Bulgarian Empire

Chapter 187: 47) Bitter Fight

After days of bitter fighting, the number of casualties on both sides of the Greek-Turkish gap has exceeded five figures and is still growing!

Prince Konstantnos's only hope now was to stall for time and create a chance for the Greek army in the region of Ioannina, which was now gaining supplies and preparing to attack!

As for the Trikala region, the Ottomans had a clear advantage, and with the strength in his hands, it was impossible to achieve victory!

At this time, there were seven Ottoman infantry divisions, two cavalry regiments, three artillery regiments, plus the general command's direct troops, totaling more than 89,000 men! With a total of more than 350 artillery pieces of all kinds and 380 heavy machine guns!

Compared to the Greek side of the army, it was much worse. Prince Konstantnos had only six infantry divisions in his hands, plus two artillery regiments, in which two more divisions were semi-crippled. Finally, there were one and a half cavalry battalions, totaling more than 67,000 men! With a total of more than two hundred and twenty artillery pieces of all kinds and more than four hundred heavy machine guns!

Since the Battle of Zenta in the late 17th century, there has been a decline in the cavalry, and even the fact that the famous Cossack cavalry still exists in Russia does not change the fact that cavalry is in decline!

By 1897, all European countries had reduced their cavalry, except for the Russian, who still had a fighting chance in the plains of Eastern Europe with the new-style cavalry!

Of course, cavalry was already optional for a country like Greece and might have been abolished if not for the need for ceremonial processions!

After the outbreak of the Greek-Turkish War, Gergios I sent all this cavalry to the front, and the cavalry was still very powerful on a given battlefield!

Don't be surprised that Ethem Pasha didn't send cavalry to attack the Greek rear. It's because the cavalry is too restricted by geography and the supply requirements are very high!

Besides, he sent troops to attack Karditsa and break the stalemate on the battlefield so that he couldn't attack the city with cavalry, right?

The blame lies with Captain Gurbey Pasha for being too competent, for having fired a few random shots and finding out that the Greeks were prepared in Karditsa, and then going to attack the Greek logistic supply line?

Despite the slyness, Captain Gurbey Pasha has done an excellent job and achieved the strategic objective!

Originally Prince Konstantnos had 67,000 men in his hands, but after the withdrawal of his troops, only 53,000 men remained, and it once again widened the contrast in strength between the two sides!

Of course, if you count the wounded, Prince Konstantnos's men will now increase by more than 20,000, but they will not be of much help in this war!

Finding chances in war is a must for every general on the battlefield. Ethem Pasha was no exception. The Greeks are undoubtedly at their weakest point now, and without the slightest hesitation, Ethem Pasha immediately made a pre-battle rally!

...

After Ethem Pasha spoke, the lower group of officers were all shining. It is certainly not what loyalty and service to the country, but because building a successful career represents more promotion and wealth!

You should know that the Ottoman Empire's class has long been solidified, and the factor that decides what position you can climb to is no longer based on your ability, nor on how much you have contributed to the country, but on your origin!!!

But this time, General Ethem Pasha promised that whoever makes the battle would be duly rewarded! On the contrary, if it messes up, it will be everybody's burden in fighting!

Even though the latter can not be justified in the future, but one thing is certain, a war effort will surely increase in rank and fortune!

The Ottoman Empire was also a military state. If it is in the government sector, if the origin is not good, it may not matter how many achievements are made, it will not get even rise!

But in the army, after the complete military reform, there is no way to do that in peacetime! In times of war, those who have made military achievements will definitely be promoted. Who called now the Ottoman Empire has been dying?

Of course, the battle merit is not so good to get. It needs to have both luck and strength to do!

First of all, there must be a war! Unlike the previous suppression of the Armenian rebellion, that is a minor role. It is suitable to win the fight. Losing 100% will be bad luck!

The Greeks in front of them is a good choice!!! That is, not weak enough to ignore, nor strong enough to exceed everyone's reach. It belongs to the kind of meat that can make the war effort and safely win the meat!

Looking at the subordinates with a look of eagerness to try, Ethem Pasha smiled and nodded, then said seriously: "Now I order that at 4:37 on April 28, 1897, all artillery will open fire, targeting the positions of the Greek army on the opposite side, covering by fire for one and a half hours, at 6:07 the third division and two cavalry regiments, in charge of holding the left and right flanks of the enemy, the other six infantry divisions all attack and crush the Greeks on the opposite side from the front!!! Understand?"

