Chapter 323: Public Opinion Controversy

The Battle of Beaulaye ended with the complete defeat of the Ottoman army at corner "A". The French army successfully occupied corner "A" and gained a rare landing and living space.

The landing of the French army at corner "A" meant that the supply line of the Gallipoli Peninsula would be completely blocked. Once the French 75 guns were transported ashore, the Ottoman army could not even avoid the road and transport supplies by manpower.

Defending the Gallipoli Peninsula became an almost impossible task for the Ottoman army.

Therefore, under the command of Sanders, the Ottoman army withdrew from the Gallipoli Peninsula and retreated to the east of Beaulaye to build a new line of defense to continue to confront the Allies.

What Charles saw was a group of Ottomans who were captured by the Allies without time to evacuate. They were ragged and dirty, but their eyes looking at the French army were full of hatred.

More than 7,000 militiamen and regular troops were captured in the "A" corner, and more than 10,000 were captured in other directions, totaling more than 21,000 prisoners.

But Charles knew that the victory in Gallipoli did not mean the end of the Battle of the Dardanelles.

The other side of the strait was still in the hands of the Ottomans, who could still use mines and submarines to prevent the Allied fleet from entering the Sea of ​​Marmara, and there would be more and more mines and submarines, even extending to the Sea of ​​Marmara.

In addition, there were many scattered troops in Gallipoli hiding in the mountains and jungles to fight the Allies.

Therefore, the war was only the first step, and there were still many difficulties afterwards.

Sometimes Charles found it incredible that such a difficult and complex battlefield, why did the British Navy Minister think that it could be solved with just a few warships?

What's more tragic is that the Navy Minister made serious mistakes in both strategy and tactics in this battle. But he successfully whitewashed himself with his voice, saying that the failure of this battle was "his great success in the strategic direction, but the poor implementation of tactics ultimately led to failure."

…

The French media were generally optimistic about the battle, and they reported extensively on Charles’ victory in Gallipoli:

“Just as everyone expected, Charles did not disappoint everyone. He successfully turned the tide of the war on his own and completely placed Gallipoli under the control of the Allies!”

“This is a real landing operation. Charles pioneered human landing operations. This battle will surely go down in history as a classic!”

“From now on, it is only a matter of time before the fleet enters the Sea of ​​Marmara. At least one side of the Dardanelles is safe!”

…

French citizens were excited again after seeing the news of victory. Compared with Charles' previous victories, this time Charles defeated the British on the battlefield, which made French citizens extremely proud:

"Look, the British invested a whole fleet and organized tens of thousands of people to land, but got into trouble in Gallipoli, while Charles only brought 3,000 people and won a decisive victory in just a few days."

"I heard that Charles warned the British from the beginning, but the British ignored it, so they failed this time."

"I also heard that they contacted Charles through General Winter, but the proud British did not take Charles' advice seriously at all."

...

This news came from the city defense headquarters, which cannot be considered a leak because it is outdated intelligence.

American newspapers also reported extensively on the process of this battle, and even the military simulated and restored it.

Although the United States did not participate in the war at this time, it has actually been on the side of the allied countries, and its participation in the war is only a matter of time.

Therefore, they hoped to gain some combat experience and modern equipment before joining the war, so that their outdated army and tactics could quickly modernize and keep pace with the international community.

Only British newspapers reported this victory in a bland manner, emphasizing the firepower support of the British fleet and the role played by the 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment.

If it were just that, there would not be any big problem.

But public opinion continued to ferment, gradually developing into a dispute between Britain and France over the dominance and command of the war.

Even the British themselves were discussing a question: "If Charles had commanded this battle from the beginning, would it have taken so long, sacrificed so many people, and lost so many battleships?"

The answer is obviously no. The military and political circles of various countries made an astonishing assessment: If Charles's tactics were used at the beginning, the battle might have ended within a week, and the number of casualties would probably have been less than a thousand.

"Because the Ottomans were not prepared at that time, they only had artillery but no infantry on the Gallipoli Peninsula."

"Charles could easily land on the peninsula and strangle the enemy."

"Then, the Ottoman ammunition could not be transported to the peninsula, our warships would not be bombarded, and the Ottomans could not successfully deploy torpedoes!"

"What's funny is that the British army actually used such an important place as Bolayer as a feint attack position!"

...

People outside the military and political circles discussed it more simply and popularly:

"If Charles was in command, would there be fewer deaths?"

"This may be just a casualty number for those politicians, but it is life for us!"

"We should ask the British to give the command to Charles, which is good for everyone!"

...

They really did it. First, France launched several marches, and then Australia and New Zealand quickly followed suit.

France was for honor, and most of its troops deployed in Gallipoli were colonial troops, and the casualties of the troops were not painful to most people.

Australia and New Zealand wanted to avoid unnecessary casualties, and most of the people participating in the march were military dependents.

Soon, even Britain had several similar marches and shouts:

"If we can win at a lower cost, why not?"

"Who leads this war is important? Isn't victory important?"

"Politicians don't think so, they think their own interests are more important!"

...

For a time, public opinion all leaned towards handing over the command to Charles, and it became louder and louder. Even the Australian and New Zealand troops made some dangerous remarks:

"If it is not Charles's command, we will refuse to fight."

"We fight for the interests of the Allies, not for the interests of politicians."

"We pay with our lives, and we hope that our payment is valuable!"

...

At this time, a shocking news suddenly came out: "The Germans have confirmed that Charles is fighting in Gallipoli, and they intend to eliminate Charles at all costs. They think Charles is more important than Gallipoli or even the Ottoman Empire!"

Everyone was silent.

They all thought about the same question: Should they withdraw Charles now?