I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 637 Who will deal with George
If we were to say who was the most brutal towards the Ottomans, it would have to be the Ottomans.

The notoriously vicious Cossacks only wanted money and rarely committed acts such as massacres.

The Ottoman Empire massacred Armenians and Greeks, often in the millions, truly taking violence to the extreme.

The troops formed by Yankov were mainly composed of Greeks and Caucasians, and the commander Antonios had served in the Ottoman army.

After the Second Balkan War, the Ottoman Empire massacred the Greeks. Antonios retired in anger, left the Ottoman Empire and returned to Greece.

After the outbreak of the World War, Antonios responded to the mobilization of the Kingdom of Greece and joined the army, and came to the Asia Minor Peninsula with the Greek reinforcements.

Due to his long service in the Ottoman army, Antonios was proficient in multiple languages. He found his old friend Charlantis in the Austrian prisoner-of-war camp, and the two of them established the "Spartan Legion" together.

The total strength of the Spartan Legion was only 4, divided into two armies and four divisions, stationed in various places.

The weapons and equipment used by this army, including clothing, all came from the Ottoman Empire, so much so that when they appeared in front of the rebels, the rebels thought they were Ottoman troops and were not at all vigilant.

In just half a month, the Spartan Legion wiped out 25 rebels.

George was curious. The number of Ottomans in the Russian-occupied area might not even add up to 25.

"This is normal. Asia Minor has a complex terrain and many mountains. Many Ottomans fled to the mountains and are not under our control."

Demeter didn't take it seriously at all. Since the outbreak of the war, the Russian army's average monthly losses have been around 30 people.

The 30 people here are all young and middle-aged people suitable for military service.

George no longer asked about it and put the matter behind him. He had limited mercy and could not share it with the Ottomans.

When the war broke out again on the Anatolian Peninsula, the navies of Britain, France, Russia and Italy finally reached an agreement to launch an attack on the Austro-Hungarian Navy entrenched in the Adriatic Sea.

The four countries deployed their elite troops in the Mediterranean, and the Russian Empire dispatched seven dreadnoughts, which were the main force of this expedition.

Britain sent the dreadnought "Queen Elizabeth" and six battleships.

All four French Courbet-class battleships were deployed.

Italy dispatched the largest number of warships, with a total of 150, including almost all the mobile warships.

The Italians did calculate that they had the largest number of warships and would have a certain advantage when the fruits of victory were finally divided.

What was unexpected was that the bad news suddenly came just as the attack plan was finalized and the fleet had not yet completed assembly.

On October 10, the Italian Navy's battleship Leonardo da Vinci accidentally detonated ammunition while loading it and sank in the port of Taranto, Italy.

"Leonardo da Vinci" is the third ship of the "Count Cavour" class and was commissioned in May this year.

Although the Italians claimed that the "Leonardo da Vinci" was sunk by an Austrian submarine, the truth had already spread because the sinking of the "Leonardo da Vinci" was witnessed by many people.

Even if it was sunk by a submarine, it doesn't make sense.

Taranto is the most important home port of the Italian Navy and is heavily guarded.

In broad daylight, an Austrian submarine sneaked into the naval port and sank the most advanced battleship, which fully proved the amateurism of the Italian Navy.

Since the Russo-Japanese War, the navies of various countries have strengthened the defense of military ports, and anti-submarine nets are everywhere, making it difficult for submarines to sneak in.

Italy had only four dreadnoughts.

Before the battle even started, a quarter of the troops had been lost, which cast a shadow over everyone's heart.

The main force of the Russian Navy is assembled in Cattaro.

The Russian Navy dispatched only 32 warships this time. Although the number is not the largest, all of them are newly built warships after the Russo-Japanese War.

To cooperate with the fleet's attack, George also dispatched the Air Force to prepare for an air strike on the Austrian naval home port of Pula.

It should be noted that Pula not only has anti-aircraft firepower, but also has an air force stationed there.

Before the outbreak of World War I, among all the major countries, only the Russian Empire had established an air force.

Now all countries have established air forces. Germany's monthly aircraft production has rapidly increased from less than 10 before the outbreak of the war to 300 per month now. The aircraft production of Britain and France is also increasing rapidly.

George was very angry because the aircraft produced by Britain, France and Germany used a large number of patents from Amur.

Let’s not talk about the Germans for now, because the patent fees generated by aircraft production can be settled after the war.

Britain and France actually refused to pay patent fees on the grounds that the war had not yet ended, which made George very angry.

Britain now produces about 100 aircraft per month, France 200, and the total is almost the same as Germany.

Amur's aircraft production has increased to 500 per month, not only supplying the Russian army, but also sold in large quantities to Britain and France, so the air battles on the Western Front were extremely fierce.

In terms of warfare, Ansa and Gaul are far behind the Germans.

Although the performance of German aircraft has improved rapidly, it is still not as good as that of Russian aircraft.

