Plus Ultra: A Second Siglo de Oro | Timeline

[Paladín Wulfen]

At the beginning of the 19th century, Spain was occupied by the French Army of the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. While in the Spanish Royal Court, King Carlos IV was confronted with his son Fernardo due to differences with respect to the French. But the tension exploded in the Uprising of the city of Aranjuez, an uprising that occurred between March 17 and 18, 1808 in the streets of this Madrid town, on the occasion of a rumor promoted by the supporters of Principe Fernardo where the royal family was He withdrew to Aranjuez to continue his way south, towards Seville and embark for America, as John VI of Portugal had already done. Unfortunately or bad luck, the French army led by Emmanuel de Grouchy, Marquis de Grouchy stormed Aranjuez in such a way that hostilities soon broke out and the French troops ended up opening fire on the multitude of Mutineers, citizens, supporters of Ferdinand.

In view of the situation, King Carlos ended up leaving Aranjuez as planned, in a matter of days the King reached the city of Cadiz under the escort of the Royal Corps Guards. Under the authority that he had as King of Spain and the pressure of a Regiment of Royal Guards, King Carlos IV of Bourbon embarked in the direction of the Viceroyalties of America. While in Madrid, in the absence of his father, Fernando crowned himself as Ferdinand VII of Spain but a few days later a messenger arrived at the Palace of Madrid with a letter written by Napoleon.

"La France vous reconnaîtra comme roi d'Espagne si vous venez rencontrer me à Bayonne"​

Fernando accepted and when he arrived in Bayonna he ended up captured and deposed in favor of Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte who was crowned King of Spain although due to social and military upheaval his power and control was quite scarce, but shortly after, the French troops led by the Marshal of the Empire Joachim Murat took the city of Madrid, the excesses and looting committed by the French ended up arousing the anger of the Madrid population that did not take too long to explode in a revolt that ended up developing the Spanish War of Independence.

On June 12, 1808, Carlos arrived at the port of La Habanna, making him the first Spanish king to set foot on American soil. Such an event never seen or expected before was celebrated, even Carlos decided to visit his colonial dominions; from the Presidio Real de San Francisco (now San Francisco) to Buenos Aires. Carlos at this time soon realized that the Leyes de Burgos (Laws of Burgos) that ensured the protection of the natives and evangelization of the natives, was not fully complied with by the Spanish nobility. The first measures were viewed with extreme liking by the natives and Creoles, although with dislike by the peninsular due to the cut of authority received. After a week's break after weeks on the high seas, the exiled monarch ended up embarking to finally set foot on the American continent, disembarking at the Port of Veracruz in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. The Viceroy of New Spain; José Joaquín Vicente de Iturrigaray y Aróstegui took two days to arrive in Veracruz to receive the King of Spain where he informed him of what happened and assured him of his loyalty to King Carlos although he was the bearer of the news about the uprisings of Fernandinos in a good part of the Capitanias while giving reports on how natives and creoles were treated as second-class citizens, including slaves, by the peninsular aristocracy that lived in America. In view of this news, the King issued a decree which ensured equality between those born in Spain and those born in America.

Meanwhile in Spain, the French armies were fighting a war against the Spanish, Portuguese and English. If it was not in the battlefields against the English, it was in the mountains against the Spanish guerrillas or worse in the sieges such as those of Zaragoza or Gerona. In the Peninsula, the professional Spanish armies were led by Captain General Francisco Javier Castaños Aragorri Urioste and Olavide, 1st Duke of Bailén, while the irregulars were led by Juan Martín Díez, called "El Empecinado"; a peasant who was recruited and fought on the Cabezón de Pisuerga bridge (Valladolid) on June 12, 1808; and in Medina de Rioseco (Valladolid), a battle that was fought on July 14 of that same year. It was these lost battles in the open field that made him think that he would obtain better results with the guerrilla system and thus he successfully began his warlike actions in Aranda de Duero, Sepúlveda, Pedraza and the entire Duero river basin. The French were led de jure by King Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte who had formed a court of partisans nicknamed as Afrancesados while the army was led by Joaquín Murat, King of Naples and Marshal of France, who strongly ignored King Joseph due to differences between the two. The defeats of the army continued either in the front or the rear.

