I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France
Chapter 269: The Delayed 28 Days

Chapter 269: Chapter 269: The Delayed 28 Days

The Ottoman Empire and the Germans were almost unprepared in the Dardanelles Strait.

This was what General Winter told Shire, sending an excited telegram to Shire:

"Your plan was very successful, Colonel."

"Our intelligence indicates that of the more than a hundred guns installed by the Ottoman Empire in the Dardanelles Strait, most are old cannons from more than a dozen years ago. The new artillery that can pose a threat to battleships is less than twenty."

"Moreover, the enemy lacks sufficient materials, ammunition, and even mines. Many of the mines are Russian mines that drifted into the Marmara Sea after the mooring cables broke in the Black Sea, and the Ottoman Empire ’picked them up’ and reused them."

"The Ottomans and Germans had clearly fallen for the trick; they were unprepared in the Dardanelles Strait. Victory is in sight!"

However, the situation wasn’t as optimistic as General Winter imagined.

Admiral Carden’s "piecemeal tactics" constantly gave the enemy chances to rest and resupply, even allowing the defenders to learn how to engage in combat.

Shire watched helplessly as the great opportunity he created was wasted by the foolish commanders of the British Royal Navy.

In the end, even the British couldn’t stand it anymore.

The Ministry of the Navy sent Admiral Carden two telegrams: "If the fleet suffers losses due to the attack and the entire operation fails, the responsibility will fall on the Minister of the Navy. You should only focus on your task and the enemy ahead of you!"

The meaning of the telegram was clear: fight without worry, if you lose, it’s your superior’s fault; if you win, it’s your achievement.

But Admiral Carden still couldn’t face the war directly, and the next day, he left his post for rear-line recuperation due to health reasons.

Before leaving, he recommended Major General Robek to take over command, but Major General Wims was more senior than Robek, leading the fleet to debate for three days.

It wasn’t resolved until Major General Robek was urgently promoted to Vice Admiral.

By this time, it had been 28 days since the fleet arrived at the Dardanelles Strait and fired the first shot.

...

Shire’s eyes were dark-ringed. He sent a telegram to General Winter: "This battle is already lost. The wise choice is to withdraw the troops."

General Winter arrived at Shire’s office that afternoon, looking haggard as if he had been constantly traveling due to the Dardanelles Strait battle.

Shire brought General Winter to the conference room and, before even sitting down, told him firmly: "No one would conduct a feint attack for 28 days. Even the dumbest Germans can guess that our attack focus is the Dardanelles Strait."

"You’re right, Colonel," General Winter replied, dejected. "Now no matter how we bluff in the north, it’s useless. The Germans are shipping large quantities of torpedoes, cannons, and shells to the Dardanelles Strait."

"So, do you still hold any illusions about this battle?" Shire asked.

In principle, as long as the Ottoman Empire had enough mines, the British fleet would never pass through the Dardanelles Strait.

General Winter looked at Shire with anticipation in his eyes: "I want to know if you have any other plans? For instance, we might actually land in the north..."

Shire shook his head: "It’s been almost a month, General. We’ve been making the Germans believe we would land in the north. They’re already well-prepared there."

This was the consequence of a deception within a deception. Initially, it was to mislead the Germans, now making a northern landing impossible.

Shire slowly persuaded General Winter: "The only thing you can do now is stop them. Given a month to prepare, even using real combat to train a large number of soldiers who know how to defend the strait, the only way to defeat the enemy in this situation is for the Ottoman Empire to voluntarily surrender."

General Winter frowned and sighed: "You might be right, Colonel. But I can’t persuade them. The Minister of the Navy believes that the previous failure was due to General Carden’s cowardice. Now it’s Major General Robek’s turn..."

Shire interrupted General Winter: "The Dardanelles Strait is now filled with German mines, more advanced and numerous than before. And Major General Robek probably doesn’t know this; he has no command experience."

General Winter’s face turned ashen. After a long pause, he finally nodded heavily: "I’ll give it a try. If the Minister of the Navy proceeds with the attack, it could be a disaster!"

With that, General Winter hurriedly left.

He usually traveled by train from his post in Ypres, but now he headed straight for the airport, trying to get back to Britain as quickly as possible to discuss with the Minister of the Navy.

However, Shire knew he wouldn’t be able to persuade the Minister of the Navy.

The Minister of the Navy had boasted: "If the attack on the Dardanelles Strait fails, I’ll go to the front lines as a soldier!"

Therefore, he couldn’t easily admit defeat, even knowing this battle was almost certainly lost.

Sure enough, the day after General Winter returned, the Allied fleet launched the full-scale attack on the Dardanelles Strait.

The staff at the City Defense Headquarters cheered upon hearing this news, discussing excitedly:

"Give them a taste of their own medicine!"

"That’s 18 battleships; they should have long flattened the Ottoman Empire."

"I bet they’ll break through the strait today."

...

The 18 battleships included Britain’s most advanced super-dreadnought, the "Queen Elizabeth."

But the performance of these battleships disappointed everyone: they couldn’t hit targets while moving, couldn’t hit in bad weather, and couldn’t hit at long distances.

They could only hit targets in calm weather with clear skies and at close range!

The fleet’s performance plunged everyone into a state of disappointment and depression.

Now, they believed the time for a comeback had arrived.

Gallieni’s eyes showed some worry. He glanced at Shire and whispered, "This isn’t your plan, is it?"

Shire could only respond with a bitter smile.

The battle seemed to be going smoothly; it was the first time that warships and mine-clearance operations were carried out simultaneously during the day.

Though they couldn’t see the battlefield, intelligence seemed to describe the combat scene:

Both sides exchanged fierce cannon fire; battleships, along with other ships, bombarded enemy fortresses and artillery positions.

With thick armor and giant cannons, the battleships moved through the waves, enduring enemy fire to execute close-range bombardments. Both large and small guns roared in unison, shrouding the fortresses in huge fireballs amid dense smoke and flying dust.

On the hills on both sides of the strait, the Ottoman Empire’s artillery roared in response, with mobile artillery units that usually only operated at night now forced to face naval gunfire during the day.

The Allies’ destroyers and mine sweepers charged ahead through rising water columns to clear obstacles for the battleships.

At this moment, a telegram brought good news: "Our forces hit the enemy’s ammunition depot!"

The command center erupted in cheers, with everyone feeling that victory was within reach in this battle.