As the Battle of Constantinople began, the Russian armies on both the eastern and western fronts also launched massive offensives. Both sides committed hundreds of thousands of troops, and the fighting was exceptionally fierce.
Yet Rumelia on the western front was mountainous to begin with. Combined with the Ottoman Empire's Iron Wall Plan over the past years and the absence of Prince Menshikov, commander of the western front, Russia's progress was virtually nil.
Though the Ottoman Empire's Iron Wall Plan leaked from every corner, with even ants and rats burrowing holes through it, mountains were still mountains. Even without any embellishment, they were difficult to shake.
On the contrary, the Russian army on the eastern front advanced smoothly under the guidance of large numbers of Orthodox believers and Armenian collaborators. Moreover, compared with the iron-wall defenses in the west, the Ottoman forces on the eastern front were clearly underprepared.
The Ottoman forces on the eastern front had grown lax because high mountains likewise stood in the way there, leaving only one coastal passage through which a large army could travel.
Thus, in theory, as long as the Ottoman army held that road, it could block the Russian attack. In fact, the main Russian force had indeed come by that route.
But the Ottoman commander on the eastern front had clearly misjudged the strength of both sides. This outstanding graduate, who had returned after studying in Britain for five years, completely believed what his British instructors had told him.
"The Russians are a flock of stupid ducks. They can't even form a proper line. The muskets in Russian soldiers' hands are little more than fire pokers, mechanically repeating the same simple motions drilled into them in training."
"A pack of ignorant savages driven by whips—they'll collapse the moment they meet resistance."