Ligari walked carefully through the rubble, his eyes vigilantly observing the movements around him, ready to use his rifle to counterattack any enemies that might appear from around him.
Ligari is from Florence. As the second son in his family, Ligari accepted the call of the country without hesitation and became an honorable soldier. After a short recruit training, he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Battalion, 1st Regiment, 2nd Brigade of the 31st Division.
He has become the company's messenger. He is now carrying out the instructions given to him by the company commander, Captain Bobby, and conveying orders to the second platoon.
Ligari carefully walked through a half-collapsed building, and after finding that nothing happened, he immediately sprinted through the empty street, and then hid in a corner to calm down a little.
The reason for letting him do this is very simple. The open space is too dangerous. This is a warning from veterans and a lesson learned through blood, and such a living example has appeared before his eyes. He has been with him for more than three months and is also a messenger.
Wolf was shot in an open place, but fortunately he survived and was sent back to Durrës in the rear.
Ligari certainly didn't want to have such an encounter, so he had to be careful. Although this could not be called the Laotan Tiger's Den, he had to treat it as the Longtan Tiger's Den. This was the way of survival that the veterans taught him.
After taking a short rest, Ligari continued to walk forward. He passed through an alley and then turned into a diagonal alley. When he came out of here, he breathed a sigh of relief because he had reached his destination.
"Ligari, here to deliver the order again."
On a building, someone called him. Ligari knew him. He was Pok from the second platoon and the third class. Like him, he was from Florence.
"Pork, where is Lieutenant Forley?"
Facing the fellow villager, Ligari immediately asked about the position of the second platoon leader. After all, the mission was important.
"The ensign is resting, please come in."
After knowing the position of the second platoon leader, Ligari immediately rushed over. After he entered through the door, Lieutenant Forley, who still looked sleepy, appeared in front of him.
"Ligari, why did the company commander send you here this time?"
After seeing Ligari, the unshaven and disheveled Forley did not forget to yawn widely while saying hello.
"Captain Papel orders you to allocate half of your troops to cooperate with the third platoon to capture Telda Square."
"What? We're going to hit Telda Square!"
After hearing what Ligari said, Forley almost jumped up as if his butt was pricked by a needle. Because the location of the square is very important. It is at the connection between the west and south of the city. In order to prevent the 14th Division and the 8th Division from being connected together
? The Ottoman army placed a battalion here and was equipped with 4 small artillery? Their battalion fought twice before and failed. So after hearing what Ligari said? No wonder Forli jumped.
"Second Lieutenant Forley, this is the company commander's order, and I won't let you go and die." As a messenger, Ligari, with his back to the company headquarters, is naturally more informed than Forley, the platoon leader.
"An hour ago, a unit of the 8th Division had already reached Salco Street. Now they plan to attack Telda Square. Do they need our assistance? And it's not just our fourth company this time? Other companies will also mobilize troops.
."
Under Ligari's explanation, Forley's expression became much better now, but he still couldn't help but complain. "Damn it, am I planning to clean up the rats with round hats nearby in the next two days? Now
It seems that it won’t work anymore.”
"Don't worry, you have time. When we take down Telda Square? There will be time then."
Ligari didn't know that the defenders of Telda Square they were discussing had smelled danger? The Ottoman army commander guarding here had already asked his superiors for help, and now he was anxiously waiting for the messenger to bring back the news.
Didn't wait long? He saw the messenger he sent coming back panting. "Battal Commander? Did the regiment commander tell you to retreat? There is no need to defend here."
Hearing the news brought back by the messenger, the commander breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted. He immediately called another messenger. "Immediately give me the order to have everyone retreat in order according to the number of each company. Move quickly."
."
Situations like this for the garrison often occurred in the battles of the past few days. The Ottoman army guarding Tirana would seek to retreat after sensing that the situation was not good.
Although this allowed them to lose nearly half of the city in three days, their casualty rate was well controlled.
As the commanders of the city's garrison, Hashem and Halder, the two major generals, were still satisfied. At least their strength was well preserved.
At present, the command system of the Ottoman garrison has been moved to the new headquarters located in the northeast corner of the city.
This headquarters was just moved here today. The old headquarters in the center of the city can no longer be used because the Italian army is approaching, so we can only choose to abandon it. Of course, the old headquarters that was converted from the city hall will not be replaced.
That was a waste of money for the Italians. A battalion of defenders had already been stationed inside. They would rely on the strong buildings of the city hall to deal a heavy blow to the enemy.
As for inside the new headquarters, the two major generals are discussing the battle plan.
"We can't give up on the Lyman Street side yet. Let them hold on for one more day, and then retreat to the defense area of your 31st Division's Third Regiment."
"This is no problem. I will send a message to the Third Regiment and ask them to respond."
The two then continued to discuss which positions needed to be defended today and which positions needed to be abandoned. Basically, those with high casualties and unimportant positions would be considered first, while those with important positions and strong troops would be slowly abandoned. Anyway,
Generally speaking, it is a method of exchanging space for time. Of course, this needs to be filled with the lives of officers and soldiers of both armies.
As for the actions of the Ottoman army, Simeone, as the commander of the attacking side, was also very clear about it. Although he was very dissatisfied with it, considering the strength, equipment, morale and other factors of the two armies, he could only choose to acquiesce. After all, siege warfare
The personnel consumption cannot be reduced unless the defenders collapse without a fight.
But it is obvious that if the Ottoman army cannot reach the point of collapse without a fight, there will be no gains to be made.
So what can be done?
We can only fight a war of attrition with the defenders.
Of course, there are differences in a war of attrition. As an excellent commander, Simeone has his own understanding even when fighting a war of attrition.
What advantages does his side have? Of course, in addition to morale, the advantages in equipment can also be used. In view of the previous role of small and medium-caliber artillery in urban warfare, this time he will distribute small and medium-caliber artillery to all units. Even company-level units
It can also have direct support from small-caliber artillery such as 37 and 57 mm, which can be said to maximize the firepower of front-line troops.
And this approach seems to be very good. Many Italian officers and soldiers who attacked used the advantage of artillery to open gaps, then expanded the results and shook the confidence of the defenders.
But even so, the Italian army still fought very hard. Although it was not a battle for control with the Ottoman defenders house by house, it could at least be regarded as a battle for the entire streets and alleys.
However, this kind of competition consumes a lot of ammunition, morale and other aspects, so basically the two armies are holding on with gritted teeth.
Of course, this situation was difficult for the Italian army, and even more difficult for the Ottoman army. After all, they did not have an advantage, either in terms of firepower, equipment, or numbers.
After seven days of fighting, the Ottoman army finally withdrew from Tirana and retreated to Elbasan.
The Battle of Tirana lasted for a week. The two armies invested a total of nearly 100,000 people (including local recruits recruited by the Ottomans), and the Italian side finally won.
However, the price of this victory was not small at all. There were 7,478 injured, 2,835 killed, 312 missing, and over 10,000 casualties.
Of course, the Italian casualties were not small, and the Ottomans, as the defeated side, were not easy either. They had 8,421 injured, 5,179 killed, 3,891 captured and missing, and more than 17,000 casualties were captured and missing. The blow to this unit was also not small.
But in any case, this battle not only allowed the world to see the combat effectiveness of the Italian army (somewhat exaggerated), but also allowed the world to see the capabilities of the Ottoman army.
Of course, the end of the Battle of Tirana does not mean anything. It is just the first large-scale and decent battle between the two armies. There is still a long way to go, and there is too much fighting time.
Although other European countries may not care much, there is an extraordinary response within the Balkans.
