Through the words of this garrison commander and his subsequent gestures on the map, Tukharovsky roughly outlined the current situation and the comparison of forces in his mind:
As of the third day after the start of the war, which is today, the allied forces of the Janik Beylik and the Kandar Beylik had captured the entire Batlama Stream, which previously served as the border, and was the river section mentioned by the commander. Fortunately, the awakened defenders, relying on the cover of night and other relatively complete fortifications, stubbornly held several lines of defense built on their highlands and capes in the area, preventing the Turk army from advancing another step.
However, even so, facing an enemy force several times their own, the defenders were already somewhat overwhelmed by today. If reinforcements did not arrive in time, the commander even planned to discuss with his officers whether to temporarily abandon the cape and retreat to the highland forests, defending from a position of strength.
Having sorted this out, Tukharovsky suddenly felt grateful that His Majesty had mobilized the army in time, otherwise, the place welcoming him would likely have been east of Giresun.
After he finished thinking, the Army Commander took the map from the commander's hand, pointed to the current battle location, and quickly indicated the military strength comparison before and after the arrival of reinforcements: "According to the military intelligence obtained from previous engagements, and the information from the intelligence department that His Majesty had us know before coming, it can be confirmed that the enemy's numbers should be around eight thousand. And two days ago, you here had a force of less than a thousand, so being able to hold out until now with the previously built fortifications is already unexpected."
"You have done very well, and next," a determined look flashed in the young Commander's eyes, "it is up to us."
Although the Bosporus Army reinforcements had arrived before noon, it wasn't until that afternoon that the Janik and Kandar allied forces remained unaware of the reinforcements, as the Bosporus Army had not yet actively attacked and the enemy's intelligence system was rudimentary. The only thing that surprised their soldiers was that, for some unknown reason, they felt the number of defenders on the opposite side seemed to have increased slightly compared to the previous two days.
This intelligence reached the ears of several Turk generals commanding the troops, making them somewhat concerned. After careful discussion, they decided to report the matter to Janik Bey, who was currently stationed in the central army.
As for this Bey personally coming to the battlefield, it was mainly to personally supervise and command the battle, and incidentally, to show their determination to capture this important town. Of course, as one of the two main leading parties of the allied forces, for his own safety, he did not go directly to the front line, but commanded from the central army.
When these generals reported this intelligence, Janik Bey Emir Janikoglu was wearing armor, performing his prayers and reciting scriptures.
It wasn't until this Bey finished his prayers that these generals dared to send a messenger to disturb him.
The subsequent process was relatively smooth. Facing the generals' request for an audience, the Emir was very concerned. After they entered and he listened to the generals' reports, the Emir indeed felt something peculiar, "How to say it, it is indeed a bit strange. It is possible that their reinforcements have arrived."
"Then, Bey, what should we do?" asked an uneasy Turk general with a thick black beard, whose surname was Kermanoglu.
"Let me think." When asked this, the Emir began to consider whether it was reasonable to continue the fierce assault as before.
As the Emir pondered this, the Turk allied forces, who were fiercely attacking the enemy's fortifications, suddenly noticed that fully equipped, sharply armed heavy infantry and spearmen were emerging from the enemy's ranks. Unlike the defenders they had fought for nearly three days, these troops were not only well-drilled and trained, but their morale and spirit were also more robust and ample than the defenders the attacking side had previously encountered, and their counterattack momentum was even sharper.
Facing the assault of these several units, the Kandar commanding general actually felt a trace of fear: previously, when he dealt with various armies in the Pontus region, most of the Christian troops he encountered were of varying quality and laughable, even the current defenders were only; the only exception was the group of taxi soldiers recruited and trained by the Ottoman Sultanate from across the Sea of Marmara.
But this time, the group they encountered not only had high morale, but also advanced and retreated in an orderly manner with well-thought-out plans. Even if the attacking side used their customary cavalry archery to bring them down, others still advanced without changing their expressions, delivering a fatal blow to their relaxed opponents. This fierce tactic truly made the Turk soldiers feel a bit strained and overwhelmed.
He had not seen such fighting will often in his years. As for the various forces on the southern shore of the Black Sea, it was even rarer. If he had to find a similar example, it would be the elite Ottoman troops who were invincible in both Europe and Asia Minor.
As the allied commander of the attacking side assessed the battle situation, the Bosporus Army's Army Commander, Tukharovsky, also personally rode his warhorse during the reinforcements' counterattack, commanding from a slightly elevated position at the rear of the front line.
After overlooking parts of the close-quarters battlefield, he couldn't help but let out a huge sigh of relief in his heart: the Janik and Kandar's combat power was much weaker than the White Sheep main force they had encountered not long ago.
Originally, according to the original plan, he would only send a portion of peasant infantry to test the enemy's strength and then decide on the method of counterattack. But who knew that the enemy had already shown signs of being overwhelmed just by engaging with these peasant soldiers. Since that was the case, there was no need for him to hold back.
Thinking of this, a rare confident smile appeared on the Army Commander's face, "Let Balin lead his legion to act in advance," he swept his right hand forward, "Hallelujah, this is God's will."
Upon receiving the commander's instructions, the Bosporus Army was all invigorated. Soon, less than half an hour later, in addition to the nearly one thousand peasant soldiers already on the battlefield, the remaining seven thousand Bosporus Army reinforcements charged directly from the rear, powerfully and orderly swinging their spears, lances, swords, and sabers at the Turk army opposite, scattering their unprepared vanguard.
"What?!" Seeing the defending side make such a big move, the Kandar army's commanding general among the attacking allied forces was completely startled. He quickly accepted this fact and immediately ordered his taxi soldiers to switch from defense to offense and hold their ground.
In contrast to this Kandar general, who was barely calm and reacted in time, the other commanding general in the allied forces, the Janik commanding general, was completely bewildered by the sudden change in the situation and had no idea what to do, causing the allied forces' formation to begin to crumble.
Just at this moment, the Bosporus Army pulled out several more small field cannons from the rear. After loading iron shot and gunpowder, the artillerymen immediately lit the fuses and fired into the enemy's positions. Under the cover of powerful artillery fire, the fierce counterattack of the Bosporus Army completely broke the morale of the allied forces, causing them to abandon their positions and retreat in disarray around 4 PM that afternoon. Their efforts to advance the front line also came to naught under the enemy's counterattack.