Romanian Eagle

The news of Romania's declaration of war on Austria-Hungary spread to all the high-level leaders of Austria-Hungary two hours after it submitted the declaration, and spread throughout Europe that night.

On the Allied side, Britain and France trumpeted the continuation of Romania's participation in the war to defend civilized society on the second day, and even the Times newspaper, known for its impartiality and rigor, sang Romania's praises. He praised Romania's social harmony, economic prosperity, and enthusiasm of the people. For a time, Romania seemed to be a beacon of European social civilization.

For the Allies, especially the Kaiser, this news made him smash his two most beloved crystal cups. And Eder's brother-in-law, Carl I, was furious in the palace. There were guards that Carl I linked the Romanian king Eder I with bad words such as bitches and prostitutes that night. It's hard to believe that being a monarch would say such a thing.

And later that day, Karl I summoned his military officials at the palace to discuss Romania's response to the declaration of war with Austria-Hungary. The unanimous result of everyone's deliberation was to let the Austro-Hungarian army already in Transylvania immediately set up defenses, and step up the mobilization of the Russian team back. In order to prevent the distant water from quenching the thirst of the near, at the same time, the 9th Army (20,000 people), which is currently still repairing in Budapest, immediately stops the repairing state, and replenishes weapons and ammunition and transfers it to Transylvania.

In addition to military preparations, Austria-Hungary decided to impose martial law in Transylvania in order to prevent the local Romanians from becoming the leading party. Ethnic Romanian gatherings cannot exceed five people, and the government will confiscate their weapons in the name of law and order.

One more thing needs to be said here, because of dissatisfaction with the previous Austro-Hungarian army’s inclination to Germany, and in order to eliminate Germany’s influence in Austria-Hungary, the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Karl I personally served as the chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff. In Europe, the monarch's position as chief of staff can be regarded as a pioneering work, and Austria-Hungary is at the forefront of the world.

However, the results of the discussions between Austria-Hungary and Yu that night were overturned the next day.

"Damn it, isn't your military doing anything serious? Let's see your judgment. Romania still needs at least three months to prepare. As a result, we received a declaration of war a month later. Yesterday you told me Taran Sylvania is fortified, but now the main gates are in the hands of the Romanians, and their steady stream of soldiers have set foot on Austria-Hungary. Archduke Friedrich, can you give me an explanation?"

Inside the palace, Karl I was furious. After getting the news of Romania's raid on the night of the declaration of war, Karl I was in a bad mood. He feels that he has been fooled by his brother-in-law Edel, which Carl cannot accept. He also served as the chief of the general staff and actually held the military power, but he could not scold himself, so the Grand Duke Friedrich, the field marshal who had a good temper and did not abuse his power, became his punching bag.

And Archduke Friedrich, who was scolded by him, remained silent. As the nephew of Archduke Albrecht, the last famous marshal of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Friedrich admired his uncle since he was a child, and after the death of Archduke Albrecht,

Trusted by Emperor Franz Joseph I. At the outbreak of World War I he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Austro-Hungarian army, and on 8 February he was promoted to field marshal. He's basically a titular Supreme Commander. He is clever and does not interfere in the specific affairs of the army. The actual power of the army is in the hands of Conrad, the chief of the general staff. It was not until February this year that Karl I actually took control of the military.

"Your Majesty, it seems that we have made a mistake in judgment at present, but we will make up for this error soon. We will speed up the speed of drawing troops from the newly acquired lords, and will also transfer the troops that are still being repaired at home to Transylvania. ."

Archduke Friedrich wisely gave steps when facing the wrath of Karl I, which is one of the reasons why he can gain the trust of the Habsburg family.

However, Archduke Friedrich's words made Carl I Zou frown. "Will this affect the Italian side's preparations?"

In the face of the emperor's inquiry, Archduke Friedrich knew that the emperor was referring to the fear of affecting the Italian front, so he said it again and again after careful consideration. "There will be some impact."

Hearing that it would affect the Italian battlefield, Carl I, who was no longer dazzled by his anger, thought about it. "Then minimize that impact."

What made the two Austro-Hungarian high-level executives care so much about the Italian battlefield was caused by the butterfly of Eder. Because Russia pulled out of the war early, Austria-Hungary and Germany had more time to move their troops away from the already calm Eastern Front.

And Vienna did not have many other options on how to use these forces. Looking around, only Italy, an opponent, was worthy of the Austro-Hungarian army. So in September, the Austro-Hungarian military began to prepare an offensive against Italy, the anti-bone boy. Intended to attack with troops mobilized from the Eastern Front in order to be able to drive Italy out of the war.

So even if Romania has declared war on Austria-Hungary, in Karl's view, defeating Italy can give the Austro-Hungarian Empire a temporary respite. Therefore, he was extremely reluctant to use his precious troops wantonly on the Romanian front line, allowing the Italian army, which was repeatedly defeated by Austria-Hungary, to gain a respite.

