"Boom, boom, boom …"
Shells fell from the sky, and the city of Ava was in chaos. Cries and screams could be heard all over the city, and the frightened people were running around the streets.
Akyol did not care about the work at hand, and ran to the backyard with the apprentice. Suddenly, they stopped in front of a pile of junk. Akyol started to clean up the mess and said, "Help, let's hide in the cellar."
Knowing the seriousness of the situation, the young man nodded and started to work. This hidden cellar was originally used by the blacksmith shop owner to avoid the tax officials.
How could one not evade taxes when doing business in the Osman Empire? Even though it was just a small blacksmith shop, at its peak, the boss and workers had more than a dozen people.
How much money could they make just by making farming tools, pots, ladles, and basins? Moreover, they had to be scammed by the officials, and only a few fell into the hands of the boss, how could they afford to keep so many people?
The quick-witted blacksmith shop owner naturally would not sit still and wait for death, and decisively opened a new business — forging weapons, and weapons that could not see the light of day.
With the passage of time and the advent of the era of firearms, it became harder and harder to take on private jobs. Thieves, bandits, and pirates, these high-quality customers became fewer and fewer, and the blacksmith shop slowly declined.
When it came to the current boss, he opened a grocery store, but the ancestral blacksmith shop was still kept. Only one master, Akyol, was there, and he usually made some daily necessities to sell, so it was still able to make a living.
After the outbreak of the war, the boss sensed the danger and ran away with his family, leaving only Akyol and an apprentice to look after the shop.
The underground business was gone, and the cellar was also abandoned. Other than occasionally storing some supplies, it was not usually used.
Now it became a hiding place for the two people, and in the narrow space, the two people's breathing could be clearly heard. The young man was a little impatient and asked, "Master …"
Akyol interrupted, "Stop, I know what you want to ask. But now we can't do anything except hide here.
When they hear the sound of artillery, they will definitely hide. Even if you go out now, you can't help. Cannonballs don't have eyes. We can't stop them at all. I believe that God will protect them … "
After being attacked by the warship's cannons, Ava's garrison officer, Ozzgul, immediately ordered, "Organize a counterattack immediately. We can't let the enemy do whatever they want."
The Osman Empire had been preparing for this war for more than half a year. They had purchased many cannons from England and France to use them as an important port for defense. There were more than a hundred cannons scattered around Ava.
Of course, there were only over 30 cannons that could be used. The other cannons were no longer a threat to the ironclad warships.
This was not a small number. There were so many port cities in the Osman, and for Ava to be able to get so many cannons, it was clear that he valued them greatly.
Under normal circumstances, no one would use warships to exchange fire with shore cannons. That would be an extremely foolish choice. The shore cannons were small targets and could be focused steadily on land, so the warships would definitely be at a disadvantage.
Of course, there were exceptions. Weapons and equipment, as well as the quality of the soldiers, were also key factors that affected the hit rate. It was not strange for a warship to lose to a warship, but it was very rare.
"Yes, General!"
As soon as the order was given, several young officers quickly stepped forward, picked up the phone in the command room, and started shouting. These phones, without exception, did not have high-end equipment like a dial. They all relied on manual connection.
If someone carefully looked at the German description on the base of the phone, they would find that these products also had the indication of origin in Austria.
These were all minor problems. Nowadays, technology was limited, and it was impossible to remotely monitor them. No matter who produced these phones, there was no way to leave a back door.
On the battlefield, practicality was the most important thing. Most of the phone equipment in the international market was exported by Austria. The Government of Sudan had no right to be picky.
Don't think that these equipment were simple. In fact, in production, "the slightest mistake would result in a huge difference." With the industrial technology of the Osman Empire, the communication equipment produced by them could not be used at all.
As orders were issued, the long-awaited shore cannons began to show their might. The deafening sound of cannons rang out continuously.
On a warship about two or three nautical miles away, a burly middle-aged officer was standing on a plywood, looking into the distance with a telescope. (1 nautical mile = 1.852 kilometers)
The guard conscientiously reminded him, "General, it's dangerous here. You should go to the observation room!"
The middle-aged man laughed. "If the enemy can be hit at this distance, then God wants to summon me in advance."
Hit? Most cannons could not shoot that far. A few cannons with this range could not be aimed at this distance.
The Austrian Navy's attack on Ava was completely random. There was no need to aim at all. They just needed to adjust to the maximum range and let the cannonball fly as far as possible.
If they wanted to achieve results, they had to close the distance again. At present, the warship closest to Ava was also maintaining a distance of two nautical miles.
