Chapter 312： Occupy Cluj

When news of the Romanian army attacked Cluj and arrived at the headquarters of the Ninth Army in Sonat, Lieutenant General Van Stern was stunned.

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

The Chief of Staff's words made Lieutenant General Fan Siteng's thinking back to normal, but in the face of the Chief of Staff's inquiry, he closed his eyes and returned to his senses, and then calmly said. "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, because he knew that the situation had become extremely difficult because of the attack on Cluj, and it could even be said to have taken a turn for the worse. Now a good helmsman is needed to lead the Ninth Army to escape this storm. Obviously, only Lieutenant General Fan Si Teng has this ability.

Therefore, the Chief of Staff told the lieutenant general about the intelligence sent by Cluj, and after finishing speaking, the Chief of Staff did not urge the lieutenant to wait for his decision.

Lieutenant General Fan Si Teng said after thinking about it. "Now we know too little information. Major General Rakoff needs to send another telegram. I will go to the communication office and wait for the news with you."

"You haven't changed your clothes yet."

Lieutenant General Fan Si Teng, who was still wearing pajamas, waved his hand and said. "Where do I feel in the mood to change clothes now, let me know 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 pick up Lieutenant General's clothes. After all, the pajamas were too obvious.

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

"Now we need to wait a while before we can understand the current situation in Cluj." Lieutenant General Van Stern, who was sitting aside and waiting, spoke to his chief of staff of his plans. However, from time to time, the lieutenant general scanned the gaze of the sender, and he could know that he was not as calm as he appeared.

"There's news."

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

"Receive immediately."

The communications officer who was waiting at the same time ordered immediately.

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

Lieutenant General Van Stern received this latest telegram from Cluj, but the content of the telegram made him look very ugly. The Chief of Staff took a glance and saw that the message sent by the telegram was that most of Cluj has now fallen into the enemy's hands, and only a few data points such as the railway station arsenal are still in the hands of the Austro-Hungarian army.

Lieutenant General Fan Si Teng, who could not bear the news, scolded. "Damn it, how did Rakov become a major general? How could he lose Cluj all by 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 his eyes and made himself make the decision to ruin Cluj, but now it is time for him to take measures to restore it.

"What should we do now, shouldn't we draw troops from the front line to return aid?"

The chief of staff's words reminded Lieutenant Fan Siteng that he would 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. When he was having difficulty making a decision, Fan Siteng suddenly had other thoughts when he looked at the densely packed marks on the battle map.

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

Facing the decision of Lieutenant General Fan Si Teng to withdraw part of the army, the Chief of Staff asked. "Are you going to reinforce Major General Rakov from Cluj?"

"Do not"

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

The chief of staff looked very ugly looking at Fan Siteng's position. Because it is called Dej and it is located in the northwest of Transylvania, and back from here is the Hungarian Great Plain. It turned out that Lieutenant General Van Stern did not intend to reinforce Cluj, but rather to retreat.

Faced with the unexpected decision of Your Excellency Lieutenant General, the Chief of Staff said in shock. "Fan Si Teng, you have to think carefully."

The meaning of the chief of staff's words, as a partner for a long time, Fan Si Teng understood very well. If he retreats in this way, then the biggest responsibility for the failure of this battle must be him. But what is the solution? As long as Cluj is captured tomorrow, their supply line will be broken. For the army whose supply line has been cut off, there is no fighting capacity at all, and maybe even the enemy hasn't come over, and he will be in a mess.

So in the face of the Chief of Staff's concern, Fan Si Teng gave his reasons. "I know the consequences of doing this, but I need to see the scale of the enemy attacking Cluj."

Lieutenant General Fan Si Teng said with three fingers. "The enemy who attacked Cluj was no less than 30,000, and in order to recapture Cluj, the reinforcements we sent must not be less than 45,000. If we take into account the urgency of regaining Cluj, then the force should be It cannot be less than 60,000, and only then can it be retaken in three days."

Lieutenant General Fan Si Teng stared into the eyes of the Chief of Staff and continued. "This is still the most ideal state. I made a judgment after considering most of the fortifications in Cluj City. Most of the fortifications have been destroyed. And now, there are two enemy armies on the outside. The news of the fall of Luzh can’t be kept. Do you think Romania will give us three days after we deploy troops?"

After hearing the analysis of Lieutenant General Fan Si Teng, the chief of staff was somewhat unwilling to say it. "If Lieutenant General Sam returns, we should have enough troops."

Facing the Chief of Staff's words, Lieutenant General Fan Si Teng directly criticized. "Chief of Staff, your radical idea is very dangerous. Have you ever considered that if we did not take back Cluj, it would put us and the Tenth Army in desperation. At that time, the Hungarian Great Plains will fall into the enemy's front. Below, this will make the Italian battle prepared by your majesty come to an end, and it will put our family to shame."

Facing the words of Lieutenant General Fan Si Teng, the chief of staff thought for a while and the consequences of offending the young emperor were self-evident.

For this reason, he sighed It seemed that he could only sacrifice the defenders in Cluj. "

Lieutenant General Fan Si Teng replied calmly. "There is no alternative. After all, we need to consider the more than 100,000 people in the army."

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

In this way, the defenders of Cluj were considered abandoned by Lieutenant General Van Stern, and Major General Rakov, who received the order, used this telegram to encourage the Austro-Hungarian army to retreat. The same news also allowed the attacking Lieutenant General Andrew to split half of his troops to defend against impossible reinforcements.

But a lie is a lie after all. The defensive Austro-Hungarian army has been struggling to resist the Romanian attack. Waited until four o'clock in the afternoon, the defensive train station until Major General Rakov sent the last telegram. ‘We are about to fall, long live the empire. ’

In the end Romania only got the corpse of Major General Rakov, and Lieutenant General Andrew reported to the country that Crowe had already taken Cluj, and the enemy commander was killed.

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