1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 103: Galata's Rape

Amid the smoke and flames of war, under the gray sky, the majestic Theodosian Walls stretched from north to south, standing between the Golden Horn and the Sea of ​​Marmara, firmly protecting Constantinople in the east behind it.

The Ottoman army besieging the Theodosian Walls consisted of the European Legion, the Guards Legion and the Anatolian Legion from north to south, which corresponded exactly to the three sections of the wall traditionally divided in Constantinople.

It is not difficult to see from Mehmed II's military deployment that he placed his main hope of breaking through the city wall on the most vulnerable middle section of the wall, followed by the northern section of the wall adjacent to the Golden Horn.

As for the Anatolian Legion responsible for besieging the southern section of the city wall, it was just cannon fodder used to tie down the Christian forces.

The European legions led by Karaga Bey attacked the northern part of the Theodosian Walls, including Muslim warriors and Christian vassals of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans.

In 1354, an earthquake struck Gallipoli. The second Ottoman leader, Orhan I, took advantage of this opportunity to force a crossing of the Dardanelles and seized this extremely important fortress.

Since then, the Ottoman Bey State, a small tribe originally located in the northwest corner of Asia Minor, has had a bridgehead to the heart of Europe, enabling it to actively intervene in the civil war between the two Johns and devour the few remaining remnants of the thousand-year-old Rome.

Over the next hundred years, the Ottoman Empire focused its expansion on the Balkan Peninsula, striving to occupy the ruling vacuum left after the decline of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Bulgaria and Serbia, two local regimes that once dominated the Balkans, quickly collapsed and surrendered to the Sultan.

Serbia, located deep in the mountains, managed to retain some autonomy thanks to the support of Hungary and its geographical advantages, but Bulgaria, which was close to the Ottoman Empire, was not so lucky.

The Ottomans soon became dissatisfied with indirect rule and abolished puppet regimes such as the Principality of Vidin and the Principality of Dobruja one by one, moving a large number of Muslims to the Bulgarian region and quickly assimilated them.

Today, the European legions led by Karaga Bey are mainly divided into three groups: devout Muslim jihadists, Christians loyal to the Sultan, and vassal troops forced to join the war.

Among them, most of the Ottoman vassal troops came from vassal states such as Serbia and Wallachia. They were all Orthodox Christians and were unwilling to launch an attack on Constantinople.

Every evening when the troops were withdrawn, waves of Orthodox prayers could be heard on and outside the city walls, with everyone praying that Jesus Christ would save His people and protect the city from the disaster of war.

This miraculous situation was also allowed in the religiously tolerant Ottoman Empire.

At the beginning, the Christian vassal army did not have a strong will to fight, and the soldiers on the city wall did not want to kill their Christian brothers. The attack and defense of the northern section of the city wall were very orderly and unremarkable.

Later, Karaga Bey, who was commanding the battle, discovered that the vassal troops were slacking off and began to change the battle order, mixing them with the Muslims in the charge.

As a result, the battle under the northern section of the city wall became fierce. Both the attackers and defenders gradually increased their forces to fight for every tower, every trench, and every inch of land stained with blood.

Swish!
A flash of cold light passed by, and the young knight's squire's hair stood on end instantly. He quickly raised his arm and held up the zither-shaped shield to block the incoming crossbow arrow.

thump—

The crossbow arrow pierced into the zither-shaped shield, and the force was still strong. The tail feathers shook wildly and did not stop until a long while later.

The knight's squire looked at the crossbow arrow that pierced the shield, his Adam's apple trembled, and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

"Galvin! Don't be stunned!"

A knight chopped down a Muslim jihadist who was threatening him with his sword, turned around and yelled at the young servant.

The knight was wearing heavy armor, a half-faced helmet, and holding a huge sword, which was a typical French Norman knight's attire.

There were already many blood stains on the knight's armor, and the sword was dark red, obviously having drunk the blood of the enemy.

Both of them had their armor engraved with the emblem of the Order of Saint Simon - the blue Cross of Lorraine, a symbol of freedom and resistance.

Since its inception, this knightly order has been active on the front line against Muslims, gradually gaining a reputation in the middle Mediterranean and becoming somewhat famous.

In recent years, with the help of Emperor Isaac, the sponsor and honorary master, the Knights of Saint Simon have gradually acquired their own castles and estates, and their organizational structure has been gradually improved. In addition to the original French knights, the number of ordinary sergeants and knights' attendants has gradually increased, and the military strength has gradually increased.

Currently, the Knights Templar has 150 official knights, 250 knight squires and 200 sergeants. The emperor's brother-in-law, Baron Conti, serves as the grand master, and the experienced Knight Philip serves as the sergeant major.

During the Holy War in Constantinople, the Knights of Saint Simon sent thirty infantry knights, fifty knight squires and eighty sergeants, commanded by Sergeant Major Philip, to assist in guarding the northwest section of Theodore's wall.

