Madrid, Spain
Manuel Cruz regarded the letter carefully. It had just been delivered, but his secretary assured him that Cruz's predecessor, the recently deceased Nicolas Cruz, had had no plans regarding France, and so this offer was a fresh slate. Of course, as his first official duty as the new Foreign Minister, he would have to select a delegation. He would go himself, of course, and he would also need an economic advisor and a military advisor. A representative from the Madrid Chamber of Commerce would be perfect, as most Spanish companies had their offices there. As for a military advisor, he would ask the Minister of War for a representative. And just like that, the matter was resolved. This job wouldn't be so hard, he thought to himself.
Dominican Republic waters
The night was silent, and the only noise that drifted across the ocean was the occasional sounds of marine life and fishermen heading home. No ships would be departing Santo Domingo so late at night, as the Cuban military command had planned. The Spanish Navy's Caribbean squadron steamed closer to Santo Domingo Bay, the capital city of the Dominican Republic. Other naval ships were also busy around other parts of the island. By now, two transports would be anchored in Puerto Plata, with approximately 500 troops hidden in the holds. However, that was only a distraction from the main attack; the capture of Puerto Plata was only meant to ensure Spanish troops could land quickly and that artillery could be brought inland for a siege of Santiago, if necessary. The attack on Santo Domingo, on the other hand, would hopefully be a brief affair, a quick one-two punch to annihilate the military chain of command and ensure chaos in the responding forces.
As the warships quietly drew closer to the city, there was no response. It was possible that the sentries didn't see the fleet drawing ever close; it was more likely that their commanders hadn't stationed any sentries, and were instead using them in some scheme to seize power. Coups had been ridiculously common not that long ago, after all. The lead warship, the newly arrived cruiser Almirante Oquendo, was the first to enter the bay, and she had all her lights doused and engines running as quietly as possible.
Suddenly, a loud blast echoed across the bay. An explosion of some kind had occurred at the fort that controlled the bay. That was the signal. Locals that had resented the ineffectual government had been recruited by Spanish agents to initiate a riot by bombing the local barracks, and that had been it. The bomb was the signal to begin the attack.
As the longboats of the Almirante Oquendo began to row to the shore, loaded with marines, the warship's powerful guns began bombarding the fort. The fort, which had expected a calm night, was not prepared for such an assault and desperately attempted to man the fort's guns as naval shells blasted away massive chunks of the fort.
In Santo Domingo, meanwhile, the first of the marines landed and came face to face with a confused scene. The riots had begun, but rather than being fueled by the public, it appeared the local troops had mistaken it for another coup and had mobilized to defend the government buildings. As a result, the Spanish army was able to land its full complement of troops with barely any resistance. However, progress slowed dramatically in the blocks around the presidential palace as the local troops fought desperately to beat back the Spanish army.
Eventually, however, as senior commanders began to flee the city with their families to avoid being arrested, the local troops sensed that their commanders assumed they would be defeated, and the local defense crumbled away. As a similar scenario played out in Puerto Plata to the north, Dominican commanders hurriedly organized local militias and army units into a cohesive defense, and the D.R. committed to halting the Spanish advance at the town of Villa Altagracia, north of Santo Domingo. However, before they were ready, the Spanish army attacked in force, hoping to meet up with the supply column at Puerto Plata. The unprepared and poorly-armed militiamen were no match for the well-trained, veteran troops of the Spanish army, and after a few hours of fighting, Spanish cavalry had cleared the way to Bonao. It was here that the forward elements of the army finally paused to resupply and rest after the fierce fighting to reach Bonao.
The troops that had landed in Puerto Plata were not so lucky. Their advance had been stalled by a well-organized defense outside the town of Pedro Garcia, and they had been unable to break the defenses thus far. Instead of trying to force their way through to Santiago, the Spanish commander decided to try to take the city of Mao. Despite the efforts of the Dominican commander, the Battle of Esperanza was a Spanish victory, and they took Mao with few casualties. This victory was the last major effort by the northern Spanish forces, as the commander realized that they were almost overextended and decided to instead await reinforcements and supplies.
