Chapter 229: Making a Feint to the East and Attacking in the West

December 30 afternoon

Just like the previous attacks, the Ottomans defending the Bazani Fortress looked at the disgraced Greeks who retreated and cheered loudly for another victory.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Constantine finally waited for Captain Edmund of the aviation team.

"Your Excellency, Commander, in accordance with your instructions, our aviation team will start aerial reconnaissance today at eight o'clock in the morning when the sky is bright and conditions are available, and we will continue to conduct reconnaissance near the fortress defense lines deployed by the Ottomans." Edmund said with a tired face. Said wistfully.

"How is the situation? Captain, your investigation results are of great significance to our army's future operations" Samaras asked eagerly.

Seeing the legion's chief of staff being so solemn, Edmund took a deep breath nervously and said: "According to the reconnaissance results of our aviation team members, it can be known that the Ottoman army is indeed heading towards the southwest of the defense line, that is, Bazani. For reinforcements near the fortress, we clearly saw from the air that Ottoman troops were constantly moving to the southwest. Moreover, when we conducted reconnaissance over the Bazani Fortress, we could clearly see that there were more troops in the southwest."

Hearing this, Constantine and Samaras looked at each other, both of them unable to hide the joy in their eyes.

It seems that these days of painstaking arrangements, the Fourth Division has paid a price of more than a thousand people, and it has indeed had an effect, then the follow-up plan can be launched.

That night, Constantine held a combat meeting overnight, completed the combat deployment, and determined to launch an all-out attack on Salonika the next morning.

On the morning of the fourth day, at 8 o'clock in the morning, a completely different attack method began as in the past. Constantine, with the help of Samaras, issued a combat order to each division at the same time: the entire army attacked.

The two main divisions of the 2nd Division and the 6th Division attack in the northwest of the defense line. The 4th Division is still responsible for the Bazhani Fortress in the southwest, responsible for containing and confusing the enemy's sight. The 8th Division is in the center, responsible for maintaining the defense in the middle of the front. attack.

From the perspective of the defenders, the Greeks' shelling today was no different from the past, and the Greek attack would undoubtedly fail.

At eight o'clock in the morning, the northwest defense line, the position where the 2nd and 8th Division was stationed.

In the long trenches, at regular intervals, the officers of each company that was about to launch a charge looked at their watches, with whistles in their mouths, waiting for the last moment to arrive.

"Take courage, God and the King are watching you, glory belongs to Greece, all companies, fix bayonets!" In the last moments, the officer was still shouting to inspire the soldiers' courage. This shout meant that the attack was about to begin. .

The cry of "Bayonet on" kept ringing in the trenches, and the bayonet flashing with cold light was pulled out of the scabbard and installed on the bayonet holder of the rifle.

"Chirp~~"

A red signal flare, dragging a long tail, rose into the sky.

The whistle on the officer's mouth made a sharp and piercing sound, and the Greek soldiers in the trench jumped up and rushed out of the trench with shouts of "Long live Greece".

This scene was played out simultaneously in front of the Ottoman defense line, which was more than ten kilometers long.

Greek soldiers carrying rifles, machine guns, and mortars rushed towards the Ottoman army positions.

The smoke of the explosion and the splashing mud obscured the sight. All the soldiers lowered their heads, bent their waists, and followed their non-commissioned officers to charge in a skirmish line.

At this time, all the distracting thoughts in everyone's brains were thrown away, replaced by a blank, with only the brown soil in front of them.

In the peripheral vision, he could see the figures of his comrades next to him. Although the violent explosion was close to his ears, it was like the horizon. There was a roar in his ears. The only thing that accompanied him was the heavy breathing and the crackling sound of the flying soil falling on the helmet. sound.

The Ottoman army, which was lucky enough to escape the bombardment, faced the approaching Greek army and had to fight back with bullets that might fall on its head at any time.

However, the Greek soldiers used repeating rifles with several bullets in the magazine. At this moment, they can indeed better utilize their strengths. The Greek soldiers raised their guns and fired continuously. They did not seek to kill the enemy, but devoted themselves to suppressing fire. Cover your own soldiers close to the enemy's defense line to create opportunities.

The Ottoman army headquarters behind the Bazani Fortress

The commander of the Turkish army, Etesa Pasha, walked back and forth in a room, feeling a little uneasy in his heart.

After the Greeks began to enter the palace, the shouts that echoed through the sky as the Greeks attacked on a front line of more than ten kilometers made Atesa Pasha aware of something unusual: the Greek offensive today was different from the past.

"Reporting to the chief" a staff officer hurriedly walked in, interrupting Aitsa Pasha's contemplation.

"Sir, the army in the northwest sent a telegram asking for help. They were violently attacked by the Greek army." Sweat dripped down the staff officer's face.

"Sir, according to the feedback from the defense forces, the Greeks seem to be attacking across the board today, and, and," the staff officer gulped, not daring to say the next words.

Atesa Pasha's heart suddenly sank. He quickly stepped forward and snatched the telegram from the staff officer's hand. After a quick glance, his face turned pale. The focus of the Greek attack was not at all Bazani, which was in the southwest of the defense line. The fortress, but the northwest, was a tactic that was fictitious and real, and the Greeks deliberately misled him.

In the past few days, although the Greek army had attacked all fronts, except for the Bazani Fortress in the southwest, which had a fierce offensive, the Greeks on the other fronts were just showing off.

In the past few days, in order to prevent the Greeks from making a breakthrough in the Bazani Fortress, he deployed most of the garrisons in the Bazani Fortress and regarded it as the focus of defense.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his inner panic, and said: "How is our telegram for help from the country? Is there a reply?"

Although the Ottoman Empire had long been aware of this war, it was at war with Italy before and had no time to take care of the Balkan direction.

After the outbreak of the Balkan War, the Ottoman army immediately fell into a dilemma of lack of logistics.

Although the Macedonian defenders had a strong fortress as a support, they did not have enough arms and ammunition.

Due to the poor transportation conditions in the Ottoman country, the replenishment of logistics supplies was delayed.

"Sir, after the coastal route was cut off, the country had no ability to replenish our supplies. Moreover, as far as I know, the country now pays more attention to the Thracian battlefield and the battle with the Bulgarian army. After all, there are 300,000 Bulgarian troops there," said the staff officer anxiously.

"Ah" Aitsa Pasha sighed helplessly.

He could understand the difficulties in the country. After all, once Thrace fell, not only would the capital Constantinople of the Ottoman Empire face a serious threat, but the connection between Asia Minor and Macedonia would also be cut off.

He knew very well that the Ottoman Empire was not fully prepared for this war.

According to the trend of the war since the beginning of the war, Macedonia was already a battlefield that the Ottoman Empire could abandon.

The empire's defeat here was unstoppable.