Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, March had passed. Franz would treat the declaration of war as a joke if it was at any other point in time.
There was no other way. War served politics. This kind of nonsense really happened in reality.
In order to buy time for the Osman Empire, the European countries evacuated their nationals at a snail's pace. It was called dealing with property, but in fact, it was to buy time for the Osman Empire to transport supplies.
Once the war started, there would be no free trade. The Government of Vienna had already issued a note that any ship entering the war zone would have to bear the consequences.
This was also a tacit understanding. If the Osman Empire was finished, the debts of Britain and France would be gone. How could they not comfort the wounded hearts of the other countries?
The Osman Empire was an old empire. Even if it had declined, it still had a lot of assets. Back in the days when they roamed the Eurasian continent, they robbed a lot of good things and had a strong ability to pay.
In the face of life and death, the Government of Sudan tried its best to raise funds to buy supplies. The treasures in the palace were all moved, and the nobles symbolically took out a part of their wealth to support the war.
In addition to this reason, training the Russians was also another reason. Crossing the sea was no joke. If it was just going around the Aegean Sea, it would be fine. The Hairy Bear's body should be able to withstand it.
If they were to attack further away, the soldiers who had not been trained to sail on the sea would fall in large numbers on the way. Even if they went ashore, they would be weak. How could they fight?
The Tsarist government was a bunch of landlubbers. They didn't have the experience of crossing the sea, so they didn't take it seriously.
Austria had a lot of experience. If they didn't train and kicked the seasick guys out, they would be crying!
Facing an unreliable ally, Franz decided to endure it. In any case, the Russians were also fighting for Austria.
The fiercer the war in Asia Minor, the smoother the war in the Middle East would be. It would be God's blessing if half of the 150,000 Russian Army could survive.
If the Russian Army's commander wasn't capable enough, they might have to change another round. No matter how good a strategy was, it needed someone to execute it.
In theory, with the advantage of sea power, they could avoid the enemy's strong points and attack the enemy's weak points. However, this also involved intelligence, the judgment of the commander, the speed of mobilization of the army, and many other factors.
Osman was a religious empire, and the Government of Sudan had already called for a holy war. No matter how strong they were, at least there were many people who were willing to risk their lives.
The resistance in the early stages would definitely be very intense. Only when the painful casualties exceeded what their hearts could bear would the situation change.
Didn't the Tsarist government want to use Austria to train its soldiers? That's not a problem. After the war, I'll definitely train them into an elite army. It's just that they'll have to bleed a little more in the process.
To be at a disadvantage or to gain an advantage, this question would depend on the benevolent and the wise.
Looking at the Osman Empire's preparations, Franz wanted to feign a truce. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to attack after three to five years.
By then, the strategic resources that the Osman Empire had spent a lot of money to buy would be almost useless, and the government's wallet would also be emptied.
Or if they cried wolf a few times, they might be able to achieve the effect of subduing the enemy without a fight.
Thinking about it, the real target this time was not the Osman Empire. Franz couldn't change the established strategy for a secondary target.
After April Fool's Day, the time for the ultimatum had long passed. At this point, there was no time for Franz to delay.
"Order the navy to attack and bombard the coastal cities of the Osman Empire. Remember to be polite before using force. We are civilized people. Before the bombardment, first send airships to spread leaflets. "
In this era, there was no accuracy in bombarding the port cities. How much one could achieve depended on one's luck. The damage caused was far less serious than the consequences of panic.
Franz, who had always cherished his reputation, naturally had to be polite before using force. If the people at the port all ran away, wouldn't it save the effort of eviction?
The goal of bombarding the port cities was not just to create chaos. It was more for reconnaissance and to choose a landing site.
The Osman Empire had many ports along the coast. It was impossible to set up a comprehensive defense. There would always be weak points.
There were no radio stations in this era. After the outbreak of war, it was extremely difficult to gather information. Even if they obtained the information, they would have to take a detour to Persia to send it back. There was no time.
It could even be a trap. This would test the judgment of the commander.
…
Constantinople, Allied Forces Command
"5 April 1874, 10am, my Mediterranean Fleet launched an artillery attack on Port Phoenix, Port Alania, and Port Anamur.
Initial assessment is that Port Phoenix's defensive firepower level is C, while Port Alania and Port Anamur's defensive firepower level is D.
6 April 1874, 3pm, the Black Sea Fleet launched an artillery attack on Ava and Karsuk. Initial assessment is that the enemy's defensive firepower level is B.
6 April 1874 … "
The defensive firepower level was artificially created by the Austrian Navy to differentiate the firepower of the enemy's shore cannons. From high to low, it was divided into seven levels: SABCDEF.
Looking at the military map on the table, Arest was at a loss. He didn't know where to start. As a navy general, land battles weren't his specialty. Choosing a landing site was too difficult for him.
He quickly decided to give up and leave the choice to the Russians. If they chose the wrong place and suffered heavy losses, it would be the Russians' problem.
"General Ivanov, where do you think we should land?"
Without hesitating for too long, Ivanov gave his answer, "Ava. This place is the closest to the Bosporus Strait. If we take this place, we will be able to completely control the Black Sea Strait in two months.
Once we do that, we will have won more than half of the war. If the enemy wants to defend the strait, we can also march in and attack the Osman's capital, Ankara. "
Ever since the Near East War broke out, Russia's foreign trade had been inseparable from Austria.
Even if the Government of Vienna didn't collect any tolls, they would still have to pay the freight. The railway company didn't care if the two countries were allies or not. They couldn't charge less than a single cent.
Importing was fine. At worst, they could just buy Austrian products. It wouldn't affect them much. However, exporting was a huge loss.
Alexander II Of Russia was about to go bald as he watched international food prices skyrocket while domestic food was piling up like a mountain.
