The Great Spanish Civil War Part 2

Following the repositioning of Monarchist troops from the Basque and Aragon Front, seperatist groups in the area grew in power. French troops sent into the region met with ever heavier resistance and members of the French high command did not expect victory. France began to send less and less troops to support its Monarchist ally in the civil war. However, French troops did not retreat from the territory they had gained, instead fortifying what they controlled. It is this point of the Great Spanish Civil War that many historians believe was the turning point. Seperatist groups in the Basque Country and Aragon were able to operate free from French attack and could focus their efforts against the weakened Monarchist armies.

Meanwhile on the Galician and Southern Fronts, the English-Portuguese advance had ground to a halt. Attempted offensives resulted in catastrophic losses, largely due to the harsh terrain. Monarchist troops had ordered troops to advance further into Galicia but the superiour training and equipment of the English and Portuguese troops forced them to retreat. There was no breakthrough in sight for both belligerants and the war in the West became one of attrition.

However, across the Strait of Gibraltar, something stirred.The

great beast that was the desert nation of Morocco saw an opportunity to take back territory that they had lost ages ago in the time of the Moors and the Reconquista. With Monarchist troops spread thinly already over the Western and Aragon fronts, Morocco declared war and began to invade Spain from the Mediterranean, seizing control of the Balaeric Islands and moving north through Spain towards Madrid at great speed. They faced little resistance from troops and the population as the Moroccan troops struck fear into the hearts of the Spanish people who had heard many stories of the days of the Moor occupation of Spain. After only three months of fighting, Moroccan troops besieged Madrid and ordered the Spanish Monarchy to capitulate. The Spanish Monarchy refused to and the Moroccans mounted an assault, sacking the city of Madrid and killing the royal family. Demoralised by the fall of their capital and the deaths of their leaders, Monarchist generals surrendered to Morocco. Thus began the Moroccan Occupation of Spain.

However, that was not the end of the Great Spanish Civil War. Morocco saw the risk Aragon and the Basque Country posed to the integrity of the occupation and invaded both states. With the fall of the Spanish Monarchy and the independence of the Basque Country and Aragon, the people of the region were celebrating a victory and were not prepared for such an invasion. Both countries officially fell in less than a month but fighting in the region between rebels and the Moroccan occupiers did not end for many years. It is this point, the fall fo Aragon and the Basque, that many historians consider to be the end of the Great Spanish Civil War.

The Independence of Quebec

{Before we delve into today, or rather this weeks post, I would like to say that this week's post will be a combination between an event and the bio of a nation since I will be going over the full region of Canada later on.}

After the independence of TUPA, a surge of independence movements started, especially in colonies, although much of the others were just small revolts, one of the main ones that were inspired by TUPA was the Independence movement of Quebec.

Although Quebec did not have a very large population, they knew the land and took an advantage by starting their movement about ten years after TUPA's independence, which the British were still recovering from.

In 1743 their movement started, and at first, the movement went on for 4 years without any visible progress--in fact, not even recognized as a threat by the British Military, and more as Highwaymen. The cause was simply that while Quebec was expansive, and certainly was fairly Metropolitan, they simply didn't have enough supporters to take their cause, En Masse. This changed following the production of a couple of circumstances.

The morning of November 3rd, 1747 was an eventful moment for the whole of the American continent, as it would decide the fate of the American continent. In the Lake Ontario, some American militia-men from the Province of New England encountered a group of British troops crossing what they had set as the border against the British colony of Quebec. Upon confrontation, they were at first civil, until a shot from somewhere along the bay had come, it hit the British Regimental Officer, Edward Cornwallis, straight in the head, causing him to die on the spot. The British, in a blood-fueled rush, decided to shoot at the Americans, and a firefight had started. 

{Which would ultimately lead to the Anglo-American War of 1748} 

Little did they know, it had actually been from a Quebecer under the command of François Gaston de Lévis, a former officer of the French army during the American War of Independence, who had been waiting for the right time to strike. This was it, the Quebecers fired pot-shots the whole duration of the Skirmish while staying almost completely hidden from detection (with only a few accounts from the Militiamen reporting seeing the gun-fire from the woods behind).

On February 5th, 1748, the United Provinces of America voted to support the movement of the Quebecois, as part of the newly sparked Anglo-American War.

With the help of the Americans, and Francois' newly found support by the Quebecois people, under the flag they called the 'Drapeau de la Liberté', Gaston formed a formidable fighting force and began marched towards Quebec by the 22nd of April of the same year. Facing resistance only once on the way there, to which they crushed the Small British force in the Battle of Mont Tremblant. All of the lasting British forces had decided to take solitude in the city of Quebec itself, fortifying it to the best of their abilities.

On the 5th of May, they would arrive, what followed can only be described as the treacherous siege of Quebec.