Romanian Eagle

Now that the British and French troops are fighting with the Ottoman troops in the Dardanelles, Eder is also prepared.

He intends to give the Ottomans the news that Britain and France are preparing to retreat in advance to surprise the British and French troops. However, he forgot the exact time, as if he would retreat at the end of the year. Edel didn't plan to think about it, if he guessed it would be unlucky for Dardanelles, England and France, and if he didn't guess it would be their luck. This one only needs to let Calust arrange for the abandoned son to send a message to Osman, and send the message to Osman once again.

Eder had just been tipped off that Romania's neighbor Bulgaria was now a little moved by the Allies' olive branch. Now that the sky over Europe is filled with gunpowder smoke, Bulgaria's position is very critical. If Bulgaria falls to the Allies, it will be able to form support for Serbia on the southern front to the west, and it will be a threat to the Ottoman capital Istanbul to the east. In addition, it can also form a three-sided siege against the Ottomans with the Russian army in the Caucasus and the British army in the Middle East.

And if Bulgaria falls to the Allies, it will be able to form a joint attack with Austria-Hungary against Serbia, and it can also support the Ottomans. The most important thing is to allow Germany to provide military supplies to the Ottomans.

Because the location of the Ottomans is very critical, it can not only block Russia's main external channels, but also threaten the Suez Canal, which is vital to Britain. At present, 95% of the materials in the British colonies in Asia need to go through the Suez Canal, and most of them are the living and industrial raw materials necessary for the United Kingdom. Moreover, the Ottoman Empire can mobilize a lot of troops with its rich manpower, which can also relieve the pressure on Deo.

So both camps have wooed Bulgaria. Now Eder mainly wants to know how the talks between Bulgaria and the two camps are going, which will also have a great impact on Romania's participation in the war in the future. However, only a few people know about the secret negotiations between the two camps and Bulgaria, so Eder has no specific news now.

In fact, the two camps are now negotiating the conditions for joining with Bulgaria. Because the loss of Bulgaria at this time was not as great as in the original history, the conditions offered by both sides for Bulgaria were much better than the original time and space.

Among the conditions of the Allied Powers, if Bulgaria joins the Allied Powers, it can get Eastern Thrace outside of Constantinople. Because Bulgaria's losses in the Balkan war were not so serious in this time and space (Adriatic Fort in East Thrace is still in Bulgaria's hands), the Entente also tried to find a way from Serbia's Macedonia region (as for Serbia, they promised to let it get Poland's There are also Croatia, Slovenia, etc. in the black region). They also promised to coordinate Serbia's surrender of Macedonia's Bitola and Ohrid regions. This is all part of what Bulgaria deserves in the Balkan wars.

Regarding the conditions of the Allies, the Allies are much more generous. Their conditions are that Bulgaria can take all the Macedonia region, and they will coordinate with Greece to let Bulgaria take all the Salonika region, and they can also allow Bulgaria to carve up the Nietzsche region in southeastern Serbia. And the Zayechal region, and the Kosovo region will also be included in the Kingdom of Bulgaria, and a small part of Albania will also be included in Bulgaria.

Although the conditions of the Allies allowed Bulgaria to add 70% of its territory, the excited Bulgarian government and King Ferdinand I still planned to wait. Even if their former main ally, Russia, was defeated by Germany and Austria on the eastern front, they wanted to see the performance of the British and French troops in the battle of the Dardanelles to decide whether Bulgaria would join the war.

In fact, Britain and France are fighting quite hard in the Dardanelles. On August 6, in order to break the current predicament,

A new round of landing battles kicked off in Sofra Bay, northwest of the Anzac landing site. The two battles that go along with this plan take place in Dusong and Nick Valley.

The operation was commanded by General Frederick Stopford, a senior British Army general, and due to the weak Ottoman defense in Sofra Bay, the British did not encounter much resistance during the landing. It is a pity that the troops failed to expand the landing site in time, consolidate the beachhead position and advance inland to occupy the commanding heights after they went ashore, and the precious fighters were missed again.