Unfortunately, at the end of 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte: Emperor of the French, Co-Prince of Andorra, King of Italy and Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine after knowing the first important defeats of his forces in the battle of Bailén and others, Napoleon himself commanded the forces in Spain and defeated the patriot army of this country; then he too defeated the British army that came to the aid of Spain. Those defeats forced the Fernandino government (Supporters of King Fernando) to flee to Seville, while the Carlistas (Supporters of King Carlos) had left Spain for months following their monarch overseas, in many cases taking their wealth to the New World.

 

[Herohunter]

Shit I was planning to write a self insert style alternative history about Ferdinand VII who does some stuff in Spain before leavening Iberia to back staging Napoleon. He then goes to the viceroyalty of new Spain and forges and a new country.

 

[Paladín Wulfen]

Shit I was planning to write a self insert style alternative history about Ferdinand VII who does some stuff in Spain before leavening Iberia to back staging Napoleon. He then goes to the viceroyalty of new Spain and forges and a new country.

As a Spaniard, I regret to inform you that Fernando VII was one of the worst Spanish kings.
1. I cause political instability.
2. He allowed the French to invade TWO Spain.
3. Lost the Spanish Colonies
4. I promote a brutal political control where Spanish heroes who fought for Spain were executed.

 

[Herohunter]

As a Spaniard, I regret to inform you that Fernando VII was one of the worst Spanish kings.
1. I cause political instability.
2. He allowed the French to invade TWO Spain.
3. Lost the Spanish Colonies
4. I promote a brutal political control where Spanish heroes who fought for Spain were executed.

I know that’s why I wanted to write a self insert with someone else who does not screw up so badly

 

[Nivek]

Shit I was planning to write a self insert style alternative history about Ferdinand VII who does some stuff in Spain before leavening Iberia to back staging Napoleon. He then goes to the viceroyalty of new Spain and forges and a new country.

That is cliche, the Braganza was a lucky break no one could replicated.

If anything successful Joseph Napoleón make more sense

 

[Herohunter]

That is cliche, the Braganza was a lucky break no one could replicated.

If anything successful Joseph Napoleón make more sense

Maybe a self insert can do it, besides most self inserts are just fun reads and are not that realistic.

also a joseph Napoleon self insert is actually a pretty cool idea. He could be a stop gag for Bonapartes more impulsive action. He was also king of napals before Napoleon screwed Spain and made his brother king there as well. Maybe a self insert can convince to grant him a more United Italy to rule and develop.

 

[Paladín Wulfen]

At the beginning of 1809, for Spain the situation was dark. Napoleon and his army of 250,000 men, the Grande Armée had thrown the balance on the Peninsula by crushing the English armies led by General John Moore. Fortunately, the declaration of war by the Austrian Empire, on January 6, 1809, made it necessary to mobilize with the bulk of the Grande Armée, leaving in its place the Lieutenant General of the Emperor in Spain and Marshal of France, Jean-de-Dieu Soult. , Duke of Dalmatia along with Marshal Michel Ney, Duke of Elchingen and Prince of Moscova, who was in charge of controlling the occupation in Asturias. But the situation worsened due to the Spanish guerrillas supported by the English supplies brought by sea.

In America, King Carlos visited most of the major Spanish cities around the middle of 1809. King Carlos at the same time decided to begin the creation of the Royal Military Colleges of Officers, Artillery and Navals destined to provide a nucleus of officers either for the infantry, artillery and the Spanish fleet. These measures were accompanied by a strong Creole youth element entering such military training centers, being nicknamed by King Carlos as "Sus hijos guerreros americanos." Unfortunately, pro-Fernandino movements broke out in America. The First was led by the Priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, which began in Dolores, in the Municipality of Guanajuato, on September 9, 1809.

On September 9, 1809, Priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, was discovered being part of a conspiracy whose main objective was to constitute a governing board that would take power on behalf of Fernando VII. Using connections and ties in various local officials, they managed to free dozens of prisoners accused of sedition and arm them, the insurgents captured the delegate Rincón and went to the atrium of the parish of the town of Dolores. In that place, Hidalgo summoned the assistants to rise up against the bad government. Hidalgo harangued the population, an act that is known as Grito de Dolores and is considered the beginning of the Gran Guerra Hispana.

