Holy Roman Empire

"General Ivanov, where do you think it would be better to land from?"

Without hesitating for too long, Ivanov gave the answer: "Let's go to Ava, which is the closest to the Bosporus Strait. If you win here for at most two months, you can completely control the Black Sea Strait.

If we do this, we will win most of this war.If the enemy wants to stick to the strait defense line, we can also drive straight in and attack the Ottoman capital Ankara. "

You don't need to think about why, since the outbreak of the Near East War, the Russian foreign trade has been inseparable from Austria.

Even if the Vienna government does not charge customs duties, freight is always necessary.The railway company doesn't care whether the two countries are allies or not, the money that should be collected cannot be less.

Imports are fine, but if you buy Austrian products, the impact will not be great anyway, but the loss of exports will be huge.

Seeing that the international grain price has been fired up, but the domestic grain is piled up like a mountain, Alexander II is almost bald.

There is only one buyer left in Austria. If the capitalists don't take the opportunity to lower the price, are they still capitalists?Regardless of how the price of grain in the international market has risen, the purchase price of the Austrian capitalists has not changed.

That's all, if the Black Sea Strait is not opened as soon as possible, if it is delayed until the end of the year, what will they trade with the British?

The grain-for-loan activity must not be stopped, otherwise the railway construction of the Russian Empire will come to a halt.

After thinking about these issues, Arrest deliberately reminded: "The importance of the Black Sea Strait is unquestionable, and the Ottomans also know this, and they have deployed heavy troops in this area.

Or choose to land in an area where the enemy's troops are weak, mobilize the enemy, and then launch a full-scale battle. "

This is an established strategy, and Aleister does not want to be abolished by the Russians.If you land head-to-head directly from Ava, heavy losses are unavoidable.

The Russians are not afraid of the heavy casualties of the gray cattle, and Aleister still cares about money.You must know that Austria is responsible for all the supplies, and the golden ten thousand taels when the cannon is fired is not a joke.

After hesitating for a moment, Ivanov nodded.The face of the donor still has to be given. If Austria doesn't cooperate, they won't be able to swim.

It is impossible for the 15 Russian troops to land in a centralized manner at one time, and divide their forces to attack multiple areas, which will not affect his combat plan at all.

Seeing that the goal was achieved, Arrest was very happy: "Well, I will ask the airship bombing team to cooperate and see if I can take the opportunity to destroy the enemy's shore artillery."

There is no way, limited by technical problems, unable to play with airplanes, Franz can only use airships to make up the number, and the bombing team is a low-end version of the air force.

This force is still a bit embarrassing in Austria. Since its establishment, it has not achieved any record.They didn't even have the chance to perform on the battlefield, but the airship transport team performed well.

If it hadn't been for the outbreak of the Near East War and the need to deal with the enemy's shore artillery before landing, it is estimated that Aleister would not have thought that Austria still had this force.

In recent years, Austria has been generally peaceful, except for the occasional beating in the colonies, which is an Anglo-Boer war.

The enemies of the colonies don't need airship troops at all. The "British-Boer War" was fought in vests again, and it was too conspicuous to take out the airship.Once the lid is lifted, the play will not be easy to perform.

After waiting for so many years, the Airship Bombing Brigade finally had a chance to perform.Franz immediately transferred this unit to the Balkan Peninsula, preparing to test it in actual combat.

Although the original space-time airship appeared on the battlefield, it was eliminated by the plane.But the Germans also bombed Britain with airships, which proves that airships still have certain military value. It is not a problem to use them to bully the Ottoman Empire, right?

By the way, make a show to attract the attention of all countries and increase everyone's military expenditure.

If every country has an airship air force, and when the planes appear overnight, they will be eliminated. I think everyone's expressions will be very exciting.

……

Ava is just an ordinary port city in the Ottoman Empire. If there is any difference, it is probably near the Bosporus Strait!

The spring breeze blew across the earth, greening the earth, and blowing away the willows, but failed to blow away the smoke of war.

Since being bombarded by the Austrian Navy, the tranquility of this small town has been broken.The rich ran away early, and the market became depressed.