General Otto Liman von Zanders, commander of the Fifth Army Commander of the German Advisory Group, urgently dispatched nearly 20,000 Ottoman troops from other defense lines to arrive at Soufrah Bay, and set up a line on the Saribayer ridge first. Temporary line of defense. Kemal personally led the Ottoman army to successfully curb the advance of the Allied forces. As a result, the British and French troops failed to achieve their goals again, and the war began to stalemate again.

The British and French troops who had landed had to continue to endure the harsh environment of lack of water and food. Because they only grabbed the beach, half of the British and French fleets transported water and food. Unfortunately, it was still not enough for the front line. Many people were demoralized because of the lack of food and drinking water. To this end, in September, Hamilton was recalled and relieved of command, and General Charles Monroe succeeded him.

But this still does not change the situation of the Allied armies, and the number of casualties is still increasing day by day. The main thing is that the British and French governments that fought in this battle were exhausted and still failed to achieve any goals. Moreover, as time goes by, winter is coming, and the unpredictable weather in the Dardanelles has caused severe frostbite to the British and French troops who lacked cold clothing to spread rapidly among the troops. By November, more than 16,000 people had been frostbitten, and some even died of frostbite. At this time, the British and French troops could no longer bear it.

At this time in Istanbul, a man calling himself James Bond appeared before Talat Pasha, one of the Ottoman Big Three. As the interior minister of the Big Three, Talat Pasha is also in charge of Ottoman's intelligence department, and he has no understanding of the former self-proclaimed James Bond. However, the information given by this man made Talat Pasha decide to meet this friend of Allah.

Mr. James Bond, the Ottoman Empire is generous to every friend who is willing to help him. Don't know what good news you can bring this time?

Watching one of the Ottoman giants greet him politely, the James Bond said in a low, hoarse voice. I wonder if the news that Britain and France plan to withdraw their troops will satisfy your Excellency.

Tarat Pasha, excited by the news of James Bond, got up from his stool.

This is real?

When will you withdraw?

Watching Talat Pasha's reaction, James Bond said. Your Excellency just said that the Ottoman Empire is generous to friends.

Talat Pasha, who had reacted, told Mr. Bond. Please wait.

After he finished speaking, he took out a large checkbook from the drawer, wrote a few lines on it, and tore off the written check and handed it to Bond. For this news of your Excellency, none of this is considered a reward.

Bond took the check and saw that it was a large check from the bank, with the amount of $200,000 written on it. With satisfaction, Bond put the cheque in his arms and told Talat Pasha. I got news that because the two governments cannot stand the situation, they intend to withdraw their troops from the sea at the end of December.

Talat Pasha asked greedily. What's the exact number?

If I knew all this, I'm now commanding British and French troops on the coast or at 10 Downing Street.

Hearing James Bond's words, Talat Pasha knew that there was nothing to ask, so he asked the servant to send the newsman Mr. Bond out.

Watching Mr. Bond leave, at this time two people walked out of the next room. It was the other two giants, Enver Pasha and Jamal Pasha. Both of them were watching all this in the next room, when Enver Pasha, the head of the Big Three, spoke up. This news is very important to us and can smash the chances of the Allied forces.

Another giant, as the Minister of the Navy and Chief of Istanbul Police, Jamal Pasha, asked worriedly. Yes, this news is indeed very important to us, just don't know if this person can be trusted?

As the Minister of the Interior and the head of the intelligence department, Talat Pasha spoke to the point. It should not be said about this person, but the information obtained by the organization behind this person is not reliable.

Enver Pasha also asked with concern. In your opinion?

There's at least an 80% chance that the news is true.

Hearing Talat Pasha's words, Enver Pasha, who was in charge of the army, decided to speak. In that case, let me let General Otto make a plan, and this time let Britain and France know that the Ottoman Empire cannot be humiliated.

