Chapter 307: Capturing Charles Alive
"I can't be certain!" Charles replied bluntly. "But right now, we have no choice but to take the risk!"
Crouching over the map again, Charles quickly devised a battle plan. "Keep the main attack going to hold the enemy's attention. Six amphibious landing craft just arrived—arm them and have them cover the second wave of troops along the highway."
"Advance along the highway?" Tijani exclaimed, staring at Charles in disbelief. Wasn't that far too obvious?
Amphibious craft had already used the road occasionally, given that it was close to the trench line. But they only did so under cover of the trenches and defensive positions.
"Only the front armor of the amphibious craft can stop bullets, Colonel," Tijani reminded him. "If the enemy has even a single platoon guarding the road, we'd risk heavy casualties..."
"Do you really think the enemy has had time to deploy troops on the road?" Charles interrupted confidently. "No, General. They've only just arrived and are hurriedly setting up defenses. They don't have the manpower to cover the road."
Seeing Tijani's lingering hesitation, Charles added, "We have to move now, or they'll soon close this gap!"
Gritting his teeth, Tijani finally nodded. "Fine. You're Charles, after all!"
Inwardly, Charles sighed. Tijani was competent in both naval and ground combat tactics, but he lacked boldness. In this situation, not taking the risk would mean certain defeat, while taking the risk offered a slim chance at victory. Every second of hesitation was a potential loss.
Fortunately, not much time was wasted. Within minutes, the strike force was ready: two infantry companies, over 400 soldiers, led by Captain Alphonse. Tijani even assigned him a backup radio for communication.
Charles gave Alphonse the directive: "Once you've crossed the enemy line, don't stop for anything. Secure the trench line all the way to the coast. Understood?"
"Understood, Colonel!" Alphonse responded.
As Alphonse and his unit departed, Tijani said, "Don't worry; he's the best captain in the 105th. He knows what to do."
Charles held back a comment—did his battalion commander know what to do?
Bahar was watching the advancing French troops from behind a ruined wall. In his experience, French forces typically charged forward recklessly in tight formations, charging en masse. But this unit seemed different. They advanced in a dispersed formation, taking cover wherever possible. Some soldiers used craters, while others sheltered behind trees. Once in position, they fired to cover the advance of the next group.
This alternating cover-and-move tactic surprised Bahar. His three Maxim machine guns struggled to land effective hits on the scattered targets; by the time the guns fired, the soldiers were already concealed. Though the fighting was intense, the French took minimal losses, while Bahar's Ottoman defenders were suffering under mortar fire. Two machine guns were destroyed after their positions were exposed.
So this was Charles's force, Bahar realized. No wonder they'd advanced so quickly.
But Bahar grew more confident as the battle wore on. The situation was shifting in favor of the Ottomans.
"I don't need to defeat you," Bahar muttered to himself, putting down his binoculars. "I only need to hold you here. When reinforcements arrive, we'll have won!"
He glanced back and saw more soldiers joining his line—troops from the 69th Infantry Regiment. They had been holding the trenches, confused and frustrated, aware of the enemy's presence but unsure of their orders.
Now, with Bahar's leadership, the reinforcements fortified the defensive line. He relaxed slightly as soldiers supplemented the two remaining machine guns.
This battle was almost over. Charles hadn't managed to secure the entire line, and victory would go to the Ottoman Empire.
Bahar's thoughts turned to an intriguing possibility: Could Charles himself be among the enemy forces here? If he managed to encircle the French landing force, might he capture Charles alive?
Eyes bright with anticipation, Bahar called out loudly, "All units, listen up! Charles is right ahead of us. Defeat them, and capture Charles alive!"
The soldiers froze for a moment, then a surge of morale swept through them, and they echoed his call: "Defeat the enemy, capture Charles alive!"
The chant grew louder, ringing above the gunfire and echoing toward the French lines.
The translators relayed the chant to Tijani, who gave Charles an amused glance. "Look at you, Colonel—so popular, no matter where you go!"
"Maybe I should give them a wave," Charles quipped dryly.
Tijani laughed. "They wouldn't recognize it as Charles's hand."
Charles looked back at the battlefield. "It's time to begin."
Tijani nodded, signaling to the communications officer: "Proceed!"
The signal was relayed via flags to Alphonse, already in position by the highway.
By this time, the Ottoman soldiers had grown bolder, perhaps fueled by the rumor that Charles was among the enemy. Emboldened, they even launched a counterattack.
Bahar now had ample forces: his guard company, a regrouped contingent of fleeing soldiers, and additional troops pulled from the trench line, bringing his numbers close to a thousand. This was more than enough to press the attack.
But just as Bahar ordered the assault, a new sound erupted from the direction of the highway—machine-gun fire.
Bahar turned to see a French unit advancing rapidly along the road, shielded by the "tanks." The "tanks" moved at over ten kilometers per hour, with soldiers sprinting to keep pace behind them.
The machine guns on the "tanks" shredded through any soldiers who tried to block the road. The French pushed through, creating a route directly to the rear of Bahar's line.
A chill went through Bahar as he realized his mistake. He had stripped the rear trenches of soldiers to bolster the defense line.
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