On November 23, after Portugal completely captured the defense line of the Seclavin Triangular Fortress, the next offensive was very powerful.
After that, the Portuguese army successively captured Cariavillar, Navarre Moral, Almaras, and El Puente, and reached Talavera, 100km away from the capital of Madrid, before being blocked again.
Talavera is a famous military place in history. The Battle of Talavera during the Napoleonic Wars took place here.
In 1809, with the help of Arthur Wellesley, the famous British general and later Duke of Wellington, Portugal completely drove away the French invading army.
Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, struck while the iron was hot and led more than 20,000 British troops on his own to advance along the Tejo River toward Madrid. With the assistance of Spanish General Cuesta, the British-Spanish allied forces pursued the French.
The army fought until Talavera, more than 100 kilometers southwest of Madrid, and encountered resistance only after encountering 50,000 French troops led by Marshal Claude Victor (Victor).
1809.7.28, Battle of Talavera. In the fierce battle, both sides suffered heavy losses. The French army suffered 7,390 casualties and lost 20 artillery pieces; the British army suffered 6,200 casualties. The Western army suffered 1,200 casualties. At dusk, Marshal Victor had to admit defeat and temporarily
Retreating backwards, the British army was unable to pursue them after this battle, and because of the performance of the Spanish army, it was impossible to regard them as reliable partners in regular warfare. Since they no longer faced a head-on confrontation with the French army led by Soult, they withdrew.
Portugal.
Talavera is Madrid's last two barriers. As long as Portugal captures Talavera and Toledo behind it, Madrid will open the door.
Faced with the last barrier, Spain laid down capital defenses in Talavera and Toledo. Most of the arms aid from Western France and Belgium to Spain was also used here.
The fortress level of Talavera, Toledo, is much higher than that of Seclavin. The Portuguese artillery unit, which only has two Type 11 305mm howitzers, is obviously underpowered.
Portugal went on successive campaigns, and by the time they reached Calavera, the army was already very exhausted.
After the artillery offensive was ineffective and several rounds of infantry charges failed, they could only tighten the defense of the camp, recuperate, and wait for more support from the rear.
The war has reached a stalemate, and preparations for a new round of war need to be made. The next big thing is diplomacy.
War is the continuation of politics, and diplomacy is the sharp edge of politics.
The Spanish-Portuguese War was not only a battle on the battlefield, but also a political and diplomatic battle.
Since the Spanish-Portuguese War began, Spain and Portugal have each won over a number of countries in Europe.
Spain has attracted supporters from France, Belgium and Monaco.
Portugal received support from Italy, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
European countries, except for the above countries, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Belgium and other non-mainstream European countries have not expressed their stance.
It is very normal for Italy, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg to support Portugal. Several countries have good relations with Portugal and have close economic ties. They are quasi-allies.
Spain can win over France, Belgium, and Monaco not because of how good it is with them, but because Spain's existence is very valuable to them.
France does not want Portugal to truly rise. They believe that the existence of a complete and weakened Spain in Iberia is obviously much better than the Iberian League dominated by Portugal.
The potential of the Iberian Peninsula is not small. If Portugal integrates it, plus Brazil in South America, it will be equivalent to establishing another powerful country south of France.
The French Quartet already includes Britain, Germany, and Italy. If Portugal is added to the mix, it will be geopolitically too bad for France.
Belgium supports Spain because it has bad relations with Luxembourg and has territorial disputes.
The Luxembourg province in Belgium used to be the territory of Luxembourg, but now Luxembourg has taken over. The previously unpopular Greater Luxembourgism has become mainstream in Luxembourg and has become the political platform of various parties.
As for Monaco, France's little follower, France points to the east, and he doesn't dare to go west. Whatever France does, Monaco always follows.
Portugal's trade blockade against Spain was generally successful and severely restricted Spain. Except for France, other European countries had no way to sell arms to Spain.
Countries promised to be neutral and could sell arms to both parties, but Portugal was stronger than Spain, and each major country had closer economic ties with the Portuguese Empire, so it was difficult for Spain to receive arms assistance from them.
Spain mainly relies on France and Belgium for arms assistance.
As for France, what can Portugal do to them now? As for their arms assistance, they can only hold their noses and tolerate it, but for Belgium, Portugal directly interrupted their assistance to Spain.
Belgium is a small industrial powerhouse and is very powerful in arms. It quickly signed a large arms order with Spain and quickly shipped goods to Spain.
However, Belgium's operation did not go smoothly at the beginning. Before the Belgian arms ship reached the Spanish port, it was blocked by Portugal, which had received the intelligence.
However, Belgium also had a few tricksters who knew how to play tricks. Relying on their friendly relationship with France, they directly changed the flag of the arms ship to the French flag, causing Portugal to suffer a heavy loss.
December 12, 1911, Gruz Palace.
"How is the negotiation with France going? Are they still not giving up their support for Spain?" Tangning asked Tony.
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor." Tony replied in a low tone.
France has always stood firmly with Spain. As the imperial minister in charge of foreign affairs, Tony certainly knew the importance of France to Spain.
The reason why Spain has been holding on hard now is that there is no doubt that France plays a role in it.
"French Prime Minister Joseph Caillot is a sensible person with his own political opinions.
He was different from the revanchists led by Poincaré and Clemenceau. He had always emphasized the accumulation of strength and could not easily go to war with Germany. In addition, he also tried his best to suppress the rise of other new forces around France.
We and Italy are both targets of Joseph Caillot's vigilance, and he has no faith in our political commitment."
Joseph Caillot, who once served as France's finance minister, had a clear understanding of France's strength. He advocated that France must not go to war with Germany unless it received absolute support from Britain and Russia.
"Tony, what is the approval rating of France's current Prime Minister Joseph Caillot? Is there any hope of being overthrown?"
The cabinets of the French Third Republic, and the Fourth Republic after World War II, have always been unstable.
As Tangning, who studied in France in his previous life, although he did not know the political history of France and the specific cabinet changes, he knew clearly that the life span of the cabinet of the Third Republic was generally only about one and a half years.
If nothing else happens, the outbreak of World War I is not too far away.
As radical nationalism becomes more and more powerful in France, Joseph Caillot, a moderate and rationalist, will not be able to sit in the position of prime minister for long.
"Joseph Cayo, his approval rating is not high right now." Tony replied.
"Because of his compromise with Germany in the Moroccan crisis, he is now being criticized by the people. Now France's two former prime ministers, Poincaré and Clemenceau, are madly attacking him and calling him a traitor."
This chapter has been completed!