1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 102 Flesh Millstone

The southern section of the Theodosian Wall, the Gate of the Fountain.

Mehmed II placed the Anatolian Army in the south, mostly composed of jihadists from all over the world and infantry recruited from Azab. They had poor combat effectiveness and were only equipped with two artillery companies, led by the young Mahmud Pasha.

Correspondingly, the Eastern Roman Empire deployed the Fifth Legion of the Guards in the southern section of the city wall, partly recruited militia and crusaders from Western Europe, and was coordinated and commanded by Giovanni Giustitiani.

The sound of artillery fire continued in the middle and northern sections, but a fierce hand-to-hand combat had already begun in the south.

A brutal battle broke out between the two sides in the trenches and canals under the city walls. Fighting broke out on every inch of the messy land. The soil was soaked with blood and was a disgusting dark purple.

The jihadists in the Ottoman army seemed endless. Under the cover of artillery fire, they filed out of the tents one after another, singing the prophet's revelations loudly and charging towards the ravine between the tents and the city walls.

The defenders responded with crossbows and boulders, taking the lives of the ragged but fanatical Muslims one by one and crushing their flesh and blood in the mud before the walls of Constantinople.

When the enemy's strength weakened a little, Giovanni would send a small group of troops out through the side door to give them a head-on blow.

In close combat, defenders with better armor had the advantage, but even the bravest Crusaders were amazed by the enemy's frenzy in the line of fire.

The defenders on the city wall used longbows, crossbows and muskets to fire at the Ottoman soldiers below, causing heavy losses.

After discovering that his own artillery was simply unable to counter the Ottoman royal heavy artillery, the experienced Giovanni converted them into giant shotguns, loading five to ten walnut-sized lead balls into one cannon, and waiting for the Ottoman army to gather to fire in salvos.

This weapon is incredibly effective at close range and has extremely strong penetrating power. A lead bullet can often directly penetrate a soldier's shield and body, and then the second and third people behind him, until the energy of the gunpowder is completely exhausted.

When anti-material weapons are used against infantry, they are often unexpectedly effective.

In addition, as a pirate and mercenary leader, Giovanni was well aware of some of the special habits of Muslims and took advantage of them.

Giovanni knew very well that for Muslims, leaving corpses exposed in the wilderness was a very disrespectful thing to do, and letting the body of a Muslim jihadist rot on the battlefield was even more of a shame.

Whenever one or two Muslims were killed, the rest of the Ottomans would rush forward and desperately carry the bodies away, no matter how close they were to the city walls.

Therefore, the defenders often surrounded the corpses and attacked the reinforcements, shooting and killing the waves of Ottoman soldiers who came to carry the corpses, until the troops were called off, and only then would they be allowed to collect the corpses to avoid the plague.

Through these methods, Giovanni's southern section of the city wall achieved fruitful results.

For commanders, on a battlefield filled with blood and flesh, rich combat experience is far more important than an occasional flash of inspiration.

However, the Ottoman army was too numerous and continuous, with no fear of death. They were like machines made of flesh and blood, with the only obsession in their minds being to conquer the city walls.

For a whole week, the battle for the trenches continued. The Ottoman army worked to fill the trenches during the day, and under the cover of fire, they dragged everything they could get their hands on to no man’s land and then dumped it into the trenches - mud, wood, rubble and even their own tents.

When night fell, the defenders would rush out of the side door and fight with small groups of enemy forces, trying to restore the Ottoman efforts made during the day.

Wars of siege and defense are so dull and tedious, lacking heroes and legends, glory and medals.

Under the entire gray sky, there is only this huge city wall stretching from north to south, turning into a meat grinder, ruthlessly reaping every life.

……

On the west side of Constantinople, on the Marpela Hill in the Great Thracian Plain, a golden and red camp stood proudly, like the king of kings, overlooking the other tents on the plain below.

Outside the golden and red camp, shields of various types formed a circle, like a colorful high wall, protecting the camp.

Each shield symbolizes an army or a vassal, and comes in various shapes, including the kite-shaped shields of Christian knights and the large round shields of Muslims.

Of course, the political significance of this shield formation far outweighs its actual defensive capabilities, and it symbolizes the nobility and majesty of the Ottoman Sultan.

The ones who could truly protect the Sultan were the Janissary Guards surrounding the Golden and Red Camp. The various legions surrounded Mehmed II in the center like stars surrounding the moon, with drums and horns connected and the vigilance was quite strict.

