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Inspired in no small part by Faelin's post on an alternate Cuba...This is a quick TL I whipped up. Please feel free to critique it! This isn't my area of expertise (yet...)

Viva Carlos!

Part I: A Reversal of Fortunes

The Death of Ferdinand VII in 1833 plunged the entire nation of Spain into the fires of civil war. Supporters of the so-called legitimate government of the Queen Regent Maria Christina and Isabella II soon found themselves pitted against rebels rallying to the cause of Don Carlos, the brother of Ferdinand. Despite the large initial advantages held by the forces of Isabella, otherwise known as the Liberals or the Christinos, they failed to quash the Carlist forces.

Things took a turn for the worse for the Liberals when Tomás Zumalacárregui a veteran of the Peninsular war joined the ranks of the Carlists. Within months Zumalacárregui had transformed scattered Carlist resistance in Northern Spain into a powerful army all but driving the Christinos from the region. Only the fortified towns remained in Christino hands. Under the orders of Don Carlos himself, Zumalacárregui was ordered to attack and seize the critical city of Bilbao from the Christino forces. Though this was seen by Zumalacárregui as a foolish move, he nonetheless obeyed his orders and attacked the city with 14 battalions and 10 guns.

The 14th of June would prove to be a decisive day in the history of the Carlist War as Zumalacárregui began his bombardment with lethal effect (1). Within hours the Christino lines around the city were breached and the victorious Carlist forces stormed in. The fighting within the city was fierce but the superior momentum of the Carlist forces proved to be more than enough to overrun the Christino forces. By June 17th the entirety of Bilbao was in Carlist hands.

The Victory at Bilbao proved to be an immense boon to the Carlist cause. With a crucial port in their hands the Carlists soon found that both Prussia and Tsarist Russia were willing to finance and supply their faction as Carlos had hoped. This influx of funds and supplies would go a great deal towards evening the playing field between the Carlists and the Christinos.

Another crucial result of the victory of Bilbao would be the rise in favor of Zumalacárregui. The victor of Bilbao was able to convince Carlos to reconsider his position towards an offensive towards Madrid. This coupled with an increase in volunteers for the Carlists resulted in the Carlist army launching it’s infamous Expedition Real towards Madrid in Autumn 1835.

The Expedition Real September- December 1835

Their was an urgency to the actions of Don Carlos and Zumalacárregui as they marshaled the Carlist armies in the North and Eastern portions for a drive on Madrid. British and French expeditionary forces were arriving at the remaining Northern ports still in Christino hands and threatened to alter the balance of power in Northern Spain. However having convinced Carlos that Madrid was the key to winning the war, Zumalacárregui had managed to strip away all but minimal forces to participate in the Expedition Real.

The drive south was marked with a series of Carlist victories over the Christinos due primarily to their inferior generals. Time after time Zumalacárregui managed to outflank or outmaneuver his Christino opponents creating an aura of invincibility about him and his army. This would cause the Carlist armies to receive a huge morale boost and conversely cause massive desertion amongst the Christinos who had little to no confidence in their officers.

The Battle for Madrid (December 4th 1835) would be a crucial one for the Carlist forces. Despite Don Carlos’ hesitation to order the assault, Zumalacárregui acted independently and did just that. Veteran Carlist artillery crews began a brutally effective bombardment that shattered Christino morale. This coupled with a massive infantry assault later on in the afternoon would see the Christino lines shatter just like at Bilbao leaving the defenses of Madrid severely compromised.

The breaking of the Christino lines around Madrid came as an extreme shock to the Queen Regent and her advisors who were forced to evacuate the city having remained despite the threat to strengthen the resolve of the Christino defenders. Maria Cristina and her government was forced to re-establish their court at Seville due to the Carlist success.

Madrid would be pacified by mid-December, and Don Carlos would be officially crowned Carlos V of Spain and take up residence at the Royal palace. The capture of Madrid would go a long way to establishing the legitimacy of the Carlist regime and would boost it’s reputation not only within Spain but in the rest of Europe as well.

The Revolts of 1836

With Madrid in Carlist hands, the fortunes of the Christinos began to take a turn for the worse. British and French expeditionary forces soon found themselves penned up in the remaining Northern ports still under Christino control by increasing numbers of Carlist Militia. Attempts at breaking out were met by brutal ambushes and high casualties reducing these Expeditionary forces to little more than garrisons.

This coupled with the defeat of the Portuguese volunteer legion in early spring of 1836 by none other than Tomas Zumalacárregui himself resulted in discontent running extremely high amongst Christino forces. This discontent would manifest itself in the Radical revolts of Summer 1836 in which National Militias across the Christino controlled south rose up in revolt against the Queen Regent’s government in hopes of re-establishing the constitution of 1812.

An attempt on the Queen Regent and her family residing in Seville early on in the Radical Revolts saw a polarizing of the Christino cause. The Radicals soon found themselves militarily opposed by the supporters of the Queen Regent. Unfortunately for the Queen Regent, the two sides were about evenly matched. Pitched battles raged across the south as the Radicals attempted to gain control of the Christino cause.

Meanwhile in North and Central Spain, the Carlist forces took advantage of the temporary infighting of the Christino’s to solidify their gains. Aragon and Catalan regions were consolidated as were Carlist positions in Northern Spain. By fall 1836, Carlist forces were in more or less control of the Northern half of the Peninsula.

October 14th 1836 would see the fortunes of the Queen Regent and Isabella II take yet another turn for the worse as the combined forces of the Radical Progressives defeated the main Christino army resulting in a total rout at the battle of Salamanca. This defeat would effectively mark an end to the Queen Regent’s ambitions to install her daughter on the throne of Spain. Infighting within the Christino faction had effectively nullified it in the upcoming conflict.

The remainder of 1836 would see the Christino infighting grow increasingly in intensity. As a Revolutionary council was created in Seville, the remaining Christino forces sought to evacuate the country. In a move that would determine the fate of yet another nation, the Queen Regent Maria Christina and her two daughters would board a ship and leave the Iberian Peninsula to set up a government in exile in Havana, where they’d been assured that they would be well received.

The evacuation of the Queen Regent and her daughters would be the effective death knell of the Christino cause. The subsequent backlash against supporters of the Queen Regent by the Progressives resulted in them losing public favor and being branded as extremists by the majority of the Spanish population. British, French, and Portuguese expeditionary forces were withdrawn from the Peninsula leaving the Progressive forces to face the veteran Carlist armies alone.

By December 1836 hopes for a Liberal victory in the Carlist war were all but extinguished. Few would have believed that the Carlists could have gone from a group of disaffected conservative guerillas to the practical rulers of Spain. Yet in the span of 2 short years they had done just that. Now with over half of the country under their control and with Carlos V firmly entrenched in Madrid, the Carlists turned their eyes south to end what had become known as the Carlist War.

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(1) The POD is that the Carlist bombardment of Bilbao on June 14th 1835 is much more effective. In OTL is caused more damage to the Carlist forces than the defenders. By the time a breach was created in OTL, the Carlists were in no shape to take advantage of this. In TTL, the barrage is far more effective and results in the Liberal lines being compromised around the city. This results in Bilbao falling to the Carlists providing them with international recognition and a seaport, in addition Tomas Zumalacárregui does not die like OTL thereby not depriving the Carlists of one of their best Generals.

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