Chapter 213： Pit English and French (2 in 1 5300)

Now that the British and French armies are fighting against the Ottoman army in the Dardanelles, Edel is also prepared.

He planned to release the news that Britain and France were preparing to retreat to the Ottoman side in advance, and give the British and French troops a surprise. However, he had forgotten the exact time, as if it was a retreat at the end of the year. Edel didn't plan to think about it, if he guessed it was bad luck for Dardaniel, if he didn't guess it was luck for them. This only needs to ask the abandoned son who Carust arranges to send a message to Osman, and to send a message to Osman again.

Edel has just received a secret report. Romania's neighbor Bulgaria is now a little moved by the olive branch extended by the Allies. The smoke of gunpowder over Europe is now spreading, and Bulgaria’s position is critical. If Bulgaria falls to the Allied Powers, it will support Serbia on the southern route to the west and a threat to the Ottoman capital Istanbul to the east. In addition, it can form a three-sided siege on 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 material assistance to the Ottomans.

Because Ottoman’s position is quite critical, it can block Russia’s main external passages and 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 these are the daily necessities and industrial raw materials necessary for the United Kingdom. Moreover, the Ottoman Empire can mobilize a lot of troops with its abundant manpower, which can also ease the pressure on Germany and Austria.

So both camps wooed Bulgaria. Now Edel mainly wants to know what is going on between Bulgaria and the two camps, 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 Edel has no specific news now.

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

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

Regarding the conditions of the Allies, the Allies are much more generous. Their condition is that Bulgaria can take all of Macedonia, and it will coordinate Greece to let Bulgaria take all of the Salonika area, and it can also allow Bulgaria to divide the Nietzsche area in southeastern Serbia. And Zajecar region, and 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 can allow Bulgaria to increase its territory by 70%, the heart-pounding Bulgarian government and King Ferdinand I still intend to wait. Even if their main ally, Russia, was defeated by Germany and Austria on the Eastern Front, they wanted to see the performance of the British and French forces in the Dardanelles battle before they could decide whether or not Bulgaria would join the war.

In fact, Britain and France are currently playing quite hard in the Dardanelles. On August 6, in order to break the current predicament, a new round of landing battle started at Sufra Bay, northwest of the Anzac landing field. Two battles in line with this plan were launched in Dusong and Nick Valley.

The operation was commanded by General Frederick Stopford, a senior general of the British Army. Due to the weak defense of the Ottomans in Sufra Bay, the British did not encounter much resistance when they landed. It is a pity that the troops failed to expand the landing field in time, consolidate the beachhead position, and advance to the inland to occupy the commanding heights, and the precious fighters were again missed.

General Otto Liman von Zanders, the commander of the Fifth Army Group, the commander of the German advisory group, urgently drew nearly 20,000 Ottoman troops from other defense lines to Sufra Bay, and set up one on the ridge of Saari Bayer. Temporary line of defense. Kemal personally led the Ottoman army to successfully contain the advancement of the Allied forces. As a result, the British and French troops failed to complete their goals, and the war began to stalemate again.

The British and French troops that have landed had to continue to endure the harsh environment of lack of water and food. Because they only grab the beach, half of the ships in the British and French fleets are used to transport water and food, but unfortunately they are still not enough for the front lines. Many people have low morale due to lack of food and drinking water. To this end, Hamilton was recalled and removed from command in September, and General Charles Monroe replaced him.

But this still cannot change the situation of the Allied forces, and the number of casualties is still increasing day by day. The most important thing is that the British and French governments fought in this battle are exhausted and still have not achieved any goals. And as time went on, winter was approaching, and the unpredictable weather in the Dardanelles caused severe frostbite in the British and French troops, which lacked warm clothing, to spread rapidly among the troops. By November, more than 16,000 people suffered from frostbite, and some even died of freezing. At this time, the British and French troops could no longer withstand it.

At this time in Istanbul, a man who claimed to be James Bond appeared in front of 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. He has no idea about the previous self-proclaimed James Bond. However, the information given by this man made Talat Pasha decided to meet the friend of God.

