May 22, Cairo.
Sultan received the battle report on the Eastern Front. Although the enemy's offensive was fierce and they conquered multiple strongholds in succession, he felt that Vitus would continue the previous tactics: feigning attack on land and landing the main force across the sea.
"The only usable port is Alexander. There are ten thousand soldiers stationed in the city and hundreds of artillery pieces. It is impossible for the enemy fleet to break through."
What Sultan is concerned about is the nearby Aboukir Bay, where three thousand people are stationed. Yesterday, he urgently allocated two thousand reinforcements and two thousand workers to strengthen the local defense facilities.
Except for these two locations, the remaining coastline is not suitable as a fleet anchorage. There are no large towns and therefore no large-scale garrison.
Mamluk's troops are limited and are concentrated in cities such as Alexander and the eastern defense line. It is impossible to disperse the troops across the entire coast.
If the enemy wants to land on a desolate beach, Sultan can only hope that the nearby defenders will respond quickly and push the enemy into the sea while their foothold is not stable.
Jaffa, west side pier.
The sun was blazing, and a warm northeasterly wind blew on the sea. The soldiers boarded the deck in an orderly manner, and the sailors turned the heavy winch to retrieve the anchor sunk under the water.
After leaving the port, the fleet sailed smoothly in the offshore area, and scattered fishing villages and abandoned castles could be seen along the way.
In the afternoon, there is less and less green behind the coast. The rolling sand dunes have replaced the cultivated fields and olive trees. The dry hot wind blows across the surface. It is quiet and desolate, and there is no sign of human existence.
At dusk, the fleet arrived at Rhinocorura (Al-Arish). The port facilities were simple and the water depth was insufficient. Many ships were anchored in the waters outside the port.
Vitus took a boat to the dock and visited this city located in the hinterland of the desert.
At this moment, Damien is launching a feint attack on the front line, and two Auxiliary Battalion are stationed in the town. Under the sunset, some prisoners of war are digging wells in the suburbs to meet the increasingly tight water supply needs.
The brigade commander of Auxiliary Brigade complained about the water quality here, "I don't know why, whether it is well water or Reservoir water, it tastes salty and astringent. Even after boiling, the taste is still there."
Vitus replied, "The salty taste comes from the soil. The locals have been drinking it for so many years and they are still alive and kicking. I think as long as the fresh water is boiled, you will not get sick after drinking it."
According to military regulations, officers at battalion level and above try to drink boiled fresh water. During the expedition, the fleet will free up part of the space to load coal, and the marching team will have carriages specially loaded with cold boiled water.
The remaining personnel are not forced to drink cold water.
In the evening, when the soldiers were cooking dinner, they could boil a pot of water and fill their tin kettles. However, during the march in the field, the soldiers had to fetch water from wells and streams, and some people often fell sick because of this.
This phenomenon is inevitable. In the current era, steamships and trains have not been invented, and the logistics capacity is limited. Vitus can only solve the drinking water problem at the command level.
On the 25th, the fleet sailed away from the coastal waters of Sinai Peninsula. The air became humid and more green began to appear on the coastline.
The landing site selected by the fleet is an abandoned fishing village, about fifteen miles away from Nile's Eastern Mouth.
At this time, a line of black smoke ignited along the coast. The nearby beacon towers discovered this situation and lit beacon fires one after another to pass the news to nearby towns.
One thousand Marines members rowed the famous Longboat and rushed to the coast, quickly taking control of the entire fishing village. Some members were on guard outside the village, and the remaining members gathered at the pier, waiting for the two Medium Galleys to wash up the beach.
The cabins of the two ships were loaded with artillery, wood and a small amount of supplies, and they moved slowly with the rowing of oars.
At a certain moment, the ship suddenly stopped. The captain held on to the rudder to avoid falling and issued an order:
"Drop the rope!"
The crew members threw the prepared ropes outside. Seeing this, the Marines crew members on the shore jumped into the shallow water area and walked towards the ropes in the shallow water.
The battalion commander urged some dilly-dallying soldiers, "Move quickly, the enemy's cavalry may arrive at any time!"
After the personnel were in place, they dragged the rope forward and forcibly dragged the entire Galley to the beach.
Boom! Boom! The sailors in the cabin used iron axes to chop the hull, break a large and spacious hole, and carry the materials inside to the beach.
At noon, the gunners assembled four Nine-Pounder Cannon and eight Six-Pounder Cannon and dispersed them in the outer defensive positions.
The soldiers dug trenches and piled soil on the inside to form a parapet. Many horse-proof stakes were placed in the land outside. The materials came from abandoned houses.