"Understood!" The people said in unison.

Ethem Pasha nodded with approval and said, "Now start calibrating the time based on the big clock on the wall! No one shall be delayed, and those who violate it shall be punished by military law!"

...

Perhaps the rallying efforts of Ethem Pasha worked, or maybe the lure of promotion and wealth was too great, and the morale of the Ottoman army, both officers and soldiers, was at its peak at this moment!

Time passed quickly, and on April 28, 1897, with the order from Ethem Pasha, the first to act were naturally the artillery units, who quickly moved their guns and loaded them in the newly formed artillery positions.

Ethem Pasha looked at the time. 4:37 had arrived, his ears were filled with the rumble of artillery, and he knew the showdown had begun!

On the other hand, the Greeks were used to it, and the Ottoman artillery attacked at irregular intervals during the years of the standoff. The Greeks soon responded, and the Greek artillery began to return fire, and once again, the two sides opened up a gun battle!

Hundreds of artillery on both sides rang out at the same time, deafening and resounding through the sky!

Shells were flying around randomly, and one landed accidentally in a Greek regimental command, exploding instantly, killing three officers instantly and wounding five others!

The explosion caused minor confusion but soon subsided again. The battlefield artillery fire blinds, being hit, can only be considered their own bad life!

Soon the Greek artillery fell into the wrong side, which Prince Konstantnos had long been accustomed to it. After all, the opposite Ottomans had more artillery, as well as the quality of everyone was similar. It is normal not to win!

Soon an hour or so passed, and he felt something was wrong. The Ottoman artillery fire seemed to have no intention of stopping.

There is not much sense in knowing the two sides for such a long time to bombardment. After all, in this era artillery hit rate is extremely low!

Even if they can find the other side's artillery positions, it is not so easy to destroy the other side. And the other side's artillery positions are exposed, and so is your own!

Artillery is a precious soldier, brought to wear out in this way, under normal circumstances, the commanders of both sides can not spare, and use this lose-lose method of fighting!

Moreover, this is still both sides in the gambling luck, not that the Ottoman army had more artillery, it must be able to take advantage of the artillery less Greece, the same may also give them greater casualties, but the chances are smaller!

Prince Konstantnos knew that the withdrawal of troops from the front had been exposed and that the Ottomans were obviously prepared!

He immediately shouted, "Guards! Guards!!! Send orders to all troops immediately to guard against the Ottoman army's attack!"

Thanks to the end of the 19th century, there were already a telegraph and telephone, which were two means of communication. Otherwise, even if Prince Konstantnos found out, it would be too late to inform the troops!

But it was too late. By the time the troops at the front got the news, the Ottomans had already started their attack under artillery cover!

It was also fortunate that Prince Konstantnos had anticipated that the Ottomans might launch an all-out attack in the gap of their lack of troops and made some targeted arrangements!

But these preparations were not sufficient. Under the baptism of fire, the Greek army took great pains to build up the simple fortifications, and now it has been beaten to pieces, and now the defensive capacity has dropped a notch!

And it's early morning. The day has just dawned. Many Greek soldiers are still asleep, only to be awakened and not yet in shape!

Probably already used to the artillery bombardment, after all, the Ottomans have launched dozens of attacks in this short period of a few days, and people have seen the strange!

Of course, this is only the soldiers' thoughts. The actual Greek army hierarchy knows it. This attack is different from previous days, and it is the time when the defenders are at their lowest strength. The Ottomans will launch a decisive battle now as long as they are not stupid!

With the advantage of artillery, the Ottoman army had the edge at the beginning of the attack! But the war could not be won simply by artillery! If this is the case, the Greeks do not even need to fight; they just run away!

After the Ottoman army had breached the outer defenses, the Greek army also reacted, and the combination of trenches + machine guns + wooden fences caused a lot of casualties for the Ottoman army!

Obviously, the heavy machine gun, which made a great show in the Bulgarian-Serbian War, had already entered the stage of history, and the Greeks had already mounted it.

But because of the ammunition, the Greek army still could not be equipped on a large scale. It is not as much as it provided the Bulgarian army during the Bulgarian-Serbian War!

The Greek army still had capable people who, in the absence of wire fences, could replace them with the most primitive wooden fences in the shortest possible time. Even if it was not as good as wire fences in terms of defensive capability, it was still a remarkable innovation!

A brutal war began. One by one, the Ottoman soldiers rushed up to the Greek positions. The Greek army also did not show any weakness. They bravely met them and launched a fight to the death!

