Chapter 731 Romania's Victory
"Another piece of news." Gallieni's tone turned to teasing:
"Early this morning, three Romanian armies crossed the Carpathian Pass into Transylvania in three directions."
"The Austro-Hungarian division stationed there was vulnerable, and the Romanian army won the victory."
"Just now, the King of Romania sent me a telegram personally, saying that they have advanced 13 kilometers!"
Charles smiled slightly. The King of Romania sent a telegram personally?
Is this a protest against Gallieni?
No, Charles thought then, the King was making a show of force against Charles.
Ferdinand I was unable to contact Charles directly; the only person he could contact was War Minister Gallieni.
But the king knew that Gallieni would pass the news on to Charles.
It means: "Didn't you say I couldn't win this battle? Now, I have won!"
…
The Romanian troops set out last night.
This was the plan of the commander, Lieutenant General Averescu.
"Your Majesty." Lieutenant General Averescu pointed at the map and analyzed:
"Although we have declared war on Austria-Hungary, they are unsure when we will attack."
"I think we should hurry up, especially since the Austro-Hungarian front is being breached by Russia."
"The intelligence I received was that the five Austro-Hungarian divisions stationed in Transylvania had just withdrawn from the front line, with a total strength of less than 70,000 men, and they were exhausted."
Ferdinand I nodded in agreement: "Then, we will launch the attack early tomorrow morning."
"No, Your Majesty," Lieutenant General Averescu objected. "Not tomorrow morning, but tonight."
"Tonight?" Ferdinand I frowned.
Many of the Romanian troops were temporarily recruited half a month ago. They only received simple shooting training and had never conducted night training, not even shooting.
Although Ferdinand I knew little about military affairs, he knew that night battles were more deadly to poorly trained troops.
He worried that it was too risky.
Lieutenant General Averescu warned: "Your Majesty, the pass is easy to defend but difficult to attack. If we wait for the Austro-Hungarian troops to react and send troops to garrison, we may never be able to pass or suffer heavy casualties."
Ferdinand I was silent for a while and thought that Lieutenant General Averescu was right.
The declaration of war was only delivered in the afternoon, and the attack was launched a few hours later at night. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was definitely not prepared.
Thinking of this, Ferdinand I agreed to the battle plan.
Before Lieutenant General Averescu set out, Ferdinand I repeatedly told him: "If we are blocked by the enemy, do not just attack blindly. Waiting until daybreak is also an option. After all, we have the advantage in manpower."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Lieutenant General Averescu replied.
But he was actually confident because he had his troops scout the terrain and mountain roads of the pass before the battle. Even if they were blocked, the troops would be able to go around the enemy's rear via the mountain roads.
But of course, Lieutenant General Averescu would not say that.
Because this is the tactic from the Shire.
…
After Lieutenant General Aviles rushed to the front line to command, Ferdinand I became restless in the palace.
What will be the outcome of this battle?
What if I lose like the queen said?
No, no, definitely not.
The Russians were attacking head-on, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire had been forced to flee in all directions. There was no reason why the Romanian army would lose to these defeated troops.
At this time, the church bell rang at one o'clock in the morning. Ferdinand I's heart suddenly skipped a beat. The time to attack had come.
Faint sounds of cannon fire were heard from the north, scaring the servant into crying out in surprise.
(Note: The Romanian capital is less than 50 kilometers from the front line)
But after just over ten minutes the phone rang. Ferdinand I ran up to him like the wind, and before the servant could answer the phone, he snatched it away.
"What's the situation?" Ferdinand I asked impatiently.
"We won, Your Majesty, we won." Lieutenant General Averescu's excited voice came over the phone: "The enemy was vulnerable. They ran away as soon as we opened fire, faster than we thought."
Lieutenant General Averescu even felt a little lost.
Why don't these guys resist? Even if they resist for half an hour, my infiltration troops will be able to get behind you!
Ferdinand I jumped up with excitement. All his worries were swept away and replaced by ecstasy.
"I know it!" he shouted, waving his fist. "I know we can win. No one can stop us because we are the army of justice."
Then he gave an order to Lieutenant General Averescu in a loud and confident voice: "Go forward, General, your name and achievements will be engraved on the monument of Transylvania. Drive the invaders out of our land, and do not allow any mercy!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Lieutenant General Averescu responded loudly.
After hanging up the phone, Ferdinand I was so excited that he shouted and jumped in the living room like a madman.
Then he thought of the queen.
The next second, he took two steps at a time and walked towards the bedroom.
The king lost his usual elegance due to his excitement. He pushed open the door, turned on the light, and shouted to Queen Mary who was sleeping, "We won, Mary, we won!"
Queen Marie was startled. She sat up from the bed with a cry of surprise, and was relieved when she saw that it was Ferdinand I.
However, when she reacted, her color instantly turned pale: "You, you mean, we attacked?"
"Yes." Ferdinand I clenched his fists in front of him and trembled with excitement: "Not only did we attack, we won, Marie, the Austro-Hungarian army was vulnerable, they fled."
"God." Queen Mary looked at the king in disbelief: "Can't you see that this is a trap?"
"What? No, this is not a trap," Ferdinand I retorted, "This is because the Austro-Hungarian army was not prepared."
"Your Majesty." Queen Marie stood up and walked towards the king: "Have you read the document I gave you?"
"I have read some of it," Ferdinand I replied, "but it is meaningless..."
"Your Majesty," Queen Marie interrupted Ferdinand I. "There is a paragraph in it that contains Charles' analysis of this battle. He believes that the Germans will lure our main force to the plains of Transylvania to encircle and annihilate us. Then no one will be able to save Romania."
Ferdinand I laughed:
"Charles? Charles again! He's in Paris, Marie, fighting the Germans on the Western Front now."
"And this is the Eastern Front, this is Romania."
"He knows nothing about the situation here. The facts are not what he thinks. I am sure of that!"
At this moment, Queen Marie realized that she could not convince Ferdinand I.
Charles had guessed even this; he had known in Paris that no one could convince the king.
This was indeed the case. The king, who had no combat experience, was overwhelmed by victory and was like a child who was unable to stop eating candy for the first time!
(End of this chapter)
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