Chapter 104: The crescent flag falls Is this the greatest city under the heaven that the Russian tsars have longed for, the Constantinople that symbolizes hegemony and glory?
Looking at it with my own eyes now, except that there are slightly more minarets and temples, it doesn’t seem to be that great.
However, no matter what, as long as they can capture this city, their own generation of Russian soldiers should be able to become gods.
Marshal Vasilevsky, the commander-in-chief of the 600,000-strong Eastern European Allied Forces and the former Chief of General Staff of the Soviet Red Army, was standing on the cliff on the west bank of the Bosporus, holding a pair of high-power military telescopes, overlooking the southern bathing Istanbul street market amid smoke and flames.
Everything seems like a reenactment of the battle of Constantinople that shocked the Western world in 1453 five centuries ago.
However, after five centuries of ups and downs, the city of Istanbul today is completely different from Constantinople in 1453.
In the vision of Marshal Vasilevsky, the Theodosian Wall that guarded the city during the Eastern Roman Empire era has basically ceased to exist with the expansion of the city.
The urban area of Istanbul is also much larger than that of Constantinople during the Eastern Roman Empire.
The Golden Horn, which once served as the city's boundary, has been wrapped into the urban area by various residential buildings.
The positions where Mehmet II once placed Urban's cannon were also covered by houses and markets.
Seen from a distance, it looks scattered and quite messy.
But despite this, this still does not detract from the great charm of the city of Constantinople in the eyes of Russians.
As the most powerful country in the Orthodox Christian world, the Russians, who call themselves the "Third Rome", have always had a strong attachment to Constantinople.
From a military, strategic and geographical perspective, the value of Constantinople is self-evident.
The city is located at the intersection of Europe and Asia, controlling east-west traffic between Asia Minor and the Balkans, as well as between The sea transportation between the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea has the flattest and easy-to-trace land bridge and the narrowest and most difficult waterway in the Black Sea Strait.
It is an excellent natural harbor, a natural place of imperial beauty, and a place guarding the Eurasian continent.
Strategic hub.
If the Russians get Constantinople, it will be like getting the key to the Black Sea.
The enemy can block the Black Sea at any time, and the Russians can freely enter and exit the Mediterranean.
By then, Russia’s maritime strategy in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean will be fully revitalized, and its status as a European maritime power will truly be established.
More importantly, Constantinople's greatest value stems from its great history.
Constantinople has the largest Hagia Sophia in medieval Europe.
It has been the central holy place of the Orthodox Church for thousands of years, and the spiritual leader of the Orthodox Church, the Patriarch of Constantinople, is also based here.
After the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire, Russia became the most powerful country within the Orthodox Church.
Russia has always regarded itself as the successor of the Eastern Roman Empire.
The Russian Orthodox Church originated from the Eastern Roman Empire.
In addition to religion, the scripts of Slavic countries such as Russia, Serbia, and Bulgaria also come from the Eastern Roman Empire.
Unlike the Latin alphabet commonly used in Europe, the alphabet used by most Slavs is called the Cyrillic alphabet, created by the Eastern Roman missionary, Cyril the Greek.
The Eastern Romanization of Russian civilization was from top to bottom.
With the blood and genes of the Eastern Romans, and the two core carriers of culture, religion and writing, Russia has brought Eastern Roman influences in all aspects such as art, architecture, and literature. brand.
In the tsarist era, if Russia could seize Constantinople, drive out the Turkish pagans, restore the Orthodox Holy Land, or even just launch an operation to liberate Constantinople, it could use religious orders to repel the barbarians and promise political independence. , ordered the Orthodox Christian countries in the Balkans to fight against the Turks together, and then established its own strong influence in the Balkans, controlling half of the Mediterranean in one fell swoop.
At the same time, if Russia can regain Constantinople and nominally inherit the historical legal system of the Eastern Roman Empire, then Russia will truly become the successor to at least half of the Roman Empire and the undisputed co-owner of the entire Christian world.
It was precisely because of the temptation of this glorious goal that the Russians, who had just escaped from barbarism and ignorance, would desperately raise their troops southward and launch bold and reckless challenges to the then-powerful Ottoman Turkish Empire again and again, full of passion.
Turkey launched eleven consecutive Russian-Turkish wars, vowing to "restore the Roman East and return it to its old capital, Constantinople."
As for the current war, it can probably be regarded as the twelfth Russo-Turkish War.
Perhaps, it is also the last Russo-Turkish war.
Although the Tsarist Russia ruled by the Romanov family has long since been wiped out, as the successor of Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Red Army’s desire to capture Constantinople and even destroy Turkey, but It hasn't weakened at all.
