3rd Anglo-Spanish war

## **Steps to War!**

The first step to war begun all the way back in the 1860’s after the conclusion of the 2cd Anglo-Spanish war but actually both sides could not do much since their 20 year non aggression pact so nothing could do much  between the powers besides the continues naval and military build up leading to the war. When war broke out the French decided not to join since their government  was going through a rough time and the French public wanted nothing to do with Spain and England. The true first steps to war began in Asia, when the Russian, British, French, and Portugese all wanted a piece of China after the Japanese weakened them. Japan swiftly swept through Korea and into Manchuria and Northern China before being threatened by Russia and France to back down and stop exploiting China which they did and retreated back to Korea. Then the Europeans came in and the Sino-Russian war began which the Russians obliterated the Chinese annexing parts of Northern Manchuria and Mongolia and created the Russian puppet of Russkoye tsarstvo Man'chzhuriya/Царство русской маньчжурии or the Tsardom of Russian Manchuria which was a puppet to Russia. Japan of course was not happy and began to ally itself with the British as they were Russia’s rivals and helped the Japanese through tough times ever since the French opened up Japan forcefully and that created the Anglo-japanese friendship. Japan declared war on Spain for their imperial ambitions to seize the Philippines from them and gain their resources as they then descended into Manila bay which the Spanish rightfully accused the English of Helping them out and declared war on them.

## **-War-**

### **1911**

#### **Intimation Outbreak-Surprise attack on Manila**

The Japanese quickly attacked Manila bay overwhelming the Spanish navy sitting there like ducks, but unlucky for the Japanese half of the Spanish pacific fleet was on it’s way to Manila after dealing with an Filipino uprising in Mindanao which was on their way back, 50,000 Japanese arrived and landed in the Northern Philippines easily taking the Island but when the Spanish Navy came the Japanese ships were warned too late since they thought they had destroyed them and the Spanish would deliver a devastating blow to the Japanese Navy trapped in the Bay which the Japanese lost over ⅔’s of their navy. When Britain entered the war they sent their navy to deal with the Spanish which were causing havoc at the Sakishima and Okinawa islands.

#### **Seizure of British colonies**

The Spanish after they declared war jumped into action by seizing Belize and blockcading Jamaica. Spain led an invasion into British Guiana which backfired near Georgetown when they realized an Venuzualan uprising occurred so they sent their troops back and defeated the uprising but unlucky the British reinforced their position with Portugese volunteers. Spain attacked Gibraltar and won after losing 10,000 men in the battle after soldiers mistakenly attacked each other due to poor communication as Spanish soldiers defended from Spanish soldiers by mistake and the battle lasted for 10 hours before the confusion was cleared up.

#### **Battle of the Gulf**

Britain prepared this time to send their navy in right away to break the blockade of Jamaica which was the only 2 major naval battles of their war. The British succeeded but both sides lost a lot of dreadnoughts and a bunch got damaged so yeah they agreed not to do that in fear that they will damage their toys.

#### **Italian entry to the war**

Italy on the pro-british side declared war on Spain hoping they could annex some of the Spanish colonies as they began to aid the British in Malta breaking the Spanish attack on Malta after half of the British fleet in the Mediterrian sea got sunk or was damaged in Gibraltar. So the Italians saved the British and Spain failed as a short naval invasion of Sardinia occurred but was repulsed.

### **1912**

#### **Advance into Louisiana**

The Spanish with 75,000 men unlike the other war actually advanced well and for a while with no resistance. Lake Charles and Lafayette fell quickly. The Spanish navy effectively bombarded the British position on the coast. New Orleans would never fall due to Fort Sherman near New Orleans as the British held this position during almost the entire war as the Spanish couldn’t surpass the well defended position. One attempted crossing tried to happen at Romeoville but later failed as it was repulsed by 20,000 men. Shreveport after a 6 month siege fell to the Spanish. Alexandria was held as they would use their highly defensible position to hold the last bastion of defense west of the Mississippi.

