In the last two articles, I described the organization of the Royal Spanish Army and the Royal Guard, but already in the process of discussion and my further research, it turned out that in some cases I gave a blunder, i.e. wrong. In addition, some of the nuances regarding the organization of the Spanish Armed Forces required explicit clarification, as a result of which there was a fairly significant amount of material that I decided to publish. And to make the article more interesting, I also decided to add information regarding the military industry of Spain in 1808, excluding enterprises directly related to shipbuilding.
Military industry
The organized military industry in Spain appeared relatively late, only during the reign of King Carlos III - before him, the issues of self-sufficiency in weapons were practically not dealt with, and any shortage of weapons was covered mainly by foreign trade. There were problems with the organization of those factories that were already in existence - each of them worked autonomously, according to its own plans and standards, as a result of which chaos reigned in the production of weapons in Spain. Under Carlos III, this whole mess was systematized, brought under a single beginning and supplemented with new enterprises, as a result of which, by the end of the 19th century, Spain possessed probably one of the strongest and most well-organized military industries in Europe, and in the whole world. This made it possible to provide weapons to the Armada and the Royal Army, and in the future even to arm the masses who raised an uprising against the power of the French.
The first branch of industry was the production of edged weapons. Of course, for the forging of blades, bayonets and arrowheads, the peak of significant production capacity was not required, but in Spain there was a place for the centralized production of edged weapons - Real Fábrica de armas de Toledo. The Royal Armory Factory in Toledo was founded under Carlos III in 1761, but in fact the foundation was reduced to the amalgamation of several independent workshops. By the end of the reign of this king, a large number of different types of edged weapons, as well as various helmets, cuirasses and other elements of armor, were produced in Toledo. Due to the threat of capture by the French, the factory was evacuated to Cadiz and Seville in 1808. The edged weapons workshops continued to operate as Real Fábrica de armas blancas de Cádiz. After the end of the war, production facilities and workers moved back to Toledo.
Another branch of the military industry was the manufacture of firearms. Technically, it was a much more complicated process than forging bayonets and sabers - it was required not only to make a barrel, but also a flint shock lock, to combine all this into a single mechanism, and so on many times, in large quantities. One of the main enterprises for the production of firearms in Spain was the same factory in Toledo. That part of it, which was engaged in the production of firearms, was evacuated to Seville, and from the middle to the end of 1809 resumed production, releasing 5 thousand muskets a month. However, this did not last long - already in 1810, production had to be curtailed due to the capture of Seville by the French. Another venture was the Fábrica de armas de Placencia de las Armas in the province of Guipuzcoa, which had been producing muskets since 1573. Since 1801, the production of rifled rifles has been established here, but already in 1809 the factory was destroyed. The third largest musket factory was the Fábrica de armas de Oviedo in Oviedo, destroyed by the French in 1809. After the war, it was not restored, the few surviving machines were transported to Trubya.
Traditionally, the strongest part of the Spanish arms industry has been the production of artillery. The army demanded guns, guns were required for the needs of numerous fortresses and coastal defenses, the guns were literally devoured by the Spanish Armada. On the one hand, the production of cast guns was somewhat simpler than the production of guns or rifles, which required the assembly of flintlock mechanisms, but on the other hand, for the high-quality manufacture of guns, quite a lot of complex and expensive systems were required, with the help of which guns weighing several tons were distinguished, a channel was drilled trunk, etc. By the end of the 18th century, there was a complex cycle of modern cannon production, and it was introduced in all artillery factories in Spain. The most important of these was, of course, the Real Fábrica de Artillería de La Cavada. The largest industrial complex in Spain was responsible for the manufacture of sea, field and fortress artillery of any type, as well as ammunition for them. Founded in 1616, by the end of the reign of Carlos III, La Cavada also produced firearms. During its peak years, La Cavada produced up to 800 guns a year, not counting handguns and ammunition. By the beginning of the Iberian War, the factory was in a crisis caused by a combination of objective and subjective reasons, and was destroyed by the French in 1809. Its remains were destroyed again during the Carlist Wars, so no one began to restore it. Another artillery factory was the Fundición de hierro de Eugui in Navarre. This enterprise has existed since 1420, was also destroyed by the French in 1808, and also was not rebuilt after the war. The third artillery company in Spain was Real Fábrica de Armas de Orbaiceta. It was mainly engaged in the production of ammunition; at the beginning of the war, it quickly fell into the hands of the French and was partially destroyed. After the war, it was restored, and it worked until 1884. The Real Fábrica de Trubia near Oviedo, created in 1796 on the site of a recently discovered large iron ore deposit, has also become widely known in narrow circles. Within 10 years, it could produce up to 4.5 thousand pounds of iron (approximately 2.041 tons) in a production cycle that lasted 12 hours. Before the war, the construction of additional capacities for 4 thousand pounds of iron per cycle began, but they were completed after the war - when the French approached in 1808, the factory in Trubia was left, after which the French who seized it partially destroyed the existing production. The last enterprise of the Spanish artillery industry worthy of mention was the Reales Fundiciones de Bronce de Sevilla. This factory was responsible for the production of bronze cannons, as well as carriages, wheels, ammunition and everything else related to artillery. The factory had its own foundries, workshops for the processing of metals and wood, and a chemical laboratory. In 1794, 418 pieces of artillery were produced here. With the outbreak of war, ammunition and hand grenades were also produced here, but in 1810 Seville was captured by the French and the workers stopped working.
