Empire Rising: Spain

In the Franco-Prussian War, France had already demonstrated the dangers of having army divisions that were too small, which meant that when forming larger military divisions for large-scale wars, each division often lacked coordination, thereby reducing the combat effectiveness of the entire army.

In the Franco-Prussian War, most of the French armies were at the regiment level, and when forming larger-scale divisions, the combat effectiveness of each division was not as excellent as imagined, which was one of the reasons that led to the failure of the French.

Forming a division-scale military formation is a necessity for the development of the current era, and Spain must follow suit.

The good news is that Prime Minister Prim and Duke Serrano have already drafted a preliminary plan for the reform of the Spanish Military’s structure, and a new list of Spanish military formations has been born under their efforts.

Spain’s infantry divisions will consist of five infantry regiments and one artillery regiment, with a full complement of 12,500 personnel, and a total of 248 artillery pieces, which is excellent in terms of firepower.

In a wartime state, the entire division can be expanded to 18,000 personnel, becoming a reinforced infantry division with both firepower and numbers.

cavalry regiments have also been integrated into 3 cavalry divisions, each of which comprises 3 cavalry regiments. The cavalry divisions do not additionally include artillery units, resulting in a total of only 60 artillery pieces per cavalry division.

However, considering the mobility of cavalry, having fewer artillery pieces has its advantages.

Next is the brand-new troop configuration, the artillery division. The Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War have already proven the power of artillery in this era, and having a separate military formation is a necessity of the times.

Relying solely on the number of artillery pieces in infantry and cavalry units makes it difficult to allocate artillery for a siege battle. The artillery units are different. Armed with numerous artillery pieces, even a random artillery division can deal a fatal blow to the enemy’s fortress.

Spain’s artillery divisions are comprised of four artillery regiments, each regiment consists of four artillery battalions, each artillery battalion includes four artillery companies, and each company is equipped with seven artillery pieces.

This results in a total of 448 artillery pieces for the entire artillery division, and with just the two artillery divisions about to be formed, Spain will have an impressive arsenal of nearly a thousand artillery pieces.

Engineering units and colonial defense corps have not been adjusted. Expanding the formation of colonial forces is already sufficient to address the situation in various Spanish colonies, and there’s no need to further adjust them into divisions.

After all, after the Spanish army’s structure is adjusted, a large number of rifles and artillery are needed, which is already a huge burden for the Royal Military Factory, and there is no production capacity to support the reorganization of colonial forces.

After the Cabinet meeting, Carlo specifically invited Duke Serrano and Prime Minister Prim to hold a small military meeting to confirm the reorganization of the Spanish army, and then ordered the Defense Department to implement the new Spanish army structure.

No matter what the Spanish Military was like before, in the subsequent Royal Spanish Army, there will only be 6 infantry divisions, 3 cavalry divisions, 2 artillery divisions, and 2 engineering regiments, totaling 101,000 troops.

The 20 colonial defense corps number approximately 46,000 troops, and their sum approaches 150,000 troops.

Don’t forget that Carlo also has his own guard units, representing a significant strengthening of Spain’s army power after the military reform is completed in the future.

However, speaking of which, after the Royal Army is reorganized, Carlo also needs to follow up with the reorganization of his Guard Army.

Previously, due to a lack of royal finances, the scale of the guard units was limited to the level of a regiment.

Now that the Royal Family has wealth, it is naturally necessary to expand this guard regiment into a Guard Division, training their elite forces.

Moreover, the organization of the Guard Division will be more extensive than the Spanish infantry divisions. Rather than being a mere infantry division, it is akin to a mixed reinforced division comprising infantry, cavalry, and artillery.

Anyway, with the royal family funds being ample and only needing to form one Guard Division currently, it is possible to equip whatever weapons are needed.

After concluding the brief military meeting with Prime Minister Prim and Duke Serrano, Carlo returned to the Royal Palace and summoned Giotto, the commander of the Royal Guard Corps, to discuss the reorganization of the Guard Army.

The reorganization of the Guard Army to some extent references the Spanish infantry division, but the formation itself is far more lavish than that of the infantry division.

Taking into account the importance of cavalry and artillery branches in this era, the organization of the Royal Guard Division naturally contemplates incorporating them.

The ultimately determined Royal Guard Division will have 4 Guard Infantry Regiments, 1 Guard Cavalry Regiment, and 2 Guard Artillery Regiments, with a full complement of over 15,000 personnel, and a total of 280 artillery pieces.

This kind of formation is capable of both offensive and defensive maneuvers, and in a way, it is balanced in terms of attack and defense.