"Viva la religión católica!, ¡viva Fernando VII!, ¡viva la patria y reine por siempre en este continente americano nuestra sagrada patrona la santísima Virgen de Guadalupe!, ¡muera el mal gobierno!"

Under those words, the Rebel Priest achieved nearly thirty thousand people, a great majority of whom were poorly armed peasants with machetes and spears and poorly trained using basic human wave tactics. The only military element that supported the rebellion of Miguel Hidalgo was led by Ignacio Allende of the Provincial Regiment of Dragoons of the Queen along with other officers such as Mariano Abasolo. Accompanied by this troop, whose magnitude was one hundred dragons, they went first to Atotonilco, where they took the banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which was considered the emblem of the movement. There again Hidalgo harangued his troops, with the cry of "¡Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe , viva Fernando VII!" The population responded "¡Viva la América y mueran los gachupines!" The Gachupines were a derogatory nickname for the upstart Spanish peninsular. As the insurgents passed through the eastern towns of Guanajuato, miners and laborers from the neighboring estates joined forces, some few carried firearms, but most were armed with machetes, spears, sticks, clubs, slings and stones. On September 21, when they reached the outskirts of Celaya, their force was fifty thousand men. Followed by the dragons and the mass of the people, Hidalgo and Aldama marched at the head of the contingent holding a portrait of Fernando VII, marking Fernandina's loyalty to him. Upon reaching the city, a shot rang out and the mob began looting the city. The soldiers commanded by Aldama tried in vain to contain the action, getting to be beaten and one got to die from injuries.

In that town, after the looting and undisciplined execution of several Carlists loyalists, Miguel Hidalgo was appointed captain general, remaining in command of the army over Allende - who was undoubtedly more skilled in what refers to military tactics - who was assigned appointed lieutenant general. From Celaya, the insurgents headed northwest and on their way seized Salamanca, Irapuato, and Silao. When they reached the outskirts of Guanajuato, on September 28, the number of the rebels had increased considerably. Most of the urban upper classes of New Spain at first viewed the revolution led by Hidalgo favorably, but as it became clear that the insurgent leaders could not contain their followers, support faded further when the news that some Creole and Peninsular Carlist women were raped and murdered by the followers of Hidalgo even when he executed those allegedly responsible.

The mayor of Guanajuato, Juan Antonio Riaño, realized that most of the inhabitants of the town were miners who hoped to join the insurgent uprising, so he decided to take cover with six hundred men in the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, one of the buildings strongest and thickest in the city. He sent letters requesting military support to the King and nearby Generals. Hidalgo sent José Mariano Jiménez as an emissary given his old friendship with Riaño. Jose Mariano Jiménez, a miner without military training who asked Allende for permission to join the troops; Allende refused but Hidalgo decided to send him on a special mission to intimidate Riaño and request the surrender of the city of Guanajuato without violence.

“I do not see Europeans as enemies, but only as an obstacle that hinders the success of our company. Your Honor will serve to express these ideas to the Europeans who have gathered in that Alhóndiga, so that they can decide if they declare themselves as enemies or agree to remain as prisoners receiving humane and benign treatment, as those who bring us in our company, until the insinuated freedom and independence is achieved, in which case they will enter the class of citizens, remaining with the right to have the goods that for now, for the demands of the nation, we will serve ourselves. If, on the contrary, they do not agree to this request, I will apply all the forces and devices to destroy them, without leaving any hope of quarter. "​

​

Riaño was a man born in Cantabria, and like many Northern Spaniards he was a man of the sea, as he participated in several naval battles and reached the rank of captain of a frigate but changed him to Lieutenant General. Upon receiving the letter from Hidalgo, he refused to accept the request, claiming to be a soldier of the King of Spain and recognizing King Carlos of Spain and then the Viceroy of New Spain as the sole authority; José Joaquín Vicente de Iturrigaray y Aróstegui. Upon hearing the response from his old friend, Hidalgo decided to initiate combat. Allende, Aldama, and Jiménez divided equally to besiege Guanajuato. At first they met no resistance; on the contrary they received support in money and soldiers. Some of his informants gave information on the military status of the fortress and the flow protected there. The combat began around eight o'clock in the morning, when the first shots were heard on the corn exchange. Riaño ordered Lieutenant Barceló, captain of the guard, to go up to the roof to face possible invasions. The mayor, meanwhile, remained on the ground floor resisting the insurgent sieges. Barceló, from above, counterattacked with bombs and rifle shots. Riaño saw that a victory for either side was impossible, while the royalists were deprived of any mobility, so he decided to go out with a handful of men. When one of the insurgent chiefs realized Riaño's presence, he ordered an attack on the Carlists chief, who, while trying to defend himself, perished. The soldiers who left with the mayor withdrew, taking the body with them.

