territory.

November 15, 1910- In Luanda, the Spanish task force finally arrives and battles the Portuguese defenders for control of the capital and, hopefully, the entire colony. The Portuguese do not surrender, but evacuate Luanda to the Spanish and re-camp a few miles to the southeast. Thus the Spanish only control Luanda and nothing else and the Portuguese have some amount of control over everything else.
In Portugal the Spanish finally enter Lisbon, where some neighbourhoods were completely ruined, and in the now slightly worse-for-wear royal palace, present D. Manuel II and proclaim, the Second Kingdom of Portugal. The republican government had moved to Leiria and from there denounced the Spanish proclamation and stated that D. Manuel II was under duress.
In Britain, public opinion had now swung greatly in favour of the Portuguese, and many in the British government also knew that D. Manuel II was under duress and had not had any intention of returning as King when he left London. The government now came out, and told Spain that her actions with regards to the taking D. Manuel II into captivity and the current conduct of her war in Portugal would lead to British intervention within days on behalf of the Republic of Portugal unless D. Manuel II was released, Spanish forces ceased hostilities and began to retreat by between 0.5 and 1 mile from all Portuguese republican positions thus allowing peace negotiations to begin......

November 17, 1910- In Portuguese West Africa, the tiny province of Cabinda had been totally pacified by a Spanish force as had Luanda. The Spaniards however were having no luck defeating the Portuguese and instead seemed to chase them all over the northwestern area of the colony. Everytime the Spanish pursued, the Portuguese retreated while conducting limited attacks until the Spaniards were too exhausted to continue.

November 20, 1910- In Madrid, some MPs and ministers were becoming worried by what Britain might do. They began to call for Spain to at least start a dialogue with the British to stave off an Anglo-Spanish conflict. Most of the Spanish government officials however, were content to wait and see what Britain would really do. Thus far, the Spaniards had succeeded in at least keeping up the facade that they were restoring a monarchy and not annexing a country. With the new Portuguese monarchist government in Lisboa, the Spanish were counting on support from the rest of Europe swinging into their favour. Also, at that moment Spanish troops and Portuguese monarchist soldiers were approaching Leiria and the Portuguese republican government was preparing to move to Coimbra....

November 21, 1910- In Portugal, more and more of the country was falling under Spanish control. By now the Spanish also had control over Madeira, some of the Azores, Cabinda, Luanda and some of the surronding towns and villages. In Portuguese West Africa, the endless game of cat and mouse continues with the Spanish task force being no closer to defeating the Portuguese than on the day they landed...
In Britain, men were being armed, ships provisioned and other preparations being made in expectation of the declaration of war on Spain. The British expeditionary force being sent to Portugal was not exactly large, at around 50,000, but other soldiers were to be sent to theatres as yet unopened.....

November 22, 1910- Oporto/Porto finally fell to the Spanish-Portuguese forces. Leading the Portuguese monarchists was one Paiva Couceiro, who upon entering the city triumphantly, declared a curfew and made for Lisboa. Couceiro was one of the leading members of the new puppet Portuguese monarchist government and he was on the fast track to becoming commander of all Portuguese monarchist land forces. In Lisboa, he and his Portuguese-Spanish staff would draw up plans to break the republicans once and for all by seizing Coimbra, Leiria and Peniche.....
 
November 24, 1910- In London, the British government finally made its long-awaited declaration of war on Spain, stating: "due to the failure of the Spanish government to accept the British ultimatum, Britain and Spain are at war." In Portugal, the news was greeted with elation, as at last there seemed to be hope for their ancient nation. From Bristol, Plymouthe, Portsmouth and Cork. Royal Navy ships set forth for Iberian waters....
In Madrid, the news of the British declaration was greeted with dread, as some Spanish officials cited that within 12 years of the Spanish-American War, Spain was now engaged in an Anglo-Spanish War which could be similarly devastating. Now that Britain was at war, though, there was nothing to be done except to see it through....

November 27, 1910- At Peniche, the BEF disembarked and was greeted by cheering crowds. For Britain, this was the first time they had fielded any forces on the continent for nearly half-a-century (and even then it was on the other end of the continent in the Crimea, the last time British soldiers were on the continent west of the Rhine was nearly 100 years earlier). The BEF's first task was to aid in the defence of Peniche and Leiria and with this in mind, a small force was left behind at Peniche, while most of the BEF went to Leiria to help repel the Spanish.
In Paris, the French government threw its full moral support behind Britain and Portugal, stating that Britain's ultimatum and resulting declaration were fair and just.
In Berlin, the Kaiser was rather dismayed that Britain had entered the war, since that could mean Spain's defeat and thus Germany could not gain Portuguese colonies in any post bellum treaty with Spain and her Portuguese puppet. Some of the Kaiser's military staff actually called for Germany to enter the war against Britain. However, cooler heads prevailed, pointing out that without a direct connexion to Iberia, then Germany would have to ferry troops there and these transports would become prey to the Royal Navy before they had to face British and Portuguese guns. The High Seas Fleet could protect the transports, but the Admirals were not willing to squander any of their expensive ships in a war against Britain (which had no beef with Germany) in support of a country that was not even allied to Germany. All of the German commanders essentially agreed that more observers needed to be sent to Iberia to learn from this war, but it was decided ultimately by the Kaiser that Germany would remain "neutral" (though it would continue to send support to Spain).

November 28, 1910- Around Leiria, the Spanish, Portuguese and British finally committed to battle. Joining them were the French volunteers who had now been organised into a "French Volunteer Battalion" and a "French Volunteer Legion". The anti-Spanish forces were also expecting a contingent of Brazilian soldiers by early December. The Spanish and monarchist Portuguese were being routed and had retreated by 2 miles before they began digging in and building trenches. From their entrenched positions, they held off the "Allied" (for lack of a better word) forces for 2 days. This defensive technique by the Spanish at Leiria was to be quickly adopted by the rest of the Spanish forces in Portugal as new counter-attacks and defensive measures were being planned.....
Meanwhile, more British soldiers had landed in Gibraltar to reinforce the colony and protect it from an expected Spanish assault. Docked at Gibraltar were Royal Navy ships (and their crews and transported soldiers) bound for a destination yet further east. For now they were stocking up on supplies and checking over equipment and assault plans...

November 30, 1910- In the early hours of the morning, a Spanish company got into a firefight with British soldiers on the Spanish-Gibraltarian border. The British commanders in Gibraltar thought this might be the expected Spanish assault on the colony and immediately ordered that their defensive plans be put into action (plans that had been made and revamped ever since war broke out in Iberia). By mid-day British battalions had been massed near the border and were preparing to cross it...
In Portugal The "Allied" forces were continuing to push the Spanish back. Allied soldiers were now within sight of the small town of Tomar, beyond which lay the Tejo/Tagus river. By now Leiria was totally safe, unless the Spanish garrison at Figueira da Foz somehow managed to break out. To prevent this a force of mainly Portuguese republican soldiers with a smattering of British soldiers and French volunteers, decided to free that city from the Spanish and renewed the siege on the Spaniards...

December 2, 1910- In Gibraltar, the British could sleep easy for now. The British soldiers had crossed the border and had battled the Spanish for the town of La Linea de la Concepcion and had expelled the defenders by December 1st. Now the British were pressing on to San Roque and the Royal Navy was bombarding Algeciras and Tarifa to weaken the Spanish defences there.
In the Atlantic the Royal Navy, had its customary writ and was having a fair time of destroying any Spanish naval vessels that engaged the British or Portuguese navies. There were now hardly any Spanish ships to be sighted near the coast of Portugal and most of those ships were remaining close to the naval base of Cadiz.
In northern Spain, the Spanish Armada was fairing much worse than their brethren in the Mediterranean and off south-west Spain (for now). The Royal Navy had carried out an extensive and intense campaign on all Spanish naval bases along the north coast. Port cities like La Coruna, Vigo, Gijon and San Sebastian had had their port facilities destroyed and their harbours blocked by Spanish naval ships sunk in port by the British.
In Portugal the Portuguese managed to re-take Figueira da Foz from the Spanish and now Allied troops were moving onto Torres Vedras (south of Peniche and in the direction of Lisboa). Around Tomar the Spanish had dug in and prepared adequate defences and managed to hold off the attacking Allies for 3 full days before moving to the immediate south of the town and digging in again.

