xymnovel Chapter 71 The Battle of Antalya
Chapter 71 The Battle of Antalya
In the year 6690 of creation, or 1182 in the Julian calendar, early July, in the Mediterranean Sea.
The sea breeze, carrying a salty, briny scent, ruffled the hair and beard of Mastropier Orio, the Doge of Venice and Commander-in-Chief of the fleet. He stood atop the stern of the Venetian flagship, surveying the gradually clearing coastline.
Behind him, fifty galleys of Calais formed a wedge formation, cutting through the waves under the Mediterranean night sky. Ten massive round ships equipped with heavy counterweight catapults stood like mobile fortresses, while slender light warships patrolled the perimeter of the fleet like ghosts, serving as outposts.
A month ago, a Jewish businessman named Daniel suddenly visited him and told him some amazing good news.
Daniel, gesticulating wildly and spitting as he claimed to have made contact with the Trabzon merchants, exclaimed, "They run the Far Eastern silk trade routes. The Turks want their silk in exchange for military funds, and they, in turn, need the Venetian fleet to evade Roman maritime inspections... It's a mutually beneficial transaction!"
Before Mastropier could process this barrage of information, Daniel continued, "If you grant the Turks a secret agreement in the name of the Republic, they are willing to act as Venice's allies in the battle for Antalya!"
Mastropier's heart stirred slightly. Cantostefanos had, over the past year, rendered the Roman navy impenetrable, easily thwarting several attempts by the Venetian navy to provoke a larger conflict. Now, with the Latins' cries for revenge against the Romans and the Venetians' discontent with the Republic's navy's protracted and fruitless war, perhaps an alliance with the Turks wouldn't be a bad option?
If Venice could capture the port of Antalya, while the Romans were busy putting out the fires in Antalya, the Venetian fleet could use Antalya as a springboard to seize the salt fields of Cyprus.
"Your Excellency, a Roman patrol has been spotted ahead, consisting of three Dromon warships." The lookout's voice came from the top of the mast, interrupting Mastropier's thoughts.
A cold smile flickered across Mastropier's lips. This was the fourth patrol boat they had encountered since the fleet entered Roman waters. These Roman fast ships would initially adopt a deterrent posture, but faced with Venice's overwhelming numerical superiority, they would each time quickly turn and flee in panic.
He gave a brief order: "The vanguard detachments move out in full force to drive them away; if they resist, sink them."
The sound of horns shattered the silence, and four Venetian warships shot out like arrows. The battle was a foregone conclusion; after a symbolic barrage of arrows, the Roman warships quickly disappeared into the darkness, leaving only a few floating wrecks on the surface.
In preparation for this attack, he had specifically asked Alberto da Giuzano of Milan to recruit more elite infantry for Venice. When Alberto told him that the mercenaries he had already recruited had been taken away by another nobleman who offered a higher price, he was vaguely worried and angry. But judging from the Roman fleets he encountered, his worries were completely unfounded.
Meanwhile, outside the port of Antalya, inside the Turkic camp beneath Adrassobsburg, Prince Merrick Kilij of the Sultanate of Rum was anxiously stroking his scimitar. A scout arrived just in time to report that a V-shaped light had appeared on the distant horizon—the pre-arranged signal for the general offensive by Venice.
Merrick leaped to his feet, sheathing his scimitar: "Order: Leave two thousand men to guard Adrassoburg, the rest of the troops follow me straight to the port!" His voice was excited, and his eyes burned with a greedy fire.
The adjutant hesitated, reminding Merrick of the risks of bypassing the castle. Merrick burst into laughter: "What's there to be afraid of? As long as the Venetian fleet locks down the sea, any garrison in the castle who dares to come out is walking into a trap! Once we take the port, the wealth and food we seize will be ours. We can deal with that Damianos later!"
At this moment, at the highest point of Adrasosburg, Damianos calmly watched as the Turkic army, like ants, swarmed around the castle under the cover of night.
"Let them pass," he ordered the ballistae. "The show is about to begin."
In the early hours of the morning, the Venetian fleet successfully entered the Gulf of Antalya as expected. However, just as the vanguard was about to reach the shore, a deafening horn suddenly sounded from behind the capes on both sides of the harbor. Dozens of Roman warships emerged like ghosts from the hidden fjord, and most chillingly, these Roman warships were all equipped with bronze nozzles on their prows.
"We've fallen into their trap! All ships, turn around, rear formation becomes front formation, withdraw from the bay!" Mastropier's panicked roar was drowned out by the sudden rain of fire.
The Roman fleet seized the windward position, and the viscous Greek fire lashed out at the Venetian warships like venomous snakes. Even more deadly, the wreckage of a Roman patrol boat that had been sunk by Venetian warships earlier outside the harbor suddenly exploded, igniting a towering wall of fire that completely blocked their retreat.
The sea instantly transformed into a hellish landscape. Venetian sailors jumped into the sea like dumplings, only to be stuck by the burning asphalt and sink into the deep sea amidst their mournful cries.
Meanwhile, the Turkic army on land arrived at the walls of Antalya port without encountering fierce resistance.
The sparsely defended city walls and the weak arrows confirmed Merrick's assessment that the main force of his garrison had been redeployed to the port for defense. After ordering his archers to fire several rounds of suppressive volleys, he commanded his engineers to quickly erect siege ladders.
The vanguard quickly stormed the city walls and opened the main gate. The main force of the Turkic cavalry swarmed in and engaged the city's defenders in street fighting. The defenders were forced into retreat, and everything went so smoothly that Merrick became suspicious.
Just as the Turkic vanguard was penetrating deep into the city's narrow streets and struggling to deploy its formation, the earth suddenly began to tremble violently.
Two thousand heavily armored cavalrymen, personally led by Roman Marshal Cantorstefanos, surged forth like a silver torrent of steel from the valley where they had been lying in ambush on the flank. These heavily armored cavalrymen, their lances forming a forest, precisely penetrated the vulnerable flank of the Turkic army. Caught off guard by the sudden attack in the street fighting, the Turks were instantly torn to pieces.
"Form ranks! Break out!" Merrick shouted hoarsely, but it was too late. Deprived of maneuverability, the Turkic cavalry fell like stalks of wheat under the relentless charge of the heavy cavalry. At that moment, the fall of the port and the deafening battle cries from the sea completely shattered the morale of the Turkic army.
At dawn, only wisps of smoke and sporadic cries of agony remained on the battlefield. The Venetian fleet had lost more than half its strength, and Doge Mastropile, under the desperate protection of his personal guards, managed a hasty breakout in a light galley.
Merrick attempted to escape back to the Turkic camp outside the city amidst the chaos, but was ambushed by Damianos' light cavalry on the only road leading to Adrasosburg. His horse was shot down by crossbow bolts, and he was eventually captured after exhausting himself.
On the sea, Marshal Cantostefanos stepped onto the stern of the captured Venetian flagship, its sails still bearing the marks of scorch marks. His gaze swept over the imperial ships cleaning up the battlefield and the Venetian prisoners being led ashore, and he calmly gave the order to the scribe beside him:
"Dispatch the fastest small boats to report the victory to His Majesty in Constantinople: the enemy in Antalya and Adrassobs has been wiped out, and the Imperial army has won a great victory."