Holy Roman Empire

On June 17, 1882, under the cover of the Austrian Navy, the Anti-Turkish Alliance launched simultaneous attacks across five major war zones.

From the Caucasus to the Black Sea, from the Mediterranean to the Middle East, over twenty thousand miles of continuous battlefield set the record for the longest battlefront in human history.

If Franz hadn’t set his sights on the Iraqi region, perhaps Persia would have also joined the Anti-Turkish Alliance.

A case of one’s downfall leading to another’s demise?

Nonexistent!

The two are old adversaries, and without delving into ancient history, just the refugee crisis following the last Near Eastern war was enough to set the two countries at each other’s throats.

After the outbreak of the Third Near Eastern War, the Persian people were equally eager to try, but Austria didn’t include them in the game.

Without the backing of a major power, the Persian Government could not withstand the pressure from the British and could only restrain their restless hearts.

Only Albrecht remained at the Constantinople Coalition Command, the sole high-ranking official left.

Perhaps because the Ottomans seemed weak, everyone wanted to earn battle honors, and naturally, Albrecht couldn’t impede their path to glory.

From the start of the divided military campaign plan, his role as the head of the Allied Command had been reduced to that of a logistics officer, with no need to concern himself with any troops other than those from the Austrian army.

The brilliant sunshine filtered through the window, illuminating the room—a beautiful day indeed.

With the high command gone, the Allied Command was left with only staff officers and representatives from each nation.

The overall combat plan had been determined, and with implementation details being the responsibility of each major war zone, the command headquarters had become rather leisurely.

Unknowingly, everyone’s daily work had turned into receiving frontline battle reports and analyzing and interpreting them.

Albrecht asked, "How is the landing operation going?"

A staff officer replied, "Aside from a little trouble in the Marmara Sea War Zone, the situation on all fronts is overwhelmingly favorable.

The Russian Army in the Black Sea War Zone has successfully completed the occupation of Ava and Zonguldak, and has managed to land at the ports of İnce Burun, Samsun, Ordu, and Rize.

In the Mediterranean War Zone, our forces have captured Çeşme, Datça, Finike, and Kemer among other areas, and have successfully landed at the ports of Adalia, Anamur, İçel, and İskenderun.

The Greek people in the Marmara Sea War Zone have also successfully landed at Pendik, but displayed poor performance after landing, with the battle still tense.

The forces of Montenegro Duchy have failed in landing at Bandırma three times in a row; Marshal Maxim Trenchev is planning the fourth attempt." Enjoy more content from empire

Indeed, it was overwhelmingly favorable. To achieve so many brilliant victories in just three days since the start of the landing operations was, frankly, beyond criticism.

As for the minor flaws in the Marmara Sea War Zone, they were hardly worth mentioning. From the very beginning, Albrecht had no expectations of Greece and Montenegro, as these two small nations were more or less just making up the numbers.

It wasn’t a question of effort, but rather that their limited military strength meant they could not sustain high casualties.

Many overlooked the bloody sacrifices that accompanied the glorious victories.

Looking at the map, Albrecht dismissed any further advancements; in a sense, this war was a chaotic fight.

The Anti-Turkish Alliance relied on its formidable strength to encircle and attack from all sides; where the enemy was weak, they broke through without any technical sophistication.

After some contemplation, Albrecht ordered, "Send news of our victory to Vienna, and carbon copy a copy of the battle report to our allies."

...

While the Allied Command had already begun celebrating victory, Marshal Publius at Pendik harbor felt not a shred of the joy of victory.

As allies made rapid advances, their own forces were being pressured by the enemy; only those directly involved knew this unpleasant feeling.

During a military meeting, Publius slammed his palm heavily on the table and cursed, "Just look at this, this is the battle you’ve fought.

Two divisions couldn’t even take a small port and were even pushed back, a complete disgrace.

This is the battle report from headquarters. From now on, we are the joke of the Allied Forces, unable to break through on the battlefield despite having three times the advantage in numbers..."

As the overall commander of the Greek Army, Publius also faced tremendous pressure. He didn’t need to match the level of his allies, but he couldn’t allow their performance to be too far behind either.