December 5, 1910- In Madrid D. Alfonso XIII had regained some of the waning support of his government when the British had invaded Spain in the south. There was still a very vocal opposition in government however, that now almost demanded that Spain seek peace. This opposition still did not have a majority though, so their calls went mostly unheeded.
In Portugal, things were definitely not going Spain's way. Tomar had been lost, as had been Torres Vedras and Santarem. The Allies were now on the banks of the Tejo and Entroncamento (to Tomar's southwest) looked like it might fall to the Allies within days. A purely republican Portuguese offensive had liberated Guarda and was moving onto Pinhel, just south of the Douro River.
Worse yet was to come for Spain, as by mid-morning Royal Navy ships, laden with soldiers, crew and supplies set out from Gibraltar. Some went west and others east. Those that went west were bombarding Cadiz before the end of the day and had landed a British force on the peninsula (of Cadiz). There was fierce fighting as the Spanish defenders attempted to push the British back into the sea (and they nearly succeeded too), but the support of the Royal Navy saw the British Army through to victory when the British soldiers managed to make it across the peninsula and cut off Cadiz from the rest of Spain. British soldiers were also landed at Faro, Portimao and Vila Real de Santo Antonio in Portugal. Of the 3 attempted landings, only the Faro and Portimao landings were successful and established an Allied beach-head on the Portuguese south coast. From Faro and Portimao, more British, Portuguese and eventually Brazilian soldiers would disembark and begin to push the Spanish out of south Portugal.
The Royal Navy ships that went east would reach their destination by the evening: the eastern most Balearic Island of Menorca. The RN ships engaged and defeated the Spanish ships defending the islands (and the Spaniards defended bravely, almost taking out half as many British ships as the Spaniards had lost)......

December 6, 1910- In the very early hours of the morning British soldiers were landed outside of the main city of Mahon on Menorca. Some Britons were landed on the north coast as well. Spanish resistance was only encountered in Mahon itself and by the end of the day, Menorca had been pacified and the Union Jack flew over Mahon. In Mahon harbour (which had not been destroyed by the British, but had been damaged by the fighting) the RN ships set port and made repairs. From Menorca, the British now had a base from which to attack most of the Spanish coast and could now control almost all Spanish shipping in the western Mediterranean.
In Portugal, Entrocamento had been liberated by the Allies, as had Vila Franca de Xira. British and Portuguese soldiers were making fast progress from Faro, through Loule and towards the republican held pocket of Aljustrel-Beja-Viana de Alentejo (the 3 major towns in the pocket). From Portimao the British and Portuguese were besieging Lagos, around which the Spanish defenders had constructed some rather well built earthern works and trenches. The Allies had also pushed south across the Tejo and were moving towards Portalegre, but were held up within a few miles of the city by Spanish earthen defences.
In Peniche and Portimao, the first Brazilian soldiers were disembarking to cheering Portuguese crowds. The Brazilians were sending a rather limited number: around 9,000 (with 5,000 at Peniche and 4,000 at Portimao), but their contribution was well appreciated.
In southern Spain, the British had taken San Roque and were now outside Algeciras where the Spanish were putting up some extremely stiff resistance. Cadiz was still in Spanish hands, but was now little better than an island cut off totally from Spain......

December 8, 1910- In Iberia, a stalemate seemed to be occurring as Spanish commanders began to try out innovative defensive methods against the Allies. In Cadiz the Spanish refused to surrender even though they were under siege. The city was quickly becoming a source of inspiration for Spaniards everywhere. In Portugal, the Spanish still controlled the "Lisbon Pocket" as the area came to be called and were successful at repulsing limited Allied offensives into the Pocket. In eastern Portugal, the Allies were battling the Spanish and royalists in the town of Castello da Vida, a few miles to the north of Portalegre. The Allies had managed to capture about 20% of the village on this day, but the Spanish and royalists put up a stiff defence of the town and the Allies were stopped cold.
Out in the Atlantic, Spanish naval commanders who obeyed orders to engage the Royal Navy mostly found themselves without ships sooner or later. Some of the admirals were a bit more prudent and interpretted their orders rather liberally. Some stayed in port, others sailed whilst not flying the Spanish jack, still others began acting as raiders, attacking Royal Navy ships when they were almost 100% sure that they would not lose. So while the British assumed they had total control over Iberian waters, there were a number of Spanish ships that still had not been put out of commission. In Barcelona, a large number of Spanish ships still remained untouched and now these ships set sail (as they expected Barcelona to experience a British bombardment within days). A few sailed to points further west and a couple even made it to Sardinia where they sought refuge. The majority though went south to the island Majorca where they anchored in Palma Bay. On these ships were Spanish soldiers who were on there way to engage the British invaders.....
 
December 11, 1910- In the early hours of the morning, the British fleet sailed into Barcelona harbour from Menorca. The British were rather surprised that there were hardly any Spanish ships to be found. Some were suspicious and expected a trap, but they had orders to destroy Barcelona's potential as a Spanish naval base and this they attempted to do. The Royal Navy shelled the harbour, destroying most of the docks and some important and not-so-important buildings in the town near the docks. The Royal Navy ships then began combing the nearby coastline in search of the missing Spanish ships. They found some to the west and encouraged by this development, set out to explore more of the coastline to the west.
Meanwhile off Majorca, the Spaniards were getting ready to strike the British a blow which would reverse some of their recent successes. In the afternoon, they set sail from Palma Bay and sailed around the island to the east. By evening they had arrived off Menorca's northern coast at Ciudadala, where the Spanish soldiers disembarked to cheering crowds. From Ciudadala the Spaniards moved south to Mahon. A short distance outside Ciudadala, they encountered a British force and were held up in their advance. Word soon, reached British headquarters at Mahon and soon a major battle was in the making outside Ciudadala. After fighting continued through the evening and night into the next morning, both sides were tired and a temporary cease-fire came into being. By the afternoon however, the Spanish and British were at it again. Offshore, some Spanish ships had been called in to bombard British reserves behind the front-lines. By evening though the Battle of Ciudadala was about to become more interesting as Royal Navy ships returned from their failed search off the Spanish Coast. The British sailors were looking forward to rest only to see the astounding sight of Spanish ships loitering off the island they now called home. Even worse these ships were bombarding their fellow countrymen onshore! Due to the RN's unexpected arrival gave the British a slight advantage and they took this advantage to sink 3 Spanish vessels before the Spanish could even begin turning to engage. The Spanish Armada then engaged the Royal Navy in the greatest naval battle of the war yet. The RN suffered a number of losses and the British even considered breaking off. By nightfall the British had broken off and limped to Mahon harbour. The Spanish would have pursued as well, but their force was ravaged as well and they stayed in Ciudadala harbour to make repairs.....
Off the Spanish south coast, the British had control of 40% of Algericas and artillery duels were busy reducing sections of the town to complete rubble. The Spanish were determined not to give up this city, but the British were also determined to take it. Control of Algericas would give Britain an important position from which to get Spain to make peace. Algericas' capture would also open the way for a British overland assault towards Cadiz to relieve the pressure faced by the British force encamped on the peninsula and besieging Cadiz (and being attacked constantly in the rear)......

