Battle of Ciresoaia (9th-11th of September)End of 1917 Romanian Campai

[razu]

Battle of Ciresoaia

(9th -11th of September)

A Romanian -Russian offensive attempt

The Battle of Varnita and Muncelu has been the last convulsion of the German offensive power.Her colaps meant also the complete renuntiation at any attempt,from the enemy,to break the tactic equilibrium established between the two armies.The Austro-Germans were thined of powers and drained out of forces in the wake of the bloody failures they encountered on our front,and the Great German Headquarter could not send helps,which were more necessary on the western front.

The Romanian Commandment thought that they could profit by the clear inferiority of the adversary.A good punch applied in a point of the enemy front ,could have meant not only a local succes but also the evolvement of it ,into an operation with strategical targets.The situation seemed to the Romanian Commandment favorable for such an attmpt.The forseen gaining seemed pretty important,to worth the risk.The chosen point for the Offensive Attempt has been Ciresoaia.It was the impozant massife with the peak at height 772m,which dominates Trotus Valley,West of Tirgu Ocna.All arround ,he continues with ridges of height which descend in stairs,steep towards South,towards Slanic Valley,and in slow slopes to the East,towards Trotus Valley and to the North,towards Dofteana Valley.Numerous valleys start like from a central node, from Ciresoaia Plateau ,and radiates in all directions,ridging the hills and formming as many roads of acces towards the peak.By the name of Ciresoaia was linked the memory of the bloody fights of 27th Regiment and of glorious attacks of the Mountain Hunters Regiment;the peak has remained in the mastering of the enemy,but in its immediate vecinity were the Romanian lines.The enemy position could have been taken by a veiling attack ,executed from North by the Russians and from East by Romanians.Conquering her(Ciresoaia),woud have permitted us to advance with the South-East direction,to fall beind Cosna-height 789-the second domminant position,between Slanic Valley and Oituz Valley.Cosna has remained as well in the hand of the enemy,in the wake of heavy fights between 19th-22nd of August.

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The Romanian offensive for September will be given for conquering Ciresoaia firstly,and of Cosna,secondly.It was obtained ,thus,not only a favorable rectifying of the front,not only the rejecting of the enemy away from Trotus Valley,of Tirgu Ocna and Onesti,in which any activity and circulation would be paralized by the closing in of the enemy,but it would create a base for further operations,towards the border.At the planned battle woud have to take part the Romanians ,as well as the Russians.From the Russian part ,would participate IV-th Russian Army.This army which took part at Marasesti Battle,changed its sector.She has given some units to the VI-th Russian Army on Siret River,had receved some units from the IX-th Army and occupied the sector in Racaului Mountains,intercalating between the II-nd Romanian Army-at the left-and the Ix-th Russian Army-at the right .The Commander of the IX-th Army was the same General,Prince Ragoza,of which hesitating attitude and suspect almost caused a catastropy at Marasesti.The left wing of the army,which would colaborate with the Romanians,was constituted of XXIV-th Russian Corps-strenghtened with other units of infantry and artillery-which occupied the position West of Ciresoaia, along Pacuritei Hillup to Dofteana Valley,making front towards South.From the Romanian part,was taking part the IV-th Army Corpsunder the command of General Vaitoianu;it constituted the right wing of the II-nd Army,of General Averescu.In connection with the Russians,in front of Ciresoaia were brought the troops of the 1st Romanian Division,of which 18th Gorj Regiment ws missing,left at varnita;it has been given as strenghtening the 8th Hunters Regiment,the Battalion of Mountain Hunters and a divizion of mountain artillery.In Slanic Valley,until Cosna,were stretched the troops of the 7th Romanian Division,and at the South,towards Oituz,there were the Graniceri(Border Army) Brigade and the 6th Romanian Division.

The attack plan has been thus conceived:as the troops of the 6th and 7th Divisions would execute an estabilising, of position, on the front between Slanic and Oituz,the troops of the 1st Division would execute an energetic offensive,on the front of Poiana Fundu Bogatei-height 772(Ciresoaia),and from here to South, towards Slanic Village-Iordogatu Hill-Muncelu Hill.In the same time,West of Romanians,the Russians must break the enemy front at West and South of Fundu Bogateiand advance on the line Virfu Nineasa(Nineasa Peak)-Fundu Pacuritei-height 601(Slanic South).In the case in which the action of the 1st Division would be a success ,making possible the advance of the 7th Division from left,will get into the action also the troops btween Slanic and Cosna.-the 6th Division and Granicerii(border army)-to advance and occupy Pietrei Peak,completing thus the veiling of Cosna from North and South.The 1st Division ,which had to conduct the principal action,had an effective of 14 battalions with 7 711 fighters,and 15 batteries with 60 pieces,and the 7th Division had 20 battalions with 9845 fighters and 14 batteries with 61 pieces(cannons).

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The enemy positions were defended in Ciresoaia region by the 225th German Division,which have replaced the 70th Division of Hanovezi,withdraw;at Cosna it was the 15th Bavarian Infantry Brigade,and to the South,the 70th Division of Hanovezi.In reserve were the Mountain Battalion Wutemberger and 117th German Division.All these troops were making the VIII-th Gerock Corps,under the Command of General von Benigni.King Ferdinand and General Averescu have arrived in the fighting zone to watch,from the command post of IV-th Romanian Corps,the unfolding of the battle which has to start at 7th of September.