If the current situation persists, I’m afraid that by the time the war is over, they’ll still be stuck in this little port.

Let alone war spoils, by then the Austrians might even charge them for material costs—where’s the deal in just eating without working?

According to the agreement: the materials consumed in this war will be deducted first from the spoils, and then everyone will share the remaining profits.

Without a doubt, this is calculated on a national level. The strategic materials consumed by Greece will be converted into money and subtracted from their share of the profits.

If they are not satisfied, they can opt out of the logistic support provided by the Vienna Government and take care of it themselves, so they won’t have to worry about this issue.

Unfortunately, Greece cannot afford it. Mounting a military expedition is never an easy task; it is the veritable gold-devouring beast among beasts.

Don’t be deceived by Greece’s deployment of just over twenty thousand soldiers; once the battle starts, they’ll consume tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of shieds worth of materials every day.

It’s effortless to use up Greece’s annual fiscal revenue in one month without breaking a sweat.

Division Commander Weber Velvete explained, "Marshal, it’s not that we’re not making an effort, it’s just that the enemy’s firepower is too fierce, and ours too weak. The moment we show our heads, we get suppressed by the enemy.

When conducting coastal operations, with the firepower support from the Austrian Navy we actually have the upper hand."

Despite all having Austrian equipment, the level of gear varies from nation to nation, and the firepower capacities are different for each as well. Generally speaking, Austria has the strongest firepower, while Greece and Montenegro are at the bottom.

In the Age of Hot Weapons, the strength of firepower directly affects the combat effectiveness of troops. Greece itself is not wealthy; maintaining a navy strains the country’s finances even further.

In the absence of external threats, the army has become complacent, and their firepower equipment is still stuck where it was twenty years ago. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

No matter how corrupt the Ottomans are, they’ve been through social battering. After losing two Near Eastern wars in a row, the Sultan Government has come to place greater emphasis on military construction.

Having fortress installations to rely on, combined with superiority in firepower and stronger combat will, the Greeks’ defeat is not unjustified.

Marshal Publius interjected, "Don’t make excuses for our incompetence. I’ve already applied to the Allied Command regarding the firepower issue, and it won’t take long to resolve.

The urgent task is to come up with an operational plan as soon as possible, take Pendik in the shortest time, and prove our strength to our allies."

Under the law of the jungle, if Greece wants to rip a piece of flesh from the Ottomans, they must prove they have the matching strength.

...

Compared to Publius’s impatience, Marshal Maxim Trenchev’s state of mind is much more balanced.

In this war, Montenegro Duchy is just making up the numbers and has no real demands on dividing the spoils.

Their geographical location has effectively blocked their path for expansion, surrounded on three sides by Austria; they have a coastline, but unfortunately, it faces French territory.

Wanting to expand is like navigating a hellish level, no matter which way you go. Faced with harsh reality, Montenegro has wisely chosen to abandon ambition.

There are many reasons to participate in the war, such as seeking revenge against the Ottomans, boosting public and military morale, and enhancing the government’s prestige.

Or, for instance, increasing their presence to avoid being forgotten by the European world.

Or simply to curry favor with the Vienna Government, securing strategic safety as allies, which is the way of survival for smaller nations.

Maxim Trenchev deeply understood Albrecht’s orders, that tying up the enemy’s forces was enough. As for capturing territory, that was the task of the allies.

Failed landing? No problem, find another location, regroup, and continue. As long as casualties are kept low, they can afford to keep trying.

The actual battle record isn’t important, as no one has any expectations of them; no one will blame them if they lose.

The greatest contribution of Montenegro Duchy to the Alliance is not the deployment of troops for combat, but rather politically bolstering the presence of the Anti-Turkish Alliance.

After the start of the amphibious operation, Maxim Trenchev frequently changed the landing site, bombarding each new site with a relentless barrage from Austrian Navy’s guns.

If after tentative landing operations, it became apparent that they couldn’t easily break through, they would decisively abandon the attempt, not bothering to engage the defenders head-on.

As the sound of gunfire erupted, yet another landing operation commenced. This was Maxim Trenchev’s second visit here, he set down his binoculars and muttered to himself, "The timing seems about right now."

...