As Mehmed II gradually stabilized the domestic situation, the ambitious Sultan had begun to strengthen his control over military power.

Taking advantage of the siege of Constantinople, Mehmed II reorganized the Janissary Guards left by his father, removing the inferior and retaining the good, placing his confidants in positions of power, and adding more than 7,000 of his own soldiers to the various Janissary Corps, striving to ensure that his orders were carried out.

Compared with the Janissary Guards, Mehmed II's personal soldiers were of course more loyal, better equipped, and more tenacious in combat.

Murad II left a very rich political legacy to Mehmed II. As the only surviving heir of Murad II, Mehmed II could easily gain the loyalty and obedience of the Janissary Guards with a little trick.

Want to get paid? No problem.

Rebellion? You're overthinking it.

These Janissary soldiers were all old men of Murad II. Although they did not like Mehmed II very much, that was all.

When Mehmed II placed his confidants into the imperial guard, they acquiesced and understood the new sultan's intentions and did not have much complaints.

At this time, in the Golden and Red Tent, Mehmed II was convening a meeting with his viziers and pashas.

"The overall quality of the enemy and the condition of the city walls were beyond our expectations. We didn't gain much in the past few days."

"Some of the enemy troops on the middle section of the city wall are very elite, well-trained, and equipped with heavy armor. It is difficult for our crossbows and muskets to kill them directly, but their falling rocks and rolling logs can knock the holy warriors of God off the ladder."

"However, the intelligence from the Venetians is very useful. The city walls near the St. Romanus Gate and the Charisius Gate are indeed quite dilapidated. Some sections have been breached by heavy artillery fire and only need to be further expanded."

"Christians are very determined. Given the problems that occurred in previous sieges, I think we should be prepared to face the Western European Crusaders. Either we win a quick victory or call it a day."

"Come on, Khalil, I know the nature of those foolish Christian monarchs in Europe better than you do."

Mehmed II leaned back in a luxurious high-top chair, playing with a jewel-encrusted knife.

He looked at the silent Khalil Pasha with some contempt.

Khalil Pasha had experienced the chaos and disorder of the Ottoman Interregnum, and had suffered the pain of repeated sieges and failures. As he grew older, his courage faded, and he became more cautious.

For him and the traditional Ottoman nobles represented by him, the stability of the empire came first, followed by the wealth of their own family, and everything else was unimportant.

Khalil Pasha was afraid that the war against Constantinople would lead to opposition and encirclement from Western European countries, thus destroying the prosperity that he and Murad II had worked so hard for many years to achieve.

But times have changed.

"check it out."

Mehmed II threw a document on the table and the pashas passed it around.

"Not long ago, under domestic pressure, the White Knight János Hunyadi announced his resignation as the Regent of Hungary and returned the government to Laslaudis, the posthumous son of the Habsburg family."

"He wrote me this letter announcing that the peace treaty he had signed with me was no longer valid because he was no longer regent."

Mehmed II said this with a somewhat sarcastic tone.

Previously, in order to avoid an attack from Hungary during the siege of Constantinople, Mehmed II signed a three-year peace treaty with the White Knight Hunyadi, agreeing to non-aggression.

"Your Majesty, is he threatening us?"

Mahmoud Pasha demanded. "If you mean what he meant, then yes, he tried to threaten us."

"But this behavior itself is proof of their weakness."

"Hunyadi suffered a series of defeats and fled alone, abandoning his people. He has a very bad reputation in the country and is unlikely to launch an offensive against us."

The corners of Mehmed II's mouth turned up in a confident smile.

"Laslaudis's ascension to power has completely aroused the conflicts in Hungary. On the one hand, this young boy has to quell the chaos in the country, and on the other hand, he has to deal with the threat from his uncle, Frederick III. He is even more unable to spare any effort."

"So I can infer that there won't be any Christian coalition at all, and we have a long time to go."

"As for the difficulties in attacking the city, they were already within our consideration."

"Isaac and Constantine are both difficult to deal with, but we still have the upper hand."

"The Crown Lion Legion is indeed experienced in many battles, but I don't think they can be more brave than my Janissaries!"

"Tell the commanders of each army to continue bombarding the city walls and send in Jihad warriors to wear down the enemy's morale. When they are weakened, attack them in one fell swoop."

"God is above us, victory will be ours!"

Mehmed II shouted loudly to encourage his generals.

