They were all soldiers, and of course they acted vigorously and resolutely. In the afternoon of that day, after leaving behind the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Guards Division, the remainder of the 1st Guards Division and the 19th Division marched towards Hateg.
Fortunately, Hateg is not far from Petroshani. They set out in the afternoon and arrived at the outskirts of Hateg before the sun was about to set. When the troops stopped to station and establish forward positions, the two ambitious division commanders planned to use this time to
Choose a high place to quietly observe the Austro-Hungarian army stationed here. This observation revealed that the Austro-Hungarian army, which had just arrived yesterday, had already initially established a position here.
This surprised Major General Dotred who was observing. "I didn't expect that the Austro-Hungarian army was also well-trained. It took only a day for the position to have an outline. This is the trench, and there is a foxhole in front. The machine gun position just needs to be topped."
It’s been built, and the traffic trench here is already half as tall as a person.”
The two men put down their binoculars and saw solemnity in each other's eyes. It seemed that this battle was not going to be easy.
It was Lieutenant General Ankodar who spoke first. "Let's go back first."
After saying that, he immediately crouched and quietly retreated to the position behind him, and Major General Dortred also retreated with him.
Returning to the command post at the forward position, Lieutenant General Ankodar spoke. "It is impossible for Hateg's defenders to allow the fortifications to be built to this extent in just 24 hours. There must be something wrong with it."
Lieutenant General Ankodar's words aroused the approval of Major General Dotred. "You are right. It seems that the construction of the fortifications has been under construction for three days, but they only arrived here yesterday. And I also specially observed this small
Regarding the housing situation in the town, according to my estimate, there are less than 1,500 residents in the town, and it is impossible for them to gather residents to build it, so this is also very strange."
When the two Romanian division commanders were puzzled by the speed of the Austro-Hungarian army's construction of fortifications. In a house in Hateg, the commander of the 17th Division of the Austro-Hungarian Army, Major General Herman Kumanek, was talking with the 35th Division
Division commander Major General Artur Arz discusses the emergence of Romanian troops.
"I didn't expect these Romanians to rush over so quickly. It seems that there are no more people than us. Major General Alz, shall we teach them a lesson tonight and tell them not to be too presumptuous?"
The one who was speaking was Major General Arz, the commander of the 35th Division who was driven out of Petrosani yesterday. It seemed that he was still worried about yesterday's surprise attack and wanted to teach the Romanian army that had just arrived here a lesson.
Major General Arz's words did not elicit a response from Major General Kumanek. The major general who came from Deva instead advised the radical commander of the 35th Division. "Major General Arz, I think the first priority now is to strengthen the defenses.
Regarding construction, you must know that now we only have the front fortifications that have been built to a certain scale. But there are still some unbuilt ones on the flanks and behind. If we cannot frighten the Romanians on the opposite side, then the pressure on our defense will be much greater.
"
Major General Kumanek's words completely ruined Arz's attempt to raid Romania. Without the support of the elite 17th Division, his defeated 35th Division alone could not have accomplished it. You must know that he was in Petrosha yesterday.
Not only did he suffer more than 3,000 casualties during the Ni raid, but he was also distressed by the loss of weapons and equipment. During the retreat yesterday, his division had 16 artillery pieces damaged and lost.
You must know that the current Austro-Hungarian army is not comparable to that before the war. At that time, a fully equipped division had 72 artillery pieces. However, after several years of war, the number of first-level artillery pieces in the Austro-Hungarian army is generally only half of that before the war.
The loss of 16 guns was more than 40% of the battle damage, and it was too late to make up for it. He could only count on the 17th Division. You must know that the 17th Division, which was composed entirely of Hungarians, was not comparable to his 35th Division.
As a division that ranks high and has its own separate name (Warriors), the 17th Division is among the best in the Austro-Hungarian army in terms of weaponry and equipment, even though the Austro-Hungarian army generally has only half as much weaponry as before the war. The barrel artillery alone is
Reaching 62. In addition, the division is equipped with a lot of other equipment. For example, machine guns that are assigned to the battalion level in other divisions are assigned to the company level in this division.
Moreover, as the commander of the division, Kunnemark had a cautious character. Although this did not allow the 17th Division to perform well in several years of battles, it did not cause the 17th Division to suffer any major losses. Moreover, because of the character of the division commander, he was also very popular with his superiors.
Because of the commander's trust, the 17th Division was used to defend key positions in several battles. This time the 17th Division was also deployed at the key point of Deva. When encountering the Romanian army, Major General Cumanek
Sure enough, he chose the safest way, and Major General Arz's desire for revenge came to nothing.
That night, both armies were in peace, and they were recharging their strength to prepare for tomorrow's battle.
As the morning of the 7th arrived, the invisible tension in the sky over Hateg was growing. The armies representing the two sides were also preparing for the start of the battle. On the Romanian side, a large number of artillery was making pre-war preparations, boxes and boxes of artillery.
The ammunition has been placed next to the artillery emplacement built overnight. Many ammunition boxes have been opened, and soldiers are responsible for making final inspections of the artillery shells.
On the starting position, soldiers belonging to the 1st Guards Division were also making final preparations. Some of them were checking their weapons to ensure their normal use for the upcoming battle. Some were bowing their heads and praying to God to ensure that their
Able to walk off the battlefield alive. There are also people who are smoking cigarettes and chatting loudly with their comrades to relieve their inner tension. There are even people who are resting with their eyes squinted this early morning. It seems that this is either because they are mentally strong or have confidence in themselves.
Don't care about any of this.
Lieutenant General Ankodar looked at the soldiers who were about to attack and asked their regiment leader, Lieutenant Colonel Marmo, "How should you handle this attack?"
Faced with the personal inquiry from the division commander, Lieutenant Colonel Marmo, who was affiliated with the 1st Brigade and 2nd Regiment of the 1st Guards Division, certainly knew very well. He puffed out his chest and told Lieutenant General Ankodar. "The mission of our regiment is to test the weaknesses of the enemy's position.
, and find out the firepower points on the position.”
Lieutenant Colonel Ankodar was very satisfied with Lieutenant Colonel Marmo's words, and he patted the Lieutenant Colonel on the shoulder to express encouragement.
Then Lieutenant General Ankodar said to Major General Dortred, who was waiting to watch the performance of the 1st Guards Division. "It's almost time. Let's go to the command post to observe."
"Okay, Lieutenant General. It is my honor to be able to observe the battle of the 1st Guards Division up close."
After arriving at the command post, Lieutenant General Ankodar picked up the phone and gave the order. "I am Ankodar, and I order the bombardment to begin."