General Otto in the mouth of Enver Pasha was General Otto Liman von Zanders, who was born in the family of the manor owner in Stolp, Pomerania. The ancestors are Jewish. In 1874 he joined the Army of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Served in the dragoons, he joined the German General Staff in 1887, and in 1900 was promoted to major and commander of the light cavalry. In 1908, he was promoted to major general, and in 1911 he was appointed lieutenant general of the 22nd Division. He was granted aristocratic status on June 16, 1913.

He was ostracized by his colleagues in the army because of his Jewish blood, so in 1913 he volunteered to go to the Ottoman Empire as the head of a military advisory group. Rebuilding the Turkish Army after the disaster of the First Balkan War. The Second Balkan War assisted Turkey in reclaiming parts of East Thrace and was awarded the title of Pasha, who was later transferred to the Turkish Army Directorate. Mainly help the Ottoman Empire Army to complete the modernization task.

In this Dardanelles campaign, he served as the commander of the 5th Army of the Turkish Army defending the strait, and was also the main opponent of the Allied forces. At present, it seems that General Otto has done a very wrong thing, and he has left the Entente army with a powerful force at a loss.

Regarding Enver Pasha's words, the other two giants agreed. If there was no General Otto, it would be difficult to tell the result of this Dardanelles battle. The three giants also knew this well. Although they will lead 20,000 Ottoman troops to seize Kemal on the Salibayer ridge and become a national hero in order to take care of the people's emotions in this propaganda, they all know who the biggest contributor is this time.

So Enver Pasha personally came to the headquarters of the Fifth Army and informed General Otto of the news he had received. So this very experienced general began to prepare a big farewell gift for the British and French troops.

In November, in the face of the situation that the war situation has not been able to break through, the British government sent Defense Secretary Kitchener to inspect the battlefield to check the situation. The defense secretary rushed to the front line on the 23rd. Kitchener was deeply saddened to see that his soldiers were lacking food and clothing, and even drinking water needed to be compressed to the defense line less than 400 meters away from the beach. Then, when he ventured to the defense line to check, he found that the terrain of the Dardanelles was very unfavorable for landing operations.

There are many cliffs here, and to attack the Ottoman army positions from the beach, it is very difficult to pass through several gaps. Moreover, because the army in this battle was suppressed on the beach for a long time, the morale was extremely low, and it was completely impossible to win the victory. Therefore, after the inspection was completed, Kitchener immediately reported to London that the battle of Dardanelles should be terminated, and said in a stern tone that this battle was completely a wrong choice.

The British government responded quickly. In the evening of the same day, the British government called back the Secretary of Defense Kitchener, agreeing that he should terminate the campaign and withdraw the Allied troops from the sea.

So from December, Britain and France are preparing to quietly withdraw their troops from the Dardanelles. They are preparing to evacuate personnel in batches, first with auxiliary personnel evacuating first, and then gradually evacuating other personnel from the defense line. Britain and France are very patient this time, they are going to spend half a month to withdraw their troops.

From December 23, the British and French transport ships quietly approached the beaches of the Allied countries in the dark, and then used small boats to gradually evacuate the personnel. This evacuation would have been a wonderful move had it not been for a reminder to Osman from someone. But unfortunately, the Ottoman army, which received the tip, secretly left an observation post on the coast, waiting for the British and French evacuation operations.

It was discovered by the Ottomans on the day Britain and France evacuated, but the wily General Otto planned to let the British and French relax their vigilance, and then let the Ottoman army launch a counterattack against it, driving the Allied forces to the sea. For this plan, he also concentrated all the mines in the Ottoman Empire here, and planned to let the boats quietly put these powerful mines in the strait at night.

December 25 On this Christmas day, the Ottoman army prepared the best holiday gifts for the Allied armies. At ten o'clock in the evening, the British and French fleets arrived as scheduled, and Ottoman's small boats quietly entered the water where the British and French fleets could not see.

