xymnovel Chapter 217 Holding Thessalonians, Blitzkrieg against Epirus
Chapter 217 Holding Thessalonians, Blitzkrieg against Epirus
Constantine's finger traced a cold, hard arc on the map, like a scalpel, ready to dissect the body of the Ottoman Empire.
The atmosphere in the conference room suddenly tensed up as his fingertips moved.
All eyes were drawn away from his young and serene face and onto the brand-new map covered with intricate markings.
"Everyone, please look."
Constantine's voice wasn't loud, but every syllable meshed and turned like a precise gear in the deathly silent conference room.
"This is a map of the Ottoman Empire's troop deployment, logistical routes, and firepower configuration on the Thessaly front, drawn up by Captain Metaxas and his staff over a period of six months."
Alexandros stepped forward and distributed a thick stack of documents to each of the ministers and generals present.
The sound of paper turning over was soft and rustling.
Those veteran generals, who were used to fighting based on experience and courage, saw such detailed and cold data for the first time.
Every Ottoman regiment, every artillery position, and even every major supply depot was clearly marked on the map with different colors.
Constantine pointed his finger at an area on the map that was heavily circled in red.
"Edheim Pasha's main force, two armies, about 60,000 men, is stationed along the Erasona line. They appear to be a formidable and impregnable force."
His tone was completely flat; he was simply stating a fact.
"But they only have one lifeline."
My finger slid slowly along a thin brown line.
"This single-lane dirt road runs from Elassona to our border city of Larissa. In the event of war, our harassment forces only need to destroy a few key bridges to completely paralyze this supply line. More importantly,"
He raised his eyes and scanned the crowd.
"The rainy season is coming to Thessaly. A heavy rain will turn this road into a swamp. The daily food and ammunition consumption of 60,000 troops is astronomical. Without supplies, they are like lambs to the slaughter, trapped in the mud."
The Chancellor of the Exchequer adjusted his glasses, leaned closer to the report, and his lips moved silently, as if he were calculating something. The pallor on his face lessened slightly.
The Minister of War's face flushed crimson. He had spent his entire life dealing with the Turks, but he had never imagined that war could be calculated in this way.
Constantine didn't give them much time to think. He took another document from Alexandros and spread it out on the table.
"Now, let's see our strength."
The document contained a table outlining the organization and firepower of the new Greek army.
"One division, twelve thousand men. They are equipped with the latest Krupp 75mm rapid-fire guns of the German Empire."
He picked up a red pencil and drew several numbers heavily on the paper.
"Our artillery has a rate of fire three times that of the Ottoman main field guns. And its range is 500 meters greater than theirs."
He put down his pencil, raised his head, and looked directly at the old, conservative general.
"General, you know better than I what this means. It means that our artillery can launch a one-sided, overwhelming attack on their positions from a place they can't even reach."
"This means that their infantry would have to endure three times the bullets we had on their way to the charge. This wasn't a battle; it was a massacre."
In the corner of the conference room, Metaxas, who had been standing like a javelin, straightened his back even more.
His chest heaved violently, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, his nails digging deep into his palms.
These data, these simulations, these tactical ideas were the result of countless sleepless nights and painstaking efforts by him and his team.
In the past, they were shelved and regarded as fanciful ideas.
Now, through the Crown Prince's words, they are becoming the sharpest weapon, dissecting all doubts.
He saw his hard work shining brightly in front of these "old relics".
Constantine's voice rang out again, drawing everyone's attention away from the paper and back to the real strategic landscape.
"We also have this."
His palm slammed heavily on the railway lines that ran through northern and southern Greece on the map.
"railway!"
"We can deploy two divisions of the Athenian garrison, along with all their heavy equipment, to the Thessaly front within three days."
His finger turned to the map, pointing towards the vast Anatolian heartland of the Ottoman Empire.
"As for the Ottomans, if they wanted to mobilize a division of the same size from Constantinople or Anatolia to provide support, they would need to rely on their own two feet and mules, and it would take them at least two weeks."
"Two weeks. Enough for us to end the battle, clean up the battlefield, and go home for a victory celebration."
"This is not a war between men, gentlemen," Constantine's voice carried a metallic quality. "This is a war between industry and agriculture, a victory of time over space!"
He walked back to the head of the conference table, placed his hands on the table, leaned forward, and looked around at the cabinet members who were completely stunned.
"Therefore, the plan I proposed is not a full-scale war that would gamble the fate of the nation."
"Instead," he said, enunciating each word clearly and decisively, "hold Thessaly and launch a blitzkrieg on Epirus!"
His finger traced a sharp arrow on the map, pointing from western Greece straight into Epirus, a region where the Ottoman Empire's defenses were weak.
"We don't need to fully mobilize. We'll just use our elite forces to attack their weakest point! In Thessa, we'll use a division, relying on our fortifications and artillery superiority, to tie down their main force. Meanwhile, our main force, two divisions, will make a lightning-fast advance from the west, capture Ioannina, and sever Albania's connection with the Empire!"
"This is a limited, controlled, and precisely calculable swift war! Our goal is not occupation, not annexation!"
Constantine straightened up, his voice resounding throughout the conference room.
"Our goal is to cripple them, to frighten them, to break Sudan's will, to force them to return to the negotiating table and give back what rightfully belongs to us!"
The conference room was deathly silent.
The old generals were speechless. They might not understand the complex logistical calculations and firepower projection models, but they understood one sentence.
The advantage lies with me!
The Chancellor of the Exchequer's hands stopped trembling. He heard the words "limited" and "quick" in Constantine's plan. This meant that military spending would be kept within an affordable range.
King George I looked at his son.
There was no fervor on that young face, only a calmness like the snow on the summit of the Alps.
He discovered that his son was so unfamiliar, and so...frightening.
He slowly loosened his grip on the armrest.