In the current situation where both Germany and Bulgaria are unable to send reinforcements in a short period of time, Austria-Hungary can only face Romania's offensive alone first. But the good news for Austria-Hungary is that Romania's general mobilization has just begun, and it still has time to mobilize reinforcements.
Remedy. For the Austro-Hungarian army in Transylvania, the most critical thing now is to block the offensive of the Romanian army, especially Deva, which has railway transportation with Romania.
The Austro-Hungarian garrison currently stationed in Deva will certainly not sit still and wait for death when facing the Romanian offensive. When Petroshani was raided, the 17th Division of the Austro-Hungarian Army (Hungarian Division) stationed in Deva
Emergency mobilization was already underway, and the first batch of reinforcements was dispatched an hour later.
The headquarters of the 10th Army located in the capital Cluj, which governs the area (established in July 2017 to prepare for Romania, and the commander is Lieutenant General Sam Haza), also immediately dispatched two divisions of reinforcements to Deva.
The response of the Austro-Hungarian army was not unpleasant, but the 35th Division of the Austro-Hungarian Army, which was raided, still could not wait for reinforcements. When the leading troops of the 17th Division were still 10 kilometers away from Petroshani, the 35th Division was
Kicked out Petroshani.
The 35th Division was defeated in less than a day. This result made the commander of the 17th Division, Major General Stepan, extremely jealous. Therefore, after catching up with the retreating 35th Division, the 17th Division chose to stay in Kazakhstan, 20 kilometers away from Petroshani, for the sake of stability.
Cege deployed its defenses and awaited reinforcements.
Commander Stepan's decision relieved Lieutenant General Ankodar, the commander of the Romanian 1st Guards Division who had just captured Petrosani. Because it was a raid, the ammunition carried by the 1st Guards Division was not much, and in the
During the raid, in order to ensure the success rate of the capture, the 1st Guards Division increased the intensity of its use of firepower. Therefore, after driving the Austro-Hungarian army out of Petroshani, there was not much ammunition left, so fortunately the ban
The 1st Wei Division's previous performance had frightened its opponents.
Fortunately, the 1st Guards Division was replenished with ammunition that night, and reinforcements from the 19th Division also arrived in Petroshani on the 6th the next day, and its division commander, Major General Dotrid, arrived with the first batch of troops.
After passing through the streets where the smell of gunpowder smoke had not yet been extinguished, Major General Dotred came to the headquarters of the 1st Guards Division in a small manor in Petroshani.
"Now that your 19th Division has arrived, we don't have to worry about the Austro-Hungarian army's counterattack."
At the gate of the manor, Lieutenant General Ankodar, commander of the 1st Guards Division, warmly came forward to greet Major General Dotred.
"Your 1st Guards Division is still so powerful. It only took half a day to defeat a division. Such combat power is the example we should learn from."
Both division commanders caught each other and praised each other fiercely, but Major General Dotred only did it because of Lieutenant General Ankodar's enthusiasm. Although he couldn't see why the Lieutenant General was so enthusiastic about him, who couldn't say nice things?
Well. And Lieutenant General Ankodar did have other reasons.
Soon the two division commanders walked into the headquarters with their respective officers. After sending away their respective officers, Lieutenant General Ankodar revealed his purpose.
"Major General Dotred, do you want to do something big?"
Lieutenant General Ankodar's straight-to-the-point words moved Major General Dotred's heart. "What's the plan?"
Lieutenant General Ankodar walked to the battle map, pointed to the position of Hateg and said, "The enemies in front of us are the Austro-Hungarian 17th Division and the 35th Division. Among them, the 35th Division suffered many minor casualties.
There is an infantry regiment. According to intelligence, the enemy has transferred two divisions from Cluj, but it will take them three days to reach Deva."
Taking advantage of Lieutenant General Ankodar's breath, Major General Dottrid interjected. "Do you want to take advantage of these three days to defeat the Austro-Hungarian army in Hatceg and seize Deva before the enemy's reinforcements arrive?"
Major General Dotred said what he was thinking, and Lieutenant General Ankodar said in surprise. "Yes, the goal of our Southern Army Group in the first stage is to capture Deva. If we wait until the army gathers together, we can certainly capture the target.
But we can't show the advantage of taking the lead. So this is a fighter plane specially prepared for us. If we give up, we will regret it."
Lieutenant General Ankodar's words made Major General Dotred unable to help but speak. "But there are only three days, which is too demanding for us, so this battle will not be easy to fight at all."
Hearing that Major General Dotred had concerns about three days, Lieutenant General Ankodar continued to explain. "This plan is a bit risky, but high risks bring high returns. As long as we can win Deva alone, we will win this battle
It will be the best.”
Lieutenant General Ankodar's encouraging words made Major General Dotred couldn't help but think about it. "I want to think about it."
Major General Dotred's hesitant words made Lieutenant General Ankodar say anxiously. "The opportunity is fleeting, so you have to hurry up."
Major General Dotred knew that if the intelligence was correct, this would indeed be an opportunity for the two of them. He and Lieutenant General Ankodar's two divisions faced off against the two Austro-Hungarian divisions. He was still very confident. And this was a temporary conclusion.
Fighters cannot wait for approval from above, so they need to make their own decisions.
Speaking of which, Major General Dotrid can be regarded as a very capable general in the Romanian army. However, unfortunately, due to bad luck, he failed to perform well in the Second Balkan War, so the first expansion after the war failed.
Become a division commander (the Romanian army has different evaluations of divisions trained before World War I and divisions trained after World War I, and their status as division commanders is also different.) So Major General Dotrid wanted to make a great achievement.
Let his colleagues take a look, and Lieutenant General Ankodar's plan made him excited.
Major General Dotrid asked what he was most worried about. "What if we launch an attack on Hateg and the enemy forces in the direction of Sibiu attack Petroshani?"
Sibiu is 55 kilometers northeast of Petrosani, while Deva and Hateg are both in the northwest. The 51st and 63rd Divisions of the Austro-Hungarian Army are stationed in Sibiu. If he and Ankodar
The two lieutenant generals attacked Hateg with all their strength. The enemy in Sibiu would definitely send troops to flank them, so they had to be on guard.
Lieutenant General Ankodar pointed to the military map and said at a location 10 kilometers away from Petroshani. "For the enemies in Sibiu, I think about it this way. Leave a brigade of troops here to defend from Sibiu."
Enemy troops coming over."
Major General Dotred saw from the map that the location pointed by Lieutenant General Ankodar was an unnamed highland with river valleys on both sides. There was also a small village called Petrilla marked on a flat land next to the highland.
Lieutenant General Ankodar explained the purpose of defending here. "I not only checked this place from the military map, but also specifically asked the locals. They told me that if I want to go to Sibiu, I can only pass through this place. Taking into account the terrain advantages
, that’s why I chose here.”
Lieutenant General Ankodar's words convinced him, and Major General Dotrid asked Xiao Jiujiu. "Then which brigade should be sent?"
As if he had seen through the intention of Major General Dotred's words, Lieutenant General Ankodar said grandly. "Considering the importance of this position, I decided to leave my 2nd Brigade to defend here."