Austria was the only buyer left. If the capitalists didn't take the opportunity to lower the price, would they still be capitalists? No matter how much food prices rose in the international market, the Austrian capitalists' purchase price didn't change.
If they didn't open up the Black Sea Strait as soon as possible and dragged it until the end of the year, what would they use to trade with the British?
The food-for-loan activity couldn't be stopped. Otherwise, the Russian Empire's railway construction would stop.
After thinking through these problems, Arest deliberately reminded, "The importance of the Black Sea Strait is undeniable. The Osman also knows this. They have deployed a large number of troops in this area.
Why don't we choose an area where the enemy's forces are weak and mobilize them before launching an all-out battle? "
This was an established strategy. Arest didn't want to be toyed with by the Russians. Heavy losses would be unavoidable if they landed on Ava and clashed head-on.
The Russians weren't afraid of heavy casualties, but Arest was more concerned about the money. One had to know that all the supplies were borne by Austria. Ten thousand taels of gold was no joke.
After hesitating for a moment, Ivanov nodded. He still had to give face to the investor. If Austria didn't cooperate, they wouldn't be able to swim over.
It was impossible for the 150,000 Russian Army to land in one go. Splitting up to attack multiple areas didn't affect his battle plan at all.
Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Arest was elated. "Alright, I'll let the airship bombardment team cooperate. Let's see if we can take the opportunity to destroy the enemy's shore artillery."
There was no other way. Limited by technical problems, they couldn't play with airplanes. Franz could only use airships to make up the numbers. The bombardment team was the inferior version of the air force.
This unit was a little awkward in Austria. Since its establishment, they didn't have any notable achievements. They didn't even have the chance to perform on the battlefield. On the contrary, the airship transport team performed well.
If it wasn't for the outbreak of the Near East War and the need to take care of the enemy's shore artillery before landing, Arest probably wouldn't have thought that Austria had such a unit.
In recent years, Austria had generally been peaceful. Other than the occasional skirmishes in the colonies, there was only the Anglo-Burmese War.
The enemies in the colonies didn't even need the airship troops to make a move. The "Anglo-Burmese War" was fought in disguise. Bringing airships out would be too conspicuous. Once the cover was lifted, it wouldn't be easy to continue the show.
After waiting for so many years, the airship bombardment team finally had the chance to perform. The first thing Franz did was to transfer this unit to the Balkans to test it out.
Even though the original space-time airships had been eliminated by airplanes not long after their appearance on the battlefield. But the Germans had used airships to bomb England, which proved that airships still had some military value. It shouldn't be a problem to use them to bully the Osman Empire, right?
At the same time, they could also attract the attention of other countries and increase their military expenditure.
If every country created an airship air force and eliminated them overnight when airplanes appeared, everyone's expressions would probably be very interesting.
…
Ava was just an ordinary port city in the Osman Empire. If there was anything different, it was probably because it was close to the Bosporus Strait!
The spring wind blew across the land, blowing the land green and blowing the willows apart, but it couldn't blow away the smoke of war.
Ever since the Austrian navy shelled the small city, the peace of this small city had been broken. The rich people had long fled, and the market had become depressed.
The sultan's "holy war" order had been passed down, and everyone was mobilized. If there weren't enough weapons, they would develop their own. The blacksmith shop business in the city suddenly boomed.
As a senior blacksmith, Akyol's mood was very heavy, and he didn't even put much effort into forging iron. He had been hammering and hammering thousands of times, but he was just doing it casually, as if he wasn't worried about losing customers.
Now, he really wasn't worried about losing customers. For this "holy war," he had been recruited for free, and there were heavy tasks every day.
Akyol shouted at the apprentice, "Son of Emperor Smanlaga, hurry up. If you can't complete the task, be careful of the whip!"
(Note: Before the "Surname Law" was enacted in 1934, the Osman civilians didn't have surnames. "Son of Emperor Smanlaga" was one of the commonly used names.)
"Son of Emperor Smanlaga" was a young boy, about 13 or 14 years old. After hearing Akyol's words, he immediately sped up the speed of his hands, and complained,
"Master Akyol, what do you think the use of these weapons are? Don't we all use guns in war? With these things, we probably can't even get close to the enemy. "
Ava was a port city, and there were many people coming and going. Under the influence of what they heard, everyone knew that the era of cold weapons was over.
Akyol glared at him, "What nonsense are you talking about? This is decided by the men, do you need to worry about it?"
Akyol also wanted to know the answer to this question. Unfortunately, his limited knowledge limited his thinking ability, and he couldn't think of the use of cold weapons.
In order to forge these weapons, the officials collected a lot of iron tools, and because there wasn't enough, they also smelted a lot of farming tools, and even iron pots.
Every time he saw the farming tools that he had painstakingly forged in the past turn into molten iron, Akyol's heart bled.
However, Akyol, who had long been worn down by life, wouldn't ask why. If the officials told him to do so, then so be it.
If he asked too much, wouldn't he be wronged if he got whipped? The Osman Empire wasn't a legal country, and if he got whipped by the officials, it would be for nothing.
The young boy was still a little unconvinced, but he didn't dare to contradict his master, and seemed to be afraid of the whip of the officials, so he just buried his head in the work.
After a while, he complained, "Hmph! It's all the fault of those heathens. If they didn't invade, we wouldn't be so tired. When they come, I'll definitely teach them a lesson! "
Akyol didn't care about the boy's complaints, he didn't want the enemy to land in Ava. Even if he didn't know a lot of words, he knew that the enemy wasn't easy to deal with.
After losing the last war, the Osman Empire lost its capital, and a large number of nobles fled back. Akyol saw it with his own eyes.
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