Tyranny of Steel - Chapter 967

An exchange of artillery fire took place between Constantinople’s defenders and the besieging army belonging to the Golden Horde. While this was occurring, Alexandros stood firmly upon the inner walls of the city, watching the battlefield from afar. Since he had decided to take control over the city’s defenses, the boy prince had chosen to remain on the battlefield, even if he was standing in the furthest area away from immediate danger.

Standing Beside the young prince was a group of German Naval Special Forces operatives who acted as his security detail. Along with those members of the Byzantine Royal Guard who were steadily waiting for the walls to crumble so that they could make use of the advanced weapons their allies had temporarily gifted them.

Palladius watched the outermost wall become filled with cracks. He was very concerned about the fall of this barrier. It had not even been an hour since the siege had begun, and yet one of the three levels of defense was already on the verge of collapse. He quickly voiced his worries to the young Prince standing by his side.

“If the low wall falls, then we will be left with only two means of defense. Are you sure these weapons of yours can hold off the enemy long enough for reinforcements to arrive?”

There was not the slightest hint of worry on Alexandros’ face as he nodded his head in agreement before boasting about the capabilities of the machine guns referred to by German troops as “Berengar’s Buzzsaw”.

“A single Mg-27 General Purpose machine gun is capable of firing roughly 1200 rounds per minute. With such a high volume of fire, along with multiple guns covering the area directly outside this wall, we will be able to kill tens of thousands of these barbarians in a matter of minutes. The only problem is that we don’t have much ammunition.

Still, the attack will be enough to make the enemy think twice about attacking the last barrier. So even if the outer wall collapses, the inner wall will be perfectly safe, at least long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Once the Luftwaffe is here, we do not need to worry about the enemy, even if they were to have one million men standing outside our gates.”

It shocked Palladius to hear the rate of fire these weapons were capable of. As a man who was most accustomed to his troops wielding flintlock muskets and muzzle loading cannons, which were could fire perhaps two to three rounds a minute, this was simply an absurd amount of firepower.

Though the men had been trained on how to load, aim, and fire the weapons, they had not actually fired any shots from the guns. This was specifically because of the limited amount of ammunition which was stored in the German Embassy. Under current circumstances, every round was precious and had to be conserved for the actual battle. Assuming it was actually needed.

In fact, outside of the two guns posted within the walls of the German Embassy, there were only four of these guns in total. Thus, the Byzantine defenders would have to make use of four machine gun crews mounted on their inner wall if the enemy were to break through all other defenses.

Palladius was practically biting his nails in anxiety while the bloodcurdling screams of men shot by musket fire filled the air. However, the defenses were set in stone, and the aging general could do nothing but pray for his men’s safety. After all, they had the advantage of hiding behind the large stone walls to aid in their protection from the enemy fire.

Not long after, a gap appeared in the outermost wall, where the nomadic warriors of the golden horde rushed through with their muskets in hand. Unfortunately for them, they found themselves in a dire situation.

The distance between the three walls was not large by any means. Once they had broken through the outermost barrier, they were, in fact, stuck between the men behind them and the defenders on the wall above. The Byzantine soldiers made use of this opportunity to rain fire down upon the mongols with their muskets.

A plume of smoke filled the air, as lead balls propelled down from the ramparts above, piercing through the thick armor which the Mongol warriors wore, as if it were made of butter. The projectiles tore through their flesh and claimed their lives without remorse, causing the front line of the Mongol Horde to become utterly devastated.

However, the men behind them quickly retaliated by firing upon the Byzantine defenders, who hid behind the stone merlons for cover, all while reloading their weapons as quickly as they could manage, before once more firing a volley upon the attackers below.

Unfortunately for the Mongol Artillery, once they had breached the outermost wall, they were not able to advance into a position where they could fire on the second, without actually thoroughly destroying the outermost wall.

Thus, their cannons suddenly became far less effective in destroying the next barrier which prevented the Mongols from conquering the city. Their only option was to continue to fire upon the outermost wall, hoping to create enough space to attack the next defense.

Another hour passed, and by now Palladius was far more calm. He could understand now why the boy standing next to him was completely free of anxiety. For the Mongols to successfully bring down the Theodosian walls, they needed their siege to go on for weeks or even months at a time.

While the Golden Horde had managed to penetrate through the outermost wall, they had only created small gaps for their infantry to pass through, and any attempt to bring in ladders or artillery were immediately met with retaliation by the Byzantine Defenders.

Ultimately, it was not long before the Luftwaffe was seen in the sky above. When Alexandros witnessed this, he decisively made an order to the Byzantine General standing next to him.

“Withdraw your troops to the city. The Luftwaffe has arrived…”

Palladius did not dare question the boy’s commands, as only Alexandros was aware of the destructive capability which the German armed forces were capable of unleashing. With a quick order, the Byzantine defenders fled into the city. Palladius himself was about to follow suit when Alexandros grabbed hold of his sleeve and shook his head before uttering one simple word.

“Observe…”

—

Chagadai was calm as can be. Within the first hour of his assault, the Mongol artillery had penetrated through the outermost layer of Constantinople’s defenses. While it was true that he could not advance his siege weapons beyond the low wall, and into a position where they could attack the second barrier. He had all the time in the world to thoroughly dismantle the city’s defenses. Or so he thought.

The Great Khan would never have believed that the Germans were en route with an explosive payload that could send his entire army to the depths of hell in a matter of seconds. Thus, he sat back in the rear of his forces and munched on a piece of citrus while casually watching the battle unfold. It was not until the sky darkened above that he became concerned. At first he thought the weather had turned sour, and as a result he would have to delay his plans to siege the city.

However, upon further inspection, he realized that the clouds did not blot the sun out above, but instead it was done by hundreds of aircraft. That’s right, for the defense of constantinople Berengar had not just sent the hundred bombers previously located at Cyprus Air base.

Over the past week, when word first reached the Kaiser’s ears that the Golden Horde was constructing barges on the other side of the Bosporus. Berengar had dispatched every Me 264 bomber, from across the fatherland, and the Mediterranean to Cyprus with the intent to engage in one massive bombing campaign.

This time around there were roughly one thousand strategic bombers, all outfitted with a payload of napalm bombs flying in the sky above constantinople. When Chagadai gazed upon this scene, he instantly dropped the food that was in his hand and repeated the two words that his little sister had always warned him about throughout the entirety of his campaign.

“Iron Eagles…”

He instantly regretted mocking his sister’s words and felt compelled to ride off and escape from the fiery fury which he knew he was about to receive. However, before he could do so, the first wave of bombs dropped. They not only dropped outside the outermost defense of constantinople where the bulk of his armed laid, but in between the outermost and secondary walls as well.

A sea of flames erupted upon the earth’s surface as they reached towards the heavens above, as if their goal was to devour God himself. Naturally, they could not accomplish this, but they had succeeded in consuming everything in their path.

Before Chagadai could even yelp in fright, he himself had been lit aflame. His dying screams filled the air, and lasted for a matter of seconds before his body turned into ash along with that of his entire army. The only thing remaining between the city of constantinople and the area where Chagadai once stood were the scorching stones of the city’s outermost defenses.

The attack had disappeared as quickly as it had begun, leaving Palladius and all the city’s inhabitants in a state of utter shock. Even Alexandros was surprised at the level of destruction the Luftwaffe was capable of. Though he had heard from his father just how powerful a fleet of Me 264 bombers were, words did not do it justice.

Gazing upon the fiery pillars which consumed the area in a sea of flames, while smelling the stench of napalm turning a hundred thousand bodies to ash. It was an experience that Alexandros was certain he would only ever see once in his lifetime. After taking several moments to calm his nerves, the boy recovered his stoic expression before turning to the Byzantine General and asking him one simple question.

“Now that you have witnessed it for yourself. Are you finally convinced of the Reich’s power?”