Chapter 720: The Arrow is on the String
Queen Mary was stunned when she heard this.
She saw it not from what Charles and Gallieni said, but from their expressions and eyes.
Being good at observing people's facial expressions, she knew that it was a feeling of helplessness, speechlessness, and inability to help.
Words may lie, but eyes cannot.
This made her realize that the Romanian army could very well be defeated by the Germans without any effort.
This is the judgment of Gallieni and "France Mars", which is probably correct, whether they are willing to believe it or not.
"General, Minister." Queen Marie's eyes moved between the two of them, and she said sincerely, "Please help Romania. She is an ally of France. Helping Romania is beneficial to both of us."
Gallieni pondered for a moment, stood up and looked around at his desk, and when he came back he had a map in his hand.
He unfolded the map before Queen Mary and pointed at it and said:
"It is not completely impossible, Your Majesty."
“The Carpathians are a natural barrier for Romania.”
"If your army only needs to defend the mountains and passes with all its strength, I think even the German army will be wary."
(The above picture shows the direction of the Carpathian Mountains. The eastern part of the mountains is Romania, and the western part is Transylvania, which Ferdinand I hoped to retake.)
Queen Mary was surprised and delighted: "Really? That's great."
But she was still not reassured and turned her gaze to Charles.
She wanted to hear Charles's opinion. Charles was the god of war, while Gallieni was more of a paper talker.
Charles chose to remain silent. He neither agreed nor disagreed. He just pretended not to see it and did not express his opinion.
Queen Mary looked puzzled, but did not dare to ask more questions.
After a while, Gallieni lost his patience and looked at Charles in confusion: "What's the problem?"
"No, that's all right, General," Charles answered.
“This plan is indeed feasible.”
"The area near the Carpathians is not suitable for armored forces to fight, but it also reduces the impact of aircraft."
"As long as we concentrate our forces on the pass and deploy troops on the mountain to guard the high ground, it will be very difficult for the Germans to pass through."
It's not that the Germans "couldn't get through".
Instead, the Germans had to pay heavy casualties to get through.
By then the Germans would calculate: the casualties on the Eastern and Western Fronts had been heavy, and if the victory in Romania was still a tragic one, what would be the point?
In particular, Charles also taught the Romanians the "reverse slope tactics", and ultimately the German attack could only be a "man-to-man fight".
Queen Marie was overjoyed: "Then I will send this plan back to Romania immediately..."
Gallieni stopped Queen Marie who was about to leave, his eyes fixed on Charles, and asked in a deep voice: "And then?"
He knew that Charles had more to say, otherwise he wouldn't have had this attitude.
As expected, Charles sighed softly: "But this is impossible, General. The king will not agree."
Gallieni and Queen Marie asked in unison: "Why?"
"Think about it," Charles replied calmly. "On what grounds did His Majesty declare war on Austria-Hungary? On what grounds did he mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops? The march into Transylvania was already on the verge of being launched. He would not agree to do nothing and take a defensive stance!"
Gallieni and Queen Marie were stunned; they had not considered this.
This is indeed the case.
The declaration of war was based on the desire to recover Transylvania, as was the call to arms for domestic military and civilians.
Simply put, he made a bold statement both internally and externally: "Romanian citizens, unite and let Transylvania return to our arms. This is the mission and glory of all of us, and victory will surely belong to us!"
The morale of the Romanian military and civilians was greatly boosted and they were ready to sharpen their swords.
And you tell me you're here to defend the Carpathians?
If so, what's the point of declaring war?
If we don't declare war and don't defend, no one will come to attack us!
Gallieni nodded secretly. He was only considering the issue from a military perspective and did not consider political needs.
And political needs are the key to everything!
Queen Mary stood up with a bang: "No, I will try it anyway. Maybe the king will agree to our plan."
Then she maintained her aristocratic demeanor and bowed gently to the two of them: "Please allow me to take my leave for a moment."
As he said this, he hurried to the telecommunications room, apparently to send a message to the king.
But after a while Queen Mary came back, looking pale.
"You guessed it right." Queen Mary smiled bitterly: "The king refused to accept my opinion. He has recalled Lieutenant General Averescu and may launch an attack on Transylvania in the next two days."
Queen Marie looked at Charles for help: "Is there any other solution?"
Charles spread his hands and said, "As I said before, with the Romanian army's equipment and combat effectiveness, if you choose to fight the German army on the plains without the cover of the mountains, it would be no different from seeking death. No one can save you."
Gallieni nodded: "Your main force will be defeated west of the Carpathian Mountains, which will result in you not having enough troops to defend. Then..."
Then there is no need to say more, Romania will be destroyed.
Queen Mary's expression changed again and again. She walked back and forth anxiously in the open space:
"No, I can't let this happen. I, I should go back and persuade the king."
"I'm sorry, Minister, General Charles."
"I think I should go back right away!"
Gallieni nodded: "Of course."
After Queen Marie left, Gallieni sighed and asked Charles: "Do you think the queen can persuade the king?"
"No." Charles shook his head: "The most fundamental reason is that the king believes he has a chance of winning."
Gallieni agreed: "Yes, the king has always been unclear about his position. Because he does not know the gap in strength between the enemy and us, he wishfully imagines the huge benefits after victory, and the admiration of thousands of people and even his name in history, but never thinks about the misery of failure."
"So," Gallieni said with a hint of helplessness in his eyes, "Romania's oil and food belong to the Germans, and the war has to continue, right?"
Charles said nothing, which he was actually happy to see.
As the saying goes, "When the rabbit is dead, the dog is cooked." Once the foreign enemy Germany is completely defeated, General Charles will be stripped of his power.
At this time, Charles had not had time to consolidate his position, nor had he had time to develop and cash in on his military power in the political and commercial directions. Even if the Germans surrendered, Charles would not agree.
However, it was also not in Charles' interest to allow the German Army to become uncontrollably powerful.
Charles took the map from Gallieni and after thinking for a while, he replied, "Not necessarily. There is still room for maneuver."
(In response to readers' requests, I have posted a map of the Eastern Front. The red line in the above map is the defense line map of 1915. You can see that at this time, because Romania did not participate in the war and was a neutral country, there was a gap in the Romanian part of the defense line. Historically, Romania declared war in August 1916, and three months later, on December 1, the Romanian capital was captured. So in 1917, when the brown line was drawn, the gap in Romania on the Eastern Front was filled.)
(End of this chapter)
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