The news of Colonel Abuliz's disappearance was bad news for Major General Hashim. Of course, what is even more worrying about him is that the losses of the First Brigade are not small.

At present, only about 4,000 men remained in the brigade, and in addition to 800 casualties in two days of fighting with the Italian Eighth Division, the remaining casualties came from the retreat at night.

Of course, Colonel Abuliz, who disappeared among them, bears a lot of responsibility. After all, he is the commander of the troops, and there is no way to justify such a large casualty.

Of course, considering that he is missing, Major General Hashim is not good to pursue it. And for him, the most important thing at the moment is to withdraw the 2nd Brigade in Vachari.

However, compared to the 1st Brigade in Vola, Vachari was not attacked by the Italian army because it was on the road between Durrës and Tirana, which also gave the 2nd Brigade enough time to evacuate.

Major General Hasham had ordered the 2nd Brigade to return to Tirana with its troops.

As for the First Brigade, for the time being, its chief of staff will take over for the time being, and letting it recover first will also be conducive to the next defensive work. So the 1st brigade, after returning to Tirana, was given a valuable two-day rest.

As for Lieutenant General Simeone in Durrës, after receiving the news that the Eighth Division had captured Vola in two days and opened the road to Tirana, he was even more confident in his plan.

In addition to the performance of the Eighth Division, there are of course other reasons that make him so confident, the most important of which is that in addition to the 14th Division, which has all landed, the Fourth Mountain Brigade has also landed.

Being able to send both the 14th Division and the 4th Mountain Brigade ashore in four days was naturally inseparable from the hard work of the engineer troops.

Now Simeone has 40,000 troops in two divisions and one brigade, and he has full confidence in the capture of Tirana. After all, in Tirana, the Ottomans had only two and a half divisions, less than 40,000 men (not knowing that the enemy's 21st division had been withdrawn).

At present, Durrës has 67 guns of caliber of 100 mm or more, of which 31 are of 150 mm or more. As for the opponent, according to intelligence, there are 24 guns of more than 100 mm caliber, all of which are 105 mm howitzers, and there are no cannons of more than 150 mm and with a long range.

The reason for this is still that problem, the Ottoman army did not intend to hold on here, so heavier large-caliber and cannons, which are very unsuitable for transfer? I can only not carry it. After all, compared to light guns up to 100 mm? Large-caliber and cannons all start at least 1.5 tons, in this era of only charging power? It is simply impossible to think about it (there is no railway in Tirana).

Of course, it's not time to attack the ground now? Because you need to be more prepared, if nothing else? Ammunition always needs to be plentiful.

Before, because the port rushed to transport personnel and equipment, the ammunition transportation was in the back? Of course, this refers to the scale of ammunition needed for the big war? And small and medium-sized battles do not require so much preparation.

At present, Simeone has a goal and is ready to occupy Vachari first. Because according to his judgment, after the capture of Vola, the Ottomans should not stay here any longer? Because the road to Tirana has been opened.

Soon intelligence from reconnaissance? Affirmed his judgment.

"The enemy in Vachari is packing up, and it seems that the enemy is not stupid."

Seeing the latest information from Vachari, Simeone muttered to himself.

"Then will we send the Fourteenth Division over?"

Faced with Chief of Staff Bartlett's words, Simeone thought for a moment and spoke. "Forget it, it's not appropriate to send another fourteenth division? Let the 4th Mountain Brigade pass, it just so happens that the terrain of Vachari is also suitable for the 4th Mountain Brigade to play. ”

For Simone's words? Bartlett agrees. It is true that the terrain of Wachari is slightly more complex than that of Vola, which also makes the roads in the area worse than those of Wola. Let the mountain brigade pass? It is able to take advantage of the lightness of its equipment. Besides, keep the 14th Division as a living force? More able to cope with various situations in the future.

And with Simeone's orders? The officers and men of the 4th Mountain Brigade who have not fully recovered less than two days after disembarking? After receiving the order, he immediately packed up his bags and prepared to go. Colonel Ellans, who was the commander of the 4th Mountain Brigade, also immediately arranged for the departure of the troops.

"Let the first regiment set off first, the second regiment will follow, and the headquarters and affiliated troops will be last."

Following his order, the 4th Mountain Brigade set out in turn.

Of course, on the way to Vachari this time, there was basically no fighting. If there were, it was only a spontaneous action by a sporadic local Albanian. However, these battles may be more appropriately called clearances, and they simply do not delay the footsteps of the Fourth Mountain Brigade. In the evening of the same day, Simeone received a message from Brigadier Elans that they had occupied Vacari.

And when the 4th Mountain Brigade occupied Vachari, in the headquarters of the 2nd Macedonian Army, Lieutenant General Javad Pasha had just received a piece of information, and his face was ugly.

"Damn it, the actions of the Italians have confused us."

True, the information that the Italian army was pinned down by the exercises of the French was finally known to the Ottomans.

And Lieutenant General Javad Pasha, who received this telegram, was mischievous, and this telegram really did not come at the right time, if he could have known it four or five days in advance, then he could have other ideas, as for now, it is really not easy to do.

Because he had just received that Vola and Vachari had been abandoned, the defenders stationed in Tirana were already on the defensive. If he wanted to change this situation, he would have to increase his troops, which was contrary to the policy he had set in the beginning.

Perhaps seeing Javad Pasha's hesitant expression, Major General Kahraman, who was the chief of staff of the army group, asked. "Then can we surprise a wave of reinforcements when the enemy attacks Tirana, so that the enemy will not be so presumptuous."

Of course, Lieutenant General Javad Pasha understood the meaning of the chief of staff's words, and he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to transfer troops to the Italians. And it was not unwise to choose the time when the enemy launched an attack on Tirana. Javad Pasha was naturally a little moved in his heart, but after carefully examining the map, he dismissed the idea.

"Chief of Staff, although your idea is good, it is not easy to achieve such an effect. First of all, how to hide from the enemy's sight. And even if we hide it, then how can we quickly defeat the enemy instead of being entangled in it. And ......"

Lieutenant General Javad Pasha asked several questions in a row, so that Major General Kahramane did not know how to answer them for a while.

Seeing the appearance of the chief of staff, Javad Pasha saw that this was also the same as himself, wanting to use this news to seek something. But the risks involved, he did not calculate.

"Let's continue to prepare as before, continue to strengthen our positions, and wait for the enemy's attack. It's a lot harder for us than our opponents on the transport lines. ”

Seeing this news does not bring him benefits, and Lieutenant General Javad Pasha is certainly not reconciled, but the risk of drastically changing the plan is too great to be worth it at all. Be cautious, as the commander of the group army, of course, Javad Pasha needs to take into account all aspects, so it is better to be cautious.

However, although Lieutenant General Javad Pasha chose to be cautious, he was not at all cautious on the Italian side. After five days of preparation, Simeone drove outside Tirana with the 8th and 14th Divisions and most of the 4th Mountain Brigade.

The first decent battle between Italy and Turkey was about to break out.