Empire Rising: Spain

Under normal circumstances, the number of troops Spain can mobilize is only around 500,000. Although 500,000 is not a small number, it no longer plays a significant role under the current scale of warfare.

Currently, in the Russo-Turkish War ongoing on the Balkan Peninsula, both sides have deployed over a million troops.

In the offensive and defensive battle of Plev Fortress between Russia and Austria, the number of troops involved has exceeded 300,000, with Russia alone losing nearly 100,000 soldiers.

Compared to this large-scale war, the Spanish Army’s numbers are indeed somewhat insufficient, which has prompted Carlo to think about reforming Spain’s conscription system.

Spain’s conscription system is still quite outdated, even lagging behind that of present-day Russia.

Russia has already transitioned to a conscription system where male citizens aged 20 to 25 are obliged to serve in the military.

In contrast, Spain’s system still relies on voluntary recruitment, with most soldiers joining through active government enlistment efforts.

The biggest drawback of these conscription systems is the extremely low number of reservists in Spain, which also affects the country’s mobilizable troop numbers.

According to Russia’s conscription system, they maintain a conventional force of up to 700,000, while also possessing nearly a million reservists.

While Spain’s regular forces also number as high as 150,000, the country has almost no reserve forces. Thus, any large-scale mobilization results in mostly new recruits, whose combat effectiveness is severely lacking.

Carlo has taken this into account, deciding to reform Spain’s military service system.

The main direction for reform in the conscription system is towards the reserves, as Spain doesn’t require too many active soldiers, especially since they face no immediate wartime threats.

The presence of reservists ensures that Spain has enough trained soldiers during wartime. Although their combat effectiveness doesn’t match that of conventional troops, it’s significantly better than hastily assembled new recruits.

Reservists only require mobilization and basic training to become a genuine military force, while new recruits need at least six months of training to develop combat effectiveness, and even more prolonged battlefield experience to transform into an elite force.

At present, Spain’s conventional forces number 150,000, and Carlo’s plan envisions Spain also possessing an additional 150,000 reservists.

These reservists can continue with their regular jobs most of the time, living like ordinary Spaniards.

However, they need to dedicate a certain amount of time each year to military training to ensure they achieve a basic level of military competence.

Establishing a reserve does impact Spain’s production and development to some extent, but since it numbers only 150,000, the effect is not overly significant.

When compared to the benefits of establishing a reserve, the minor losses to production development are negligible.

With 150,000 regular troops and 150,000 reservists, Spain can quickly bring together over 300,000 troops, ensuring that their military strength is not overly weakened.

Mobilizing 300,000 troops for an offensive is challenging, but defending the Iberian Peninsula is still manageable. Unless the great powers are willing to confront Spain persistently, Spain remains relatively safe in this situation.

There are also conflicts and contradictions of interest among the great powers, and Carlo doesn’t believe any country would persistently confront Spain.

Both the United Kingdom and France face more significant threats. On land, only France poses a potential threat to Spain, while the other neighboring country, Portugal, is more likely concerned about the threat from Spain.

With that in mind, a smile appeared on Carlo’s face. If King Luis of Portugal learned about Spain forming a reserve force of 150,000, he would likely be restless for several days.

Combining both the regular and reserve forces results in a total of 300,000 troops, which would be a considerable concern for Portugal, a country with a population of only 4.6 million.

Like Spain, Portugal has lost much of its real strength after losing its American colonies, retaining only the title of a colonial power.

Portugal’s mainland has a regular force of only 22,000, primarily deployed to defend against a Spanish invasion. Of course, if Spain were to invade, relying solely on those 22,000 would be of little use.

Portugal has deployed nearly 30,000 troops in its colonies, but these numbers are inflated, with most comprising indigenous auxiliary forces.

This is why Carlo smiles, as the presence of 300,000 Spanish soldiers exerts significant pressure on Portugal, and even the British behind Portugal may be concerned about the situation on the Iberian Peninsula.