Iron Cross Fire

The war of the Allies in the Caucasus went smoothly, but it was not so good on other fronts. Coupled with their internal hidden dangers, it led to an overall disadvantage.

The Allies wanted to ease the pressure from Russia, so they forced Greece to join the war.

The Greek king was unwilling, but the British set up naval guns outside Athens, and he had to accept this request.

On March 5, Greece secretly reached an agreement with the British and French coalition forces.

On March 7, Greece officially joined the war. As expected, their army gave priority to attacking Istanbul, Turkey.

This may be in line with the needs of the Greek people. But strategically, attacking Turkey is undoubtedly a failure.

They had already ceded Thrace to Bulgaria, and Bulgaria deployed heavy troops here. It is very difficult for the Greek army alone to break through.

Greece's strategic depth is not enough. As long as the Allies randomly draw some troops, they can easily reach the Peloponnese.

Fortunately, the Allies used the port of Athens to continuously transport troops here, which eased the tight military forces in Greece.

The British said they would assist Greece in capturing Istanbul by landing, and asked them to contain the main force of the Allies.

The Greeks had never heard of this way of fighting, and had no confidence in it. However, they had to agree.

After Bulgaria learned that Greece had joined the war, it withdrew its troops from other fronts and transferred them all back to the Balkan front.

This is extremely correct. After all, Bulgaria is a Balkan country, and it is reasonable for it to serve as the main force of the Balkan front.

Other members of the Allies also believed that Bulgaria was enough to suppress Greece, so they did not send any reinforcements here.

However, Kust in the Caucasus was uneasy.

He was worried that the reopening of the Balkans would lead to a sudden increase in pressure on the Allies. Turkey would also be forced to withdraw troops from other fronts to support the Balkans.

The fronts from which troops were withdrawn also included the Caucasus.

Now Kust has successfully captured the entire southern part of the Caucasus Mountains, and is basically safe. Therefore, Turkey will also give priority to withdrawing his troops.

At that time, Turkey would only let their numbers equal those of the Russian army, thus basically losing their ability to attack Russia.

On March 8, at the request of the Russian Tsar, a large transport fleet set sail from Athens.

Under the cover of the escort team, they passed through the Aegean Sea unimpeded.

Not far from the Sea of ​​Marmara, they were about to approach the important town of the Dardanelles, Canakkale.

The Allied officers on the ship knew that they could not sail any further. So they began to land on one island after another near the Gallipoli Peninsula.

Unlike the procrastination in history. After ensuring basic control of the coastal islands, the general offensive was finally launched on March 13.

The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the west coast of the Gallipoli Peninsula under the cover of naval guns.

The main force of the British chose to land in the south, and some supported the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

The French were more direct, and they chose the west coast of Asia Minor.

The Allied attack caught the Turkish army off guard. They never thought that anyone would dare to come from here, and today they really opened their eyes.

While fighting on land, the Allies, who had always controlled the sea, did not forget their advantages.

They ordered some fast maneuvering ships to enter the strait in an attempt to forcibly capture Çanakkale.

When they reached the narrow section, several ships sank into the sea due to hitting mines, and finally returned without success.

The Allies realized that it was impossible to force their way in from the sea, so they increased their offensive on the road.

The Turkish coastal defense forces were attacked so fiercely that they abandoned their positions and evacuated inland.

When the news reached the Istanbul Palace, it caused a lot of chaos. The Turks felt that the war was hopeless, after all, they were fighting on four fronts (Balkans, Caucasus, Arabia, Dardanelles).

Fortunately, the military advisers sent by Germany remained calm and relied on the complex terrain to establish a relatively strong defense line, which gave Turkey a shot in the arm.

But the Allies continued to send troops here, and even sent 22 divisions without stopping.

The opposite Turkey had only more than 10 divisions. Unless their defense line is in the sky, the British will sooner or later step over it.

After forming an advantage, the Allies launched a general offensive.

While the French army was trying to contain the main force of the Turkish army as much as possible, they were looking for opportunities to expand the results of the war.

The British army advanced northward, and the target was Çanakkale.

The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps tried to advance eastward, attempting to establish contact with the British army and cooperate with their actions.

The attack was smooth and there was almost no resistance on the way.

This was because German military advisers learned of the huge army of the Allies through intelligence, so they ordered the army to withdraw collectively to Çanakkale, while ensuring the strait, trying to concentrate superior forces and establish a solid defense line.

This played a certain role: it successfully deterred the British army and made their actions hesitant.

On March 14, after learning that the battle in Gallipoli was going smoothly, the British Parliament recruited a lot of colonial troops to go there.

After receiving affirmation from the rear, the British commander stepped up his horse to continue the attack.

On March 18, after continuous attacks day and night, the Turkish army finally gave up Canakkale and withdrew from the Gallipoli Peninsula overnight.

The control of the Dardanelles Strait was completely owned by the Allies, and their fleet took the opportunity to enter the Sea of ​​Marmara.

The British have tasted the sweetness of landing operations, and they will definitely launch such an attack again.

And the next target is undoubtedly Istanbul, the capital of Turkey.

The Turkish high-level officials were panicked when they learned that the war was not going well. Enver, the supreme leader, asked Germany and Austria for support, but at this moment all members of the Allied Powers were deeply trapped in the quagmire of war and had no intention of helping him.

Germany only sent a few temporary conscription divisions; Austria-Hungary only gave them part of the advanced equipment they made.

As for Bulgaria, it was good enough to withstand the pressure of the Balkan front, and it was simply a daydream to hope that it would give support.

Turkey, in trouble, had to give up their pursuit of the Suez Canal and began to switch from offense to defense.

All the extra troops were invested in the Galicia Campaign to defend the capital.

At the same time, they drew 200,000 Caucasian troops and also invested them in the coast of the Sea of ​​Marmara.

The British Parliament did not give Turkey a chance to rest, and immediately ordered the colonial army to join the Egyptian army to launch an offensive against the Arabian Peninsula.

They hoped that the Russian Caucasus Front would launch an offensive to contain the troops returning for support.

Tsar Nicholas II was very excited when he learned that the trade route was about to be opened. He ignored the disadvantages on the Western Front and sent more troops to the Caucasus and started a counterattack.

This was extremely disadvantageous to Kuster. The Russians were in a high position, so it didn't take much effort to counterattack.

While the Gallipoli Campaign was going on, Kuster had been trying to penetrate Russia from both wings of the Caucasus, after all, it was relatively flat there.

But he also ignored the strategic location of the Greater Caucasus Mountains and only deployed a filling division in this area.

In addition, Turkey has withdrawn a lot of troops, making the defense in this area even more empty.

But as the saying goes, "Those who outflank will also be outflanked."

When the Russians advance, his two wings will inevitably be exposed, increasing the risk of being surrounded.

Next, the Caucasus Campaign will enter the counterattack stage. Who will win in the end depends on the level of the commanders of the two armies.

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