Holy Roman Empire

The accompanying young officer replied: "Yes, General!"

After speaking, immediately ran to convey the order.In the bombing just now, the exposed telegraph and telephone lines were unfortunately damaged and have not been restored in time.

At this point, Major General Ozgul no longer has any illusions about defending against the enemy outside the country.

Relying on artillery to prevent the enemy from landing, the question is what to do with the enemies in the sky?Without addressing the threat overhead, they can only be beaten passively.

No matter how tightly defended a position is, if a wave comes overhead, it will still collapse.The number of casualties is still being counted, and Major General Ozgul no longer has the courage to face it.

Holding his beloved binoculars, he glanced at the battlefield for the first time, and Major General Ozgul knew that the loss was absolutely heavy.

In just over an hour, the airship brigade dropped hundreds of tons of bombs on their heads. If the naval artillery shells were added, the number would be even greater.

For the small port of Ava, so many ammunition can already carry out a big blast. Not to mention the heavy damage to the port facilities, the key is that the fortifications were destroyed.

Time passed by, and the casualty report appeared in the hands of Major General Ozgul in the evening. A thin piece of paper in his hand seemed to weigh a thousand catties at this moment.

Suppressing the uneasiness in his heart, Major General Ozgul quickly scanned the losses.

More than half of the artillery was lost, 686 were killed, 1468 were injured, and 315 were missing. Most of the forts suffered devastating blows, and one-fifth of the supplies were lost. One-third of the buildings in the city suffered varying degrees of loss. How many casualties...

The strength of a regiment is lost in this way. Don't look at the number of wounded and think that it will recover in the future.In fact, based on the medical conditions of the Ottoman army, the mortality rate of the wounded is generally not lower than 40.00%.

Simply put, it is self-resistance.If you are lucky, the wound is not inflamed or suppurated, then you will save your life, or you will be left to fate.

"Battlefield medical care", where can the Sudanese government find so many medical personnel?Even if there are medical staff, they don't have enough medicines.

In this day and age, medicine is much more expensive than human life.For example, the market price of penicillin, which can only be produced in laboratories, is dozens of times higher than the equivalent amount of gold.

Affected by chemical technology, large-scale industrial production cannot be realized, and small-scale production can only be carried out by manpower, with an annual output of less than [-] pieces.

This output is not enough for Austria itself.When it flows into the international market, it naturally becomes a sky-high price.On the black market, 1000 Aegis/pieces have been fired, and there is still no market for it. How can the Sudanese government provide it to soldiers?

Injured on the battlefield, or look forward to God's blessing!Most soldiers can only do simple bandaging, which is a test of luck. Basically, they can use whatever cloth is in front of them.

If you're unlucky, if you don't have sterile gauze, you can make do with tearing a piece off your clothes.A group of leading soldiers don't know so much professional knowledge.

After reading the report, Major General Ozgul loosened his hands, let the documents in his hands fall, and sat down on his buttocks, as if he had been taken out of his mind.

After a while, Major General Ozgul slowly came to his senses, and sighed deeply: "Oh!"

He shook his head: "Immediately send someone to report the situation we encountered to the higher authorities, request the country to send reinforcements, and remind the country to be careful of the enemy's airship."

Airships have been around for many years. Because of the cost-effectiveness, their practical value is not high, and they are rarely seen in daily life.

If it weren't for his love of reading newspapers, Major General Ozgul might not even know of the existence of this thing, let alone its use in war.

But this is all in the past tense. After this battle, airships will soon appear in the armies of various countries.In this regard, everyone's learning ability is still very strong.

Countermeasures, sorry, this is beyond the competence of Major General Ozgul.It is estimated that after a few more bombings, the experience and lessons may be summed up.

……

Compared with the gloomy Ava garrison, the atmosphere of the Joint Command in Constantinople was much warmer. The airship brigade had made great contributions just after launching.

Originally, they thought that it would take a heavy price to destroy Ava's shore artillery fortifications. The Russian army was planning to land from nearby areas and fight from land.

Speaking of it, landing from the surrounding area is very simple. In fact, due to geographical constraints, there is no good port, and ships cannot dock at all. The Russians are all ready to get on the bamboo raft.

