(0862) For the preparation of the European coalition forces, the white army also has adequate responses. 【Reading.com】

For the land attack, the white-clothed army has never been worried. No matter what kind of fortified city, in front of the white-clothed army, it is all scum. In the years when there were no 155-mm howitzers, the explosive group of the White Army was indestructible. With the 155mm howitzer, the ability of the white-clothed army to attack fortifications is only more powerful and indestructible than before.

However, there is a deadly place in Istanbul. To the east of it is the strait. This caused a little bit of difficulty for the White Army. Due to the barrier of the sea, they could no longer attack as they normally would. They must cross the strait with the help of the navy in order to continue their attacks.

Of course, this is not a problem.

The White Army and Navy will definitely support it strongly.

…… The Aegean Sea, a nice name, always comes to mind.

In fact, the Aegean Sea is indeed beautiful. The waters are crystal clear, the blue skies are pure, the islands are idyllic, and the people are hospitable. Everyone who comes to the Aegean Sea will be captivated by its charm.

However, in 1637, the people around the Aegean Sea were in a state of great panic. Because, a large number of white-coated warships appeared in the waters of the Aegean Sea. The muzzle of the black hole said unabashedly to the people around you, you had better not make any unfriendly moves, otherwise, you will be punished extremely severely.

As an important supply base for the White Army at the southern end of the Aegean Sea, Crete was almost entirely populated by White Army soldiers. There are combatants and engineers in the Navy, and there are personnel in the Marine Corps. When Chen Xinhai, the first deputy commander of the White Clothes Navy, set his headquarters on Crete, it became a huge military camp.

As the vanguard of the White Navy, the warships of the Eighth Fleet have taken control of all the islands in the Aegean Sea, including the few small islands closest to Istanbul. The warships of the Eighth Fleet even engaged in a fierce artillery battle with the defenders of Istanbul at one point. In the end, it ended with the complete destruction of the artillery of the defenders.

The Eighth Fleet was transferred from the rear. In terms of number, it is not a newly formed fleet. Its qualifications, at least in front of the Ninth Fleet. However, the Eighth Fleet has been operating in the waters around Australia since its formation. Its mission was to assist the Marines in occupying Australia and controlling the main Australian strongholds.

At that time, there was no army stationed in Australia, only some indigenous people. After the occupation of armed merchants, the natives were routed. Subsequently, a large number of immigrants arrived, and the sub-region took control of Australia. In fact, the Eighth Fleet, which undertook the escort mission, never experienced a fierce battle. Obviously, this is not a very pleasant thing.

After completing its mission, the Eighth Fleet was transferred to the Mediterranean. This is the first time they have entered a real battlefield. Unfortunately, they came too late and did not catch up with the chain of naval battles in Madeira. Since entering the Mediterranean, the Eighth Fleet, which has never been able to catch a battle, has made meritorious contributions and advanced at a very fast pace. As a result, by accident, they became the vanguard of the navy of the white-coat army and went directly into the Aegean Sea.

The narrow and dangerous Dardanelles Strait has no blocking effect on the white-coat navy. The few remaining Ottoman Empire [***] ships, divided by two, were picked up by the Eighth Fleet. To be honest, a random battleship of the Eighth Fleet could deal with the entire Ottoman Empire's navy. It's not that the white-coat navy is too strong, but the Ottoman navy is really not worth mentioning. The Ottoman Empire had always paid little attention to the navy.

As the vanguard, the Eighth Fleet smoothly entered the Sea of Marmara and appeared in the waters south of Istanbul. The muzzle of the black hole can blow Istanbul to pieces at any time. The appearance of the Eighth Fleet smoothly divided Istanbul in two, completely cutting off the connection between the eastern and western cities. The defenders had to fight on their own.

In order to ensure the logistical supply needs of the army, the Marines of the White Army, which followed the operations of the Eighth Fleet, also occupied Izmir. A large number of engineering teams followed suit and expanded it into a large, efficient port. Soon after, a large number of merchant ships, docked at the port of Izmir, unloaded large quantities of military supplies.

At the same time, the artillery units of the White Army Army also set off for Istanbul. At the forefront were still the two battalions led by Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong. Lei Hu and Xu Canhuai are both among them. They wiped out the Ottoman reinforcements in Aleppo, dealing another heavy blow to the Ottoman Empire. Subsequently, they rested in Aleppo to replenish a large number of military supplies. Now, they can finally attack Istanbul directly.

Istanbul is a peculiar city. It is bisected in two by the Bosphorus. There is a large piece on the east side of the strait, and a large piece on the west side of the strait. There is no doubt that the city to the east of the strait was soon seized by the White Army. The defenders in the east were simply unable to stop the artillery fire of the white-clothed army, and in less than two hours, they completely collapsed.

Subsequently, they set up their artillery and bombarded the western side of the strait. The Bosphorus, is a very narrow strait. The widest part is only two or three kilometers. And the narrowest place, only seven or eight hundred meters. This is not an obstacle at all for a 105-mm howitzer with a firing range of more than ten kilometers. The cannons on the east bank can easily pour heavy shells into the middle of the city to the west.

The artillery shelling of the army is much more powerful than the artillery shelling of the navy. The army first used 105mm howitzers to bombard, plowing all military targets within the effective range. Subsequently, all the buildings within the effective range were ploughed over. After the back and forth shelling, the western city of Istanbul was in ruins.

A little later, large-caliber 155-mm howitzers also arrived at the front. Their arrival has plunged Istanbul into even greater suffering. A howitzer of 155 mm caliber will be affected by an area the size of half a football field. What's worse is that they have a longer range, more than twenty kilometers. Istanbul, which was already bombed beyond recognition, was once again blown beyond recognition.

