When the Battle of Hateg broke out, a brigade of the Guards Division that had been left in Petrila was also attacked by the Austro-Hungarian army in Sibiu.
The 2nd Brigade of the 1st Guards Division, which was left by Lieutenant General Ankodar to resist the Sibiu garrison, was also very trusted by him. The main reason was that the tenacious style of Colonel Zoltan, the commander of the 2nd Brigade, was highly appreciated by the Lieutenant General.
The task of defending Petrila and protecting Petroshani from being recaptured by the Austro-Hungarian army and thus putting himself in danger could only be given to Colonel Zoltan in order to reassure him.
The actions of the Austro-Hungarian army in Sibiu were exactly as Lieutenant General Ankodar expected, and even faster than he expected. When the battle of Hatceg just broke out, the Austro-Hungarian army had already arrived near Petrila, and
The 2nd Guards Brigade defending this place had not even built the fortifications. Seeing this situation, the Austro-Hungarian army thought there was an opportunity and immediately launched an attack without even having time to prepare artillery. However, they did not know to stay here.
He was from the 2nd Guards Brigade, and he didn’t understand the style of the brigade commander, Colonel Zoltan.
What a good Colonel Zoltan, who used his firepower advantage to kill the enemy when they launched an attack, and then launched a counterattack while the Austro-Hungarian army had not recovered. Colonel Zoltan's strategy worked, and the Austro-Hungarian side did not think of defense.
The Romanian defenders here were so bold and fought so fiercely even though they were at an absolute disadvantage in terms of strength. Therefore, they were defeated and even captured their starting position.
If Zoltan hadn't ordered a retreat because he was afraid that if he attacked too deeply and would be surrounded by the superior Austro-Hungarian army, then it is estimated that even his artillery positions could be captured. Fortunately, Brigadier Zoltan has a keen sense of smell on the battlefield. If he really attacked
If they enter the artillery position, the regrouped Austro-Hungarian army will leave an unforgettable memory for the 2nd Brigade.
Although the artillery position was not captured, Zoltan and his 2nd Brigade were able to establish their reputation as a Guards Division by suppressing a division and a half with one brigade.
But now Colonel Zoltan has no time to savor the victory of this battle. Now he urgently needs to prepare for the next battle.
In the busy brigade headquarters, Colonel Zoltan was on the phone. "Dove, have your artillery battalion fortifications been completed? Do you still need help from manpower... Your artillery battalion is the key to this defense, and there cannot be any
If there is any mistake... please take cover and do not fire without orders."
Colonel Zoltan is a strong middle-aged man in his forties. His previous positions were promoted step by step, and he successively served as company commander, deputy battalion commander, division staff officer, deputy regiment commander, regiment commander and even brigade commander.
, years of military career have honed his keen understanding of the battlefield, and also gave him a rough and arrogant atmosphere of a soldier (commonly known as ruffianism). This is why he can launch a counterattack when his opponent has not yet established a firm footing to attack.
, this also shows that he does not stick to the rules.
Just as Zoltan was calling the artillery battalion, an officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel who looked a bit bookish came over. "Brigade commander, are you looking for me?"
This lieutenant colonel officer is Antonio, the chief of staff of the 2nd Brigade. What matches his temperament is that he has been a teacher in a military school for many years, so he has a strong bookishness. Due to the expansion of the army, he was transferred to the 2nd Brigade as the chief of staff for less than a year.
year, so Zoltan, as a brigade commander, needs to pay more attention to his staff work.
"Yes, Chief of Staff, please take a seat."
After Zoltan asked his chief of staff to sit down, he told him what he was looking for. "The chief of staff said this, the 1st regiment has a very heavy task because it guards the front line of defense. And their regiment leader Domik has told me
After asking for weapons and equipment several times, go down and ask them if they need anything else."
"Okay brigadier, I'll take a look right now."
Lieutenant Colonel Antonio, who had just sat down, immediately took over the task given by the brigade commander and rushed to the front line.
After giving instructions to his chief of staff, Zoltan immediately picked up the phone again. "Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Solo? This is Zoltan. Are there any landmines at your station?"
"How is it possible that there aren't any? Don't domestic logistics officers know what we need on the front line? Do you still have machine guns? I want that too."
"How come you are also the logistics chief of our division? Why can you only give me 20 machine guns? Don't you have 35 machine guns? What's wrong with the equipment of the Eighth Division? I'll borrow it first. Anyway, they haven't arrived yet. I
Can’t you just use it first and return it to them after you’re done with it?”
After some bargaining with the logistics manager who was guarding Petroshani's supplies, Zoltan got some more weapons and equipment. But before Zoltan could be happy, a staff officer ran up to him panting. "Brigadier Commander
, the enemy has increased its troops."
"What, how many reinforcements did the enemy have?"
Zoltan was shocked by the staff officer's words, and he quickly asked key questions regardless of the weapons and equipment he wanted from Petroshani.
"We haven't seen exactly how many people we have, but according to estimates, the strength is about one division."
The staff officer's words made Zoltan's complexion change drastically. The situation was worse than he imagined. Now he only has one brigade, and now he has too many enemies. There are two and a half divisions six times his size. What should he do?
.
"One division or so, one division or so. No matter what I do, I can stop these enemies."
Zoltan was circling back and forth in the headquarters. He was thinking about how to deal with it and was mumbling something. "Let's attack them from the front? No, this will put Petroshani in danger. As long as one is left on the opposite side,
If the teacher defends him, I can't defeat him."
"Then how about a slow retreat with gradual resistance? This is even more impossible. It is too close to Petroshani, and you can't reach the city without retreating twice. Moreover, this requires building fortifications first. I myself think there are not enough troops. Where can I find them?
The extra manpower was used to build fortifications.”
There are countless ways to get the Zoltan necklace, but none of them are suitable under the current situation. It is best for him to find that holding on is the best choice. Thinking of this, he ordered the staff officer who reported the message. "Draft an order immediately, and from now on
All officers and soldiers of the 2nd Brigade must be stationed at their posts and cannot retreat without permission. Immediately ask the military police to set up a boundary behind us, and every officer and soldier can only move forward and cannot retreat."
Zoltan's words made the staff officer feel a sense of desolation, which meant that more than 5,000 people from the 2nd Brigade could only die in this small village called Petlila. Seeing that the staff officer did not move, Zoltan glared at him. "
Why are you still standing there, go quickly."
After driving away the staff officer, Zoltan picked up the phone again. "Lieutenant Colonel Solo, this is Zoltan. I need your help now. I didn't ask you to send someone over. I remember there will be a reinforcement regiment tomorrow.
Come here, if you want to stop them, send them to my side. The situation is urgent. I have three divisions of Austro-Hungarian troops here. I will tell the division commander and he will understand. All the troops behind are coming to my side.
It's important. I'll leave it to you this time."
After Zoltan finished speaking, he put down the phone in his hand. He said he would defend to the death, but he would not defend to the death. There must be reinforcements from Petroshani on his back. As long as he withstands the offensive in front, it would be much easier. If it were not for paralysis,
Austria-Hungary achieved the maximum effect of the surprise attack, and the Romanian army did not begin to assemble until the war broke out. It was completely impossible for these three Austro-Hungarian divisions to form a 6-fold strength gap with itself.
"Boom, boom, boom."
Just as he was thinking about when he had encountered such a situation, the sudden sound of shelling brought Zoltan back to reality. Looking at his soldiers who were being looted by shelling, Zoltan picked up his hat and planned to go to the front line.
