1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 113 The battle to the end
On the Black Sea coast, Constantinople, west of the Theodosian Walls, Mount Maltepe.

In the golden and red tent, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II looked at the dark and steep city walls in the distance, his eyes were red, his lips were tightly pursed, and his fists were clenched tightly.

boom--

Another loud bang was heard, and a siege tower full of Ottoman soldiers fell to the ground with flames. The Ottoman soldiers jumped off the siege tower, shouting in fear, and fell heavily on the ground that was becoming harder and harder in the summer.

Some of them were unconscious, some had broken legs, bones sticking out of tendons, and they crawled on the ground wailing, leaving a long trail of blood.

"Zagan, don't we have anything to counter the Greek emperor's flamethrower?"

"In the early days of the war, we specially manufactured some specially treated siege vehicles, but they have been used up in the long siege."

"You've used up the last of your fireproof timber and hides while building your giant siege tower, and the new supply hasn't arrived yet."

"The siege vehicles we are using now are all crudely made and lack a lot of defensive capabilities."

Mehmed II said no more and continued to stare at the situation on the battlefield, issuing orders from time to time, sending one legion and one siege vehicle after another into the battlefield to make up for the deficit caused by casualties.

"It's almost done. Let Karaga prepare and notify Mahmoud to take action immediately after this round of shelling is over!"

The messenger at the side immediately rode on a fast horse and passed the Sultan's order to the two commanders at the southern and northern sections of the city wall.

"What is the situation in the Golden Horn?"

He turned his head, unable to hide his anxiety.

"Our land-based artillery has indeed forced back Constantinople's navy. Now there are more than fifty Fust warships entering the Golden Horn."

"However, if we want to pose a real threat to the sea walls of Constantinople, the enemy fleet must be defeated."

Zagan Pasha reported briefly.

"Very good. You know more about the things at sea than I do. Let Baltoglu handle it himself."

"Keep going, keep going! Don't stop!"

Mehmed II quickly turned his head to the side and shouted loudly at an artillery company.

"His Majesty……"

"Ok?"

Mehmed II turned his head, his eyes full of impatience.

"You are being a little hasty."

"What did you say! You..."

"You could have waited until more tunnels were dug, more siege towers were built, and more ships were transported to the Golden Horn, but you didn't."

"You once told me that for a monarch, gambling war is undesirable and is a last resort."

"And now, you are going further and further down this wrong path."

Mehmed II's face turned red with anger, and he raised his hands as if he was about to strangle Zagan Pasha.

Looking at Zagan Pasha's still sincere and fearless eyes, Mehmed II paused in the air, the madness in his eyes began to fade, and he regained some clarity.

He put his hand down, remained silent for a moment, and looked around to make sure no third person could hear their conversation.

"Just last night, Mahmud hurried to my tent and told me the news that the Janissary Guards were in a state of instability."

"Then, I received a secret letter from Belgrade that the embassy from Constantinople was moving around the courts of the Balkan countries, and I'm afraid they were planning something serious."

"The east is not peaceful either. My sister, Princess Karaman, sent me a letter telling me that the Genoese named Martir Gattilusio has been running between Konya and Karaman, and has also sent people to Dulkadir and Diyarbakir."

"The Black Sheep army is all in Persia and conquering the Timurid kings. The new White Sheep monarch, Uzon Hassan, is a cunning man. He will definitely try to take advantage of the Black Sheep army's expedition to do something."

"The Mamluk Sultan Chakmak was indecisive and kept his elite troops firmly in his hands. He had no intention of breaking through the Tobruk fortress built by the Christians."

"Yahya of the Hafsid dynasty did his best, but his strength was too weak, and with the obstruction of pirates, it was difficult for him to cause actual damage to the Christian territories in North Africa."

"I suspect that if we continue to delay, the consequences will be serious."

"I killed the messenger, burned the secret letter, and concealed all the bad news, just to maintain the morale of the army."

Mehmed II revealed all these secrets in one breath, seeming much more relieved.

He smiled and patted Zagan Pasha on the shoulder.

"My dear Zagan, you are right."

"A king never gambles unless he has to."

"But now, I have no choice."

……

"what is that?"

On the northwest section of the city wall of Theodore, a soldier from the First Legion of the Purple Guards looked at the huge monster in the distance with horror in his eyes.

An extremely tall and huge siege tower was slowly approaching the city wall, being dragged by bulls and laborers.

"Don't panic! It's just a larger siege tower! Do what you normally do now!"

On the city wall near the Charisius Gate, Hakan, the flag captain of the First Legion of the Purple Guard, shouted loudly and smashed his fist hard on the shoulder of the frightened soldier.

Hakan is a veteran of the Purple Guards and one of the first Turks recruited by Legion Commander Ibrahim. He was once a wanted criminal, but with his archery skills he won the favor of the emperor and the legion commander many times. He was promoted to flag captain for his merits and commanded two hundred soldiers.

