Chapter 216: The Siege

Chapter 216: The Siege

Three days after the Tunisian rebels surrounded Tunis from the north, west, and south, Jamil stood on a hill overlooking the grand city of Tunis. His expression was stern as he raised his hand and pointed toward the Janissary forces below. "Give the order," he commanded. "Launch the full attack!"

The sound of horns echoed for miles around, as several formations of the rebel army, under the guidance of their officers, silently began their slow advance toward the city.

On the western heights of the city, the Janissary commander, Koja, stood with a telescope in hand, frowning as he muttered to himself, "That cursed fire... is this where the great Janissaries will meet their end?"

Under normal circumstances, Koja was confident that even if the enemy had twice as many men, he could still defeat them. However, a little over half a month ago, a fire had mysteriously broken out in the city's armory—possibly set by Berbers living in the city—destroying over 70% of their weapons.

The Janissaries who had previously insisted on returning to the city to live had been required to store their weapons in the armory due to the attempted assassination of the Bey. After the fire, half of the soldiers were left without weapons.

Around the same time, the rebel forces from various regions began to converge on Tunis after a series of victories. The wealthy Janissaries, learning of the army's lack of weapons, hurriedly gathered their wealth and fled to Tripoli or Egypt, further demoralizing Koja's remaining troops.

"In less than a week, we've had over a thousand deserters. These cowardly fools!" Koja sighed deeply. "With over a century of Janissary power, if we had been determined and brave in quelling the rebellion, how could we have ended up surrounded like this?"

"Paşa?" his adjutant whispered, noticing his distraction. "The enemy is approaching."

Koja nodded and waved his hand indifferently. "Fire the cannons."

"Yes, Paşa."

On the front lines of the Janissary defenses, a dozen cannons roared to life, their cannonballs screaming through the air and crashing into the ranks of the native army below.

"Ahhh—!" came the screams of the wounded as bodies were torn apart by the cannonballs, sending chunks of flesh and blood flying. The already chaotic ranks of the native army descended into further disarray.

The officers, many of whom had been mere farmers or merchants until recently, struggled to contain their own fear as they swung their scimitars and shouted at their men: "Hold the line!"

"Don't break formation! And no retreating!"

"Keep moving forward!"

Through their efforts, the advancing lines managed to maintain some semblance of order. However, the Janissaries' cannons thundered once more.

In truth, these solid cannonballs weren't causing massive casualties. Even a direct hit at the best angle might only kill a dozen men; more often, they claimed just one or two lives, or missed entirely. But the deafening roar of the cannons and the ever-present fear of being struck by an unseen cannonball tested the soldiers' resolve to the limit.

These native troops, who had never undergone proper training, were not equipped to handle such pressure.

After enduring four or five rounds of cannon fire, most of the soldiers began to break ranks and flee—especially those covered in blood and brain matter, who ran the fastest.

The officers, after a few futile attempts to rally their men with curses, soon joined the retreat.

A few soldiers, driven by a moment of fervor, charged toward the Janissary lines shouting the names of the Prophet and God, only to be met with a disciplined volley of musket fire.

Two days later, Jamil stood with a grim expression as his officers reported the casualty figures. He muttered under his breath, "Over twenty thousand soldiers, and after more than a dozen assaults, not once did we get within fifty paces of the enemy..."

He had assumed that this battle would go like the others before it, and that they would quickly breach Tunis. But after losing over four hundred men, they hadn't even touched the Janissaries' first line of defense.

"Damn those cannons! If only we had cannons, we could crush those devils!" he suddenly shouted, his voice filled with frustration.

One of the officers stepped closer and whispered, "General, perhaps we should try asking Isaac Paşa for help."

Since becoming the leader of the uprising, the generous "Zaganos Bey" had reverted to his real name, Isaac Paşa.

At dusk, as the fading light brought a temporary halt to the fighting and the soldiers returned to their camps to prepare their evening meals, Jamil gathered his key officers and went to see Isaac Paşa.