Galvin Nejad, who graduated from the Royal Knights Academy, was a knight squire and participated in the holy war in Constantinople.

On this tower, there are many Saint Simon's heavy-armored knights and knight squires, who are organized into groups as defensive units and are firmly pinned down on the path that the Muslims must take.

This was a blind spot for artillery bombardment. The Muslims' ordinary bows and lead-bullet muskets could hardly cause substantial damage to the heavily armored knights. They could only continuously send out cannon fodder to gradually deplete the morale of the defenders.

Galwin came to his senses, raised his sword to block the scimitar of an Ottoman soldier, blocked it briefly, raised his shield and rushed forward, knocked him to the ground, and stabbed him in the chest with a sword.

Galwin had no time to relax his vigilance. The sound of armor colliding behind him forced him to quickly dodge and avoid the enemy's charge. He stepped on the opponent's halberd with one foot and pointed the sword at the enemy's throat.

The Ottoman soldier fell to the ground, staring blankly at the sword against his neck, with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Ok?"

Just as Galvin was about to thrust his sword down, he noticed the Orthodox cross hanging around the soldier's neck.

"Are you Orthodox?"

Galwin asked in Greek, but the sword was still pressed against the opponent's throat, the sword piercing the skin and oozing bright red blood.

Galwin had been defending the city for nearly ten days and had met many Christians fighting for the Sultan, both Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic.

Among these people, many were forced to join the war. Once captured, they were willing to surrender to the defenders. Some even sneaked out of the Ottoman camp and went to Galata in the north, crossing the Golden Horn to support Constantinople.

Of course, there were also many people who chose to use their status as brothers to win the sympathy of the soldiers defending the city, and then started killing people violently, causing considerable trouble to the defenders.

Later, the commander of the northern section of the city wall, Captain Ibrahim, issued a unified order that any Christian soldiers who surrendered on the battlefield must be strictly identified outside the city wall and must not be rashly brought into the main city wall.

"I surrender, for God's sake..."

The other person was very young. He dropped his halberd and murmured in begging.

Galwin looked around and saw that the enemy had not gained any advantage under the fierce fighting of the Knights and was retreating from the battlefield one after another.

"Galvin, what's wrong?"

Knight Philip's deep voice rang out.

"Sergeant, there's a Christian here."

Galwin's superior, Philip, the Sergeant Major of the Knights of Saint Simon, walked over here and looked at the young soldier lying on the ground with a frown.

"Lock him up first, as usual."

According to Philip, these Christians serving the Ottoman Empire should be killed directly to avoid chaos.

These Christian vassal troops have always had a flexible moral bottom line. They are loyal supporters of the Sultan in the Ottoman army and insist that they are loyal subjects of Rome once they are captured.

As for the real thoughts, I'm afraid no one knows.

The key point is that in a holy war between Muslims and Christians, the rash killing of these Christian captives who claimed to be willing to join in the defense of the city would cause great damage to the morale of the defenders, and no one was willing to accept this result.

"Sir, I have important intelligence to report!"

The young soldier didn't understand French. Seeing Philip's cold face, he trembled in his heart and shouted loudly.

More and more knights, sergeants and civilians gathered around, and when they heard the soldiers' roars, they pricked up their ears curiously.

"Civil strife has broken out in Galata City. Zagan Pasha has summoned a large force and they may have already entered the city!"

Seeing the crowd gathering, the young soldier became more and more frightened, and without waiting for Philip to ask, he spoke loudly.

As soon as these words came out, Philip's expression suddenly changed, and he kicked the young soldier in the mouth, and the blood was immediately blurred.

"Bastard!" Philip was so angry that he raised his sword to strike, but was stopped by Galwin.

It was too late. Among the crowd, whispers of doubt had begun to spread, and everyone looked towards the city of Galata in the north, their eyes filled with worry and fear.

……

"Your Majesty, the news has been confirmed. Under the threat of Zagan Pasha's army, some cowardly Genoese merchants in Galata refused to fight against the Ottomans and tried to persuade the mayor to stop helping us."

In the camp behind the central street, Venetian alcalde Miloto, Genoese commander Bartholomew, and foreign ministers Sfranchis and Theophilus surrounded Isaac with nervous expressions.

"They tried to force Mayor Gatell to remain neutral, but when he refused, they started to gather thugs and started a rebellion, and have now occupied several blocks."

"The mayor of Leinster was very wise. He abandoned the city hall and took the guards to defend several important roads, blocking the rebels in the city and preventing them from opening the city gates."

"The situation is already very bad. I'm afraid Zagan Pasha's troops are marching towards Galata City, preparing to join forces with the rebels in the city to capture this strategic location."

Bartholomew quickly reported the dangerous situation, looking down, obviously embarrassed.

"Your Majesty, this is our negligence. Please punish us."

