Chapter 637 Who will deal with George
To say that the ones who dealt the most cruel blows to the Ottomans were the Ottomans.
The notoriously evil Cossacks only wanted money and rarely committed massacres.
The Ottoman Empire massacred Armenians and Greeks by the millions, truly taking violence to the extreme.
The troops established by Yankov were mainly Greeks and Caucasians, and the commander Antonios had served in the Ottoman army.
After the Second Balkan War, the Ottoman Empire massacred the Greeks. Antonius retired angrily and left the Ottoman Empire to return to Greece.
After the outbreak of the World War, Antonios responded to the mobilization of the Kingdom of Greece and joined the army, and came to the Asia Minor Peninsula with the Greek reinforcements.
Due to his long-term service in the Ottoman army, Antonios was proficient in multiple languages. He found his old friend Charlandis in the Austrian prisoner-of-war camp, and the two founded the "Spartan Army" together. Legion".
The total strength of the Spartan Legion was only 40,000, divided into two corps and four divisions, stationed in various places.
The weapons and equipment used by this army, including clothing, all came from the Ottoman Empire, so that when they appeared in front of the rebels, the rebels thought they were Ottoman troops and were not alert.
In just half a month, the Spartan Legion wiped out 250,000 rebels.
George was curious, the total number of Ottomans in the areas occupied by the Russian army may not necessarily be 250,000.
"This is normal. The terrain of Asia Minor is complex and the territory is mountainous. Many Ottomans fled into the mountains and are not under our control."
Demeter did not take it seriously at all. , since the war broke out, the Russian army has suffered an average monthly loss of about 300,000 people.
The 300,000 people here are all young adults suitable for military service.
George ignored it and put the matter behind him. His pity was limited and he could not share it with the Ottomans.
When the war in Asia Minor resumed, the navies of Britain, France, Russia, and Italy finally reached an agreement to launch an attack on the Austro-Hungarian navy entrenched in the Adriatic Sea.
The elites of the four countries were deployed in the Mediterranean. The Russian Empire dispatched 7 dreadnoughts, which were the main force of this expedition.
The British dispatched the dreadnought HMS Queen Elizabeth and 6 battleships.
All four French "Gourba" class battleships were dispatched.
Italy dispatched the most warships, with a total number of 150, including almost all active warships.
The Italians do know how to calculate. They dispatch the largest number of warships and will have a certain advantage when they finally divide the fruits of victory.
What people didn’t expect was that as soon as the attack plan was finalized and the fleet had not yet completed its assembly, bad news suddenly came.
On October 15, the Italian Navy's "Leonardo da Vinci" battleship accidentally detonated its ammunition while hoisting ammunition and sank in the Port of Taranto, Italy.
"Leonardo da Vinci" is the third ship of the "Count of Cavour" class, which was commissioned in May this year.
Although the Italians claimed that the "Leonardo da Vinci" was sunk by an Austrian submarine, the truth has long been spread because the sinking process of the "Leonardo da Vinci" was witnessed by many people.
Even if it was sunk by a submarine, it cannot be justified.
Taranto is the most important homeport of the Italian Navy and is heavily guarded.
In broad daylight, an Austrian submarine slipped into the harbor and sank the latest battleship. This can fully prove the amateurism of the Italian Navy.
Since the Russo-Japanese War, the navies of various countries have strengthened the defense of military ports. Anti-submarine nets are everywhere, making it difficult for submarines to sneak into them.
Italy has a total of four dreadnoughts.
Before the battle even started, a quarter was lost, which cast a shadow over everyone.
The main gathering place of the Russian Navy is in Cattaro.
The Russian Navy dispatched only 32 warships this time. Although not the largest number, all of them were newly built warships after the Russo-Japanese War.
In order to cooperate with the fleet attack, George also dispatched the air force to prepare for an air attack on Pula, the home port of the Austrian Navy.
It should be noted that Pula not only has anti-aircraft firepower, but also has an air force stationed there.
Before the outbreak of the world war, among the major countries, only the Russian Empire established an air force.
Now that all countries have established air forces, Germany's monthly aircraft production has rapidly increased from less than 10 aircraft before the outbreak of the war to 300 aircraft per month now. The aircraft production of the United Kingdom and France has also increased Rapid increase.
George was very angry because the aircraft produced by Britain, France and Germany used a large number of patents from Amur.
Let’s not talk about the Germans, because the patent fees generated by the production of aircraft can wait until the end of the war to be liquidated.
Britain and France actually refused to pay patent fees on the grounds that the war was not over yet, which made George very angry.
The UK currently produces about 100 aircraft per month, France produces 200, and the total is almost the same as Germany.
Amur's aircraft production has increased to 500 aircraft per month, not only supplying the Russian army, but also selling large quantities to Britain and France, so on the Western Front, the air battle was extremely fierce.
In terms of war, Angsa and Gaul are far behind Germany.
Although the performance of German aircraft has improved rapidly, it is still not as good as Russian aircraft.
