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The sudden bombardment came quickly and left just as fast, ending after a little over an hour, leaving nothing but chaos in its wake.
Once safety was confirmed, Brigadier Erzucher emerged from the command headquarters, saw the billowing smoke rising from all over the city, and urgently ordered, "Quick, organize personnel to extinguish the fires, the food and ammunition depots must be protected."
The young officer accompanying him responded, "Yes, General!"
Having said that, he immediately ran to convey the orders. During the recent bombing, the exposed telegraph and telephone lines had unfortunately been damaged and had not yet been restored.
By this point, Brigadier Erzucher had abandoned any illusion of keeping the enemy at bay outside the nation’s borders.
Stopping the enemy’s landing with artillery was one thing, but what about the enemy in the sky? Without addressing the threat overhead, they could only passively take the hits.
Even the most tightly secured positions would collapse if they got hit from above. The casualty figures were still being tallied, but Brigadier Erzucher no longer had the courage to face them.
With his beloved binoculars in hand, he took a cursory look at the battlefield and knew the loss was undoubtedly catastrophic.
In just over an hour, the airship bombing squadron had dumped hundreds of tons of bombs on their heads; if you included the navy’s shells, that number would be even higher.
For the small port of Ava, this amount of ammunition was enough to cause a massive explosion. Not to mention the heavy damage to the port facilities, the key was the destruction of the defensive works.
As the seconds and minutes passed, the casualty report eventually appeared in Brigadier Erzucher’s hands, a thin sheet of paper that now seemed as heavy as a thousand pounds.
Forcing down the unease in his heart, Brigadier Erzucher quickly skimmed through the losses.
Over half of the artillery was destroyed, 686 killed, 1468 wounded, 315 missing, and most of the battery positions had suffered catastrophic impacts; a fifth of the supplies was lost, and a third of the buildings in the city were damaged to varying degrees, with several civilian casualties...
An entire battalion’s strength was wiped out. One shouldn’t assume that because there were many wounded, the future was recoverable. In reality, given the medical conditions of the Ottoman Army, the death rate among the wounded usually wasn’t less than forty percent.
To put it simply, it was up to oneself to survive. If you were lucky and the wound didn’t become inflamed or suppurated, then you’d pick up your life again; otherwise, it was fate.
"Combat medics," where could the Sultan Government find so many medical personnel? Even if they had medical staff, they wouldn’t have enough medicine.
In this era, medicine was far more expensive than human life. Take penicillin, which could only be produced in laboratories, for example; the market price was dozens of times more expensive than an equivalent amount of gold.
Limited by chemical technology and unable to achieve large-scale industrial production, it could only rely on manual labor for small-scale production, with an annual output of less than twenty thousand units.
Such a small amount wasn’t even sufficient for Austria’s own use. When it entered the international market, it naturally became exorbitantly expensive. On the black market, it was speculated at 1000 Divine Shield per unit, with demand far exceeding supply. How could the Sultan Government possibly provide it to soldiers?
If one got injured on the battlefield, one might as well pray for ***’s blessing. Most soldiers could only receive simple bandages, and even that depended on luck; they used whatever cloth was immediately available.
If luck was bad and there was no sterilized gauze, a piece torn from a shirt would have to do. A bunch of soldiers didn’t have that much specialized knowledge.
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After reading the report, Brigadier Erzucher let go of the documents in his hands, allowing them to fall, and sat down with a thud, seemingly drained of spirit.
After a long time, Brigadier Erzucher slowly recovered, heaving a deep sigh, "Ah!"
Shaking his head, he issued an order, "Immediately send someone to report our situation to the higher-ups, request reinforcements from home, and caution them to beware of the enemy’s airships."
Airships had been around for many years, but because of their cost-effectiveness, they had little practical value and were rarely seen in everyday life.
If not for his habit of reading newspapers, Brigadier Erzucher might not even have known of their existence, let alone think they could be used in warfare.
However, that was a thing of the past. After this battle, airships would quickly become a part of militaries around the world. Everyone’s capacity to learn was, after all, quite strong.
As for countermeasures, sorry, that exceeded Brigadier Erzucher’s capability range. Probably after being bombed a few more times, some lessons would likely be learned.
...
