The Carpathian Mountains are covered with snow, and the cold wind in winter makes everything quiet. However, during this period, the road from Bakuu to Reyak is full of people. The roar of cars and the neighing of war horses make the place seem lively.
Lieutenant General Freit, who is commanding the Northern Army Group, is marching with the army with his headquarters.
Ferreit, who was sitting in a car with his chief of staff, Major General Jacques Tot, looked at the scenery of the winter mountains and sighed. "The Carpathian Mountains in winter have a unique flavor. I just don't know if it can speed up our pace."
.”
Major General Jacquesto, who understood his partner's thoughts, said with a smile, "Commander, we don't have a railway, so we can only rely on ourselves to move faster."
After hearing the words of his chief of staff, Lieutenant General Freit changed his sitting posture and said. "You are right. I really hope that all my soldiers can march in cars. In this way, I can completely defend the army in Reyak."
When I reacted, I attacked the target in one fell swoop, but unfortunately I had too few cars."
In order to emphasize his words, Lieutenant General Freit gestured as if there were many cars in front of him.
Faced with his partner's remarks, Major General Jacques Tot did not answer. Because Army Group North has a lot of cars. There are eight car transport groups with more than 3,000 cars serving it. The biggest obstacle that restricts Army Group North from losing its march quickly is
The main factor is the poor road conditions.
On the muddy mountain roads, thousands of cars are tossing back and forth. You can't expect to drive very fast. Sometimes the time you spend riding is not as long as pushing the car. Therefore, most of the cars are currently used for transportation.
, heavy equipment such as artillery, military supplies such as ammunition, and supplies for the army.
While the two group army generals were chatting, an announcement brought them back to reality.
"Lieutenant General, here is a telegram from the General Staff."
A staff officer riding a motorcycle handed the telegram in his hand to the lieutenant general.
Lieutenant General Freit reached out to take the telegram and read it. As he read the telegram, his expression became more and more serious.
Seeing his partner's increasingly serious expression, Major General Jacques Tot asked with concern. "What's wrong? What news did you send from the General Staff?"
"Take a look."
Freit handed the read telegram to his chief of staff. The chief of staff who received the telegram quickly looked at the contents, and his expression gradually became the same as that of Freit.
Ferreit couldn't help but talk. "I knew that Ankodar and the others would disrupt the entire plan by seizing Deva in advance. But I didn't expect that the Chief of General Staff would be so bold. This plan is so amazing."
Major General Jacquestot, who was still shocked after reading the telegram, said in agreement, "It's really amazing. Our Chief of General Staff's appetite is not small at all. But if we can follow his plan, then our harvest will be rich enough.
This can be considered as capturing Transylvania in one fell swoop.”
The new battle plan that shocked the two men was temporarily formulated based on the fact that the Austro-Hungarian Tenth Army was about to concentrate its forces to attack the Southern Army. The key was that the Southern Army held back the Tenth Austro-Hungarian Army, and then the Central Army joined forces with the Northern Army to attack the new Army.
The reinforced Austro-Hungarian Ninth Army will attack and capture the regional capital Cluj, and then drive it out of Transylvania. The remaining Austro-Hungarian Tenth Army will be unable to support itself and will be driven out by the combined efforts of the three armies.
Transylvania.
The whole plan feels unconstrained, and it squeezes the use of troops to the limit, but the profits are also very generous. This will free up troops in advance to defend the Moldavia region from attacks that will be suffered, and it will also allow the Bulgarian campaign to start in advance, and
Can eliminate threats in one direction.
Freit was not as optimistic as his chief of staff thought. He pointed out two hidden dangers. "The plan is indeed tempting, but there are two key points that must be achieved."
He raised a finger and gestured. "First, the Southern Army will face the main force of the Austro-Hungarian Tenth Army alone. According to the original plan, it was shared by our three armies, but now it needs to face it alone. And I remember now
Many of the mobilization divisions originally assigned to Army Group South have not yet been fully formed. Even if only mobile troops are allocated to them now, there is still a huge gap between them and the Tenth Austro-Hungarian Army. So I am afraid that Army Group South cannot withstand it."
After listening to Freit's analysis, Jacquesto nodded and said, "This is what I am also worried about. The risk is indeed not small."
Lieutenant General Freyt expressed his second concern. "The second concern is that according to the new plan of the Chief of General Staff, when Army Group South is attacked by the Tenth Austro-Hungarian Army, we and Army Group Center need to
Quickly advance to capture the regional capital Cluj. According to the intelligence provided by the staff, the Austro-Hungarian Ninth Army will reinforce Transylvania."
"Intelligence shows that this is a group army of up to 200,000 people, and the enemy also has a railway advantage, which means that the opponent has sufficient supplies and has no worries. And our supply line needs to cross the muddy roads of the Carpathian Mountains, which is really frustrating.
People are worried. Also, to deal with the Austro-Hungarian Ninth Army, we need to focus on two armies, and the current progress of Army Group Center is still far behind."
At this point, Ferreit paused. Major General Jacques knew that what he did not say was that Army Group Center might have delayed the date. Distrusting friendly forces is a taboo in the military. This made Ferreit, a high-ranking military officer,
How can I say it out loud?
Jacquesto, who knew Freit's worries, could only persuade him from another perspective. "The chief of general staff has sent the plan, which means it has been approved. Now we can only try to make up for the hidden dangers."
Freit knew that this was the chief of staff's own good. After all, this was only a possible hidden danger, and he needed to do his best to ensure that the Northern Army Group was ready according to the time stipulated in the plan.
Putting aside his worries, Freit told his chief of staff, "You are right, we need to do a good job ourselves first."
After finishing speaking, he stuck his head out of the window and asked the communications staff who was following him on a motorcycle. "How far is the 7th Forward Division from Leyak now?"
The communications staff reported. "Reporting to the Lieutenant General, the Seventh Division is still 25 kilometers away from Leyak. According to his advance investigation, a brigade of the enemy's garrison is building fortifications."
"Tell the Seventh Division to work together to capture Leyak. One brigade of enemies will not be a problem for them."
"Yes, Lieutenant General."
Watching the communications officer leave, Ferreit turned back to Jacques and said, "We should rest in Reyak tomorrow."
Both sides in the war around Deva have lost their chess pieces, and now it's up to them to see who is more skilled.
