The sun was high in the sky, and Camille sat by the stove, knitting a sweater.
Maybe because she was upset and distracted, she kept making mistakes with her stitches, and when she tried to fix them, she made even more errors. Soon, the sweater was a tangled mess. Frustrated, she threw it aside and sat in a chair, staring blankly at the fire.
Camille had been on edge recently.
Every time she went out to buy groceries or chat with the neighbors, she always heard things like "Only Shire can save the Dardanelles Strait" or "If Shire is in command, there will be no problem."
The neighbors might have thought this was a compliment and an affirmation of Shire’s abilities, but Camille knew that such ideas might push Shire onto the battlefield.
Thus, she always reacted emotionally:
"No, Shire has never been to the seashore. He knows nothing about the navy and certainly can’t command a battle at the Dardanelles Strait!"
"He has never even been on a warship, I’m quite sure. He can only command on land."
Once, the usually gentle Camille even quarrelled with Granny Kara.
Granny Kara had said, "God, thousands of people are dying every day. If Shire were there, this wouldn’t be happening!"
Camille suddenly broke down. She shouted at Granny Kara, "This is not Shire’s fault! Why does everyone think Shire can do something about it?"
Camille thought that it might actually be a good thing if Shire didn’t have those skills. That way, he wouldn’t face the current situation.
But then, a thought crossed her mind. What if Shire didn’t have these skills? He might have already gone to the front as an infantryman. That seemed even more dangerous.
At that moment, Camille heard cheers outside. She got up in curiosity and stood by the window, looking out. She saw her neighbors excitedly discussing something, as if they had some happy news.
Camille’s heart leapt with joy. Had they won a battle?
That would indeed be worth celebrating. If they won the war, Shire wouldn’t have to go to the battlefield.
Neighbor Emma came running over, and when she saw Camille standing by the window, she slowed her steps.
"Madam Bernard." Emma’s expression was a bit strange. She hesitated and asked, "Did you hear the news?"
"What news?" Camille asked.
"I’m not sure if it’s true." Emma seemed a bit regretful, but she still answered, "I heard that Shire volunteered for the frontline. General Gallieni announced it in parliament."
"No, that’s impossible!" Camille’s face turned pale instantly.
After a moment’s daze, she turned around and rushed to the phone, dialing the tractor factory’s number.
Just as she was inquiring, Dejoka appeared at the door, looking a bit helpless.
Camille seemed to grab a lifeline, turning to ask Dejoka, "This isn’t true, right? Shire wouldn’t make such a foolish decision."
Dejoka said nothing, and Camille immediately knew the answer.
Camille’s face turned ashen. She grabbed her hat and scarf from the coat rack and headed outside.
"Wait." Dejoka chased after her: "Where are you going?"
"I’m going to find Shire." Camille’s tone was firm: "There must be a reason for this. He must have been deceived..."
"He might be busy planning the battle." Dejoka advised, "It might not be a good time for you to go now!"
Camille froze, standing still for a long time, looking like a statue gazing into the distance towards Paris.
In reality, Shire had been granted a leave. General Gallieni had given him three days off.
But Shire refused: "It’s pointless, General."
Gallieni nodded and replied, "We’ll pretend I never mentioned it."
He thought Shire needed more time to prepare, but actually, Shire didn’t know how to explain things to Camille and Dejoka.
Shire could only throw himself fully into the upcoming battle, as it was a matter of his own survival.
As Shire expected, the landing operations were very difficult.
The majority of the participating forces were colonial troops, particularly the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps from the British Army. Only the 29th Division were native troops.
For France, so far, all the troops departed from Alexandria in Egypt were from the African Legion.
Everyone thought the British native troops should perform better than the colonial troops, as they had better equipment, more naval gunfire support, and more extensive training.
However, the reality was quite the opposite.
The ANZAC fought resolutely. Despite suffering heavy casualties, they ultimately managed to land successfully and hold off the Ottoman Empire’s counterattacks.
In contrast, the British 29th Division, responsible for landing on five beaches, either moved sluggishly and missed opportunities or failed to land successfully after suffering heavy casualties.
On V Beach, the combat was so fierce that the 1st Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, nearly broke down. The commander of the 88th Brigade personally joined the battle but was killed during the second landing attempt.
Their opponents were the Ottomans stationed on the coast, with only one infantry company of 400 to 500 men.
General Gallieni specifically brought these two battle reports to Shire and asked, "What do you have to say about this?"
Shire looked at Gallieni, bewildered. He didn’t quite understand what Gallieni meant.
"In the context of landing operations, maybe the French offensive theory is correct." Gallieni pointed to the documents and explained, "The ANZAC had a tenacious fighting spirit. They expanded the battlefield immediately after successfully landing, launching attacks on the enemy. This provided landing space for subsequent forces."
He then pointed to the British 29th Division’s operational reports: "But the British, even after successfully landing, were hesitant to advance. Despite having better conditions than the ANZAC and facing fewer enemies, their performance was disappointing."
Shire smiled silently.
Gallieni was worried that he hadn’t commanded a landing operation and might fall into pitfalls.
On the other hand, Shire always relied on superior equipment to defeat opponents, at least on the surface.
This made Shire’s command style more akin to the well-equipped British Army.
What Gallieni didn’t know was that the British indeed had better equipment than the ANZAC, but they were still using the wrong equipment.
This was not the case with Shire’s situation.
At that moment, Tijani hurriedly ran up the stairs into the operations department, standing in front of Shire, panting and asking, "Colonel, is it true that you’re going to reinforce the Dardanelles Strait?"
Shire nodded while continuing to look at the documents in his hand.
"Take me with you!" Tijani’s eyes were filled with anticipation: "I can do anything, I can be a battalion commander, or even a company commander..."
Shire glanced at Tijani’s rank insignia and said, "It seems inappropriate for a Major General to be a battalion commander."
"Never mind that." Tijani said with a grin: "Then how about making me a staff officer?"
"I’m the staff officer." Shire bluntly refused: "Seems like the staff doesn’t need a staff officer."
"Then..." Tijani looked distressed: "Let me manage logistics or ships, I know a bit about that."
Shire turned to Tijani: "If you need it, how about being a regimental commander?"
"Re...regimental commander?" Tijani was stunned.