Chapter 759: Turning Point |
On the Near Eastern battlefield, an exhilarating scene unfolded. Just as the fighting on the front lines reached its peak, chaos erupted in the Ottoman rear.
The Armenians rebelled, the Greeks rebelled, the Slavs rebelled, and even the Kurds showed signs of unrest.
The only reason others hadn’t risen up was that no one had incited them yet. Otherwise, the number of rebellious ethnic groups in the Ottoman Empire would have been even greater.
The earlier waves of ethnic uprisings were all thanks to the Anti-Ottoman Coalition. Everyone knew that the Ottoman Empire was doomed. If they didn’t switch sides now, it would be too late.
For the upper class, securing a future meant proving their loyalty. If they didn’t take action now to show where they stood, how could they guarantee their status once the dust settled?
If the Anti-Ottoman Coalition made things even easier for them, there was no doubt that even members of the Ottoman government would defect.
Unsurprisingly, this internal strife accelerated the Ottoman Empire’s collapse.
Unlike past national independence movements, this time the rebels were armed. Austrian airships airdropped weapons and ammunition to the uprising forces.
The multi-ethnic empire’s hidden weaknesses had erupted. Even though only a few had actually revolted, being stabbed in the back at such a moment made the Ottoman government lose all trust in its minority populations.
The Ottoman government, which had struggled to boost national morale, suddenly saw half of it vanish, while minority groups’ sense of belonging to the state sharply declined.
First, Austrian forces captured Kırşehir, and then the Russians took Osmaniye. Now, it seemed inevitable that the two armies would soon link up at the Kızılırmak River.
Once this operation was completed, the Anti-Ottoman Coalition would split the Ottoman Empire in two, leaving its forces unable to support each other.
This was especially dire for the empire’s western heartland, which would be completely surrounded by the Anti-Ottoman Coalition, cut off from all external aid.
Abandoning the west was out of the question. The capital, Ankara, lay west of the Kızılırmak River.
At the same time, Austrian forces had advanced into Mesopotamia, putting the Ottoman Empire’s eastern territories in jeopardy as well.
The narrow geography of Anatolia worked in the Anti-Ottoman Alliance’s favor since their forces could strike at a single point and split the empire in two.
“Meeting at Kızılırmak” was only one of the contingency plans and Mesopotamia was another possible meeting point. However, the Caucasus region’s mountainous terrain meant that the Russians were still engaged in mountain warfare with the Ottomans in the Greater Caucasus.
Faced with the dire situation, the Ottoman Empire had no choice but to withdraw its main forces for a defensive stance.
As the regular army pulled back, the burden of defense fell entirely on local militias but instead of government-appointed officers, these militias were led by religious leaders…
When faith is involved, combat effectiveness always seems to surge. While not as formidable as the regular army, the Ottoman militias’ fighting capabilities still shocked the Anti-Ottoman Coalition.
In Constantinople, Albrecht, the Supreme Commander, was furious.
“Marshal Publius, are you here on vacation, or are you actually fighting a war?!”
For a soldier, such an accusation was the greatest insult. Fortunately, Publius was a temporary general, more of a politician than a true military man, and had a thick skin.
“Commander, this was completely unexpected. No one could have predicted that the Ottomans would concentrate their main forces—”
Before he could finish, Russian Commander Ivanov cut him off bluntly, “The battlefield is not an amusement park. Stop making excuses for your failure!
We all know exactly where the Ottoman main force is. We are not shameless politicians, and no one here is interested in your word games!”
There was no room for argument. Just recently, Greek forces had fallen into an Ottoman guerrilla ambush and lost dozens of heavy artillery pieces.
Losing equipment in battle wasn’t uncommon, but the problem was that the Greeks, in their panicked retreat, failed to destroy the cannons. As a result, the Ottomans seized them along with their ammunition.
Having suffered such a significant embarrassment, the Greek army naturally chose to keep it under wraps. In the ensuing battles, these very shells ended up raining down on the Russians.
Caught completely off guard and underestimating enemy firepower, the Russians suffered over a thousand casualties.
After interrogating captured prisoners, the Russians finally pieced together the full story and they were not about to swallow this humiliation quietly. This was the catalyst for the coalition war council.
Marshal Ivanov, a career military officer, had always looked down on Publius, a politician-turned-general with no real military credentials. Now, after such a disaster, he had even less reason to show restraint.
At the Coalition Headquarters, all four commanding generals held the rank of Marshal, but there was still a clear hierarchy among them.
Ivanov and Albrecht were both professional soldiers with distinguished combat records, making them the highest-ranking figures.
Montenegrin Commander Maksim Terentyev might lack major military achievements, but at least he was a trained officer.
Meanwhile, Publius, despite representing a more powerful nation (Greece), still ranked the lowest in status.
This unspoken hierarchy was reflected on the battlefield. Austria and Russia, as the main forces, naturally had the most impressive victories. Montenegro, though small, performed just as well as the Greeks in battle.
In the military, strength earns respect. Victory is all that matters, no matter the tactics used.
Luckily, Publius had a thick skin. Otherwise, he might have completely broken down under the pressure.
“Marshal Ivanov, we deeply regret this incident. The unit escorting the artillery was completely wiped out, so we were unaware of the situation until—”
This excuse was far from convincing, but political realities prevented the allies from turning on each other.
Despite Albrecht’s harsh tone, his real goal wasn’t just to humiliate Publius, he was also trying to defuse tensions.
No matter how incompetent Publius might be, he was still a representative of Greece and could not be allowed to be executed by the Russians in a fit of rage.
Under normal circumstances, most people would not consider killing a representative of an ally, but that doesn’t mean the Russians wouldn’t do it.
Albrecht held no illusions about the Russians’ notorious temper.
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https://postimg.cc/V5qmbWBN (Map of the current territories of the countries in this model made by ScH)