#### **Stalemate at Colorado**

The Colorado Campaign for Spain would not be as successful as Louisiana as they began to approach Denver with 50,000 men to combat Denver’s 25,000 defenders as the Spanish thought they easily outnumbered them, the British already knowing an attack on Denver could come. They entrenched themselves with forts all around them, the powerful British artillery mowed them down as they then tried to charge across the British fortified positions but it failed as British Machine Gunners mowed them down one by one.

#### **Russian entry to the war**

The Russians were already gearing up for war, they joined. As the ends of the Aleutian islands were seized by Russia and Russia landed 1,000 men on St Lawrence Island which the British defenders held onto firmly while Little Diomede fell to the Russians, as the Russian navy began harassing the British fleet there. British would begin blockading Russia in the Black Sea and the *Raid of Murmask* would occur as the British would trash the newly built Russian port. Sapporo would be burnt to the ground after a fire ignited by an Russian Ship caused the entire city to burn as it would be one of the worst fires in Japan’s history. Russia would already jump on ports in the Sea of Japan trashing them. The Yalu river for the most part is held by Japan so no further action happened.

### **1913**

#### **Invasion of Southern Manchuria**

After the Qing empire collapsed the Manchu state of Shenyang declared war on Russia hoping to reclaim Manchurian lands and help out their ally Japan. They would make good distance capturing siping and even pushing into Mongolia proper. After Changchun fell to the Chinese, their luck would turn as the Russians would send 250,000 men to deal with the Chinese and as well an small rebellion against Russia would occur but would be crushed. Entire Chinese cities would be burnt as Changchun would fall back into Russian hands and they began a scorched earth policy as they would capture and burn down the warlord’s capital of Shenyang and even invaded smaller Chinese states as they accused of helping them and they stopped near Beijing. The chinese “faithful allies' ' would retreat back into Korea not wanting to waste men for the Chinese.

#### **American uprising in New England**

A great revolution would break out in New England and Ohio. In Northern New York the American Miltas would begin making its way down the Hudson, but 100,000 British troops arrived and in the Battle of Albany the Americans were kicked out of North Eastern New York and began making fortifications around Buffalo. Pittsburgh was taken by the British as well as the Americans were pinned up near Lake Erie. The British would divert some troops to take southwestern Indiana and make their way to Indianapolis which was soon taken the following year.

#### **Utah campaign**

40,000 men begin to come down onto Utah. As the British began to capture Logan and overran their position. Ogden is overrun after the unprepared Spanish force is beaten. Spain’s troops from the Colorado front would arrive as they would entrench themselves right outside of Salt Lake City and a stalemate would begin as neither side could not advance due to trench warfare.

#### **Failure at Denver**

Spain began another assault on Denver and this time they got into the city as they begun to try to flood men in but unfortunately their supply route was cut off by British Mountaineers leaving them stranded in Denver as the British closed in on the 30,000 force forcing them to surrender as they held on for 2 months before running out of food and supplies.

### **1914**

#### **African skirmishes**

Spain had Somalia and a bit of Tanzania, but the British had more. The Royal navy basically dominated the African coast by their colonies here as the Spanish forces in Somalia were overrun by a British garrison of 25,000 troops after an British backed uprising happened in Somalia and was crushed by the Spanish but the British soon came in and took control of the whole region. Kenya was briefly taken by Spain but when the Spanish Somalian forces surrendered that paved the path for British Domination of Tanzania as 20,000 British troops from Somalia, 10,000 from Zambia, another 10,000 from Sudan and even 5,000 troops from India came along as soon the Spanish were crushed and forced to give up their war efforts there.

#### **Battle of Nome**

Russia did something bad. Russia tried to naval invade Nome at the time and 10,000 Russians troops somehow landed and they captured the city but the Royal navy came and trashed the Russian Supply line, and 7,000 British troops forced the Russians to surrender in Nome and it has been one of Russia’s greatest military failures. After the Raid on Nome, Russian generals were sacked.

#### **Battle of Cebu**

30,000 war hungry Japanese decided to descend on the Spanish fortress of Cebu with 20,000 Spanish defenders. Spain managed to hold on for a couple of months and the battle was broken when the Spanish navy arrived and basically cut all the Japanese supply routes and started bombarding the hell out of the Japanese and 20,000 further troops landed and they overwhelmed the Japanese, who either fought to the death or killed themselves. That battle made the Japanese realize they can’t go further into the Philippines till their navy is rebuilt.

