Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 652 Crossing the Danube (Part 2)
General Stoletov, in his command post, listened to the casualty reports from various units and felt a chill run down his spine. In just two days, his Ninth Army had lost nearly 20,000 men, yet had failed to establish even a secure bridgehead. The Ottoman army opposite him, in terms of morale, equipment, and tactical prowess, far exceeded his expectations.

"General, the soldiers are exhausted and their morale is low. Should we postpone the attack and wait for our allies to make a breakthrough on another front, or wait for more artillery and supplies?"

“No,” he finally spoke hoarsely, “we cannot stop. Tomorrow, continue the attack! Bring up all the reserves! I refuse to believe we can't break through their defenses! At the same time, send a telegram to the Black Sea Fleet, requesting them to exert pressure from the sea, even if it's just shelling coastal targets, it will distract the Turks!”

Driven by their officers, the remaining soldiers of the Ninth Army, exhausted and battling, launched another desperate charge the following morning against the blood-soaked land south of the Danube. Meanwhile, his telegram requesting support from the Black Sea Fleet also reached Sevastopol.

The third day's attack was almost a brutal repetition of the previous two, even more horrific. Russian soldiers, stepping over the corpses of their comrades and under the cover of their own sparser artillery fire, surged frantically towards the riverbank and the Ottoman army's positions. They no longer maintained orderly formations; only the instinct for survival and the numb obedience to orders remained.

On the opposite bank, the Ottoman defenders were also in a frenzy of fighting. Reserves were continuously being shoved into the defensive lines, machine gun barrels glowed red-hot and needed constant water cooling. Snipers specifically targeted Russian officers and non-commissioned officers, further exacerbating the chaos in command. In some sections, the Danube River had turned a light brown, and the surface was littered with broken boats, debris, and bloated corpses—a scene resembling hell.

General Stoletov staked out all his reserves and did manage to capture a few fleeting footholds on the south bank, with a small number of troops even briefly breaking through the first line of defense. But whenever they thought they saw a glimmer of hope, the Ottoman army immediately launched a fierce counterattack, using bayonets and grenades to annihilate or drive these advancing Russian squads back to the riverbank one by one. The battle became a pure war of attrition, with lives exchanged for negligible progress.

Just as the fighting on the riverbank reached its climax, on March 26, the Russian Black Sea Fleet responded to Stoletov's call. Several old gunboats and cruisers cautiously approached the mouth of the Danube and the northern coastline of Bulgaria, and began shelling the Ottoman army's coastal fortifications, communication lines, and suspected logistical hubs.

Huge columns of water rose near the shore, and the roar of exploding shells echoed from the sea, indeed putting some psychological pressure on the Ottoman defenders and causing damage to some facilities. However, the Ottomans had strengthened their defenses along the Danube River and the western coast of the Black Sea before the war, constructing concealed coastal fortifications and deploying a considerable number of mobile heavy artillery units.

Once the Russian warships entered effective firing range, the Ottoman coastal artillery immediately retaliated. An unequal artillery battle unfolded along the coastline. Although the Ottoman coastal firepower could not completely drive away the Russian fleet, it was enough to deter them, forcing them to keep their distance, thus significantly reducing the accuracy and effectiveness of the artillery fire. The threat from the sea ultimately failed to fundamentally change the stalemate of the bloody grinder on the Danube front.

Four days of relentless attacks left Stoletov's Ninth Army decimated, with casualties skyrocketing to over 30,000. The entire army's fighting capacity was nearly exhausted, morale completely collapsed, and open insubordination and desertion began to emerge among the soldiers. They eventually secured several small, muddy beachheads on the south bank of the river, completely exposed to Ottoman fire, but at a staggering cost. Meanwhile, the Russian High Command's much-anticipated flanking attack from the east, through Romania, also made slow progress. They encountered repeated resistance from the Ottoman army, and the continued opposition from the Romanian government further stalled this front.

General Stoletov received a stern order from St. Petersburg, demanding that he expand and consolidate the bridgehead at all costs. But looking at his battered and terrified army, he knew that continuing the assault would be tantamount to suicide. He was forced to painfully order a halt to the large-scale river crossing offensive, switch to defense, consolidate the existing beachhead, and await the arrival of reinforcements and heavy artillery.

This bloody crossing, which lasted for a week, finally came to an end. The Ninth Army, as a complete operational corps, had effectively lost its offensive capability. More than 30,000 casualties, as well as the loss of a large amount of river-crossing equipment, artillery, and gear, made this offensive an absolute disaster.

Moreover, at a heavy cost, the Russian army only managed to establish a few extremely unstable positions on the south bank of the Danube. These positions, far from serving as springboards, became continuously bleeding wounds. The Ottoman army, using the high ground under its control, frequently "harvested" the Russian troops on these positions with precise artillery fire and snipers, forcing the Russian army to continuously commit troops to maintain this fragile lifeline and becoming bogged down in a quagmire of passive attrition.

This also led to the complete failure of Russia's plan for a swift victory. The Russian high command's idea of ​​quickly breaking through the Ottoman defenses and advancing directly to Constantinople through a fierce offensive along the Danube was shattered. This not only gave the Ottoman and Iranian allied forces more time to consolidate other fronts, but more importantly, it severely damaged the initial morale and confidence of the Russian army.

Furthermore, the Ottoman army's tenacious defense and superior equipment changed the Russian army's preconceived notions about them. A somber mood, a sense that the Turks had changed, began to spread among the Russian mid-level officers and soldiers. Conversely, the Ottoman army, through this defensive victory, greatly boosted morale and confidence, proving that they were capable of resisting a powerful enemy under the leadership of their new Sultan.

The initial setbacks suffered by the Russian army were a bucket of cold water poured on its allies. The McMahon government in Paris began to urge Russia to increase pressure on the Eastern Front more urgently, while also doubting the expectation of a quick victory. In the Balkans, Greece and Serbia developed deeper concerns about relying entirely on Russia, and internal turmoil and a tendency to fight their own battles became increasingly apparent.

With no breakthrough in sight, Russia's once-powerful facade began to crumble under the Ottoman Empire. If Russia failed to break through, a massive collapse was inevitable.

(End of this chapter)