The battalion commander looked into the distance with a telescope. The number of cavalry in his field of vision was less than a hundred. Most of them did not have iron armor. They should be tribal cavalry recruited from the desert.
"We seem to have overestimated the enemy's reaction speed."
As time passed, the fleet continued to use small boats to transport troops to the coast. Before dark, nearly five thousand soldiers landed, but the expected large number of enemy cavalry still did not appear.
At noon the next day, Vitus came to the beach. Engineers were laying wooden piles in the shallow water area to serve as support pillars for the trestle.
Cruiser detected in advance that there were no woods in this area, so the fleet loaded the wood needed to build the bridge. Some of the wood was processed in advance, saving on-site processing.
Before setting off, the staff prepared for the worst and loaded the fleet with sufficient wood, fresh water and supplies.
Even if a large number of cavalry appears at the landing site, the landing troops can rely on this batch of materials to build camps and survive the initial construction phase.
The disadvantage is that too much supplies occupy the space for transporting personnel. The first batch of troops only has 8,000 people: six infantry battalions of the Sakarya Legion, Mountain Battalion, Artillery battalions, and two Marine Battalion of the navy.
At this moment, all Army have logged in, but the large group of enemy cavalry that Vitus imagined is still missing.
"What are you doing on the other side?"
He led 6,000 people to leave the fishing village. The enemy's small number of cavalry did not dare to stop him and hovered at the edge of Three-Pounder's range.
A few minutes later, Vitus climbed over the sand dunes in the south, and the view suddenly broadened. In front of it was an endless fertile plain. The entire land was covered with an ancient and huge network of ditches. The wheat in the fields had matured, and farmers were bending down to harvest crops.
He came to the edge of the field, observed a golden ear of wheat that had not yet been harvested, and judged that the wheat yield here was equivalent to twice the local wheat yield.
Converted to yield per mu, the wheat yield in the delta is about 90 kilograms per mu, and in the mainland it is about 40 to 50 kilograms per mu.
"Nile Delta has a special climate. The water level rises from June to October, making it unsuitable for farming. After the flood subsides, people redivide the land, sow crops, and harvest them in the following summer.
We landed in late May and were able to collect enough food, at the expense of the annual flooding period, which was another trouble."
Vitus led the army to scout around and looked at Damietta in the distance. The city had a new-style city wall, which greatly increased the difficulty of siege.
"Napoleon is anxious to end the Egypt war because there is Nelson's fleet on the sea. Now, we have control of Eastern Mediterranean's sea, there is no shortage of supplies, and we have enough time to carry out this war."
On June 5th, the fleet shipped the second batch of reinforcements, including Hermes Brigade and two Cavalry Brigade.
At this time, the construction of the wall outside the fishing village was completed and it had certain protective capabilities. Vitus left some troops to garrison and led the main force deep into the inland to actively seek opportunities for decisive battles.
After marching on the west bank of the river for a week, he defeated two small groups of Militia wandering in the wild. The results were less, but he collected enough food.
Another good news is that he has the support of Copts.
This ethnic group is the direct descendant of the ancient Egypt. They believe in Coptic Church, so they are called Copts by the outside world.
In the fifth century AD, Emperor Eastern Roman Empire convened the Council of Chalcedon. From then on, the Coptic Church, Armenia orthodox churches and the Constantinople church separated, each forming an independent church system.
Currently, this ethnic group accounts for one and a half percent of the total population of Egypt.
Vitus suddenly felt that he needed to change his plan and support some Copts lords.
He asked a Copts squire, "Athanasius, how much Militia can your village provide?"
The middle-aged squire replied, "There are about three hundred people. If I call the villages where my relatives live, it won't be a problem to gather three to four thousand people."
Athanasius reminded the emperor that Copts had been excluded from conscription for a long time and lacked combat experience. It was not recommended that the emperor send them to the battlefield.
"Don't worry, you won't be needed in the decisive battle. We only need to do some auxiliary work."
One week passed, and Vitus successfully gathered two thousand Copts Militia. The new unit's combat effectiveness was very poor, but it was able to act as a guide and assist Roman Legion in capturing nearby towns.
As the news spread, more Copts joined the army, causing fear among the Mamluk nobles.
Since last year, the Mamluk nobles have heard about the conditions offered by Vitus, and they dismissed it at the time.
On the one hand, they feel that it is difficult for Vitus to penetrate the Levant border defense line, and they will withdraw their troops if it takes a year or two.
On the other hand, the Mamluk nobles concluded that Vitus was an outsider and destined to rely on them to govern the land. Even if the surrender was delayed, they felt that Vitus would still accept it.
The situation is different now. The emperor has given up on winning over the heroic and capable Mamluk, and has turned his attention to the Copts group with low combat effectiveness. Is the emperor going to regret it?
