Chapter 1573： Asia Minor Storm

Chapter 1573: The Situation in Asia Minor

"Order! First, immediately send a report to the Chief of Staff of Little Mochi, asking the German General Staff to immediately transfer the command of General von Seckert and his troops to the Eastern Front Headquarters, and at the same time contact Count Spey. , Asked him to immediately cooperate with General von Seckert’s troop transportation, and the troop directly arrived in Turkey."

"Second, contact with Lieutenant General von Sanders, Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Empire (it’s okay for the Germans to be the Chief of the General Staff of Turkey, this is a historical fact) and ask him to immediately command the German-Turkish coalition forces to retreat to the second line and do a good job. We can only fight against the French in the preparations for a strong wall and clear the country. We will be very difficult to fight outside."

"Third, send a telegram to Prince Leopold so that he will end the military operations in Ukraine soon. I ask him to prepare at least 6 Bavarian divisions for me within 2 weeks!" The prince ordered.

The prince felt a little surprised by the concentration of so many troops by the Allies this time. After all, there were 6 division-level combat units landing in the first wave, so the second wave of landing troops should not be less than the first wave, which is 12 The strength of the individual divisions, although there are units similar to the Indian Cavalry Division (in the history of World War I, the Indian Cavalry Division actually participated in the Turkish battle). But overall it is considered elite, and the combat effectiveness of the Allied Forces on the Western Front should be equal.

If there are no major deficiencies in the organization of these divisions, then the first wave of six divisions will have at least 60,000 people (the number of cavalry divisions is very small). Such an Allied force can be said to be invincible in frontal combat in Asia Minor, even if the Turks can It is absolutely too late to immediately deploy troops from Transcaucasus and Sinai. So, don't even think about rejecting the enemy outside the country.

"By the way, where is the general named Kemal now?" the prince asked.

"He is now the commander of the Eighth Turkish Army, the rank of lieutenant general. Of course, this group army is at most one army organization, with 3 infantry divisions, an armored brigade, and some cavalry. There are about 50,000 people. In general, it is considered to be the highest combat force in Turkey, but even so, its combat effectiveness is still not as good as the ordinary Prussian army on the Western Front at the beginning of the war. They are now deployed near Ankara, almost a little closer to the second front we delineated. In the rear position." Calypte said.

"Send a report to Earl Schmidt and let him immediately organize a fast and elite force to arrive in Turkey and let him personally command it! As long as the supply can be affordable and the frontline retains enough troops to resist the British army, the more support troops, the better! This Once we might have to fight a high-level battle with the French." The prince thought for a while and said.

The French finally made a strategically correct choice. The Allies’ offensive in Asia Minor certainly cannot be a flat push. In fact, no army can adopt a steadily advancing position warfare when there are other options. During the Napoleonic era, the French also advocated sports warfare. The reason for the formation of positional warfare in World War 1 was that there was too much equipment, too much logistical pressure, and the special circumstances that occurred when motor vehicles were not adopted on a large scale.

The prince is very aware of the French strategy, that is, to use the main force of the Bavarian Legion in Ukraine during this period of time (about a month) to launch a large-scale rapid offensive! The French do not want to occupy many places, and they can even not take down Constantinople!

However, this sharp sword will surely penetrate the entire Asia Minor region, and at least cut off the railway line connecting the north and the south! If the goal of the French were achieved, it would be like breaking the Turks’ backbone with a punch. The food and oil produced in the fertile Mesopotamia could not be transported to the north, while the southern rim of the Mediterranean (later Israel, Syria, etc.) Region) will also tend to collapse because of the inability to receive the supplies and equipment of Asia Minor!

Perhaps in the end, when the Bavarian Army solves the Ukrainian problem, the concentrated German army can defeat its opponents. However, the French have won for a long time and have basically eliminated Turkey. In order to ensure the safety of this ally, Germany A considerable part of the troops must be deployed in Turkey. In this case, it is tantamount to weakening the pressure on the Western Front in a disguised form. It also dispersed the German forces. Although it can't be said that the situation has been brought back, it has changed a lot for the whole battle.

Therefore, the prince can be sure that this time the French must have concentrated a very elite force, whether it is attack power or mobility, they are absolutely top-notch! The French want to fight a blitzkrieg on this plane, and if Ruprecht wants to defend against this wave of opponents, solid defense alone is absolutely impossible! Turkey does not have that army or equipment to deploy enough defense lines!

After receiving the prince's order, Lieutenant General Von Sanders immediately sent a telegram to the Turkish Sultan, on the one hand, requesting the withdrawal of troops from other fronts, and on the other hand, ordering the Turkish army to withdraw backwards. In the next 5 days, the British and French coalition forces landed at Edremit and Izmir at the same time, and Lieutenant General von Sanders ordered the troops to evacuate to 75 thousand from these two landing points. Deploy a defense line in the area around meters. According to his understanding, km is already the limit of the supply of division-level combat units without a railway. The supply line of military-level units will be longer, but it is difficult for the British and French coalition forces to establish a complete supply system in such a short period of time. Therefore, he decided to fight with the British and French forces when the opponent was near the end of the force.

The Anglo-French allied forces did not rush to launch an offensive. After emptied about 30 kilometers near the landing site, the Anglo-French allied forces temporarily stopped advancing. They were building military stations and airfields while hoarding large amounts of supplies. On the 4th day (D4) after landing, the Anglo-French Air Wing, which had transferred from airports in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas, had already entered the temporary airport. At the time of D7, 70% of the marine artillery units provided by the British Navy for the landing forces were deployed! And when it came to D11, the second wave of landing troops of the Allied Powers had arrived at the landing site!

"The ambitions of Britain and France are a bit big!" When the time passed two weeks later, the strategic intentions of the entire Allied Forces had been revealed to the prince! Until now, the prince realized that he had underestimated the British and French coalition forces, this time they planned to achieve two strategic goals at the same time! The strength and quality of the concentrated troops also exceeded the prince's previous expectations! As a result, the highest level of mobile operations in World War I gradually kicked off in Asia Minor!

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(End of this chapter)