At present, just like the battle of Constantinople in 1453, the attacking Soviet army surrounded the city from three sides, and the Soviet Black Sea Fleet also broke through the Bosporus and broke into Marma The Lahai, the smallest sea in the world, blocks Istanbul’s sea lines of communication.
Previously, in order to block the Bosporus Strait, the Republic of Türkiye set up many forts on both sides of the strait.
However, just like the British fortress of Singapore, these Turkish forts can only bombard the sea and cannot deal with enemies coming from the land behind.
Moreover, the Turks' military funds are far less abundant than those of the European powers.
The design structure of the coastal defense fortress is too old and its ability to withstand air raids and bombings is very poor.
Therefore, as the 200,000 elite Turkish troops collapsed on the battlefield in East Thrace, hundreds of thousands of Soviet Red Army troops surged along the southwestern coast of the Black Sea, and soon reached the back of the forts on the European side of the Bosporus. , taking out the defenders inside one by one from behind.
At the same time, the Soviet Air Force conducted more than 5,000 sorties of intensive bombing against the Turkish coastal defense batteries on the Asian side across the strait.
Three battleships of the Black Sea Fleet also ventured to the shore at the exit of the strait and conducted a carpet bombardment of these forts that lasted all day.
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Such high-intensity fire strikes, like meteor showers, soon caused the Turkish soldiers on the coastal defense forts, who had never seen a battlefield in their lives, to suffer mental breakdowns one after another.
When a death squad from a Soviet punishment camp paddled When the rubber boat crossed the strait of more than a thousand meters wide and landed on the beach on the other side, it encountered little resistance and easily destroyed the final defense of the Bosporus.
Next, it only took the Soviet Red Navy engineers three hours to clear the two mine nets hastily laid by the Turks, making the front of the Black Sea Fleet a smooth road.
Faced with the Soviet army's pressure on the border, there was naturally a riot in Istanbul.
All Turkish citizens with some wealth began to flee the city with their belongings.
However, as the Black Sea Fleet quickly broke through the natural barriers of the strait and blocked Istanbul's sea traffic, only a very small number of citizens had time to escape to the other side by boat.
The rest were trapped in the city and could only wait quietly in fear.
The final moment is coming.
On the contrary, war refugees who escaped from various captured Turkish towns in Eastern Thrace are still pouring into Istanbul from all directions, making the city increasingly crowded and noisy, and increasingly chaotic and turbulent, with various robberies and killings.
It happens frequently, making it a mess.
But despite this, the Turks still had no intention of giving up resistance.
The Turkish nationalist movement launched by the late "Father of the Nation" Kemal in the past few decades has achieved some success.
Compared with Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, which surrendered without a fight in front of the British and French forces, Istanbul is no longer the capital.
Although the situation is more desperate, it unexpectedly maintains the courage to fight.
Taking advantage of the short period of time before the Eastern European coalition forces entered the city, Istanbul's military and political authorities mobilized the entire city's residents, organized them to collect firearms, build barricades, and hoard drinking water and food.
At the same time, citizens were instructed to urgently make some crude weapons such as Molotov cocktails and large slingshots.
Even the religious figures who were once vigorously suppressed by the Turkish Republic government, at this critical moment when the country was about to be subjugated, took to the streets with scriptures to boost morale, regardless of past grievances, and called on all the Turks in the city to take courage and follow the invading infidels.
Fight bloody battles with atheists.
In the peripheral positions on the outskirts of Istanbul, the Eastern European coalition forces that drove straight in were no longer as devastating and overwhelming as before.
Because the retreating Turkish army, together with some urgently organized militias, began to stop in the satellite towns around Istanbul, regained their courage, relied on simple fortifications to resist, and destroyed bridges and roads to block the enemy's advance.
Propulsion speed.
As a result, as the front approached Istanbul, the intensity of the battle soon suddenly increased and entered a fever pitch.
Within a fifty-kilometer radius surrounding Istanbul, wars were raging everywhere and corpses were everywhere.
Countless Red Army soldiers and Turkish militiamen engaged in the hottest and most passionate collision.
Every second, a Red Army soldier on a certain front was killed.
Sacrifice, and more Turks died for the continuation of the country and nation.
Under this circumstance, the Eastern European coalition forces had to pay a bloody price almost every time they advanced towards Istanbul.
All in all, the Turkish garrison in Istanbul seemed to be convinced that the Soviets did not dare to drop atomic bombs into Istanbul in order to protect a large number of historical monuments in the city and ensure the safety of the Straits and waterways.
The glorious city fought bloody battle to the end.
In addition, although the central government of the Republic of Türkiye, together with the capital Ankara, was wiped out in the mushroom cloud of the Soviet atomic bomb.
The Turkish regular troops everywhere were also blown to pieces by the nuclear bomb blasts of the Soviet Red Army.
