Chapter 308 They Succeeded
At this moment, Bahar suddenly realized that the enemy's "tank" with wheels was not as fragile as he had imagined.
Its function lies not in its armor or firepower, but in its superior mobility and flexibility.
For example, now they are leading the French soldiers along the highway quickly, and they don't even have time to react.
Bahar looked back and saw a group of soldiers from the 69th Infantry Regiment rushing up outside the village.
He quickly jumped in, waved his hands and shouted at them, "Retreat and hold your line, now!"
However, the soldiers misunderstood Bahar's meaning.
Their first reaction was that the troops in front were sufficient, friendly forces had already repelled the enemy and were winning, and they were no longer needed here.
Disappointed, they put away their rifles and walked back angrily.
It’s “walking” rather than “running”.
They were completely unaware that danger was approaching them rapidly, and that this was a critical moment of speed, and if they were any slower they would probably not be able to return.
They even looked back every three steps, as if they regretted that they didn't have the chance to join in the victory and gain honor.
Bahar was furious but there was nothing he could do. The two were separated by more than a hundred meters, and it was very difficult to communicate with each other at this close distance. His shouting could not be heard clearly, and by the time the signalman arrived and conveyed the order, it would be too late.
Things were worse than Bahar had imagined.
Just as Bahar sent out the signalman, the French army suddenly left the road and launched an attack on the Ottoman "reinforcements" of more than 200 people.
This was somewhat inconsistent with Charles' plan. Charles intended to let Alphonse move to a farther, unguarded area to seize the trench.
Alphonse understood what Charles meant, and he also intended to do so.
But when he was observing the Ottoman troops on the flank with a telescope on an amphibious landing ship, he found that their attention was focused on the front line where the gunfire was more intense, and they completely ignored the French troops interspersed on the road.
Alphonse acted decisively and ordered his troops to attack this unknown enemy.
The amphibious landing ship turned the steering wheel, left the road and headed towards the enemy, with teams of French soldiers following behind with rifles in hand.
At this time, the enemy had just discovered them, and they shouted in panic, raised their rifles and organized defense.
But it was too late. The machine guns on the amphibious landing ship made crisp "da da" sounds and mercilessly spewed out tongues of fire.
The six Maxim machine guns on the six landing ships fired at the Ottoman soldiers at close range. The bullets were like a gust of wind blowing through the crowd, instantly creating a bloody storm.
At the same time, French soldiers leaned out one by one and shot at the enemy with rifles.
Soon, under Alphonse's order, the soldiers quickly installed bayonets on their rifles and launched a charge.
The Ottoman soldiers did not put up any resistance at all. They fell in pools of blood before they could even fire a few bullets.
Some of them reacted quickly and lay on the ground to avoid the bullets, but it was useless. As soon as they looked up, they found that the French soldiers had rushed in front of them, shouting and stabbing their necks with needle-shaped bayonets...
In just over five minutes, a force of more than 200 people was defeated.
Alphonse did not stop his attack. He led his troops forward to the trench, blew the whistle and threw a row of grenades into the trench. After the explosion, he immediately launched a charge.
The result is self-evident. The French army easily occupied the trench and quickly extended to the other end to expand their victory.
This is the advantage of the Frankish army. They are equipped with grenades, which are a magic weapon in trench warfare. Soldiers can throw a grenade towards the enemy at a corner and then launch a charge in the aftermath of the explosion.
The Ottoman Empire had not yet had time to produce and equip itself with grenades, and they were always in a passive position under such attacks. This was one of the reasons why Charles' 105th Regiment was able to advance at such a fast speed.
(The picture above shows a "Z"-shaped trench. If the trench is built in a straight line, once a shell falls into the trench, the shrapnel will blow up a large area, or the enemy only needs to occupy a part of the trench and set up a machine gun along the trench to block the entire trench. Therefore, it is usually built in a "Z" shape, even if the terrain is flat.)
At that moment, Bahar knew he had failed.
Even if he defended the village of Annia, it would be useless because there were enemies in front and behind, and the trench section was also under attack from both sides. If they did not withdraw early, they would most likely be surrounded by the enemy and stay here forever.
Looking at the reinforcements that were nowhere to be seen in the east, Bahar could only reluctantly give the order: "Retreat!"
Seeing the Ottoman army retreat, the French army cheered and their morale soared, and they quickly took over the trenches where only a few people were stationed.
…
At the headquarters of the Queen Elizabeth, General Winter and General Hamilton were anxiously waiting for telegrams from the front.
From the time the battle started until now, they have no idea of the situation on the front line.
As soon as the battle started, Charles' troops moved in and out without stopping, and had no time to stop and send telegrams.
"Did the Ark Royal know anything?" asked General Hamilton.
He seemed to be more anxious than General Winter. After all, this was related to the success or failure of the Gallipoli landing and the safety of more than 10,000 soldiers who had already landed on the island.
"They have lost contact with the 105th Infantry Regiment." General Winter shook his head slightly.
The seaplane of the Ark Royal was originally used for reconnaissance and to transmit real-time intelligence from the front to ground troops via message bottles.
But it was drizzling, and after a burst of artillery bombardment, the smoke and fog mixed together, making it difficult for the pilots to observe the situation on the ground.
The only thing they can do is shoot down or drive away enemy aircraft approaching this airspace.
After thinking for a while, Hamilton said to General Winter in a serious tone: "I have a suggestion, General. I think if Charles' attack is blocked, our fleet should enter the Saros Bay to provide artillery cover for Charles, even if it risks being bombarded by the enemy on three sides."
"Of course." General Winter nodded.
This was in consideration of the fact that the enemy’s artillery was mainly distributed in the Dardanelles and that the enemy had little preparation in the Gulf of Saros.
General Winter smiled and asked, "You seem to have changed your opinion of Charles?"
Hamilton looked up at General Winter in astonishment. After a moment's pause, he shook his head, a trace of guilt flashing in his eyes: "No, I have never changed my opinion of Charles. I just... don't want to admit it."
General Winter nodded to show his understanding. Recognizing Charles would be tantamount to denying the British Empire, which was difficult for every British person to accept.
But General Winter was used to it.
Because up to this point, everything Charles had said and done was correct, which also proved how stupid the British military was to think that they only needed the navy to make the enemy surrender.
At this moment, the signalman guarding the radio station suddenly turned his head and shouted to Winter: "General, they succeeded, they successfully occupied the 'A' corner defense line!"
(End of this chapter)
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