This distance was just enough to ensure that the cannons could hit the city and ensure the safety of the warship.
Looking at the watch in his hand, the middle-aged officer muttered to himself, "They should be here soon. If they don't come, I will do it myself."
This was not the first time the port city was shelled. Since the beginning of the shelling of the Osman port on April 5th, the Austrian Navy would conduct live-fire training in several port cities every day.
That's right, live-fire training. The navy treated this as a training. They used the Osman people as targets to train the accuracy of the gunners.
Not long after, colorful clouds floated in the sky. The middle-aged officer frowned. "Order the fleet to close the distance by one nautical mile. Pay attention to the direction of the wind."
In order to create an opportunity for the air force, they had to act as bait this time. If they did not create enough pressure, how could they force the enemy's shore cannons to fire?
Sure enough, as the Austrian Navy approached, the sound of the cannons became more intense. In order to achieve a beautiful result, Ozgul no longer cared about hiding his strength. All the defenders opened fire.
Behind the two inconspicuous shore cannons, the young officer, Lieutenant Colonel Saltus, shouted excitedly, "Aim and shoot. Hit the warship. Can you hit those little things?"
Lieutenant Colonel Saltus was not an ordinary noble officer waiting to die. As a rising star in the Osman Army, he was a student at the Saint-Cyr Military Academy in France.
If it wasn't for the sudden outbreak of the war, he would have to continue studying in France for another two years to complete his studies. There was no other way. At the critical moment of life and death, the Government of Sudan decided to go all out. Whether he graduated or not, he was called back to participate in the war in advance.
No matter what, he had studied outside for a few years and was exposed to the most advanced military concepts in the world. His theoretical knowledge was much better than that of the nobles in the country.
Under normal circumstances, a talented student like Saltus should be trained at the headquarters. At the very least, he should be sent to the headquarters. Unfortunately, as soon as he was assigned to Ava, Saltus offended someone.
As soon as he arrived, he criticized Ava's deployment of shore cannons as being useless and proposed a modification plan.
In the face of war, old villains were only a minority. Relying on his rich theoretical knowledge, Saltus successfully convinced everyone and was promoted to lieutenant colonel.
Saltus, who offended someone, was quickly sent to the frontline for training. In fact, he was guarding the shore cannons. If it wasn't for the war, the rest of his life would probably be over.
A soldier exclaimed, "Lieutenant colonel, which big bird in the sky is coming again?"
Dissatisfied with the soldier's yelling, Lieutenant Colonel Saltus corrected, "That's an airship, not a big bird."
The soldier hurriedly corrected, "Yes, an airship. Hey, something's falling down. Is it another waste paper? "
For illiterate soldiers, the leaflets thrown by Austria were no different from waste paper. Using the leaflets to cause panic and lure the local people to run was not successful.
The knowledgeable Saltus had already reacted. Why did they need so many airships to throw leaflets? One was enough. There was no need to send more than 20 airships at once.
"Not good, it's a bomb. Quickly find a place to hide!"
With that, Saltus ran away. He couldn't be blamed for panicking. No one had experienced this wave before. To be able to immediately determine that it was a bomb meant that his knowledge level was high.
How to avoid the bombing was not written in the book. Knowing where to run was enough to prove that his reaction was flexible. If the enemy wanted to bomb, they would definitely come for the artillery. Staying away from the artillery would naturally increase his safety.
However, it was all too late. Before he could run a few steps, bombs fell from the sky. The artillery was the focus of attention.
After the roar of the explosion, there was only a mess left. The escaping Saltus was thrown to the ground by the shockwave. There were two shrapnel in his arm.
Enduring the pain, he raised his head and looked at the few soldiers left in place. They could no longer be seen clearly. There was only a crater left on the ground and a blurry …
Saltus couldn't care less about the artillery. He endured the pain and continued to run. He just wanted to stay away from the artillery.
The bombing from the sky made many people fall into a state of confusion. This was beyond their ability to accept. They didn't know how to deal with it.
The artillery was designed to deal with enemies on the sea. No one thought of defending against enemies in the sky.
Anti-air firepower didn't exist. This was the first large-scale bombing in human history. Who could predict the future?
No matter how chaotic the ground was, the bombs in the sky continued to pour down. As long as a suspicious target was found, the bomb would be directly thrown.
In the command center of Ava, Major General Ozzur was like an ant on a hot pan. He stomped his feet anxiously and didn't know what to do.
…
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