The Spanish Wars and Airplanes
While France enjoyed a peaceful Christmas season, the conflict in Spain continued unabated. The FAI offensive had almost driven the forces loyal to the Kingdom into the sea and the anarcho-syndicalists had gained control of the bulk of the country.
However, while the FAI forces were stretched to their limit occupying only recently conquered areas, the Carlists had been massing forces within their heartlands, and, at the beginning of November, launched a ferocious assault on the FAI, culminating in a December push which saw them push back the FAI and consolidate their hold on Madrid and its surroundings.
But the FAI militias fought back, well aware of the fate they would face at the hands of the Carlists if defeated and, by January, the front had stabilised with the country pretty evenly divided in half between the FAI and the Carlists with the Madrid government driven onto the fortified island of Gibraltar where they would spend the winter nursing their wounds and planning a counter-offensive.
With the press of imperial France captivated with "News from our Spanish correspondent", scarcely anyone in Algeria paid any attention to the news of the resurgence of the American Federalist armies or of the endgame being played out in the former nation of Russia.
Then, all of a sudden, it was February and the French transport fleet had been completed.
Only a few days later, after a pause only in order to finalise preparations, French soldiers crossed the border into Spanish West Africa without a declaration of war. With the garrisons all recalled to Spain, resistance was minimal to non-existent.
At the same time, two infantry divisions landed on the coast of Spanish Morocco, moving rapidly to secure the port and airfield of Tangier while Admiral Darlan's fleet provided cover for the landing craft and discouraged the Kingdom of Spain's remaining ships from doing anything rash once they realised what was going on.
By the 20th of February all of Spanish Morocco was under the control of the French Empire while Spanish West Africa was being annexed as fast as French soldiers could march through it. The entire operation had been finished in just two weeks and with no French fatalities - though records show that one Capitaine Fabien Lebeau of the French Foreign Legion was wounded in Tangier after a retired Spanish ex-Colonel took a pot shot at him.
While the French press and government celebrated the resounding success of an action which had brought vital factories, resources and taxpayers under imperial control, the Kingdom of Spain was determined to strike back.
On the 22nd of February, the Royal Spanish Navy sailed out from Gibraltar and attacked the fleet commanded by Admiral Darlan. After just a few hours of fighting the superior French firepower and leadership showed their worth and two Spanish ships were sunk, including the light cruiser
Principe Alfonso, forcing the Spanish to retreat.
At the same time, the Carlists pressed the FAI, succeeding in pushing deep into southern Spain and to the east, seizing the vital port city of Valencia, cutting in two the FAI controlled territories.
With the Carlists clearly gaining the upper hand, the French government decided to take advantage of the situation and landed on the Spanish islands of Mallorca on the 14th of March.
While the islands had no particular value to the empire, they represented an opportunity to deprive the Kingdom of Spain of further territory while also gaining goodwill from the Carlists who were steadily driving back the FAI - aided by the return to the mainland of the Madrid government's forces who had taken advantage of the distraction of FAI to regain control of Cadiz and use it as a staging post to recapture Sevilla and Granada.
Meanwhile, buoyed by the national morale boost of the annexation of the last Spanish African settlement, the French government and the Emperor were in a receptive mood when Felix Amiot, the famous aircraft designer, proposed the creation of a state owned Dakar to Algiers airways company, to be owned by the state and to provide an alternative to lengthy sea or trans-desert land journeys by the wealthy between the two hubs of the imperial economy. The Emperor in particular was especially enthusiastic for the scheme, viewing Amiot's vision of an Imperial French Aeronautical Company driving out South Africa and German competitors as an effective way to boost prestige for both his throne and his country.
It was this imperial enthusiasm that eventually forced the sceptical De Gaulle to agree to the scheme - even though he viewed it as a waste of money.
However, one of the Emperor's pet projects met with De Gaulle's full support - namely the construction of additional troop transport ships and amphibious landing craft. Despite the strain it placed on French industry and the public purse, both Emperor and Prime Minister viewed it as a necessary step towards being able to invade and reclaim the homeland.