"Cannons?" Isaac frowned and shook his head. "Those aren't easy to come by."

Jamil pleaded urgently, "Paşa, the enemy's cannons are wreaking havoc on us. Without equal weapons, we won't stand a chance. Please, you must help us..."

Isaac hesitated, then replied, "The only cannons in all of Tunisia belong to the French. But this is a struggle between us Tunisians and the Ottoman Janissaries. It has nothing to do with them. They might not be willing to get involved."

Jamil quickly countered, "How can it not concern them? We are all brothers, descendants of Rome. I believe they won't just stand by and do nothing!"

The other officers nodded in agreement.

Isaac seemed to be persuaded, though reluctantly. "Very well, we can ask our 'Roman brothers' for help. But it would be wise to bring Sheikh Alai with us. His great influence should be of some help."

"Agreed. I'll personally ask him to join us!"

The next day, a delegation of more than ten Tunisian natives arrived at the camp of the Imperial Guard. Berthier warmly welcomed them.

Sheikh Alai had now become a leading religious figure among the Tunisian natives, earning great prestige and authority during the uprising. Whether or not he had originally agreed to it, his interests were now firmly tied to those of the rebels, and he no longer questioned who had used his name to issue the prophecy.

On the contrary, he now actively advocated for the rebels.

After Sheikh Alai explained the difficulties the rebels were facing and asked for help from their "brothers," Berthier earnestly replied, "Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to help our brothers in need.

"Not only will we provide cannons, but I can also send officers to help you command your troops. I'm sure their experience will prove invaluable."

This was all part of Joseph's plan—to make the Tunisian natives realize that they couldn't defeat the Janissaries on their own. Without the help of their "Roman brothers," victory would be impossible.

Moved to tears, Jamil bowed deeply, overcome with gratitude. "We will never forget your kindness! We will never forget the help from our French brothers!"

The accompanying officers and several of the most respected native tribal leaders also bowed to Berthier, repeatedly expressing their heartfelt thanks.

Outside Tunis

Two artillery companies of the Imperial Guard had already set up six 8-pound cannons at their designated positions. Behind them, rows of neatly arranged ammunition boxes stood ready.

"Load!"

"Aim!"

Under the command of their gunners, the artillerymen swiftly completed their preparations.

"Fire!"

A thunderous roar echoed as six cannonballs flew straight toward the Janissary artillery positions.

With the Imperial Guard's cannons joining the fray, the battle quickly shifted in favor of the rebels. Although they had fewer cannons than the enemy, the skill of the French artillerymen far surpassed that of the Ottomans.

After just a few rounds of calibration, one of the cannonballs struck an enemy cannon dead-on from over 700 paces away. The impact was so powerful that the cannon barrel was thrown off its carriage, killing several Tunisian artillerymen behind it before landing on a rock more than 20 meters away. The cannon barrel was now deformed and unusable.

As more cannonballs rained down near the Janissary artillery positions, the Ottoman artillerymen abandoned their cannons and fled in panic.

"Praise be to God!" Jamil, watching through his telescope, was overjoyed at the sight. He turned to one of his officers and said, "Give the order! Prepare for a full frontal assault!"

"It would be unwise to rush the attack now," the French officer who accompanied him quickly interjected.

"Oh? Then what do you suggest?" Jamil asked.

The French officer did not offer much of an explanation to Jamil. Instead, he bypassed him and had his messenger issue a series of orders.

Flag bearers began signaling, and the French officers in the front line swiftly mobilized the rebel troops.

On the western front, a thin line of infantry advanced steadily toward the Janissary positions—now walking with much more confidence, as the threat of enemy artillery had been neutralized.

Meanwhile, dozens of rebel columns appeared on the southern flank of the Janissary defenses, quickly advancing toward their side. The French artillery also redirected their fire to support the attack on the Janissary flank.

