After several days of hard fighting, the number of casualties on both sides has exceeded five figures, and it continues to grow!

Prince Constantine's only hope now is to stall for time and create an opportunity for the Greek army in the area of Ioannina, which is now accumulating supplies and preparing to attack!

As for the Trikala region, the Ottomans had a clear advantage, and with the strength in his hands it was simply impossible to achieve victory!

At this time, on the front line of Trikala City, seven Ottoman infantry divisions, two cavalry regiments, three artillery regiments, plus troops directly under the headquarters, totaled more than 89,000 people! It has more than 350 artillery pieces of various types and more than 380 heavy machine guns!

Compared to the Greek Front, it was much worse, Prince Constantine had only six infantry divisions in his hands, plus two artillery regiments, two of which were half-disabled. Oh, and there is also a half-cavalry battalion, totaling more than 67,000 people! It has more than 220 artillery pieces of various types and more than 400 heavy machine guns!

Since the Battle of Zanta at the end of the 17th century, the cavalry has begun to decline, and even if there are still famous Cossack cavalry in Russia, it cannot change the fact that the cavalry is declining!

By 1897, all European countries had reduced the number of cavalry, with the exception of the woolly bear, and in the Eastern European plains, the new cavalry was still combative!

Of course, for a country like Greece, cavalry is already dispensable, and if it weren't for the need for the honor guard, it might have been canceled!

After the outbreak of the Greco-Turkish War, George I sent this cavalry to the front line, and the cavalry was still very powerful on a specific battlefield!

Don't be surprised that Edkhpasha didn't send cavalry to harass the rear of the Greeks, it's just that the cavalry is too limited by geographical conditions, and the supply requirements are very high!

Besides, he sent troops to attack Kartitsa and break the stalemate on the battlefield, so he couldn't use cavalry to attack the city, right?

If you want to blame Colonel Kobe Pasha for being too capable, he fired a few shots casually, and found that the Greeks had already prepared in Kartitsa, so he ran to attack the Greek logistics supply lines?

Despite his tricks, Colonel Kobe Pasha still completed the task brilliantly, and the strategic goal has been achieved!

Originally, Prince Konstantin still had 67,000 people in his hands, but after the transfer of troops, only 53,000 remained, and the ratio of troops between the two sides widened again!

Of course, if you count the wounded, now Prince Konstantin has more than 20,000 more people under his command, but they can't help much for this war!

Spotting fighter planes on the battlefield is a must for every general. Edkhpasha is no exception. Now is undoubtedly the time when the Greeks are at their weakest, and without the slightest hesitation, Edkhpasha immediately carried out a pre-war mobilization!

……

After Edkhpasha finished speaking, the eyes of the group of officers below were all shining, this is definitely not a loyalty to the country, but because of meritorious service, it also represents promotion and wealth!

You must know that the class of the Ottoman Empire has long been solidified, and the factor that determines what position you can climb to is no longer based on your ability, nor on how much you have contributed to the country, but by your origin!!

However, this time General Edkhpasha made a promise that whoever made a meritorious service would be rewarded as he deserved! On the contrary, if it is messed up, whoever is responsible will resist!!

Regardless of whether it can be notarized in the future, but one thing is certain, if you make military achievements, you will definitely be promoted and make a fortune!

The Ottoman Empire was also established by force, if it was in the government department, if it was from a bad background, it might not be promoted no matter how many achievements it made!

But in the army, after the completion of military reform, there is no way to do that in peacetime! In times of war, those who have made military achievements will definitely be promoted, who says that the Ottoman Empire is now in decline?

Of course, combat merit is not so easy to obtain, you must have both luck and strength!

First of all, there has to be a fight! Unlike the previous suppression of the Armenian rebellion, it was a small role, and it was as it should be if it was won, and it would be 100% bad luck if it was lost!

The Greeks in front of you are a good choice!! That is, it is not weak enough to be ignored, and it is not strong enough to exceed everyone's tolerance. It belongs to the kind of fat that can not only make war merits, but also win steadily!

Looking at the eager expressions of his subordinates, Edhepasha smiled and nodded, and then said solemnly: "Now I order, at 4:37 on April 28, 1897, all the artillery will open fire, and the Greek army position opposite the target will cover an hour and a half, and at 6:07, the third division and two cavalry regiments will be responsible for pinning down the enemy's left and right flanks, and the other six infantry divisions will all attack and defeat the Greeks on the opposite side from the front!" Got it? ”

"Understood!" Everyone said in unison

Edhepasha nodded in satisfaction, and then said, "Now start proofreading the time, and the big clock on the wall shall prevail!" No one shall be delayed, and the offender shall be engaged in military law! ”

……

Perhaps the mobilization of Edkhpasha work, worked, or perhaps the temptation to get promoted and rich was too great, whether it was an officer or a soldier, at this moment the morale of the Ottoman army reached its peak!

