Chapter 103, Crescent Flag Falling (Part 1)
Republic of Türkiye, Istanbul
This capital city of the Eastern Roman Empire and the Ottoman Turkish Empire is located at the dividing point between Europe and Asia, at the intersection of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
Since Emperor Constantine in the late Roman Empire established Constantinople as his capital here, the city has become a symbol of empire, hegemony, majesty and glory, attracting countless careerists in the Western world. . In the following thousands of years of history, believers in God and Allah were like moths to the flame, launching countless wars to compete for this great city, almost shedding the last drop of blood.
The Ottoman Turks, who were originally just a remote and backward Turkic tribe, truly inherited the mantle of the Eastern Roman Empire because they captured Constantinople in 1453. From then on, they were reborn and soared into the sky, becoming the largest empire in the West. His figure was invincible, sweeping across the Mediterranean and Black Seas, sweeping across the Balkans and North Africa, marching to Vienna, and drinking from the Danube, giving European Christians a nightmare for more than two centuries.
Although the Turkish Empire gradually declined and its territory shrank significantly, as long as they still control this great city and the strait connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, they still have the ability to challenge on the international stage.
Nearly five centuries later, another brutal offensive and defensive battle came to this famous city once known as Constantinople.
However, compared with the battle of Constantinople that ended the Byzantine Empire in 1453, the offensive and defensive camps this time have subtly changed their positions... The only thing that is the same is that the defenders They are all equally weak, helpless and have a bleak future.
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——As mortal enemies who fought eleven Russian-Turkish wars and fought bloody battles for three hundred years, the hatred between Turkey and Russia is unforgettable, higher than the sky and deeper than the sea. Because Türkiye is located at the intersection of Eurasia and Europe, it guards key strategic arteries. Therefore, at the beginning of World War II, envoys from various countries flocked to the country, hoping to use various conspiracies and tricks to shake the neutral position of this young republic.
However, although the Republic of Turkey has always had a deep hatred for Russia, it also does not believe that "the enemy of the enemy is a friend." In the last world war, the Ottoman Turkey unfortunately fell on the wrong side because of its hatred of Russia. It led to the collapse of the huge empire and the fall of the Ottoman family's crown... If it weren't for the great hero Mustafa Kemal Atatürk stood up to turn the tide at the most critical moment. Then according to the "Treaty of Sèvres" that was humiliating and humiliating the country, the Turks may have to say goodbye to the Aegean Sea and Istanbul from now on. They can only Surviving in the most barren and desolate corner of the northern Anatolian Plateau, it cannot even maintain its current territory.
In view of the above-mentioned painful lessons, the Republic of Turkey's strategy in World War II was very conservative, even cowardly. It completely lost its ambition to restore the territory of the former empire's heyday. It only signed a trade agreement with both warring parties, in exchange for both parties Recognition of one's own neutral status. During the entire war, Turkey exported ores and other resources to Germany and the United Kingdom at the same time, in exchange for weapons to defend itself, and looked for opportunities to ask for various benefits, such as asking Germany to help Turkey build roads and railways, and asking the United Kingdom to help Turkey build airports and ports. What do you think? They are all petty.
Relying on such a wall-to-wall policy, the Republic of Turkey used its own chromite and copper ore, exchanged some weapons from abroad, and formed an army of 800,000 people, but they were basically light infantry, with firepower and combat effectiveness of about Similar to the Beiyang Army during the Republic of China - according to the British diplomat's description of the Turkish army at the time: "... they do not have any modern weapons, and since May 1940 these modern weapons have proven to be The decisive factor is that the air force is also extremely backward and fragile. They have no tanks or armored vehicles, no weapons factories to manufacture and supply weapons, and no trained personnel and officers to use these weapons. They have almost no anti-aircraft guns or anti-aircraft guns. Tank guns. Their warning systems are also very backward and they know nothing about radar. They also lack the military literacy to accept all these modern developments..."
There is no way, Türkiye is not called the "sick man of West Asia" for nothing. Although I was in the Eastern Mediterranean, I was almost watching the outbreak of the Industrial Revolution in Europe right on my doorstep. However, due to religious factors, the Turks' acceptance of modern industry and science was even worse than that of the Japanese and Chinese at the same time. Any slightest technological introduction or reform must be carefully considered whether it is consistent with the teachings of more than a thousand years ago, and then it will trigger a national debate and even lead to bloody conflicts. For example, a technology as basic as printing was banned in Türkiye until the 19th century. Toilet paper was still theoretically banned until the 21st century (because workers had to wipe their butts with their hands, so the halal food produced must have excessive bacteria and unqualified hygiene). No matter how bad China was at the end of the Qing Dynasty, it already had its own steel plants, shipyards, textile factories and self-built railways. At the same time, Ottoman Turkey was a more purely agricultural country than the Qing Dynasty. Even flour, sugar and cloth basically relied on imports. The railways that were built with German aid were inexplicably built into dead ends...