Upon seeing the mayor dead, one of Riaño's advisers suggested to Lieutenant Barceló that he surrender, and that he, as second in command, should take charge of the situation. Barceló flatly refused, stating that it was a combat and that the military authority, which he represented, was superior to the civil authority at that time of war. However, Riaño's adviser obtained a white handkerchief and tied it to a rifle of a soldier who had died in combat. He began to wave his new peace flag and when the insurgents saw it they realized that the Spanish had decided to surrender. Hidalgo ordered a ceasefire and sent Allende to negotiate with the vanquished. Barceló killed the civilian who waved the flag when what was happening was discovered and went up to the roof to continue the shooting. The insurgents realized that they had been deceived and continued the fight. On the insurgent side, Hidalgo considered the possibility of taking over the building, but did not want to and did not have the resources, but it was then that Juan José de los Reyes Martínez, a miner from La Valenciana famous for his strength and nicknamed "El Pípila", requested Hidalgo permission to set fire to the Alhóndiga door, which would allow the insurgents to enter it. After meditating it, the priest accepted and El Pípila launched into action. He carried a slab on his back as a shield, managing to set the door of the alhóndiga on fire to make way for the insurgents. After setting fire to the threshold (reinforced with iron plates) of the Alhóndiga, the rebels were able to enter it and began to slaughter and loot. Barceló and Riaño's son, both Carlist commanders, were killed by the mob. Also many Spaniards and Creoles of lineage were stripped of their belongings and suffered death at the hands of the multitudes. The looting of Guanajuato was not limited only to the Alhóndiga, but in the following days it spread to the city and the metropolitan area. Hidalgo prevented some of his soldiers from staining the body of his friend Riaño, and it was then that he realized the looting of the city.

The worst was when on October 1, Hidalgo was informed of the arrival of Brigadier Félix Calleja, who came with a division of cavalry, who came to the aid of Guanajuato but they were informed of the fate of the city and its inhabitants, so their mission changed. to avenge and eliminate the Fernandino Army.

 

[Paladín Wulfen]

Brigadier Felix Calleja was an officer born in Medina del Campo, a town near Valladolid. He entered the military service at an early age like many other noble sons of Spain, where he stood out for his intelligence and specialized in military cartography. He participated in the unsuccessful expedition against Algiers in 1775. As a lieutenant, he intervened in the reconquest of the Menorcan port of Mahón in 1782 and, that same year, in the month of September, he was among the troops that unsuccessfully besieged Gibraltar. Captain and director of the Military College of El Puerto de Santa María from 1784 to 1788, Félix María Calleja del Rey arrived in New Spain in 1789 accompanying the Second Count of Revillagigedo, when he took office as viceroy. A man of great seriousness and rigor, Calleja initially held the position of infantry captain in the Savoy regiment, which he changed to that of the Puebla regiment. He was later promoted to commander of the infantry brigade of the Intendencia de San Luis Potosí. Under the government of the viceroy Miguel José de Azanza, he severely repressed the rebellions in this sector of the viceroyalty. He also fought off Prairie Indians and Anglo-American filibusters who infiltrated distant and nearly unpopulated Texas territory.

With 1,000 cavalry soldiers and 10 battalions of regular volunteer soldiers with surpluses from San Luis de Potosí, Calleja came from the west to Guanajuato. Faced with the news of the arrival of Calleja, who was the superior of Ignacio Allende and the Fernandino military, many soldiers of the Dragon Regiment became nervous, but Allende quickly tried to establish discipline and avoid a possible mass desertion. A messenger was sent by Calleja to Guanajuato, demanding the surrender of the army. But the Messenger was killed by a pro-Fernandino militiaman who was reprimanded, but the death of the messenger caused Felix to abandon any kind of possible respect for the Rebels. Hidalgo and Allende organized the available army, which had 3,400 trained men and 2,000 muskets obtained from their actions and looting. It is estimated that the rest were about 100,000 men without order or training, of whom 20,000 were horsemen, all poorly armed with machetes, maces, short spears and matchlock weapons. Allende trusted in the support they could obtain from his artillery, made up of 95 guns. In front of the ten canyons of Calleja. Before the battle, the Fernandino leaders discussed strategy. Hidalgo had decided not to fight within the city. Accepting the opinion of the priest, the Fernandinos left the city to the open field near the river where there was a bridge, where they camped for the night and sang religious songs. Hidalgo hoped that, seeing the large number of insurgents, Calleja would desert and go over to the insurgent side.

