In the Turkish barracks outside Istanbul, Xia Shu met Fatih's troops, a Shipach cavalry with thick armor and shining swords.

Looking back two or three hundred years, the Sipah Cavalry and the other two Ottoman cavalry units, the Sipah Cavalry and the Ah Cavalry, together formed the sharp blade for the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. The changes of time and the use of rifled guns and cannons have greatly compressed the space for the cavalry to play on the battlefield. However, when the First World War came, all participating countries also regarded the cavalry as an important force in land warfare, wearing ponytail caps and breastplates. The French Dragoon was the most typical representative.

And Natsuki knew that traditional cavalry was destined to be a tragedy in front of cannons and machine guns.

It can be said that the Germans, who were skilled in machinery, had an innate sense of advanced weapon technology. Before the British colonial forces used Maxim machine guns to deal with the Zulu people, German Emperor William II praised this automatic weapon and purchased the first batch of Maxim for the German Guards Infantry Corps out of their own pocket. By 1901, the German Weapons and Ammunition Manufacturing Factory obtained the manufacturing license for Maxim machine guns and put it into production with the number of mg01. Within two years, the German army quickly established 11 machine gun battalions and successively

In the ordinary infantry regiments and sharp sword battalions, machine gun companies were equipped with machine gun companies. As long as they were correctly used, these machine guns could ruthlessly slaughter the cavalry and infantry in the open areas, but the cavalry of Fatih still waved spears and swords... Although they were strong and arrogant in the parade field, they performed poorly in the tenth and most recent Russian-Turkish war. The laziness and undisciplined atmosphere have become notorious. The Muslims' sense of superiority and arrogant prejudice against the Western nations are also vividly reflected in them.

After watching the sipach cavalry's ranks and combat training with a mentality of watching the performance, Xia Shu embarked on the way back with his reverie for the future. With the increasingly fierce conflicts of interest and difficult-to-eliminate historical feuds of the great powers, a war that swept across the continent was inevitable. Britain, France and Russia had already concluded a contract, and the German-Austrian alliance was alone and it was of great significance to win over the Ottoman Empire. In the era when the railway line had not yet connected the Arctic Ocean coast with the hinterland of Russia (Murmansk established a port in 1916), the route through the Turkish Strait to the Black Sea was the artery of Russian imported materials. Once the war broke out, as long as the Turks closed the strait, it would be difficult for the huge and backward Russian troops to obtain British and French assistance, and mobilization and combat efficiency would be greatly affected.

In fact, on the stage of World War I, the military performance of the Ottoman Empire was contrary to its notoriety of "European Sick Man". They won the key Battle of Gallipoli and drove 500,000 British, French, Australian and New Zealand coalitions out of the sea. They fought with the dominant British army in Mesopotamia for three years. It was not until the famous British general Alanby broke through the defense line with a bold and clever "cavalry blitz" battle, and joined a small number of German troops. The German-Turkish coalition forces were forced to give up.

A region. During the entire war, the Ottoman army restrained a large number of sea and land forces of the Allied Powers and played a strategic role that cannot be underestimated. However, this had almost nothing to do with the old Ottoman nobles. In the last few years before the outbreak of the war, the Ottoman regime changed several times, and the young Turks were eventually in charge of the regime. The weapons and instructors provided by Germany also transformed the Ottoman army from a completely backward old-style armed force into a quasi-modern new-style army.

When he was about to return to Istanbul, Xia Shu's eyes were attracted by an inconspicuous coastal defense fortress. It was built very secretly behind hills along the coast. The shore guns with short and thick gun barrels and high muzzles could cross the hills to bombard targets in the strait, but surface ships were difficult to directly threaten the fortress. The Turkish Strait (the strait is divided into two sections, namely the Istanbul Strait connected to the Black Sea and the Dardanelles connected to the Mediterranean Sea, and the Battle of Gallipoli revolved around the latter) had a unique geographical location that was extremely powerful for the defense. If you want to open up the strait route, forcibly landing and conquer the coastal defense fortress one by one is the only way.