In contrast to the gloomy atmosphere of the Ava Defenders, the mood at the Allied headquarters in Constantinople was much more enthusiastic, with the Airship Bombing Squadron achieving a great victory shortly after their first sortie.
They had initially thought that destroying Ava’s coastal artillery fortifications would come at a heavy cost, and the Russian Army was prepared to land from nearby areas and fight overland.
While it sounds simple to land from the surrounding areas, it’s actually quite challenging due to geographical limitations, and without suitable ports, ships can hardly dock—Russians were even ready to resort to rafts.
Undoubtedly, such a method was extremely dangerous, requiring lives to be sacrificed. Austria had landing boats, but regrettably, due to a lack of preparation in advance, they weren’t delivered to the Black Sea in time. If they were to land from the Mediterranean coast, there would be no problem.
Whether intentional or not, let’s not discuss that for now. In any case, the landing boats wouldn’t arrive anytime soon. If the Russians could wait, they would have them after a while.
Such boats could be produced in the small shipyards along the Danube River. Without considering the lifespan, substandard ones could be manufactured in two to three months—enough to endure two or three landings.
Now, with the enemy’s shore batteries heavily damaged, a direct assault was possible. Even the diversionary plans previously prepared were hence abandoned.
The Tsarist Government urgently needed to capture the Black Sea Strait to ensure the essential foreign trade route remained open. To deliver a satisfactory report to the home front, General Ivanov decided to prioritize speed.
He resolved to preemptively land at Ava before the Ottoman Empire could react. The original operation plans were not completely discarded but were significantly downplayed in execution.
For such unilateral changes to the plan and disregarding the pre-agreed arrangements between the countries, Allied Commander Arest was extremely displeased.
Although Arest was not from the army, the staff assigned to him by the Vienna Government were all professionals.
They immediately recognized the risks in altering the operation plan. According to the original plan, if landings occurred in areas where Ottoman forces were weak and a scorched earth strategy was implemented—driving the populace inland—the enemy could be worn down.
There was no need for a hard battle—continuous sabotage would suffice to win the war. After the plan alteration, the Russian Army would have to engage the Ottomans in a decisive battle.
The Russian Army was full of confidence, but the Austrian military did not share that strong faith in them. A mere 150,000 Russians were about to face several hundreds of thousands of Ottoman troops. Once they lost the advantage of superior numbers, it was uncertain how strong the resolve of these grey beasts would be.
One must admit that first impressions are very important, and from the beginning, Arest felt that the combat capabilities of the Russian Army were limited. By Austrian standards, the Russian Army’s training in all respects was essentially unqualified.
...
Arest sternly rebuked, "General Ivanov, this battle plan has been jointly approved by the governments of both countries.
Before this, both sides had carefully evaluated and selected the most suitable plan from numerous combat scenarios.
According to this battle plan, we can minimize our losses on both sides, win the war at the least cost, and I believe that is everyone’s common pursuit."
Ivanov shook his head, "No, Commander-in-Chief. This battle plan is too conservative. It requires attacking on all fronts to force the enemy to divide their forces before attacking Ava, which could take at least three to five months.
But this is based on the premise that the defenses of the Ava garrison are strong and cause great trouble for landings. Now the enemy’s coastal artillery has been almost destroyed by us, and we can launch an immediate attack.
The Ottomans have not reacted yet, and we can completely take them by surprise. Even if the enemy assembles more troops, we have the advantage in the air.
Believe me, no army can maintain their combat capabilities under the bombardment of airships; the decaying Ottoman Empire will break with a single poke.
We don’t need to argue over these meaningless issues; the victory belongs to us. General Arest, let us create our own glory together!"
Arest’s brow furrowed, and he spoke with gravity, "General Ivanov, you are too optimistic. Airships are not invincible, and in many special terrains, like the jungle, airships are difficult to use effectively.
If a major battle breaks out, even if we can win, you will suffer heavy losses. The young men who follow us into battle should be brought back home as much as possible."
After a moment of silence, Ivanov still shook his head. He also wanted to follow the established battle plan and reduce casualties as much as possible.
But the problem is that Russia can’t hold out internally. With the Black Sea Strait cut off, the foreign trade of the Russian Empire has been severely damaged. If the passage can’t be opened quickly, the losses will be even greater after the autumn grain is stored.
