Chapter 412: Urgent Aid to Bulgaria
Chapter 412: Urgent Aid to Bulgaria
Varna port on the west coast of the Black Sea.
The shallow and vast beach is ten kilometers long and the sea is calm.
In the morning mist, huge black shadows emerged from the shallow white fog and appeared on the sea, spewing black smoke and accelerating the steam to the maximum, not sparing the coal and the life of the steam engine.
The shadows came closer, and the armored beasts showed their true appearance. On the side of the 7,000-ton giant ship in the lead was the three Chinese characters "Zhenxi", and on the mast was a double-headed eagle flag.
Behind them were four 3,000-ton cruisers, namely "Yangwei", "Chaoyong", "Jingyuan" and "Laiyuan".
Behind them were twenty thousand-ton wooden-hulled steam transport ships and ten thousand-ton ironclad frigates.
The entire Black Sea Fleet of the Grand Duchy of Crimea of the Russian Empire is here.
On the Wang Fu-class ironclad ship Zhenxi, the 23-year-old young captain Lin Taizeng stood on the deck with his hands behind his back with a serious face.
Lin Taizeng wore a peaked cap, a double-breasted tweed coat, a snow-white shirt collar with a bow tie on it, and his attire was meticulous.
Lin Taiteng and Liu Buchan were the two best students studying in England and elites in the Nanyang Navy.
Now the Nanyang Fleet, once ranked second in the world, has been disbanded. Lin Taizeng is in charge of the Black Sea Fleet, and Liu Buchan is in charge of the Spanish Royal Navy. The naval forces under their respective command are among the top ten in the world.
As the great-nephew of Lin Zexu, Lin Tai was under great pressure and worked diligently, fearing that he would bring shame to his ancestor's glory.
Despite his young age, he always looked calm and composed, but he couldn't help but reveal a hint of anxiety under his calm expression.
Xu Bangdao beside him was much more optimistic than him. "Admiral Lin, don't worry. During the Balkan War and the Bulgarian Restoration War, the Restoration Army besieged Sofia three times, but the city was never captured. In the end, the Ottoman Empire troops in Sofia surrendered."
"So, even if the Ottoman Empire has already reached Sofia, we will still be able to rescue it in time, and the Marshal's brother will be fine."
"Without the assistance of Serbia, Montenegro, Romania and Italy, and Greece's delay in raising troops, it would be difficult for Bulgaria alone to resist the Ottoman Empire's offensive."
"I don't know what the situation is like on the battlefield. I heard that Bulgaria only has one division of regular troops, while the Ottoman Empire can mobilize an army of 500,000."
"We have more than 13,000 people in our town. Can we help them defend Bulgaria until the Marshal's reinforcements arrive?"
Xu Bangdao was already 37 years old. He had served on the battlefields with Zuo Zongtang for a long time and had made numerous military achievements.
Now, as the Qing Dynasty's Assistant Minister in Crimea, Minister of Military Affairs of the Grand Duchy of Crimea, and Count Kerch, he is full of the confidence of a military man.
"Hehe, my army is here to defend our territory for you, Marshal. Think about it, can you mistreat my soldiers?"
"It's not that Xu is arrogant. Although Xu's troops are few, they are the best-equipped tank division."
"A tank division of the Guangdong New Army was able to defeat 250,000 troops of the Loire Army. I don't believe that the Ottoman Empire's army is stronger than the French."
"It's possible. We don't even need the Marshal's reinforcements to defeat the Ottomans."
"Your Excellency, please be careful. The Ottomans now have a tank division and two mechanized infantry divisions. Their equipment is far superior to that of the Loire Army back then..."
While the two were talking, the Zhenxi had already docked at Varna Port.
The Chu army, carrying Mauser rifles and wearing steel helmets, ran off the boat and quickly formed a line.
Xu Bangdao was the last one to get off the boat and turned back to wave to Lin Taizeng.
The Zhenxi sounded the whistle and reversed, preparing to make way for the soldiers on other warships to land.
At other berths in the distance, transport ships had already docked, and wheeled personnel carriers, artillery tractors, steam armored vehicles, and tank transporters carrying tanks began to slowly drive onto the port.
Nowadays, steam equipment needs four hours to be preheated and started in order to run at full power. It should be preheated while at sea to avoid wasting time.