These secretly sneaked boats were filled with mines, and they mixed into the small boats transported by Britain and France, and secretly put the mines into the sea without anyone noticing. The mines had already been set deep enough to ensure that the busy boats could not touch the mines.

Today, God is helping the Ottoman army, and the night is very dark tonight. These small boats that release mines have successfully completed their characters. In the early hours of the morning, the small boats put down by these British and French transport ships will need to be evacuated after they are loaded on the ship and begin to withdraw. At this time, the Ottomans had prepared 476 large and small cannons and began to shell the Allied forces. Among them, as the main force of the sea attack, 4 305-caliber train guns and 12 240-caliber train guns were mobilized from all over the country by the Ottomans for this attack.

Bang, bang, bang

At this time, the three flares would illuminate the British and French fleets hidden in the night, and then while everyone was stunned, a large number of heavy artillery shells hit the British and French fleets.

On the flagship former dreadnought Edward VII, the officer in charge of the observation shouted. Bombardment.

For a time, the British and French fleets were in chaos, and the warships immediately increased their horsepower and began to move. At this time, the transport ships did not care about the small boats that transported people and materials, and they also lifted anchors and prepared to leave. As the British and French fleets move, the deadly danger hidden underwater will complete the fatal blow to the British and French fleets.

Boom

In the panic, a Majesty-class ex-dreadnought was struck by a mine.

There are mines, pay attention to the mines, and each ship follows the ships in front.

Admiral Sackville Cardon, commander of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, ordered the communications staff to see the scene.

A staff officer asked a question. But we're being shelled.

Will Carden will rebut the staff officer. Now I'd rather be bombarded than let the fleet be sunk by mines.

Then the British and French fleets set up an anti-mine formation, and the losses of the warships were greatly reduced. Only three destroyers were lost, and one armored cruiser, the former dreadnought at the heart of the fleet, was never lost again.

However, the transport fleet was not so lucky. A large number of transport ships sailed to the sea because of the fear of shelling. At least 20 transport ships were sunk by artillery and mines in this attack. Eight other ships were damaged and lost a great deal of material.

In fact, in the surprise attack on Christmas, the Ottoman army, with the advantages of heavy artillery and mines, prevented the British and French fleets from evacuating personnel for a week.

And Ottoman took this opportunity to launch a counterattack against the Allied forces still stranded in the Dardanelles. With nearly 10,000 Allied casualties during the week, General Charles Monroe, who was in charge of the battle, ordered the naval fleet to help the troops evacuate.

So on January 3 of the new year, the British and French fleets and the Ottoman heavy artillery units in the Dardanelles came to a rare naval attack on the coastal defense positions.

With many ships, the British and French fleets finally collapsed the Ottoman heavy artillery units. All the Ottoman 305 train guns were destroyed, only 3 of the 12 240 train guns survived, and a large number of 210 and 150 cannons were also lost.

The British and French fleets paid a heavy price for this victory. Three former dreadnoughts were sunk, five were damaged, 3 armored cruisers were sunk, 4 were damaged and 9 small warships were sunk. The total tonnage of the lost warships reached 74,000 tons. Even Britain, with its large fleet of ex-dreadnoughts, was heartbroken by the result, not to mention France.

As a result, the voices of speeding up the withdrawal of troops from the Dardanelles became more and more loud, so the British and French transport ships located in the Dardanelles even dared to transport personnel during the day, of course, this was also under the escort of the Mediterranean Fleet composed of Britain and France. The Ottoman army suffered heavy losses due to heavy artillery units, and could only guerrilla with the remaining 240 train artillery, harassing it from time to time.

The last Dardanelles campaign, under the intervention of someone, finally ended on January 21, 1916. In this battle, the Allies lost 189,000 people and the Ottoman army lost 204,000 people, and now both sides are exhausted from fighting in this strait.

Edel was satisfied with the results of his intervention.