While the Bulgarian First Army was preparing to defend the Tsarevets Mountains to the death, the Romanian army was still marching slowly in Popovo, 37 kilometers away. This time the Romanian army was advancing at a speed of 20 kilometers per day. The reason for the slow march was because of the
General Lieshan strongly requested. He planned to defeat the main force of the Bulgarian army in the Battle of Tarnovo, which was also supported by Edel.
"Your Highness, we will arrive in Tarnovo the day after tomorrow."
Army Minister General Courtois, who is now the Chief of Staff of the Romanian offensive army, said to Crown Prince Edel who was sitting in a car with him.
Edel complimented General Courtois who was sitting opposite him. "This time we need the command of His Excellency the General to defeat the Bulgarians and make them recognize the facts."
Admiral Courtois did not dare to bear the Crown Prince's compliments. He knew that the Crown Prince was showing favor to the officers of King Carol's faction. Even though they were old arms and legs, their influence was still there.
As the spokesperson of the king in the army, he also knew that the old king was in serious physical condition, and in his heart he had already thought of retiring after the new king came to the throne. So in a war, as long as no major mistakes were made, he would
Make plans to be a good gentleman.
After thinking about this, General Courtois said, "Your Highness, the war now is no better than before. If I knew how to fight ten years ago, I don't know what to do now."
Crown Prince Edel has no good way to deal with this Minister of War who is more slippery than a loach. Since he doesn't want to do this, he can only ask the deputy chief of staff, Major General Prosi, to give him a good advice. It is estimated that this is what Plesan will choose.
The reason for becoming a general.
Two days later, the Romanian army came to the outskirts of Tarnovo (). The defenders of () put up a little resistance when the Romanian army arrived, and then retreated to the Tsarevets Mountain position outside Tarnovo. See
There were dense fortifications on the mountain. At the suggestion of Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Prosi, Edel also ordered the Romanian army to reorganize first, waiting for the 11th Heavy Artillery Regiment protected by the 12th Division.
This heavy artillery regiment is Romania's most lethal 36 210 heavy artillery pieces. This big thing, which weighs nearly 9 tons, was towed in front by ten Dongfeng trucks, and there was also a special engineering regiment to pave the way for it.
Even with such a guarantee, these big guys can only walk 17 or 18 kilometers a day. The Chief of General Staff of Pleshan took this into consideration when formulating the plan. These cannons have been in marching state since the beginning of the war, and there is no
After firing a single artillery shell, there was not a single complaint in the army. Because they all knew that such a large-scale killer weapon could only be used in major battles. Its 120kg shells and ultra-long range of 11,800 meters would make all users use it.
Its people think it's great value for money.
After the Romanian army arrived outside Tarnovo, the main force of the Bulgarian army led by King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria also arrived here. After arriving here, Lieutenant General Savov, Minister of Army, who had arrived here in advance, explained the defense plan.
.
"Now the Romanian army has arrived outside Tarnovo, and I believe they will launch an attack in two days at most. According to my plan, the focus of this operation is to protect Tsarevets Mountain, the commanding height outside Tarnovo.
"
Speaking of this, Lieutenant General Salvo took his baton and tapped Mount Tsarevets on the military map to show how much he valued it. The Bulgarian generals listened carefully and meticulously in the combat conference room.
According to Lieutenant General Salvo's explanation, King Ferdinand I was the same.
Now they all know that Bulgaria is besieged from three sides and can still sustain its management on the front line of Serbia and Greece. However, this is the mentality of Serbia, Greece and Montenegro to let Bulgaria and Romania fight for a while first so that they can step forward and take advantage. What is needed here
Let’s talk about Montenegro. After Romania declared war, it also declared war on Bulgaria. Then they sent 20,000 troops to help Serbia defend Skopje, the largest city in Macedonia. In addition, Romania has conquered one-third of Bulgaria. Here
Every general sitting here knows that Bulgaria has reached its most dangerous moment since independence. Now there is still the slightest chance of them relaxing, so they all muster up their spirits to face the crucial battle.
Lieutenant General Salvo saw the generals listening to his explanation attentively and sighed inwardly before continuing. "Since Tsarevets Mountain is not too big, it is enough to put 70,000 to 80,000 people to defend this key point. I
The plan is to have the 7th Division defend the position across the Yantra River in the east. Since our army occupies Tsarevets Mountain, I believe the pressure on the 7th Division will not be too great. The 4th Division will defend the position in the north from Tsarevets Mountain to Livar.
Hold this section of the defense line. The 11th Division defends Hebia in the west to ensure our retreat. The 3rd Independent Brigade defends the south to prevent Romania from sneaking up on us. The remaining divisions are preparing to reinforce each unit."
