Sanders paced anxiously in the office. An hour and a half had passed, and the situation at the 69th Infantry Regiment’s defensive line remained unclear.
The reconnaissance planes sent out were shot down before they even reached the nearby airspace. One plane caught a glimpse from a distance and reported that there was indeed combat at the second line of defense, and vehicles were present, but they believed it was just a small-scale skirmish.
Sanders later understood that this was because the enemy had been advancing along the trenches all along. The scale of the battle was maintained at about 500 to 600 enemy infantrymen facing off against 200 to 300 of their own along a section of the trench.
On the surface, it appeared to be a small-scale skirmish, but in reality, it was significant enough to shake the entire Gelibolu and even alter its outcome.
Just as Sanders was considering various possibilities, Staff Officer Quinn ran into the command post in a panic, his voice hoarse with fear. "General, it’s been confirmed. The main force of the enemy landed in the direction of Annia Village, not a feint!"
Sanders stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the staff officer in shock.
Before he could ask, Quinn explained, "We happened to capture a deserter from the 69th Infantry Regiment. He said the enemy had tanks, attacking along the trenches, and they might have already passed the central line, reaching near Buchia Village."
"Tanks?" Sanders was skeptical. "How could they have tanks? How did they land tanks?"
Quinn shook his head helplessly. "I don’t know, General. But Bahar also said that it might be Shire’s troops."
Sanders swallowed hard. If it was Shire’s troops, it would make sense. This could be another one of his inventions.
Without hesitation, Sanders quickly walked to the map, focusing his gaze on the second line of defense.
Quinn immediately found the location of Buchia Village and pointed it out. "Here, only three miles from the other end at the coast."
Sanders’ face instantly turned pale. It was already too late. At the enemy’s speed, three miles could be covered in just twenty minutes.
By the time the reinforcements arrived, they would face the enemy’s complete defensive line and machine guns. Even with ten times the number of troops, they might not be able to break through.
"Where’s Bahar?" Sanders asked. "Where is he positioned?"
The staff officer immediately made a phone call to contact Bahar. Shortly after, he excitedly answered, "General, Bahar has arrived at Buchia Village with the guard company for reinforcements!"
Evidently, Bahar had defied Sanders’ orders and acted on his own.
But Sanders didn’t blame him. Instead, he shouted excitedly, "Well done! This guy saved the entire defensive line! No, he saved the Ottoman Empire and this war!"
Buchia Village was a small village with only about thirty households. The second line of defense just happened to pass by its western edge, less than a hundred meters away.
At this moment, the village was deserted. Everywhere were houses collapsed by shellfire and broken fishing nets fluttering in the sea breeze, making the place feel desolate.
Suddenly, in a series of urgent and rhythmic footsteps, a team of fully armed Ottoman soldiers ran into the village, followed by several trucks loaded with ammunition.
Leading them was Bahar. He jumped down from a truck, took a look around, and issued a series of orders:
"Titan, you take a platoon and occupy the eastern high ground."
"Kemaler, your platoon is responsible for holding the trench. Organize the soldiers from the 69th Infantry Regiment, and bring up the soldiers behind the trench as well!"
"Everyone else, follow me. Use the houses to organize the defenses!"
"Colonel!" The company commander followed Bahar, asking nervously, "I heard the enemy has tanks, and we have nothing. How can we stop them?"
"With your body, Bugolang!" Bahar answered without hesitation. "You in the front, me right behind you. Got any problem with that?"
"No, Colonel!" The company commander quickly replied. "No problem."
"Good!" Bahar stopped in front of a pile of rubble, shouting at the others, "Listen up, everyone! I don’t want you to fight; I want you to die under the enemy’s guns. Once you die, someone else will take your place! Do you understand?"
"Understood, Colonel!" the soldiers answered loudly.
Bahar was instilling in them the resolve to face death.
Because he knew that if they didn’t put themselves in a do-or-die situation, the enemy’s tanks’ treads would crush everyone’s bodies and then seal off the vital roads of Gelibolu.
The soldiers had just managed to find their cover when gunfire started coming increasingly from the west.
Soon, many soldiers were retreating from the front line in a rout.
Bahar waved his hand towards them, shouting, "Come here, all of you, come here!"
As the soldiers ran into the defensive line, Bahar ordered loudly to the still-shocked soldiers, "Pick up your weapons, soldiers! Or else you will not die by the enemy’s gunfire; I will shoot you myself right now!"
The fleeing soldiers could only follow the others in groups of twos and threes, propping up their rifles using the earth houses.
The enemy came quickly. In a matter of minutes, a few "tanks" emerged from behind the hill.
Bahar raised his binoculars and breathed a sigh of relief. These "tanks" had wheels, not treads.
"Attention," Bahar ordered loudly, "aim at the wheels of the ’tanks’ and wait for my command!"
The soldiers raised their rifles, aiming at the wheels of the "tanks."
With Bahar’s command, gunfire erupted, and the "tanks" quickly wobbled to a halt.
The soldiers cheered, surprised that these "tanks" were so easy to deal with. Someone even shouted excitedly to Bahar, "It worked, Colonel! We stopped them!"
Bahar merely snorted. If it was Shire’s troops they were facing, this was only the first step.
Sure enough, the next second, artillery fire began, and mortar shells exploded across the village, raising plumes of radial smoke.
Then, a group of French soldiers in red trousers charged at the village, shouting.
The 105th Regiment ran into a tough opponent. Their advance was stalled at Buchia Village for over ten minutes, resulting in over a hundred casualties without any sign of breakthrough.
Tijani squatted in the trench, quickly spreading out the map, pointing to a spot and telling Shire, "We’re here, only three miles from the endpoint. If we move quickly, we can occupy the entire defensive line in just over ten minutes. But the enemy reached Buchia Village first, and their defense is very tight!"
Shire was silent for a moment, then climbed up the trench carefully, peering through his binoculars at Buchia Village, five hundred meters away.
The machine guns created crossed fire, and the only nearby high ground was under their control. All the retreating and rear trench soldiers had been gathered to reinforce this defensive line. It had become a hard nut to crack, even if all their forces were thrown at it.
Retracting his head, Shire pondered for a moment before giving an order, "Go around it. I bet the rear trench is empty and undefended!"
Tijani stared at Shire in shock, as if to say, how could you be sure?