The sultan's "jihad" orders had been communicated and everyone was mobilized.Without enough weapons, he developed them himself, and the blacksmith shop business in the city suddenly exploded.

As a senior blacksmith, Akeyol's heart is very heavy, and he doesn't even put so much effort into blacksmithing.After a lot of hard work, it turned into coping with things, as if I didn't worry about losing customers at all.

Now he is really not worried about the loss of customers. For this "jihad", he has been conscripted without compensation, and he has heavy tasks every day.

Akeyol yelled at the apprentice: "Son of Huangsman Raja, hurry up, if you can't complete the task, be careful to eat the whip!"

(Remarks: Ottoman civilians did not have a surname before the promulgation of the "Law on Taking Surnames" in 1934, one of the common names of "Son of Emperor Sman Raja")

"Son of Kingsman Raja" was a young boy, only about thirteen or fourteen years old.After hearing Akeyol's words, he immediately accelerated the speed in his hand, and complained in his mouth:

"Master Akeyol, what do you think we are building these weapons for? Don't we all use guns in war? With these things, you probably can't even get close to the enemy."

Ava is a port city, and there are many people traveling from south to north. After hearing and seeing, everyone knows that the era of cold weapons is over.

Akeyol glared: "Where is there so much nonsense, this is a matter for the masters to decide, and you still need to worry about it?"

Akyol also wanted to know this question.It's a pity that limited knowledge restricted his thinking ability, and he couldn't think of the use of these cold weapons at all.

In order to build these weapons, the officials confiscated ironware wantonly, and because of insufficient quantity, they also smelted a lot of farm tools and even iron pots.

Akeyol's heart bleeds every time he watched the agricultural tools that he worked hard in the past turn into molten iron again.

But Akeyol, who has long been worn away by life, would not ask why. If the official told him to do this, then he should do it.

If you asked too many questions, wouldn't it be unfair to give him a whip?The Ottoman Empire is not a country ruled by law. If you are beaten by an official, it will be for nothing.

The young man was still a bit unconvinced, but he didn't dare to confront his master, and seemed to be afraid of the whip from the official, so he just kept his head down and worked hard.

After a while, he complained again: "Hmph! It's all due to those heathens. If they hadn't invaded, we wouldn't be so tired. When they come, I must give them some color!"

Akeyol ignored the teenager's complaints, he didn't want the enemy to land in Ava.Even if Dou Da didn't know a lot of words, he also knew that the enemy was not that easy to deal with.

When the last war failed, the Ottoman Empire lost its capital, and a large number of dignitaries fled back in embarrassment. Akyol saw it with his own eyes.

Chapter 119 Bombing

"Boom, boom, boom..."

One after another shells fell from the sky, causing chaos in the city of Ava.Cries and screams resounded throughout the city, and frightened people ran around in the streets.

Akyol couldn't care less about the work at hand, and dragged his apprentices to the backyard.Suddenly stopped at a pile of sundries, Akeyol cleaned up the mess and said, "Help quickly, let's hide in the cellar."

Knowing the seriousness, the boy nodded and followed suit.This hidden cellar was originally intended for the blacksmith owner to hide from the tax collector.

How can you avoid tax evasion when doing business in the Ottoman Empire?Although it was only a small blacksmith shop, there were as many as a dozen processing workers in the boss's peak period.

Just making farm tools, pots, tiles and pans, how much money can these small objects make?What's more, there will be a layer of oil and water scraped by the officials and lords, and few will fall into the hands of the boss. How can it be possible to support so many people?

The nimble-minded blacksmith shop owner naturally wouldn't sit still, and decisively opened up a new business - making weapons, and it was the kind of shady weapon.

With the passage of time and the advent of the era of hot weapons, private work has become more and more difficult to handle.High-quality customers such as bandits, bandits, and pirates came less and less, and the blacksmith shop gradually declined.

By the time of this generation of bosses, another grocery store was opened and expanded, and the blacksmith shop, which was the ancestral property, was still preserved.There is only Akeyol, a master chef, who usually makes some daily necessities for sale, but he can maintain it.

