July 4, 1916, in the eastern Mediterranean, on the southern shore of the peninsula of Asia Minor, in the Gulf of Alexandreta (known in Turkey as Iskenderun Bay), the Royal Navy's "Revenge"-class battleship "Resolve".

Admiral Allenby, commander of the British Cypriot Expeditionary Force, had just lowered his binoculars in front of him, behind the two twin 5-inch gun turrets in the bow, in the anti-aircraft command post with a wide view above the bridge.

In the distance, on the tidal beach, hundreds of small infantry landing craft, medium vehicle landing craft, large tank landing craft, and several tank landing ships with "mussel shells" are stranded densely.

Several troops, which had shown great prowess in the Gallipoli landing at the beginning of the Battle of the Straits, had already successfully landed on the south shore of the bay on three beachheads that were connected from west to east: H, I, and J.

The first wave of about 15,000 troops from the Royal Navy Infantry Division and the Army's 29th Division, guided by more than 100 tanks and armoured vehicles from the Navy's 2nd Amphibious Mechanized Brigade, was advancing to several vital commanding heights to the west and south of the beachhead.

Behind them were several Turkish infantry and coastal artillery batteries, which had already been bombarded by hundreds of light and heavy naval guns and hundreds of large and small aircraft, and to the east of them, less than 10 kilometers of flat farmland, was the primary target of the landing operation, the second largest port in Turkey, Alekreta (known as Iskenderen in Turkey).

Allenby's gaze returned to the vicinity of the "Resolve", where hundreds of large and small combat ships slowly cut through the light blue sea, pouring heavy artillery fire into the beachhead and near the harbor from time to time.

Behind the "Resolve" was the "Elizabeth"-class super-dreadnought "Malaya"; the French Navy's "Brittany"-class super-dreadnoughts "Brittany" and "Provence"; French Navy "Kolbet" class dreadnoughts "Kolbe", "Paris".

The "Malaya" was equipped with the same four twin 45-diameter 381 mm guns as the "Determination", but unlike the newly commissioned "Determination", its name "Lucky Malaya" had long spread throughout the Allies: in December 1914, in the Battle of Lingayen Bay, off the coast of Luzon Island in the Philippines, the "Malaya" was the flagship of Vice Admiral Bernie, the commander of the British, Dutch, French, and American combined fleets, and was hit by four large and small torpedoes, plus hit by a four-engine heavy bomber and caught fire. After beating in the shipyard for more than half a year, he became the flagship of Vice Admiral Jeram, the commander of the Allied Mediterranean Fleet.

Although the brand-new "Brittany" class super dreadnought is equipped with five twin 45 times diameter 340 mm main guns, the maximum thickness of the main armor belt is only 270 mm, and the speed is only 20 knots, and the performance is even slightly inferior to the "Elizabeth" class previous "Iron Duke" class capital warships equipped with 45 times diameter 343 mm guns. However, in the narrow Mediterranean, which has long lost a suitable opponent, the expensive "Brittany"-class warships seem to be somewhat heroic and useless - in order to save limited resources to supplement the huge consumption on land, the French Navy has decided to stop the construction of all large and medium-sized warships after the completion of the third ship of this class, the "Lorraine".

The two "Kolbe"-class dreadnoughts are each equipped with six twin 45 times diameter 5 mm main guns - only five of them can be used on either side, and their tonnage, protection and speed are roughly the same as those of the "Brittany" class, of which the "Kolbe" was the flagship of the main force of the Allied Indian Ocean Combined Fleet, the first defiled column detachment, and participated in the world-shocking Gulf of Bengal naval battle last August. In the end, it was uneventful and uneventful.

This six-ship column is the backbone of the "long-range support force" in the entire raider fleet, and between this ship column and the southern coast, another column of nine former dreadnoughts has been developed, which is the backbone of the "near-shore support force" in the raider fleet, and their names are: Queen, Prince of Wales, Duncan, Cornwallis, Exmouth, Montagu, Gaul, Charlemagne, and Sufren.

The first six belonged to the Royal Navy and the last three belonged to the French Navy, among which the 12th Battleship Detachment, composed of Duncan-class battleships, participated in the Battle of the Bay of Bengal as part of the support force.

The nine ex-dreadnoughts ranged from 1 ton to 1400 ' in standard displacement, had a speed of 18 to 19 knots, and were mainly armed with two twin 40x 5 mm guns and 12 HC152 or 163 mm secondary guns.

Closer to the coast than the "Shore Support Force", three staggered columns form the backbone of the "Shore Bombardment Force", from west to east and from north to south: six "Lord Clive"-class heavy gunboats each equipped with two 35-diameter 305-mm guns, four "Abekrombi" class heavy gunboats equipped with two 40-diameter 5-mm guns, and four "Marshal Sirte"-class shallow heavy gunboats each equipped with two 45-diameter 381-mm guns.

Each of the above-mentioned units was surrounded by more than 10 to dozens of light cruisers, destroyers, and other light combat ships that were responsible for escorting them, as well as auxiliary ships such as minesweepers, armored gunboats, and antisubmarine patrol boats.