In the morning, Hidalgo said: «Hoy desayunaré en Guanajuato, comeré en Valladolid y cenaré en México» Then he ordered Allende to organize the army as follows: the artillery was under the direction of General José Antonio Torres, who helped direct the uprising in Guanajuato, the cavalry was put under the command of Juan Aldama and the reserves were directed by Miguel Hidalgo himself; the general in chief of the battle was Ignacio Allende.

The battle began with an intense bombardment by the Fernandino cannons that, due to the poor training of the artillerymen and the defensive emplacement work done by Calleja's troops, did not cause a great effect. Seeing the effect that happened to the ineffective bombardment, Allende ordered an advance while Juan Aldama advanced on the flanks. At a distance of 2,000 paces, the Carlist Cannons opened fire. causing dozens of casualties to be made among the least armed and trained battalions. At the same time, on the flanks the Calleja Dragon cavalry collided with the enemies, the Carlist cavalry better trained and equipped than the Fernandina who surpassed the Carlist in number and motivation. The confrontation where the Carlist cavalry sabers, flintlock pistol and carbine defeated the Fernandine short lances, machetes and maces ended with the Fernandine cavalry fleeing across the river but being pursued by the enemy cavalry.

The infantry clash, which many of the Fernandina lacked firearms and fought with short herding spears, sowing machetes and some various weapons such as clubs and even scythes. It was brutal because at 50 meters distance, Calleja fired and ten thousand muskets opened fire, killing thousands of Fernandinos while the ten cannons fired shrapnel, decimating thousands more who ran charging against the Carlist positions. Despite everything, a large number of Fernandinos managed to reach the Carlist ranks. However, their load was uncoordinated, with what they arrived in small and dispersed groups. Bayonets and the best military training allowed street troops to repel most attacks. Only an especially strong push managed to overcome the first line, but it was stopped and crushed by the troops of the second line.

Seeing the fighting, Allende ordered the reserves led by Miguel Hidalgo, who was holding a painting of Fernando, to advance. It is said that in the middle of the advance, a Carlist cannonball destroyed Miguel and his standard bearer. However, the Carlist soldiers began the counterattack before the support arrived, since, armed with their muskets and bayonets, they managed to repel the “peasant rabble”. Allende then ordered the second line to actively prevent, by arms if necessary, the first to retreat. Following this plan, the front was extended up to a kilometer in length while the Fernandinos tried to envelop the opposing army with a pincer movement. The field was covered in blood and corpses, so the Fernandino soldiers had to stay on the defensive. The entry into combat of the Fernandinos military put the balance slightly in the hands of Allende, whose troops began to gain ground.

