Empire Rising: Spain

After the Spanish Military Committee issued the order for expansion, the Defense Department quickly presented a detailed expansion plan.

With 3 Colonial Divisions and 35 Colonial Guard Corps, Spain’s total force size will reach an astounding 243,000 people.

Before the Franco-Russian Alliance formed and European countries joined the arms race, such army size was already considerable.

After all, unlike France, Germany, and Russia, Spain does not have open enemies. France and Germany must guard against each other, while Russia simply needs more troops due to its vast territory.

But if the colonial army with a high strength of 138,000 is excluded, Spain’s actual army size would only be 105,000.

Excluding the 15,000-strong Guard Division, the so-called Royal Spanish Army size would be less than a mere 90,000.

To cope with the increasingly tense European situation, it is necessary to expand the Spanish mainland army. After internal discussions by the Ministry of Defense, a new complete expansion plan was finally determined.

The expansion plan for the colonial army remains unchanged, with the Royal Army in Spain’s mainland expanding to 12 Infantry Divisions, 5 Cavalry Divisions, 4 Artillery Divisions, 4 Engineering Companies, totaling a size of 177,700 people.

If the 15,100 troops of the Guard Army are added, the army stationed in Spain’s mainland will exceed 192,800, a size that can match the ever-growing armies of European Powers.

If the 138,000 colonial troops are included, Spain’s military might reach an astounding 315,900, a size very similar to Austria-Hungary’s army numbers.

It should be noted that Austria-Hungary has a population close to 40 million, while Spain’s population is only 22.35 million.

An army of over 300,000 is enough to make Spain a powerful land force in Europe, forcing other Powers to consider the threat posed by Spain’s vast army when competing with Spain.

After the Ministry of Defense issued the official conscription notice, the conscription activities immediately stirred waves across Spain.

Thanks to Carlo’s emphasis on the military, even a rank-and-file soldier receives an annual income plus various benefits and subsidies higher than Spain’s average income.

Moreover, as the nation grows stronger, Spaniards do not shy away from fighting for their country.

Since the Ministry of Defense announced the conscription news, recruitment points set up in various cities across Spain have been swarmed by crowds eager to enlist.

The conscription problems that plague many nations do not exist in Spain. With people actively enrolling, the Spanish Government’s headache lies in how to select the necessary military recruits from among the masses.

The city with the most conscription is Spain’s capital, Madrid. As the largest city currently in Spain, Madrid has a population close to 700,000.

Because of this, Madrid has the most conscription quotas, and the queues at various recruitment points are the longest.

To maintain the city’s order, Carlo did not choose to inspect the conscription points in Madrid personally. However, the Ministry of Defense still reports the latest conscription news and Spain’s expansion progress to Carlo daily.

After this military expansion, the Royal Spanish Army will have 7 more division commander positions. If the two Colonial Division commanders are included, the vacancy will reach 9.

This means a large number of mid-to-high-level military leaders will be promoted as the army expands.

The most representative is Kaman Esposito, who followed Carlo to Spain and long held a colonel rank as the Artillery Regiment leader. With the expansion of Artillery Divisions from two to four, he is very hopeful of directly being promoted as the commander of the third or fourth Artillery Division.

Of course, if he is successfully promoted to a division commander, Kaman could at least attain the rank of Major General, becoming a high-ranking figure in the Spanish Military.

Unlike Kaman, Andrew, who also followed Carlo to Spain, is less fortunate. He studied the infantry command specialty, which is less rare compared to artillery.

This also made Andrew’s promotion less smooth compared to Kaman. However, as Carlo’s close confidant, after Andrew spent a golden year as Head of the Lanfang Military Guidance Team, Carlo decided to appoint him as the Commander of the Imperial Guard Division and concurrently as the Commander of the Imperial Guard, succeeding Giotto.

Kaman and Andrew, two excellent graduates from the Turin Royal Military Academy, are indeed capable. Since coming to Spain, they have worked diligently, and Carlo is undoubtedly willing to promote them.

Speaking of the two officers, Kaman and Andrew, who followed Carlo to Spain, we must mention Garibaldi’s two sons.

The eldest son, Menotti, was the former Head of the Lanfang Military Guidance Team and has now been elected as the Minister of Royal Affairs in the Spanish Cabinet.

The position of the younger son, Giotto, was succeeded by Andrew, which does not mean Carlo does not trust Giotto. Quite the opposite, Carlo has even more challenging responsibilities for Giotto, which is to go to the Congo Territory and serve as the Commander-in-Chief of the garrison, commanding with a Lieutenant General’s rank the 2 Colonial Divisions and several Colonial Defense Corps in the Congo Territory. He will be responsible for combating indigenous forces in West Africa and promoting Spain’s colonial consolidation plan.

Although the Commander of the Guard Division only commands one division, due to concurrently being the Commander of the Imperial Guard, the rank is higher than all division commanders, marked by a Lieutenant General rank.