In sight, about 200 Turkish soldiers set up fox defense lines in the hills and woods on both sides of the fortress. Such exercises were obviously to prevent the Russian army from landing attacks launched by the Black Sea. This situation has not happened in the history of World War I, but military preparations are still necessary. After all, the Russian Black Sea Fleet is strong. Once the war process changes due to some unpredictable factors, such as the Turks did not receive support from German warships as powerful as the Goben, it is entirely possible for the Russians to cooperate with the British and French troops to launch a landing battle that opens the straits.

In Xia Shu's view, the Turkish soldiers here have an orderly combat formation, agile and straightforward military maneuver, and can quickly dig shooting positions during defense. This must be a military quality that can be obtained through good training.

It was not until the entire training of the Turkish soldiers ended that Natsuki asked Fatih to send someone to inform the commanders there.

"This is the Chelebi Fortress, which has been guarding the Strait for two hundred years and has undergone an expensive renovation last year. The designer is German, the contractor is German, and the weapons are all imported from Germany."

Fatih's introduction made the Xia Shu smell a faint astringent smell, and there was naturally a factor of power struggle here.

Xia Shu was not interested in knowing which prince or royal relative this fortress belonged to, and there was no need to ask. He cared about who was responsible for the training of these Turkish soldiers and who was responsible for the actual command here. Maybe he could find a familiar name here, or discover outstanding military talents who had not become famous.

When Natsuki followed Prince Fatih and his group to the fortress, the answer was naturally revealed. In front of the neatly lined up, a young and extraordinary officer was ranked first, two officers in German uniforms stood behind him one left and one right. The goatee on the left looked probably in his sixties, and the one who had no beard on the right should be less than thirty years old. The comparison between the old and the young gave a deep impression.

When he came to the leading young officer, Fatih said sarcastically: "Our Abbaspasha is worthy of being a brave general who went to Germany to study. All the soldiers under him are brave. The change of uniforms is no different from the best German army! Haha!"

Facing the youngest son of Sultan, the supreme ruler of the empire, the young Turkish officer was not afraid at all. His beautiful eyes were unpredictable and his strong face had a kind of vitality.

"This distinguished guest brought by Your Highness is the famous Hohenzollern genius Prince Joachim!"

This German sentence was obviously intended to be said to Natsuki, and it is obvious that his German level is several levels higher than that of Fatih.

Fatih looked at Natsuki sideways: "This is my cousin Abbaspasha, the commander of the Chelebi Fortress and the garrison, and a fanatical admirer of German military culture."

Then Fatih said to the young Abbaspasha: "Prince Joachim has inspected our Sipahi cavalry and passed here and saw your novel training, so come and see the situation."

Seeing that Natsuki was wearing military uniform, Abbas did not use the traditional Turkish bent over, but greeted him with a German military salute, and his tone was inconceivable: "His Royal Highness, your arrival made all the officers and soldiers of the Chelebi Fortress feel extremely honored. You may know these two German instructors who helped me train the army, Lieutenant Colonel Stolt and Lieutenant Perlhos."

"Oh, we didn't know each other before." Natsuki said, as he rode forward and saluted the two German officers.

When shaking hands, they each reported their full names and identities:

"Jog Stort, before his retirement, was affiliated with the 4th Prussian Army and the artillery colonel."

"Heinz Perlhos, reserve officer of the 31st Prussian Regiment."

Natsu said: "Thank you for your efforts to enhance the German-Ottoman friendship."

Accompanied by Abbas and two German instructors, Natsuki and Fatih and his party inspected the fortress garrison troops here. Turkish soldiers wore khaki uniforms of their own style and red Turkish round hats. Military boots, belts, bullet boxes, kettles and even marching backpacks are all standard German equipment. After closer inspection, they used two types of rifles, one is the gew1888, that is, the committee-style rifle, which was replaced by the German army in Mauser 1898, and the other is the double-row ammunition bin-standard rifle produced by Mauser 1893 Mauser Company for the Turkish army. Although their performance is not as stable and complete as the Mauser 1898, it is enough to allow the Turks to keep up with the development trend of smokeless gunpowder.

