Chapter 313 Morale Issues

At about 1 p.m., the Allied fleet launched an attack.

The fleet assembled ten battleships and more than 30 minesweepers. They entered the Saros Bay in a mighty manner under the horrified eyes of the Ottomans, and anchored in the water columns stirred up by the enemy's artillery fire to prepare for bombing.

At the beginning of the bombing, there were only a few sparse sounds, and there was an interval of about one minute after each gunshot. There were several seaplanes flying in the sky for gun calibration.

This was a test firing of the warships. It was extremely difficult for them to hit the target on the shaking sea surface. The test firing could be corrected according to the impact point, and then the guns of the same caliber and model would fire at the target with the same parameters.

About ten minutes later, the sound of the guns suddenly "boomed" into a whole, and the "A" corner west of the defense line was almost blown into a sea of ​​fire.

But Charles and a group of soldiers did not dare to stick their heads out to watch, because including their defense line, they would inevitably be hit by a few shells.

It is normal for the naval guns to deviate from the target by several miles, especially when the hull and the seawater will affect each other and vibrate violently during the salvo. This is also the reason why "first hit" is important in naval battles. If the first hit fails, it will be very difficult to hit the target later.

Charles, hiding in the tunnel, felt that the noise and vibration from the ground were worse than before, but for some reason he was not afraid, but inexplicably felt a sense of security.

…

Bolayel, Sanders' Fifth Army Headquarters.

The closest distance to the front line is only three miles. Sanders only needs to climb up the mound on the west side of the headquarters and take a telescope to see the Ottoman army's attack on the enemy's defense line.

The attack was repelled again and again, with heavy casualties.

The exact data has not yet been released, but it is estimated that more than 4,000 people have been killed.

Sanders believes that the lack of grenades and mortars by the Ottoman army is one of the main reasons for the failure of the attack.

Sanders blamed himself a little. He always thought that this was a naval battle and a landing battle, and the Ottoman army did not need grenades much. Now he realized how stupid this idea was.

He immediately called Germany and urgently transferred a batch of grenades and mortars from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

However, this batch of grenades and mortars would not arrive until two days later at the earliest.

When the gunfire sounded, Sanders was mentally prepared because the signalman had told him that the enemy fleet had entered the range and was ready to bomb.

Staff officer Quinn asked Sanders to move the headquarters to a safer place several times, but was rejected.

Sanders said calmly: "If I withdraw from here, it means admitting defeat, and the soldiers will no longer charge towards the enemy's defense line recklessly. Do you want to see this ending?"

"No, General." Quinn said with certainty: "I don't want to see this ending. But even if you withdraw, they will still be ready to die, I promise!"

Then Quinn added: "Because this is the land of the Ottoman Empire, we are not fighting for you!"

Sanders just smiled and said nothing.

As a German, he was not taking risks for the Ottoman Empire, he was for Germany!

But of course, there is no need to say this, and there is nothing wrong in letting them maintain this misunderstanding.

At the moment when the gunfire sounded, Sanders was sitting at his desk and staring at the map in front of him quietly. The enemy fleet joined the battle, making the hope of regaining the defense line increasingly slim.

What kind of army is the other side? It can stand still under the repeated attacks of 20,000 people!

Is it really the troops of Charles they said?

Is it possible for someone like Charles to participate in the battle in person?

Sanders never believed that if Germany had a Charles, they would send an army group to protect him instead of sending him to the battlefield!

At this time, Bahar rushed into the office with a bloody bandage on his head. It was the injury he suffered when he withdrew from the village of Bukia. But after that, he still fought on the front line and even led a charge in person.

This is a brave professional soldier. Sanders evaluated Bahar in his heart, and he was brave and resourceful.

"General." Bahar said anxiously in broken German: "The enemy is bombing the west, we should launch an attack!"

"At this time?" Sanders asked back: "Do you think that the two-sided attack failed to take down the enemy's defense line, and now the west is under bombing and can't take care of itself, can we take down the defense line by attacking unilaterally?"

"I know it can't." Bahar replied: "But if it continues like this, the west will collapse, and we will lose the opportunity to recapture the defense line forever."

Sanders was silent for a while, and calmly replied: "Colonel, I think the crisis in the west is not because of the enemy's bombing, but because of morale."

"Morale?" Bahar was stunned.

Sanders nodded, and asked instead: "Do you think there is a shortage of soldiers and people in the west?"

Bahar shook his head blankly.

There are more than 7,000 people in the west, one regiment and one militia regiment, and there is also a logistics unit and an engineering unit trapped in it, with an actual strength of more than 10,000.

Sanders asked again: "Is there a shortage of ammunition in the west?"

Bahar shook his head again.

The attack on the enemy's defense line was not a matter of ammunition. They died after firing a few bullets. The key point was that they could not break through the enemy's defense line.

Sanders finally said: "Of course there is no shortage of food in the west, right?"

Bahar had no objection.

To be precise, it was not that there was no shortage of food, but that they surrendered before the food was finished.

"You are right, General." Bahar replied: "But the west is indeed surrounded by the enemy, their supply lines have been cut off, and it is only a matter of time before food and ammunition run out."

"What we need is time, Colonel." Sanders said: "If we can't capture it today, we will do it tomorrow, and if we can't capture it tomorrow, we will do it the day after tomorrow. But the situation in the west doesn't seem to wait until then."

Bahar said "hmm", he seemed to understand what Sanders meant:

Whether the west can hold on is the key to whether the defense line can be recaptured.

If it is still in the hands of the Ottomans, it can form a two-sided attack on the enemy's defense line. Otherwise, the enemy's landing troops will continue to land there and replenish the defense line, and the entire Gallipoli will be in danger!

However...

"But what else can we do?" Bahar asked doubtfully: "Except for attacking!"

Sanders looked at Bahar quietly and asked: "I heard that you have a high support rate in the Ottoman army?"

"You can say that." Bahar nodded: "Because I always fight with them."

Then Bahar looked at Sanders again, with confusion in his eyes: "But what does this have to do with this battle?"

Sanders pointed his finger at the west position on the map: "If you appear here with a team of soldiers, can they hold on for another two days?"

Bahar understood that Sanders wanted to send him to the west to command, or to boost morale, in the enemy's encirclement.

"No problem, General!" Bahar stepped forward and answered: "I will set off as soon as it gets dark. I can take a boat to bypass the enemy's defense line!"