Chapter 232 Operation Anatolia

Chapter 232 Operation Anatolia

"fire!"

Boom, boom, boom, dozens of cannons opened fire on the walls of Nicaea. The debris from the explosion caused serious damage to the defenders. Despite this, the governor of Nicaea still refused to surrender and even sent death squads to attack the Wallachian camp late at night.

Constantine decided to launch a trick immediately. During the siege the next morning, he ordered his soldiers to detonate the gunpowder under the city of Nicaea. Then the whole earth shook violently like an earth dragon turning over, and a dull rumble seemed to come from the horizon, getting closer and closer...

Standing in the distance, I could only see the solid city wall, as if the building blocks built by a child had been ripped away from the foundation in an instant. Several large pieces of the city wall suddenly collapsed without warning, and the huge city bricks fell one by one. At the same time, the sky was overwhelming. Smoke and dust rose up, directly covering the entire city gate...

After a while, when the smoke and dust gradually receded, the city gate of Nicaea was already crumbling, and the section of city wall that had been blasted almost collapsed. Not only were all the troops defending that section of the city wall killed, but even the neighboring militia units were destroyed by such a violent attack. The explosion also caused heavy casualties.

"The city is broken! The city is broken!"

The Wallachian army, which had been prepared for a long time, suddenly poured in like a tide from the collapsed gap in the city gate. Due to the power of the blast and the great damage, when the Wallachian army rushed into the city, the Ottoman defenders could not organize themselves at all. With effective defense, one can only watch helplessly as more and more enemy troops with high morale increase.

The first people to collapse were the temporarily organized people. These people were not regular troops. When they saw that the originally strong city wall was broken like paper by the opponent, the last hope in their hearts was completely shattered. In addition, the enemy troops surged after the blast. How can these ordinary people still have the heart to resist when they rush into the city like this? When the first man started to turn around and run towards the city, the others also dropped their weapons in a hurry and ran away towards the city regardless of the obstruction of the generals above.

"Counterattack! Counterattack! Fight back the infidels!" the Ottoman garrison general shouted sternly, and rushed over with hundreds of people, trying to reorganize the defense. But at this time, more and more Wallachian troops entered the city, and they were well-trained. After rushing into the city, they did not blindly pursue the city, but covered each other and rolled forward to the left, right and front. Soon they took control of the city gate and nearby houses.

Although the defenders were brave, they were doomed by the power of Wallachian firearms.

In the evening of that day, the Wallachian army basically cleared away the Ottoman garrison in the city and firmly surrounded its remnants. After a night of fierce fighting, by dawn the next day, the remaining Ottoman troops were completely eliminated, and the entire Nicaea fell into the hands of Wallachia.

After the capture of Nicaea, the main Ottoman stronghold was Prusa. The Wallachian army surrounded them non-stop, and not a single mosquito could escape. There are still 30,000 Turkic people and some nobles in the city. More importantly, Suleiman's wife and children are still inside, which is an important weight.

While Suleiman was on his way back, Musa took the opportunity to attack and drove him all the way to the border of his sphere of influence. Moreover, due to the rapid march, many people fell behind. Despite this, Suleiman still sought to decide the outcome in a battle. As long as he was fast enough, he would definitely win.

War is a booster of military innovation. The large-scale use of firearms and artillery allowed Peter to set up an army entirely using firearms. However, if this army was to be fully equipped, the cost would be several times that of an ordinary army. It's still on hold for now, but it's already on the agenda.

The recovery of Nicaea and Nicomedia was undoubtedly another example of increasing prestige. The first tranche of funds from the bank has also been delivered to Constantinople, and Mircea first used part of it to make crowns, scepters, royal orbs and other coronation items. The shabbiness of John V cannot be repeated.

Time soon came to December 24th, Christmas in the Western world. The weather in Anatolia was more extreme than ever. Three consecutive days of heavy snow blocked the entire road. The Wallachian army had to suspend its offensive and could only surround the town. Suleiman was also forced to camp in Eskişesar, 160 kilometers away from Prusa due to the weather. Due to the sharp drop in temperature, a large number of cattle and sheep of some unprepared tribes died, and the food supply in the besieged city was about to run out. As for Suleiman's camp, it was even more miserable, and horses were already being killed to satisfy hunger.

The Wallachian side can still obtain sufficient supplies through sea routes and built roads, and loyal tribes can also use their livestock and battlefield trophies to obtain food and living supplies. It can be said that their lives are better than those of other Turkic tribes. many.

Suleiman had no choice but to fight to the death. He led the cavalry on a rapid march and arrived at Prusa within three days. However, due to the temperature, many horses and people were missing, but Suleiman still insisted on going his own way, preparing to launch an attack before repairing.

Wallachian scouts had discovered their tracks, and Constantine ordered them to form a formation. Because it was winter and it was difficult to hide in the fields, they decided to use a large square formation to deal with their cavalry.

Suleiman took the lead and led the Turkic cavalry to quickly attack the Wallachian army. When the defenders in Prusa saw reinforcements coming, their morale was high and they were ready to attack the enemy from both inside and outside.

As soon as the defenders left the city gate, they were attacked by artillery and Greek fire. They frantically searched for bunkers. Several people found an immovable bunker made of barrels, planks and straw and hurriedly hid in it. Then a Wallachian archer set fire to the tarpaulin wrapped around the arrow and fired it into the bunker.

Not long after, a thunderous sound came, and the whole earth shook. A large pit appeared in the bunker. It turned out that gunpowder was buried in it, and the visible Ottoman defenders went up to the sky inexplicably.

After the formation of the grand phalanx was completed, Suleiman came with his army. Their cavalry surrounded the phalanx outside, but the pikemen around them made it impossible for them to attack. They could only rely on infantry to advance layer by layer, but the musketeers in the formation would not let them succeed. They unleashed gunpowder on the enemy, while the spearmen held off wave after wave of attacks. From morning to night, both sides were exhausted. Suleiman ordered an attack because of insufficient supplies. Finally, morale collapsed and some people ran away.

One soldier ran away, two soldiers ran away, three soldiers ran away. The cavalry of the Turkic tribes began to flee the battlefield. Wallachia saw signs of dispersion and began a counterattack. The musketeers and cavalry showed off their power and killed the already scattered Ottoman army until it collapsed. Suleiman could no longer stabilize the army. This was no longer a battle, but a one-sided massacre.