December 14, 1910- On Menorca, the Spanish and British were now recovering from that great battle on the 11th. Supplies and men had been shipped to both sides at Mahon and Ciudadala and it now seemed that yet another battle of Menorca (Third Menorca as it would later be called) was in the making. In the early hours of the morning the now well rested British (which included men from all over the islands, Englishmen, Scotsmen, Welshmen and a couple of Irish blokes) and the equally well rested Spaniards began to finalize plans for assaulting each other as well defending themselves, should their respective assault plans end up planning for an assault a day or so lateer than the enemies plans...
In Castello de Vide, the Allies had steadily gained more of the town, now controlling approximately 60% of it, but Spanish and royalist resistance was astounding. In their tenacious defence of the town, the Spanish and royalists had (with the help of the Allies) reduced over half of the town to nothing. At Castello, the Spaniards also employed a new weapon supplied by Germans in very limited numbers: the machine gun (specifically the Maschinengewehr 08 (modified of course to be less powerful than what the Germans would use)). The gun performed miracles for the Spanish, cutting down British and Portuguese soldiers by the dozens. After initially confusing on how to storm the Spanish machine-gunners, a Portuguese soldier suggested that they just smother the area in artillery fire, which they did, using British 13- and 18-pounders. This worked in that one instance, but the Allies were to find that some machine-gun emplacements were rather well concealed even from artillery.....
In the Lisbon Pocket, German-equipped Spaniards and royalist Portuguese (using a couple machine-guns, some German Mausers and as well as local Spanish rifles, some German grenades and one very special, brand-new German 'minenwerfer' (literally 'mine-thrower') or mortar) continued to hold off the British, French volunteers, and republican Portuguese as well the small Brazilian contingent (which fought primarily with Lee-Enfields, some older British rifles, Lebels and 13- pounder and 18-pounder artillery pieces).

December 15, 1910- Back in London, the British General Staff was receiving reports back from the frontlines of the new weapons (or reborn old weapons rather) being employed by the Spanish. The use of grenades and the machine-gun were particularly noted. The Spanish mortar report was ignored at first, since the mortar (up til this point) had not had any impact on the battlefield. The General Staff then made note of and approved recommendations that the British army also begin grenade development, as the little explosives were used quite effectively by the Spanish against Allied entrenched positions. The increased production and further development of the machine-gun was also recommended and approved after the report from Castello detailing just how many Allied casualties had been taken before that single gun had been taken out (with artillery no less!). Now the General Staff rued the day when they thought lowly of Maxim's creation...
In Berlin, the top brass in the military were reviewing similar Spanish reports and noting which weapons they had sent were successful and which were not, and noting under what conditions each weapon seemed to perform best. They were gaining invaluable information and all without the loss of a single German soldier.
In Paris, the French general staff were receiving reports from the commanders of the volunteer units (these commanders were in theory not linked to the French military, but these commanders made reports for personal record keeping and for the British and Portuguese and sent off copies to France, where they found their way to the top). They noted the constant complaints about the Lebel rifle's slow loading and potential for self-explosion if a loaded round hit the primer of a cartridge in front of it. They sent out a request to rifle manufacturers to come up with an improved design for the French Army (and, if the war actually lasted long enough, then this design would find its way to Portugal).
On Menorca, the third battle for the island was developing as the Spaniards struck first, reaching a medium sized British garrison a mile outside Mahon. The Spanish Armada supported the action, but by now the Royal Navy had completely recovered, regrouped and resupplied, and inflicted a devastating loss on the Spanish ships. Of course whilst engaging the Spanish at sea, they were not able to engage the Spanish on land, and that was left up to the army blokes. The British army fought fiercely, but the Spanish overwhelmed them and broke through. Word had reached Mahon of the fighting and the main British force there was preparing to defend its HQs. The first retreating British soldiers reached Mahon in short order, followed by the Spaniards (buoyed by victory outside Mahon). At Mahon, however, the Spaniards had no naval support and the Royal Navy had by now returned to port and was pummelling the Spanish outside the town. When the Spaniards were too close to the British soldiers for the Navy to engage, the British soldiers let the Spanish come onto their well-laid defences. The Spaniards tried repeatedly to broach the British lines, but to no avail. By nightfall, they were exhausted and the British had not cracked. The British now began a counter-attack, repelling the Spanish who retreated back past the original skirmish a mile outside Mahon. The British continued pursuit another half-mile and then held their ground. It seemed as if another battle for Menorca was in the works.
In Portuguese West Africa, the Spanish task force was feeling some of the effects of malaria, but generally were in alright condition (for now, but just wait til that pesky Anopheline mosquito gets really hungry). They had expanded the area of Spanish/royalist Portuguese control to a good distance outside Luanda, although the Portuguese continually harassed them. This was the state of affair about one month after their arrival, but that might all soon change as the Portuguese looked to bring in reinforcements from Portuguese East Africa, Portuguese Guinea and even Goa. The British too were now planning a colonial campaign (since the Iberian one had begun to drag out and was not the quick win that was hoped for and almost achieved). In British Africa, some colonial regiments were being prepped and even in the new Union of South Africa, the South Africans (meaning here the British and Boer settlers) had managed to scrape up some volunteers for a South African Expedition to Portuguese West Africa. As usual some Boers griped about fighting Britain's wars, but some Boers signed up and as expected, some British settlers signed up. A number of Africans were also pressed into service, though those serving with the Boers, naturally were used only for labour. In India, as well some preparations were being made for an Indian Expeditionary Force to land in Africa and for some Indian troops to be transferred all the way to Iberia if need be. Elsewhere, some Australian, New Zealander and Canadian volunteers had already been formed into small imperial contingents and had been shipped off for England first. The Canadians had arrived first and were being trained in the Scottish highlands and in the generally more hilly English north. The Australians and New Zealanders were not expected to arrive til late December......

December 17, 1910- On Menorca, a tenuous truce reigns for now as the British and Spanish find themselves in the unusual situation of not being able to completely defeat each other. After three battles, the island was still effectively split between Spanish-held sections and British-held sections. The British would very much love to have some reinforcements sent to the island to force the situation, but for now, Britain's expeditionary force is the be-it-all that Britain could reasonably muster. As the Royal Navy's many fleets had done more than a fairly good job defending Britain's shores, a large army was uncalled for in the British Isles. Now however, more volunteers were being sought out and found all over England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland and being organized into a second expeditionary force. They trained and prepared alongside the Canadians and were expected to be ready to ship out (along with the Canadians) around late December or early January. For now though, the British soldiers on Menorca would just have to be content with preventing any devastating Spanish attack from occurring and would have to put their faith in the Royal Navy's ability to effectively enforce a blockade of the island to prevent the Spaniards from getting reinforcements.
In Portugal, the British forces were experiencing the same wont for reinforcements, but they had the Brazilians and French volunteers aiding them and of course the Portuguese were contributing the largest slice to the allied war effort in terms of soldiers. The British commanders in Portugal knew that because of this any reinforcements they receive would come only after the BEF's men in Spain proper and on Menorca had been backed up. In south Spain the BEF was steadily gaining control of Algericas. After nearly another week of fighting, pausing and breathing, cleansing oneself of lice and such and fighting again, the British now controlled around 74% of the town, including what was more or less the city council. Above most government buildings now flew the Union Jack as well as the Spanish flag. With the British now apparently about to gain control over Algericas, the Spanish attacks on the British besieging Cadiz eased up as more Spaniards were being sent to the Algericas area.
In Cadiz meanwhile, the citizenry and the soldiery were facing life under siege. Supplies from the rest of Spain found their way into the city via one treachous route or another, whether by some small vessels blockade running from the Royal Navy or by small groups finding some innovative or stealthy way past the frontline outside the city. While supplies got in one way or another, the now half-starved Spaniards had to endure periodic shelling by the British. Most citizens and soldiers were defiant of the British, though a few openly and privately thought that surrendering the town might be a better decision than being starved to death and letting it be reduced to nothing like what was happening in Castello de Vide and in parts of Algericas.
In South Africa, the South African Expedition, now called the South African Force (SAF), was in the final stages of preparing to depart. Numbering 12,000 strong, the SAF was supposed to assist the Portuguese in their West African colony and afterwards possibly aid the Portuguese in driving the Spanish from the rest of Portugal's colonies and maybe from all of Africa. Meanwhile, to the north in Portuguese West Africa, the first Spanish soldier succumbs to malaria and dies.......

