Chapter 312 Naval Gun Cover
Charles didn't feel much about his own achievements, after all, he only killed three enemies.
The total casualties from the enemy's two assaults plus the previously defeated 69th Infantry Regiment were initially estimated to be more than 3,000.
The mere three men killed by Charles were like a grain of sand thrown into a lake; not even the slightest ripple could be seen.
However, this was unusual in Tijani's eyes.
Tijani was worried about Charles' safety, so he kept an eye on Charles' direction while commanding his troops to fight.
He saw the targets that Charles had killed and was secretly surprised.
This is not to say that Charles' shooting skills are very accurate. The distance is more than 200 meters and the enemy is completely exposed in front of the trench. In addition, they are gathered in groups, so it is not difficult to hit the target.
The problem is that Charles chooses valuable targets for precise strikes: officers, heavy machine gunners, and signalmen.
It was not easy to find them in the crowd, let alone shoot them dead.
Tijani murmured to himself, "It seems that Charles' military talent is all-round, not just invention."
Finally, after Charles killed two more targets, the Ottoman army was once again repelled by French grenades.
At this time, the bodies lying fifty meters in front of the trench had piled up like a small hill. They even blocked the soldiers' sight. Tijani had to order the soldiers to fill sandbags and pile the trench one level higher.
…
As time approached noon, the drizzle finally stopped, a little sunlight shone through the clouds, and a colorful rainbow appeared in the sky.
If it were any other time, Charles might have marveled at its beauty, but no matter how he looked at it now, it looked like the sky had been ripped open and a piece of colorful intestine had flowed out.
Charles sat palely on an ammunition box, his rifle within reach, his back against the side of a trench covered in blood or mud.
Charles tried several times to relax himself but failed. His muscles were still tense and he could even feel them trembling slightly.
Adrian was helping the medics bandage the wounded on the other side. He noticed Charles' condition, hurriedly finished his work and ran over.
"Colonel!" He took out a piece of bread wrapped in moisture-proof paper from his backpack and handed it to him: "You may need something to eat!"
Charles glanced at the bread and shook his head with difficulty. He had no appetite at all, and even the sight of food made his stomach uncomfortable.
"You have to eat something." Adrian insisted: "Not wanting to eat is just an illusion. Your body actually needs to replenish energy and water."
Charles was stunned for a moment and felt that what Adrian said made sense. He had not eaten since dawn and was engaged in a high-intensity battle. It would be strange if he was not hungry.
Thinking of this, Charles reluctantly took the bread from Adrian, opened it, and took a few bites with all his might.
Adrian handed over the kettle again, and Charles took it and drank a few sips, and seemed to feel better.
As the regiment commander, Tijani was always busy. He ran back and forth between the front and rear trenches, ordering the soldiers to replenish firepower, strengthen the trenches and add barbed wire.
After arranging all this, he ran to Charles and sat down, panting and sighing: "Your mortar has made a great contribution again, Colonel."
"What?" Charles asked, handing him the kettle.
Tijani took the canteen, tilted his head back and gulped down a few mouthfuls, put the canteen down, took a few deep breaths and wiped his mouth, then replied, "It can effectively suppress enemy machine guns, and it's very safe. This is one of the reasons why our army has only suffered more than 500 casualties so far."
Charles said "hmm".
Before mortars, the best way to suppress machine guns was with machine guns.
But at this time, the French machine guns had to fire at the enemies charging head-on, and they could not simultaneously target the enemy machine guns that they had secretly set up.
The mortar solves this problem very well. Once there is machine gun output in the enemy's depth, the mortar will immediately fire a few shells towards the location where the gunfire is heard.
Tijani looked carefully at both sides and said to Charles in a low voice, "But I'm not sure if we can hold out until dark."
Ciel nodded slightly to show that he understood.
He was just thinking about this problem. There were more than 3,000 soldiers in the army, and more than 500 of them were killed or wounded in the enemy's two charges.
This number seems very optimistic. At this rate, we only need to suffer 500 more casualties to hold out until dark.
But the battlefield is not a simple numerical inference.
If 3,000 men suffer 500 casualties to defend for a morning, it doesn’t mean that 2,500 men can defend for the same length of time at the cost of 500 casualties.
When a certain critical point is reached, the firepower of the 105th Infantry Regiment is no longer enough to withstand the enemy's charge, the defense line will suddenly collapse and everyone will become corpses or prisoners.
But no one knows what the critical point is, 2,000 people, 2,300 people? Or maybe it will be the next second!
"They can't send reinforcements, can they?" asked Ciel.
"Yes!" Tijani nodded helplessly: "The Ottomans blocked the landing beach with artillery. The transport ships couldn't get close either, and the enemy's coastal defense artillery had already replenished its shells and was ready."
Battleships might be able to withstand the bombardment of coastal defense artillery, but the same cannot be said for troop transports, which could cause a fire or even have their ammunition exploded by just a few shells.
Just as the two were frowning, a signalman hurried up to report: "General, Colonel, General Winter called and said they plan to send a fleet to forcibly enter the Saros Bay to provide artillery cover for our army. This fleet includes the Queen Elizabeth. General Winter needs to know how to cooperate with us!"
Charles and Tijani's eyes lit up. It would be much easier if the fleet could provide artillery fire for the defense line.
Tijani immediately took out a map from his pocket and spread it out. After looking at it for a while, he drew a circle with his finger in the area east of the defense line: "This is the main force of the enemy's attack. I think the artillery fire should be directed at this area..."
"No!" Charles interrupted Tijani, pointing to the west of the defense line, and said, "I think our artillery should bombard this area."
"West?" Tijani raised his head in confusion. "The enemy only has one infantry regiment and one militia regiment there. They are even out of ammunition after being surrounded by us..."
"That's why we have to bomb the west," Charles explained. "The morale of the militia is low. If we add artillery bombardment, they are likely to have problems internally."
Tijani exclaimed "Oh" as he suddenly realized something. After careful consideration, he felt that fried noodles made more sense.
This is not only because the enemy in the west is more likely to collapse, but more importantly, by attacking the western "A" angle, the battleships can stay away from the coast, and the enemy has few coastal defense guns that can hit the battleships.
Thinking about it, Tijani no longer hesitated and nodded, "You are right, hit the west!"
(End of this chapter)
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