There is no doubt that this approach is quite dangerous and requires human life.Austria has landing craft, but unfortunately due to insufficient preparation in advance, they were not sent to the Black Sea in time. If they landed from the Mediterranean coast, there would be no problem.

Intentionally or unintentionally, this question will not be mentioned for the time being.In short, the landing craft will not come in a short time. If the Russians can wait, they will be there in a while.

This kind of small boat can be produced by small shipyards on the Danube.Without considering the service life, low-quality goods can be produced in two or three months. Anyway, it is no problem to log in two or three times.

It's all right now, the enemy's shore artillery has been severely damaged, just hit it hard.Even the pre-prepared feint plan was aborted because of this.

The tsarist government urgently needed to occupy the Black Sea Strait to ensure the smooth flow of this most important foreign trade channel.In order to deliver a satisfactory answer to the country, Admiral Ivanov decided to use his troops quickly.

Before the Ottoman Empire reacted, landed in Ava first.The previous combat plan is not completely abolished, but the implementation is greatly reduced.

Allied Commander-in-Chief Arester was very dissatisfied with this kind of tampering with the combat plan without authorization and ignoring the prior agreement between the two countries.

Although Aleister was not from the army, the staff officers assigned to him by the Vienna government were all professionals.

Everyone saw the risk of changing the battle plan at a glance.According to the original plan, as long as they landed in areas where the Ottoman Empire's forces were weak, implemented a scorched earth strategy, and drove the people into the interior, they could drag down the enemy.

There is no need to fight bitterly at all, as long as you continue to destroy, you can win the war.After changing the plan, the Russian army will have to fight the Ottomans.

The Russian army is full of confidence, but the Austrian military does not have such strong confidence in them.There are only 15 Russian troops in the area, and they are going to fight hundreds of thousands of Ottoman troops. After losing the crowd tactics, everyone has no idea how strong the gray cattle are.

I have to say that the first impression is very important. From the very beginning, Aleister believed that the combat effectiveness of this Russian army was limited.According to Austrian standards, the Russian army's training was basically unqualified.

……

Aleister sternly reprimanded: "General Ivanov, this battle plan has been approved by both governments.

Prior to this, both of us have carefully evaluated and selected the most suitable plan from many combat plans.

According to this combat plan, the losses of both of us can be minimized, and we can win this war with the minimum cost. I think this is the common pursuit of everyone. "

Ivanov shook his head: "No, Your Excellency Commander. This battle plan is too conservative. It will take at least three to five months to attack in all directions to force the enemy to divide their troops and then attack Ava.

But this is based on the fact that the Ava defenders have strong defensive firepower, which brings great trouble to the landing.Now the enemy's shore artillery has been almost destroyed by us, and it is completely possible to launch an attack immediately.

Now that the Ottomans have not reacted, we can make a time difference. Even if the enemy has assembled more troops, we have air superiority.

Believe me, no army can maintain combat effectiveness under the bombardment of airships, the decaying Ottoman Empire will be broken in one stab.

We don't need to argue about these meaningless issues, victory is ours.General Aleister, let us forge our own glory together! "

Aleister frowned, and said earnestly: "General Ivanov, you are too optimistic. Airships are not invincible. Many special terrains, such as airships in the jungle, are difficult to function.

If a decisive battle breaks out, even if we can win, you will suffer heavy losses.The lads came to fight with us, and we must bring them back as much as we can. "

After a moment of silence, Ivanov still shook his head.According to the established battle plan, to reduce casualties as much as possible, he also wanted to be so big.

But the problem is that the country can't stand it, the Black Sea Strait is cut off, and the foreign trade of the Russian Empire has been hit hard.If the channel cannot be opened as soon as possible, the loss will be even greater after the autumn grain is put into storage.

As soon as the war broke out, the tsarist government gave him repeated orders to speed up.War needs to serve politics, and soldiers must also consider national interests.

Austria can let the war drag on, that is, the longer it drags on, the more benefits Austria can gain from the Russia-Austria trade.The profits from the monopoly of most of the Russian Empire's trade can almost wipe out the losses caused by the war, and the Vienna government is naturally not in a hurry.

"Your Excellency, Commander, I still insist on changing the combat plan. This is what St. Petersburg means. The economic losses caused by the war are too great, and the Russian Empire can no longer afford it."