#### **Italian invasion of the Balearic Islands**

Italy after clearing the Spanish ships out of the Mediterranean Sea took a risk. Over 15,000 Italian special forces landed on the Balearic Islands which the Spanish weren't expecting. The three smaller islands fell without much loss of life. But when the Italians tried to take Palma, the Spanish fort there held on and basically the Italians decided to wait it out slowly starving the Spanish for 8 whole months till in February of 1915 the Spanish surrendered there and the Italians occupied the city where it’s citizens were starving and it is estimated that 40% of the Islands population died during the blockade.

#### **Russian invasion into Korea**

60,000 Russian men entered Korea as at first they crossed the Yalu River well and captured cities such as Chongjin and Hamhung. When they reached Pyongyang the Japanese held strong as Korea would be entrenched and the situation in Korea held on for a while. A Korean uprising happened in South Korea as it was crushed by the Ruling Japanese and they had to divert some troops from the front which caused the Russians to reach the outskirts of Pyongyang as the Russian artillery devastated the city.

### **1915**

#### **Last Stand in Cleveland**

The British fleet in the great lakes would bombard Buffalo as a force of 45,000 would cut off the Americans in Buffalo from the rest of the revolution forcing them to surrender. The first use of Mustard Gas would be released near the American positions entrenched in Pittsburgh and that would force the Americans to retreat from that position since the rebels have no use of gas masks. Meanwhile in a swift move the British new invention the Tank would steamroll the rebels in India and the rebels in Cincinnati. The rebels garrison in Columbas would surrender to the British realizing that the Revolution has almost no hope now.  A minor revolution in Albany was crushed by the British. That leaves the rebels who are basically surrounded on all sides by the British to hold out for 5 months and even a month past the official peace treaty and eventually the rebels surrender after being starved for half a year, which brought the Americans morale down. The Gassing of Pittsburgh would be remembered as an act of British cruelty and this time the North’s resistance was secretly licking their wounds under the shadows.

#### **3rd Battle of Denver**

Spain after the British gassed the rebels would counteract the British by gassing the British positions over Denver but this backfired as the British realized they might get retaliation after the gassing they prepared their troops with gas masks. And scout planes from the British brought much needed information for the attack so the British were ready. When a force of 50,000 Spanish troops crossed the Mountains they thought the British would have a force of 30,000 men who are gassed and confused but this was wrong as a British force of 65,000 men were waiting for them which surprised them as they already had their gas masks and easily counterattacked the Spanish which cause over half of the Spanish force to lose their lives with small british casualties which eventually forced the Spanish to reconsider maybe an peace.

#### **Naval Battle of Santiago**

The second biggest naval battle in the war was when a massive British force from Australia began to bombard Santiago forcing the Spanish to send their navy down from Columbia which the Spanish and Australian force drew as the British faced heavy casualties while the Spanish retreated after also facing a huge loss of life and overall it was a draw. Then 15,000 Australians landed in Santiago forcing the Spanish to surrender the city over.

#### **Counter Attack in Korea**

Japan would muster up 250,000 men in Korea to counter attack the Russians as they were held up in trenches. So the British would send over their new tanks and this caught the Russians by surprise which the tanks overwhelmed the Russian trenches and with help from the Navy the Russians were pushed back to the Yalu River which they held parts of.

## **Peace talks**

The Balearic Islands were given to Italy and while the Spanish gained Gibraltar as this war was declared a stalemate. Spain gave away Somalia and their Tanzanian Colony to the British as they took it. The border between the two countries was supposed to be demilitarized till 1930 and a non aggression pact till 1930. Spain and Japan split the Philippines because the Spanish held on to half of the Islands and the borders were drawn to the Japanese-Spanish war borders when the peace was declared. Japan has to pay war reparations to Spain. Russia’s puppet shall annex the warlord that attacked them as well the rest of Manchuria. Japan and Russia shall declare peace and draw up borders in Korea where the Russians still held the land.