When Admiral Cadorna and Simeone were planning to make a surprise move for the defenders of Skopje, a fleet appeared off the coast of Izmir.
With the appearance of this fleet, the Italian fleet, which was invincible in this war, also appeared in front of the local residents. The local residents of this city where Homer was said to be born were not at all like the legendary poet.
Those who stayed to see it with their own eyes rushed out of the city with their families.
Facing the wave of escapes in Izmir, the fleet commander Lieutenant General Yagir, who led the escort and fire support, put down his telescope and said, "Order the fleet to launch an artillery bombardment in half an hour and tell Grovei the news."
Your Excellency, let us give those innocent civilians some time to escape."
"The residents of this place should be grateful for the Lieutenant General's kindness."
Rear Admiral Hilmar, chief of staff of the fleet, who was standing next to them, praised the commander's kindness. Lieutenant Colonel Leifer, who was standing next to them as the captain of the flagship, looked at the two people in front of him speechlessly.
Half an hour is the time the fleet needs to prepare before the bombardment, and how many people can leave the city in half an hour. If it is really merciful, then it should be given two hours to achieve initial results. But this
He could only keep it in his heart. The Ottomans in the city had nothing to do with him, and he had no need to contradict his superiors about it.
The two fleet commanders did not know what Leifer was thinking behind them.
However, the messengers were running very fast. After all, there was no radio in this era. To send messages, semaphores, signal lights, etc. were needed.
While the Italian fleet was still preparing, the officers and soldiers of the Ottoman 79th Division, which served as the garrison force of Izmir City, were also in a panic. The division was formed less than two months ago, but the equipment was insufficient and even basic training had not been completed.
Otherwise, it would not be their turn to defend the place, and they would have been dragged to the front line of Adrianople.
Facing the sudden arrival of the Italian fleet, Major General Hartmut, as the division commander and the supreme commander of the garrison, felt heavy pressure.
Standing on the watchtower with the best position, he looked at the tall and mighty Italian warships outside the harbor, and anxiously asked the chief of staff beside him. "Are the coastal defense batteries ready?"
"Not yet."
Hearing this answer, Hartmut put down the telescope in his hand and asked in surprise. "Why are you not ready yet? What is going on?"
Faced with Hartmut's question, the chief of staff replied, "Because the commander of the coastal defense battery, Lieutenant Colonel Hartmut, took away the key to the ammunition depot, the soldiers of the coastal defense battery have not been able to receive ammunition."
Hearing the chief of staff's answer, Hartmut looked surprised. What could be more ridiculous than this? "Then go find this damn lieutenant colonel."
Due to its special characteristics, the arms and ammunition depot is extremely strong. Without a key, it would take half a day to open it. As for using other tools or methods, there are flammable and explosive ammunition behind the door, and the pressure can be imagined.
Know.
"We have sent people to look for him. Some officers and soldiers saw Lieutenant Colonel Hartmut leaving with two girls last night."
Hearing this, Hartmut felt furious. If Lieutenant Colonel Hartmut appeared in front of him now, he would definitely pull out his pistol and shoot him dead on the spot. I really regretted that because he was the mayor of the city.
Because of his uncle relationship, he couldn't get this guy to get out, and now the retribution is coming to him.
Although it is hard to say how effective Izmir's coastal defense forts will be, if the Italians knew that they lacked coastal defense deterrence, the consequences would be disastrous.
While the local defenders were searching for the lieutenant colonel throughout the city, the Italian fleet outside the harbor finally made a new move. It was led by three Turin-class battleships, and the other four Duo and its improved classes rushed into the harbor.
Upon entering, they immediately focused on the coastal defense fort that posed the greatest threat to them.
"Eight thousand meters..."
"Six thousand meters..."
"Five thousand meters..."
As the observers continued to report the distance between the two, when they reached a distance of five thousand meters, Lieutenant General Yagir, the commander of the fleet, felt strange. In fact, it was not only him who felt strange, but other officers and soldiers of the fleet also felt strange. Why did the enemy
No fire was fired. Although according to the intelligence, the city's coastal defense artillery was not enough to cause fatal damage to several battleships, they were all within its effective range, so there should not be no response.
Although some did not understand why the enemy fort did not fire, Lieutenant General Yagir believed this was an opportunity. "Open fire. If the enemy does not fight back, get as close as three thousand meters away and bombard them."
Following his order, the artillery fleet, consisting entirely of battleships of more than 10,000 tons, bombarded the forts one after another.
"Boom boom boom~"
The power of large-caliber naval guns was vividly displayed in the bombardment. Each shell blasted a huge crater around the coastal defense fort. Let alone being hit, even if it was not affected, it would be fatal or injured.
However, even if the fleet shelled like this, the enemy fort still did not respond. Although the fleet officers and soldiers did not know what was happening at this time, it was obvious that they still understood the principle of taking advantage of someone's illness to kill someone. So the fleet continued to bombard while approaching the fort.
When they entered a distance of three thousand meters, the fleet's bombardment accuracy was greatly improved. Several shells landed on the fort and exploded.
"Continue the bombardment, don't stop."
After seeing such a scene, Lieutenant General Yagir would not let go of the opportunity. He wanted to completely destroy the enemy's fort. As long as the enemy did not have the cover of the coastal defense fort, it would be easy to capture the city of Izmir.
"An enemy is approaching the fort, bearing 54.12."
While the bombardment continued, the sharp-eyed lookout observed a group of enemies rushing towards the fort, and they were pushing something.
But no matter what they are pushing, now that they have been discovered, there is only one result.
Soon the two battleships turned their guns and launched a bombardment at the enemy force that dared to rush towards the fort now.
Boom boom boom, after the sound of several shells exploding, a louder boom sounded. Now everyone knew what they were doing, but the result was very fatal to them at the time.
After watching from a distance that all the death squads he sent were annihilated, Major General Hartmut angrily waved his hand and smashed the wall hard.
At this time, it is no longer possible to send death squads. The next issue that needs to be considered is not just the defense of the city. This is all the result of Lieutenant Colonel Hartmut. Thinking of this, Major General Hartmut hates it.
Said. "If Lieutenant Colonel Hartmut reinforces the fort, he will either live and die with the fort or be shot for desertion. Let him choose."
It was obvious that at this time, Major General Hartmut had no regard for anything else. The little Lieutenant Colonel Hartmut simply could not bear the responsibility of Izmir.
