Chapter 801 - Civil War
If the coup can’t end in a day, it will undoubtedly evolve into a civil war.
More than two weeks ago, the Turkish military launched a coup in Istanbul.
A F16 suddenly changed course when completing a routine mission. It flew over Istanbul and opened fire on the presidential palace. However, Erdogan temporarily changed his itinerary and wasn’t in the presidential palace. He was fortunate enough to escape the attack.
The rogue F16 was immediately tracked down by ground-based air defense system and was shot down in northern Istanbul.
After learning about the army’s coup, Erdogan immediately convened a Supreme Military Council meeting and ruled out the newly established Presidential Guards who promised allegiance to him personally after 2016. He arrested coup participants and surrounded the 14th Mechanical Brigade suspected of participating in the coup.
The 15th Infantry Brigade and the 31st Armored Brigade exchanged fire with the 14th Mechanical Brigade in the western part of Istanbul, forcing the 14th Mechanical Brigade to retreat in the direction of Samantra and were eliminated during the retreat. At the same time, four Armored Brigades and two Mechanical brigades stationed in southwestern Istanbul announced support for the coup. They called the insurgents of Istanbul their compatriots, vowed to overthrow Erdogan’s rule and advance Turkey’s secularization process!
The spark of a coup ignited the flame of civil war. The two sides fought fiercely in the southwestern region of Turkey. Planes hurled shells over cities and towns. Nobody expected this coup to evolve into a fierce civil war.
However, for some people, all this was expected.
At the moment, in the mountain range of southeastern Turkey, a city called Batman was under the control of anti-government forces.
At the airport in the north, a C-5 “Galaxy” transporter under the veil of night crossed the Turkey-Iraq border and landed on the flashing runway.
The aircraft landed and the hatches opened. Tank guns pointing straight ahead remained in the cabin. Several soldiers waiting at the airport stepped forward and carefully transported the equipment out of the transporter.
An officer dressed in desert camouflage came out of the cabin, accompanied by two bodyguards to see the chief of the 22nd Armored Brigade, Kolb.
Kolb saluted the officer. After the latter saluted back, they both approached the airport.
“Three M1A2 main battle tanks, 40 tons of munition supplies. There are still 40 M1A2s coming in from the Iraqi border. You must maintain control of this corridor to Iraq unless you want to lose supplies,” Walking beside Kolb, Colonel Bertrand from Europe said quietly.
“Count on me.” Kolb solemnly nodded. “The soldiers of the 22nd Armored Brigade will never give up Batman to Erdogan’s government!”
The size of Turkey’s land forces was the second in NATO, but only in terms of scale.
The tanks of the armored units were dominated by the M-60 in the Cold War, supplemented by German Leopard 1 tanks and even M24, which served in World War II. There were two such ancient vehicles in the 22nd Armored Brigade.
With help from the M1A2s, the disadvantage faced by the 22nd Armored Brigade would be reversed.
“The secularization of Turkey depends on you.” Colonel Bertrand patted his shoulder and sternly said, “If necessary, you can seek help from the Kurds; they’re all natural-born warriors. As long as independence is used as bait, they won’t miss out on this opportunity.”
Kolb frowned after hearing the sentence.
“Kurds? I don’t trust them!”
“If you want to win this war, you must trust them.” Looking at the Turkish officer without any expression, Colonel Bertrand said, “Even if they’re pagans, it’s fine as long as they can be used by me. They’re our allies. It’s the decision made by Freemasonry – you should understand what I mean.”
Kolb held his breath.
Of course he understood Colonel Bertrand.
If this was a decision made by the Freemasonry, then the brigade commander of a rebel force certainly couldn’t question the decision.
“In addition, volunteers from Europe will join this war. By then, our people will enter the Iraqi border with UA equipment. The UA’s position will be very awkward, or rather, the Hill government will be put in a very awkward position. NATO’s fighter planes won’t help Turkey bomb its own people, even if they’re the country’s ‘criminals’. Do you understand what I mean?”
Kolb swallowed and nodded.
“I understand.”
“As long as you understand.”
Bertrand spoke briefly then adjusted his hat and looked in the direction of the C-5.
The soldiers of the 22nd Brigade completed the unloading. The tanker was testing the equipment in an open space not far away. Tomorrow, the three M1A2s would appear on the frontlines of the crossfire and become a nightmare for the opposing 27th Armored Brigade.
In the distance, the tracer flew in the air, and gunfire decorated the night sky, creating an unnatural mixture of purple and red.
Kolb looked toward the other side.
He suddenly felt that the sky was like the future of the Ottoman Empire – dark and without any direction…
“The 22nd Armored Brigade stationed in the Batman area launched a counterattack on the Turkish 27th and 29th Armored Brigades yesterday evening. Prior to this, outsiders always believed the 22nd Armored battalion’s supply was exhausted and could no longer resist Turkish government forces. However, the counterattack shocked the world, and the 22nd Armored Brigade didn’t regress but even used the M1A2 tank.”
“… Regarding the appearance of UA equipment in the hands of anti-government forces, Erdogan expressed strong condemnation and called it a betrayal, while the Capitol said that although the tank is UA-based, it source was not from their country. Hill visited Istanbul and started talks with Erdogan in an attempt to appease the Turkish sentiment.”
“Some analysts say the coup in Turkey may cause the UA to find itself in a dilemma. BBC News Live.”
In the morning, Jiang Chen turned on the international news channel as always. While enjoying food from Ayesha, he watched the lively global community.
Natasha walked over with her own plate and sat next to Jiang Chen, across from Ayesha.
“Is it interesting to watch the news?”
“Of course it’s interesting,” Jiang Chen smiled and used a fork to separate an egg, punctured the delicate egg yolk and spread it evenly on the bread. “Someone once told me that Obama and Hill both belonged to the Democratic Party, but the former was part of the Jewish Consortium, while the latter was from an anti-Semitic consortium.”
The KGB apparently heard about this news. Natasha’s expression didn’t show any surprise. Instead, she licked her red lips slightly and joked, “Your way of eating is quite interesting.”
“I think so too. After all, forks are just not as useful as chopsticks. I’ll occasionally try different ways of eating… Ayesha, can you pass me the honey?”
“Mhmm!”
Ayesha bit the bread, put down the fork and freed her right hand to pass the jar of honey to Jiang Chen.
On the TV, the report about Turkey ended and the next report was an alert. An image of VRcity, the latest product from Future Technology, appeared. At the same time, Jiang Chen said, “What are you going to say to me?”
“Why do you think I have something to say?” Natasha looked at Jiang Chen curiously.
“Because it’s already eight o’clock,” Jiang Chen pointed at the clock on the wall with a smile. “If I remember correctly, you should’ve gone to work at seven o’clock.”
After Jiang Chen pointed this out, Natasha put down the knife and fork in her hands.
“Yes, I do have something to discuss with you. Are you interested in selling drones to Russia?”