After the war broke out, the boss who sensed the danger ran away with his family, leaving only Akeyol and a young apprentice to stay and watch the shop.

The underground business was gone, and the cellar was also abandoned. Except for storing some supplies occasionally, it was not used much in normal times.

Now it has become a hiding place for the two of them. In the small space, the sound of their breathing can be clearly heard.The boy asked impatiently, "Master..."

Akyol interrupted: "Stop, I know what you want to ask. But now we can't do anything but hide here.

Surely they would have taken cover at the sound of the cannon.Even if you go out now, you won't be able to help.Cannonballs don't have eyes, we can't stop them at all, I believe God will bless them..."

Encountered naval gun attack, Ava's garrison officer Ozgul immediately ordered: "Immediately organize a counterattack for me, we cannot let the enemy continue to act recklessly."

The Ottoman Empire also prepared for this war for more than half a year, and purchased a lot of artillery from Britain and France. As a key defensive port, there were hundreds of artillery pieces distributed in Ava Bank.

Of course, among them, the number of heavy artillery that can really play a role is only a little over 30.Other artillery pieces are no longer a threat to the ironclad ship.

This is not a small number. There are so many Ottoman port cities, and Ava can be allocated so many artillery, which shows that the importance is extraordinary.

Under normal circumstances, no one would use warships and shore artillery to bombard them. This is a very stupid choice.Shore cannons have small targets and can focus stably on land. Warships must be the ones who suffer the most from bombardment.

Of course, there are exceptions.Weapons and equipment and the quality of soldiers are also key factors affecting the hit rate.It is not surprising to lose to warships in the confrontation, but these are very few.

"Yes, General!"

As soon as the voice fell, several young officers stepped forward quickly, picked up the phone in the command room and started calling.Without exception, these phones are not as tall and equipped as a dial, and all calls are made by manual wiring.

If one looks carefully at the German instructions on the base of the phone, one will find these products, and also note the place of origin in Austria.

These are all small problems. Now the technology is limited, and it is impossible to be monitored remotely. No matter who made these phones, there is no back door.

Practicality is still the most important thing on the battlefield. Most of the telephone equipment in the international market is exported from Austria, and the Sudanese government is not qualified to be picky.

Don't look at the simplicity of these devices. In fact, "a slight mistake will make a huge difference" in production.With the industrial technology of the Ottoman Empire, the communication equipment produced could not be used at all.

As one order after another was sent out, the shore artillery that had been waiting for a long time also began to show its power, and the deafening sound of the artillery continued to sound.

On a warship about two or three nautical miles away, a burly middle-aged officer was standing on the plywood, looking into the distance with a telescope. (1 nautical mile=1.852 kilometers)

The guard dutifully reminded: "General, this place is dangerous, you should go to the observation room!"

The middle-aged man laughed: "If the enemy can hit at this distance, then God wants to summon me in advance."

hit?Most artillery can't shoot this far at all, and a few types of artillery with this range can't be aimed at this distance.

The Austrian navy's attack on Ava was completely indiscriminate, and there was no need to aim at all. It was enough to adjust to the maximum range and let the shells fly as far as possible.

If you want to achieve results, unless you close the distance again.At present, the closest warship to Ava also maintains a distance of two nautical miles.

This distance is just right, which can ensure that the naval guns can shoot shells into the city, and can also ensure the safety of the warship.

Looking at the watch in his hand, the middle-aged officer said to himself: "It's time for them to come. If I don't come, I will do it myself."

This is not the first time that port cities have been bombarded. Since the bombardment of Ottoman ports began on April 4, the Austrian Navy has conducted live ammunition training on several port cities every day.

That's right, live ammunition shooting training.Everyone in the navy regarded this as a training session, using the Ottomans as targets to train the gunners' hit rate.

After waiting for a long time, colorful clouds floated in the sky, and the middle-aged officer frowned: "Order the fleet to close the distance by 1 nautical mile, and pay attention to the wind direction."

In order to give the Air Force a chance, this time they had to act as bait.If you don't create enough pressure, how can you force out all the enemy's shore artillery firepower?

