In Ankara, news of what had happened in Ava had already arrived. Thanks to this good news, Abdulaziz I, in high spirits, magnanimously spared Major General Özgür, who had abandoned the city and fled.
Having one's city "massacred" had become good news—one had to say, the Ottoman Empire was truly finished. At any other time, the Sultan Government would have sent troops to retaliate long ago.
"For now, use diplomatic means! It isn't that Abdulaziz I does not want revenge; we simply cannot win.
"Release the news at once. Call upon the people to resist to the death. Tell them that the evil enemy wants to destroy ****, and that we have reached the critical moment of life and death.
"The Foreign Ministry is to continue communicating with Britain and France, asking them to intervene in this war. Expose the tragedy of Ava to the international media, reveal the enemy's atrocities across the European Continent, and mobilize international public opinion to condemn Austria and Russia."
Placing their hopes on international intervention was something cruel reality had forced upon them. In recent days, nearly every coastal city in the Ottoman Empire had received the Austrian Navy's greetings. Many inland cities, including Ankara, had also suffered airship bombardments.
It was not as though the Sultan Government had failed to organize counterattacks. They had even shot down an airship. Yet this was utterly useless to the overall situation.
The Austrian airship units had been bombing at random to begin with. Even when rifle fire harassed them and forced them to fly higher, a city was such a huge target—how far off could they possibly be?
As long as they dropped their bombs into the city, their objective was achieved. Blowing up factories or supply depots was simply a bonus.
Affected by the bombardments,