December 20, 1910- In London, all the newspapers circulate in the wee hours of the morning with one main headline story: the fall of Algericas to British soldiers. In south Spain, those same soldiers would say that the newspapers were not too far from the truth, but that they only controlled around 90+% of the town and that Spanish soldiers were still operating in a few neighbourhoods and that some Spanish soldiers were playing guerrillas among the unruined buildings in the town.
Out in the Atlantic, close to Madeira, the British ships carrying the Australians and New Zealanders was making fast progress to England. The Australians and New Zealanders (the first set of them anyway) had been organized into an Australian-New Zealander Imperial Force (ANZIF) and its total number was around 7,000. Other Australians and New Zealanders were on their way, but this was the first set that would arrive in England and then arrive in theatre. They were expected within England within a week.
All over Europe, even in the war zones, people prepared for Christmas and a number of them were also taking the time to pray for peace or victory.
In Portugal, the Allies had made a limited gain by crossing the Tejo and linking up with the southern allied forces briefly, but a ferocious Spanish counterattack severed the new link which could have been devastating for the Spaniards still holed up around Lisbon since their closest source for supplies would have been cut. Commanders were now writing passionately back to General Staff about the need for reinforcements and better weapons. The first grenades were due to reach the BEF by late December/early January and the British soldiers now looked forward to the new weapons as they would finally have a sufficient method to reply in kind to Spanish grenades........

December 23, 1910- The first set of British grenades makes an early appearance in Portugal. Earlier than expected, much to the initial delight of the soldiers. However, upon first using them, the soldiers realised that this first batch of grenades had been made with speed and not quality in mind and the first batch became notorious for accidental explosions, duds and delayed explosions. Within a week, the British soldiers had discarded all of their grenades and their commanders were cabling the General Staff about the shoddy workmanship of the initial grenades. Once this news reached the General Staff, production of the grenades were halted and a snap inspection was made of the factories producing them to determine workmanship quality and rectify any problems. Grenade production was only restarted close to the New Year.....
In southern Spain, British commanders could finally cable General Staff and claim to have complete control over Algericas. Not that the town appeared to have much worth after the several battles that raged back and forth through it. Around 60% of the town was uninhabitable due to complete destruction and a further 20% of the town was "badly damaged". With the town now under British control and the local commanders seeting up HQs in the town, the British Army could now focus on the siege of Cadiz. Already bags were being packed and horses ladened with supplies in preparation of a move west towards the Cadiz area.
In Madrid, the news that Algericas has been lost is greeted with sorrow and a defiant national spirit to resist the invaders. Now Dom Alfonso XIII is as popular as ever and the Spanish Army has no trouble picking up volunteers. However, not all the new soldiers will be sent south or west, some are sent north to quell Basque riots and to help quash a Basque insurgency. Initially the government also had planned to send soldiers to Catalonia as well, but there was little need to send many, riots by Catalan nationalists there were few and far between and very localised, especially after the British bombarded Barcelona (no riots were to be found in that town). The Spanish Generals in Madrid were also welcoming visiting German counterparts who were there as "observers"......

December 24, 1910- All over Europe, people prepare for Christmas and even the soldiers in Iberia are trying to keep the spirit of the season. After 12noon on this day, a devout Spanish commander issues a request for a temporary ceasefire from the Allies around the Lisbon Pocket......
The British and Portuguese commanders around the Lisbon Pocket are utterly surprised and speechless at the proposal, but they do agree that a temporary ceasfire from Christmas Eve through Christmas Day could be allowed (officially not as an acceptance of the Spaniard's request, but rather to "allow the British, Portuguese, Brazilian and French soldiers to celebrate the Christian holy day". On those two day, the Allied commanders issued no orders for artillery bombardments or charges or assaults.
The Spanish commander in the Lisbon Pocket received the reply that the Allies would be observing a day of rest (not necessarily a ceasefire) and accepted that as a positive reply. On the Spanish side of the line, no offensive orders were issued either...
On Menorca though, things were different, yet the same. The British and Spanish were thoroughly exhausted from the previous battles for the island (three or so in all now) and were now content to rest and let rest whilst waiting for reinforcements.
Outside Cadiz, the British continued to pound away at the defenders of the cuidad/city. Here, the British soldiers and commanders had only one idea in mind: to obtain the surrender of Cadiz, injure Spanish pride and then finally have their job done and hopefully make the Spanish throw in the towel so they could go home.

December 25, 1910- Christmas Day

December 26, 1910- The war restarts around Lisbon as the Allies open up with an artillery bombardment at 9am sharp. The Allies make some meagre advances, capturing a few front line villages, but essentially, the front remained static.
In Portuguese West Africa, the South African Force (SAF), landed at a Portuguese held port in the central section of the coast. Numbering 12,000 strong, the SAF were greeted with open arms by the Portuguese. The SAF busily organized itself and within a day would be ready for a march north to meet the Spaniards.
Meanwhile, to the north of the SAF, the Spanish were now dealing with malaria, which had killed 50 people in little over a week.

December 28, 1910- In Portuguese West Africa, the SAF and Portuguese colonial defenders engage the Spanish, who now control the northwest coastal strip of the colony (along with Cabinda). The fresh SAF, made an enormous contribution and on the first battle since Christmas, the Allies in Africa scored a major victory, capturing and killing hundreds of Spaniards (of course the fact that a good portion had now contracted malaria had a lot to do with it too).
On Menorca, the British commanders receive word that reinforcements are on their way: The Australians and New Zealanders in the ANZIF. The commanders, make a silent prayer of thanks and begin to refine plans (which were made during the extra-long lull on the island) for an assault on the Spanish at Ciudadala.
In England, the factories restarted their production of grenades (which had been much improved since Christmas) and the next 300 were supposed to ready within days. Also, machine guns (Vickers C guns) were being produced in greater numbers and a batch of 54 were supposed to ready around the same time as the grenades.
In France, an improved gun, provisionally called the Noveau Lebel (it was similar to the Berthier of OTL, but still needed a few improvements) was introduced and fancy new rifles were ready to be shipped to Portugal to the volunteers........

January 2, 1911- The ANZIF had been on Menorca to celebrate the New Year with their British brothers and now were preparing to launch their first ever offensive. With the Royal Navy's intense support just offshore, the British Army and ANZIF launched one of the heaviest offensives yet and managed to wipe out little under half of the Spanish force at Ciudadala and the Spanish lost practically all of their ships in the harbour. Two Spanish vessels managed to escape to Majorca were word was cabled to the mainland about the disaster. By the end of the day, the mainland commanders had begun a scramble to find reinforcements, even considering scraping soldiers from the Cadiz-Algericas area to go to Menorca......but their efforts would be too little, too late.....
In Portuguese West Africa, the Spanish were now being routed in part as much from disease as from the Portuguese and South Africans. Disease, was a double-edged sword however, and was beginning to affect the South Africans and some of the Portuguese as much as it was affecting the Spanish. Some of the Portuguese soldiers were of mixed ancestry and (lucky for them) had the sickle cell trait, which made them practically immune to malaria.
In Castello de Vide, the Allies and Spanish/royalist Portuguese continued to reduce the town to rubble and the Allies could still not capture the entire town due to stubborn Spanish-royalist resistance. The British General Staff had given explicit orders that the first Vickers Cs were supposed to go to the boys in Castello, and the soldiers there were awaiting the first shipment.
In the north, the republican Portuguese had freed Pinhel just south of the Douro river and were in the process of crossing the river in order to open up a Douro front. These republican Portuguese were making good progress as the Spaniards here were so sure of their hold of their area (had been in Spanish/royalist hands since the beginning of the war) and had relaxed their vigil somewhat. The Spanish were attempting to recoup even as the Portuguese made quick progress, swing northwest towards Mirandela....