"Mr. James Bond, the Ottoman Empire is generous to every friend who is willing to help him. Do you 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 don't know if the news of the British and French plans to withdraw troops will satisfy you."

Talat Pasha, who was stimulated by the news brought by James Bond, got up from the stool.

"This is real?"

"When will the troops be withdrawn?"

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

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

After 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. "As far as your news is concerned, these are not rewards."

Bond took the check and saw that it was a large check from the bank, with the amount of 200,000 dollars written on it. Bond satisfactorily took the check into his arms and told Talat Pasha. "The news I got is that because the two governments can't stand the current situation, they plan to withdraw their troops from the sea at the end of December."

Talat Pasha asked greedily. "What's the specific number?"

"If I know all this, now I am commanding the British and French troops on the coast or at No.10 Downing Street."

Hearing what James Bond said, Talat Pasha knew that he couldn't ask anything, so he asked his servant to send the messenger Mr. Bond out.

Watching this Mr. Bond leave, two people walked out of the next room at this time, and they were the other two giants, Enver Pasha and Jemal Pasha. Both of them watched all this in the next room, when Enver Pasha, the leader of the Big Three, spoke about it. "This news is very important to us, it can be a chance to hit the Allied forces severely."

Another giant, Jemal Pasha, who is the minister of the navy and the chief of the Istanbul police, asked uneasy about the merits. "Yes, this news is really important to us, but I don't know if this person is credible?"

As the Minister of the Interior and the head of the intelligence department, Talat Pasha said sharply. "It should not be said that this person, but that the information received by the organization behind this person is unreliable."

Enver Pasha also asked with concern. "What do you think?"

"There is at least an 80% chance that this news is true."

Hearing what Talat Pasha said, Enver Pasha, who was in charge of the army, decided to speak. "If this is the case, then let me make General Otto make a plan, this time to let Britain and France know that the Ottoman Empire cannot be humiliated."

General Otto whom Enver Pasha said was General Otto Liman von Zanders, who was born in the family of the manor house in Stolp, Pomerania. The ancestors are Jews. Joined the army of the Grand Duchy of Hesse in 1874. Served in the Dragoons, entered the German General Staff in 1887, and was promoted to major in 1900, as the commander of the light cavalry. In 1908 he was promoted to major general and in 1911 he was appointed commander of the 22nd Division. He was granted noble status on June 16, 1913.

Because of his Jewish ancestry, he was squeezed out by his colleagues in the army, so in 1913 he voluntarily applied to go to the Ottoman Empire as the head of the military advisory group. Rebuild the Turkish Army after the disaster of the First Balkan War. The Second Balkan War assisted Turkey in regaining part of Eastern Thrace and was awarded the title of Pasha. Later, he was transferred to the Turkish Army Directorate. Mainly help the Ottoman Empire Army complete modernization tasks.

In the Dardanelles battle, he served as the commander of the Fifth 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 job, and he has left the powerful Allied forces at a loss.

Regarding Enver Pasha’s words, the other two giants agreed. Without General Otto, it would be difficult to tell the outcome of the Dardanelles. The Big Three knew this well. Although in this propaganda, in order to take care of the national sentiment, they will lead the 20,000 Ottoman army to seize Kemal on the ridge of Saribayir and become a national hero, but they all know who is the biggest hero this time.

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

By November, in the face of a situation where the battle situation had not been broken through, the British government sent the Secretary of Defense Kitchenner to inspect the battlefield to check the situation. The Minister of Defense rushed to the front line on the 23rd and saw that his soldiers were lacking food and clothing, and even drinking water needed to be compressed to a line of defense less than 400 meters away from the beach. Kitchenner was deeply saddened. Then, while adventurously boarding the defense line, he found that the terrain of the Dardanelles was very unfavorable for landing operations.

There are many cliffs here, and to attack the position of the Ottoman army from the beach, it is extremely difficult to pass through several gaps. And because the army in this battle has been suppressed on the beach for a long time, the morale is extremely low and it is completely impossible to win the victory. So after the inspection was completed, Kitchenner immediately reported to London requesting the end of the Dardanelles battle, and said sternly that this battle was a completely wrong choice.

