Romanian Eagle

When the news of the Romanian army attacking Cluj arrived at the Ninth Army headquarters in Sonat, Lieutenant General Versten was stunned.

The army chief of staff who broke into his room with a telegram saw that this was not the way to go, and immediately said loudly in his ear. "Major General Lakoff needs reinforcements. We cannot afford to lose Cluj. We cannot afford such consequences."

The chief of staff's words made Lieutenant General Fan Siteng think back to normal, but in the face of the chief of staff's question, he closed his eyes and returned to his senses, and then said calmly. "Now we first understand the current situation in Cluj, and then decide to send reinforcements."

Seeing that his partner had recovered, the chief of staff did not urge him, because he knew that the situation had become extremely difficult because of the attack on Cluj, and it could even be said that it had turned abruptly. Now a good helmsman is needed to lead the ninth army to avoid this storm. Obviously, only Lieutenant General Fan Siteng has such an ability.

Therefore, the chief of staff told the lieutenant general the information sent by Cluj, and after speaking, the chief of staff did not urge to wait for the lieutenant general's decision.

Lieutenant General Fan Siteng said after thinking for a while. "Now we know too little information. Major General Lakoff needs to send another telegram. I'll go to the communications office with you to wait for news."

"You haven't changed your clothes yet."

Lieutenant General Fan Siteng, who was still wearing pajamas, waved his hand and said. "Where am I in the mood to change my clothes now, I'll go to understand the situation first."

Looking at Lieutenant General Fan Siteng who hurriedly walked out of his room, the chief of staff could only ask an officer to put on the lieutenant general's clothes, after all, the pajamas were too obvious.

When the chief of staff arrived at the communications office, the lieutenant general was already asking the communications staff to send a telegram.

"Now we need to wait for a while to learn about the current situation in Cluj." Lieutenant General Fan Siteng, who was sitting and waiting, opened his mouth to tell his chief of staff his plans. However, the general swept the eyes of the sender from time to time, and we could know that he was not as calm as he had shown.

"There is news."

Before Fan Siteng and the chief of staff waited long, a communications officer said what they wanted to hear.

"Receive it immediately."

The communications officer who was also waiting on the side immediately ordered.

As the radio waves were gradually converted into words, a telegram from Cluj appeared before them.

Lieutenant General Versten took over the latest telegram from Cluj,

But the content of the telegram made him look very ugly. The chief of staff glanced at it and saw that the message sent on the telegram was that most of Cluj had now fallen into the hands of the enemy, and only a few data points such as the railway station arsenal were still in the hands of the Austro-Hungarian army.

Lieutenant General Fan Siteng, who couldn't bear the news, scolded. "Damn it, how did Lakoff become a major general, how could he have lost Cluj before midnight."

In fact, most of the responsibility for this issue needs to be borne by the lieutenant general himself. In fact, Fan Siteng himself understands that greed blinded him and made himself make the decision to destroy Cluj, but now it is time for him to take measures to restore it.

"What should we do now, should we send troops back from the front line?"

The chief of staff's words reminded Fan Siteng that he will need to respond, even if it is wrong, it is better than inaction.

Facing the urging of the chief of staff and the waiting of many officers in the battle hall, Fan Siteng was also under heavy pressure, because his own decision was related to the life and death of the Ninth Army. Just when he was having a hard time making a decision, Fan Siteng suddenly had other ideas when he looked at the dense markings on the combat map.

"Now send a message to the 11th, 41st, 64th, and 78th divisions and ask them to assemble their troops and withdraw from the front line immediately."

In the face of Lieutenant General Fan Siteng's decision to withdraw part of the army, the chief of staff asked a question. "Are you going to reinforce Major General Lakoff at Cluj?"

"Do not"

Facing the chief of staff's question, Lieutenant General Fan Siteng directly denied it, and then pointed to a location on the map to preach. "We're not going to reinforce Cluj, let them defend here, and then we need to retreat."

The chief of staff looked very ugly when he looked at the position where Fan Siteng pointed. Because it is called Dairi, it is located in the northwest of Transylvania, and from here, it is the Great Hungarian Plain. It turned out that Lieutenant General Fan Siteng did not intend to reinforce Cluj, but planned to retreat.

In the face of the unexpected decision of His Excellency Lieutenant General, the chief of staff said in shock. "Fan Siteng, you have to think carefully."

Fan Siteng, who has been his partner for a long time, understands the meaning of the chief of staff's words. If he retreats like this, then the biggest responsibility for the failure of this battle must be him. But what can be done about it, as long as Cluj is captured tomorrow, their supply line will be cut off. For the army whose supply line has been cut off, where is there any fighting power at all, and even if the enemy has not attacked, he will be in chaos.

So in the face of the chief of staff's concern, Fan Siteng gave his reasons. "I know the consequences of this, but the scale of the enemy attacking Cluj needs to be seen."

Lieutenant General Fan Siteng said with three fingers. "The enemy army who attacked Cluj should not be less than 30,000 troops, and in order to retake Cluj, we must send reinforcements of no less than 45,000 troops. If we take into account the urgency of retaking Cluj, then the number of troops will be less than 45,000. It cannot be lower than 60,000, so there is a possibility of retaking it in three days."

Lieutenant General Fan Siteng continued to talk while staring at the chief of staff. "This is still the most ideal state. I am considering the judgment made when most of the Cluj fortifications have been destroyed. Now, there are still two enemy armies out there, eyeing them. The news of the fall of Luj cannot be concealed. Do you think Romania will give us three days after we have drawn our troops?"

After hearing Lieutenant General Fan Siteng's analysis, the chief of staff said something unwilling. "If Lieutenant General Sam returns to help, we should have enough troops."

In the face of the chief of staff's words, Lieutenant General Fan Siteng directly criticized. "Chief of Staff, your radical ideas are dangerous. Have you considered the consequences if we don't retake Cluj, which will put us and the Tenth Army in a desperate situation of destruction. By that time the Hungarian Plain will be in front of the enemy's front. In the future, it will bring the Italian campaign prepared by His Majesty to an end, and it will bring shame to our family."

Facing Lieutenant General Fan Siteng's words, the chief of staff thought about the consequences of angering the young emperor.

For this he sighed. "It seems that the only choice is to sacrifice the defenders at Cluj."

Lieutenant General Fan Siteng replied calmly. "There is no way to do this. After all, we need to consider the group army's more than 100,000 people."

After he finished speaking, he did not forget to mention a sentence. "Remember to send a telegram to Major General Lakoff, saying that the reinforcements will not arrive until noon. I hope he can hold the key points and wait for our rescue."

In this way, the defenders of Cluj were regarded as abandoned sons by Lieutenant General Fan Sten, and Major General Lakow, who received the order, used this telegram to encourage the Austro-Hungarian army to retreat to the main point. The same news also made Lieutenant General Andrew, who was attacking, split half of his troops to defend the reinforcements that could not be reached.

But a lie is a lie after all, and the Austro-Hungarian army, which was defending the main points, has been struggling to resist the attack of the Romanians. Waited until four o'clock in the afternoon, defending the railway station until Major General Lakoff sent his last telegram. ‘We are about to fall, long live the Empire. ’

In the end, Romania only got the body of Major General Lakoff, while Lieutenant General Andrew sent a message to the country that Cluj had been captured, and the enemy commander was killed in action.

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