British and French pilots flew aircraft from Russia, but their battle loss ratio far exceeded that of the Germans, creating the myth of the "Red Baron". When the World War broke out, "Red Baron" Manfred von Richthofen worked in the German Army Logistics Department. He joined the Air Force and began training at the beginning of this year.
After three months of training, the Red Baron participated in the war for the first time and shot down a French aircraft. Because the French aircraft crashed in France, it could not Confirmed, the results will not be recognized.
Richthofen continued his efforts, and by September this year, he had shot down 15 British and French fighter planes, including two ace pilots from Britain and France.
Due to the serious lack of support from the German army to the Austrian army, the intensity of air combat on the Eastern Front was much less than that on the Western Front.
This cannot be blamed on the lack of outstanding combat effectiveness of Russian pilots. The aircraft of the Austro-Hungarian Empire are all from Germany, and they are still unable to produce them on their own. The number of aircraft is simply not enough to fight, and there is not enough food for them.
The air force stationed in Pula are all from Germany, and the pilots are also German.
Nikolai's brother-in-law Alexander, who served as commander of the Air Force, attached great importance to this sortie and took the initiative to come to Cataro to meet Peter.
“I have mobilized 650 fighters and 150 bombers. After the battle begins, the fighters will seize air superiority and wipe out all the Austrian Air Force. Then the bombers will dispatch to carpet bomb Pula and completely destroy the Austrians. Coast defense forts.”
Alexander is confident that the Russian Air Force has few opponents on the Eastern Front.
Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire's air force is not good, its artillery is still good. The heavy artillery of the Pula Port Fort has a maximum caliber of 420 mm, which is extremely threatening to the Allied fleet.
The war has broken out for more than a year, but the superior navy of the Allied Powers did not dare to attack Pula because the naval guns could not hit the forts.
The premise of this attack is that the air force will first destroy the fort in Pula Port, and then the fleet will enter.
"Will the Germans send the Red Baron here?"
Peter also heard the myth about the Red Baron.
"That guy dares to come, and his myth will end!"
Alexander is so domineering that no matter how powerful the Red Baron is, he cannot withstand the siege of the Russian Air Force.
The sinking of the "Leonardo da Vinci" did not affect the Allied offensive.
Before the air force was dispatched, the 11th Army led by Brusinov approached Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.
The Russian attack met with strong resistance from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Part of the von Bulow Army was surrounded in Budapest, with less than 100,000 troops at its disposal.
On October 25, the Russian army bombarded Zagreb. Heavy snow suddenly fell that night, and the ground attack came to a standstill.
The heavy snow did not affect the dispatch of the air force. The Russian Air Force launched its first air strike on Pula on October 24.
Faced with the superior strength of the Russian Air Force, the German army did not retreat. The two sides broke out in the most intense air battle since the World War over the island of Unije, 30 kilometers southeast of Pula.
The Russian Air Force dispatched nearly 300 fighter jets, while the number of German fighter jets was only 110.
Although the numerical gap was huge, the German army still caused huge losses to the Russian Air Force due to its superior ground firepower.
After the war broke out, the Austro-Hungarian Navy was not idle and began to modify the warships, converting the secondary batteries into anti-aircraft guns to strengthen the anti-aircraft capabilities.
The Austrian army also deployed anti-aircraft firepower on Unije Island. After encountering the Russian army, the German army would take the initiative to lower its altitude and fight with the Russian army under the cover of Austrian anti-aircraft firepower.
The air battle lasted for 6 hours, and more than half of the German troops were lost. 90 Russian Air Force fighter jets were also shot down.
Alexander was furious and ordered all the Russian troops to attack Pula again.
This time the German army was finally unable to support itself. On the morning of the 27th, the last German fighter jet was shot down, and the Russian army completely seized air supremacy.
George was not surprised by this result. His only concern was whether the Allied naval attack would affect the German attack direction next year.
The conflict between Falkenhayn and Hindenburg reached an irreconcilable level, and William II had to summon the two in the hope of resolving the conflict between them.
“The only way to end the war as quickly as possible is to attack with all strength on the Western Front, defeat France as quickly as possible, and force France to withdraw from the war.”
In the past year, Austria The defeat of the Hungarian Empire strengthened Falkenhayn's determination.
“The Russian army is already on the verge of collapse. With just one more force, the Russian army can be completely defeated!”
Hindenburg insisted on focusing on the eastern front, and Nikolai's ability was not as good as that of Nikolai Junior.
"Have you forgotten George in the Balkans? If the Russians transferred George back to St. Petersburg from the Balkans, could you defeat the Balkan Army led by George?"
Falkenhayn did not move an inch. Jean, the negotiations between the Kingdom of Hungary and Russia were facilitated by Falkenhayn.
Falkenhayn has realized that Russia cannot be defeated and negotiation is the only way.
Now Falkenhayn can only hope to negotiate with the Russian Empire and stop the war between Germany and Russia after defeating France.
"It is impossible for George to return to St. Petersburg. He has lost the trust of the Tsar."
Hindenburg made an astonishing statement.
(End of this chapter)