Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 680 Going South
After experiencing the most difficult period, the Iranian and Ottoman General Staffs began to formulate counterattack plans. Their current strategy against Russia and France remains primarily defensive and focused on surprise attacks, with their main forces targeting the Balkan alliances.

On May 24, the Ottoman army recaptured the important city of Urze. Meanwhile, the southern army withstood the Greek offensive. With the conscripts' training complete, the time for a counter-offensive finally arrived.

The Balkan rainy season had temporarily ended, the skies had cleared, and the muddy roads were gradually paving over, presenting an opportune time for large-scale troop movements. The General Staff decided to deal with Greece first.

The Greek army totaled approximately 70,000 men. The main force was concentrated in two directions. The Thessalian group, numbering 45,000, deployed along the eastern foothills of the Pindus Mountains, aiming to capture the strategic town of Larissa and thus threaten the heartland of Ottoman Macedonia. The Epirus group, numbering 25,000, confronted the Ottoman garrison in the Epirus Mountains, aiming to completely expel Ottoman forces from the region.

Its strategic posture was predominantly offensive, but the two groups were separated by the Pindus Mountains, making coordination difficult, and the logistical lines were long and fragile. This gave the Ottomans an opportunity.

The Ottoman army in the Greek direction was divided into the Thessalian Army and the Macedonian Army. The Thessalian Army, with a total strength of 85,000 men, was commanded by General Bayezid. They set out from Ioannina with the objective of Mysorongion, the most important city in Greece.

Mysolungi was one of the first cities to rise up in the Greek War of Independence, and it was also the home of the great poet Byron. Although it fell to the combined forces of Egypt and the Ottomans, the performance of its defenders became a symbol of Greek spirit. It carries the memory of heroic resistance during the War of Independence and is one of the symbols of the Greek national spirit. The city's defenses were overseen by General Zografus, who commanded approximately ten thousand soldiers. Relying on a system of fortifications that had been continuously strengthened over the years and the complex network of waterways and marshes, they were prepared to fight to the death.

Outside the city, the Ottoman Thessalian army, like a black tide, under the command of General Bayezid, completed the land encirclement of the city. The camps of 85,000 troops stretched as far as the eye could see, their banners obscuring the sun. Heavy siege cannons were slowly pushed to the front lines, and a chilling atmosphere permeated the air.

The battle did not begin with a direct assault on the city. Bayezid first ordered his troops to systematically clear out the Greek outposts and strongpoints surrounding the city. Small groups of Ottoman infantry, under artillery cover, systematically eliminated the Greek defenders' eyes and ears, village by village and fortress by fortress. The Greek defenders put up fierce resistance, but under the pressure of overwhelming numerical superiority, they were forced to gradually abandon their outer positions and retreat back to their main defensive line.

Meanwhile, Ottoman engineers worked day and night, constructing dozens of artillery positions in the relatively dry areas to the east and north of the city. More than one hundred heavy cannons of various calibers, including several giant siege mortars urgently transported from Constantinople, were carefully deployed.

On the morning of July 4, the Ottoman artillery preparations officially began.

"Boom——!!!"

The first cannon shot served as a signal; instantly, hundreds of cannons roared from the Ottoman artillery positions! Shells rained down on the walls, fortresses, and suspected military targets within Misorungi like hailstones. The deafening explosions continued unabated, the ground shook, and black smoke and orange flames billowed and rose above the city. Breach after breach was blasted into the sturdy stone walls, and swathes of earthen and wooden houses collapsed into rubble.

The Greek defenders' artillery also fought back bravely, but they were at a significant disadvantage in both numbers and caliber. They were quickly overwhelmed by the Ottoman's fierce suppressive fire and several gun positions were destroyed.

Previously, the Ottoman and Egyptian allied forces had fought for a full year to capture the city due to insufficient supplies. Iran learned from this experience and urgently constructed a transport railway, reducing shell delivery time by two-thirds. The bombardment lasted for three full days with only brief respite. Many sections of the Misorungk walls were damaged, especially the eastern and northern walls facing the main Ottoman attack, creating several gaps that could be breached by infantry. Casualties among the soldiers and civilians inside the city continued to rise, but the core fortress remained strong, and the morale of the defenders, inspired by General Zografus, had not yet collapsed.

After deeming the artillery preparations sufficient, General Bayezid ordered an infantry assault.

On the afternoon of July 9th, the distinctive bugle call of the Ottoman army sounded mournfully. The Ottoman infantry squares, which had been waiting for a long time, moved like a moving forest, raising their rifles and flags, shouting the deafening "Allahu Akbar," and launched a tidal wave of attacks on the breaches and badly damaged sections of the city wall.

"For the Sultan! For the Empire!"

The Greek defenders immediately launched a fierce counterattack.

"Fire! For Greece! For freedom!" Greek officers shouted as they ran along the city walls.

Countless tongues of fire erupted from the remaining crenellations, fortress loopholes, and rubble. Rifle bullets and shotgun shells rained down on the charging Ottoman soldiers like a death storm. Rows of Ottoman soldiers fell at the forefront, but those behind them continued forward without hesitation, stepping over the bodies of their comrades, displaying a chilling courage and discipline.

The battle instantly descended into brutal close-quarters combat. At the breach in the city wall, soldiers from both sides clashed hand-to-hand. The sounds of clashing bayonets, shouts of soldiers, and screams of the wounded filled the air. Ottoman soldiers attempted to rush through the breach and establish a bridgehead; while the Greek defenders fought desperately to hold it back, using every available weapon—rifles, bayonets, grenades, even stones and rolling logs—to drive the enemy back.

The fighting at the main breach in the eastern city wall was particularly fierce. An elite Ottoman battalion successfully broke through the breach and engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat with the Greek defenders. At the critical moment, General Zografus personally led his reserves to the scene. He led from the front, wielding his sword and fighting the enemy. After suffering heavy losses, he annihilated all the Ottoman soldiers who had broken through and resealed the breach. The breach was piled high with corpses, and the flowing blood stained the soil dark red.

After several days of relentless infantry assaults, the Ottoman army left thousands of corpses beneath the walls of Mithronki, but failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough. While the Greek defenders also suffered heavy casualties, their core defensive line remained steadfast, and their will to resist grew ever stronger through the trials of blood and fire.

General Bayezid watched through his binoculars as each charge was repelled, his face grim. He realized that against the Greek defenses built with the advantage of terrain and a spirit of certain death, relying solely on sheer numbers and frontal assaults would be too costly and unlikely to yield quick results.

"Stop the pointless charge!" he ordered. "Artillery, continue the bombardment, focusing on their command posts, artillery positions, and supply depots within the city! Engineers, dig trenches forward, all the way to the foot of their walls! We'll use explosives to blow their walls, bones and all, to the sky!"

(End of this chapter)