This kind of large-scale killing weapon with a shell weighing 90 pounds alone, every time a shell is fired, it is a nightmare for the defenders of Istanbul. There was a loud bang, a loud sound of the sky cracking and the surrounding buildings were razed to the ground. Even if it was originally ruin, it will become even more ruin. The shattered stone fragments also greatly increased the power of the cannonballs. Within a radius of 100 meters, they are all under serious threat. Any enemy who tries to hide within range of heavy artillery will be put to the test of hell.

Basically, after several hours of shelling, Istanbul's buildings and fortifications near the coast were blown to nothing. A howitzer of 155 mm caliber with a range of more than twenty kilometers basically enveloped most of Istanbul in it. Istanbul, even one of the largest cities in the world at the time, was bombarded by 155mm howitzers, and it was so devastated that it was unrecognizable.

Moreover, at the same time as the shelling of the army of the white army, there were also the navy of the white army and navy who were not willing to be lonely and went into battle shirtless. The 75-mm naval guns of the White Army Navy did not have a long range and were not powerful enough. However, it is better to be flexible. The warships of the Navy can look for targets that can be hit everywhere along the coastline. Those targets that were not discovered by the 155mm howitzers were all eliminated by the warships of the White Army Navy in one-on-one targeted killings.

The effective firing range of naval guns is about eight kilometers. In other words, within the eight-kilometer coastline, as long as the target is discovered by the warships of the White Army, it will be ruthlessly destroyed. Under the combined shelling of the army and navy of the White Army, Istanbul had no targets at all and could escape the destruction of artillery fire.

Since February 1637, the Eighth Fleet has been bombarding Istanbul continuously. Subsequently, the Ninth Fleet, the Fifteenth Fleet, and the Eighteenth Fleet arrived one after another and joined the ranks of the artillery bombardment. Later, more fleets arrived and joined the lively shelling. For a time, Istanbul became the target of the White Coats Navy, and all the fleets, all the warships, had to shell here.

The Sea of Marmara, which was originally quite large, seemed to be unable to accommodate so many warships. The number of warships is huge, and so are the number of merchant ships. There was no way, the naval engineering corps had to continue to work hard. Subsequently, the ports around the Sea of Marmara were also expanded by the Naval Engineering Corps of the White Army one by one as logistics supply bases.

Among them, the larger port is Brusa (later Bursa). Brousa is surrounded by mountains and seas, with beautiful scenery and many historical monuments. If you search carefully, you can find the breath of several different dynasties in this ancient city. If you want to talk about the ancient capital of several dynasties, Brusa can be regarded as one.

In real history, Brusa was the capital of the Byzantine Empire, and after the rise of the Ottoman Empire, it was the capital of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Under the Ottoman Empire, it was the largest city besides Istanbul and Damascus. Before the arrival of the White Army, this ancient city still had a population of 300,000. This is very rare in the era of war and chaos.

It is estimated that there have been many dynastic changes in history, and there is enough psychological capacity, and the Brusa people are not so resistant to the arrival of the white-clothed army. They are not particularly resistant to eliminating their repeated beliefs and converting to other religions. All of this is very different from other towns. Because the local residents made a wise choice, Brusa was barely harmed and still thrived.

In May 1637, Gao Jie and Mao 13 arrived at the front line successively. They unanimously set up the front-line command in Brusa. Their arrival marked the beginning of the final general assault on Istanbul by the White Army.

…… The constant shelling of the White Navy brought great disaster to Istanbul. Not to mention the destruction of the entire city, the casualties of the European coalition forces were also very large. Under the 155mm howitzer, the human body is not much stronger than an ant. As long as it is within the range of destruction, it is likely to suffer heavy damage.

At this moment, the European coalition forces are facing a huge test.

Is it to continue the fight in Istanbul? Or should they withdraw to China as soon as possible?

If they continue to stay in Istanbul, they will continue to endure the incessant and indiscriminate bombardment of the army and navy artillery of the White Army. No one knows when the shelling of the white-clothed army will end. At present, it seems that the shelling of the white army has no intention of ending at all. If they stay here, they can only continue to suffer casualties and keep looking for death.

However, if they retreat back like this, without Istanbul as an interception front, the White Army and the Army will swarm in and attack all over Europe. At that time, the Western powers will be in great trouble. No one knows what the future holds. The only thing that is certain is that the situation will not be very rosy. Possibly, it can get very bad.

Everyone's eyes finally focused on a few key characters. One was King Gustav of Sweden. One was King Louis XIII of the Franks. One was Archduke Saler III of Prussia. The three of them are the main leaders of the European coalition. Generally, the military operations of the coalition forces are decided by the three of them through consultation.

Purely in terms of the combat effectiveness of the army, the number of French [***] units is the largest, and the combat effectiveness is also relatively strong. In the history of Europe, France has always considered itself the king of land. This is one of the basic reasons why France and Germany have repeatedly fought over and wars have broken out repeatedly.

This time, France and Germany are also secretly competing. In addition to the arrival of Louis XIII personally leading the army, there was another important figure in the French [***] team, that is, Cardinal Richelieu. The 50,000 Crusaders and the Knights Templar brought with Richelieu were devout Catholics. Their combat effectiveness is also quite strong.

It's a pity that the number of Europeans' armies has always been a tragedy. Their population base is too small, and the number of troops they can draw is always not very large. Even after repeated mobilization, France only mobilized less than 100,000 troops. The Grand Duke of Prussia had an army of less than forty thousand. Gustav's army was also less than 50,000. With the addition of troops from other countries, the total number of European coalition troops is actually less than 300,000.

(To be continued)