Chapter 540 Sharpening the Knife
Although the Italians sent troops quickly, they were not ready for battle. It was not until July 3 that the first batch of Italian troops landed in Tripoli.
Emanuele II should be grateful to George for his recklessness. If it weren’t for the Russian Empire’s reinforcement fleet being trapped in Crete, which effectively restrained the Ottoman Empire’s navy, most Italians would not have dared to provoke it. war.
The Ottoman Empire is feeling very uncomfortable now. Their navy is trapped in the Dardanelles Strait and cannot provide support to North Africa from the sea.
The British did not allow the Ottoman army to pass through Egypt, and they were also unable to send reinforcements from land to North Africa.
The Ottoman Empire has been inherited for more than 600 years since 1299. It is the oldest empire in Europe, and it still has a rich heritage.
Although unable to obtain support from the country, officials in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica mobilized local Arabs and Bedouins to join the war and resist the invasion of the Kingdom of Italy.
George Regardless of the fact that the Italians and the Ottomans were fighting each other in North Africa, the military mobilization of the Balkan Alliance aroused great vigilance in the Ottoman Empire. From the beginning of the year, the Ottoman Empire sent more troops to Rumeria to prevent Unexpected.
Eastern Rumelia was annexed by the Kingdom of Bulgaria in 1885, and Western Rumelia is composed of the three provinces of Edirne, Monastir and Thessaloniki.
George arrived in Sevastopol on July 15 to inspect the preparations of the Black Sea Fleet.
The Black Sea Fleet has not added large warships in the past two years and has focused its main tasks on the construction of small warships and submarines. The Black Sea Fleet now has 6 light cruisers and 11 submarines, as well as more than 60 combat aircraft.
“Our torpedo planes are already capable of combat, but due to limited range, they are temporarily unable to reach the Bosporus.”
Ozdoev did not send the Ottoman Empire’s Battleships in mind.
The Ottoman Empire's army can still compete with the Russian Empire's army. The navy's performance was too poor. It was completely destroyed by the Russian navy in the ninth Russo-Turkish War. It has only improved slightly in recent years.
On the surface, the Ottoman Empire Navy has four all-heavy artillery battleships, which gives it an advantage over the Black Sea Fleet.
The Ottoman Empire Navy has never participated in a war since its reconstruction. It is a group of rookies from top to bottom. There is a huge gap with the Russian Imperial Navy that has experienced the test of the Russo-Japanese War.
Most of the officers of the Black Sea Fleet are now transferred from the Siberian Fleet. They are holding their breath and want to prove their strength through the Ottoman Navy.
Beating Japan is nothing to be proud of for the Russians.
Only by defeating the old rival of the Ottoman Empire can the Cossacks' bravery be proved.
“Brushinov is building a new airport in the Kingdom of Bulgaria, which will definitely be completed before the end of the month.”
George had already prepared. The airport in the Kingdom of Bulgaria is only 230 kilometers away from the Bosporus.
Just three days ago, the Air Force of the Kingdom of Italy officially launched its first bombing of Tobruk.
When attacking Tripoli, the Italian Air Force's airship force had already bombed Tripoli.
This was the first time that airships participated in the war in North Africa. The Austrian army defending Tripoli was panicked. Although the attacking Italian army only had 1,500 people, the Austrian army still surrendered Tripoli to the Italian army.
After occupying Tripoli, the Kingdom of Italy increased the strength of the expeditionary force to 20,000 men. King Emanuele III of Italy proudly declared that the war would end within a month.
But then, the Kingdom of Italy Expeditionary Force suffered its first failure after invading North Africa.
When the Italian army attacked Tobruk, the Austrian commander Mustafa Kemal led 3,000 Austrian troops to defend frontally, and the Bedouin cavalry on the flanks carried out roundabout outflanking. All the 2,500 people involved in the attack were almost wiped out.
This time's defeat was almost a blow to the Italian army. Emanuele III realized that the war would not end in the short term, so he continued to send more troops to North Africa. The Italian army in North Africa soon Reached 100,000 people. The preparations on George's side have been basically completed, and the troops of the Balkan Alliance countries have been assembled and can launch an attack on the Austrian army at any time.
As long as there is a war in the Balkans, George will send troops to the Bosporus to decide the outcome in one battle.
"The number of troops we can deliver has increased to 40,000. However, the Austrian army is heavily deployed on the Bosporus. If there are only 40,000 troops, it may be difficult to succeed before other countries intervene."
Ozdoyev was worried about insufficient troops. Landing operations were a completely new subject for the Russian army.
Since the reinforcement fleet is blocked outside the Dardanelles Strait, only the Black Sea Fleet can provide cover for the landing operation.
If torpedo planes and submarines cannot kill the Ottoman battleships immediately after the war begins, the landing troops will face a huge threat from the Ottoman navy.
"The six divisions of the Guards are already ready in St. Petersburg, and our strength is sufficient."
George had been working hard for more than two years, and finally it was time to test the results.
While George was inspecting work in Sevastopol, Nikolai released smoke bombs in St. Petersburg.
The establishment of the Balkan Alliance made the situation in the Balkans even more tense. Now not only the Ottoman Empire, but also the Austro-Hungarian Empire also felt a huge threat.
On July 16, British Foreign Secretary Edward Gray returned to St. Petersburg, hoping that the Russian Empire could effectively restrain the Balkan Alliance and not easily provoke war.
“The empire has been disarmament in the past two years, how could it take the initiative to provoke a war in the Balkans.”
Nicholas firmly denied that the reforms of Stolypin and George had not been completed and that the Russian Empire did not have the ability to wage war.
"I believe that your Majesty is peace-loving. The situation in the Mediterranean is already very bad. If the contradictions continue to intensify, there is the possibility of escalating into a world war."
Gray is very worried. This time he When I came to St. Petersburg, in addition to hoping that the Russian Empire would exercise restraint, I also hoped to elevate the relationship between the Russian Empire and Britain to an alliance.
The arms race not only troubled Germany, but also the United Kingdom.
Britain tried its best, but could only maintain its advantage over Germany in the navy, and had no advantage in the army.
The Second Boer War exposed the weakness of the British Army.
The results of the Russo-Japanese War proved that the Russian Empire, as a traditional land power country, could pose a sufficient threat to Germany on land.
So how can the Russian Empire disarm at this time? It should continue to strengthen the advantages of the army.
"What does the deterioration of the situation in the Mediterranean have to do with the Russian Empire?"
Nicola's words were full of anger, and Britain's attitude towards Russia and Italy was completely different.
Britain favored Italy in the Italian-Turkish War because Britain hoped to win over the Kingdom of Italy.
The next step is to see whether the Kingdom of Italy is worthy of Britain's win over.
(End of this chapter)