The attacking and defending sides compete with each other in terms of strength and spirit.

"Your Majesty the Sultan, your fleet has assembled at Shuangzhu Port and is awaiting your orders."

The ministers left one after another, and the fleet commanders Bartoglu and Zagan Pasha stayed to report the naval situation to Mehmed II.

In a sense, the biggest obstacle to the Ottoman fleet was not the naval fleet of Constantinople, but the iron chain connecting Galata and Constantinople.

The chain locked the Golden Horn tightly and protected the fragile sea wall along the northern coast of Constantinople.

"Zagan, go talk to the Galatians and ask them to stop helping Constantinople and remove the chains."

There was a fierce light in Mehmed II's eyes.

"If the Genoese are determined to seek their own death, then I will help them."

"I just don't believe that all these Genoese are willing to be our enemies just for Constantinople."

Zagan Pasha responded and left, leaving behind the fleet commander Bartoglu.

He was an experienced and skilled naval commander, loyal to the Ottoman family.

"Your Majesty, what about our fleet?"

"Not urgent."

"In this situation, it is the Christians who should be anxious."

Mehmed II smiled, as if he had everything planned out.

"As for us, we need only wait for the north wind."

……

"And when the thousand years were finished, Satan was loosed from his chains, out of his prison."

“He deceived the nations in the four corners of the earth, calling them Gog and Magog.”

"He directed the people against one another, and their numbers were like the sand on the seashore."

On the southwest end of the city wall of Theodore, Isaac put on armor and observed the enemy situation and boosted morale under the protection of his personal guards.

Looking at the densely packed Muslim jihadists like a swarm of locusts, Isaac was somewhat moved.

Giovanni beside him also had a solemn expression and couldn't help but recite sentences from the Bible.

He crossed himself, said goodbye to Isaac, and went to the front line of the artillery fire to command the defense.

As the Theodosian Walls began to show damage, the soldiers and civilians defending the city were caught in a tough battle, with casualties increasing on both sides, and a fight broke out over the weak spots in the wall.

Under the command of Constantine XI, all the materials in the city that could be used to repair the city walls were transported to several centralized points for assembly, and teams of civilian laborers were arranged to stand guard day and night in case of any emergency.

On this basis, the gaps in the city wall blown up by the Ottomans were quickly filled, and the Muslims failed to expand their advantage and fell halfway through the charge.

It must be said that under the guidance of European advisers, the Ottoman artillery improved very quickly and soon found a way to deal with such a large city wall. They used three-point bombardment at several weak points, which put a lot of pressure on the city wall.

Soon, defensive loopholes appeared in the southern section of the city wall where the fighting was most intense. Isaac had to send the Third Legion of the Guards to support in advance and replace the gradually weakening Fifth Legion.

Of course, if Isaac gave the death order, they would still be able to hold on, but the casualties would be very heavy.

This was something Isaac didn't want to see.

These Armenian boys actually had no responsibility or obligation to guard Constantinople, they just did it for Isaac's own selfish reasons.

Compared with the guards put together by Constantine XI in the original time and space, the troops brought by Isaac were better equipped, better trained, and more adept at dealing with Ottoman attacks.

However, there are still major concerns.

Isaac's troops had basically taken root in Cyrenaica, and his family and property were all in the territories in North Africa. Guarding Constantinople was just Isaac's order, not from the heart.

Isaac knew that even before he rushed to Constantinople's rescue, there were discordant voices in his army and some were not satisfied with his decision.

This situation is particularly evident in the Purple Guards and the Fifth Corps of the Guards, which have been completely North Africanized, and there are complaints from officers to soldiers.

They were not Romans to begin with and had no sense of belonging to Constantinople at all.

As a result, if they were caught in a fierce battle and could not see their families far away in North Africa, their morale would easily drop and they might even fall into panic.

If by some unfortunate chance Cyrenaica were attacked by enemy forces, threatening the safety of their families, the situation would be even worse, and mutiny would not be entirely impossible.

In a real war, the army is not a bunch of soldiers who never slack off, but living people with emotions, joy and sorrow.

"Your Majesty, please go down and rest first. I will keep an eye on this place."

The roar of the royal heavy artillery had just stopped when the Muslims began a new round of desperate charge.

Beside Isaac, Daniel, commander of the 3rd Legion of the Guards, stood with sword in hand, commanding teams of soldiers to march onto the battlefield and onto the grinding mill of flesh and blood.

(End of this chapter)