January 3, 1911- On Menorca, the Allied forces had completely surrounded Ciudadala harbour and began a new offensive in keeping with the British and ANZIF commanders new ideas of "rapid, relentless offence" to overcome the enemy. With the Spanish defenders already heavily mauled in the previous day's battle, the outcome was pretty much assured. What was unexpected though, was the tenacity with which the Spanish defended the little village. Even when they had suffered 80% casualties (inflicting 30% casualties on the British, Australians and New Zealanders), the Spanish refused to surrender. Finally, by the end of the day, the last few Spanish defenders who had been wounded, were dragged out of their redoubt (a post-office) and hussled together with the other prisoners-of-war. The Spanish prisoners were to be interned, registered and then some shipped off to Gibraltar, while others were shipped to Portsmouth. For the first time since the 1910, all of Menorca was under British control, and as news of this reached the local HQ in Gibraltar, a small flotilla of British ships were ordered to ensure the Spanish would not try to take it back..again.......

January 6, 1911- In Portuguese West Africa, the Spanish force has suffered a great amount of casualties (as much as 40% of its original force had been lost, 14% due to malaria alone) and now the remnant Spanish task force, began to withdraw towards Luanda, its stronghold. The Portuguese and South Africans were now joined by a contingent of British-led Indians (a fair number of whom had the trait and were resilient to malaria). The Indian Expeditionary Force (IEF) now joined the SAF and the Indians promptly experienced racism from some of the Boer and British South African soldiers.
At Peniche, the Canadians and fresh British soldiers disembark at the port to the usual fanfare of the Portuguese citizens. These soldiers were to be deployed in three areas: towards Castello, towards the Lisbon Pocket and towards the north. The Allies now realised that the now static war needed to become mobile and fast, otherwise when or if the Allies finally freed Portugal from Spanish occupation, there would not be much of a Portugal to celebrate. It was decided that the Allies would simultaneously push into northern Portugal, across central Portugal and into Spain and towards Lisbon. The Canadians were sent to Castello de Vide, where they helped the British, Portuguese and Brazilians to finally expel the Spanish and royalists and obtain the town in its entirety. Now that Castello had been captured, the Allies could now focus on the main prize of the campaign in central Portugal: Portalgre.
However, here the Allies began to disagree on strategy. The Brazilians and British thought that marching straight towards Portalgre without delay could ensure that even most of the town would be in Allied hands shortly, but the Portuguese were now opposed to more frontal attacks on towns as they had already basically lost Castello de Vide to heavy frontal fighting and a similar situation appeared to be occurring in the Lisbon Pocket. They wanted the Allied army to feint towards (but in reality ignore)Portalgre, in order to preserve it, and then move on into Spain. At the local HQ back in Abrantes, the Allies finally came to a compromise (with the help of the French volunteers)and the Spanish were to the see the results within days.....
 
January 8, 1911- Off Cadiz, new Royal Navy ships from Gibraltar, laden with some soldiers drawn from the successfully concluded Algericas camapign and mainly soldiers fresh from Britain (including a few Canadians and even a few Australians) prepared to offload the reinforcements to the British force already besieging Cadiz. By mid-afternoon, all the soldiers had disembarked the ships and were begin to prepare for an offensive planned by the local commander, John Ffrench. On one of the ships ofshore was Field Marshal Kitchener, who had come to try and stiffen Ffrench's resolve. He had sent a personal message expressing his confidence in Ffrench and that Ffrench would eventually overcome the stubborn Spanish and that Ffrench would "take every available avenue" to ensure Cadiz fell to the British army.
Off Menorca, a great fleet of the Royal Navy had gathered and prepared to execute the new British plan to ensure that their control over the Balearics. The Navy sets sail from Mahon and splits into 3 groups. One large group peels off and heads north towards the coast and one group remains just offshore of Menorca and begins to establish a tight defensive line around the island. The final group moves west towards Ibiza (Ivisa) and Majorca. The first group, the "coastal" fleet as it was called unofficially reached Barcelona by evening and began its slow, steady bombardment. As the sun slowly set in west, the nightsky of Barcelona was lit brightly by the fires coming from the docks and the ongoing explosions of British shells striking what Spanish vessels remained in harbour......
Off Ibiza, the Royal Navy sets up a blockade and its ships are about to pull into port, when the main dock disappears in a huge explosion. Initial confusion in the British ranks on the ships gives way to realization that the Spanish had bombed their own dock to prevent the British from landing (easily) and carrying out a "second Mahon". Some of the British ships pulled out of harbour and began sailing around the coast seeking out small docks and quays or at the very least, a suitable area for the soldiers to disembark. Other ships stayed in the harbour and began offloading soldiers and cargo on one old small dock and a few soldiers even clambered off the ships via ropes into shallow water and made it to shore (under the cover of Welsh guardsmen on the ships who had their rifles trained on the shore to prevent any Spaniards from openly attacking)........

January 10, 1911- in southern Spain, the rout of Spanish forces from Algericas gave the British new momentum, which the local commanders were only too happy to exploit. Having captured Algericas entirely a few days before Christmas, the British had been pushing their soldiers on (with a few reinforcements from Britain (and even Menorca) via Gibralter) and they had taken Tarifa (just south of Algericas) without much fighting due to the demoralised state of the local Spanish defenders (who had finally been routed out of Algericas). Today, the British Army was well out of Tarifa (which was being used as a port for resupply as Algericas' port had been damaged and was under repair) and move along the coastal road towards the Cape of Trafalgar and afterwards to Cadiz.
In Cadiz, a the Peral (of the Class Peral) submarine and an Ictíneo 2 (Class Ictíneo) represented 2/3rds of the Spanish submarine fleet (the last ship being an Ictíneo 1 at Coruna in north-west Spain). These were all experimental submarines that had not even been commissioned, but on January 4, as the disasters of Menorca and Algericas set in, Dom Alfonso XIII finally commissioned all 3 vessels into the Spanish Navy/Armada and in that same day sent a message to the Kaiser requesting torpedoes to augment the few old torpedoes the Spanish already had (some torps dating from 1890). By January 6 crews had already begun refresher courses on the vessels (having been trained to handle it already for experiments), particularly in the firing of torpedoes. Finally by January 14, the vessels were as ready as could be and the torpedoes were loaded (even as new German torpedoes were now making their way across Spain to coast of the bay across from Cadiz, where they would wait to be smuggled across). The Ictíneo 2, being much older (made in 1864) and being smaller was ordered to operate around the area of Cadiz, while the Peral being made in 1888 and being larger with a greater range, was ordered to operate around Cadiz and the waters of southern Spain.
In Portuguese West Africa, the situation is beginning to get desparate for the Spanish. The Spanish commander knows that the situation is bad, it has been bad for him ever since his superior, the previous Spanish commander of the expeditionary force had been killed by Indian gunfire a few days earlier. The Allies have basically surrounded Luanda and are demanding his surrender. He knows that unless help arrives, the Spanish venture in Portuguese West Africa is lost, but still...he has no wish to surrender with his tail between his legs and orders his soldiers to prepare for a last battle...
In central Portugal, an allied force of Brazilians, French volunteers and a few Portuguese had surrounded Portalegre, but had not yet assaulted the Spanish defenders. Whilst this "quiet siege" was underway, another Allied force of British, Portuguese and some Canadians had moved southeast from Castello and across the border. Once across the border they had moved quickly against the Spanish defenders of Valencia de Alcantara (who still thought the Allies were supposed to be just outside Castello and moving onto Portalegre). This surprise action enabled the Allies to capture Valencia de Alcantara mostly intact and all within a day. The Allies also captured 670 Spanish prisoners who were sent to Abrantes in Portugal. With the quick success of attack on Valencia de Alcantara, the Portuguese and British commanders agreed that the momentum of the attack must be kept and that their soldiers should continue moving throughout the night...