Aleister hesitated to speak. At this point, unless he strongly stopped, for example: Austrian transport ships and warships did not cooperate, otherwise he could only persuade St. Petersburg.

After pondering for a while, he said, "Okay, I will report to Vienna. If the General Staff agrees, we will cooperate with you."

……

In the Palace of Vienna, Franz, who had not had time to be happy after receiving the meritorious service of the airship bombing brigade, received the news that a "strategic battle" broke out on the front line.

He knew that the Russians wanted to open up the Black Sea Strait, but he didn't expect the tsarist government to lose their composure so quickly, and they didn't even care about the casualties of soldiers.

Well, it seems that the Tsarist government never cared about soldier casualties.This question should not have been considered from the very beginning.

Franz patted his forehead: "What do you think, the Russians are so eager to attack, should we agree or refuse?"

Prime Minister Felix: "Your Majesty, it doesn't matter how you choose this question, but I personally tend to agree with the Russians' choice.

This war is just a strategic fraud, and the outcome is not that important.If the original plan is followed, we can say that we will win, and it is uncertain whether Osman will exist.

Now that the Russians are willing to change strategy, let them do it.If the Russian army suffers heavy losses on the front line, we can take the opportunity to end the war. "

Well, I just don't bother to think about it in the military, and it doesn't matter whether I win or lose.If this kind of salted fish strategy is spread, no one will believe it.

Perhaps when future generations study this period of history, they will be able to uncover the truth by connecting all the things together.Of course, the possibility of being biased is still greater.

Franz set his sights on the military. He needed an answer from the military and weighed the pros and cons comprehensively so that he could make a decision.

As if aware of Franz's gaze, Minister of War Albrecht said: "Your Majesty, after changing the battle plan, the Russians' chances of winning in Asia Minor Peninsula will be greatly reduced. Even if they can win the war, they will suffer heavy losses.

However, the outcome of the Asia Minor Peninsula Campaign does not affect our Middle East strategy.

Now the Sudanese government does not dare to take the risk of increasing its troops in the Middle East, and no one can guarantee that we will not increase our military input in the Asia Minor peninsula.

In case the Russians are defeated or suffer heavy losses, we can send troops to feign an attack at any time, and the Sudanese government dare not act rashly. "

Franz: "Then tell Aleister, don't care what the Russians want to do, fight whatever they want, let them go."

As long as it does not affect the strategy in the Middle East, Franz is fearless, and at worst he will send troops to deal with the aftermath of the Russians.It is nothing more than a matter of money, which is nothing compared to the oil in the Middle East.

……

In Constantinople, after receiving Franz's order, Aleister gave up fighting, and warned earnestly: "General Ivanov, you must insist on landing in the Ava area first, and we agree.

However, all the consequences caused by this will be borne by you.If the main force of the Ottoman Empire is attracted, making it impossible to proceed with the next strategy, don't blame me for not reminding you. "

This is not to shirk responsibility, but to throw the pot away reasonably.Since the Russian army has changed the battle plan discussed in advance without authorization, it is natural to take responsibility for it.

Say it clearly now, and you can save a lot of fuss in the future.Even if the Russian army suffered heavy losses, they could only swallow tears in their stomachs.

Ivanov happily replied: "Don't worry, Commander. We are old rivals with the Ottomans. It is clear how strong they are, and there will be no problems."

Chapter 121 Landing Battle

The city of Ava after the war has changed beyond recognition.Austria's bombing was targeted. Apart from military facilities, most of the bombed buildings were landmarks.

Any target that is conspicuous will be bombed.On the contrary, the losses in the inconspicuous civilian areas were relatively small, and most buildings were only affected, and did not suffer destructive damage.

The fire caused by the bombing was quickly extinguished, and the crying still resounded throughout the city.The order in the city has collapsed, and the gangsters who took advantage of the fire are indulged.

Many of the Ottoman soldiers who were supposed to maintain order also joined the team who took advantage of the fire, and the ugliness of human nature was completely revealed, and Ava was crying tonight.

If someone counts, it will be found that the people who died in the bombing did not die as many people died in the chaos.

Facing the chaotic situation, Akeyol's master and apprentice did not dare to go out.Not long ago, there were a few gangsters who wanted to take advantage of the fire, but were expelled by Akeyol's master and apprentice with shotguns.