Time flew by, and on April 28, 1897, with the order of Edkhpasha, the first to move was naturally the artillery units, which quickly pushed the artillery and reloaded the artillery positions that had been constructed in advance.

Edkhpasha looked at the time, and when it was 4:37, the roar of artillery rang in his ears, and he knew that the decisive battle had begun!

The Greeks on the other side were also accustomed to it, and during the years of confrontation, the Ottoman artillery also launched attacks from time to time. Soon the Greeks also reacted, and the Greek artillery began to return fire, and the two sides once again started an artillery battle!

Hundreds of cannons on both sides rang out at the same time, deafening and resounding through the sky!

Shells were flying scattered, and one shell accidentally landed in one of the regimental headquarters of the Greeks, exploding instantly, killing three officers on the spot and wounding five others!

The explosion caused a small area of chaos, but it quickly subsided. The guns on the battlefield have no eyes, and if they are hit, they can only be regarded as their own bad lives!

Soon the Greek artillery fell to the downside, which Prince Constantine had long been accustomed to, after all, the Ottomans on the opposite side had more artillery, and the quality was about the same, and it was normal to not win!

Soon more than an hour passed, and he felt that something was wrong, and the Ottoman artillery fire did not seem to stop.

You must know that it doesn't make much sense for the two sides to bombard each other for such a long time, after all, the artillery hit rate is extremely low in this era!

Even if you can find the opponent's artillery position, it is not so easy to destroy the opponent. And the opponent's artillery positions are exposed, and their own are also exposed!

Artillery is a precious branch of the army, so it is used to consume, and under normal circumstances, the commanders of both sides are reluctant to use this kind of lose-lose play!

Besides, this is still a gamble of luck on both sides, not that the Ottoman army has more artillery, it will definitely have an advantage, Greece with less artillery may also cause them greater casualties, but the probability is smaller!

Prince Konstantin knew that the transfer of troops from the front had been exposed, and the Ottomans were clearly prepared!

He immediately shouted, "Guards! Guardsman!! Immediately send orders to all troops to guard against the attack of the Ottoman army! ”

Fortunately, at the end of the 19th century, there were already telegraphs and telephones, two means of communication, otherwise Prince Konstantin would not have had time to inform the troops even if he found out!

But it was too late, and by the time the troops of the front line got the news, the Ottomans were already on the offensive under the cover of artillery!

Fortunately, Prince Constantine had foreseen that the Ottomans might launch a full-scale attack when they were short of troops, and made some targeted arrangements!

But these preparations were not sufficient, under the baptism of artillery fire, the simple fortifications that the Greek army had painstakingly built were now scattered, and the current defense capability has dropped a notch!

And it's early in the morning, it's just dawning, and many Greek soldiers are still asleep, just being woken up, not yet in the state!

It may be that they are accustomed to the roar of artillery fire, after all, in just a few days, the Ottomans have launched dozens of attacks, and everyone is already surprised!

Of course, this is just the idea of the soldiers, and the real Greek army top brass knows that this attack is different from the past, this is the time when the defenders have the least number of troops, and the Ottomans will start a decisive battle now as long as they are not stupid!

With an artillery advantage, the Ottoman army had an advantage at the beginning of the offensive! But wars are not won by artillery alone! If that's the case, then the Greeks don't have to fight, just run away!

After the Ottoman army broke through the outer defensive line, the Greek army had already reacted, and the combination of trenches + machine guns + wooden fences caused a lot of casualties to the Ottoman army!

Obviously, the heavy machine guns that shone in the Bulgarian War have already appeared on the stage of history, and the Greeks have already been installed.

But due to ammunition, the Greek army was still not able to equip it on a large scale. It's not as much equipped as the Bulgarian army during the Bulgarian War!

The Greek army still had capable men, and in the absence of steel wire mesh, they were able to replace it with the most primitive wooden fence in the shortest possible time. Even if it's not as good as steel wire in terms of defensive capabilities, it's still a remarkable feat!

The brutal war began, one by one the Ottoman soldiers rushed to the position of the Greeks, and the Greek army also did not show weakness, bravely met it, and launched a desperate struggle!

