Both sides are preparing for this. The train from Targuzyu to Deva has not been interrupted, and the Southern Army used the time to rush to transport supplies and troops. Moreover, in northern Transylvania and the central part of the protrusion, the Romanian army
Attack desperately.
For this reason, Lieutenant General Sam in Cluj ordered the defenders in both directions to find ways to delay the enemy forces in both directions. To this end, the Austro-Hungarian defenders in both directions destroyed road settings, blocked, and sneak attacks.
The Romanian troops on both sides were constantly harassed by other means, which made them very annoyed.
However, the most important thing for Lieutenant General Sam was to stop the repairs of the Ninth Army coming from Budapest. After waiting for three days, Lieutenant General Sam personally greeted the arrival of the vanguard of the Ninth Army at the train station. The reason was that the commander-in-chief
Lieutenant General Karl Verstern also arrived.
"play music."
Lieutenant General Fan Siteng's train stopped steadily at the platform. The military band of the Tenth Army played cheerful music. Lieutenant General Sam was waiting for his arrival at the station wearing a lieutenant general's uniform. Lieutenant General Fan Siteng stepped off the train amid the music.
train.
Seeing the arrival of the rightful owner, Lieutenant General Sam walked over enthusiastically with a smile on his face.
"Long time no see, Fan Siteng."
"Yeah. Long time no see, Sam."
"I heard that after I was transferred to Cluj, you performed very well on the Russian front. Even His Majesty the Emperor praised you."
"I just got lucky at the right time."
"I held a welcome reception for you today. I invited many gentlemen and celebrities here to attend. Let's take a ride in my car so we can catch up on old times."
While the two exchanged questions, other personnel following Lieutenant General Fan Siteng also walked out of the train station with the help of the personnel brought by Lieutenant General Sam. A long queue of reception vehicles was waiting outside the train station.
As they arrived, the two army commanders got into a car.
As the convoy started, a group of people left the train station, and the two lieutenant generals sitting in the same car naturally switched from chatting to the current war situation.
"Sam, I learned from the battle report that it was not ideal for you to fight the Romanians. Can you tell me about the characteristics of these Romanian troops? This will also help me be better prepared."
Faced with Lieutenant General Fan Siteng's inquiry, Lieutenant General Sam, who was sitting next to him, had a dark look on his face. "The combat is not ideal" was a euphemism for Lieutenant General Fan Siteng. In fact, it was terrible. As a direct
How could he not know the person involved?
As for the characteristics of the Romanian army, this was compiled by the reports of the division commanders under his command who had fought against them. However, considering that they were basically defeated so far, Lieutenant General Sam made some modifications to this.
For example, Major General Arz's introduction to the Romanian army of the 35th Division made him worried. Look at what he wrote. The Romanian army is very good at raids, and its basic officers are of extremely high quality. Even after suffering extremely high casualties, they can still launch effective attacks.
attack. Moreover, its division-level firepower was equipped with extremely high artillery and machine guns. In the end, it was concluded that one Romanian division could withstand the attack of two Austro-Hungarian divisions.
This kind of report, which seems to have been defeated by the Romanians at first glance, is completely useless. Lieutenant General Sam combined the characteristics summarized in multiple reports and told Vansten. "As for the characteristics of the Romanian army, according to my understanding of its basic tactics,
The unit is a division, and at the division level they have higher artillery and machine gun configurations, so their firepower is much higher than our division-level troops."
"And because Romania has maintained a standing army for a long time, its soldiers and officers are much better than us in tactical combat skills, so we do not have an advantage in terms of basic organization." Lieutenant General Sam explained here.
"In many previous battles, our battalions and companies were generally no match for them. At this time, we basically relied on our superior strength to repel them."
Lieutenant General Sam's words made Lieutenant General Festen feel a little uncomfortable. He didn't expect the Romanians to be so difficult to deal with. At this time, he couldn't help but asked. "Don't they have any weaknesses?"
Faced with Vansten's question, Lieutenant General Sam hesitated and said, "It's not impossible. It seems that they have fewer heavy artillery in the current battle, and they have high requirements for supplies. In addition, we have the terrain advantage, and their army
Less in quantity."
Facing Lieutenant General Sam's answer, Lieutenant General Fan Siteng, who was sitting next to him, smiled and said, "Thank you for your explanation, which allows me to better understand my next opponent."
However, Lieutenant General Fan Siteng had some doubts about this. Because he was familiar with the characteristics Lieutenant General Sam mentioned. Apart from having fewer heavy artillery, wasn't this the norm for the German troops who fought alongside him on the Eastern Front? Sam
Applying the characteristics of the German army to the Romanians, he had to wonder whether Sam was confused by his opponent. Of course, he could not express his doubts, but the situation Lieutenant General Sam said required him to find an opportunity to fight the Romanians.
Only later.
Sam had no idea that his description of the Romanian army made his colleagues feel that he was exaggerating. The group rushed to the headquarters of the Tenth Army on the eastern outskirts of the city, where there were enough houses for the Ninth Army to settle down.
That night at the Cluj City Hall, Lieutenant General Sam invited celebrities and held a welcome dinner for Lieutenant General Versten and other senior officers of the Ninth Army. Rich food such as caviar, veal steak, and Bordeaux wine impressed the guests of honor.
Very satisfied. As usual, Lieutenant General Fan Siteng made an impassioned speech about defending the local area, which also earned him warm applause.
"Thank you very much for your warm hospitality."
Lieutenant General Fan Siteng, who was returned to his seat after the speech, saw Lieutenant General Sam rushing over and thanked him.
"You're welcome, I want to tell you something when I come here." Sam said looking at Lieutenant General Fan Siteng in front of him.
"What's up?"
Faced with Fan Siteng's inquiry, Sam glanced at no one around and said, "I plan to lead the army south tomorrow."
"So urgent?"
Fan Siteng was still a little surprised by Lieutenant General Sam's decision. It was probably too hasty.
Facing Fan Siteng's surprise, Sam explained. "I can't give the Romanians too much time to prepare. If it weren't for the fact that I need to wait for you to take over the defense of Cluj, I would have led the army and set off long ago."
Lieutenant General Sam's words made Fei Siteng feel the pressure. He and Sam's status were almost the same, and he understood that this was all caused by the bad battle situation before. Now it seems that only defeating the Romanians can make Sam recover.
Fan Siteng, who understood what his colleague in front of him needed, patted his shoulder and said, "Then I wish you victory this time."
"Thanks."
Early the next morning, Lieutenant General Sam took the assembled eight divisions and headed towards Deva. This time he would wash away his humiliation with the blood of the enemy. Such actions of the Tenth Army immediately attracted great attention from Romania.
.At noon that day, the telegram about the Tenth Army massing heavy troops to move towards Deva was placed on the desk of General Salamik, the commander of the Southern Group Army who had just arrived in Deva.
Now, around Deva, Romania and Austria-Hungary are about to start a battle between dragons and tigers.