The city of Galata is located to the north of Constantinople, forming the two sides of the Golden Horn with Constantinople on the north and south.

After the disaster in 1204, Galata became a colony of the Venetians and then the Genoese, who established a complete political structure here with administrative, judicial and garrison powers. It became a country within a country, constantly reaping the commercial profits of Constantinople.

For the current Constantinople, the strategic location of Galata is extremely important. If Galata is lost, the iron chains hanging over the Golden Horn will be under the control of the Ottomans. They will be able to threaten Isaac's fleet in the Golden Horn without even sailing on land.

The Golden Horn is narrow and cramped, and the sea is as calm as a mirror. The Ottoman small and fast Fust warships have a great advantage in this environment. Even if Isaac can defeat them, he will suffer huge losses.

Furthermore, the city of Galata is the only remaining Christian force around Constantinople. It is a lone boat that survives the storm of the Muslim jihad, and it helps and supports Constantinople.

Once the city of Galata is lost, the morale of the military and civilians in Constantinople will suffer a great blow, and the Ottoman army will form a pincer attack on Constantinople from the northwest.

After hearing the news, Isaac took a deep breath, suppressed the slight panic in his heart, and tried to concentrate and think of a way to break the deadlock.

"Your Majesty, this is probably not a problem of the Gattiluccio family. The rebels are from the local noble families of Galata. They should have been hereditary mayors, but..."

Sfrangis looked at the list of rioters and obviously knew something about these people.

As early as two years ago, Isaac began to gradually interfere in the political situation in Galata. He did not hesitate to use troops and ships to help his mother's family, the Gattiluccio family from Genoa, become the mayor of Galata, in order to avoid chaos during the war.

However, it seemed that he acted too hastily and instead caused serious backlash.

Isaac had no time to manage Galata's internal affairs. His great-uncle, the new mayor, Leinster Gatilusio, seemed unable to completely eliminate the power of the local nobles, leaving hidden dangers.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid they wouldn't dare to be so presumptuous. The Ottomans must have planted spies in Galata a long time ago and colluded with these traitors."

Alderman Miloto, who had been silent, spoke up, but did not add insult to injury to the Genoese's predicament.

“That’s how Thessalonica fell twenty-three years ago.”

Isaac raised his hand to stop the ministers' pointless argument.

"Don't panic at any time, we still have time."

"Sfrangis, this news should not have spread widely in Constantinople?"

"No, Your Majesty. I only informed several commanders of the northern section of the city wall and asked them to pay attention to possible movements of the Ottoman army."

"That's good. Let's keep this a secret as much as possible to avoid causing panic. We—"

The door slammed open and a knight rushed in and fell to his knees.

"Philip? What happened?"

Isaac's eyelids twitched, and the bad feeling in his heart became stronger.

"Your Majesty, a prisoner accidentally leaked the news of the attack on Galata. We failed to manage it properly. Please punish us!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent, and the sound of breathing in the room could be clearly heard.

"understood."

Isaac slowly stood up, helped Philip up, and looked at the four ministers present.

"Philip, go inform Captain Fidel and ask him to allocate half of the fleet to block the Golden Horn and not allow any Ottoman warships to enter!"

"Miloto, go prepare the transport fleet."

"Yes!"

The two took the order and left.

"Sfrangis, how many troops do we have left to mobilize?"

"Your Majesty, there are not many troops capable of conducting a field battle. The Fifth Corps of the Royal Guards and the Second Corps of the Purple Guards can attack, but they have just withdrawn from the city wall and have not recovered yet."

"Archduke Lucas still has more than a thousand militia troops, but they can only help defend the city. I'm afraid they are of little use."

"Quickly summon the Fifth Guards and the Second Purple Guards, recruit five hundred strong militiamen, and ask them to assemble at the Port of Prousfilion and prepare to cross the sea for battle!"

"By this time tomorrow, I must see the flag of the double-headed eagle on the walls of Galata!"

Isaac commanded loudly.

After Sfrangis left, in the camp, Bartholomew looked at Isaac, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.

"Your Majesty, please allow me to lead the troops and make amends!"

Bartholomew's face was full of resentment.

"It is not your fault, Bartholomew; you have done nothing wrong."

"Besides, this operation is extraordinary. You are not suitable to lead the troops."

Isaac calmed down and comforted him.

Bartholomew was from Genoa. He was not familiar with the Armenians of the Fifth Guards and the Turks of the Second Purple Guards, and he was unable to suppress them.

"Your Majesty, are you going to let Archduke Lucas lead the troops? I don't think he is suitable."

Isaac shook his head.

Bartholomew was somewhat puzzled.

"The other generals are all busy with their own battles. Who are you going to let lead the battle?"

Isaac walked to the wall and gently stroked the armor on the rack, feeling the coolness of each iron armor plate.

He unfolded a dark purple cloak and tied it around his shoulders.

"I."

(End of this chapter)