Then, the Carlist cavalry returned, already reorganized after the pursuit of the enemy irregular horsemen, they returned at that moment to the battlefield. They attacked the Fernandina formation from the rear, taking the artillery in a short time and charging against the enemy reserve that did not expect an attack from that direction, so that the collapse of Allende's army took place, who had to flee due to fear of a possible attack. persecution by Calleja's troops. The rebel leaders accompanied by a hundred loyal disciplined Fernandinos fled north where they ended up in mid-October being welcomed by Francisco Ignacio Elizondo Villarreal, a military man from Salinas, Nuevo Reino de León. Elizondo in his beginnings felt loyalty to King Fernando VII and proclaimed himself Fernandino, but when the Fernandinos arrived defeated, he changed his loyalties and hid them at the same time that he sent a messenger to Brigadier Felix Calleja at the same time that he called a contingent of troops to effectively capture the Fernandinos. In the end, the Fernandino leaders were captured, the prisoners are taken to Chihuahua, where summary trials were carried out. Allende, Aldama and Jiménez were shot. Their heads were placed in the four corners of the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, where they remained for 10 years. Abasolo's life was spared, but he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the political influences that his wife had with the viceroyalty. The Ignacio Elizondo conspiracy was celebrated by the royalists as a great victory as it was thought that they would try to instigate a US-backed uprising in Texas. The royalist general Félix María Calleja Del Rey congratulated him and sent a letter to the Spanish king about Elizondo's victory. The victory was not a military action, but the capture of the main insurgent leaders who lead the fight. As a reward, he received the rank of Colonel in the Spanish Army. However, his action would bring a negative reaction against him from the insurgents, of whom he once declared himself a participant. During an expedition in Texas, Ignacio Elizondo was recognized and finally stabbed to death by Lieutenant Miguel Serrano, a relative of one of the deceased on the outskirts of Guanajuato, while he slept in his camp on the banks of the San Marcos River in Texas. The victory at the beginning of the Great Spanish War by the Carlist allowed the Fernandinos to not achieve great advances in Spanish America, which was already showing more loyalty to King Carlos and only certain sectors had thoughts contrary to loyalty to Carlos IV of Spain.

 

[Paladín Wulfen]

In Spain, after Napoleon's departure from Spain in January 1809, the Spanish launched a series of violent counterattacks, seeking at all costs the decisive battle, a new Bailén. Some small victories were achieved in pitched battles, but the defeats were much more numerous until the final catastrophe at the battle of Ocaña. After this absolute disaster, Andalusia fell with little resistance, but just then, in February 1810, Napoleon officially announced the creation of a series of military governments in Catalonia, Aragon, Navarre and the Basque Country, led by soldiers directly subordinate to Paris. without going through the "Spanish" government of José Bonaparte, which caused even more tension. The guerrillas, which were already very numerous in all the occupied provinces, increased in number and for the next two years a brutal and desperate struggle took place. In Galicia, the resistance was such that a government that resembled an independent kingdom was established. In Barreiro's words, the Church gave itself up in favor of the struggle; robes and cassocks were hung up and arms were taken up, and the clergymen who by age (or because of their cowardice) remained in the rear, supported her from pulpits and confessionals. The hidalgos, who considered themselves natural lords of their peasant subjects, on a few occasions like this one were able to exercise leadership that allowed them to consolidate the prestige of the families: the pazos were barracks and warehouses where the peasants found, this time, everything, from arms and ammunition to extensions for the payment of rents. The bourgeoisie of the maritime cities, after an initial doubt about which side to take, also gave themselves to the cause by contributing money, sending their children to cadet schools and, above all, assuming (not disinterestedly, it is true) the heavy responsibilities. of an increasingly complicated military and civil bureaucracy. They all collaborated effectively. But, above all, there was, in the first line, the peasantry (the majority of the population). Perhaps since the Great Irmandiña War, Galician peasants have never given themselves so vehemently to a cause as on this occasion. The war was thus a popular epic.

Even Lord Arthur Wellesley himself came to praise the Galicians against the resistance against the French even when they ravaged villages, cities and churches committing innumerable excesses among which are counted; looting, murder and rape, even of barely ten-year-old girls, this only made the Spanish Catholic population even more agitated and with a strong “patriotic” feeling against the ancestral enemy of Spain and the murderer of religious. It was precisely after the "liberation" of Galicia that Galicia decided to place itself on one side in the Spanish Royal Family, positioning itself in favor of Carlos. This caused a climate of agitation among those loyal to Fernando and the Carlists that only became even more tense when ships from the Spanish Colonies arrived with weapons and cannons in Galicia.

At the beginning of 1810, France controlled the North of Spain except for parts of Catalonia, Aragon and Galicia. While controlling the entirety of Castilla-La-Vieja, Leon, along the center of Andalusia with strong rebel guerrilla foci or even combat against regular units disconnected from the Spanish army. But at the end of 1810, the Third Portugese Campaign began, where a contingent of 65,000 French regular troops led by the Marshal of the Empire André Masséna, 1st Duke of Rivoli, 1st Prince of Essling invaded Portugal. André Masséna was one of the generals most esteemed by the Emperor Napoleon because many of Napoleon's generals were trained in the best French and European military academies prior to his rise to power, however Masséna was one of those who achieved greatness. without the benefit of a formal education. While those of noble rank acquired their education and promotion as a matter of privilege, Masséna rose from humble beginnings to such prominence that Napoleon referred to him as "the greatest men in my military empire."