Such an aggressive empire would obviously not be able to survive in the Western world where great powers were competing for hegemony. During World War I, the Ottoman Turkish Empire was still able to rely on its vast territory and huge size, as well as the arms provided by Germany, to deal with the British colonial third-rate army (mainly Indians). By the time of World War II, the territory of the Republic of Turkey was only 800,000 square kilometers, and its population was less than 20 million. Although industrial construction had improved slightly after Kemal's reform, it was mainly based on textiles and the like. The country's light industry is dominated by light industry, and the scale of heavy industry is extremely pitiful. The navy fleet was completely wiped out once in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and it is still almost non-existent at this time. The army's firearms and ammunition also have to rely on imports to a considerable extent.
Compared with the European powers, the Republic of Turkey is not only inferior in industry, but also terrible in navy and air force. The army is also unable to cope with a mechanized war. Even the population is only half of France and a quarter of Germany. (Turkey at this time has not yet completely started a population explosion. In the feudal era, its ethnic population has remained at around 10 million for a long time.) Even if they want to compete for heads, they can't do it.
According to the international rankings at the time, the military strength of the Republic of Türkiye was even lower than Belgium, Portugal and Greece!
Seeing such a bad deck of cards in his hand, His Excellency Mustafa Ismet Inonu, then President of Turkey, naturally did not have the courage to rashly join the arena of world war, and remained a mere wallflower until the end of Nazi Germany. Two months ago, it reluctantly declared war on Germany.
Later, when the British were recruiting allies across Europe to fight against the Bolsheviks of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Turkey also strictly maintained neutrality and refused entry to the American and British Allied Forces, never daring to bring disaster on itself... But the problem is, in this cruel world of the jungle, the strong eats the strong. It's not like you can avoid being beaten by shrinking your head. What's more, with the hundreds of years of traditional hatred between Russia and Türkiye, there is no need for a reason to start a fight!
Therefore, as the iron-clad torrent of the Soviet Red Army was victorious on the European continent, the fate of the Republic of Türkiye became increasingly bleak.
When the 600,000 Eastern European allied troops of the Soviet Union, Bulgaria and Red Greece gathered on the Thracian Plain on the Maritsa River (the hometown of Spartacus), and another 600,000 Soviet troops were deployed to Georgia and Armenia, Turkey Talents wake up from a dream and rush to their European territories Increase troops and deploy a heavy group in the border town of Edirne to confront the enemy on the opposite side. At the same time, they issued a war mobilization order domestically, urgently expanded the army, and asked for reinforcements from the US and British troops still stationed in the Middle East at this time... ...However, all these preparation measures are already too late!
Facing the Russians who have swept across Europe, the Republic of Türkiye really cannot survive even a week with its little wealth!
The U.S. and British troops, who had already been unable to protect themselves, were unable to provide any substantial military assistance to the Turks at this juncture.
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After the war officially broke out, the Soviet Union still used atomic bombs to clear the way, sending huge strategic bomber groups from Georgia and Armenia to break through the Turks' almost non-existent air defense line and attack the Turkish capital Ankara, as well as Bursa, Antalya, Twenty atomic bombs were dropped on major cities such as Eskisehir and Konya, almost blowing the hinterland of Turkey's Anatolian Plateau into a wasteland. By the way, it also blew up the entire central government of the Republic of Turkey. In this era, even the European and American powers did not know how to fight a nuclear war and could only slowly explore in the war. As a backward country, Turkey , it is even less possible to know how to dig an underground bunker headquarters to protect against nuclear bombs.
At the same time, the Soviet Black Sea Fleet also launched a large-scale campaign, directly calling the Turkish ports along the southern coast of the Black Sea, and soon wiped out the Turkish naval fleet staying in the Black Sea. The remaining ships had to flee to the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea. Escape from the Soviet fleet.
Next, the Kurds entrenched in the southwestern interior of Turkey also openly raised their flag to rebel with the weapons that the Soviets had provided to them in the past few months. They attacked the Turkish army and police from behind and announced that they would establish their own "Kurdish state". Republic of Stan”!
——Double attack, sea and land attack, nuclear bomb blast, internal chaos, and decapitation tactics... Such a set of fatal compound punches, even the aggressive Nazi Germany would be paralyzed in an instant, let alone Is it Turkey, known as the “Sick Man of West Asia”?
Of course, just twenty-four hours after the war began, the Eastern European coalition forces led by the Soviet Union broke through the key border town of Turkey and guarded the junction of Turkey, Greece, and Bulgaria. Edirne, formerly known as Adrianople, was stationed here. The 200,000 Turkish troops were crushed to pieces. At the same time, the Soviet Marine Corps also landed in Trabzon on the southern coast of the Black Sea, and cooperated with the army to penetrate Türkiye's Caucasus defense line from behind.
At this time, the Turkish central government and military command structures had been wiped out in the nuclear explosion. The armies in various places could not receive orders, reinforcements, or even supplies. They relied entirely on spontaneous operations, and their military strength was at an absolute disadvantage. Naturally, one rout leads to the next. In this way, on the third day of the war, tanks of the Soviet Red Army appeared on the outskirts of Istanbul, arousing great panic among the citizens in the city and triggering a massive refugee flow...
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