Chapter 232 Operation Anatolia

"Fire!"

Boom, boom, boom, dozens of cannons fired at the walls of Nicaea. The fragments from the explosion caused serious damage to the defenders. Despite this, the commander of Nicaea still refused to surrender, and even sent a death squad to attack the Wallachia camp late at night.

Constantine decided to launch a trick immediately. During the siege the next morning, he ordered the soldiers to detonate the gunpowder under Nicaea. Then the whole earth shook violently like a dragon turning over, and the dull rumble seemed to come from the horizon, getting closer and louder...

Standing in the distance, I saw that the solid city wall was like a building block built by a child, and the foundation was pulled out in an instant. Several large blocks of the city wall collapsed suddenly without warning, and huge bricks fell one by one. At the same time, the overwhelming smoke and dust rose, directly covering the entire city gate...

After a while, when the smoke gradually receded, the gate of Nicaea was already shaky, and the section of the wall that was blown up almost collapsed. Not only were all the troops defending that section of the wall killed, but even the nearby militias suffered heavy casualties under such a violent explosion.

"The city is broken! The city is broken!"

The Wallachian army, which had been prepared for a long time, immediately poured in from the gap in the collapsed city gate like a tide. Due to the power of the explosion and the great damage, when the Wallachian army rushed into the city, the Ottoman defenders could not organize an effective defense at all, and could only watch the high-spirited enemy troops increase in number.

The first to collapse were the temporary organized people. These people were not regular troops. When they saw that the originally extremely solid city wall was broken by the enemy like paper, the last glimmer of hope in their hearts was completely shattered. In addition, after the explosion, the enemy rushed into the city like a raging storm. How could these ordinary people still have the heart to resist? When the first person turned and ran into the city, the others also hurriedly dropped their weapons and fled into the city desperately, ignoring the obstruction of the generals above.

"Counterattack! Counterattack! Beat the infidels back!" The Ottoman garrison general shouted loudly, and rushed over with hundreds of people, trying to reorganize the defense. But at this time, more and more Wallachian troops entered the city, and they were well-trained. After rushing into the city, they did not blindly chase into the city, but covered each other and rolled forward to the left and right sides and the front. Soon they controlled the city gate and nearby houses.

Although the defenders were brave, they were dying under the power of Wallachian firearms.

In the evening of the same day, the Wallachian army basically cleared the Ottoman garrison in the city and surrounded its remnants tightly. After a night of fierce fighting, when the next day dawned, the remnants of the Ottomans were completely eliminated, and the entire Nicaea fell into the hands of Wallachia.

After occupying Nicaea, the only main Ottoman stronghold was Prusa. The Wallachian army surrounded the city non-stop, and not even a mosquito could fly out. There were still 30,000 Turkic people and some nobles in the city. More importantly, Suleiman's wife and children were still in the city, which was an important bargaining chip.

Suleiman was on his way back, and Musa saw the opportunity and took the opportunity to attack, driving all the way to the border of the sphere of influence. And because of the rapid march, many people fell behind. Despite this, Suleiman still sought to decide the outcome of the battle. As long as he was fast enough, he would definitely win.

War is a booster of military innovation. The large-scale use of firearms and artillery allowed Peter to set up a force that used firearms completely, but if this army was to be fully equipped, the cost would be several times that of an ordinary army. It still has to be postponed for now, but it has been added to the discussion.

The recovery of Nicaea and Nicomedia is undoubtedly another example of increasing prestige. The first sum of money from the bank has also been delivered to Constantinople. Mircea first used part of it to make crowns, scepters, royal orbs and other coronation items. John V's shabby life could not be repeated.

Time soon came to December 24, Christmas in the Western world. The weather in Anatolia was more extreme than ever before. Three consecutive days of heavy snow blocked the entire road. The Wallachian army had to suspend the attack and could only surround the town. Suleiman could only camp in Eskisehsar, 160 kilometers away from Prusa, because of the weather. Due to the sudden drop in temperature, a large part of the cattle and sheep of some unprepared tribes died, and the food in the besieged city was also running out. As for Suleiman's camp, it was even more miserable, and horses had to be killed to satisfy hunger.

The Wallachian side was still able to obtain enough supplies through sea routes and built roads, and the loyal tribes could also use their livestock and spoils on the battlefield to obtain food and living supplies. It can be said that their lives were much better than those of other Turkic tribes.

Suleiman could only fight to the death. He led the cavalry to march quickly and arrived in Prusa within three days. However, due to the temperature, many horses and people were missing, but Suleiman still insisted on his own way and prepared to launch an attack before repairing.

The Wallachian scouts had already discovered their tracks, and Constantine immediately ordered them to form a battle array. Because it was winter and the fields were not easy to hide, they decided to use a large square formation to deal with their cavalry.

Suleiman took the lead and led the Turkish cavalry to quickly attack the Wallachian army. When the defenders in Prusa saw the reinforcements coming, their morale was high and they were ready to attack the enemy from inside and outside.

As soon as the defenders left the city gate, they were attacked by artillery and Greek fire. They frantically looked for shelter. Several people found an immovable shelter made of barrels, planks and straw and hurriedly hid in it. Then a Wallachian archer set the oilcloth wrapped around the arrow on fire and shot at the shelter.

Not long after, a thunderous sound was heard, and the whole earth was shaking. A large pit appeared in the bunker, and it turned out that gunpowder was buried in it. It was obvious that the Ottoman defenders had gone to heaven inexplicably.

When the large square was formed, Suleiman came with his army. Their cavalry surrounded the square outside, but the surrounding pikemen made it impossible for them to start. They could only rely on infantry to advance layer by layer, but the musketeers in the formation would not let them succeed. They vented gunpowder to the enemy, while the pikemen blocked their wave after wave of attacks. From morning to night, both sides were exhausted. Suleiman ordered the attack because of insufficient supplies. Finally, morale collapsed and some people ran away.

One soldier ran away, two soldiers ran away, and three soldiers ran away. The cavalry of the Turkic tribe began to flee the battlefield. Seeing that the other side was showing signs of disintegration, Wallachia began to counterattack. The musketeers and cavalry showed their power and killed the already fragmented Ottoman army, causing it to collapse. Suleiman could no longer stabilize the army. This was no longer a battle, but a one-sided massacre.