Chapter 290: Liberation of Constantinople Part II
Field Marshal Mustafa Kemal Atatürk remained completely and utterly silent for several moments, despite the tension in the room being enough to decapitate each and every one of them should they dare move a muscle.
Like a garrote against the neck, they dare not even swallow the saliva pooling in their mouths as they waited for their leader to inform them of what to do. One wrong move and they would all be dead. However, if they waited too long, the protest could turn into a riot, and if that happened, there was a possibility of something being destroyed that the invaders demanded to remain intact.
The consequences of which were certain death for all life within the city, just as had been done to Belgrade. And even the most faithful of fanatics would question provoking such an overbearing response to them and their loved ones.
After what seemed like a lifetime, the supreme commander of what remained of the Ottoman Empire’s army sighed heavily and shook his head. He knew he had been completely outplayed by the enemy and was quick to speak of this thought aloud.
"That bastard really has our balls in a vice, doesn’t he? Alright, tell the enemy commander I will agree to his terms. It is better to abandon Istanbul and regroup with our other forces to prepare a counterattack than it is to waste our lives here today…."
Though the Ottoman spoke of a hope for tomorrow, giving the men beneath his command the will to live on and fight another day, he himself was all too aware that the lines were crumbling everywhere else as well.
Hence why he gave another order to what remained of the Sultan’s personal guard. Though merely a puppet since the Young Turk Revolution in the previous decade, the man would be required to sign whatever peace treaty they were handed in an ultimatum after they were well and truly crushed in Anatolia.
"Get the Royal family out of the city safely, and discreetly. Just in case the German commander proves that his word is unreliable…."
The royal guardsman nodded his head and saluted in silence before running off to do as he was told. As did the men within his unit who stood next to him. Without a single shot fired, Constantinople had been reclaimed by Christendom for the first time in nearly 500 years.
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