But at this moment, Franz's scheme had produced an unexpected effect.
As for this genuine naval hardware, it would be difficult to use against the Austrian Empire in the future, and the Austrian Empire itself had relatively mature countermeasures.
On a street less than a kilometer from Topkapi Palace, the Ottomans and Russians were engaged in an exceptionally brutal slaughter.
Execution by firing squad had turned into execution by artillery barrage, and the cruelty of street fighting was laid bare in all its fullness.
Both sides used their cannons as oversized shotguns—and the kind pressed right into the other side's face.
As powder charges and solid shot were shoved into the barrels one after another, the gunners began firing without even bothering to aim.
When the fuse burned down, there was a thunderous boom. A solid iron ball ripped through the air toward the enemy position. Wood splinters flew, and screams rang without end.
Neither the Russians nor the Ottomans gave an inch. Shell after shell flew, and by now both sides had nearly exhausted even their professional artillerymen. They were relying entirely on lives piled up through sheer force.
It was not only the artillerymen who had been spent; even the cannons were nearly used up. Half the artillery pieces brought by the Russian army had already burst their barrels, while the Ottoman army's guns had an even higher rate of bursting.
But in this hellish tug-of-war, neither side dared lose heart first. They all knew what the consequences of losing heart would be.
Infantrymen were also among the expendables. From time to time, they were assigned missions that were almost certainly fatal: launching mass charges down narrow streets.
For the reserves crammed behind the barricades, it was torture as well. They curled up behind cover that might be