Chapter 273: The Delayed 28 Days
The Ottoman Empire and the Germans were hardly prepared at the Dardanelles.
This was what General Winter told Charles, who excitedly sent a telegram to him: "Your plan was very successful, Colonel."
"The intelligence we have received shows that the majority of the more than one hundred artillery pieces the Ottoman Empire has equipped at the Dardanelles are outdated guns from over a decade ago. There are no more than twenty modern guns that pose a threat to the battleships."
"At the same time, the enemy is facing a shortage of supplies, shells, and mines. Many of their mines are even Russian mines, originally laid by the Russians in the Black Sea, which, due to the disruption of the cables, drifted down to the Sea of Marmara, where they were 'found' and reused by the Ottomans."
"The Ottomans and Germans have clearly been deceived. They have no preparations at the Dardanelles. Victory is in sight!"
However, the situation on the battlefield was not as optimistic as General Winter had imagined.
Admiral Cardon's "fueling tactics" kept giving the enemy opportunities to rest and replenish, even allowing the defenders to learn how to fight.
Charles watched in frustration as the golden opportunity he had created was squandered by the foolish commanders of the Royal Navy, yet he had no way to stop it.
In the end, even the British could not stand it anymore.
The British Admiralty sent two telegrams to Admiral Cardon: "If the fleet suffers losses due to the attack, or if the entire operation fails, the responsibility will fall on the First Sea Lord. You only need to focus on your mission and the enemy in front of you!"
The meaning of the telegram was clear: attack without worry, if you lose, it's your superior's fault; if you win, it's your glory.
Yet, Admiral Cardon still could not face the situation directly. The next day, he left his post for the rear to recover due to health reasons.
Before leaving, he recommended Rear Admiral Robeck to take command, but Rear Admiral Wemyss had higher seniority, and the fleet argued for three days over the matter.
The issue was only resolved when Rear Admiral Robeck was urgently promoted to Vice Admiral.
At this point, it had been 28 days since the fleet had first reached the Dardanelles and fired the first shot.
...
Charles had dark circles under his eyes. He sent a telegram to General Winter: "This battle is lost. The wise choice is to retreat."
General Winter arrived at Charles's office that afternoon. He looked exhausted, as if he had been traveling non-stop due to the Dardanelles operation.
Charles led General Winter to the meeting room. Before they had even sat down, he confidently said, "No one can carry out a feint attack for 28 days. Even the Germans are not so foolish as to not realize that our main focus is the Dardanelles."
"You're right, Colonel," General Winter said dejectedly. "Now, no matter how much we show strength in the north, it will be useless. The Germans are transporting large numbers of torpedoes to the Dardanelles, along with artillery and shells."
"So, you still have hopes for this battle?" Charles asked.
In principle, as long as the Ottoman Empire had enough mines, the British fleet would never be able to pass through the Dardanelles.
General Winter looked at Charles with hope in his eyes: "I want to know, do you have any other ideas? For example, maybe we can really land in the north..."
Charles shook his head. "It’s been nearly a month, General. We've been making the Germans believe we're landing in the north. They are fully prepared there."
This was the side effect of the deception. Originally intended to confuse the Germans, it had now eliminated the possibility of landing in the north.
Charles gently urged General Winter: "The only thing you can do now is to make them stop. If you give the enemy a month to prepare, and even help them train a large number of soldiers who know how to defend the strait, and we still manage to defeat them, there's only one possibility: the Ottoman Empire must surrender voluntarily."
General Winter furrowed his brow and sighed. "You may be right, Colonel. But I can't persuade them. The First Sea Lord believes the failure to achieve victory earlier was due to Admiral Cardon's cowardice, and now that Admiral Robeck is in charge..."
Charles interrupted General Winter: "The Dardanelles now also has German-made mines, and more of them, and they’re more advanced than before. Moreover, Rear Admiral Robeck likely doesn't even know this. He has no command experience."
General Winter's face turned pale as death. After a long pause, he nodded heavily. "I'll try. If the First Sea Lord pushes ahead with the attack, it could be a disaster!"
With that, General Winter quickly left.
Normally, he would have taken a train from Ypres, but now he headed straight for the airport. He needed to hurry back to England to discuss the matter with the First Sea Lord.
However, Charles knew he would not be able to persuade the First Sea Lord.
The First Sea Lord had once boldly declared: "If the attack on the Dardanelles fails, I will go to the front lines and become a soldier!"
Therefore, he would never easily admit failure, even though he knew that victory was virtually impossible.
Sure enough, the day after General Winter returned, the Allied fleet launched a full-scale assault on the Dardanelles.
The staff at the fortress command issued a cheer when they heard the news, and they discussed excitedly:
"Let's show them some power!"
"That’s 18 battleships! They should have flattened the Ottoman Empire long ago."
"I bet they'll break through the strait today."
...
The 18 battleships included the British Navy's most advanced super-dreadnought battleship, the Queen Elizabeth.
But the performance of these battleships was shocking to everyone: they couldn’t hit the target when moving, couldn’t hit the target when the weather was bad, and couldn’t hit the target when at a distance.
Only in calm weather could they get close enough to shoot accurately!
The fleet's performance made everyone feel disappointed and suppressed.
Now, they believed the moment for triumph had finally come.
In Gallieni's eyes, there was a trace of concern. He glanced at Charles and quietly asked, "Could this be your plan?"
Charles could only respond with a bitter smile.
The battle seemed to be going smoothly; this was the first time military ships and minesweeping operations were carried out simultaneously in daylight.
Although the battlefield situation wasn’t directly visible, the intelligence seemed to paint a clear picture of the combat scene:
The two sides were locked in fierce artillery exchanges, with battleships and other warships simultaneously shelling the enemy’s fortresses and artillery positions.
The battleships, with their heavy armor and massive guns, maneuvered in the azure waves, enduring enemy fire as they conducted close-range bombardments of enemy positions. Cannons roared in unison, and in the dense smoke and flying dust, the fortresses were engulfed by massive fireballs.
On the hillsides on both sides of the strait, Ottoman guns roared in response, and the mobile artillery, which had only been active at night, was now forced to face the battleships' firepower during the day.
The Allied destroyers and minesweepers led the charge, clearing obstacles for the battleships' advance through the columns of water shooting up into the air.
At that moment, a telegram arrived with good news: "Our forces have hit the enemy's ammunition depot!"
The command center erupted in cheers, and everyone felt that victory was just around the corner.