The shotgun is a collection of the owner of the blacksmith shop. It is said that it was passed down from the ancestors. Maybe the time is too tight, or maybe it is too nervous, so the shotgun was left behind.

The son of Hwangsiman Raja asked, "Master, will they come back again?"

My family knows their own affairs, and these shotguns, which are collectibles, have been handed down in unknown ages. It’s okay to take them out to scare people. If you really rely on them to kill people, the chances of killing yourself are not much lower than the chances of killing your enemies.

Akeyol replied uncertainly: "Probably not, we are a blacksmith's shop, which has been requisitioned by the officials and lords, except for a pile of iron materials and swords, there is not much oil and water to fish at all.

We still have guns in our hands. If these people are not fools, they will figure it out soon. "

At another point in time, iron and swords are wealth.But it doesn't work now, the officials will confiscate it directly.The cold weapons created were prepared to be distributed to civilians to fight to the end after the city was broken.

The great sultan has issued a death order: "The city is alive and the people are alive, and the city is dead and the people are dead."How can it be called a "jihad" if you don't fight to the end?

Whether the people will fight the enemy to the end is beyond the consideration of the officials. If the Ava area loses the defenders, the officers will also be unlucky.

Everyone is too busy to take care of themselves, who cares whether the people will fight to the end?If you can mobilize one by one, you can lure the enemy into the city, and then launch an attack. If you can't win the enemy, you must deter the enemy.

……

At the headquarters of the Ava garrison, Major General Ozgul is worrying about the threat overhead.If this problem is not solved, the enemy will drop bombs from the sky, and chaos will follow.

There may be armies that can face the enemy's bombing without changing their face, but this does not include the Ottoman army.During the bombing period, there were many ignorant people who shouted "God's punishment" and knelt down to pray for God's forgiveness.

"The enemy's airship is too powerful, what countermeasures do you have?"

After speaking, Ozgul cast his expectant eyes on Saltus.The airship was first invented by the French. It has been 90 years and the technology has been updated several times.

It is rarely seen in Ottoman, but in developed countries in Europe, some people have already used it in their lives.There are even airship transportation companies. Of course, such advanced enterprises usually have a difficult life.

Ozgul also knew that it was unrealistic to expect a bunch of bumpkins who didn't even know what an airship was, and just pinned their hopes on Saltus, a talented student.

There were not many overseas students sent by the Ottoman Empire in this era, and a large part of them were influenced by Western ideas, and they joined the revolution after returning. There are not many honest people like Saltus.

"Honest man" is the label Ozgul put on Saltus, but anyone who learns some flattering skills will not be sent to Ava.

Anyone with a bit of military common sense knows that the Ava area is close to the Bosporus Strait and may become a front line at any time.

The enemies this time are Russia and Austria. The Ottoman Empire's chances of winning are very low, including the Sudanese government, which is only pursuing a decent end to the war.

The war is almost doomed to failure. In addition to facing danger, the officers on the front line also have to worry about being used as a scapegoat after the war.

Otherwise, Ava, a major military area, would not be a major general in Ozgul. At any rate, he also had two divisions under his command, so it should be commanded by a mid-term general.

Those present were basically unsuccessful in the Ottoman army, or because the background relationship was not strong enough, they were placed on the front line.

After fiddling with the gauze-wrapped arm, Saltus said slowly: "General, this is the first time in military history that an airship actually bombed it, and no country has an effective countermeasure.

However, when studying in France, some students had the idea of ​​airship bombing.It is very difficult to shoot down the airship.

The power of the bullet is not strong enough. Unless it hits a vital part, even if it hits the airship, it is difficult to cause a fatal threat.The best choice is the artillery, but unfortunately the elevation angle of the artillery is not enough to attack the air.

With the current situation, we cannot carry out an effective counterattack against the enemy.The only thing it can do is harass the attack with a rifle, forcing enemies into the air, reducing their chances of hitting. "

Major General Ozgul was somewhat disappointed that the problem was not resolved.The range of rifles is limited, and the effective lethality of most rifles is only a few hundred meters, which means that as long as the enemy bombs at an altitude of one thousand meters, they are helpless.

Major General Ozgul continued to ask: "Do other people have different ideas?"