"But will this make Romania arrogant, and it may cause the local Romanian people to have unwanted thoughts."

In the face of the worries of Archduke Friedrich, Karl I pointedly said. "We are under attack, do we need help from our allies. And now that there is no war on the Eastern Front, it does not matter if we ask Berlin for help."

Hearing the emperor's words made Archduke Friedrich feel that His Majesty has changed a lot recently. It must be known that when he succeeded to the throne last year, the emperor was dissatisfied with Germany's meddling with Austria-Hungary. It is necessary to ensure the power of the Habsburgs in the army, and it is not like the German army to ask for help unless it is a last resort. We haven't played a game yet, so we should call reinforcements first.

This is of course also related to the experience of Karl I. At first, the new emperor thought he would be able to withdraw from the war, which cost Austria-Hungary a lot of casualties, with a single peace agreement. But Britain and France categorically rejected Karl's hope for peace talks, so the young Austro-Hungarian emperor knew that Britain and France would not let Austria-Hungary go. Of course, as the Habsburg family of its royal family, the Allies could not let it go. So now he is fighting to protect the family and the country, there is no peace talks, either win or lose the war, and now he has no choice.

In the afternoon of the same day, a telegram for assistance from Austria-Hungary was sent to Berlin. This time, Austria-Hungary asked for reinforcements in a very loud voice, and directly asked for 200,000 reinforcements. A message was sent along with a request for Germany to fulfill its alliance obligations and declare war on Romania.

Soon because of these two cables, the Kaiser convened a meeting of government officials and the military to discuss.

After everyone had read the two telegrams, William II asked. "On the issue of declaring war on Romania, do you have any other opinions?"

Everyone present had no opinion, because of their fancy to Austria-Hungary and the betrayal of Romania (the Kaiser thought this was betrayal), no one would disagree with the declaration of war. The reason why the war was not declared at the first time was because Because there are a lot of things that are not over yet.

Seeing that the simplest telegram had been perfectly resolved, Wilhelm II asked again. "And what about Austria-Hungary's request for reinforcements?"

As soon as the Kaiser's voice fell, Ludendorff, the quartermaster chief, spoke up. "Your Majesty, now we need to prepare for the offensive on the Western Front next year. We really can't draw many troops to help the Austrians. At most, we can draw about 30,000 people from two divisions."

In order to make Ludendorff react to such a big reaction, in addition to preparing for a new offensive against France after the New Year, Austria-Hungary's various small actions are also one of the factors. Now that the Austro-Hungarian army has not officially fought, let him send reinforcements. Isn't this to disgust him?

However, Ludendorff's words aroused opposition from the government, especially when Foreign Minister Zorff spoke up when Ludendorff's words just fell. "Your Excellency, I don't agree with your view. Austria-Hungary is an ally and when facing Romanian attack, we can't help but help it. And we also helped Austria-Hungary before, the number of 30,000 troops is too small. , it would be better not to send reinforcements.”

"It's really better not to send that."

"Okay, stop arguing."

Seeing that Ludendorff was going to stand up against Zorff, the Kaiser stood up at this time. He looked at Hindenburg and spoke. "Chief of the General Staff, you said how many troops should be sent to reinforce Austria-Hungary."

Hindenburg, who was named by the Kaiser, had a new idea. "It now seems that a sufficient number of reinforcements need to be sent to help Austria-Hungary attack Romania. But I don't think it has to be sent to Austria-Hungary to help them."

"Marshal, please tell me if you have any ideas."

Hindenburg became clearer about his ideas, he said. "We can flank Romania from the Ukrainian side and achieve a move to contain the Romanian army."

"Will this make Austria-Hungary dissatisfied with us?"

Facing the question, Hindenburg explained. "No, Austria-Hungary asked for reinforcements to relieve the pressure on their troops. They don't seem to want to delay the preparations for Italy, so we can do it this way. We can completely find a way from the troops currently stationed on the Eastern Front. , without delaying our war plan on the Western Front at all."

At this time Prime Minister Hedling sounded another worry. "Will this cause the Soviet government to backtrack?"

Faced with the Prime Minister's inquiry, Hindenburg explained. "That's not at all. People like the Soviet Russian regime don't dare to turn against us now. They will abide by the terms they signed, because there are too many opponents in Russia."

In the end, after negotiation, Germany replied to Austria-Hungary that they would send 240,000 troops under the command of Mackensen, the commander of the eastern front, to flank Moldova in Romania to contain its troops and cooperate with the Austrian-Hungarian army's plan to capture Romania.

Although the plan was quite good, it required twenty days to prepare because the scattered German forces needed to regroup and replenish their ammunition.