After reviewing this small and powerful Turkish infantry unit, Natsuki was invited by Abbas to enter the fortress. In addition to those high-elevation curved heavy artillery, the fortifications in the sea were equipped with multiple direct-fire artillery and machine guns. The weapon system is a crucial part of the design and construction of large ships. Natsuki was therefore familiar with the performance of various types of artillery in this era. He saw the newer Krupp cannons here, but they were limited in number, and more were the British Armstrong cannons produced thirty or forty years and the old breech guns made in Turkey. Abbas saw Natsuki's concerns and revealed that the fortress had recently added several underwater torpedo tubes, which were cleverly and concealedly placed where ships entered the strait, enough to deal with any large warships of their opponents. Once they faced the threat of war, they would also lay a large amount of mines around the defense zone.

Just like spears and shields, fire and water, warships and fortresses are innate opponents. A warship that is powerful enough can destroy the fortress, and a strong enough fortress can curb the attack of the warships. However, under normal circumstances, complex warships are cost-effective and have significantly weaker resistance to strike than the fortress. When approaching the coastline, you need to beware of the enemy's torpedoes. Reasonable warship commanders prefer to avoid the fortress firepower and use roundabout attack methods to break through the enemy's defense. The offensive and defensive battle of the Lushun Fortress is the most typical example of war.

The German mainland coastline is not long, and the German army, which ranks first in the world, can protect the rear of the coastal defense fortress. In Turkey, the situation is much more complicated. The troops are limited and the old-fashioned Ottoman Army needs to defend a vast territory several times that of Germany and distributed in the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa. Backward transportation means and the enemy's wartime blockade will greatly affect the arrival speed of reinforcements. Therefore, the coastal defense fortress can effectively resist the enemy's sea and land rapid attacks, which is particularly important for the battle and even the war process.

On a platform at the top of the fortress, the Xia tree blew a refreshing sea breeze and looked at the surging strait mouth from afar. He chatted with Abbas and two German instructors for a long time. From ideals to concepts, tactics to technology, they communicated and communicated with a very positive attitude, with consensus and differences. In the current environment, they have a very consistent realistic goal, that is, to maintain the integrity and unity of the Ottoman Empire, curb the erosion and division of Britain, France and Russia, and especially to protect a strategic location including the Turkish Strait.

By observing the other party's words and deeds, Natsu felt that the young Abbaspasha was an Ottoman powerful man who was more reliable than Fatih. He was ambitious and powerful, and he showed a general style in his every move and praised the German military culture. He was just a person who grew up in the royal palace where power and skills were fighting, and his way of thinking was much more complicated than that of ordinary civilians. With just a brief contact, Natsu could not find out the other party's background, nor could he judge the other party's real situation. Due to reason, both sides just became friends with a good impression.

In exchange with the two German consultants, Xia Shu focused on understanding their ideas and abilities. Ambitious superiors all knew the truth that "a thousand troops are easy to get and hard to find a general." They were willing to visit the cottage three times, and they also hoped to discover extraordinary people from the city crowd. However, talents are not everywhere. A powerful talent who can change the outcome of the war often only produced one in decades. In this Ottoman coastal defense fortress, Colonel Stolt was responsible for the technical training of the gunners. Second Lieutenant Perlhoth was the organizer of melee defense. The two German professional soldiers had concise style, clear ideas, and fighting spirit.

And their ambitions have not been depressed and destroyed by staying away from the regular German troops. They also hope to be appreciated and valued by the wise master. Unfortunately, after this conversation, Xia Shu’s judgment on them was only "excellent" rather than "excellent". In the German army, there are many outstanding officers. Many of them have received military culture since childhood, and have been tempered by grassroots troops and trained by colleges and universities. They are serious, rigorous, upright and selfless, and have good military qualities and responsibilities. This is also an important capital for Germany to be aspiring to be a world military power.

Although these two dedicated German officers did not belong to the Qianlima that Natsuki was looking for, the exchange with them still made Natsuki firmly believe that Colonel Stolt had participated in the Phu O and Franco-Prussian Wars, with qualifications, military merits and abilities, and civilian status was likely to be a decisive factor in his inability to obtain the rank of generals; Lieutenant Perlhos also came from a civilian family, and he also entered the barracks with beautiful ideals at that time, and had the opportunity to study in the best infantry school in Bavaria.
Chapter completed!