CHAPTER 306: REVISED: CHAPTER 306 HAND GRENADE DEFENSE

In the midst of a piercing whistle, the Ottoman Army launched an assault.

They charged from both directions:

To the west of the defensive line were the 65th infantry regiment and the 3rd civilian corps trapped in "A" corner, with a total of over seven thousand troops.

To the east was the hastily assembled 70th infantry regiment, with over three thousand troops.

The enemy tried to strangle Shire’s forces in the cradle with this two-pronged attack.

Shire lay behind the parapet of the trench, watching everything through his binoculars.

It was his first time facing an enemy charge head-on.

The enemy swarmed everywhere before him, wearing Fezzes, roaring fiercely, like a red tide surging toward the defensive line. The bayonets glinted coldly under the sun, seeming eager to quench their thirst with enemy blood.

(Above: Ottoman soldiers wearing Fezzes during World War I. The Fez was not banned until 1925.)

A thought flashed through Shire’s mind; he realized that he seemed like an "invader," while the chest-thumping enemies charging at him were a righteous army trying to expel the invaders from their homeland.

According to movie and TV storylines, the Ottomans should ultimately be the victors.

But Shire quickly dismissed this idea; he knew it was just a lie used to deceive people.

War was waged in reality, and if the righteous always won, Mongolia would never have conquered such vast territories.

The enemy drew closer, and at two hundred meters, Shire could even see their scythe-shaped moustaches through his binoculars.

Tijani, lying a dozen meters away from Shire, finally shouted, "Fire!"

The staff, long prepared, immediately blew the whistle.

Almost simultaneously, gunfire erupted along the defensive line. Rifles fired with "bang-bang" sounds, while the Maxim machine guns sprayed bullets madly, with dense bullets flying towards the enemy like raindrops.

The rapidly charging Ottoman Army seemed to be abruptly halted by an invisible hand. Blood and screams ensued, and the soldiers in the front fell to the ground in various grotesque forms.

However, the Ottomans ignored this. The fallen front rows were replaced by the ones behind, still shouting and charging forward even faster, almost in a hundred-meter sprint.

Several times, Shire thought they would breach the trench, but they were repelled by a barrage of hand grenades on Tijani’s command.

This was Shire’s suggestion to Tijani.

Before the attack, Tijani had furrowed his brows, holding the intelligence delivered by the seaplane.

"The enemy has gathered around ten thousand troops, Colonel, plus an unknown number of artillery units," Tijani’s voice harbored a trace of fear. "They managed to assemble so many forces in such a short time and attack from both sides. We are severely understaffed."

It was manageable to defend a six-kilometer line with three thousand troops if the attack was from one side, but defending against a two-sided assault required doubling the defensive forces.

Failing to hold one side would mean total annihilation for the 105th infantry regiment.

Shire pondered for a moment, then asked Tijani, "General, have you noticed the low prevalence of helmets among the Ottoman Army? Most of them wear those... cylindrical hats."

"Those are called Fezzes, Colonel," Tijani replied with a wry smile and a self-deprecating tone, "Even so, their helmet prevalence is still much higher than ours."

At this time, France had no helmets; the soldiers still wore red military caps and even had to use cap covers to conceal the conspicuous color for better safety.

Shire replied with an "Hmm": "I mean, the hand grenades might be highly effective against them."

The enemy had no helmets and lacked the tactics and awareness to dodge grenades, making it the perfect time for the hand grenades to shine.

Tijani looked at Shire with a resigned expression, "Colonel, have you considered that grenades can only be thrown about 50 meters, making this strategy dangerous?"

Shire understood Tijani’s concern.

In this era, it was vital to eliminate the enemy beyond their range, especially for defenders, who were wary of engaging in close combat once the enemy breached the trench, thereby losing their advantage.

And within 50 meters, a fast-moving enemy could close the distance in just seconds, practically in the blink of an eye.

Shire answered, "Then we need to place a barbed wire 30 meters out to impede their movement."

Tijani "hmm-ed," contemplated for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully, "Good idea. If there’s a barbed wire at around 30 meters, the ones in front will instinctively slow down, while the ones behind will keep charging, bunching up around 50 meters and getting bombarded with grenades!"

This was also why Tijani let the enemy approach within 200 meters before opening fire; he was eager to test if this new tactic would work in battle.

Devoted to the art of war, he seemed to overlook that if this attempt failed, it might spell death for him and the 105th infantry regiment.

Fortunately, real combat proved this tactic effective.

(If the Ottomans also had grenades, this tactic would obviously be ineffective, as they could throw their grenades into the trench at this distance too.)

The Ottoman Army’s momentum visibly slowed in front of the barbed wire. The front-line soldiers ran through the hail of bullets, unstrapping their marching blankets from their backs.

This was the best way to deal with barbed wire at the time: spreading the blankets over the wire, allowing their comrades to quickly storm the enemy trenches by stepping on their bodies.

However, hand grenades, trailing blue smoke from their tails, rolled through the air and into the crowd.

Some Ottoman soldiers knew they were grenades but, untrained, had no idea they should drop and take cover, choosing instead to ignore them and keep charging forward.

"Boom! Boom!"

"Boom!"

...

Amidst the explosions, Ottoman soldiers fell in waves.

Many were wounded but not killed; some had their heads bashed in, some had stomachs sliced open by shrapnel, and some were blinded. One by one, they rolled on the ground, wailing in agony.

Shire felt chills in his heart; he had never witnessed such a close-up human tragedy. The scenes of suffering and cruelty intertwined with screams and shouts, painting a picture of "purgatory on earth."

But to the soldiers, it was different.

In their eyes, the scene represented "victory," "dominance," and "safety."

Their morale soared, and they raised their rifles, taking close-quarters aim at the dazed enemies still capable of fighting.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

...

After a series of gunshots, the Ottoman soldiers fell one by one, clutching their wounds and collapsing in pools of blood.

Finally, the enemy retreated like a receding tide.

At this point, the area in front of the trenches was covered with Ottoman soldiers’ corpses, some still crawling with difficulty, drenched in blood.