The Royal Spanish Navy is an old maritime powerhouse, and although it has long since lost its former glory, it still has the heritage of hundreds of years of crisscrossing the world's oceans.

As can be seen from the itinerary of its royal fleet to support the large fleet of Cuban special forces, the road is very profound.

The Spanish special task force fleet is not taking the traditional route from New York to Europe, because it will pass through the Royal Naval Base on Long Island and Templeton Royal Naval Base in New York, which belonged to the Tang Empire, wouldn't it be equivalent to sending meat to the door?

After departing from Spain, this large task force traveled all the way south, along the east coast of the Atlantic Ocean, passing through Morocco, Western Sahara, and Mauritania in West Africa

It was only after Senegal that it was resupplied that the long voyage across the Atlantic, at the other end of South America, in the northern part of Brazil, was also the traditional slave trade route, the old shipping route known as the "triangular trade".

The route did take a bit of a detour, but it was safe.

Relying on its rich sailing experience, the task force arrived at the northern coast of Brazil without danger, and then went north along the South American continent around Suriname, French Guiana, British Guiana, Dutch Suriname, and Belgian Guiana, and entered the Spanish colony of Trinidad and Tobago.

The archipelago of Crinidad and Tobago is located on the northeastern coast of Venezuela, which is already part of the Caribbean coast, where the Spanish colonized and operated for more than 300 years, and has relatively good port facilities.

From here, about 2,000 kilometers to the northwest, the destination of the trip is Cuba.

From the choice of this long route, it can be seen how chicken thieves the Spaniards are.

In South America, northeast Brazil, Suriname and Venezuela were the weakest places in the Tang Empire's influence, and the special task force was most likely to escape the interception of the other side.

As it turned out, the Spaniard was right.

With the existing Atlantic Fleet strength of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire, it cannot control the long sea area of the Atlantic Ocean from north to south, and can only focus on regional defense.

General Juan Espatero, commander of the task force and commander of the Royal Navy, was a close friend and political ally of Prime Minister Serrano and a staunch royalist who supported the restoration of Isabella II's son, Alfonso XII, as the king of Spain.

As early as 1874, the Spanish Civil War broke out when the Spanish republicans split into federalists and autonomics, with the domicilists agitating for local independence against the federal government.

Royalist officers, eager to restore the monarchy, took advantage of the civil unrest to eliminate the republic and proclaim Alfonso XII as king.

Prior to the arrival of the Task Force in the Trinidad and Tobago Islands, the colony had been placed under strict military control to prevent any information from leaking out that could jeopardize this vital expedition.

In this regard

The Spaniards showed the old spiciness of the old colonizers, which was indeed remarkable, and basically did not expose any weaknesses.

On 23 April 1878, the Task Force was relieved when it arrived in the Trinidad and Tobago Islands.

General Juan Espatero arranged for a large formation of special forces to hurry up and replenish clean drinking water, vegetables, dried meat, grain and fruits. On the one hand, the soldiers of the Spanish Expeditionary Force were arranged to go ashore to rest, and on the other hand, they were to probe for the news of the enemy's Royal Atlantic Fleet.

Soon he got the latest news;

At the Royal Naval Bases stationed on Long Island and Campton in New York, the main force of the Atlantic Fleet was still in port, except for one ironclad, the Duke of Hawaii, who led two Tornado cruisers out of port, and most of the others remained unchanged.

"O Almighty God, your brilliance is everywhere!" General Juan Espaltro drew a "ten" on his chest with a happy face, and his heart that had always been hanging was let go.

Your own family knows your own business.

Don't look at the more than 170 ships of the Royal Spanish Navy task force, sail cruisers, sail battleships, and sail frigates, a total of 26 ships, and thousands of guns, it looks quite powerful.

In fact, these sail warships are more than 100 years old, and the youngest ships are 50 or 60 years old, all of which are the ships of the grandfather and grandfather's generation, and they are the belongings accumulated by the Royal Spanish Navy.

In the port of Madrid, there are also sail training ships that have been in service for a longer period of time, the oldest dating back to 200 years ago, which can be sunk in a single storm when going to sea.

Along the way, about half of the sail warships leaked, but thanks to the Spanish Royal Navy's copies, they did not capsize in the Atlantic.

How much combat power can be left, don't you count it in your heart?

Spain was politically corrupt and corrupt for decades, and Isabella II was known for its extravagance during her reign, but was eventually overthrown by an angry Spanish populace and forced into exile in France.

This was followed by more than 10 years of unauthoredness, unrest and civil war, which continues to the present day with the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty in Spain.

Less than a year after the stability was settled, a vicious incident of killing Chinese merchants broke out in Havana, which then led to hostility with the Tang Empire, and this war broke out......

The Royal Spanish Navy has not added new ships for decades, and the two new sail frigates have been in the shipyard for more than 10 years, and they stopped working halfway through.

First, because there was no financial allocation, and secondly, even if it was built, it was backward, and the Royal Spanish Navy was not interested in holding on.