"What are they trying to do?" Koja muttered to himself, lowering his telescope. He was surprised to see the rebels, who had been quiet for several days, suddenly attacking with such coordination.

After quickly analyzing the situation, Koja concluded that the enemy forces on the front were likely a diversion, with the main assault targeting his left flank.

He immediately turned to his adjutant and ordered, "Send Orhan's men to reinforce the left flank."

"Yes, Pasha!"

Orhan's group of over a thousand men, previously stationed in the center, quickly regrouped and began moving to the left.

At that moment, four to five thousand rebels suddenly emerged on the right flank of the Janissary defenses, forming six ranks of infantry and steadily advancing.

Koja was alarmed. "Those cunning rebels! This must be their main force!"

He quickly pulled another 500 men from the front and redirected half of his reserves to the right flank. He even moved his command post to the north side to better oversee the battle.

However, the infantry on both flanks never got close enough to engage. Instead, a cavalry unit of over 300 riders suddenly broke out, taking advantage of the confusion caused by the frequent movements within the Janissary ranks, and charged swiftly toward several of their artillery positions.

Although these horsemen, who were herders by trade, knew little about formations or swordsmanship, they were highly skilled riders.

They reached the Janissary cannons with great speed and dismounted. The leading officer shouted orders according to their prior instructions:

"Mehmet, take your men and destroy those cannons! Everyone else, keep watch and be ready for enemy infantry!"

"Yes, sir!"

Forty or so soldiers immediately formed a defensive line with their scimitars, while another group of about ten men surrounded the cannons. They hammered iron spikes into the touch holes, effectively rendering the cannons useless.

With their task complete, they remounted their horses and swiftly returned to their camp.

Within minutes, the rebels on all three fronts began to pull back without engaging the Janissaries in direct combat. It wasn't until then that Koja received reports from his men that their cannons had been completely destroyed by the rebels.

Jamil was stunned by the French officer's tactics—without any direct combat and with minimal casualties, they had neutralized all of the Janissaries' cannons in just over half an hour!

"That was like something out of a legend, like the work of the great Saladin!" he exclaimed in awe .

"If I had known we had such skilled allies, I wouldn't have tried to command the battle myself. We could have driven these Janissary thieves out of Tunis years ago!"

If the French officer had known what Jamil was thinking, he might have been a bit embarrassed. These tactics were nothing more than standard maneuvers taught at the Paris Military Academy. He had simply adapted them to the situation on the battlefield, yet here he was being praised as a war god.

With their cannons destroyed, the Janissaries found themselves at a severe disadvantage.

The rebels continuously bombarded them, causing minimal casualties but severely demoralizing the Janissaries. After all, facing an enemy you can't strike back at is enough to break anyone's spirit.

Finally, after five days of enduring the relentless bombardment, Koja, realizing his troops' morale was about to collapse, gathered all his forces for a desperate breakout attempt.

But the rebels, following the French officers' orders, had formed an impenetrable defensive line.

Although the native soldiers were not the best fighters, they could at least shoot while standing still.

With their overwhelming numbers and artillery support, they managed to repel the Janissaries' furious assault.

From his position at the rear, the French officer observed the scene through his telescope and breathed a long sigh of relief.

He had kept a reserve force of over 3,000 men ready, just in case these new recruits failed to hold the line.

"It seems they can be trusted," the officer said with a smile, turning to his messenger. "Or maybe it's just that the enemy's attack was too weak."

Jamil, hearing the officer's words through his translator, quickly stepped forward with a look of utmost respect. "No, honorable Pasha, I believe it is all thanks to your brilliant command!"

Note:

Saladin: Saladin (1137–1193) was a Kurdish leader, a renowned military strategist, and the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt. He is famous for his leadership and military prowess in resisting the Crusaders, and he is celebrated as a hero in both the Muslim and Christian worlds for his chivalry and leadership.

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