Chapter 314 The Initiative Is in the Hands of the Enemy
Bahar's fishing boat set out at dusk, carrying only two guards, a communications squad and a radio. It landed on the west side of the defense line when dark fell.
Bahar's arrival was warmly welcomed by the military and civilians. He was like a shot of adrenaline for them who were on the verge of collapse.
Especially Bahar told them loudly:
"Brave soldiers, the enemy can block our land roads, but they cannot block our sea supply lines!"
"I came here smoothly and brought food with me!"
As he spoke, his subordinates carried bags of flour out of the fishing boat and placed them in front of everyone.
The Ottoman soldiers and militiamen, who had been looking depressed, suddenly burst into cheers.
Bahar then shouted:
"We can use wooden boats and fishing boats to transport food and ammunition at night. It's not difficult!"
"But we need two days to make enough boats."
"As long as we hold on for two days, the situation will be different, and victory will eventually belong to us!"
The soldiers' cheers became louder. Bahar brought them hope, the hope of victory and the hope of survival.
But only Bahar knew that the so-called fishing boats and wooden boats did not exist and it was simply unrealistic.
During the day, Allied seaplanes would spot these fishing boats, and battleships would sink them from more than ten kilometers away.
At night, the Ottoman coastal defense artillery could not see the dark sea surface, and the enemy destroyers would cover both sides of the cape to completely blockade it.
This is also the reason why Bahar chose to set off at dusk. This is the transition period between day and night. The laziness and slackness of the British gave him the opportunity to arrive here safely.
…
The sound of cannons rumbled.
Inside the tunnel, Charles was resting on the bed that Adrian had made using shell boxes, with his backpack as his pillow. He didn't even dare to take the blanket out of the bag because it would soon become unusable due to the humid environment.
At the head of the bed was a tree stump left by Ottoman soldiers, on top of which was a kerosene lamp. When the lamp was lit with a smoky flame, the choking smell of smoke instantly filled the entire space.
Before, Charles would definitely not be able to stand this smell, but now he feels it is a kind of enjoyment. It is like incense, which can drive away the smell of blood and corpses brought by the sea breeze.
In the flickering light, Charles, lying on his back, stared in a daze at the several wooden boards that supported the top of the tunnel.
He was somewhat confused about the status of the enemy forces in corner "A".
Since the fleet entered the Gulf of Saros, it has been bombarding it intermittently for several hours, and it did not stop at night, and large-caliber shells were still falling on their heads.
Charles had thought that the Ottomans would choose to surrender by tonight at the latest.
After all, most of them are militia, engineers and logistics troops. These troops have not received much combat training and are now in a desperate situation. They should not be able to hold on for long.
Darkness was their best opportunity, as they could secretly leave the team, cross the no-man's land and surrender to the French army.
But the fact was just the opposite. It was already past eight o'clock in the evening, and there were only a single digit number of Ottoman militiamen who came to surrender. Among them were two members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. After being captured, they were forced by the Ottomans to build trenches and they found an opportunity to escape.
What's the reason for not surrendering?
courage?
Or is it because of defending the homeland?
At this moment, a dark shadow flashed at the entrance of the tunnel. Charles turned over and picked up the rifle on the head of the bed, aiming at the target, his finger on the trigger.
"Hey, Colonel, it's me." Tijani's voice was a little nervous: "Relax, Adrian is guarding the door, no enemy will come here!"
Tijani felt a little regretful. He forgot that today was Charles' first day to participate in the battle. Such "newbies" would often be overly nervous and would grab the rifle and pull the trigger at the slightest sign of trouble.
Xia Ersong took a breath, put the rifle back to its place, and said with a slightly embarrassed tone: "I'm sorry, General, I don't know what's wrong with me."
“I understand,” Tijani replied. “It will get better after a while. You’re just not used to it.”
"Maybe!" Charles replied. He felt that he would never get used to it.
Tijani did not dwell on the issue too much. He held in his hand a document that was the transcript of the interrogation of the surrendered Ottoman soldiers.
"We have found out what happened." Tijani handed the document to Charles. "It's not that your plan has a problem, but that the enemy has a countermeasure."
Charles took the document and flipped through it under the kerosene lamp. He noticed a name: "Bahar?"
"Yes." Tijani lay on Charles' bed like a puddle of mud, uttered a comfortable groan, and replied lazily: "Remember today in Bukia Village, we were blocked by the enemy for nearly twenty minutes and almost got into trouble? He disobeyed orders and took the troops to seize it privately!"
Charles said "Oh", this guy has something.
"He is a colonel." Tijani continued, "If we count by military rank, he should be at least a major general or even a lieutenant general. He directly commands three divisions and indirectly commands another three divisions."
This is not surprising on the battlefield. When war breaks out, capable officers' command power is rapidly expanded, but their ranks are not promoted in time.
Tijani went on to say: "He entered Cape 'A' by sea at dark. The Ottomans regarded him as a war hero and said he would create a sea route."
Charles understood that Bahar used the trick of "quenching thirst by looking at the plum" to stabilize the army in corner "A".
Then Charles frowned. If the enemy in corner "A" did not surrender, the Allied reinforcements would have no space to land. At most, they could send a few thousand people to reinforce the defense line where Charles was.
There is no use if there are more people. There is no point if the defense line cannot accommodate them. If people are crowded together, half of them will die in one explosion by enemy artillery.
Tijani stood up, took the kettle and gulped down a few gulps, then lay back down heavily. He turned over and seemed to be extremely tired. His voice became softer and softer: "They said Bahar asked us to hold out for at least two days. Do you think we can hold out for two days?"
Charles didn't answer. He thought for a while and said, "You may have misunderstood 'at least two days'."
"What?" Tijani replied in a dreamy voice.
Charles replied: "Your understanding is that Bahar asked them to hold out for two days, which is the limit for the defenders of corner 'A'. Therefore, we only need to hold out for two days, and then the Ottoman army will collapse."
Tijani murmured, “Isn’t it?”
Charles smiled softly: "There is another possibility: After two days, the enemy is confident that they can break through our defense line, so Bahar asked them to hold on for two days."
Tijani seemed to be asleep and was unresponsive for a few seconds.
But he suddenly sat up and turned to look at Charles in shock: "You mean, the enemy has the initiative? We only have two days to force them to surrender?"
(End of this chapter)
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