The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1688 Login
Tissakov thought his idea was absurd, but if it could succeed, the chances of his plan to behead Murad V and retake Constantinople would increase significantly.

It's a pity I couldn't contact the fleet, otherwise the fleet commander would definitely have changed tactics because of this.

"Sodazi!"

"Captain, you wanted to see me?"

A tall soldier covered in gunpowder ran over, his eyes clear and innocent.

Tisakov felt a little envious of the soldier in front of him who could read battle reports, do multiplication and division, and even write poetry.

Although he was of noble birth, he was merely a minor nobleman from the countryside. The other man, on the other hand, was just a commoner who had supposedly been admitted to university. He wondered what this boy was doing in a place like a battlefield, a place meant to lead to death.

However, Tissakov knew very well that Sodachi was the only person in his unit who could speak clearly, and the only person besides himself who could communicate with his superiors.

"Sodachi, I have a task for you."

"Yes, Captain."

Sodazi saluted solemnly, looking as if he were ready to die, and unconsciously sniffed.

"Alright, alright, put your hands down. I'm not sending you to your death. I want you to go back and send a message to the fleet commander saying that the north fort has been completely captured by us, and to send some professional artillerymen so that we can establish a real position here."

Once we've settled in, those Ottomans will be completely finished.

Tisakov tore off the epaulets from his shoulder and took out a small box.

“This is my family crest. They will let you see the commander. Tell General Nakhimov that we have taken the north fort, and he will understand.”

"Yes, Captain."

Sodazi roared.

Tissakov patted the private on the shoulder.

"Go, child. We await your good news."

After Sodach left, Tissakov immediately ordered his soldiers to push all the gunpowder barrels onto the gun emplacements.

This was partly to facilitate artillery firing later; and partly as a precaution, in case the Ottomans counterattacked, they also needed to destroy these heavy cannons in time.

After all, if the Ottomans were to recapture the forts, it would pose a significant threat to the fleet currently in port, and his mission was precisely to destroy the forts.

A soldier stepped forward and asked.

"Captain, why don't we just fire the cannons? What's the point of having artillerymen? I've wanted to be an artilleryman since I was a kid."

Tissakov slapped the soldier on the head.

"Nonsense! Do you think this is a firecracker? You bunch of cowards are lucky if you don't blow up the cannon."

"Captain, don't you know how? You can teach us!"

"I'm just being stubborn," Tissakov said defiantly.

"Of course I can." "If you can, then teach us!"

"Shut up! Who's the captain?"

Tissakov had only seen the artillery operation process. If it was only fired once, there was probably no problem. But if it was continuous combat, he didn't think he could survive until today. After all, he had seen many cases of barrel explosions.

Tissakov stood by the gun emplacement. The battlefield was in chaos as the sun rose, but he could see that the Russian army had an almost one-sided advantage, while the Ottoman army had not yet organized an effective counterattack.

Tissakov had already written his will before he came, since he didn't think he would survive this mission.

Even though Fleet Commander Nakhimov personally promoted him to temporary battalion commander, giving him command of five companies of elite soldiers, he didn't believe that he could capture the Ottoman's northern fortress with just the few men he had.

The so-called north side fort is said to be a gun emplacement, but it is actually a fortress, which could theoretically hold thousands of enemy troops.

Moreover, while studying under instructors from the Austrian Empire, Tissakov understood that the most difficult part of amphibious operations was how to land the troops.

Instructors in the Austrian Empire even stated that it was perfectly acceptable for the vanguard to lose half its strength before landing, and that losing only 20% would be a great victory.

Tissakov's troops made their way to the shore under cover of darkness. Amid the chaos, they encountered almost no significant resistance, but 82 men from the five companies were still missing, killed, or rendered incapable of fighting.

With a loss rate of less than 20%, this can already be considered a major victory.

The first wave of Russian troops landed successfully under the cover of artillery fire. The two main gun emplacements on the south and north sides of Golden Horn Bay had fallen, and the remaining smaller gun emplacements had been largely rendered incapable of resistance under the continuous bombardment of the Russian fleet.

There are many small units like Tisakov's; over the years, the Russians have thoroughly investigated the defensive layout of Constantinople, both overtly and covertly.

Each small unit was like a sharp dagger aimed straight at the Ottomans' vitals, but their accuracy was not very good, since the officers only had paper maps and most of them had not conducted on-site investigations.

In addition, the situation was chaotic and it was dark, and many troops were actually lost, but the damage caused was still considerable, as the current situation is the best proof of.

In addition, most of the real Russian expatriates had already evacuated, and those who remained were mostly Russian spies and Pan-Slavists who set fires throughout the city at the same time the attack began.

Chaos reigned within the Ottoman Empire's city defense command, with attacks occurring everywhere. To this day, Samuel Pasha still had no idea how the Russians had arrived. Battles raged across the Dardanelles and Bosphorus Straits in all directions.

But one thing he was certain of was that the Ottoman navy was finished; the port area was now engulfed in flames.

However, compared to the port fire, the fires within the city are far more deadly. If left unchecked, they will quickly escalate into uncontrollable conflagrations.

Istanbul, in particular, is characterized by its outdated urban planning and architecture, densely packed houses, narrow streets, and numerous wooden structures. The concept of firebreaks in the modern sense is also absent.

The fire could easily spread in all directions, forming a chain of fire, and could eventually ignite the entire city.

Istanbul has experienced several devastating fires throughout its history, with the Sibari Fire of 1633 destroying one-fifth of the city.

The Great Fire of 1660 was the most devastating fire in the history of the Ottoman Empire. Fueled by strong winds, the fire destroyed two-thirds of Istanbul in just two days, and even the Sultan's palace was not spared. The death toll approached 100,000.

The Great Fire of Barat in 1782 destroyed tens of thousands of homes. The Great Fire of the Jewish Quarter in 1833 burned thousands of Jews alive.

Because of these past lessons, as the commander of the Istanbul garrison, Semer Pasha could only send out his limited manpower to prioritize firefighting.

However, firefighting is now also a problem. Due to the chaos in the city, the fire brigades that were originally composed of volunteers are unable to gather at this time.

After all, this was not just a simple fire, but a war, and what's even more outrageous is that someone attacked the fire station.