At that mont, Bahar suddenly realized that the French "tanks" with wheels weren't as fragile as he had assud. Their real strength lay not in their armor or firepower, but in their impressive speed and maneuverability.
Now, those "tanks" were leading the French troops in a rapid breakthrough along the road, leaving him with hardly any ti to respond.
Looking back, Bahar saw a group of soldiers from the 69th Infantry Regint approaching the village. He quickly jumped up and shouted at them, waving his arms, "Go back! Hold your positions—imdiately!"
However, the soldiers misunderstood Bahar's urgent gestures. They assud that the front lines had enough troops, and that their allies were already pushing back the French and securing victory, making their presence unnecessary here. Disappointed, they lowered their rifles and began to walk back—not run. They had no idea that danger was closing in fast, nor that speed was now the difference between life and death. So of them even turned around every few steps, regretful that they couldn't join in and claim glory from the victory.
Bahar seethed with frustration but was helpless to act. The soldiers were over a hundred ters away—close enough to see but too far to effectively communicate with. His shouts were drowned out by the sounds of gunfire, and by the ti a ssenger reached them, it would likely be too late.
And things were worse than Bahar had thought.
Just as he sent out the ssenger, the French forces suddenly veered off the road and launched a surprise attack on the 200-soldier Ottoman "reinforcent" force.
This wasn't part of Charles's original plan. His intention had been for Alphonse's unit to advance farther along the unguarded route to seize the trenches.
Alphonse had understood the plan and intended to follow it. But as he used binoculars from the amphibious craft to observe the Ottoman flank, he noticed that their focus was solely on the fierce fighting up front, paying no attention to the French unit advancing along the road.
Acting on impulse, Alphonse ordered his troops to attack this unsuspecting Ottoman force.
He swung the wheel of his amphibious craft to steer it off the road toward the enemy, as the French troops lined up behind him with rifles ready.
Only when the French had nearly closed in did the Ottoman soldiers notice the threat, and they scrambled to organize a defense, shouting in panic and raising their rifles. But it was too late; the machine guns on the amphibious craft rattled to life, sending out a steady "rat-tat-tat" of bullets and unleashing a deadly hail over the enemy.
The six amphibious craft fired their Maxim machine guns in close range, cutting through the Ottoman lines like a storm. Blood and chaos erupted among the troops, who scattered in panic.
Simultaneously, the French soldiers erged from behind cover, rifles aid, picking off any survivors.
At Alphonse's command, the French quickly attached bayonets and charged. The Ottoman soldiers had little hope of resisting; many fell before firing more than a few rounds, collapsing into pools of blood.
So had instinctively dropped to the ground to avoid the gunfire, but it was no use. As soon as they looked up, they saw the French forces charging at them, bayonets flashing as they lunged toward their necks.
Within just five minutes, the 200-strong unit was routed.
Without pausing, Alphonse led his troops forward, reaching the trench line. With a shrill whistle, he signaled his n to lob grenades into the trenches ahead, and amid the ensuing explosions, the French stord forward.
The result was clear. The French swiftly captured the trench and began extending their line, consolidating their gains.
The French forces were equipped with hand grenades—an invaluable tool in trench warfare. Soldiers could toss a grenade around a corner, clearing the way for an advance. The Ottoman Empire, however, had yet to manufacture or equip their troops with grenades, leaving their forces vulnerable in such encounters. This was one reason Charles's 105th Regint had been able to advance so quickly.
At that mont, Bahar knew he had lost.
Holding his position at Aniya village was now aningless. With French forces on both sides and their trenches caught in a pincer, staying would an certain encirclent and destruction.
Glancing toward the east, where reinforcents were still nowhere in sight, Bahar reluctantly gave the order: "Retreat!"
Seeing the Ottoman forces withdraw, the French let out a cheer and swiftly took control of the nearly deserted trench line.
On the HMS Queen Elizabeth, Generals Winter and Hamilton anxiously awaited updates from the front lines.
Since the fighting had begun, neither of them knew what was happening at the front. Charles's unit had pushed forward without rest, leaving no ti for reports.
"Has the Ark Royal reported anything?" General Hamilton asked.
He seed even more anxious than General Winter, as the outco of this battle would decide the fate of the Gallipoli landing and the lives of over ten thousand soldiers on the island.
"They've lost contact with the 105th Regint," Winter replied, shaking his head.
The Ark Royal's seaplanes were initially tasked with reconnaissance, relaying real-ti intelligence via ssage capsules dropped to ground forces. But with the drizzle and dense smoke from artillery fire, visibility was so poor that the pilots could hardly make out anything on the ground. The planes' only role now was to keep the enemy's aircraft at bay.
After a pause, Hamilton turned to Winter with a serious expression. "General, I have a suggestion. If Charles's advance stalls, we should have the fleet enter Saros Bay to provide artillery support, even if it risks being fired upon from three directions."
"Of course." Winter nodded.
This was a sound strategy, as Ottoman artillery was primarily positioned around the Dardanelles, leaving Saros Bay relatively undefended.
Winter smiled. "It seems your view of Charles has changed."
Hamilton looked surprised, then fell silent before shaking his head, a trace of guilt flickering in his eyes. "No, I haven't changed my view of Charles—I just… hesitate to admit it."
Winter nodded, understanding. Acknowledging Charles's success would an questioning the British Empire's approach, sothing no Briton accepted easily.
Winter himself, however, had co to terms with it. So far, every word Charles had spoken and every action he had taken had proven correct, a stark reminder of the mistakes made by British command. Initially, they had believed that the navy alone could force the Ottomans to surrender.
Just then, the radio operator turned to Winter with an excited shout: "General, they did it! They've captured the 'A' Line!"
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