The war had just broken out, and the Tsarist Government had repeatedly ordered him to speed up. War needs to serve politics, and the military must also consider the national interest.
Austria can afford to drag out the war, the longer it lasts, the more benefits Austria can gain from Russian-Austrian trade. Profits from monopolizing a large portion of the Russian Empire’s trade can almost offset the losses caused by the war, so the Vienna Government naturally is not in a hurry.
"Commander-in-Chief, I still insist on changing the battle plan. This is the wish of St. Petersburg; the economic losses due to the war are too great, and the Russian Empire can’t drag this out any longer."
Arest wanted to say more but stopped short. At this point, unless he strongly intervened, such as the Austrian transport ships and warships not cooperating, he could only persuade St. Petersburg.
After pondering for a while, he spoke, "All right, I will report this to Vienna. If the General Staff agrees, we will cooperate with you."
...
In the Vienna Palace, Franz received the news that the Airship Bombing Squadron had achieved success; before he could even celebrate, he immediately received news of a "strategic dispute" breaking out at the frontline.
He knew that the Russians wanted to clear the Black Sea Strait, but he hadn’t expected the Tsarist Government to lose patience so quickly, not even caring about the loss of soldiers’ lives.
Well, it seemed that the Tsarist Government had never cared about the soldiers’ casualties. This was an issue that should not have been considered from the start. 𝚗ovp𝚞b.𝚌om
Franz slapped his forehead, "What do you think? The Russians are so eager to attack, should we agree or refuse?"
Prime Minister Felix, "Your Majesty, it doesn’t really matter which option we choose, but personally, I still tend to agree with the Russians’ choice.
This war is just a strategic deception, and the victory or defeat isn’t that important. If we proceed as originally planned, we’re guaranteed victory, and it’s uncertain whether the Ottomans can even continue to exist.
If the Russians want to change the strategy, then let them. If the Russian Army suffers heavy losses at the front, we can take the opportunity to end this war."
Well, it was so straightforward militarily that it wasn’t worth considering. The outcome didn’t really matter. This kind of dead-fish strategy, if it were to be known, probably no one would believe.
Perhaps when later generations study this period of history and connect all the dots, they will be able to unveil the true facts. Of course, the probability of getting sidetracked is much higher.
Franz turned his gaze to the military, needing them to give an answer, weighing the pros and cons thoroughly, before making a decision.
Feeling Franz’s gaze on him, Army Minister Albrecht said, "Your Majesty, after changing the battle plan, the chances of the Russians winning in the Asia Minor Peninsula are greatly reduced, and even if they win the war, the losses will be heavy.
However, the outcome of the campaign in the Asia Minor Peninsula does not affect our Middle East strategy.
The current Sultan Government wouldn’t dare risk sending more troops to the Middle East. No one can guarantee that we won’t increase our troop deployment on the Asia Minor Peninsula.
If the Russians are defeated or suffer heavy losses, we can always launch a feint and the Sultan Government wouldn’t dare make any rash moves."
Franz, "Then tell Arest not to worry about what the Russians want to do. Let them fight however they want to; it’s up to them."
As long as it doesn’t affect the Middle East strategy, Franz was not afraid; at worst, he would send troops to deal with the aftermath for Russia. It was just a matter of money, which was nothing compared to Middle East oil.
...
In Istanbul, after receiving Franz’s orders, Arest gave up on continuing to argue and warned with great seriousness, "General Ivanov, if you insist on starting with a landing in the Ava Region, we agree.
But all consequences arising from this will be yours to bear. If the main Ottoman forces are drawn over, causing the following strategy to be unviable, don’t blame me for not warning you."
This wasn’t shirking responsibility, but a fair offloading of it. Since the Russian army had unilaterally changed the previously agreed-upon battle plan, it was only natural that they should bear the responsibility.
Now, by clearing things up, they could save a lot of future hassle. If the Russian army suffers heavy losses, they could only swallow their tears.
Ivanov replied with joy, "Don’t worry, Commander-in-Chief. We and the Ottomans are old rivals; their actual strength is clear to us, and there won’t be any problems."
...