This time, he was ordered to guard the gate of Charasis and led his flag team to engage in a bloody battle with the endless stream of Ottoman soldiers, and most of the 200 people in the flag team were lost.

After the Battle of Galata, among the more than one thousand Turkic soldiers who surrendered, nearly half gave up their faith in God in the face of the bloody butcher's knife and joined the First Legion of the Purple Guard.

They were forced to trample the Sultan's flag on the city wall in front of the Ottoman army, utter blasphemous words against Allah, and burn the Koran in public. There was no turning back, so they fought particularly hard.

"Captain, this siege tower is probably higher than our city wall. If we let it get close, I'm afraid..."

"Shut up, coward!"

Hakan slapped the soldier in the face, causing him to stagger.

"Messenger! Go report the situation to the legion commander. We need reinforcements!"

He also knew that with only a hundred or so defeated soldiers, he would not be able to destroy this giant siege tower, so he had to request reinforcements.

This Ottoman siege tower is indeed extremely large, with a frame made of solid wooden beams, covered with specially treated cowhide, camel skin and double-layer wooden fences to protect the people inside.

The lower part of the tower was filled with earth and surrounded by a wall of earth, so the defenders' small-caliber artillery and musket bullets had no effect on it.

The levels of the siege tower were connected by ladders, which could also be used as bridges between the siege tower and the city wall.

The top floor was filled with archers and crossbowmen drawing their bows to shoot, looking down from above, aiming their shining arrows at the defenders on the city wall.

An Ottoman officer dressed as a bey was giving orders at the top of the siege tower, repeating mechanical words, bending his bow and shooting arrows over and over again.

blow--

Hakan drew his bow to its full length, raised his hand and shot an arrow, which went straight over the protection of the front row of shield soldiers and pierced the throat of the Ottoman officer, causing the order he had not yet spoken to turn into blood foam that continued to flow out.

The defenders on the city wall burst into cheers and looked at their flag captain with reverence.

"Archers, get ready. Shoot the enemy ranged infantry on the tower!"

Hakan gave the order, pulling the bow to its full length once again and adjusting the angle.

The soldiers followed his example and pointed their bows upward at an angle toward the sky.

Arrows rained down, and many Ottoman soldiers fell down.

A faint smile appeared on Hakan's lips.

Before this, His Majesty Isaac had visited the Purple Guards and proposed to gradually replace the crossbows with new-style matchlock guns as the army's long-range firepower. Hakan was anxious at the time, stood up and argued with reason, and finally forced His Majesty to give up this idea.

A skilled archer can kill a target hiding behind cover by precisely controlling the angle. Can a musket do the same?

The Ottoman soldiers responded quickly by increasing the number of shield soldiers on the top floor of the tower to form a shield wall to protect the top of their heads.

The giant siege tower gradually approached the city wall, and Hakan could already see the hideous faces of the Ottoman soldiers.

"Greek Fire, ready, fire!"

On one of the towers, several Greek fires suddenly spewed out blazing flames, which landed on the siege tower and burned a large area.

The Ottoman soldiers were already accustomed to this kind of short-range but powerful weapon, and they immediately took out thick cowhide and covered the burning area.

"Captain of the Flag, I'm afraid that simple Greek fire can't do any damage to this giant siege tower!"

Hakan nodded, gritted his teeth, and looked hatefully at the Ottoman soldiers showing off their might on the siege tower.

Under the command of the officers, they gradually brought the fire under control and were eager to jump onto the city wall.

"All soldiers, put down your bows and arrows, switch to swords and shields, and prepare to engage the enemy!"

……

At the same time, the walls of Theodosius were under fierce attack from the Ottoman army at various locations. The attackers used various tactics, but the defenders countered each one and fought back.

"Quick, pour in the kerosene and asphalt!"

Under the southern section of the city wall, Isaac rushed around, looking for the Ottoman tunnels and using various methods to sabotage their attempts.

To be honest, the Ottomans' tunnel engineering was very well implemented. More than a dozen tunnels of varying sizes were dug from the outskirts of Constantinople to the base of the city wall, cleverly avoiding overly hard rocks and overly soft mud, and the level was quite high.

Long before the war began, Isaac informed every commander defending the city of possible siege measures that the Ottomans might take, and commissioners were arranged to patrol and inspect each section of the city wall.

Despite this, most of the tunnels were successfully dug to the edge of the city wall, and only a small part was discovered in time by the defenders, who tried to stop it.

"Grant! Here!"

Isaac shouted, and the German engineer in the distance came running over with a grunt.

Eastern Roman soldiers gathered around a newly discovered tunnel, holding shields and crossbows, and shot to death Ottoman soldiers who tried to escape.

The tunnel was dug too far, right in the center of the military camp. The Ottoman soldiers hid in it and dared not show their heads at all.

Grant, an engineer from Germany, arrived quickly with a company of engineers, poured kerosene and asphalt into the tunnel entrance and set it on fire. Soon, the miserable screams of the Ottoman soldiers began to sound, accompanied by painful coughs and angry curses.