But General Arthur Wellesley, thanks to the Spanish intelligence service supported by the guerrilla bands, expected an offensive to Portugal many months before due to the vital position of Lisbon as the main port of the Peninsula in non-French hands. To protect the city, he ordered the construction of the Torres Vedras lines - three strong lines of mutual support, forts, redoubts and rebellines with positions - fortified artillery under the supervision of Sir Richard Fletcher. The various parts of the lines communicated with each other over the Flag semaphore, allowing an immediate response to any threat. As a prelude to the invasion, Ney took the Spanish fortified city of Ciudad Rodrigo after a siege that lasted from April 26 to July 9, 1810. Later came the Battle of Côa. It took place in the valley of the Côa River and it was the first significant battle for the French Army for Portugal.

As the British-Portuguese forces were outnumbered here, on July 22, General Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington sent Brigadier-General Robert Craufurd a letter, saying that he (Wellington) was "not desirous of engaging in an affair beyond the Coa. " On July 24, Craufurd's Light Division, with 4,200 infantry, 800 cavalry, and six guns, was surprised by the sight of 20,000 troops under Marshal Michel Ney. Rather than retreat and cross the river as ordered by Wellington, Craufurd chose to engage the French, narrowly avoiding disaster. The French objective was to force the Light Division back across the Côa in order to besiege Almeida. They succeeded after hard fighting, but then launched a costly assault across the Côa, suffering heavy casualties.

Later, pursuing the Anglo-Portuguese forces, the Battle of Buçaco took place in the Portuguese mountain range of Serra do Buçaco. Having occupied the heights of Bussaco (a 10-mile (16 km) long ridge) with 25,000 British and the same number of Portuguese, Wellington was attacked five times successively by 65,000 French under Marshal André Masséna. Masséna was uncertain as to the disposition and strength of the opposing forces because Wellington deployed them on the reverse slope of the ridge, where they could neither be easily seen nor easily softened up with artillery. The actual assaults were delivered by the corps of Marshal Michel Ney and General of Division (Major General) Jean Reynier, but after much fierce fighting they failed to dislodge the allied forces and were driven off after having lost 4,500 men against 1,250 Anglo-Portuguese casualties . However, Wellington was ultimately forced to withdraw to the Lines of Torres Vedras after his positions were outflanked by Masséna's troops.

Wellington manned the fortifications with "secondary troops" —25,000 Portuguese militias, 8,000 Spanish, and 2,500 British marines and artillerymen — keeping his main field army of British and Portuguese regulars scattered to meet a French assault anywhere along the Lines. On September 27, 1810, the French army under Marshal Masséna discovered a barren land (under the scorched earth policy) and an enemy behind an almost impenetrable defensive line. . Masséna's forces reached the lines on October 11 and took Sobral de Monte Agraço the next day. On October 14, the VIII Corps of 16,939 soldiers tried to advance, but at the Battle of Sobral they were repelled in an attempt to assault a strong British outpost that had a garrison of 14,453 soldiers and that ended with 277 French dead and 206 soldiers. Anglo-Portuguese dead and wounded. After trying to wait for the enemy, the lack of food and fodder in the northern area of the lines forced Masséna to order a French retreat to the north, starting on the night of November 14 and 15, 1810, to find an area that He had not been subjected to the scorched earth policy.

The inactivity of the French Marshal allowed the Anglo-Portuguese to build a chain of 17 strongholds from Almada to Trafaria. But after resisting until February, when the famine really began, Marshal Masséna ordered a withdrawal in early March 1811, taking a month to reach Spain. Marshal Masséna had begun his campaign with his 65,000-strong army (l'Armée de Portugal). After losing 4,000 at the Battle of Buçaco, he reached Torres Vedras with 61,000 men in October 1810. When he finally returned to Spain in April 1811, he had lost another 21,000 men, mostly from starvation and serious illness. The victims were not helped by the fact that the Iberian Peninsula suffered one of the coldest winters he has ever known.