A Bulgarian officer with the rank of major ran over and saluted Xu Bangdao. "Joseph, the commander of the Varna Militia Patrol Guard, greets the general." Xu Bangdao was not polite with him. "Quick, is the train ready? My troops must hurry to Sofia to protect the capital of Bulgaria."
There is currently only one completed railway in Bulgaria, which is the one from Sofia to Varna. Other railways are still under construction.
Railways to foreign countries - no. Neighboring countries, even if they are richer than Bulgaria, do not have such awareness - the neighboring Ottoman Empire, Serbia, Romania do not have railways...
Joseph stood at attention and said, "Thank you for your quick assistance, General. His Majesty the Tsar just called and asked General Xu to help defend Varna and protect the Bulgarian port of passage. This is a great achievement."
Joseph himself was an officer trained by Shao Quanzhong himself at the "Bulgarian Restoration Army Camp Military Academy" and his Chinese was quite good.
Xu Bangdao was very dissatisfied. "We hurried here from Crimea, are we just going to defend Varna? Shao Quanxiao was the Prime Minister of Crimea. He must be aware of the combat effectiveness of our Chu army, right?"
Joseph said confidently, "General Xu, you have never been to Bulgaria, so you don't know us. After the departure of Minister Zhang, Bulgaria is no longer the same as before. Hehe, the Ottomans can come but cannot leave."
"Your Majesty the Tsar has stated that Varna is the pearl of the Black Sea in Bulgaria, with beautiful scenery and many beautiful women on the beach."
"Bulgaria has been through war for a long time, and the ratio of men to women is unbalanced. For this reason, we have specially legislated that a man must bear the responsibility of marrying more than two wives. If General Xu is interested in marrying a few Bulgarian beauties as concubines, we welcome it very much."
Xu Bangdao was amused. "Nonsense, how could there be women on the beach in such a cold weather? Why doesn't Shao Quanxiao dare to marry a concubine? Is he so confident that he can withstand the Ottoman attack?"
Joseph raised his chin and said, "His Majesty the Tsar has personally led a large army to fight against the Ottoman invaders in the east of Sofia. The outcome of the battle should be clear by now, and there will be victory news soon."
…………
Southeast of Sofia, Balkan Pass.
A large number of steam tank transport vehicles drove out of the mountain pass, and in front of them was the flat Sophia Basin.
Major General Bey was in high spirits, and he felt deeply moved as he looked at the rumbling torrent of steel under his command.
These were weapons purchased from the Qing Dynasty at a huge expense by His Majesty Murad V. As a result, His Majesty Murad was deposed, and the weapons became a powerful weapon for His Majesty Hamid II to conquer Bulgaria.
Isn't the new Bulgarian Tsar known as a master of military strategy? Why didn't he send anyone to guard such an important mountain pass? I thought there would be a bloody battle here.
Humph, once we break through the mountain pass and besiege Sofia, you can just wait for the destruction of your country!
Now, you have no neighbors to help you.
Italy is our ally, Serbia and Montenegro are being attacked by the Austro-Hungarian Empire and are unable to take care of themselves. Both the Central Powers and the Entente are trying to persuade Romania to join, but Romania is hesitating and waiting to see which side will benefit it. We can't help you.
"Report, Bulgarian positions found ten miles ahead."
Wow, instead of defending the mountain pass where one man can block ten thousand, you run to the plains to line up and resist the mechanized army. Did you get kicked in the brain by a donkey?
Is it that Shao Quanxiao is just a name for nothing? Or has he slept with that flower girl for too long and is now in a daze?
"Come on, deploy the troops, tanks drive off the transport vehicles, prepare for the assault, armored vehicles and infantry follow up!"
Soon, the two tank brigades were ready and the first brigade began to advance.
Behind them, wheeled armored vehicles attacked from both wings, and the infantry, holding shotguns, followed the tanks and wheeled armored vehicles, moving forward with their backs bent.
In the war years, advanced tactics spread quickly. Infantry-tank coordination? You can do it, and so can I.
Major General Bey rode forward and raised the telescope on his horse.
The charging steam tanks moved slowly but steadily towards the enemy positions at a speed of 13 kilometers per hour.
(End of this chapter)