to it that Alejandro would return there after six years of fighting far from home, at a time when Extremadura was becoming pivotal to the major offensive which, it was hoped, would bring an end to the war. What’s more, that same good fortune had enabled the young general to come home a hero, for he had displayed a strategic acumen that defied the understanding of his superiors.
Superiors who were very worthy. These men knew how to lead and how to fight and they found it easy to hate an enemy who was even more abject than the ones they had fought in the past. They claimed to serve the League as much as they served Spain, divided as she was by treachery, and they had waged both battles at the same time with the bravery that comes with the conviction of the heart. Surprisingly, most of the officers hailed from rural parts of the country, while the cities had sided primarily with the enemy. It was an army made of men accustomed to handling rifles since childhood, and the harshness of their land had made them rugged and wily in action. They chose to side with the League because they shared an allegiance with their ancestors and with the king, and had no qualms about fighting their turncoat brothers. The fact that they were outnumbered ten to one did not worry them; as such, temerity had been their first mistake: a sense of panache inherited from their fathers had compelled the officers to fight in the front line, until voices—including Alejandro’s—insisted they could not send soldiers into battle without leaders. And since those leaders had amply demonstrated their courage, they did without the serenade of honor from then on. No one doubted, anyway, that true honor consists in paying respects to the earth and sky, and that to honor one’s dead, one must live.
The Franco-Italian confederation had taken Europe by surprise, putting an unprepared Spain to fire and sword by releasing cartloads of men carelessly sent to die. The generals committed to the League knew that while the best officers had remained loyal to the king, their strength overall was a farce and they would not find salvation in numbers, but through a volley of miracles. However, during the weeks it took the allied forces to regroup, Lieutenant de Yepes accomplished a miracle. When his soldiers joined forces with the friendly troops, they discovered that the subordinate who was the most poorly equipped in men and arms in the entire army was the one who had lost the fewest men and inflicted the greatest losses on the traitors. In those days, there was a remarkable general by the name of Miguel Ybáñez, now deceased, who was serving as army chief of staff. He deliberately promoted valorous young officers at the same time as he disgraced those who did not manifest any tactical gifts and who, moreover, lacked all strategic sense. Proper tactics are the backbone of an officer, strategy is both his lungs and his heart. And since no one, when outnumbered ten to one, can afford to lack either spirit or ardor, Ybáñez wanted strategists, above all.
In Alejandro, he found one of high quality.
During the early days of the conflict, Lieutenant de Yepes was cut off from his command. His hands were free and his line was simple: he had to save on men, time, ammunition, and supplies. The regular troops were more spread out than they were and communication by land was impossible. They were about to run out of supplies and everyone was imagining imminent disaster: pulverized like rats, the isolated units would perish, surrounded by troops that were largely superior in number. Without communications, knowledge of the terrain is an army’s only chance of survival. With a heavy heart, Alejandro sent valiant men out as scouts—more than he would have liked—and lost far more than he would have wanted. But enough men came back to give him a clear picture of the theater of operations, something to which the enemy, confident of their strength in numbers, paid only moderate attention. In constant retreat, Alejandro infiltrated wherever he could, like water trickling down a slope among roots and rocks. He sought out the best locations for provisioning and resistance, and harassed his adversary with lightning actions that made it seem he was everywhere at once. In combat, he held back his artillery, and his men came under fire when they were saving their own resources—to such