January 11, 1911- In Spain the Portuguese and British soldiers had finally begun taking a 3 hour rest at 6am after marching for most of the night. Their next objective was to be Caceres. They were now half-way to their new objective and were expected to reach the town by January 12.
In Caceres, the Spanish were learning of the incredibly swift loss of Valencia de Alcantara and were mustering their defences. They had presumed the Allies would rest in the town for a couple days and then move swiftly to Caceres, so in the meantime they had set up a weak defence line a few miles outside the town to delay the arrival of the Allies while the soldiers dug into the town.
In HM Dockyard Chatham, the new Vickers built
submarines of the D-Class were being prepped and readied for deployment. The D-Class vessels were the only RN submarines capable of overseas patrol and the General Staff now decided it was time to flex some underwater muscle off Iberia. There were 3 vessels ready, HMs/m D1, HMs/m D2 and HMs/m D3 (where HMs/m stood for His Majesty's submarine). A fourth HMs/m D4 was under construction and was expected to be ready by late May. Four more D-Class subs were expected to be ready by late 1911. The General Staff had no wish to use all 3 of their available, precious D-Class in case they should lose them all, so D1 and D2 were ordered to sea and some older C-Class (coastal patrol submarines) were also being ordered to sea (experimentally) and were to be towed by RN surface vessels to the Portuguese coast. The British had built 38 C-Class subs (which were becoming obsolete, having all been built from 1906-1910) so they had a few subs to spare. The HMs/m C24, C25, C36 and C30 were all ordered to Portugal. All the British subs being sent to Iberia were to be based at Gibralter, Mahon (Spain) and Figueira da Foz (Portugal).
In the Balearic Islands, the British undoubtedly dominated the area. Menorca was under complete British control, with British, Australian, New Zelander and some Canadian soldiers patrolling the island, Mallorca/Majorca had been completely blockaded. Canadian (organized as a Canadian Imperial Expeditionary Force or CIEF), ANZIF and BEF soldiers were now taking control of Iviza. All the coastal towns were now under British Imperial control and all the main ports (Santa Eularia, Sant Antoni (Catalan) (San Antonio in Spanish) and Eivissa/Ibiza) were heavily guarded. In fact, only Sant Miguel, San Juan and Sant Rafel were still under Spanish control on the island and all 3 towns were in the interior of the island. To prevent the Spanish from landing and challenging British control of the islands, new blockades were set up around all 3 islands and smaller blockades were set up near Barcelona and some vessels patrolled the Balearic Sea around the islands and between the islands and Barcelona.
In northern Portugal, the republican Portuguese campaign is a complete success, as the Portuguese free Mirandela after a few days of heavy fighting. The Brazilians now join the Portuguese in the north and capture Castro Vicente to the southeast of Mirandela and allowing for the opening of a broad front in north-west Portugal. With all of northwest Portugal from the Douro River (which forms the border with Spain in the east) to the Tud river just west of Mirandela under republican control, the Portuguese began planning for an attack to the west to help free Oporto/Porto.
To the west, south of the Douro River, the Portuguese, aided by some Canadians were entering Villa Nova de Gaia and were quickly taking control of the town as the citizens began rising up against the Spanish in anticipation of the liberation.

January 12, 1911- In Portuguese West Africa, around Luanda, the Allies had begun besieging the town, when the Spanish began a counterattack against the South Africans (who were to the north-east of the town). The unexpected Spanish move had gained the surprise it so desparately needed and had thrown the South Africans into confusion. Only the timely intervention of the Indians had prevented a complete breakthrough (not to mention saved the lives of a number of South Africans including one Louis Botha). As the line held, the Allies decided the time for siege was now over and ordered their forces onto the town/village.
In Luanda, the Spanish defenders were now greatly reduced. Of the original Spanish force, only 27% remained (13% of the initial survivors having been lost in the recent counterattack). With no hope left to defend Luanda and with malaria, sleeping sickness and the muggy African climate taking its toll, many Spanish soldiers at the front lines around the city began giving up or only putting up token resistance. By evening the South Africans had reached the centre of the city and surrounded the HQ of the Spanish force. At 8:14pm the South Africans acepted surrunder of the Spanish commander on behalf of the Allies and the Spanish adventure in Africa came to a close.
In Spain, the British and Portuguese had reached the skirmish line set up oustide Caceres by midday and again had (almost) completely surprised the Spanish defenders, who were not expecting the Allies until January 14. Nonetheless, the Spanish fought valiantly, but by the end of the day the skirmish line had been breached and the Allies were pressing on to the town. The Spanish defenders had hastily withdrawn into the town as battles were beginning to take place on the edge of the town.
In Coimbra, PM Teofilo Braga called on all Portuguese citizens to rise up against the Spanish occupiers. His call would soon be answered throughout occupied Portugal.
In northern Portugal the Portuguese and Brazilians had crossed the Tud river and struck out in two different directions. Most of the Portuguese continued moving west towards Braga and the rest of the Portuguese and Brazilians moved southwest to Villa Beni.

January 14, 1911- In the Atlantic, Royal Navy trawlers were busy towing all 6 of the British submarines towards Portugal. Back in London though, the General Staff were planning for assaults on Madeira and the Azores (to return them to Portuguese rule), the Canary Islands (Spanish) and Spanish Guinea.
In northern Portugal the Brazilians and Portuguese finally reach Villa Beni, which had been pinned in from the north by the Brazilians and Portuguese and from the south by a small Portuguese force that had crossed the Douro. Having heard Braga's call to rise against the Spanish, the residents of Villa Beni began actively resisting the Spanish, battling some soldiers in the streets (with the expected consequences of many civilian losses). With the local uprising and external attacks, the Spanish defenders caved and surrundered the town before evening.
At Cadiz harbour the Spanish subs were finally ready for their first mission.The first thing that needed to be done was to clear a way through the blockade around Cadiz and this was done by the Ictíneo 2, placing mines closer to the hulls of unsuspecting British vessels (whose captains never thought of a submarine threat or the threat of mines moving about the minefield). Within hours 2 Royal Navy vessels had been sunk and one had been damaged by the Ictíneo 2. Initially the British thought there ships may have strayed into some mines, but these theories went with the wind (and the smoke of arising from the damaged vessels) when it was realized that two of the ships had not been anywhere near the known minefield and that if mines had indeed sunk and damaged the ships then the Royal Navy could never have gotten as close as it was now to Cadiz due to the supposed distance of a new minefield. Some captains suspected underwater vessels and cabled their suspicions to other captains and to London and had told lookouts to scan above and below the waves (as much as possible) for any unusual shapes. This of course led to a rash of false sightings (some of which were true though), but within a few days, the lookouts became less excited and more careful in their searches. By then the Peral had slipped past the blockade...
 
And finally some maps!

spain and portugal- 1910 jpeg.JPG
 
Okay, the first map was pre-war Spain and Portugal.

Here is the next map:

Map of Iberia showing greatest extent of Spanish control, 1910 Map

spanish-portuguese war jpeg.JPG
 
Just one correction, Sean. That small country in Spain is Andorra, not Catalonia (Catalonia is a Spanish province). Keep the good work.
 
Hey again, everyone.

Timestorm, I know that the little country is Andorra, but the map was labelling the province of Catalonia. My base map is from a free Centennia tial historical map program (animated history and it is excellent! Deals with European and MidEast history from sometime B.C. right up to 2000 A.D. (and 10 maps per year!)Been trying to see if this group would like to make a discounted group purchase but nobody has responded).

Anyway here is another map: (British colour is brown).