The direction of naval development in the world today is ironclad ships, and various European powers are building new ironclad ships one after another, and a large number of old sail warships have been eliminated.

This is the case with today's Royal Spanish Navy, which is still eating from more than 100 years ago.

In this regard, General Juan Espaltro also felt deeply helpless, and it was inevitable that he would regret the loss of the empire's glory in his heart.

The question comes back to the task force, except for the 26 sail warships that brought together the Royal Spanish Navy, a total of more than 170 ships, the rest are iron-hulled cargo ships and troop carriers, some of which are leased Portuguese merchant ships and French merchant ships.

These iron-hulled ships were the main source of transport, transporting a total of 36,000 Spanish expeditionary forces and large quantities of military supplies to support the Cuban Viceroyalty.

The purpose of the task force was not to fight against the Tang Imperial Navy, but to transport the 36,000 Spanish expeditionary force and a large amount of military supplies ashore.

Cooperate with the existing forces of the Spanish Governor's Palace to defend the cities and fortresses, compete with the invading Tang Empire army, drag the war into a long-term period, and grit your teeth to fight the war.

The remaining 2,000 kilometers were the most dangerous voyages, and they always kept General Juan Espaltro in fear and couldn't sleep at night.

After learning that the main forces of the Atlantic Fleet were still docked in the ports of New York and Campton, General Juan Espaltro could not hide his excitement and immediately gave the order;

"The Spanish sail fleet was divided into two, and the main force was formed into an assault fleet led by General Ben himself, which was responsible for combat missions.

The remaining sail frigates and light brigs form a vigilant fleet, forming a tight cordon 15~30 kilometers in front of the assault fleet to guard against enemy ships.

The troop carriers and cargo ships carrying supplies in the task force were organized in three waves, with the first wave following the sail fleet in parallel and striving to be the first to land in the ports off the coast of Cuba.

The second and third waves of the fleet departed at intervals of two days and landed in Cuba on the established route.

The Spanish sail fleet protects the first wave of the fleet, which will depart early tomorrow morning, and it is imperative to transport the expeditionary officers and men and supplies ashore before the enemy reacts, so as to complete this important mission. ”

"Yes, Your Excellency, Commander." The Spanish officers in their hands replied in unison.

The Spaniards' method of dealing with the ironclad ships of the Tang Empire was very simple, that is, once the enemy's main fleet was discovered, then immediately disbanded the formation and fled.

If you can escape a ship, you will continue to fight to the end, entangle the main force of the enemy ship for as long as possible, and win a glimmer of life for the friendly ship until the sea is finally stained with blood.

It's a tragic and desperate choice, but that's the harsh reality.

There are still more than 72,000 colonial troops under the command of the Spanish Governor's Palace, and if they can meet with the 36,000 expeditionary force, their strength will undoubtedly increase greatly, and they can wrestle with the invading Tang Empire army with their strong fortresses and city defenses.

Who killed the deer, it is not yet known?

And this is also the last stubbornness of the Spanish kingdom, as for the distant Luzon Islands, the Spaniards did not even bother to send reinforcements, because they could not send them at all.

The Suez Canal, controlled by Britain, France and the Tang Dynasty, guarded the passage between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, and the Spaniards could not cross it anyway.

Even if it passes, it will be intercepted in the Red Sea region, which is equivalent to sending meat to the door.

Heading south along the west coast of Africa, this round-the-world route around South Africa doesn't have to be considered at all.

The Spaniards now have neither the strength nor the ships to carry out this task, and their ocean-going transportation capacity is only 500~800 people at best, and it will take more than a year.

For such a long time, the daylilies are all cool.

From this side of the Atlantic, it is impossible to pass at all, and the whole of America from north to south is under the control of the Tang Empire.

Without his consent, the British did not dare to boast that during the period of free movement, at least the problem of ship supply could not be solved.

When you really face such a behemoth, you will know how terrifying it is?

There's no denying it

The Spaniards from the Pyrenees have never lost their tradition of bravery, their character is strong and straightforward, and they will never submit to the blackmail of the Tang Empire, just like a bull who does not hit the southern wall and does not look back.

This task force transoceanic expedition can be said to be a desperate gamble, just to maintain the glorious glory of the former Spanish Empire, and not to be trampled into the mud by the world powers.

The next day, early in the morning.

The mighty Spanish sail fleet escorted a wave of landing ships to the port of Cuba, more than 2,000 kilometers away, any of which could be used, not necessarily to the port of Havana.

This was the cunning of the old colonists, and General Juan Espartero subconsciously felt that sending troops and supplies to the port of Havana was too dangerous and could lead to unnecessary losses.

Case

Then the other Cuban ports can also be transported, as long as the expeditionary force can be transported ashore smoothly, and Havana and other important provinces can be reached on foot, but it will take a little more time.

It's totally worth the risk compared to the risks taken.

(End of chapter)