Chapter 386: One Night Comeback
Chapter 386: Overnight Turnaround
The day after Garibaldi's death, Muzafer led his troops across the Danube.
Prince Carol I of Romania suddenly sent a telegram to the world and publicly announced: The Ottoman Empire's massacre in Bulgaria was outrageous to both humans and gods, and the looting of the small town of Julju on the Danube by the Turkish army after crossing the Danube made the Ottoman Empire lose the recognition of the Romanian people.
Romania no longer recognized the Ottoman Empire as its suzerain, Romania declared independence, and Carol I declared himself the King of Romania.
At the same time, Romania declared war on the Ottoman Empire, gathered an army of 200,000, and formed an alliance with the main force of the Bulgarian Restoration Army that retreated into Romania to resist the invasion of the Ottoman Empire.
The day before Romania declared war, 200,000 troops had already set out from Bucharest. Well, this was a bit too fast, and it was obvious that they had gathered for a long time. It was estimated that if there were no Turks looting in Julju, these 200,000 troops would have joined the war.
The next day, when war was declared, the army was already confronting and exchanging fire with the Ottoman army in Julju.
Romania's sudden rebellion caught the Turks off guard. At the same time, the Bulgarian Restoration Army, which had been retreating all the way, suddenly turned back and joined forces with the Romanian army to surround 100,000 elite Turkish troops on the banks of the Danube.
The 100,000-strong Turkish expeditionary force was fighting with their backs to the river, and the situation immediately became critical.
Almost at the same time, Serbia and Montenegro declared independence from the control of the Ottoman Empire and declared war on the Ottoman Empire.
At the same time as the declaration of war was issued, a coalition force of 120,000 soldiers consisting of 70,000 Serbian soldiers and 50,000 Montenegrin soldiers crossed the border with Bulgaria and headed straight for Sofia.
Except for Bulgaria, the other three vassal states of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans all defected at the same time.
The Ottoman Empire was in a panic, and to make matters worse, its mortal enemy Greece declared war on the Ottoman Empire. An army of 100,000 advanced into Thrace and headed straight for Istanbul. At the same time, the navy attacked and entered the Sea of Marmara to cooperate with the army's operations.
The Ottoman Empire's 400,000 troops were all outside, and Istanbul was empty. Sultan Abdul Aziz I urgently dispatched 100,000 troops stationed in Harmanli to return to the capital to support it.
Unexpectedly, the Greeks made a feint and immediately retreated, marching towards Sofia. The 220,000 troops from Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece surrounded the 100,000 Turkish regular troops in Sofia, and the encirclement was slowly tightening.
Romania, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece declared war on the Ottoman Empire at the same time. The Balkan War escalated and broke out in full swing, with flames raging on the peninsula.
The next day, the Italian government, which had learned of the full-scale outbreak of the Balkan War, responded and announced that it would follow public opinion and form four Italian volunteer divisions to march into the Balkans to avenge Garibaldi, the father of the Italian nation.
Italy was really not prepared in advance. Although citizens enthusiastically signed up for the volunteer force, it would take more than one or two days to set out. However, the Italian Navy sailed to the Aegean Sea that day and announced that it would jointly attack Turkish coastal cities with the Greek Navy.
On the banks of the Danube, three hundred field guns of a division of the Bulgarian Restoration Army roared at the same time.
In Muzaffar Pasha's mind, the Bulgarian Restoration Army that fled all the way from Sofia to Romania should have lost all morale, with a large number of deserters and no longer any fighting power.
This is military common sense. It is impossible for an army that is always retreating and fleeing to maintain the desire to fight. Therefore, Pasha dared to cross the river and pursue.
However, the Restoration Army did not disintegrate due to low morale. This was beyond Muzafer's imagination. It was completely unreasonable, okay?
For the first time in the world, an army controlled by an Irish supervisor showed its indestructible, invincible and tenacious qualities. Not only the Turks could not imagine it, but even their allies, the Romanians, could not understand it.
The regular army of the Ottoman Empire had a psychological advantage over the army of its former vassal state, Romania, and was not afraid of the 200,000 Romanian troops. However, the mere 52,000 Bulgarian Restoration Army showed an absolutely amazing fighting will.
The bombardment of the field artillery division made the Turks exhausted, and the Romanian army suddenly took out its hidden backup. One hundred armored vehicles equipped with Hotchkiss 37mm high-speed guns appeared on the battlefield.