The British government responded quickly. In the evening of the same day, it called the Secretary of Defense Kitchenner back, agreeing to end the battle and withdraw the Allied forces from the sea.

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

From December 23, the British and French transport ships took advantage of the night to quietly approach the beaches of the Allied countries, and then used small boats to gradually evacuate the personnel. If there were no reminders of Osman from someone, this evacuation would be a very exciting action. However, it is a pity that the Ottoman army, which received the secret report, secretly left an observation post on the coast, waiting for the evacuation of Britain and France.

It was discovered by Ottoman on the day of the British and French evacuation, but the scheming General Otto planned to let the British and French relax their vigilance in the first two days, and then let the Ottoman army launch a counterattack against it and drove the Allied forces to the sea. For this plan, he also concentrated all the mines in the Ottoman Empire here, intending to let the boats quietly place these powerful mines in the strait during the night.

On this Christmas day, December 25th, the Ottoman army prepared the best holiday gifts for the Allied forces. At ten o'clock in the evening, the British and French fleets came as scheduled, and in a place invisible to the British and French fleets, the Ottoman boats sneaked into the water where the British and French fleets could not.

These sneaking boats were filled with mines. They were mixed into small boats transported by Britain and France, and they secretly put the mines into the sea without paying attention. These mines have long been set to a depth, enough to ensure that these busy boats cannot touch the mines.

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

"Bang, bang, bang"

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

On the front of the flagship dreadnought Edward VII, the officer in charge of observation shouted. "Shelling."

All of a sudden, the British and French fleets became chaotic, and the various warships immediately increased their horsepower and began to move. At this time, the transport ships also ignored the small boats that transported people and materials, and they also set up anchors to leave. As the Anglo-French fleet moves, the deadly danger hidden under the water will complete a fatal blow to the Anglo-French fleet.

"Boom"

In the panic, a Majesty-class pre-dreadnought ship was struck by lightning.

"There are mines, pay attention to mines, all ships follow the ships ahead."

Admiral Sackville Carden, commander of the British Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, saw this scene and ordered the communications staff.

A staff officer asked the question. "But we are being shelled."

Admiral Will Carden will refute the staff officer. "Now I would rather stand shelling than let the fleet be sunk by mines."

Subsequently, the British and French fleets set up an anti-thunder formation, and the losses of the warships were greatly reduced. Only three destroyers were lost, as well as an armored cruiser, and the former dreadnought as the core of this fleet was never lost.

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

In fact, during the Christmas surprise attack, the Ottoman army took advantage of heavy artillery and mines to prevent the British and French fleets from coming to evacuate personnel for a week.

And Osman took this opportunity to launch a counterattack against the Allied forces still stranded in the Dardanelles In this week, nearly 10,000 Allied soldiers were injured or killed. Chals, who was in charge of commanding the battle General Monroe ordered the navy fleet to help the army 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 coastal defense positions.

With its numerous ships, the British and French fleets finally defeated the Ottoman heavy artillery unit. All the Ottoman 305 train guns were destroyed, and only three of the 12 240 train guns survived. At the same time, a large number of 210 and 150 cannons were lost.

The British and French fleets also paid a heavy price for this victory. Three former dreadnoughts were sunk, five were damaged, three armored cruisers were sunk, four were damaged, and nine small warships were sunk. The total tonnage of the warship was lost to 74,000 tons. Even Britain, which has a large number of former dreadnoughts, is heartbroken by this result, let alone France.

As a result, the calls for speeding up the withdrawal of troops from the Dardanelles became more and more high, so the British and French transport ships in the Dardanelles even dared to transport people during the day. Of course, this was also the case when the British and French Mediterranean fleet was escorted by the side. The Ottoman army suffered heavy losses due to heavy artillery troops, and could only harass the remaining 240 train artillery guerrillas.

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

Edel was very satisfied with the results of his intervention.