Vol 2 Chapter 64: Aspect of the Battle of Constantinople

After several days of bitter fighting, the First Army finally settled the fortresses along the way, and the soldiers came to Constantinople!
Constantinople is located at the intersection of Eurasia, the terrain is an irregular triangular peninsula, the terrain stands tall, surrounded by water on three sides, with natural barriers, easy to defend and difficult to attack.
At this moment, General Fu, who is investigating the terrain on the ground, took a sigh of relief!
Constantinople has narrow straits on both the north and south sides, serving as a natural barrier; two tall city walls have been built on the land, linking the Balkan Mountains! Inside the city are fortresses and fortresses, crisscross!
The husband lowered the telescope in his hand and sighed, "This battle is not good!"
Petrov nodded his head and said, "Constantinople has been occupied by the Ottoman Empire since 1453. It has been more than 500 years and the Turks have been in business for more than 500 years.
Now we are going to tear up this fortress city. After this battle, we will have a place in the history of world war! "
Speaking of which, Petrov's eyes had burst into hot light!
The siege began, in the cold weapon era Constantinople's invincible defense, at the moment under the baptism of artillery, has become crumbling!
Ferdinand, as far away as Sofia, was disrupted by a sudden donation.
As soon as the Balkan War broke out, the Orthodox Church in Bulgaria took action. Scrimment suggested to Ferdinand to launch a war in the name of "jihad", but Ferdinand rejected it decisively!
But the Bulgarian Orthodox Church did not stop. They sought help from Orthodox parishes around the world to raise funds and supplies.
Ferdinand did not take it for granted. The Balkan war in history is an example. The church provided little help!
In fact, it was the same since the beginning of the war. The attitudes of the major dioceses were indifferent. In addition to their support in public opinion, they actually dealt with things in practice!
But when the Bulgarian army officially attacked Constantinople, the situation changed. Except for Jerusalem and other places under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, there were no large reactions, and other regions launched large-scale fundraising activities!
Needless to say in the Balkans, believers volunteer every day to help the war!
Ferdinand still underestimated the influence of the Orthodox Church. As one of the three major religions in the Christian world, the influence is still huge. In just a few days, millions of pounds of funds have been raised!
Seriously Ferdinand didn't want to take this money at all, there is no free lunch in the world!
"Have you figured out their purpose? I don't believe that it is purely for the sake of faith. They are so selfless and give money and help!" Ferdinand asked with concern.
Verhus said hesitantly: "The Grand Duke they are going to build Constantinople into a religious municipality. There also seems to be a shadow of the Russians. They don't want us to control Constantinople!"
Ferdinand thought for a while and said, "It seems that the Russians can't sit still! Being able to launch so many Orthodox dioceses at the same time, except the Russians in the world, I don't think there is such a powerful force in that side!"
The Prime Minister Constantine asked in amazement: "Prince, if the Russians had the idea of ​​playing Constantinople, they could put forward it directly, and we could not refuse it!"
Foreign Minister Metiev hesitantly replied: "This is probably related to the current international situation. The Russians are afraid that they will directly gain the sovereignty of Constantinople and will be interpreted by the outside world as a prelude to the hegemony of the Mediterranean. This will undoubtedly stimulate Britain. People and Italians have sensitive nerves!
The strategic focus of the Russians is now in the Far East. The control of Constantinople is to ensure the strategic security of the Black Sea. They have no energy to devote themselves to the Mediterranean hegemony! "
Suddenly Ferdinand laughed and said, "This is also a good thing for us! The strategic focus of the Russians is still in the Far East, and our value is great!
Tell the Russians that, given the unique strategic value of Constantinople, we are ready to build it into a military port and serve as the base for the Bulgarian Navy! "
The people's faces changed, and Chekov said reluctantly, "Dagong, we just give up Constantinople, it is better to build a religious free city!"
Ferdinand interrupted: "No! Religion bigger is too harmful, the world must be strictly separated!"
Ferdinand's real idea was that the Russians took it, and they could take it back after the First World War and set up a city of religious freedom. Then never want to take it back!
...
In the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Nicholas II, who had just received Ferdinand's offer, spit out water, and then asked incredulously: "Did Ferdinand get water in his brain? Just throw Constantinople "No conditions?"
The Foreign Minister explained embarrassingly, "His Majesty the Tsar, who is a Catholic, naturally does not have a cold against the Orthodox Free City!"
After thinking about it, Nicholas II said, "That's right! If Bulgaria really came up with an Orthodox free city, his Catholic king would be embarrassed!
What does he want to change? "
"Bulgarians want all the territories they actually control!" The Foreign Minister replied
Remembering Constantinople, the city that the Russian tsars fought for, will soon fall into his hands. Nicholas II is in a good mood!
He smiled and said, "Oh, Ferdinand really dare to think, but I promised!"
The Prime Minister questioned: "Your Majesty, the area controlled by Bulgarians is not small now. Once they are all annexed, I am afraid that it will exceed our control in the future!"
The Minister of the Navy replied: "Prime Minister, if they do not agree to their request, what will happen to Constantinople? Shall we take it ourselves?
As for whether Bulgaria will get rid of our control? No one can answer this question, anyway, I know that as long as the Russian empire has been strong, there will be no problems! "
The Minister of Foreign Affairs thought for a while and said, "A strong Bulgaria appears in the Balkans. The most important thing to worry about is the Austro-Hungarian Empire!
After the Balkan war, they bordered Bulgaria. It was up to them to restrict the growth of Bulgarians. We still have to fully support our allies! "
...
With the accurate information of the Russians, Ferdinand was relieved and with the support of the Russians, Bulgaria could have the benefits in hand!
At this time, the unresponsive Ottoman Empire also acted, lobbying the powers around in an attempt to gain support!
Inside the Ankara Palace, the Sudan asked with anticipation: "How is the situation?"
The Foreign Minister said in distress: "Some results, but they did not meet our expectations!
After I made concessions on Egypt, the British promised to stop supporting the Balkan Alliance; but they rejected our proposal to jointly limit the Russians!
The Germans are willing to stand by our side. Unfortunately, they are now competing with the British for colonies in South Africa, and their influence in the Balkans is too weak!
After we agreed to abandon the Bosnia-Herzegovina region, the Austro-Hungarian Empire expressed their willingness to mediate, but they did not want to violently conflict with the Russians! "
The Sudan asked dissatisfied: "How about French and Italian? What about their attitude?"
After speaking ~ EbookFREE.me ~ he also realized that he asked in vain. Just looking at the Russian League, you know the French's position. The British have no energy to interfere in the Balkans, and the French have made great efforts!
The Italians ignore them. The Russians haven't put them in their eyes. They have just followed in Ethiopia. It is estimated that even a few small countries in the Balkans do not take them to heart!
The Minister of Foreign Affairs added: "The Romanians are ready to stand by our side, but after the Russians clearly showed their attitude, they retracted again!"
Sultan said fiercely: "In this case, the great powers can't count on them, so fight them! Transfer the newly formed domestic troops to Constantinople, I don't believe it, we can't fight a Bulgarian. ! "
With the failure of the Ottoman Empire's diplomatic efforts, the battle of Constantinople became more intense. With the arrival of a large number of reinforcements from the Ottoman Empire, the two sides began a brutal war of attrition!
In just a few days, the First Army lost two divisions. Of course, the Ottomans were not easy, and even more troops were lost. Even the two walls of Constantinople were breached, and the war has entered a fevered stage!