บท 64: Chapter 64: The Destruction of the Supply Line
"This time, we will definitely achieve the final victory," Delamari declared, raising a glass handed to him by an aide.
"Let's drink this glass to celebrate the victories to come!" Delamari toasted.
The next afternoon, under Delamari's command, Turkish infantry boarded British warships. Their mission was to circumvent the French and attack their supply lines, significantly weakening the French military's capabilities.
The British fleet sailed along the coastline, easily bypassing French positions and locating the French supply lines.
"General, the 'Moon' cruiser has sent a message; they have found Napoleon's supply line," a staff officer reported to Nelson aboard the HMS Victory.
"Our luck is good; it was so easy to find the French supply line," Smith said with a smile.
Hearing this, Nelson also smiled and said, "Indeed, our luck is good, and we must not waste this good fortune. Order the 'Moon' to open fire freely at the coast, disrupt the French deployment, and clear obstacles for the Turkish landings."
At sea, the HMS Victory, the 'Moon' cruiser, and other warships turned broadside to the coast.
The British sailors aboard were busy uncovering the cannons, adjusting their aim, ready to fire at the French forces.
"Fire!"
"Boom! Boom!"
Following the order, the HMS Victory fired first. Thirty-pound cannonballs flew towards the French positions. Seconds later, the shells exploded with earth-shattering roars, sending sand and rocks flying along the coast. After the smoke cleared, a huge crater appeared on the shoreline.
After the initial salvo from the HMS Victory, the rest of the British fleet followed suit. Soon, intense cannon fire erupted along the coast, creating a hellish scene.
Although the age of sail-powered warships was destined to become obsolete, they were still a symbol of the strongest military force in this era. Even standing twenty to thirty miles off the coast, the impact of the bombardment could still be felt.
The fierce bombardment by the British Navy left the French forces on the coast stunned!
Many French soldiers hadn't even had time to react before they were blasted into the air by the British cannon fire.
"What... what's happening?"
"Where is the shelling coming from?"
"Look at the sea, look at the ships on the sea. It's the enemy, the enemy is coming in ships."
"Run!"
Then the French troops on the coastline suddenly panicked, grabbing their rifles and looking around, but they couldn't attack the enemy.
As for the Egyptian laborers who were temporarily conscripted next to the transport team, they had already been scared out of their wits by the cannon fire. They immediately dropped their work and fled wildly in all directions. The farmers' flight also affected the French troops, preventing them from counterattacking and retreating.
Instantly, the entire French transport team on the coastline became a chaotic mess. Everyone was fleeing for their lives, and supplies were scattered all over the ground.
...
"Good, keep firing like that. Hit them hard," Smith said inside the battleship, looking at the dire situation on the coastline with great excitement, while talking loudly to himself.
The British naval ship bombarded the coast with a barrage of cannonballs, leaving craters along the shoreline. This fierce shelling by the British Navy also greatly shocked the Turks. They had never seen such intense bombardment before.
"Good, under such firepower, those damned French must have been blown to bits, right? Since that's the case, let the First Infantry Regiment prepare to land. Our British friends have already cleared the French for us. The rest is up to us," Hersh said inside the transport ship. Perhaps to regain some face and not be looked down upon by the British, this time the Turks, led by Hersh, personally led the team.
"Yes, General," a Turkish staff officer nodded.
Inside the command tower of the battleship HMS Victory, Smith was reveling in the powerful firepower of the warship. Suddenly, a staff officer approached him.
"Report, General, the Turks have messaged that they are preparing to land."
"Oh, the Turks can't wait already? Well then, let them land," Smith nodded and said.
A few minutes later, Turkish soldiers began their landing operation with the help of the British naval ship. Their soldiers rowed in small boats toward the shore, initially worried about being attacked by the French army and proceeded cautiously. However, once their boats reached the shore without encountering any artillery fire, the Turks couldn't help but feel triumphant.
"Order the First Infantry Regiment to speed up the landing. Wipe out the French transport team." Hersh, seeing that the French army had been frightened by the British naval gunfire and thus had abandoned their positions and fled, believed that attacking the demoralized French troops would pose no problem, even though he only had one infantry regiment at his disposal.
After realizing there was no danger, the Turks began to continuously land on the coast. After establishing a beachhead, they started to send troops to search the shore.
At this moment, the land was filled with the strong smell of gunpowder smoke, so intense that the Turkish soldiers landing on the shore had to cover their noses to advance.
The land was also pocked with deep craters from the explosion of shells, each crater a testament to the intensity of the British bombardment, under which it was hard for anything to survive.
The subsequent exploration by the Turks confirmed this.
The land was strewn with the bodies of French soldiers and Egyptian laborers, along with numerous camels and mules. Next to the camel corpses, there was a large amount of supplies scattered around. Normally, animals could not walk in the desert, so the French army relied on these camels to transport their supplies.
"Who would have thought there would be so many supplies? The French surrounded in Jerusalem are going to have a headache," Hersh said happily, seeing the scattered supplies on the ground. After all, the more supplies there were, the richer their victory.
"The general is right, look there, those are French shells. They have been destroyed by us, and now I wonder what the French will use to stop us," a Turkish general excitedly said next to an ammunition box.
In previous wars, the French artillery had left a deep impression on them, but now that the French shells had been destroyed, what would the French army do without their ammunition?
"Indeed, we've captured the French shells. Their cannons are now as useless as scrap metal without ammunition. It's a shame we can't take these shells back home; it would be great if we could," Hersh said, looking at the shells on the ground and shaking his head in frustration over the situation of capturing spoils that they couldn't take back.
"Enough, forget these useless thoughts."
"All troops, listen up! Form battle lines and move forward. Check if there are any French soldiers still alive, and if there are, kill them all. Also, if you see any supplies that are not damaged, destroy them promptly. Even a plank of wood, I won't allow it to remain intact for the French," Hersh then ordered. Now that the French were disoriented by the British naval bombardment, he wanted to seize this opportunity to maximize their victory.
"The greater the losses for the French, the less pressure on General Delamare."
"Yes, General, rest assured. I won't leave even a hair for the French," a Turkish general assured, patting his chest.
With that, the general led his soldiers quickly to scout further.
The Turkish soldiers' eyes continuously scanned the ground. Whenever they spotted anything useful, they promptly destroyed it to prevent the French from reusing it.
Originally, these supplies were already disfigured by the British naval bombardment, and now, after being scrutinized by the Turks in a manner akin to locusts passing through, there were hardly any intact items left on the scene.
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