Greece to roman road

Chapter 133 Military Parade

On January 30, after Constantine handed over the work to Canaris, the chief of staff of the army, Canaris was responsible for handling the work of the Greek army in the occupied areas.

Constantine himself took a train and led part of the army returning from the front line back to Athens.

Sitting in the carriage, Constantine was doing nothing, looking at the rapidly regressing scenery outside the window, in a daze.

After the victory of the Greek army, Constantine felt much more relaxed, and even his breathing felt lighter.

As the highest frontline commander of the Greek army, Constantine himself has been under tremendous pressure since the beginning of the war. He carries the expectations of all Greeks - to realize the great ideals and revive the empire.

Once the Greek army suffered a defeat, this expectation quickly turned into resentment.

Constantine could fully imagine how the Greeks would scold him once the army he commanded failed.

The reputation of the Greek royal family will be criticized due to the failure of the army.

Fortunately, the outcome was good and the war was almost over - with a victorious outcome.

The Ottoman army is currently in a confrontation with the Greek army. Since the visit of the British Foreign Secretary, the Marquis of Salisbury, both armies have not taken large-scale military operations against the enemy.

"Dong dong dong"

The knock on the door of the carriage interrupted Constantine's silence.

"Come in"

A young man opened the door and stood in the corridor. After giving Constantine a respectful salute, he said: "Your Excellency, Commander of the Legion, I have been ordered to inform you."

"This military column will stop in the small town of Ionia to allow the soldiers to make short repairs."

"Get ready for tomorrow's military entry ceremony."

"This is His Majesty's plan"

Constantine, who was completely relaxed, never imagined that he would have to face such a trivial matter, and muttered: "Okay, I understand."

"Is there anything else?" Constantine asked, looking at the officer still standing at the door.

"I am the officer sent by His Majesty to take charge of the army's entry into the city, Dimitrios."

···········

The train stopped in Ionia, a small town in front of Athens.

The soldiers on board got off the train one after another, chatting in twos and threes.

In order to prepare for the grand entrance ceremony and trim the appearance of the soldiers, dozens of barbers in the Greek city were organized to tidy up the makeup of the soldiers returning from the front to be reviewed.

The originally peaceful town became noisy after the arrival of 10,000 soldiers.

Children from the small town came among the soldiers, pestering them and asking about the situation on the battlefield.

After fully satisfying their curiosity, they even played military games on the spot.

After Constantine got out of the car, under the instructions of Demetrios, he first bathed, shaved, and then tried on clothes - a gorgeous and exquisite military dress.

Due to time constraints, the maker of the dress came to the town with Dimitrios to prepare for timely modifications.

In front of the tailor, Constantine tried on the uniform of a senior officer, which was very similar to the European marshal's uniform: a large-brimmed hat with two golden olive leaves in a ring embroidered on the brim; the upper body of the dress was made of There is a lot of gold embroidery, which looks bright and bright; the breeches and vest are made of fine silk.

After wearing such a gorgeous costume, Constantine had a new sense of military uniforms - anyone who wears such clothes and goes to the front line is simply seeking death.

At eight o'clock the next morning, the soldiers lined up in neat queues and slowly advanced towards the city of Athens, two kilometers away.

Following Demetrios' instructions, the troops appeared at the city gate.

On the morning of January 30, news of the victory of the Greek army reached Athens. His Majesty King George personally announced the news of Greece's victory in front of the gathered people in Syntagma Square.

"When" "When" "When"

The melodious sound of copper bells resounded throughout the city of Athens.

The church announced that the church bells would be rung for three consecutive days to celebrate the great victory of the Greek army.

After hearing the news, the people of Athens gathered on both sides of the road from the entrance to Syntagma Square to admire the majestic appearance of the Greek army.

In a joyful atmosphere, Constantine rode a strong bay-red horse, leading the army into the city.

Immediately behind him were a group of mid- to high-level officers who participated in the war, also wearing bright clothes and angry horses.

Finally, there was a neat formation of soldiers holding spears in their hands and carrying them on their shoulders.

The reviewing troops headed by Constantine marched on the road, and the majestic soldiers received the attention of the people.

The people waved their clothes, hats and flowers to the troops to express their joy.

I don’t know who started it, shouting “Long live Constantine, long live Greece”

After two seconds of silence, the infected onlookers shouted in unison: "Long live Constantine, long live Greece"

The sound seemed to overwhelm the "dang-dang" copper bell.

The city of Athens was boiling, and the enthusiasm of the people seemed to heat up the entire city.

The queue of 10,000 soldiers lasted for almost an hour before they all arrived at Constitution Square to accept the inspection of His Majesty King George.

After the team was disbanded, the cheerful soldiers scattered around the city and entered cafes, restaurants and other leisure places.

When shop owners saw soldiers in military uniforms coming to shop, they gave them free orders to express their respect for the soldiers.

········

At the same time, the atmosphere in Constantinople and Topkapi Palace was completely different from the warm atmosphere in Athens.

After the Minister of War reported the military situation on the front line, the entire Topkapi Palace seemed to fall silent.

Hamid II in the conference room stood up from his chair with a flushed face and shortness of breath. He felt dizzy and swaying.

The War Minister quickly stepped forward and tried to help Hamid.

Hamid struggled to break away, and with a "crash", he swept all the documents and cups on the table down under the table, and looked up to the sky and sighed: "Edmund, you pig, give me back my army."

"Even if there are 80,000 pigs, the Greeks can't just catch them all?"

Since the Ottoman Turkey was defeated by Russia in the Russo-Turkish War in 1878, the Ottoman government, which was deeply humiliated, spent a lot of effort in training a new army.

The reason why Hamid II completely abandoned the Ottoman Navy was not entirely selfish: although he did resent their repeated participation in "rebellions", Hamid II also had his own difficulties - the Ottoman government did not have that much money.

It was too expensive for a declining dynasty like the Ottomans to maintain a large army large enough to deal with Russia while also building a navy.

The army is the most cost-effective for a country that is defending its position.

The price of a new warship is enough to build an army of several divisions.

There is actually nothing wrong with this strategy in itself. Countries with weak industries like the Ottomans (almost no industry) rely almost entirely on purchasing warships from Britain and France to build their navy.

The late 19th century was a period of great development in naval technology. The shipbuilding technology of navies in various countries advanced by leaps and bounds, which meant that naval warships were updated very quickly.

The warships purchased by Ottoman Turkey at a huge cost were completely outdated after three to five years.

This means that in order to maintain the situation, the Navy needs to continue to spend money to purchase new warships to ensure that the Navy does not fall behind.

Instead, it would really be better to spend the money on the Army.

At worst, there is a risk that the Army will be completely unable to keep up with the situation within three to five years.

Therefore, since he succeeded to the throne, Hamid has shamelessly invited German officers, purchased German-style ordnance, and established and trained a new army in accordance with the requirements of German consultants.

Hamid has high hopes for this army.

Now, it's all ruined!

And it was a disastrous defeat at the hands of Greece, which Hamid II had never seen before.

Now the Ottomans have been torn off the last fig leaf by the Greeks, exposed to the public, and become the laughing stock of Europe.

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