Chapter 220 Bait and Sneak Attack

Sergeant Hrum's piercing siren made the crew members, who were immersed in the joy of capturing the enemy freighter, unable to react in time. They were in a panic and were at a loss for the moment.

The crew member, who was confused about the situation, raised his neck and looked doubtfully at Sergeant Hrum at the lookout post on the mast.

Everyone's faces were full of doubts. They had obviously captured the Ottoman ship, right?

Are there other Ottoman ships?

It had been several days since the war started, and the Ottoman navy did not dare to take a step beyond the Dardanelles Strait. The enemy's cowardice and cowardice made the Greek navy look down on the Ottoman navy and became arrogant.

No one thought that the Ottoman navy would dare to rush into the Aegean Sea!

While everyone was hesitating, Sergeant Hrum, who was impatient, looked around and saw that the sea area to the southeast, which was originally filled with black smoke, was now slowly showing the masts of many ships.

Sergeant Hrum, who was originally just suspicious, is now certain that these ships are the Ottoman Navy.

There are big differences between civilian ships and military ships, one of which is speed.

Due to economic considerations, generally speaking, the maximum speed of ordinary civilian ships rarely exceeds 12 knots. In most cases, civilian ships will maintain a constant speed at an economic cruising speed of 6 to 7 knots, which saves fuel. .

The speed of several ships approaching in front of them was obviously more than ten knots. If these warships were not warships, it would be difficult to explain this phenomenon.

Thinking of yesterday's insulting clear telegram sent by Commander Kontoriotis, Commander of the Navy, to the Ottoman Navy, Staff Sergeant Hrum confirmed his judgment even more.

"Captain Chris, a large number of masts appeared in the southeastern waters, and they are rapidly approaching us at a speed of no less than ten knots." There was no time to pay attention to the title. Sergeant Hrum put his hands in front of his mouth in the shape of a trumpet, anxiously shouted to Staff Sergeant Chris on the deck.

Colonel Chris was stunned. For a moment, his mind was spinning, and a glimmer of realization came to his mind - this Ottoman ship was a decoy.

Such an idea just arose in my mind, and then was denied by myself. Among the eight destroyers of the quick response fleet, there is also a double destroyer formation that performs the task of patrolling the Dardanelles Strait.

The Ottoman fleet appeared in front of him with such fanfare, so why didn't the two destroyers send out a radio warning?

The Ottoman fleet rushed out of the Dardanelles Strait, and it was impossible to escape their detection. After all, the Dardanelles Strait was only a few dozen nautical miles wide.

Could it be that the two destroyers that went to patrol the Dardanelles were all sunk by the Ottoman main fleet?

There was no time to think too much. Captain Chris looked at the crew on the deck and ordered loudly: "Everyone return to their posts. We may encounter the Ottoman main fleet."

When the crew members on the ship heard the captain's order, they also reacted, understood their situation, and walked towards the hatch one after another.

There was a bustling scene on the deck.

After saying that, Chris turned to the communications soldier behind him and said: "Send an alert to the destroyer Ramdo and let them prepare for battle."

The communications soldier recorded the order on the file and turned around to head to the communications room when he heard Captain Chris' request: "Also, immediately send a telegram to the flagship. We have encountered the main fleet of the Ottoman Navy and are requesting assistance."

After saying that, Chris hurriedly walked towards the bridge.

That's where the fleet commander should be at this time.

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On the sea southeast of the Xianlin two-ship formation, on the bridge of the flagship of the Ottoman Navy fleet, Ottoman Vice Admiral Ramiz Bey nervously held a single-channel telescope in his hand and looked at the increasingly dense black smoke in his field of vision. The mood became more and more agitated.

Closer, closer, getting closer.

These arrogant Greeks would soon be taught a lesson.

After receiving the clear telegram from the Greeks yesterday, Razman Bey, who was already under tremendous pressure, almost burst out of anger.

A clear telegram is a telegram that anyone can receive. After such a telegram is sent, if the Ottoman Navy continues to refuse to fight, not to mention what the international community will think, even people from all walks of life in the Ottoman Empire will not be able to stand it.

For the waning Ottoman Empire, fiscal revenue has not improved for a long time, and the navy has always been known for its high cost. Building a navy with sufficient combat effectiveness has been a difficult task for the Ottoman government.

The Ottoman navy, which invested huge amounts of money, achieved very few achievements.

During the war with Greece in 1897, due to the disrepair of the Ottoman Navy warships, no new warships were added to the navy for a long time. The Ottoman Navy at that time existed in name only.

After this war, due to the weak navy, the Greeks took advantage of the loophole. The Ottoman Empire learned from the painful experience and borrowed money from the close Germans to purchase two pre-dreadnoughts to maintain its position in the Aegean Sea.

As a result, in 1912, when a war broke out between the Ottoman Empire and Italy over Libya, the Ottoman Navy also did not participate in the war due to the large gap in strength between the Ottoman Navy and the Italian Navy.

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Objectively speaking, in these two wars, the Ottoman navy did not have the ability to affect the battle situation. It was too weak.

However, logically speaking, the navy that spent a huge amount of money to build would not be able to rely on it when the war came, and it was unacceptable for the Ottoman people to have no way out.

In fact, before the clear-code telegram, Raziz Bey, the supreme commander of the Ottoman Navy, still planned to let the Ottoman Navy hold the Dardanelles instead of entering the Aegean Sea to fight a decisive battle with the Greek Navy.

The reason is obvious. The strength of the Ottoman Navy on paper is not a match for the Greek Navy.

At present, the core warships of the Ottoman Navy are the two Brandenburg-class pre-dreadnought battleships purchased from Germany, and the other warships are already old.

The main force of the Greek Navy is two Invincible-class battlecruisers purchased from Britain.

After all, the two are a whole generation apart. How can a pre-dreadnought like the Brandenburg class be a match for a quasi-dreadnought like the Invincible class?

Among various data indicators, except for armor, the Brandenburg class is far behind the Invincible class in terms of mobility and firepower.

Fighting at sea is different from fighting on land.

In land combat, if the strength is weak, there may be a chance of winning.

In land combat, the weaker party may occupy a favorable terrain, wait for the enemy to tire, and hit the enemy hard.

Or lure the enemy deep into the territory, clear the territory, stretch the enemy's supply line, and weaken the enemy's offensive capability.

All of these may allow the weaker side in the army to win.

But naval battles are different.

There is no barrier on the sea, there is no danger to defend, and there is no such thing as clearing the territory on the sea.

After all, the mobility of warships at sea is not comparable to that of the army. It is unimaginable for the army to travel a thousand miles a day, but it is nothing for the navy.

Therefore, for naval battles, the weaker side has almost no chance of winning unless a miracle happens.

Despite the humiliation, Laziz Bey deeply understood that anger could not solve any problems, and the current strength of the Greek Navy was indeed above the Ottoman Navy.

Although the Ottoman high-level officials were also dissatisfied with the performance of the navy, they also understood the reality of the Ottoman Navy's insufficient strength.

In fact, the Ottoman Navy's weak strength is not just a problem of lack of new warships.

Other problems are more serious.