After listening to Lieutenant General Salvo's arrangements, those who are attentive will find that the Army Minister's arrangements for this battle can only be quite satisfactory. The Tsarevets Mountain, which will inevitably be attacked by the Romanian army, will be heavily defended, and at the same time, one person will be placed on each side.
The main division also sent a division with good combat capabilities to protect its rear route. To the south, close to the defense line in the Balkan Mountains where it was least likely to be attacked, a newly formed independent brigade was placed, and the other divisions were placed in the city to prepare for support. Same as before.
The wonderful surprise attack between Serbia and Greece during the war was completely two extremes.
After the explanation, Lieutenant General Salvo asked the generals present if they understood.
Based on Lieutenant General Salvo's past achievements and his reputation in managing the army in peacetime, everyone answered in unison, "I understand."
Seeing that many generals were still a little confused about him this time, Lieutenant General Salvo did not want to explain too much, so he told them, "Now that we understand everything, let's break up the meeting."
At this time, a group of generals left the combat conference room one by one like primary school students. At this time, Lieutenant General Salvo shouted to Lieutenant General Kudinchev, commander of the First Army. "Lieutenant General Kudinchev, please stay."
one time."
After Lieutenant General Kudinchev heard what the Minister of War, Lieutenant General Salvo, said, he turned and walked up to him and asked, "Your Excellency, Salvo, is there anything else?"
Hearing Lieutenant General Kudinchev's question, Lieutenant General Salvo rubbed his hands a little embarrassedly and said. "Lieutenant General Kudinchev, since the Romanian army is expected to launch an attack in the next two days, and the third
The First Army is our absolute main force, and since you are also relatively familiar with the Charevets Mountain position, we probably won’t be able to replace you this time.”
Hearing that the Minister of War came to him for the previous promise to change defenses, Lieutenant General Kudinchev said magnanimously. "Isn't this a promise based on the Romanian attack? Now we are not under attack, and there is indeed no
There are troops more suitable to defend there than us, so let’s try out how strong the Romanian army is first.”
Hearing that Lieutenant General Kudinchev didn't care at all, Lieutenant General Salvo also said happily. "Then I will hand over the key points of the battle on Tsarevets Mountain to you. I hope you can let me know."
It becomes like a nail, hammered into our hands."
"Don't worry, I will."
After Lieutenant General Kudinchev finished speaking, he strode out the door. He could see Ferdinand I still waiting nearby, and it seemed that he had important matters to discuss with the Minister of War.
Sure enough, after Lieutenant General Kudinchev left, Ferdinand I couldn't wait to ask, "General Salvo, why can't we raid the Romanian army this time like last time?"
Looking at King Ferdinand, whose face was full of reasons, Lieutenant General Salvo helplessly stated the reason for his unwillingness. "Your Majesty, we were able to raid the two armies of Seychelles because their training and morale were not as good as
We, and we are superior to them in machine guns and artillery. When we concentrate all our firepower and attack one point, even if they are on guard, they will not think that we are so courageous. The Romanian army is different. They do the same to us from time to time.
It is a mobilization system, but a standing army. This makes their battlefield response speed and adaptability much higher than ours. And we can't compare with our weapons. I know them carefully. In Romania, one division has more than 200 rifles.
Machine guns, we all know the power of this weapon in defense and offense. The method we used before can only be used once. If it is used again, it will cause huge losses, so there is basically no possibility of winning this battle. And I have said before
I have calculated that if we launch a surprise attack, the success rate is only 5%, which is too low and I cannot take the risk."
After listening to Lieutenant General Salvo's explanation, Ferdinand I expressed his worries. "But we are far behind Romania in artillery. They have almost 900 artillery, while we have less than 800.
Artillery. There is no way to compare in terms of caliber. We mainly have small-caliber artillery, and they are all medium- and large-caliber. This time they also brought a 36-piece 210-caliber heavy artillery regiment. You also know this kind of heavy artillery.
It is so powerful that every one of our current fortifications can withstand its blow."
After hearing the king's words, Lieutenant General Salvo knew what the king meant. It was the difference between slow death and early death. But he had no other way now. After all, everyone could see the gap between the two armies.
Lieutenant General Salvo sighed and said, "Then we can only defend Tarnovo with death determination."
Hearing that the Minister of War planned to defend this city with human lives, it was impossible for Bulgaria to abandon it.
Ferdinand I also knew that this was the last resort, and he now deeply regretted not bringing Romania into his camp.
But if he knew the price tag in Romania, he would probably give up this idea.
PS The steamed buns have finally been coded, everyone should be happy.
