Outskirts of Beni Mellal, Sultanate of Morocco
The 3rd Armoured Group of the Melillanian Corps of the Spanish Royal Army was rushing towards the nearby city of Beni Mellal, in order to take it and continue the counter-invasion of Morocco.
As every other day, Manuel Díaz wondered what the hell had the Moroccans been thinking when they decided to invade Melillania? Or, better, what the hell had Mohammed Fassi been smoking when he took that choice?
Anyway, he thought that, even with the heat, it was better than slugging it out in the north of Europe, with the rains and the cold. He hated cold.
"Colonel Díaz!" he heard on his earbud, the one that allowed him to hear the orders of his superiors.
"Yes, sir?" he asked.
"Take your tanks towards the west, start to surround the city with them. We want to make sure that no soldiers escape from that city! Either they surrender, or they fall."
"Copy that, General," he replied. He then touched a button in his tank, which opened the communication arrays with the rest of his brigade. "Okay, chaps, let's move 120 to the right. Bosses want us to do a ring."
"Right-o, Coro," Liutenant Márquez replied. The same call was received several more times, and soon Colonel Díaz saw how the tanks he lead were starting to turn around, moving towards the west, using their compasses to ensure they were taking the correct direction. They were still watching out towards the city, though, in case the Moroccans decided to try something weird.
It was an hour later that they were in position.
"All tanks, advance now towards the city," the General's voice was heard in all the tanks of the Melillanian Corps. "All brigades, advance behind the tanks, cover them if the Moroccans try to bring out some AT weaponry."
"Copy that."
Corporal Abdul, the driver of the
Don Quijote, Colonel Díaz's tank, stepped on the accelerator, and
Don Quijote lurched forward, its main cannon ready to strike against any enemy that attempted to attack them.
However, they did not find any enemy. At least, not an enemy that wanted to fight them.
"General, I see a large group of soldiers coming towards us. One of them seems to be carrying a white flag."
"Very well. Be ready for anything, but do not shoot unless you are shot at."
Finally, five minutes later, the tank stopped in front of the mass of soldiers, with the
Don Quijote right in front of the flag-bearer. As soon as the tanks stopped moving, the flag-bearer shouted something that Díaz could not understand, but Abdul managed to do it.
"Sir, those soldiers say that they are willing to surrender their positions and the city of Beni Mellial to us. They say that they do not want to continue with this hopeless fight."
"Use the loudspeakers to tell them to drop their weapons."
Abdul picked the microphone and said something in Arabic. Two minutes later, all the soldiers near the
Don Quijote had dropped their weapons to the floor and stepped back from them, to show that their intentions were honourable.
"Díaz, I place on you the responsability of officially accepting those soldiers' surrender. Make sure that you have a translator with you."
"Yes, General." He cut off the communication and looked at Abdul. "Looks like you have been drafted for translation tasks. Come with me, Corporal."
The two of them came out of the tank, and met with the man that seemed to be in charge. He seemed to be at least ten years older than Díaz, but he clearly carried himself as a man with a high rank in the army. The man was surprised to see that Abdul was walking right next to him.
"السلام عليكم" Díaz said. "Peace be with you" indeed: the Arabic salute was one of the few things that had stuck from his time at Melillania, and he also knew that it was quite good, given the situation. Abdul said the same, and the man facing him replied with the correct response, to then say something that he did not understand.
"Colonel, he says he is Brigadier General Selim al-Fakum of the 2nd Moroccan Royal Army. All of these soldiers are the ones who rest from previous attacks on our positions, and he states he is surrendering to prevent further loss of life, either between his soldiers and between the civil population," Abdul translated.
"Brigadier General Selim al-Fakum, I am Colonel Manuel Díaz of the 3rd Armoured Group of the Spanish Royal Army. I have been authorized to accept your surrender in the name of the Spanish Royal Army. We can only hope that your example is soon followed by the rest of the Moroccan Royal Army."
After Abdul finished translating, the Brigadier moved a hand for his hip, where a sword stood, and took it from the sheath, presenting the sword to him and bowing slightly.
"You have to take the sword, Colonel," Abdul told him. He thought it was something strange, something that was definitely from the twentieth century, but he could work with that. He carefully took the sword from the Brigadier's hands.
"Your surrender has been accepted, Brigadier General Selim al-Fakum. No need to continue bowing. Please, have your soldiers await here for a few minutes, trucks will arrive soon to take all of you to a camp."
The Brigadier shouted something, and the Moroccan soldiers seemingly relaxed, at least by a fraction of how they were right then. Díaz smiled, seeing that. He just hoped that the rest of the campaign was as easy as this encounter.
From: The People of Morocco
To: The Kingdom of Spain
We will not rise up against our King! Things may seem to be in your favor right now, but assuredly, he will find a way to save us...
To: The People of Morocco
From: The Kingdom of Spain
So be it. It will be with heavy hearts that we continue the war against you, for we would prefer that you accepted the inevitable and just accepted our King's sovereignty. You would do well to learn from your soldiers, who have mostly surrendered and are now discovering how great Spain is when compared to what they had in Morocco.
Despite of your snub towards us, we are men of word, and when Morocco becomes part of the Kingdom of Spain, all of you will become natural Spanish citizens and soon prosperity will come to you.
From: Morocco
To: The Kingdom of Spain
We would like for you to consider peace with us, to perhaps focus your attention to the north. We'd be willing to discuss terms with you, and would be open to most suggestions...
To: Morocco
From: Kingdom of Spain
Right now, the only terms we are willing to discuss are these:
- Morocco becomes part of the Kingdom of Spain.
- All Moroccan people become citizens of the Kingdom of Spain.
- Morocco is divided in several regions, each of which will have certain political autonomy.
- Moroccan culture will be preserved by the Kingdom of Spain.
- Spanish will be taught at the local schools, although Arabic and Berber will also be allowed.
You can pick these and surrender peacefully, while you still have the time before more of your people die, or you can choose to foolishly resist, in which case you will have to accept these terms when El Jadida falls. Other terms may be discussed later, but, right now, these are the only ones that can be accepted.