Whether it was the Ottoman General Edkhpasha or the Greek Prince Constantine, their faces were now ugly, and it was clear that this was not the result they wanted!

As time passed, the Greek army gradually became unable to withstand it, even if the defending side had a geographical advantage, but it could not stand the large number of Ottoman troops!

Moreover, most of the Ottoman troops were professional soldiers, unlike the patchwork army of Greece, the combat effectiveness of both sides was not on the same level!

On the left flank of the Greek army, a Turkic cavalry was watching the front, and the regimental commander Oricel Pasha was looking for a fighter, and he could only sigh in the face of the Greek army cowering in the trenches!

If there were no heavy machine guns, Commander Oricelpasha might have dared to rush with cavalry, as long as he broke through a point, he could penetrate the back of the Greek army and make a front and rear attack!

But now? Through the Vision, Orisel Pasha looked at the cold muzzle of the gun, was speechless for a long time, and sighed from the bottom of his heart: The glory of the cavalry has passed!

In the face of a monster that can shoot more than 600 bullets per minute, how many human lives do you have to fill this hole??

Orissel Pasha asked coldly: "When will the artillery be in place?" ”

"Half an hour to go!" An officer replied decisively

Oricel Pasha said fiercely: "Then wait another half hour!" Now for the feint! ”

When heavy machine guns were first unveiled, there were still very few weapons in the world that could deal with machine guns, and there were only two of the most effective methods!

One is to use a sniper to directly kill the machine gunner, and then take advantage of the moment when the fire is out of gear to launch an attack; The other is naturally with artillery, one shell goes down, and everything is done!

Obviously, in the Ottoman army at the end of the 19th century, there were still very few professional snipers, and the hesitant troops lacked training, and there were not many soldiers with good marksmanship!

The sound of artillery sounded, and the positions of the Greeks on the opposite side were immediately hit hard, and one by one fire points were patronized by shells.

Well, the artillery hits of this era, it's really a pit! One hundred and eighty shells passed, and only three machine guns were killed, plus nearly a hundred Greek soldiers!

Then the Ottoman army launched another round of attacks, well, the attack did not have the part of the cavalry, it was the work of the two infantry regiments that rowed over at zero hour!

Fill the trenches with cavalry, the Ottomans can't do it! As a result, it was not surprising that the Greek reinforcements were quickly replenished and blocked the defensive line!

Oricel Pasha looked at the infantry with heavy casualties, and he was still glad that fortunately, the task of the cavalry regiment was not to break through the defensive line, but to make a show to contain the enemy.

……

Now Edherpasha's heart is not calm, the strength of the Greeks' resistance exceeded his expectations, and in just over four hours of the battle, more than 8,000 casualties were paid!

On average, the Ottoman army had to reimburse a regiment of troops in an hour, and a platoon every minute!

The use of heavy machine guns has increased the intensity of this war, which has already surpassed the Baosai War two years ago.

In terms of combat effectiveness, the Ottoman army was slightly stronger, but the Greeks, as the defensive side, were considered to be equalized, and they were opponents!

As time passed, the battlefield gradually changed, and the tragic battle situation appeared on both sides to varying degrees - deserters!

In order to win the war, Edherpasha was also desperate, and sent a team of overseers to directly attack the rear of the troops and set up heavy machine guns!

"Either die on the way to attack, or die at the hands of the Overseers!"

……

The Ottoman army intensified the intensity of the offensive, Prince Constantine was in a hurry, from the beginning of the war to the present, he has not received good news, the front line is constantly asking for support, asking for support!

Now his command has only one regiment left. Reserves? When the battle reached this point, the Ottoman army suffered heavy losses, how could the Greek army be better?

It may be surprising to say that as the defending side, the number of casualties so far is actually higher than that of the attacking Turkish army!

No way, it's all the recruits who are in trouble! After all, he had just resisted the gun, but after a hasty training, he was sent to the battlefield, and he didn't know many life-saving measures on the battlefield, so he naturally died quickly!

The casualty ratio on both sides has been maintained at 1.3:1, and the Greeks have suffered a big loss in this regard!

An officer hurried over and shouted, "Report!" General, the commander of the 18th Division has just sent a telegram requesting reinforcements again! ”

……

(Note: The Battle of Zanta, which took place in 1697, was a volley of European infantry in a line of lines, and the elite Ottoman cavalry was vulnerable to the musketeers, and the Habsburg Empire was victorious!) The war marked the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the decline of the status of the cavalry! ）