British Entry into the Spanish-Portuguese War

spanish-portuguese war II jpeg.JPG
 
January 18, 1911- After 10 days the British were now firmly in control of Ibiza and now controlled 2 or the 3 major Balearic Islands. On the second island they controlled, Menorca, 2 British submarines had just pulled into port at Mahon. They were the HMs/m C24 and HMs/m D1. The 2 subs were tasked with destroying any Spanish military vessels found in the vincity of the islands and along the Catalonian and Valencian coasts. HMs/m D2 and HMs/m C30 were already docked at Gibraltar and were to aid in enforcing the blockade of Cadiz and destroying Spanish vessels in the area (the western most Mediterranean and parts of the Atlantic just past the Straits of Gibraltar). HMs/m C25 and C36 were docked at Figuera da Foz in Portugal and were supposed to patrol Portuguese coastal waters. These 2 coastal defence submarines, it was hoped, would stop the very tiny (really a trickle) smuggling of supplies into the Lisbon Pocket by the Spanish (who sometimes used non-descript fishing vessels from Oporto/Porto).
In the evening D1 and C24 set out on the first combat patrol and as expected encountered nothing. They would continue to encounter nothing for a few more days yet, before the British HQ in Mahon decided to put them to better use…
In Luanda, the South Africans and Indians were taking a well earned rest to recover from the rigours of battle and malaria. As they took time out, they played cricket and generally got to know one another, although some South Africans were influenced by the racial awareness of their society and got into a few heated arguments with some Indians. Generally though, the South Africans and Indians treated each other for what they were, comrades-in-arms fighting under the same flag (with the same language of instruction and sometimes same language of everyday use) against a common enemy. One Jan Smuts in particular was influenced by his exposure to the Indians. The South Africans and Indians though would have a part to play yet in the final stages of the war, and a cable arriving from London via Capetown and overland to Portuguese West Africa was about to inform the South Africans and Indians of their fate.
Off the southern Spanish coast, the Peral was cruising just beneath the surface of the waters. In the ensuing 4 days since her departure from Cadiz she had sunk 3 British vessels and damaged 1. Now she was turning the Straits of Gibraltar and was closing in on her main target: Gibraltar.

January 20, 1911- In Spain the British and Portuguese had moved on from Caceres and captured Trujillo without much of a struggle. With the fall of this town, the Allies had now reached nearly 100 miles into Spanish territory and were little over 150 miles from Madrid. Back across the border in Portugal, the general Allied HQ in Coimbra had decided upon a new course of action in Spain. They would send more Allied soldiers into Spain via Valencia de Alcantara and Caceres and from new bases in Caceres and Trujillo they would make two broad thrusts in Spain: One thrust from Caceres southwards towards Merida and then onward to Seville and finally Jerez and Cadiz. The other thrust would be from Trujillo towards Talavera then Toledo and finally Madrid….
In northern Portugal, the citizens had taken up PM Braga’s call and began rioting and rebelling against the Spanish and their ever-diminishing royalist Portuguese allies. Soon what was once a stronghold of Spanish domination in Portugal was all but liberated. Only Porto now remained firmly under Spanish control and even there the denizens were resisting…
Just off Gibraltar, the Peral lay silently as dusk fell. Once the lighting was poor enough the Spanish captain order his crew to prepare the mines for release and ready the 2 remaining torpedoes for action. First the Peral laid a string of mines near the docks and then scattered some mines further out from the harbour. Once her mine-laying mission was complete, she then cruised just outside the harbour and waited….and waited…and waited. Finally a few hours later they could make out the lights of an unidentified (but surely British) vessel. The Peral’s crew came alive and prepared the first torpedo and upon the captain’s order the torpedo left the Peral with a whoosh of air and went straight towards the ship. In 5 seconds the hull of the vessel, a British transport exploded just below the bowline and the keel was heavily damaged. With the British now alerted the Peral moved offshore to get away from the increased British naval activity and headed for south for the Spanish port city of Ceuta on the north African coast. She kept one torpedo as a measure of protection (even for such a short journey).
In Gibraltar the locals were awakened by the report of the explosion of the British transport and were shocked and horrified to hear even more explosions as some British vessels ran into the mines laid by the Peral. Rescue efforts were hindered by this new development and by mid-morning the final British casualty count would hover around 500, many of them due to hypothermia from the freezing water.
In southern Spain the British had moved quickly capturing Vejer de la Frontera and Chiclana de la Frontera on the road to Cadiz. Now they had linked up with the British soldiers in San Fernando and totally isolated Cadiz from any hope of a Spanish relief of the siege. The veteran British soldiers from the Algericas campaign would now lead some fresh British, Canadian and Australian boys into the streets of Cadiz….
Off the Gulf of Valencia, the two British subs, C24 and D1 were preparing to take part in a massive British effort against all Spanish ships in the area. HMs/m D1 headed north towards Barcelona and HMs/m C24 headed south towards Alicante. With them were some 8-10 British surface vessels including a few battleships. By afternoon, the Spanish coast was alive with explosions as British ships bombarded the shore and British subs sank some vessels, whilst laying mines after the main attack to pick off any Spanish vessels left or that may happen to come in to clear up the damage. By evening, the Spanish coastline from the border with France down to Cartagena was under total British naval superiority and the Spanish Navy was non-existent in the area.

January 21, 1911- In Luanda, British vessels were coming into port with supplies and reinforcements from Capetown via Walvis Bay. A few supplies and soldiers came from South Africa and the two Rhodesias via rail and road through South Africa, Rhodesia and Port. West Africa. The veteran South Africans, Indians and British were preparing their gear for what would be their final stint in this war. By afternoon, the British-Portuguese fleet set sail from Luanda and turned north. They were expected to arrive at their objective in about 5 days….
In southern Spain, the British finally entered Cadiz (or what was left of it), but only managed to control a few neighbourhoods amounting to 20% of the city. As the British pressed the attack, some of the denizens resigned to despair and flew white flags outside the window, while others threw stones and even a few hand-made bombs.
In Lisbon as news of the uprisings in the north eventually made its way past the Spanish blackout on news, citizens in the Pocket, began to stir and a few spontaneous riots started in Lisbon sparked by confrontations between the Spaniards and locals. The new rebellion would spell the beginning of the end of Spanish control over the heart of Portugal.
In Spain, the British and Portuguese had advanced from Trujillo and were approaching the Tagus (Tajo) river. Once across the river (again) the Allies would set their sights on Talavera and Toledo…

January 28, 1911- After making port in Port Gentil in the French Gabon for a few hours the Allied fleet had continued sailing northwards 2 days ago and finally reached the waters off Spanish Guinea. Half of the Fleet set sail for Bioko island and landed Allied soldiers there before the evening of the 27th. The other half of the fleet went to mainland Spanish Guinea landing at the port of Bata (the only major town in the colony). By the afternoon of the 28th Bioko and Bata were under full Allied control and the South Africans, Indians, British and Portuguese celebrated their quick victory over the Spanish colony. The South Africans and Indians were more than ready to head home (once the war was over of course) and the British and Portuguese as well.
Off Cadiz, the British had begun an intense sub hunt and had begun bombarding the harbour waters at random. Finally, one British ship spotted a metal object sticking out of the water, called the alarm and 3 shells were directed towards the area. A plume of oil bubbling to the surface confirmed that the Ictíneo 2 had been hit and sunk and the submersible threat in Cadiz harbour had ended.
In Portugal, the Spanish garrison at Porto had surrendered to the Portuguese and Brazilians after the rebellion and Allied siege had exhausted them. Further south the Spanish had lost effective control of Lisbon and as they did so their defences weakened and the Allies began to advance deep into the Pocket. Before the day was out the the Spaniards in Lisbon had lost total control and the city had freed itself and the Spaniards had either surrendered, been imprisoned by ad hoc militias or been killed in the fighting….
In Spain, the Allies had crossed the Tajo River and were moving towards Talavera. Once across the river though, Spanish resistance increased tremendously and the Allies began to take losses not seen since the campaigning in eastern Portugal…

February 6, 1911- In Madrid, news of disaster after disaster had hit the government like bricks. The loss of Algericas and the Balearics and Portuguese West Africa was bad, but now news had come in of how the British had virtually wiped out all naval activity along the eastern coast and that Cadiz had been entered and the Ictíneo 2 sunk. All this was bad, but when the government heard of the uprisings in Portugal and the loss of Porto and Lisbon, they realized the war in Portugal was truly lost. Worse still the British and Portuguese now controlled Spanish Guinea and had crossed well over 100 miles into Spain and crossed the Tajo on the way to Toledo and Madrid. Finally all the peace advocates got the entire parliament to convert to their message and they petitioned the King to sue for peace. D. Alfonso XIII then finally called on the Allies to make peace with Spain and stated that he would order Spanish forces to cease fighting within 2 days if the Allies responded positively.
In Coimbra, news of Spanish plea for peace was greeted with jubilation and the Allied HQ forwarded the Spanish message to their respective governments.