They had to simultaneously fight against the 600,000 Soviet Caucasus Front troops who came from the northeast, and at the same time suppress the Kurdish uprising.
It can be said that it was exhausted, embarrassed, and on the verge of collapse from the beginning.
However, at this time, the millions of Turkish soldiers and civilians entrenched in Istanbul are not completely without foreign aid.
"What's going on?
An American fleet from Egypt passed through the Dardanelles Strait and broke into the Sea of Marmara.
There are only three hours left from Istanbul.
What's going on?
Didn't the Greeks capture Garibald yesterday?
Are you on the Peninsula?"
Listening to the report of a staff officer, Marshal Vasilevsky showed a surprised expression, "Why didn't they block the strait?"
"Although the Greek South Thracian Army successfully captured the Gallipoli Peninsula, the Turks destroyed all the coastal artillery before they were defeated and retreated.
It was difficult for the Greek Army to block the strait with only field artillery.
Moreover, the Dardanelles Strait The coastal defense forts on the Asian side of the other side are still in the hands of the Turks.
They have been shelling the other side during the passage of the American fleet, suppressing the Greek firepower. " The staff officer replied, "According to aerial reconnaissance, the American fleet that came to the rescue included a light aircraft carrier, a cruiser, three destroyers and two fast transport ships, in addition to three ships that were originally in the Aegean Sea.
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The old Turkish gunboats also came with them.”
"It's not bad.
This is not a large number of troops.
The Black Sea Fleet should be able to deal with it.
But if it doesn't work, there are also our dive bombers."
Marshal Vasilevsky rubbed his forehead and sighed, "Since the Americans insist on squeezing in, there is no need to let them go back alive.
However, the stubborn enemy entrenched in Istanbul must be dealt with as soon as possible, otherwise if it is delayed, Over time, there will definitely be more trouble.
Let the frontline airport prepare special gas bombs and carry out saturation bombing of downtown Istanbul as long as the wind direction is suitable."
So, at the frontline airport on the Thracian plain, Soviet ground staff opened the tightly locked secret warehouse, used a small car to push out special aerial bombs with yellow and black skull icons, and then carefully installed them On the bomb rack and belly of the bomber If there is any most significant difference between World War III and World War I and World War II, it is that the chivalry of all warring parties has completely disappeared, and the moral limit has further reached new lows.
Not only did the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, send atomic bombs everywhere, they also planted countless mushroom clouds in Europe and Asia, turning historical cities into radioactive ruins.
Poison gas is not limited to battles for frontline positions like World War I, but is widely used to bomb enemy cities and massacre civilians.
Even the bacterial weapons that create plagues, this even more inhumane thing, are showing signs of being used on a large scale.
Therefore, Marshal Vasilevsky calmly issued the order to conduct an indiscriminate gas war on Istanbul, and the Soviet Air Force also performed a continuous large-scale and accurate bombing operation as expected, leaving this unyielding city under the tower♂ The Bengdu fog covered two days and two nights, successfully wiping out two-thirds of the city's population, thereby significantly "softening" the Turkish resistance and basically achieving complete takeover of the city.
At the same time, the American support fleet that bravely broke into the Sea of Marmara also ushered in their final doomsday.
Cyrene, Benghazi, Tobruk Military Port On the heavy cruiser "Wichita", which was temporarily used as a command headquarters, Admiral Eisenhower frowned and read the latest telegram received.
Generally speaking, the bad news is basically that the enemy troops are pressing on the territory before the bad news, and there is a fire in the inner courtyard afterward.
After learning that the Soviet Union had declared war on Turkey, Admiral Eisenhower, regardless of his own difficult situation, assembled a fleet from Egypt, packed some arms and ammunition and rushed to Istanbul, hoping to help the Turks and block the Soviet navy as long as possible.
Outside the Mediterranean Sea.
Unexpectedly, the Turks collapsed much faster than expected.
Before the US fleet arrived in Istanbul, the Soviet Black Sea Fleet had already broken through the Bosporus and was waiting outside the port of Istanbul.
The US military was forced to use a heavy cruiser to bombard the Soviets.
The three battleships and one light aircraft carrier used to fight against the Soviet shore-based aviation could not find a more suitable word to describe it other than seeking death.
As a result, after a short fierce battle, the flagship heavy cruiser USS Tuscaloosa was wounded and ran aground and was captured, the light aircraft carrier USS San Jacinto sank, and the two Brazilian fast transport ships carrying aid supplies simply chose The white flag was flown to surrender, and two of the three accompanying destroyers were sunk.
The last remaining destroyer, the USS Antony, finally managed to escape from the battlefield.