On June 15th, a Mamluk lord went to the Rome military camp.
This man calls himself Varzama. He is wearing a brocade robe with complicated and gorgeous embroidery on the surface. His belt is inlaid with pearls and gems. The scabbard of his sword is gold-plated, and the handle of the knife is also inlaid with gems.
The camp defender looked at this elegant nobleman and said in an extremely impatient tone, "Are you here to issue a declaration of war, or are you going to surrender?"
"Surrender."
After being searched, he was taken to the Chinese military tent and met Vitus who was processing documents.
It was scorching hot, so Vitus was not wearing armor, but was wearing a loose light-colored robe. A basin of ice cubes and a copper stove burning Pyrethrum incense were placed nearby.
"What do you think Sultan? Decisive battle or surrender? Rome Finance can still hold on for two years. Don't expect us to withdraw early because of lack of money."
Varzama did not have the will of Sultan. He surrendered in his personal capacity and hoped that the emperor would continue last year's promise.
"Your Majesty, many nobles actually want to surrender, but Sultan refuses. We have tried to persuade them many times, but there is really nothing we can do."
Sultan Still holding on?
Vitus was disappointed in his heart and put down the document in his hand. "Last year, I did announce the terms of surrender, but you hurt my heart. Well, I may maintain my original idea, or I may change my plan, it depends on the situation."
During this period, the population composition of the Egypt area was complex.
At the top of society are Mamluk, mainly Circassians and Turks. The previous dynasty was Bahri Dynasty, with the core being Turkic nobles. The current dynasty is Burji Dynasty, with the core being Circassians.
At first, Vitus just wanted to reduce trouble, so he wooed Mamluk. Now, he has set his sights on Copts and other ethnic groups. Assuming that Mamluk continues to resist, the power divided after the war will only become less and less.
Varzama was worried that Mamluk's group would be abandoned, so he gave a lot of useful information and was willing to persuade Damietta's defenders to surrender.
Sure enough, full competition can mobilize the enthusiasm below.
Vitus listened to the nobles' plan and replied, "I will give you five days. Remember, at noon after five days, the defenders must surrender the city."
On June 17, Thomas led 15,000 soldiers to the shore of the Nile River.
Now is the period when the water level is rising. The once dry river beach is submerged in the turbid river water. The sun is pouring down and a smell of earth is floating in the air.
"The river is wide and reminds me of Europe, Dnieper River and Danube."
Thomas looked at the fields and date palm groves on the east bank. Suddenly, he was pulled by a guard and took a few steps back.
"Fat Joe, what are you doing?"
Faced with the angry rebuke from his superior, the guard Fat Joe pointed at a few rotten logs floating on the river. Thomas looked at them intently and found that they seemed to be living creatures.
He squinted his eyes alertly. These "dead trees" were slowly and neatly approaching the puddle on the west side of the river bank against the weak current. There were more than twenty horses gathered there, lowering their heads and sipping the river water.
At this time, the Copts guide shouted loudly to ask all soldiers to stay away from the river bank to avoid being preyed on by crocodiles.
Before departure, the army mentioned relevant precautions, including crocodiles. As the crocodiles got closer, the nearby non-commissioned officers ordered the spearmen to form formations and the musketeers to load their muskets.
In an instant, a giant shadow covered with scales suddenly shot up from the water and pounced on the horses that were dragged back. Thomas stared into the crocodile's eyes, golden and cold, with pupils like vertical slits, exuding ruthless killing intent.
"Fire!"
After a burst of messy gunshots, the crocodile was beaten and bruised all over its body. It took a few steps forward unwillingly, and was stabbed by more than ten spears. It lay on the river beach lifeless.
Several crocodiles that were still in the shallow water retreated one after another, and before they had gone far, Artillery dragged five Three-Pounders and fired shotguns at the general direction. The dense lead bullets hit the water surface, creating large splashes of water, as if there was a burst of iron rain from the sky.
Soon, the nearby water surface was dyed light red. Artillery was worried that the crocodile was still alive, so he fired another round of shotgun until the river surface returned to calm.
"What a ferocious beast."
Thomas walked towards the crocodile lying dead on the river beach. Several soldiers gathered around and tried to peel off its outer skin.
After careful observation, Thomas found that the crocodile was not scary. Although it had a tough skin, it could not withstand firearm shooting. "Inform the entire army that in the future, they will not fetch water or drink horses alone. They must be in groups of more than ten people, and do not wander near the river bank at night."
After saying that, Thomas walked towards Medium Galley, which was parked at the temporary dock, to arrange the subsequent crossing of the river.