The Iberian Crisis
January – March 1983
Flag of the Kingdom of Portugal
Portugal
After fleeing to the Azores in November of 1982, the royalist government of Premier Miguelito Luiz Fernades sought to mount a counter attack as soon as possible. Unfortunately, this meant pulling troops out of ongoing operations in Portugal’s colonies reversing any gains that had been made against African rebels over the past three years. By late February, a hastily assembled armada of 25,000 men and three dozen ships formed in the Azores and Madeira. Command was given to the 41 year old Prince Fernando who had considerable military experience leading troops in India during the Asia-Pacific War. Fernando wished to strike back as soon as possible to prevent the rebels from consolidating their position. On March 5, the ad hoc task force landed in southern Portugal near Portimao. The choice of landing in southern Portugal was fiercely debated by the royalists due to the south being a hotbed of rebel sentiment. Eventually, it was the fact that landing in the south allowed for better air cover from royalist pilots flying out of Madeira that carried the day. The speed of the royalist return caught the rebel forces by surprise. Prince Fernando was able to quickly head inland and in the span of a few weeks was within 40 miles of Lisbon. However, his advance quickly ground to halt after rebels put up a valiant defense at the Battle of Montemor-o-Novo. The front line soon began to stabilize, but both sides were plagued by guerrillas operating behind their lines. In a letter to his father King Manuel III, Prince Fernando regretfully stated that it might take months or even years to recapture the entire country.
Foreign Reaction
The Iberian Crisis forced many governments to choose sides. Below is quick rundown of the major players.
Pro-Rebels: The Turin Pact, consisting of France and Italy, was without a doubt the biggest supporters of the Portuguese and Spanish rebels. While some of this was due to ideology as France and Italy were both outspoken supporters of republicanism and liberal democracy, a larger factor was probably geo-politics. If Spain and Portugal could be democratized they would make valuable additions in a Western European block to rival the more conservative German dominated Association of European States (AES). While neither France nor Italy recognized the new governments in Madrid and Lisbon yet, both turned a blind eye to funds, supplies, and volunteers going towards the rebels. In early March, France and Italy froze billions of dollars of Spanish and Portuguese assets in order to constrain the cash flow aiding the royalist regimes. Outside of Europe, the left wing government of Brazilian President Nereu Pinto openly sympathized with the rebels and acquiesced for several companies of volunteers to begin training for service overseas.
Neutral: With the notable exception of Brazil, most of the nations in the League of American Republics officially took a neutral stance on the conflict in Europe. While public opinion largely favored the rebels, few wished to become involved in another conflagration so soon after the Asia-Pacific War. American President Margaret Stewart offered her services to mediate an end to the conflict but was rejected. The British Commonwealth took a similar stance and despite their long-standing alliance with Portugal would not aid either side in the conflict.
Pro-Royalists: Unsurprisingly, royalist forces in Spain and Portugal were supported by the worlds’ more conservative monarchies. The German government of Chancellor von Ritter painted the rebels as a reincarnation of the bloody Hungarian communist revolt of 1916 and vowed to help “the legitimate governments regain control of their rightful territory.” The IEF also favored the royalists but limited their aid to subsidized petroleum and discounted weapon sales.