August 25, Athens.
The moment he received the edict, Krezer had already guessed the emperor's thoughts. He listened calmly to the narration of the official who passed the edict, and then took the edict, "Varangian Legion has been looking forward to this day for a long time."
According to Privy Council's plan, the Legion's first target is Euboea.
This is a long and narrow island running from northwest to southeast, with a long and winding coastline. Its area (3654 square kilometers) ranks second in Aegean Sea Islands, second only to Crete. There are nearly 40,000 residents on the island, dominated by Greece culture.
Euboea is separated from Attica Peninsula by a long and narrow strait. The capital Chalcis is located in the south-central part of the island, very close to Attica, and the narrowest point is only thirty steps from the sea.
In the past six months, the Greece army has built a large number of forts on the west coast, with a range covering the narrowest water area. Assuming that the Venetian Fleet breaks into the strait, they will be greeted by fierce fire from coastal defense artillery.
Chalcis is the most important town on the island, with more than 3,000 mercenaries stationed there.
Venice's cannon casting industry is advanced, its artillery production capacity is sufficient, and the number of cannons equipped in the town is more than fifty, which is enough to block the waters ahead.
On War Council, Krezer explained to the officers:
"According to reports from the residents of the island, Venice has approximately 6,000 to 8,000 mercenaries stationed on the island, 3,000 people are stationed at Chalcis, and another 2,000 people are stationed at the nearby coast. The remaining troops are stationed at various strongholds. If we forcefully cross the sea near Chalcis, the chance of winning is no more than 30%.
In the spring, Privy Council made a special trip to conduct an on-the-spot inspection and worked out a plan with a higher chance of winning with the top brass of the legion."
At this time, Krezer pointed the wooden pole in his hand at the western Northern District area of the map, and explained in an orderly manner, "The northwest end of Euboea is only 1.5 miles from the land. The coast we chose is sparsely populated, about fifteen miles from the nearest town, and there are two dilapidated castles from the Crusaders period nearby. The total number of defenders does not exceed a thousand, making it an excellent target for attack..."
Half an hour later, Krezer began to arrange combat deployment.
This time, the troops under his command include Varangian Legion, Hermes Brigade, Dragon Cavalry Brigade, three thousand Militia who are gathering, and Aegean Fleet who are cooperating in the battle.
Varangian Legion was established very early, and its reputation spread widely, so it attracted the attention of the enemy. Krezer asked the legion to stay on the other side of Chalcis to attract the attention of Venice.
Marine Battalion, as the vanguard, took advantage of the darkness to penetrate into the west coast of Euboea North Sea.
Assuming that the number of enemy troops in this area is small, Hermes Brigade, Dragon Cavalry Brigade, and Militia plan to launch a landing early the next morning.
Once all the troops successfully land, the number of Rome soldiers on the island exceeds 10,000, which is enough to crush the Venice army, and the next phase of the mission can begin:
Surround Chalcis, capture the forts on the nearby coast, and assist Varangian Legion in crossing the sea.
August 26th, early morning.
The morning sun rose from the east, coating the entire sea surface with a layer of bright gold. A Greece soldier walked to the beach, aimed an arrow at the opposite shore dozens of steps away, and then left in a swaggering manner.
Soon, the defenders on the northeast coast picked up the feathered arrow with the letter tied to it, and unfolded it. It was a stern declaration of war. At seven o'clock in the morning, the forts on the southwest coast opened fire one after another. The shells screamed across the narrow strait and hit the tall and thick Chalcis city wall one after another.
After the first few rounds of shelling, Venice mercenaries opened fire one after another. Chalcis's city walls were deliberately thickened to withstand such an intensity of attack for the time being.
During the Artillery shooting, the main force of the Varangian Legion avoided the strait with the densest firepower and moved towards Euboean Gulf in the southeast direction.
The sea surface of this bay is relatively narrow, with most sections no longer than ten miles. The terrain on both sides is flat, and there are many fishing villages scattered around it. It is also suitable for launching large-scale landings.
At this moment, the Venice squadron and Aegean Fleet are fighting fiercely outside the bay, and the inside of the bay is in a strangely calm state. Once Aegean Fleet wins, Varangian Legion will launch a strong attack, using a large number of Galley to rush to the Euboea coast.
In order to prevent all this, the Venice defenders sent more mercenaries to these fishing villages to try to prevent Varangian Legion from landing.
The sound of artillery continued throughout the day, and as night fell, Eastern Roman Batteries adopted a shift system and continued to fire at the city wall, without giving the defenders any chance to breathe.
On War Council at night, Krezer asked Admiral Aegean Fleet:
"How was the battle situation during the day? It stands to reason that Venice had no time to assemble the fleet. Many battleships are still in the mainland, so we should be at an advantage."
Fabius looked gloomy and seemed not to have taken much advantage, "Euboean Squadron has twenty battleships and we have twenty-eight.
The two fleets formed a battle line and fired at each other on the sea. The scene was grand, but the number of battleships that actually sank was very small. In the afternoon, a Cruiser sent an alarm, and Crete sent fleet reinforcements. We had no choice but to give up the battle and withdraw to the port to rest." The total number of the Eastern Roman Empire's capital ships (Double-Deck Warship, single-deck battleships) is sixty-two.
Forty ships are deployed in the direction of the Aegean Sea, ten are owned by Dardanelles Strait, and the remaining twelve are deployed at the Ionian Sea in the west, with the goal of harassing Venice's Trade route.
According to the plan, Fabius needs to detach some of the forty warships to reinforce the landing operation in direction Northwest. The strength in the southeastern sea area has been weakened, and it is good to be able to fight like it is today.
He focused his eyes on the northwest side of the map and muttered in an extremely weak voice, "Estimated time, Marine Battalion is landing. I hope they don't make any mistakes."
At the same time, Maliakos Gulf in the northwest of Euboea.
The night sky was covered with clouds and the moonlight was appearing and disappearing. Soldiers of the Marine Battalion dragged long boats on the beach. They used twenty long boats, each carrying twenty-four people, for a total of 480 people to participate in the night attack.
Following the guidance of local fishermen, these Longboat gathered in a bay. The soldiers were strictly prohibited from talking. They could only pray silently in their hearts. The five fishermen serving as guides knelt on the beach, praying quietly while observing the tidal conditions in the strait.
After waiting for a while, the fisherman told Marine Battalion, "Sir, the next time is when the current is the most stable, so you can cross the sea."
The five fishermen each got into a Longboat and continued to serve as guides. The soldiers paddled the oars rhythmically, and the fleet slid through the strait like ghosts in the dark night.
Halfway through the journey, a gust of north wind suddenly blew from the sea. The waves hit the side of the ship and the cold sea water splashed on their faces.
"The sea conditions are so complicated." The helmsman stayed at the stern of the boat to control the rudder. They followed the fishermen's reminder and asked Longboat to always face the abandoned farmhouse on the other side, using the farmhouse as a marker.