Chapter 127 Raid

On the flagship of the Aegean Fleet, the Congo cruiser, Kontoriotis stood on the side of the ship, holding a telescope and observing the international fleet not far away.

Since the Greek fleet escorted 2,000 soldiers to land on Crete, it has been cruising around Crete to support the army soldiers on the island at any time.

It was not until the powerful international fleet appeared in the Aegean Sea that the Greek fleet's combat readiness patrol was affected.

After all, the only warships in the Greek fleet that can be admired are the two Esmeralda-class cruisers.

The gap between strength and the international fleet is too great.

However, this does not mean that the weaker Greek navy cannot make a difference.

A telegraph operator hurried to Kontoriotis, saluted, and said loudly: "Sir, I just received a secret telegram from the General Staff, the content is: The rise and fall of the country depends on this battle"

Hearing this, Kontoriotis immediately took the telegram from the telegraph operator and personally confirmed the content.

"Messenger, notify other warships to change course"

The messenger on the mast of the Congo waved the flag and conveyed the commander's order to other warships.

At noon on November 26, the entire Aegean Fleet turned around, including two cruisers and three destroyers, and headed straight north.

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Marine Camp on Aegina Island

2,000 Marines lined up and boarded four Greek Navy ships.

The captains of the four ships received the order and set off immediately to meet the Aegean Fleet in the Kafirev Strait.

At 6:10 pm, the two fleets gathered together and headed north along the coastline of the Greek peninsula.

After the current Sultan Hamid II of the Ottoman Empire came to power, he did not trust the naval commanders. Officers who could work in the navy and serve as senior naval commanders generally had experience studying in the West, had high academic qualifications, broad vision, and naturally hated the ****-style autocratic rule of the Ottoman Empire.

The two sultans before Hamid II stepped down because of the navy's warships demonstrating in front of the Dolmabahçe Palace.

It was precisely because of the "disgraceful" record of the Ottoman Navy that Hamid II allowed the navy's warships to rot in the Golden Horn after he came to power.

As a result, although the Aegean Fleet of the Greek Navy was not worth mentioning in front of the European powers, the Ottoman Navy did not dare to sail out of the Dardanelles in this war.

Due to the lack of maintenance for many years, the warships of the Ottoman Navy frequently broke down, and the navy crew had long gone to make a living because they could not receive wages for a long time.

In this case, as long as the Greek navy did not provoke the warships of the powers, it could definitely show off its power in the Aegean Sea.

At noon on December 27, the Aegean Fleet blocked the Thermaic Gulf, and the warships flying the Greek blue and white cross flag kept cruising at the entrance of the Thermaic Gulf.

The Thermaic Gulf is a bay sandwiched between the Greek peninsula and the Halkidiki Peninsula. The city of Thessaloniki is located in the north of the Thermaic Gulf.

After nightfall, three destroyers in the fleet continued to patrol the entrance, while the other two cruisers, together with four ships carrying 2,000 marines, formed a new mixed fleet and quietly entered the Thermaic Gulf under the cover of darkness.

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Warehouse area at the dock of Thessaloniki City

On the night of December 27

Thirty or forty young special forces members wiped their rifles and counted bullets.

In addition to grenades, they also had two 60mm mortars.

Mortars are the only heavy weapons of the special forces.

These weapons have been stored in a secret place in the warehouse for a long time just to complete this mission.

Volgaris walked into the crowd and arranged a specific plan for this operation for everyone.

"Everyone is divided into two groups, one led by me, and the task is to blow up the ammunition warehouse in the west of the city." Volgaris looked at everyone and said expressionlessly.

"Group 2 is led by Kuros, who is familiar with the terrain of the port of Thessaloniki and knows where to guide the Marines to land."

As a mapmaker, Kuros knows where to land better than anyone else.

Volgaris and his group of fifteen people, carrying two mortars, disappeared into the night.

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Booking a landing area

According to the requirements of the Intelligence Department, the landing site selected by Kuros for the Marines is an open beach, which is very suitable for assault boats to land on the beach.

Several people hid behind a rock near the beach.

"Captain Kuros, we have scouted and there are no patrols on this beach," said a curly-haired team member.

Kuros heard this and looked at his luminous watch. The time showed 5 o'clock.

It was the time when people were most sleepy.

"Let's act"

The team members acted quickly, carrying iron barrels of gasoline, went to the beach, scattered and piled the flammable materials, wood and quilts prepared in advance into several places, poured gasoline on them, and ignited the signal.

The burning gasoline was particularly conspicuous in the night.

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On the mast of the Congo, the lookout kept searching back and forth for the fire signal requested by the commander in the night.

Suddenly, the fire signal finally appeared in the night, and the entire fleet deck was brightly lit and busy.

The marines worked together to lower the assault boat to the sea and boarded the assault boat through the rope ladder that looked like a fishing net hanging on the side of the ship.

After 50 assault boats were launched, each one carried 10 Marines. Under the order of the Marine commander, Kontoriotis, they started their gasoline engines and charged towards the fire signal on the shore.

After half an hour of work, a total of 2,000 fully armed soldiers successfully landed on the coast.

At six o'clock, a deafening sound woke everyone in Salonika from their sleep.

The strong shock wave shattered the glass of all buildings in the city.

A huge mushroom-shaped red fire lit up the entire Salonika.

Ottoman stayed behind to guard the garrison camp, but the commander of the regiment, Lesailin Hassan, was awakened by the huge movement. In a panic, he grabbed his clothes, put them on his body, and quickly came to lead the soldiers to the camp.

"What happened?" Hassan grabbed a soldier passing by and asked.

When the soldier saw Hassan, he looked horrified and said: "Commander Hassan, there seems to be an explosion in the arms warehouse."

Hassan's face turned pale and he was stunned on the spot. In the armaments warehouse, one month's supplies of the frontline Macedonian legions were stored, including ammunition, food, cotton clothes, quilts, medicine and other supplies.

Now that's all gone.

Ruined!

Hassan's mind was filled with this thought.

He will definitely be shot by the furious Edmund Pasha.

At this moment, a burst of gunfire was heard. After detaching part of its troops to control the dock area, the Marines began to enter the city of Salonika.

After three hours of fighting, nearly 800 Ottoman Turkish soldiers were captured and Salonika was completely controlled.

After receiving the news, Kontoriotis on board the Congo reported the news to the General Staff of Athens and the frontline command of the Thessalian Army.