NOVPUBTime swiftly passed, and before he knew it, March had slipped away. Had it been at another time, Franz could have taken it as a joke that a declaration of war had been made a month before with no combat ensuing.
There was no helping it, as war serves politics. Such absurd matters truly happened in reality.
In order to buy the Ottoman Empire time, the European countries evacuated their nationals at a snail’s pace, under the guise of dealing with their properties. In truth, it was to buy time for the Ottomans to transport materials.
Once war was ignited, one could no longer count on free trade. The Vienna Government had issued an early notice, stating that any vessel entering the combat zone would do so at its own risk.
This was a tacit agreement everyone reached. If the Ottoman Empire fell, the debts owed to England and France and others would go to waste, so how could they not soothe the wounded spirits of these nations?
The Ottoman Empire, after all, was a longstanding empire. Even in decline, they still had a foundation. Having once dominated over Eurasia, they had plundered plenty of treasures, so their ability to pay was still strong.
In the face of life-and-death, the Sultan Government strained every nerve to raise funds for purchasing materials. The treasures of the Imperial Palace had been emptied out, and the nobility symbolically contributed a portion of their wealth to support the war.
Besides this reason, training Russian troops was also a factor. Sea-crossing combat was no joke. If they only navigated the Aegean Sea, the robust Russians might withstand it.
But if they launched an attack on more distant regions without training for sea navigation, a great number would fall on the way, and those who managed to land would be weak as shrimp. How could they fight a battle then?
The Tsarist Government, a flock of land ducks unversed in maritime expedition, might not consider this a serious matter.
Austria, with its rich experience, knew better. Without proper training, those prone to seasickness would be weeded out. Otherwise, they might as well brace themselves for weeping later on!
Faced with an unreliable ally, Franz still decided to endure. Regardless, the Russians were fighting for Austria.
The more fiercely Asia Minor Peninsula was battled over, the smoother the war in the Middle East Region would proceed. If even half of these 150,000 Russian troops survived, it would be a blessing from God.
If the commanders of the Russian Army were inadequate, they might even need to be replaced. Even the best strategy required execution.
Theoretically, with naval superiority, one could avoid the strong points and attack the enemy’s vulnerabilities. But this involved intelligence, the commander’s judgment, and the speed of troop movements, among other factors.
The Ottomans were a religious empire, and the Sultan Government had already called for a holy war. Regardless of their combat strength, at least there were many willing to fight to the death.
The initial resistance would certainly be extremely intense. Only when the painful casualties surpassed their mental threshold, would this situation begin to change.
Did the Tsarist Government not want to train its troops through Austrian assistance? No problem. After the war, they would ensure the Russians would train an elite force. It would just require shedding more blood along the way.
Whether this was a disadvantage or advantage was a matter of perspective.
Seeing the Ottoman Empire’s preparations, Franz even considered feinting a ceasefire; perhaps it would be more appropriate to attack again after three to five years.
By then, the strategic materials bought by the Ottomans at great cost would have nearly perished, and the government’s wallet would have been emptied.
Perhaps crying wolf a few more times could even achieve the effect of subduing the enemy without fighting.
It was enough to think about it. The actual target this time was not the Ottoman Empire. Franz could not change the established strategy for a secondary target.
After April Fool’s Day, the ultimatum date had already passed. By this stage, Franz could no longer afford to delay.
"Order the navy to attack, bombarding the Ottoman Empire’s coastal cities. Remember, courtesy precedes force. We are civilized people; before the bombardment, send airships to drop leaflets."
In this era, bombarding port cities lacked precision, and the extent of military achievement relied solely on luck. The resulting damage was far less severe than the consequences of panic.
Franz, always careful to protect his reputation, naturally chose courtesy before force. Should the civilians at the port flee, wouldn’t it save the effort of driving them out?
The goal of bombarding port cities was not just to create chaos but more so for reconnaissance by fire to select landing sites.
With many ports along the coastline of the Ottoman Empire, it was impossible to have a comprehensive defense; there were always vulnerabilities.