At the port of Bandirma on the southern coast of the Sea of Marmara, it joined three Turkish gunboats that had belatedly arrived due to aging engines and extremely low speed.
However, Then they found that they were cut off.
At the same time as the naval battle of Istanbul broke out, the Soviets used a division of airborne troops to surprise Dada.
Çanakkale on the east coast of the Neil Strait captured the Turkish forts on the east side of the strait and laid a large number of mines into the strait as quickly as possible, thus blocking the Dardanelles Strait and allowing the unlucky destroyer Anthony Trapped in the Sea of Marmara, which has a total area of only 1.89 million square kilometers and is smaller than many freshwater lakes, there is no way out.
Facing the request telegram sent back by the destroyer Anthony, Admiral Eisenhower suddenly felt angry.
He really wanted to order them to weigh anchor quickly, sail directly to Istanbul again, launch a suicidal attack on the Soviet fleet, and die there with great force. .
But after calming down and thinking about it carefully, I decided to let them scuttle the warship in Bandirma Port, then wait for an opportunity to take the overland route through the Asia Minor Peninsula, look for ships in the southern ports of Turkey, and return to Egypt on their own.
After all, skilled sailors have become very precious now. .
After the U.S.
Navy was wiped out many times in a row, although the U.S.'
s huge industrial strength could quickly produce a large number of new warships, there was no time to train qualified sailors.
Many newly commissioned warships did not even have one No one knows how to use a sextant.
They will only follow the battleship in front.
If you act alone, you will definitely get lost.
Next, the Soviets openly electrified the world and announced that they had successfully captured Istanbul.
Obviously, the Turks, who were weak and had eaten a lot of atomic bombs, could no longer stop the Soviet Red Army.
In the next few days, the Soviet Red Navy's large fleet will move east-west from the Turkish Strait and the Strait of Gibraltar to attack and eliminate Eisenhower, the fish in the pot.
However, another atomic bomb hit the Port of Suez.
The shipwreck blocked the waterway, and the Allied forces trapped in North Africa were cut off from their supply lines.
It doesn't matter what you want here.
The enemy still has countless nuclear bombs that can be used to lift the table.
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How can you fight such a battle?
The frontal battlefield is in a mess, and fires are burning behind the front.
Just last week, a new wave of major uprising broke out among the oppressed Syrian Arabs and successfully occupied Damascus and Aleppo.
However, the morale of the local Free French colonial troops was extremely low.
The indigenous soldiers either defected or took off their uniforms and went home.
The white soldiers gave up the city with almost no resistance and fled to the neighboring Republic of Lebanon in chaos.
Revolts broke out in Syria, and the situation in Egypt deteriorated rapidly.
In order to dredge the Suez Canal that was blocked by the nuclear explosion and restore this lifeline that supports the Allied Forces in North Africa, less than a week after the nuclear explosion, the US military in Egypt forcibly requisitioned three One hundred thousand Egyptian laborers were not given any protective equipment and were forced at gunpoint to clean rivers in the radiation zone, repair dikes, port facilities, and excavate sunken ships.
As a result, the restoration of the Suez Canal, before it had even begun, aroused widespread fear and widespread riots throughout Egypt.
The revolting people occupied more than twenty small and medium-sized cities in a short period of time, paralyzed Egypt's railway transportation, and successfully turned the capital Cairo into a large battlefield, occupying most of the neighborhoods.
More than 10,000 U.S. troops in the city were trapped in a few data points and struggled to hold on, like a few rocks in the sea being constantly beaten by strong winds and waves.
Faced with such a situation of internal and external troubles, General Eisenhower knew very well that he had to make another major strategic retreat.
Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Eisenhower pinched his nose and ordered the abandonment of Malta, Crete, Syria, Lebanon and Cyprus, and ordered all armies and fleets to retreat back to Alexandria, Egypt.
He prepared to give priority to suppressing the rebellion in Egypt, and then proceed Respond to the Soviet offensive.
However, all the staff members said they could not implement his latest order, which seemed very reasonable, because "The Soviets just dropped the atomic bomb on Alexandria and our fleet has no homeport in the Nile Delta." s: There has been another joke in the recent US election campaign.
First, the media claimed that Russia colluded with Trump to help send agents to poison Hillary.
At the same time, the former director of the CIA openly agreed in a TV interview that although there was no evidence, he "intuitively judged" that Trump must be a Russian spy to poison Hillary.
If it were so easy to poison Hillary, all American officials would have been fed Three Corpse Brain Pills, Leopard Fetal Yijin Pills, and thirty-six life and death talismans by the way.
Also, the dignified Director of the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States has actually fallen to the level of unreliability of Taiwanese famous mouthpieces.
I wonder if this once prestigious agency has become so desperate that it has started to fabricate information and defraud funds all day long. oshow7: