Deniz was one of the few Ottoman Empire naval officers living in the shore camp. He had studied in Britain and France and had even served aboard British warships, but without connections, he could only remain a gunnery officer.
The moment the battle began, Deniz rushed to the barracks and drove the panicked soldiers toward the docks.
"Raise anchor! Meet the enemy!"
Deniz shouted, joined by several officers who had just arrived.
"Meet the enemy! Drive the pirates back!"
In truth, after fighting for so long, the Ottomans still had no idea who their enemy was. Some believed it was the Russians, some thought they were pirates, and others suspected demons and monsters might be at work.
The docks were a scene of utter chaos. Some ships' anchor chains and mooring lines had even become tangled together, leaving sailors to swing axes and hammers wildly through the darkness, hacking and smashing at random.
But the Russians had no intention of giving the Ottomans a chance to strike back. Every barrage sent thousands of shells raining down upon the harbor.
Though Ottoman soldiers and brave sailors charged forward one after another, many others fled beneath the cover of night.
Many Ottoman soldiers had barely boarded their ships before discovering that the hulls had already been ruptured. They could only scramble back ashore, while some, trying to evade the bombardment, lost their footing and fell into the water.
"Help!"
"I don't want to die!"
Cries of agony and pleas for help echoed without end.
An Ottoman Empire sailing warship, the Holy Fire, finally raised anchor. The Holy Fire tried to return fire, but after taking too many hits, it soon began to sink.
"Return fire! Return fire!"
The crew aboard the Holy Fire had already resigned themselves to death, but in the