Both the Ottoman General Ethem Pasha and the Greek Prince Konstantnos now have ugly faces. Obviously, this is not the result they wanted!

Over time, the Greek army gradually could not stand, even if the defensive side had a geographical advantage, but also could not stand more Ottoman army!

And the Ottoman army mainly was professional soldiers, and the Greek army was not the same as what was put together. The two sides are not on the same level of combat power!

On the left flank of the Greek army, a Turkic cavalry was watching this front, and the commander, Orizel Pasha, was looking for a chance to fight, but he could only sigh with relief in the face of the Greek army cowering in the trenches!

If there were no heavy machine guns, Captain Orizel Pasha might have dared to charge a wave with his cavalry, and as soon as he broke through a point, he could penetrate behind the Greek army and come in behind a double back attack!

But now? Looking at Orizel Pasha's eyes staring at the machine gun's cold muzzle, speechless for a long time, lamented from the heart: the glory of the cavalry has gone!

Faced with a monster that can fire more than 600 rounds per minute, how many human lives will it take to fill the hole?

Orizel Pasha asked coldly, "When will the artillery be in place?"

"Half an hour to go!" An officer replied decisively.

Orizel Pasha said fiercely, "Then wait another half hour! Now let the feinting begin!"

When the heavy machine gun just debuted, there were still very few weapons in the world that could deal with machine guns, and the most effective way was just two!

One is to use snipers, directly take out the machine gunner, and then take advantage of the moment of the break-in fire to attack; the other is naturally the use of artillery. One shell down, everything is done!

Apparently, there were still very few professional snipers in the Ottoman army in the late 19th century, and not many soldiers even had good marksmanship when the hesitant troops lacked training!

The sound of artillery fired and the Greek positions on the opposite side were instantly hit hard, one fire point after another, by a single shell glowing.

Well, the artillery hit rate in this era is abysmal! A hundred and eighty shells passed, but it killed only three machine guns, plus nearly a hundred Greek soldiers!

Then the Ottoman army launched another round of attacks. Well, the attack had no part for the cavalry. That was the work of the two infantry regiments that crossed over at zero hours!

The Ottomans couldn't fill the trenches with cavalry! As a result, not surprisingly, Greek reinforcements were quickly added and blocked the line!

Orizel Pasha looked at the infantry with heavy casualties. He was still thankful that the mission of the cavalry regiment was not to break through the defensive line but just to do a little to hold the enemy back.

...

Even now, Ethem Pasha's heart is not calm, the intensity of the Greek resistance more than he expected. The battle began only more than four hours and paid up to more than 8,000 casualties!

On average, in an hour, the Ottoman army would have to lose a regiment of troops and a platoon every minute!

The introduction of heavy machine guns increased the intensity of the battle, which had already surpassed the Bulgarian-Serbian War of two years earlier.

In terms of combat power, the Ottoman army is slightly stronger, but the Greeks, as the defensive side, are considered to have drawn even, as a chess match!

Time passed, the battlefield gradually changed, and the tragic battle, both sides emerging to varying degrees - deserters!

In order to win the war, Ethem Pasha also defied the odds and sent out his supervisors to set up heavy machine guns directly behind the attacking troops!

"Either you die on the way to the attack or you die at the hands of the supervisors!"

...

The Ottoman army increased the intensity of the attack. Prince Konstantnos was anxious because he had not received any good news since the beginning of the war. The front line kept calling for support, appealing for the support!

Now his command, all but one regiment, was left. Reserves? The battle has come to this point, the Ottoman army has suffered heavy losses, and how can the Greek army suffer?

It may be surprising to say that, as the defending side, the number of casualties so far is actually higher than the attacking Turkish army!

He can't help it. It's all the fault of the new recruits! After all, it is just resisting on the gun, just a hasty training, was sent to the battlefield, a lot of life-saving measures on the battlefield are unknown, it is natural to die quickly!

The casualty ratio between the two sides has remained at 1.3:1, and the Greeks have suffered a big loss in this regard!

An officer hurriedly ran over and shouted, "Report! General, the commander of the 18th Division, has just sent a telegram requesting support again!"

...

(Note: The Battle of Zenta, which took place in 1697, saw a large number of European infantry lined up in a line of fire, the Ottoman elite cavalry was overwhelmed by the artillery, and the Habsburg Empire won! (This battle marked the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the decline of cavalry!)

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