Spain in the Great War

Bussines as usual

After two peaceful years, the end of Manuel García Prieto's tenure did not came in the usual way, that is, a crisis or a military coup d'etat, but because his frail health. After suffering a heart attack, garcía Prieto stepped back and was replaced by an old veteran, no one else but Álvaro Figueroa y Torres Mendieta, earl of Romanones.

Romanones had been somewhat in the wilderness since 1918, but had briefly return to politics between 1922 and 1923 when he had been brought back in by Primo de Rivera to take control of the interior ministry. And while Europe was on the verge of chaos and madness, Romanones led the country without too much ado.

Just as France saw an overwhelming victory for the right coalition led by André Tardieu (March 1926) and Germany voted in mass for the return of the monarchy under the former Kronprinz Wilhelm, the elder son of the former kaiser, Wilhelm II, in September 1926, Spain simply went on. The General Election Law of 1926 was enacted and extended the vote to all male citizens over the age of 25, but kept women without the right to vote..

Romanones kept also reducing government spending, making enemies in the military, as the Armed Forces were streamlined by the cuts in the expenses. When France saw the failed "revolution" of October 1927, when a General Strike degenerated in street firefighs between the armed forces and the strikers in several cities, Romanones was pressed to increase again the military expenditure, as the ghost of the "Red Terror" that was taking place on the other side of the Pyrenees brough fear into many hearts, specially among the Conservative minded ones.

Then came the Financial Crisis of 1928.
 
I hope that Alt Spain will be succeed in avoiding leaders or aspirants with messianic complexes and, even more importantly, it will avoid the emergence or reinforcement of that sociopolitical conditions that allowed,in OTL, its messianic complex to be shared / supported by sectors of the population... Y que viva España,ole!

 
I hope that Alt Spain will be succeed in avoiding leaders or aspirants with messianic complexes and, even more importantly, it will avoid the emergence or reinforcement of that sociopolitical conditions that allowed,in OTL, its messianic complex to be shared / supported by sectors of the population... Y que viva España,ole!


For what I hope I'll be able to do, Spain is on the way to get rid of all that fuss of messianic issue, comlpexes and old habits. It's not going to come for free, but it's coming.
 
Chaos at home and abroad.

The Financial Crisis of 1928 forced the resignation of Romanones, who was replaced by Gabino Bugallal Araújo, earl of Bugallal, that took a hard stance against any Communist threat in Spain, not shying away from using the army to quell any strike that may go out of hand for the police. Also, he came quite close to the authoritarian Estado Novo created in Portugal by the coup d'etat of 1926. However, Bugallal came soon into troubles. The Armed Forces had been quite calm during the last years, but the events in France had brought to the surface the fears of many conservative officers and the Prime Minister found himself under siege by his own generals, who demanded an intervention in France, by then on the verge of chaos after the failed Leftish general strike of 1927.

However, Bugallal was still struggling with the Financial Crisis and resisted, repeatedly, the presure of the generals. As the Army of Africa had also its own problems to keep the Spanish Protectorate of Marocco in peace (Abd el Krim, benefiting from the chaos in France, had rose again in revolt in late 1928 and, even if he had been defeated, he had not been crushed and a non-declared state of war persisted in the area since then), things came to a head when the young Colonel Francisco Franco, who had been drilling and executing war games with his own troops without informing Madrid, started on his own a war against Abd el Krim when he launched his men in a series of lightning raids against the rebel tribes, causing the break out of an all-out war with Abd el Krim's rebels on June 1929.
 
Thanks a lot!

I always try to remain within the boundaries of plausability and avoiding going out of limits. When that happens, I don't enjoy it at all. Nor my readers, I guess.
 
The years of discontent.

Franco's short and happy war ended not only with Abd el Krim's revolt (the defeated leader was paraded through the streets of Melilla prior to be executed as a petty criminal there), but also with Bugallal's and Franco's career. Accused of being unable to restrain the military, Bugallal, as a departing gift, had Franco's courtmartialled for desobeying orders and cashiered out of the army, in spite of his victory. Franco's downfall was also of its own making, as, in his determination to utterly crush Abd El Krim's forces, he aimed to annhilate the enemy forces by destroying them in the battlefield. He did not wat to destroy just the enemy forces, but also its determination to keep fighthing. To do that, he wanted to dron the enemy in their own blood.

Even if he managed to achieve that, the slow pace of his advance and the high number of Spanish casualties (the unlucky general was not shy of launching frontal assaults in order to annhilate the enemy here and there and avoiding them retreating to fight another day) caused the popular opinion to claim for his head and the armed forces to look away in disgust. After all, Franco had never been one of their own, but the King's protegée, and many rested the royal favour that had helped him in his fast rise.

Thus, the faster he rose, the faster he fell.

Hoever, this was not going to save Bugallal's head, who had to resign (November 11, 1929). Also, the popular anger against Franco was also directed to the king, who had helped, as we have stated before, the young officer to rise perhaps too high. Thus, for most of their time in office, the following Spanish prime ministers were desesperately trying to avoid doing anything that could damage the Crown.

It is worth mentioning that, in the following seven years, Spain had five primer ministers....
 
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I guessed from the above update that TTL how in OTL inside Spanish Army the desire/self pressing from theirs 'young' Army officers that believe that fighting against the 'Moors' they could be advanced in their army's careers or forget to be 'awarded' in the military sense because with a war they will have combat experience.
An experience that will increase their possibilities since they would ascend to the army uppers/middle ranks. was mainly caused for the Spain's army situation (OTL) with very few places for so many officers that increasing become 'aged' and sees vanished theirs army career

Although, I guess with a more sized sepoy army (Moors or Berber) troops that would be (usually) loyal only to their Spaniards officers like in OTL or perhaps would be the chance that their loyalty will belong to the State, than to the African (Moroccan) Spanish Army's commandant.
Finally, respect to Franco fate in this situation, remember that he and his political/military actions were a product from the above situation and perhaps could be getting (self) 'redeemed' for his key but fateful and dreadful role in OTL Spain.
 
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