The last important branch of the Spanish war industry was the manufacture of gunpowder. The production cycle here was also not very simple, and modern equipment was required to ensure the high quality of the product. There were five centers for the production of gunpowder in Spain. The first of these was the Real Fábrica de Pólvoras de Granada, which produces 7,000 arrobes of gunpowder each year (80.5 tons). This factory has been producing gunpowder since the middle of the 15th century. The second is Fábrica Nacional de Pólvora Santa Bárbara, founded in 1633. In 1808, Santa Barbara produced 900 tons of gunpowder annually. Fábrica de Pólvora de Ruidera was special in terms of production - it produced 700-800 tons of gunpowder per year, but at the same time it could not work in the summer due to its location near the lagoon, which gave rise to innumerable mosquitoes during the hot months. Shortly before the start of the war, Ruidera's production facilities were moved to Granada. The Fábrica de Pólvora de Manresa was relatively small, producing 10,000 gunpowder a year (approximately 115 tons), but its products were of the highest quality and especially appreciated in the army. And finally, the Real Fábrica de Pólvora de Villafeliche existed from the end of the 16th century in the form of private enterprises for the production of gunpowder. The gunpowder produced here was of average quality, but by 1808 there were as many as 180 powder mills in the factory. All these enterprises were seized by the French in 1809-1810, and partially destroyed. The factory in Villafelich suffered especially - its production was greatly reduced, and in 1830, by order of King Ferdinand VII, the remaining equipment was dismantled, as it was in a potentially rebellious region, and the production of gunpowder could fall into the hands of the rebels.
Real Cuerpo de Artilleria
In my previous article, I skimmed through the Spanish artillery in a nutshell, in a nutshell, believing that there is nothing interesting there. However, I was still wrong, and this error needs to be corrected. In addition, along the way, we managed to find interesting statistics that helped to supplement and even rethink the information provided earlier.
As I indicated earlier, the largest artillery unit in Spain was a regiment, consisting of 2 battalions of 5 artillery companies [1], each of which had 6 cannons. Thus, the regiment had 60 guns, of which 12 were in the cavalry artillery companies. There were 4 such regiments, i.e. there were only 240 field guns - very, very few for a field army of about 130 thousand people. However, this composition did not take into account the territorial artillery companies, which also had guns, and, if necessary, they could be included in the active army or act as support for the provincial militia. There were a total of 17 such companies, each of them had 6 guns. As a result, earlier I did not take into account the extra hundred cannons, as a result of which the entire composition of the field artillery of the Royal Spanish Army was about 342 guns, which was already a pretty good result. It is also worth adding that this list most likely does not include guns with a caliber of no more than 12 pounds and howitzers with a caliber of no more than 8 pounds, while in Spain there were also field guns and howitzers with a caliber of 12 to 24 pounds and even higher., and many pieces of old artillery, with which the Iberian Peninsula was thoroughly stuffed. This made it possible to constantly have at his disposal a reserve of the "god of war", but it is also worthwhile to understand that such artillery, due to its mass and dimensions, was absolutely non-maneuverable - for example, the weight of the barrel of a 24-pounder gun alone reached 2.5 tons, and together with the carriage and even reached the mark of 3 tons.
The materiel of the Spanish artillery was quite modern, although it was inferior to the world leaders of that time - Russia and France. The backbone of the Spanish artillery consisted of 4, 8 and 12 pound guns, as well as 8 pound howitzers. All artillery at one time was transformed according to the French system of Griboval, although it differed somewhat from it in details. There was also a fleet of siege and large-caliber field artillery, but I have not yet found specific information about it (apart from the fact that 24-pounder cannons were quite common as serfs, and were sometimes used by guerilleros units). All guns were cast in Spain. Despite all these good characteristics, the Spanish artillery was still inferior in terms of mobility and versatility to the French, although this lag was not fatal. In general, the state of artillery in Spain was approximately at the global average.