Beyond Allenby's line of sight, there is also an "aircraft carrier task force" cruising in the Mediterranean Sea far from the bay, the backbone of which is the fleet aircraft carriers "Victory" and "Indefatigable", the cruise ship converted aircraft carrier "Campania", the battle cruiser "Invincible", and the two "brave" class "large light cruisers" - "Brave" and "Glorious", which are actually light battle cruisers.

The 186 carrier-based planes on these three aircraft carriers not only have to provide air defense, anti-submarine, and reconnaissance support for the entire raider fleet, but also undertake a considerable part of the fire support tasks on the opposite shore.

In addition, more than 100 kilometers away on the island of Cyprus, there is also a "Cyprus Air Force" consisting of 250 shore-based aircraft and seaplanes, which provides the landing force with the main air-to-ground fire support and shares part of the fleet's anti-submarine, reconnaissance, and even air defense tasks.

In addition to the aforementioned Royal Navy Infantry Division, the 29th Infantry Division of the British Army, and the 2nd Amphibious Mechanized Brigade of the Royal Navy, the backbone of the Cyprus Expeditionary Force under Allenby also includes: three infantry divisions of the Canadian Legion, two infantry divisions of the South African Legion, the 4th Cavalry Division of the British Army, the 1st Canadian Cavalry Division, and the 2nd Cavalry Division of the British Army, as well as the 1st Assault Armored Brigade of the Royal Navy, and the 1st Independent Tank Battalion of the British Army.

The expeditionary force planned to capture the port of Alexandreta within three to five days after the day of landing, and then threaten Aleppo from the east with a group (Group B) towards the Belém Pass in the southeast; The main force (Group A) marched north along the coastal railway to attack Osmaniye, cutting off the railway line from the peninsula of Asia Minor to Aleppo, that is, cutting off the Ottoman Empire's headquarters in Asia Minor with its provinces of Syria, Iraq, Palestine (where the holy city of Jerusalem is located), and Hejaz (where the holy city of Mecca is located).

After this, the expeditionary force then divided its forces (Group C) and marched westward along the Asia Minor Railway, intending to join the Greek expeditionary force that was about to land at Smyrna (present-day Izmir) in the area of Konya.

At the same time, Group A will also move eastward along the railway, turning south through the Bahche Pass northeast of Osmaniye, bypassing the Uzwnzyaret hills that rise over the Alexandreta Basin, between the Osmaniye Plains and the Aleppo Plains, and together with Group B, which had previously attacked through the Belém Pass, to capture the Aleppo railway junction and further cut off the Syrian-Iraqi side from the Palestinian-Hejaz side.

As for after the capture of Aleppo......

Jerusalem!

In the earth-shattering roar of the 15-inch guns under the bridge, the alluring but unbelievable name of the place suddenly and irrepressibly ravaged Allenby's heart.

Beijing Division, Xinhua Palace, the first combat duty room of the base camp.

“…… The defenders of Iskenderon were the 33rd Infantry Division of the Turkish Army, but due to the continuous tightening of other fronts, the division's units were transferred one after another, and by the end of June, less than half of the strength was retained. In addition, there were less than ten coastal artillery batteries, deployed in the permanent batteries and temporary coastal defense positions around the port city, and the artillery equipped was either too old or too powerful to resist the overwhelming superiority of the Allied Grand Fleet. ”

"Osmaniye to the north and Aleppo to the east each have a nominal division, and these two divisions are in even worse condition than the 33rd Division, the actual size of a regiment, with no artillery and few machine guns."

"From Osmaniye to the west to Konya, there are less than three regiments of troops stationed there, and the most combat-ready regiment is deployed in Konya and the headquarters of our army's Turkish Combined Air Force in Turkey, which is responsible for defending this place."

After listening to the briefing of Su Sanling, chief of the Operations Division of the General Staff, Gu Yingyang frowned and paced behind his back in front of the map frame.

"Where is the general reserve of the Turkish army?"

Su Sanling flipped through the folder and stretched out his hand to draw a line in the center of the map: "Assembled between Ankara and Afyon, there are five divisions, but the strength of each division is less than half of the establishment." ”

Gu Yingyang stopped and glanced at the map, mumbled, turned his head and continued pacing.

"What is the strength of the Entente forces on the front on the south coast of the strait?"

This time, Su Sanling didn't need to go through the folder again, and replied casually: "Roughly three divisions of the British and French armies, plus other independent troops, the total strength is about 100,000 people. ”

"Where's the Turkish army on the other side?"

"Thirteen divisions that are not under the establishment of the division, the actual strength is equivalent to five to six full divisions."

"What is the contrast of forces on the Caucasian front?"

"The Russian army has five to six divisions, and the Turkish army has nine missing divisions - the actual strength is equivalent to three to four full divisions."

Gu Yingyang twisted his fingers and muttered for a moment, then suddenly stood still, his eyes scattered on the Versailles-style garden square with geometric flower beds and pools in the window... To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the starting point to vote for recommendation and monthly passes, and your support is my biggest motivation. You may ask, why haven't Qiu Fatzi's tears flowed yet? b Well, when the fat man cried, it was the end of this chapter...... vice versa