In an age without radio, gathering intelligence after the outbreak of war was very difficult. Even if intelligence was obtained, sending it back via detour through Persia did not allow for timely transmission.
It could even possibly be a trap, which required careful judgment by the commanders.
...
Constantinople, Allied Forces Headquarters
"At 10 a.m. on April 5, 1874, our Mediterranean fleet launched a bombardment on Port Finicai, Alanya Port, and Anamur Port.
Preliminary assessment classifies Finike Port’s firepower defense level as C, and Alanya Port and Anamur Port’s firepower defense levels as D.
At 3 p.m. on April 6, 1874, the Black Sea Fleet bombarded Ava and Karasu, initially estimating the enemy’s firepower defense level as B.
April 6, 1874..."
Firepower defense levels, created by the Austrian Navy to categorize the strengths of enemy shore batteries, were divided into seven levels from highest to lowest: S, A, B, C, D, E, F.
Looking at the military map on the table, Ares struggled with indecision, not knowing where to start. As a naval commander, land warfare was not his expertise, and choosing a landing point was too difficult for him.
Soon he decided to give up and leave the choice to the Russians. If they chose poorly and suffered heavy losses, that would be their own affair.
"General Ivanov, where do you think we should land?"
Without hesitating too long, Ivanov replied, "Let’s go with Ava. It’s the closest to the Bosphorus Strait. If we take this place, within two months at most, we could completely control the Black Sea Strait.
Accomplishing this, we would have won much of the war. If the enemy insists on defending the strait, we can also make a swift advance to attack the Ottoman’s Capital Ankara."
One did not need to think hard to understand why. Since the outbreak of the Near East war, Russia’s foreign trade had become inseparable from Austria.
Even if the Vienna Government does not impose transit tariffs, transportation costs are unavoidable. The railway companies do not care whether the two countries are allies or not; the money they charge cannot be reduced by even a cent.
Importing might still be tolerable, at worst buying Austrian products isn’t so bad since the impact is minimal, but exporting is where the loss becomes substantial.
Watching the international grain prices being driven up, with domestic grain piling up like mountains, Alexander II was almost worried bald.
There remained only Austria as a buyer, and if capitalists didn’t take this opportunity to press down prices, would they still be capitalists? Regardless of how international market grain prices soared, the purchase price by Austrian capitalists remained unchanged.
Moreover, if they did not quickly secure passage through the Black Sea Strait and it dragged on until the end of the year, what would they have to trade with the British?
The grain-for-loan activities were vital and could not be halted; otherwise, the railway construction in the Russian Empire would come to a standstill.
Having thought through these issues, Arest deliberately reminded, "The importance of the Black Sea Strait is undeniable, and the Ottomans are well aware of this. They have deployed heavy forces in this region.
Why not choose to land in areas where the enemy’s forces are weak, draw them out, and then launch a full-scale war?"
This was an established strategy, and Arest had no desire to be played by the Russians. A direct landing at Ava to confront the enemy head-on would inevitably lead to severe losses.
Russians might not fear high casualties among their grey-coated soldiers, but Arest was concerned about the money. After all, Austria was bearing the costs of all the supplies, and the saying "a cannon shot costs a heap of gold" was no joke.
After hesitating for a moment, Ivanov nodded. The face of the financier had to be acknowledged, for without Austria’s cooperation, they could not make the crossing.
One hundred and fifty thousand Russian soldiers could not possibly land all at once; attacking multiple areas in divisions did not affect his battle plan at all.
Seeing his objective achieved, Arest was very pleased, "Good, I’ll coordinate with the Airship Bombing Squadron to see if we can take the opportunity to destroy the enemy’s shore batteries."
With no other choice, due to technical limitations and the inability to utilize airplanes, Franz had to make do with airships; the bombing squadron was a low-end version of the air force.
Since its establishment, this unit in Austria had been somewhat awkward, lacking any notable battle achievements. They hadn’t even had the chance to prove themselves in combat; in contrast, the airship transport squadron had performed well.