In total for 1808, according to the statements in the warehouses and in the active units of the Royal Artillery Corps, there was artillery: 6020 guns, including fortress, siege and obsolete ones, 949 mortars, 745 howitzers, 345 thousand fuses and carbines, 40 thousand pistols, 1.5 million rounds for guns and 75 million rounds for handguns.
Real Cuerpo de Ingenerios
The Royal Corps of Engineers was created in 1711, in the wake of the Bourbon transformations. Initially, it was quite small in number, and required the support of other types of troops, which provided personnel for the duration of the work. Positive changes in the corps took place thanks to Manuel Godoy already in 1803 [2] - the staff expanded significantly, the Regimiento Real de Zapadores-Minadores (Royal Regiment of Sappers-Miners) was formed, thanks to which the corps received full independence and independence from other types of troops. The number of the regiment was set at 41 officers and 1275 privates, it consisted of two battalions, and each battalion consisted of a headquarters, mine (minadores) and 4 sapper (zapadores) companies. Later, for the needs of the emerging division of La Romana, another separate company of military engineers was formed, numbering 13 officers and 119 privates. After the outbreak of the people's war, this company in full force crossed back to Spain and managed to take part in the battle at Espinosa de los Monteros.
In addition to military engineers (zapadores and minadores), the Spanish army also had special soldiers - gastadores (literally "spenders", "wasteful"). They were assigned to the companies of the grenadiers, and usually acted in the same ranks with them, armed with the same rifles and bayonets as the others. Their difference from ordinary grenadiers was the function of supporting sappers and ensuring the advancement of their companies in difficult conditions, when it was required, for example, to cut a passage in the forest, or to fill a moat with fascines. Otherwise, they were ordinary grenadiers, and they did not perform any additional functions outside the battle.
Small clarifications
For a long time I wondered what the fate of Monteros de Espinosa was at the beginning of the 19th century, however, in all the lists of guards units that I managed to find, they still do not appear, and a couple of references I have noticed about their presence in the Royal Guard are more and more similar on inventions. Officially, in 1707, Monteros, like the other three companies of the Spanish Internal Guard, were incorporated into the new, unified company Alabarderos. The main requirements for recruits were: good weapon skills, a pious disposition, a minimum height of 5 feet 2 inches (157, 48 cm), an age of at least 45 years, a period of impeccable service in the army for at least 15 years, the rank of sergeant. Thus, in theory, people of ignoble origin could be included in the number of Alabarderos. By 1808, the company included 3 officers and 152 soldiers. The Alabarderos commander was always supposed to be the bearer of the title of Grand of Spain.
In my article on the army, I pointed out that there are many inaccuracies with the use of the Spanish words "casador" and "tirador". Now, it seems, we managed to get to the bottom of the truth, although this is still not absolutely accurate information. So, both the casadors and the tiradors were representatives of light infantry, whose main function was to provide rifle support to their line infantry, shoot enemy officers, reconnaissance, maneuvering and pursuit of enemy infantry. The difference between them lay in the organization: if the casadors acted in large separate formations as part of the rifle chain, then the tiradors acted independently or as part of small groups, providing flank support to deployed columns of line infantry or playing the role of forward skirmishers. At the same time, it should be added that there is clearly a case when one Russian word has two meanings in Spanish, slightly different in nature. So, tiradores are translated into Russian as "arrows", but at the same time there is one more word - atiradores, which I initially did not consider, so as not to get confused once again. And this was my mistake - these two words have a slightly different semantic connotation: if tiradores can be translated as "arrows", then atiradores would most appropriately be translated as "precise arrows". Apparently, the riflemen who were part of the line battalions were the atiradors, while the tiradors in their meaning were somewhere between the casadors and the atiradors (and in fact they are simply synonymous with the casadors). It is also worth adding that it seems that the atiradores were among the first in Spain who began to massively receive rifled firearms.
In Spain, there were officially no cuirassier regiments, but in fact there was at least one cavalry regiment that used cuirassiers as personal protection for horsemen. We are talking about the Coraceros Españoles regiment, formed in 1810. It was headed by Juan Malatz, and there were only 2 squadrons in the regiment - a total of about 360 people. The regiment used English uniforms and cuirasses, but only French trophy helmets were worn. The Cuirassiers of Spain survived the war and in 1818 were included in the Reina cavalry regiment. Officially, the regiment was listed as a line cavalry unit for the entire period of its existence, and that is why I did not immediately take it into account when writing the first article.
Notes (edit)
1) I use the term "company" as it is more familiar to us; in the original, the word compañas is used, which actually meant an artillery battery, although in relation to earlier times I met not entirely reliable information that companies called associations of several batteries.
2) Almost the only good thing done by Manuel Godoy.