 

[Paladín Wulfen]

While in Europe, Napoleon conquered and increased his empire while his southern flank was a bloody and gangrenous thorn. In Spanish America, King Carlos, determined to combat possible treason and at the same time face banditry, decided to establish the Civil Guard (Spanish: Guardia Civil) under the leadership of Pedro Agustín Girón y de las Casas, officer of the Royal Guard. and descendant of Emperor Moctezuma II. Previously, the application of the law was in charge of "Santa Hermandad", an organization of municipal leagues. But corruption was widespread in the Brotherhood, where officials were constantly subject to local political influence, and the system was largely ineffective outside the major towns and cities. Criminals could often escape justice simply by moving from one district to another. The first Civil Guard Academy was established in the city of Puebla de los Ángeles, south of Mexico City.

To improve relations between the Peninsular and Creole nobility along with the native one, freedom of access was allowed to anyone capable of paying the tuition or guaranteeing being the son of the military. One thing that stood out was the Politica de Huerfanos: The option was given to be responsible for the upbringing, education and training of the orphans of officers and soldiers who have died in the service of Spain, often those who once served in the Army. or the Navy. Recruits in the Civil Guard receive an education like no other. The fundamental cornerstone of life at the Academy is harsh discipline. From the day they first don their greenish garb, the Cadets learn that illness or weakness is no excuse.

Quick correction, discipline, fasting, and contemplation are the tools by which a mind of rigid purpose and faith is formed, and the cornerstone of the Civil Guard Academy's teaching. Education goes through predetermined phases, beginning with basic Spanish literacy and regulation, and progressing through history, politics, languages, rhetoric, and leadership skills.

The curriculum is also not limited to honing the intellect, as all students are trained in physical endurance and weapons skills by Instructors. The Instructors would be hardened military veterans and typically have spent half their lives in military service before being ordered to instructional duties in exchange for a salary at the school. Dry, stoic, relentless, and relentless, the lessons taught by the Instructors will remain with the Guard throughout his life. A very marked detail is that the Guards learn to speak the native languages found in the nearby lands such as the Indian languages, English, French and others. This is done in order to avoid language difference errors and to ensure a good job.

Together with the formation of the Civil Guard, King Carlos expressed concern for one of the most lucrative industries in Spain. Of all the natural industries in Spain, the most lucrative was the pasture tradition. Since the 12th century, Castilians had secured the monopoly of wool in Western Europe, due to the high quality of the native merino sheep yield. This monopoly was protected by a powerful association of sheep farmers known as the Mesta (El Honrado Concejo de la Mesta). But the desolation caused by the French Army either to shelter the troops, feed them or even for the wool of great value caused havoc that Carlos decided to solve by transporting herds of merino sheep to the New World.

Together with these measures aimed at promoting better sheep farming in Spanish America, instituting Honored Councils of the American Mesta in each of the Viceroyalties. The King decided to promote the Indian Protection Treaty aimed at the protection of the nomadic Indian tribes, which encouraged various tribes such as the Apaches and the Comanche to end up seeing the Spanish with better eyes, even going to support them in military operations close to their territories. Originally the Spanish attitude towards the Indians was that they saw themselves as guardians of the basic rights of the Indians. The Spanish objective was the peaceful submission of the Indians. The laws of Spain controlled the conduct of soldiers during wars, even when the tribes were hostile. The missionary's role was to convert the Indians to Christianity. This would be followed by the acceptance of the Indians as members of the Spanish civilization. While the attitude of the Anglo-Saxon countries (England at the beginning and then followed by the United States of America) was of total removal from their lands or total inhalation. The Indian was continually removed or killed.

By 1811, the so-called Royal Ordinances of H.M. Carlos IV for the armies of Spain. The Royal Ordinances of 1811 were a compendium made with the same objective as those made by Carlos III. Attending to four priority objectives: men, weapons, training and defense. That is, Infantry Regiments and complete squadrons that will have modern and effective equipment and weapons, manufactured in Spain, led by an expert and scientifically and technically experienced officer. His desire was aimed at creating a Spain and Spanish territories, which did not require the help of other powers at the time of armed confrontations.

By 1811 the Carlist Army in America was made up of one hundred Line Infantry Regiments, 20 Cavalry Regiments and 20 Artillery Battalions. With the complement of the Independent Light Infantry Battalions and the Native Auxiliary Battalions of the Indian Nations; Navajo, Apache, Comanche, and Pueblo organized as follows.