February 7, 1911- Having received affirmations all around, the Allied HQ declared it would be accepting the Spanish offer and would order its forces to cease all fighting by Feb. 8th.

February 8, 1911- For the first time since October 1910, peace reigns over all of the Iberian peninsula. Now the Allies and Spanish would begin the process of preparing a peace treaty. From late January when the Allies began to smell victory, they began to labour over the terms of a peace treaty. The Allies called for an international Conference in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and the Spanish accepted. The Dutch host would act as arbitrators in case some dispute should arise over the terms while the French, Germans and Russians sent representatives as observers.

February 19, 1911- In Rotterdam, the Allies presented their draft of the treaty which considering the war, was fairly reasonable. The Spanish were to hand over all Portuguese royalists to Portugal. The highest-ranking royalists involved in collaborating with Spain would be punished as the Portuguese saw fit, while lower royalists would be pardoned. Spain was to withdraw from all Portuguese territory (including the overseas territories of the Azores and Madeira) and pay an indemnity of around ₤ 400,000. The Portuguese were also supposed to gain the coastal Moroccan town of Asilah (south of Tangier- which was to be kept internationalised) and the Portuguese-speaking town of Badajoz in Spain (originally Portuguese but lost after the Napoleanic Wars). Britain demanded that San Roque and La Linea de la Concepion be demilitarised indefinitely and were to be occupied by Britain (and they would be administered from Gibraltar) for a few months, as was Menorca and Ibiza. The Spanish delegation was initially appalled at the loss of Spanish mainland territory but when they were quietly informed that the Portuguese were more than ready to take Spanish Guinea and Ceuta off their hands for them, the decided that the deal was acceptable. So after some deliberation on February 21st the Treaty of Rotterdam was signed ending the Spanish-Portuguese War.


After the war relations between Britain and Portugal warmed as the two nations signed various trade and defence agreements. As Britain was now linked with France and Russia in the Triple Entente, so too Portugal began to grow closer to the Entente. Spain had now gone through 2 disastrous wars in little over a decade and now many people began to openly wonder about the worth of the government and the monarchy. Having had its Navy practically wiped out, the Spanish decided that over the next decade they would rebuild both the Army and Navy and hold on to what they have. D. Alfonso XIII also wished to rebuild the Army especially because it appeared that he may just have a revolution on his hands if he is not carefully and wants an Army large enough and loyal enough to put down any revolt.
 

Grey Wolf

Gone Fishin'
Donor
Sean Swaby said:
Not sure of the exact range of the British subs but here are some links:

http://www.iwm.org.uk/online/submarines/firstboats.htm
http://www.submarinos.net/index.cfm?IdLan=1

http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/c_class1.htm (this one has range of about 1000 nm at the surface at 8.75 knots)

Nice links, thanks

I reckon the fact they could pass through the Baltic and operate out of the Gulf of Riga makes them ideal for the purpose you are using them for in this ATL

Grey Wolf
 
Hmmm....the near future..well I was kinda thinking that this TL could tie in with some other Spanish or Portuguese TLs such as Spain joining the Axis.

I was thinking that in the future, Portugal will be stabilized quite nicely and become a partner in the Entente via her ally Britain while Spain has the potential to undergo revolution or at least have the monarchy further weakened in power. Maybe we would have a Spanish Civil War between 1912 and 1919.

Should WWI start on schedule in 1914, I would expect Portugal to be in on it from the bitter start. This may butterfly and cause an earlier loss of German East Africa to South African forces operating from Rhodesia and Portuguese East Africa.

On the other hand, should the Moroccan Crisis of 1911 erupt then maybe we will have Germany and France go to war as tensions bubble over. In that case I am not so sure how quickly Britain and Portugal will join the fight or if Russia even would.
 
So no ideas anybody on the effects of this war?

Any ideas on how WWI (should it happen) would be affected by Portugal being in the Allied camp from the get-go?
I can imagine that having Portugal as an ally from the start would bring benefits in that
(1) the Allies would have even more resources (from Portugal and her colony) to draw upon
(2) The Portuguese Navy could work alongside the Royal Navy and MN (French Navy or Marine Nationale) and put up a more effective blockade of Germany and Austria-Hungary as well as easing the threat caused by the German u-boats.
(3) From the start German East Africa will be surrounded by hostile Allied colonies and the South Africans (after conquering German South-West Africa) will have more resources and men (Portuguese colonial soldiers) to attack the Germans with and more bases in Portuguese West Africa as well as North Rhodesia to attack from. This coupled with the King's African Riflemen and other British soldiers in British East Africa (Kenya and Uganda) and in Rhodesia could mean that German East Africa is conquered more quickly which in turn will free men and supplies for the fighting in France, the middle east and Italy. If the East African campaign is wound up in early 1916 or late 1915 then we could possibly see the transfer of most of the South African army to France, Egypt, Basra and Italy. This may then affect the Western Front
(4) Portuguese soldiers could be transported to fight in France from 1914 probably as a Portuguese Expeditionary Force.

The only drawback is that Portuguese entry so early may encourage the entry of other small powers in Europe into WWI.

Any thoughts on a possible Spanish Civil War between 1912 and 1919 and which European powers may get involved? Or what the outcome of any such Civil War might be?
 

Grey Wolf

Gone Fishin'
Donor
I'll need to reread your timeline in detail to see what my humble opinion is on whether there will be anything recognisable as a Great War, but I do wonder at your assumptions vis-a-vis Portugal's woirth in any conflict.

OTL Portuguese forces skirmished with Germans in SW and E Afrika, but Britain wanted to make sure that despite this Portugal kept out of the war. Why ? Because they would be a drain on resources - Britain would need to pay to equip the soldiers, would need to pay to transport them, in British ships, and would presumably also have to pay for their upkeep. OTL only in 1916 when it became expedient to seize all German assets in Portugal, did Britain decide that it was worth taking on these extra costs to get that gain. Even so, Portuguese troops were very poorly-equipped for the W Front, were cold and demoralised; a lot of the latter was due to the impossibility of allowing the ordinary man leave to go all the way back to Portugal whereas the officers could afford to, often off their own backs, and a clear disparity evolved.

As to the Portuguese Navy, find a copy of Jane's for 1914 - it consisted of an old coast defence battleship, a couple of old cruisers and assorted other ships. Ofcourse, if your war has altered this fine, but I suspect any change in Portugal's naval strength could only come from the sale of old warships by Britain to them. Even then, OTL the Portuguese Navy was a hotbed of monarchist sympathies and launched several coup attempts. Is your Portugal monarchist after this war ? If not, giving the navy better ships may make more trouble for themselves.

Regarding Africa, the Germans fought the Portuguese anyway when they found them, they also invaded Mozambique and were viewed as liberators by the natives. Its possible that if Portugal is actively and legally in from the start, this could not only be exacerbated but coalesce with the Boer revolt to produce a more dangerous situation for the Entente powers in 1914 itself.

Grey Wolf
 

Grey Wolf

Gone Fishin'
Donor
OK, looking back at your timeline is there any chance you could, er, summarise it ! Just the major events and explanations - such as why Brazil is in the war, or who the British are fighting in Africa ?

My thoughts though are that you will have some kind of Spanish Civil War immediately after the collapse of the Portuguese campaign. You may personally discount the Carlists, but they are strong residual forces especially in the North. Mix this with anarcho-syndicalists, and you could get a civil war that is actually fighting for who has the right/power to succeed the discredited Alphonso XIII. You could have a fascinating civil war, as other factions get drawn in - e.g. before Alphonso had children his heir included a Bourbon Two Sicilies prince and his family.

Spain has seen civil war as recently as the 1870s, its not going to seem sudden and amazing to the other nations, and after the defeat in Portugal it probably seems logical and justified that Alphonso XIII shall fall.

As for outside interference, the British are already in a good starting position, whilst the Italians have a historical interest - heck Amedeo is probably either alive or his heir still claims the throne for himself !

Grey Wolf
 
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