After the fire was out, the laborers piled dirt and stones into the tunnel entrance to completely seal it off.

Tunnel warfare is about winning by surprise, appearing at an uncertain place at an uncertain time, catching the enemy off guard and thus gaining a momentary advantage.

However, their plan, which they thought was airtight, had long been discovered by Isaac, who had made targeted arrangements to deal with the Ottoman underground offensive with ease.

Water, fire, and smoke are the three most powerful weapons against tunnel warfare, and they have always been effective.

The air was filled with smoke, cannon fire, arrows raining down, and there were broken arms and bodies everywhere. The blood moon finally descended and the sun hung in the sky.

On the desolate battlefield, the attackers and defenders were like two scarred boxers. After a long period of punching and defense, they had already exhausted their strength and were out of breath.

At this point in the war, both sides have no way to stop and are forced to put all their chips into the gamble.

Bet on a turnaround.

……

Southern Carpathians, Timişo-Cerna Corridor.

This corridor is located at the border between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Principality of Wallachia, connecting the Transylvanian Plateau and the lower Danube plain. It has been an important trade and military route since ancient times.

The Dacian Kingdom once built roads, set up fortresses, and collected commercial taxes here. After the Roman Empire took control of this area, it systematically renovated the roads and connected them to the extensive road network within the empire.

To this day, this ancient Roman road remains the main route across the Carpathian Mountains and plays an important role in the exchanges between the Danube Civilization and the Black Sea Civilization.

In a valley in the Southern Carpathian Mountains, a large new camp was built. There was abundant grass and water, and many wild animals. It was very suitable for the army to temporarily station, replenish and rest.

There were many flags flying above the military camp, the most eye-catching of which were the raven flag of the Hunyadi family and the double-headed eagle flag of the Eastern Roman Empire.

In the central camp, the nominal commander, Matthias Hunyadi, was pointing and drawing on the map, his eyes full of excitement.

Matthias is just eleven years old this year and does not have the ability to command the army alone. The White Knight Janos specially appointed Vlad and Stefan as marching staff to actually lead the army's actions.

"Currently, our army has over 3,000 cavalry and over 1,000 infantry, with a total strength of nearly 5,000."

"The elite Ottomans are gathering in Constantinople, leaving the rear empty. The troops left in Bulgaria are insufficient. We should be able to defeat them easily."

Next to Matthias, Stefan was reporting the situation.

In this battle, the Hunyadi family sent out 3,000 soldiers, all of whom were light cavalry. In addition, they also specially dispatched a group of 20 armored knights to protect Matthias' safety.

After obtaining Hunyadi's approval, the Eastern Roman delegation recruited mercenaries in Transylvania with high salaries. More than 400 desperate criminals were willing to join the expedition and were incorporated into the combat sequence.

In addition, two exiled princes, Vlad and Stefan, from Wallachia and Moldavia, each brought their own followers, totaling more than 800 people.

Thus, this hastily assembled Crusaders set out on their journey.

"The old, weak and sick people left behind by the Ottomans are not a concern, and our main goal is not to annihilate them."

"The key is how we can successfully cross this corridor and reach the Wallachian Plain."

Matthias lived up to his reputation as a precocious man and spotted the problem at a glance.

"Your Highness, leave this question to me."

Vlad said.

"The general guarding the Timis-Cerna Corridor and I have a history. It was he who spared me that year, so I was able to escape to Transylvania."

Vlad briefly ascended the throne of Grand Duke of Wallachia in 1448 as Vlad III of the House of Drakuli.

His first reign was unstable and he was soon overthrown by local pro-Ottoman nobles, forcing him to flee to Hunyadi's court.

"Mr. Anderson, do you have any comments?"

Matthias asked.

"Your arrangements are very appropriate, Your Highness."

"very good!"

"Vlad, I'll give you three days. In three days, I'm going to reach the endless Wallachian plains!"

"As you wish, my dear highness."

……

On May 1453, 5, the fierce battle of Constantinople was in full swing. Relying on favorable omens and strong national strength, the Ottomans gradually began to gain the upper hand in this decisive battle.

However, they didn't know that a storm was quietly approaching.

On May 5, the Christian coalition crossed the Carpathian Mountain Pass and arrived at the Wallachian Plain.

As expected, the Principality of Wallachia once again chose to sit on the fence and did not make things difficult for the coalition forces.

On May 5, the Allied forces arrived in the Bulgarian region and looted several Ottoman border villages, bringing the war to the Ottoman homeland for the first time.

On the same day, the Albanian commander Skanderbeg and the Eastern Roman commander of the Ohlonian Military District, Maruna, organized an army to invade the Ottoman-occupied southern Serbia and returned with a lot of loot.

The purpose of the Christian army was not to capture land or to annihilate an army. Their goal was one, simple and clear:
Raise the banner of Jesus Christ and rush to the holy city, Constantinople.

(End of this chapter)