Chapter 323: Public Opinion Contest
The Battle of Bolayel ended with the complete defeat of the Ottoman army in corner "A". The French army successfully occupied corner "A" and gained a rare landing and living space.
The French landing at corner "A" meant that the supply line of the Gallipoli Peninsula would be completely blocked. Once the French 75 guns were transported ashore, the Ottoman army would not even be able to avoid the roads and use manpower to transport supplies.
Defending the Gallipoli Peninsula became an almost impossible task for the Ottoman army.
Therefore, under the command of Sanders, the Ottoman army withdrew from the Gallipoli Peninsula and retreated to the east of Bolayel, where they built a new line of defense and continued to confront the Allies.
What Charles saw were teams of Ottomans who were captured by the Allies and had no time to evacuate. They were dressed in rags and were covered in dirt, but their eyes were full of hatred when they looked at the French army.
More than 7,000 militiamen and regular troops were captured in corner "A", and more than 10,000 were captured in other directions, for a total of more than 21,000 prisoners.
But Charles knew that victory at Gallipoli did not mean the end of the Dardanelles campaign.
The other side of the strait is still in the hands of the Ottomans. The Ottomans can still use mines and submarines to prevent the Allied fleet from entering the Sea of Marmara. Moreover, there will be more and more mines and submarines, and they will even extend to the Sea of Marmara.
In addition, there were many scattered troops in Gallipoli hiding in the mountains and jungles and continuing to fight the Allies.
Therefore, the war was just the first step, and there would still be many difficulties ahead.
Sometimes Charles found it incredible. Why did the British Admiralty think that such a difficult and complicated battlefield could be solved with just a few warships?
What is even more tragic is that the Secretary of the Navy made serious mistakes in both strategy and tactics in this battle. However, he successfully whitewashed himself by relying on his power of speech, describing the failure of this battle as "his great success in strategic direction, but poor tactical implementation ultimately led to failure."
…
The French media were generally optimistic about the battle, and they reported extensively on Charles' victory at Gallipoli:
"Just as everyone expected, Charles did not disappoint us. He successfully turned the tide of the war single-handedly and brought Gallipoli completely under the control of the Allies!"
"This is a true landing operation. Charles pioneered the human landing operation. This battle will surely go down in history as a classic!"
"From now on, it's only a matter of time before the fleet enters the Sea of Marmara. At least one side of the Dardanelles is safe!"
…
The French citizens were once again excited when they saw the news of victory. Compared with Charles' previous victories, this time Charles defeated the British on the battlefield, which made the French citizens extremely proud:
"Look, the British deployed an entire fleet and organized tens of thousands of landings, but they got into trouble in Gallipoli, while Charles only led 3,000 people and won a decisive victory in just a few days."
"I heard that Charles warned the British from the beginning, but the British ignored him, which led to this failure."
"I heard that too. They contacted Charles through General Winter, but the proud British did not take Charles' advice seriously at all."
…
This news came from the city defense headquarters, which cannot be considered a leak because it is outdated information.
American newspapers also reported extensively on the course of this battle, and the military even simulated and restored it.
Although the United States did not join the war at this time, it had actually always stood on the side of the allied countries, and its joining the war was only a matter of time.
Therefore, they very much hope to gain some combat experience and modern equipment before joining the war, so that their already backward army and tactics can be quickly modernized and in line with international standards.
Only British newspapers reported the victory in a lukewarm manner, emphasizing the firepower support of the British fleet and the role played by the 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment.
If that were all, it wouldn't seem like a big problem.
However, public opinion continued to ferment and gradually developed into a dispute between Britain and France over the dominance and command of the war.
Even the British themselves were discussing a question: "If Charles had commanded this battle from the beginning, would it have lasted so long, with so many casualties and the loss of so many battleships?"
The answer is obviously no, and the military and political circles of various countries made a shocking assessment: if Charles's tactical attack had been used from the beginning, the battle might have been over within a week, and the number of casualties would probably have been less than one thousand.
"Because the Ottomans were not prepared at all at that time. They only had artillery but no infantry on the Gallipoli Peninsula."
"Char can easily land on the peninsula and strangle the enemy."
"Then, the Ottomans' ammunition will not be transported into the peninsula, our warships will not be bombarded, and the Ottomans will not be able to lay torpedoes smoothly!"
"It's ridiculous that the British army actually used such an important place as Bolayel as a feint attack position!"
…
People outside the military and political circles discussed it in a simpler and more popular way:
"If Charles had been in command, wouldn't many people have died?"
“It may be just a number of casualties for those politicians, but it is life for us!”
"We should ask the British to give the command to Charles. This will benefit everyone!"
…
They did just that, with France launching several marches first, and Australia and New Zealand quickly following suit.
France did it for honor, and most of the troops it deployed to Gallipoli were colonial troops, so the casualties in the troops did not cause any real pain to the vast majority of people.
In order to avoid unnecessary casualties, most of the people participating in the marches in Australia and New Zealand are military dependents.
Soon, even in the UK, there were several similar marches and shouts:
"If you can win at a lower cost, why not?"
"It matters who leads this war? Isn't victory important?"
"Politicians don't think so. They think their own interests are more important!"
…
For a time, public opinion was in favor of handing over the command to Charles, and it became louder and louder, and even the Australian and New Zealand troops made some dangerous remarks:
"If it's not Ciel's command, we will refuse to fight."
"We are fighting in the interests of the Allies, not in the interests of politicians."
"We are paying with our lives, and we hope it is worthwhile!"
…
At this time, a shocking news suddenly came out: "The Germans have confirmed that Charles is fighting in Gallipoli. They intend to eliminate Charles at all costs. They think Charles is more important than Gallipoli or even the Ottoman Empire!"
Everyone was silent.
They all thought about the same question: Should they withdraw Charles now?
(End of this chapter)
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