——This was free aid from Romania’s good neighbor, the Grand Duchy of Crimea. In fact, it prompted Carol I to make the final decision to defect.
The defensive power of wheeled armored vehicles is far inferior to that of tanks, but when they appeared on the banks of the Danube, the Turks were completely helpless against these invulnerable creatures.
The Turkish machine guns couldn't penetrate this thing. The Turks didn't have rapid-fire guns, so the only thing that could cause damage to the armored vehicles was artillery. Let the artillery aim at the moving armored vehicles, and the artillery said, whoever has the ability can fire.
Although there was no coordination between infantry and tanks, the Romanian troops following the armored vehicles were still in high spirits. The Bulgarian Restoration Army's barrage of charges had been practiced very well.
Shao Quanxiao had a stern face and issued orders continuously. Under the textbook-like and rigorous command of the Chief of General Staff, the old Russian soldiers exerted their super combat effectiveness. The seven mixed brigades followed the artillery division's barrage and charged in sequence, creating a smooth rhythm.
One hundred thousand Turkish soldiers fought with their backs to the river under the fierce attack of more than 250,000 enemy troops. Muzafer Pasha did not have the ability of Han Xin. The Turks' desperate battle not only failed to boost their morale, but instead caused panic among the people and demoralized the army.
Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, Pasha took the boat to the south bank first. The Turkish soldiers behind him kept competing for the limited crossing space, and a large number of them fell into the Danube.
Only 3,000 Turkish soldiers followed Pasha to escape to the south bank. The remaining soldiers were leaderless and demoralized, and they surrendered collectively to the Romanian and Bulgarian Restoration Army.
Muzafer, who fled to the other side of the Danube, was shocked to find that the gates of Ruse were closed and the new Bulgarian tricolor flag with a rose wreath was raised in the city.
Seeing that the Turks were defeated, the citizens of Ruse took the opportunity to revolt and took control of the city.
With pursuers behind them, the Restoration Army's artillery bombarded the fleeing Turkish troops from across the river, and the Romanian coalition forces were crossing the river to pursue them. Muzafer did not dare to attack Ruse, which had very poor defense capabilities, and he went around the city and fled to the Pleven Fortress.
Along the way, countless guerrillas kept adding insult to injury. When Pasha finally met his subordinate, Major General Bey, who came out of the Pleven Fortress to support him, he was only accompanied by fifty guards, and his situation was miserable.
The Romanian army and the Bulgarian Restoration Army followed and surrounded the Pleven Fortress with an army of 250,000.
Generally speaking, if ten are surrounded, it is difficult for 250,000 people to surround 100,000 people.
But these 250,000 people are all combat troops, and there is no logistics troops for transporting food, but that is enough.
Including the Bulgarian compatriots who continuously provided food and fodder, and the guerrillas who were trying to plug the gaps in the periphery, the number of people besieging the Pleven Fortress was simply impossible to calculate.
Just like the 220,000 Greek, Serbian and Montenegrin coalition forces that surrounded Sofia, they were all pure combat forces.
The Bulgarian fellows were extremely enthusiastic about the reinforcements coming to support Bulgaria's just struggle. They provided all the logistics and food supplies. A guerrilla force of 100,000 people, led by their leader Sophie, also joined the siege.
Now the Turks only have 100,000 troops left to support Istanbul.
Seeing that the joint navies of Greece and Italy had begun shelling the coastal cities, it was only a matter of time before Italy's four volunteer divisions came to attack. These 100,000 people would never be sent out to rescue Sofia and the Pleven Fortress.
The Turks were beaten to the ground by Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Italy, and the military situation instantly became a mess.
Sultan Aziz sent an urgent telegram to Buckingham Palace, "Brother Britain, please save me quickly, I am dying."
June 1872, 6, Istanbul, Golden Horn.
The Greek and Italian joint fleet that bombarded the Golden Horn suddenly withdrew.
Black smoke billowed over the sea in the distance. More than a dozen ironclad ships flying the Union Jack docked in the Golden Horn one after another. The British Mediterranean Fleet, which had departed from the Akrotiri naval port in Cyprus, arrived in Istanbul.
Sultan Abdul Aziz personally went to the port to welcome the support fleet from Britain. As he watched teams of British troops carrying Martini rifles come ashore, the Sultan burst into tears.
Britain announced its intervention in the Balkan War.
(End of this chapter)