The 4 Guard Infantry Regiments will be the mainstay of the Guard Division, undertaking rather arduous offensive and defensive tasks. The 2 artillery regiments will serve as crucial fire support, compensating for the absence of additional artillery companies in the Guard Infantry Regiment.

As for the individual cavalry regiment, it will undertake more purely cavalry tasks, fully utilizing the mobility of cavalry.

In an era without machine guns and tanks, this kind of troop formation can still fundamentally exert the combat effectiveness of each unit, being considered a mixed formation.

The division commander of the Guard Division is naturally Giotto, who has made indelible contributions to the formation of the Guard Corps, and Carlo is very assured of him as the division commander of the Guard Division.

As for the selection of other regiment leaders, after careful consideration, Carlo decided to promote some outstanding officers from the existing Guard Corps.

As for the large number of vacancies in the mid and lower-level officer positions, there’s no concern as every year a large number of potential officers graduate from the Royal Military Academy.

Carlo also considered recalling Andrew and Kaman, who are currently serving in the Royal Army, to serve as regiment leaders in the Guard Division.

But after much deliberation, Carlo ultimately decided to let them remain in the Royal Army.

After all, they had honed their skills in the Royal Army for several years, and Duke Serrano had taken note of them and given them high praise.

Since they had already established themselves in the Royal Spanish Army, Carlo naturally didn’t want to disrupt their efforts.

With the upcoming expansion of the Royal Army, they will also encounter numerous opportunities and may become regiment leaders or even higher-ranking officers.

Although returning to the Guard Army could immediately grant them senior officer positions like regiment leaders or even positions like deputy division commanders due to Carlo’s trust,

the scope of promotion within the Guard Army is ultimately limited.

Becoming a regiment leader is straightforward, but the path to becoming a division commander is full of challenges. After all, there is only one division in the Guard Army, and Division Commander Giotto is also trusted by Carlo.

Meanwhile, the Royal Army has 6 infantry divisions, 3 cavalry divisions, and 2 artillery divisions, offering broader avenues for advancement and greater possibilities.

The current structure of Spain reveals that the importance of regiment-level officers has slightly decreased, while the significance of division-level senior officers has greatly increased.

In a country like Spain, with only about ten divisions, each division is extremely important.

As a division commander, one not only commands nearly a tenth of Spain’s troops but also can leap into the upper echelons of the Spanish Military.

In Spain, the lowest rank for regiment-level officers is Colonel, and for division-level officers, it must be at least Major General, a General rank.

Currently, Spain’s military ranks are divided into: Private, NCO (Second-Class Sergeant, First-Class Sergeant, Second Sergeant, First Sergeant), Lieutenant (Warrant Officer, Second Lieutenant, Lieutenant, Captain), Field Officer (Major, Major, Colonel), General Officer (Brigadier General, Major General, Lieutenant General, General).

General is the highest rank in the Spanish military, mostly ceremonial in nature. True power in the military is held by Lieutenant Generals and Major Generals, who generally command elite forces or have significant influence in the government’s Defense Department.

Prime Minister Prim and Duke Serrano’s Marshal ranks are quite unique in the Spanish military ranking system.

Theoretically, Marshal is not a rank but a military position usually granted to Governors of various colonies, equivalent to the military jurisdiction of the colony.

Over time, the rank of Marshal gained certain military significance, and it was only awarded to military members within the Cabinet.

For example, Prime Minister Prim and Duke Serrano, both affiliated with the military, were naturally granted the Marshal rank.

Moreover, Carlo, as the King of Spain, is innately the Marshal of both the Spanish Navy and Army, and his Marshal rank holds actual significance.

According to the current Spanish Constitution, the King of Spain holds the supreme command of the Spanish Navy and Army and is the Supreme Marshal of both forces.

This results in Carlo’s Marshal rank being different from those of Prime Minister Prim and Duke Serrano, although all are referred to as Marshals.

After the reform of the Spanish Army, the total artillery equipped in all the troops reached as high as 2008 cannons. This figure has increased several times compared to before the reform and is one of the main objectives of the military reform.

Artillery has become an extremely important firepower weapon, playing a critical role in warfare.

Two thousand cannons also allow the Spanish Army to keep pace with other European countries in terms of heavy firepower, preventing a firepower disadvantage in land warfare.

The one-time equipping of so many cannons is also beneficial for the development of the Spanish artillery industry.

Artillery weapons can be equipped by the army and massively utilized by the navy as well.

Although Spain currently has no plans to develop its navy, it is crucial to develop larger-caliber, longer-range artillery in advance.

By the time Spain decides to develop its navy in the future, the experience accumulated in artillery could be well applied to naval guns, and it could design powerful warships unique to Spain.