British and French pilots flew Russian aircraft, but their casualty ratio far exceeded that of the Germans, creating the myth of the "Red Baron". When the world war broke out, the "Red Baron" Manfred von Richthofen worked in the German Army Logistics Department. He joined the Air Force and began training at the beginning of this year.

After three months of training, the Red Baron shot down a French plane in his first combat engagement. However, since the French plane crashed in France, it could not be confirmed and the achievement was not recognized.

Richtofen continued his efforts, and by September this year, he had shot down 9 British and French fighter planes, including two ace pilots from Britain and France.

Due to the severe lack of support provided by the German Army to the Austrian Army, the intensity of air combat on the Eastern Front was far less than that on the Western Front.

This cannot be blamed on the Russian pilots’ lack of combat effectiveness. The Austro-Hungarian Empire’s aircraft all came from Germany, and they still cannot produce their own aircraft. The number of aircraft is simply not enough to fight, and there are too many people and too little food.

The air force stationed in Pula were all from Germany, and the pilots were also German.

Alexander, Nikolai's brother-in-law and Air Force Commander, attached great importance to this attack and took the initiative to come to Cattaro to meet Peter.

"I have mobilized 650 fighters and 150 bombers. When the battle begins, the fighters will seize air superiority and wipe out the Austrian Air Force. Then the bombers will be dispatched to carpet bomb Pula and completely destroy the Austrian coastal defense batteries."

Alexander was confident that the Russian Air Force had few rivals on the Eastern Front.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Air Force was not good, its artillery was still capable. The heavy artillery at the Pula Harbor Fort had a maximum caliber of 420 mm, which posed a great threat to the Allied fleet.

The war had been going on for more than a year, but the Allied navy, which had a superiority, did not dare to attack Pula because its naval guns could not hit the artillery batteries.

The premise of this attack was that the Air Force would first destroy the artillery batteries in Pula Harbor, and then the fleet would enter.

"Will the Germans send the Red Baron?"

Peter had also heard the myth about the Red Baron.

"If that guy dares to come, his legend will come to an end!"

Alexander was full of domineering power. No matter how powerful the Red Baron was, he could not withstand the siege of the Russian Air Force.

The sinking of the "Leonardo da Vinci" did not affect the Allied offensive.

Before the Air Force was dispatched, the 11th Army led by Brusinov approached the Croatian capital of Zagreb.

The Russian attack was met with strong resistance from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Part of von Bilow's corps was surrounded in Budapest, with less than 100,000 troops available.

On October 10, the Russian army bombarded Zagreb, and heavy snow suddenly fell that night, causing the ground offensive to come to a standstill.

The heavy snow did not affect the deployment of the Air Force. On October 10, the Russian Air Force launched its first air strike on Pula.

Faced with the superior strength of the Russian Air Force, the German army did not retreat. The two sides engaged in the most intense air battle since the World War over Uniye Island, 30 kilometers southeast of Pula.

The Russian Air Force dispatched nearly 300 fighter jets, while the German Air Force had only 110 fighter jets.

Despite the huge gap in numbers, the German army still inflicted huge losses on the Russian Air Force by virtue of its ground firepower advantage.

After the outbreak of the war, the Austro-Hungarian Navy was not idle. It began to transform its warships, converting secondary guns into anti-aircraft guns to strengthen its air defense capabilities.

The Austrian army also deployed anti-aircraft firepower on Uniye Island. After encountering the Russian army, the German army would actively lower its altitude and fight with the Russian army under the cover of the Austrian anti-aircraft firepower.

The air battle lasted for 6 hours, during which the German army lost more than half of its troops and 90 Russian Air Force fighters were shot down.

Alexander was furious and ordered the Russian army to go out in full force to attack Pula again.

This time the German army was finally unable to hold on. On the morning of the 27th, the last German fighter was shot down, and the Russian army completely seized air supremacy.

George was not surprised by this result. His only worry was whether the Allied Navy's attack would affect the direction of the German army's attack next year.

The conflict between Falkenhayn and Hindenburg had reached an irreconcilable point, and William II had to summon the two men together in the hope of resolving their conflict.

"The only way to end the war as quickly as possible is to launch an all-out attack on the Western Front, defeat France as quickly as possible, and force France to withdraw from the war."

The defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the past year had hardened Falkenhayn’s resolve.

"The Russian army is on the brink of collapse. With just one more push, we can completely defeat the Russian army!"

Hindenburg insisted on focusing on the Eastern Front, and Nicholas's ability was not as good as that of little Nicholas.

"Have you forgotten George from the Balkans? If the Russians transfer George from the Balkans back to St. Petersburg, can you defeat the Balkan Legion led by George?"

Falkenhayn refused to give in, and it was Falkenhayn who facilitated the negotiations between the Kingdom of Hungary and Russia.

Falkenhayn has realized that Russia is invincible and negotiation is the only way.

Now Falkenhayn could only hope to negotiate with the Russian Empire after defeating France and stop the war between Germany and Russia.

"George can't go back to St. Petersburg. He has lost the trust of the Tsar."

Hindenburg made a shocking statement.

(End of this chapter)