CHAPTER 294: CHAPTER 294: THAT’S SHIRE

The cannons roared on the Gallipoli Peninsula, and at the end of Saros Bay lay the small town of Bolayir. Most civilians had already moved away due to the war, and those coming and going were mostly soldiers, logistics units, and injured being brought back from the front lines.

The command post of General Sanders, commander of the Ottoman Empire’s Fifth Army Corps, was set up here. He chose a very ordinary civilian house, hidden in a mountain hollow to avoid artillery.

(In the center of the picture is Liman von Sanders, German general, military advisor to the Ottoman Empire, commander of the Fifth Army Corps)

Sanders stood quietly in front of his desk, staring at the map before him, his brows furrowed.

Until now, the Ottoman Empire’s army could only be considered evenly matched with the enemy.

But after submarine U-21 was sunk, the Allies’ battleships could now aggressively support their landing teams without any concerns, tipping the scales of victory back in favor of the Allies.

"We cannot fail." Sanders murmured to himself, "If the Dardanelles Strait falls, the war will end in our defeat!"

But what could be done now?

Sanders contemplated a few plans in his mind:

Thunder Strike Ships.

They seemed ineffective; they could only carry out surprise attacks at night. This hardly impacted the Allies’ offensive, as they mostly attacked during the day and defended with barbed wire at night.

Submarines?

The remaining five submarines, due to their small size and limited range, could only operate in the Marmara Sea and the strait, lacking the capability to tackle enemy battleships active in the Aegean Sea.

Then, there was only one way...

Sanders ordered his staff: "Divide the troops into two groups, one to harass at night, and the other to attack during the day!"

"Yes!" The staff responded and immediately conveyed the order.

Less than half an hour after the order was given, Colonel Bahar of the Ottoman 20th Division burst into the command post.

"General, I believe your order is inappropriate." Colonel Bahar, who had studied in Germany, spoke in German. Though not fluent, his tone was very firm: "This is our land; we are familiar with everything here. I believe we should engage the enemy during the day and attack at night!"

"Is that so?" Sanders calmly retorted, "Then, how has your nighttime offensives been going lately?"

Bahar fell silent instantly.

The Allies had firepower superiority. They had constructed trenches and set up barbed wire; once the Ottoman army launched an attack, they would fall in droves under the enemy’s machine gun fire.

The front line was now littered with Ottoman soldiers’ corpses, many of which were already starting to rot and smell, yet could only lie there.

After hesitating for a moment, Bahar said, "Even so, we cannot attack during the day; the enemy’s naval guns will cause massive casualties to our troops..."

"Precisely because of the battleships, you need to attack during the day," Sanders interrupted Bahar.

With a look of confusion, Bahar gazed at Sanders. Wasn’t this sending Ottoman soldiers to their deaths?

Sanders didn’t rush to explain. Instead, he asked, "What is the situation of the fortifications on the high ground you’re defending now?"

"The trees have already been flattened by the enemy’s bombardment," Bahar responded, "The fortifications we work hard to build at night are always destroyed by the enemy the next day. Even the ground is blasted apart and can’t form a cohesive surface..."

Sanders remained silent, merely staring quietly at Bahar.

Bahar seemed to understand. They couldn’t hold the high ground even during the day; the enemy would first bombard the high ground with naval guns, and it would be even more so after.

At this point, Sanders added:

"When I say attack, I don’t mean launching a charge at the enemy’s positions."

"I mean dispersing, constructing fortifications in front of the enemy and confronting them, five hundred meters, four hundred meters, even closer!"

"As long as we are close enough, the enemy’s naval guns cannot be effective. Do you understand?"

Bahar suddenly realized the accuracy issue with naval guns; when firing at sea, they often missed the target by several kilometers.

Once the Ottoman troops built fortifications directly in front of the enemy instead of staying far away on the high ground, the enemy’s naval guns would fear hitting their own troops and refrain from firing.

"I understand, General!" Bahar nodded.

"Wait!" Sanders called out to Bahar, who was about to leave: "You’re already the commander of the Third Army Corps!"

Bahar looked shocked; he often opposed Sanders and thought they didn’t like each other.

"Don’t misunderstand." Sanders understood Bahar’s expression and explained, "I still don’t like you, but this is war, and you are the most suitable candidate for the Third Army Corps commander."

Bahar nodded in understanding, then straightened up and saluted Sanders.

Sanders nodded slightly as he watched Bahar’s retreating figure. There was no denying that he was an excellent soldier.

He had once held off an attack from 8,000 Anzac troops with just over 500 men and always fought at the frontline. A commander like him was needed now.

...

After returning to the defense line, Bahar immediately adjusted the troop deployment. He dispersed the troops that had originally concentrated on the high ground, placing them in clusters here and there.

On the surface, there was not a clear defense line, but once the enemy launched an attack, they would emerge from every corner.

"Sanders must have this idea," Bahar said, "Let the enemy’s naval guns find no target while constantly keeping an eye on the enemy’s infantry."

This tactic greatly tested the army’s quality.

When soldiers were dispersed without officers watching them, those with weak willpower might slack off.

However, Bahar wasn’t worried about this because the Ottoman troops were defending their homeland; the soldiers were determined and courageous in battle.

After doing all this, Bahar detailed the troop deployment on a map and reported it to Sanders.

...

Sanders looked at the map sent to him and nodded in satisfaction.

This commander was the right choice; he fully understood Sanders’ intentions and executed them.

Yet!

Could this hold off the Allies’ offensive?

That was Shire; he always had a way to deliver a lethal blow unexpectedly!

As if responding to Sanders, a sudden intense cannonade shook the ground, with dust from the roof falling down noisily.

Sanders feared the worst; he knew it was heavy-caliber naval gun bombardment, and quite a lot of it.

The only purpose for the enemy using naval guns for large-scale bombardment was to prepare for a landing.

Could this be Shire’s landing location?

How dare he choose here?

Impossible!

Yet, the facts were laid out:

The naval guns bombarded Bolayir continuously, with flames and thick smoke everywhere. The ground seemed to be lifted into the air and trembled constantly; houses shattered and collapsed like porcelain, and the sound of screams was completely drowned out by the cannon fire.

Staff officers rushed to Sanders in panic, shouting loudly close to him: "General, the enemy fleet has entered Saros Bay and is landing northwest of us!"