Sure enough, as the Austrian navy approached, the sound of artillery fire became more intensive. In order to achieve a beautiful result, Ozgul no longer cared about hiding his clumsiness, and all the firepower of the defenders was fired.

Behind the two inconspicuous shore guns, the young officer Lieutenant Colonel Saltus shouted excitedly: "Aim and shoot for me, catch and shoot the warships, those little ones, can you hit them!"

Lieutenant Colonel Saltus is not an ordinary aristocratic officer waiting to die. As a rising star in the Ottoman Army, he is an international student of the Saint-Cyr Military Academy in France.

If the war did not break out suddenly, he would have to study hard in France for two years before he could complete his studies.There is no way, the Sudanese government decided to go all out at the critical moment of life and death, and no matter whether they graduated or not, they were called back to join the war in advance.

Anyway, after studying outside for a few years, I have come into contact with the most advanced military concepts in the world today, and my theoretical knowledge is much better than that of domestic beetle aristocratic officers.

Under normal circumstances, a talented student like Saltus should go to the headquarters for training, and no matter how bad it is, he should go to the division-level headquarters.It's a pity that Saltus offended someone just after he was assigned to Ava.

As soon as he arrived, he sprayed Ava's shore artillery deployment to nothing, and proposed a modification plan.

In the face of war, old and disabled villains are only a minority. Relying on his rich theoretical knowledge, Saltus successfully persuaded everyone and was promoted to lieutenant colonel for his meritorious service.

Saltus, who offended others, was soon sent to the front line for training.In fact, it is guarding the coastal artillery. If the war hadn't started, it is estimated that the rest of my life would have ended like this.

A soldier exclaimed: "Lieutenant Colonel, what big bird in the sky is coming again."

Dissatisfied with the yelling of the soldiers, Lieutenant Colonel Saltus corrected: "That's an airship, not a big bird."

The soldier hurriedly remedied: "Yes, the airship. Hey, something fell down. Could it be that you are throwing waste paper again?"

For illiterate soldiers, there is not much difference between the leaflets thrown by Austria and the waste paper.The use of leaflets to cause panic and induce local people to run was unsuccessful.

The well-informed Saltus has already reacted, why do you need so many airships to throw leaflets?One is enough, and there is no need to dispatch more than 20 ships at a time.

"No, it's a bomb, find a place to hide!"

After speaking, Saltus ran away.It's not because he panicked. No one has experienced this wave. Being able to identify the bomb at the first time means that he has a high level of knowledge.

How to avoid the bombing is not written in the books?Knowing how to run is enough to prove his flexible response.If the enemy wants to bomb, he must be aiming at the artillery, and the safety of staying away from the fort will naturally increase.

However, it was too late. Before he could take a few steps, bombs fell from the sky, and the fort was under intensive care.

After the roaring explosion, only a mess remained.The escaped Saltus was knocked to the ground by the blast, with two shrapnel stuck in his arm.

Enduring the pain, he raised his head and looked at the few soldiers who stayed there. He could no longer see the human figures clearly. There was only a bullet crater left on the ground, and there were blurry... (some words omitted)

Saltus could no longer care about the cannon, so he got up and continued running despite the pain. He just wanted to stay away from the fort.

The bombing fell from the sky, and many people fell into a state of confusion.This has exceeded their ability to accept, and they have no idea how to deal with it.

The design of the fort was only to deal with enemies at sea, but no one thought of defending against enemies in the sky.

Anti-aircraft firepower does not exist. Who would predict the first large-scale bombing in human history?

No matter how chaotic the ground is, the bombs in the sky are still pouring on the ground. As long as a suspicious target is found, the bombs will be thrown directly there.

In the headquarters of the Ava garrison, Major General Ozgul was like an ant on a hot pot, stomping his feet anxiously, not knowing what to do.

……

Chapter 1 Change the plan

The sudden bombing came and went quickly, and it ended for more than an hour, leaving only a mess.

After confirming the safety, Major General Ozgul walked out of the headquarters, looked at the billowing smoke rising from the city, and hurriedly ordered: "Quickly organize people to fight the fire, the food and ammunition warehouses must be preserved."