If not for the outbreak of the Near East War and the need to eliminate the enemy’s shore batteries before landing, Arest would probably not have remembered that Austria even had this unit.
In recent years, Austria was generally in peace, apart from occasionally clashing in its colonies, there was just the Anglo-Ebura War.
The enemies in the colonies did not necessitate the deployment of airship troops. The "Anglo-Ebura War" was a covert operation; deploying airships was too conspicuous. Once the cover was blown, the play could not go on.
Having waited for many years, the Airship Bombing Squadron finally had the chance to perform. Franz immediately dispatched this army to the Balkan Peninsula, ready for a real combat test.
Although in the original timeline, airships had been phased out by airplanes shortly after appearing on the battlefield, Germans had still used airships to bomb the United Kingdom, proving that airships did have some military value. Bullying the Ottoman Empire with them shouldn’t be a problem, right?
In passing, it could draw some attention, diverting the focus of various countries and increasing their military expenditures.
If every nation were to develop an airship force, only for them to be rendered obsolete overnight when airplanes appeared, the expressions on their faces would certainly be priceless.
...
Ava was just an ordinary port city of the Ottoman Empire, and if there were anything different about it, it was probably its proximity to the Bosphorus Strait!
The spring breeze brushed across the land, turning it green and opening the willows, but it failed to blow away the smoke of war.
Ever since the city had been shelled by the Austrian Navy, its tranquility had been shattered. The wealthy had fled early on, and the market had become desolate.
The Sultan’s decree for "Holy War" had been issued, and everyone had been mobilized. Without enough weapons, they developed their own, and the local blacksmith shops suddenly saw a boom in business.
As an experienced blacksmith, Akeul felt very heavy-hearted, even his hammering seemed half-hearted. Rigor had given way to mere perfunctoriness as if unconcerned about losing customers.
Now he indeed had no concerns about losing customers, for he had been requisitioned without compensation for the "Holy War," burdened with strenuous tasks every day.
Akeul yelled at his apprentice, "Hurry up, son of Huangsman Raja; if you don’t finish the task, beware of the whip!"
(Note: Before the "Surname Law" was enacted in 1934, Ottoman commoners did not have surnames; "son of Huangsman Raja" was a common name).
"Son of Huangsman Raja" was a young lad, around thirteen or fourteen years old. Hearing Akeul’s words, he immediately quickened his pace, all the while grumbling:
"Master Akeul, what’s the use of us making these weapons? Isn’t war all about guns now? With these trinkets, we probably won’t even get close to the enemy."
Ava was a port city, and there was no shortage of people coming and going from north to south; they had seen and heard enough to know that the era of cold weapons had ended.
Akeul glanced at him and said, "What’s with all this nonsense? This is decided by the masters above, do you need to worry about it?"
This was a question Akeul wanted to know as well. Sadly, his limited knowledge restricted his ability to think why these cold weapons could be of any use.
To forge these weapons, the officials aggressively confiscated all iron items, and due to the shortage, they had melted down a lot of farming tools, even iron pots.
Every time he saw the farming tools that were painstakingly made in the past melt back into iron, Akeul’s heart bled.
However, Akeul, long since dulled by life’s toils, did not question why. When the officials said to do something, he simply did it.
Ask too much, and a lashing would follow—what a wronged ordeal that would be. The Ottoman Empire was not a state of law; if he got beaten by the officials, he’d suffer in vain.
The boy was still somewhat defiant, but dared not to talk back to his master, and seemed to fear the officials’ whip just as much, so he simply kept his head down and worked hard.
After a while, he complained again: "Hmph! It’s all the fault of those infidels. If they hadn’t invaded, we wouldn’t be working so hard. When they come, I’ll definitely show them a thing or two!"
Akeul paid no mind to the boy’s grumbles; he certainly did not want the enemy to land in Ava. Even though he was virtually illiterate, he knew well that the enemy was not to be taken lightly.
After the last war ended in defeat, the Ottoman Empire lost its capital, and he had witnessed a plethora of nobles flee back in a sorry state.