Although the biginning of the action has been fixed for 7th of September ,General Ragoza aked for a pospone.The Russians were not ready.The 49th Division has just arrived and needed repaus.Then he would need at least two days to get aquinted with the terrain of fight.Ragoza could not hide the true cause of this hesitant attitude:the Russian General was nute sure of his troops.The state of soul of these troops was doubtfull.Of the four Regiments of the 49th Division,one has declared available to take part into the offensive;the other three refused.The Romanian Commander told the Russians not to delay to much with the offensive.The Romanians executed their moves;they risked to be found out by the enemy which could barrier the hits.Finally,Ragoza agrees that the postpone to be only for two days.At 9 of September the fight will begin.

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The attack of Ciresoaia

At 9 of September,at 6 in the morning,the artillery of the 1st and 7th Divisions has started the bombarding of the enemy bositions;they also had a Russian cannon of 154,4.The artillery of the 6th Division has also throwed bombs with axfixiant gas.Reconaissance patrols ,sent after two hours,to see the efects of bombing,have noticed that the fire has not been well efective.On the front of the 1st Division have not been made in the enemy lines but three small breaks,and on the front of the 7th Division ,just one.The enemy soldiers have left the first line,during the bombardment,reatreating on the counter slopes of the heights,to shelter themselves;from there they received with livly fires our patrols.

At 9,our artillery elongates her firing range,to permit the biginning of the attack.It has formed an attack group,under the Command of general Obogeanu,made up of the troops of the 1st Brigade and namely:the 8th Hunters Regiment and 17th Infantry Regiment,unfolded in the first line,had to attack Ciresoaia,from North -East,along Arinisu Valley and Vrinceanu Valley;in the second line were the Mountain Hunters,and in reserve,the 1st Hunters Regiment and a Company of machineguns.At the right side and behind the attack group it was the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Division,gathered in Bogata Valley,to get in and advance through the break made by the troops of the 1st Brigade.The Russian troops of the 49th Division were to attack from the North,in the same time with the Romanian troops.The Hunters and Mehedintenii(men from Mehedinti) begin the advance with elan but imediately they have to see the dificulty of the attack.From behind the intact strongholds,a rain of bullets of machineguns and rifles fell over the attacker,and from the South,from Slanic Valley,enemy batteries of all calibers ,positioned in villages Slanic,Slanicel,Cerdac and Muncel,fire a violent barrier fire .

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The enemy is well prepared for defensive.Our advancing ,thus,is made hard,under this stonerain of fires;the soldiers have to crawl on their bellies..After an hour and a half,after the biginning of the attack,the first Romanian rows have reached the barb wire fence nets,which only here and there were broken by the artillery fire.The teams of cutters wit scissors begin to cut the wires of the nets ,but the concentrated fires of the enemy crops themFew wire lines are cut ,but at the back of these are others and our soldiers have to notice that the enemy has strenghtened his position wit three rows of barb wire fence,each one of them on three rows of poles!To try to destroy this redutable stronghold with scissors is like making the work of Sisif,in the middle of a killing fire vertigo.At this dificulty of execution comes to add up a commandment mistake.It is noticed that the action of the Russians,at the right side,it is not connected with ours.Instead of attacking towards Ciresoaia,in convergent direction with our attack,as was established in the battle plan,the Russians attack towards South-East,in Pravila direction.

At 11,our troops from the first line are forced to interupt the attack and to stop ahead the wire nets of the enemy,digging individual masks of defence,under the unmerciful fire started from enemy trenches.The Romanian Commander sends to the fight troops from the second line.At the right side ,the 8th Hunters Regiment,at the origin of Bogata Valley,enters the fight the Mountain Hunters to reestablish the connection with the Russians.At the left side intervines a battalion of 17th Mehedinti Regiment,and from the South,two battalions of the 27th Regiment of the 7th Division.With these troops it is started a new veiling attack over Ciresoaia,from North-East and South- East.With all the forces unfolded,the attack evolves with much dificulty and great losses.The enemy has on Ciresoaia Peak ,three resistance centrals,very solid organized,each one with machinegun nests of five pieces ,which dominates the surroundings:one towards North-West,towards Vrinceanului Stream,another one in North -East part of height 671,and the third one in the center.they are intact and their fire keeps at bay our infantry,which has to climb in uncovered terrain,under the rain of bullets.The enemy is in forested terrain;near the nets in front of the trenches ,are barb wires stretched between the trees of the forest.The terrain in front of the nets is mined and the explosions kill the attackers which try to close in.Another hardship comes from the part of the ally:the Russian artillery does not elongates her firing range and her fires fall over Ciresoaia,forcing the Mountain Hunters to stop their advance.

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At the right side of the Mountain Hunters enters the fight a battalion of the 31st Calafat Regiment,advancing hidden through the valley of Bogata Stream.He is sopped in front of the wire nets of the enemy,but can intervine in time to reestablish the situation,compromised for a moment by the success of a counterattack which has taken out from their trenches the soldiers of 196th Russian Regiment.A new attack is given at 5,and another at 7.In vain the artillery concentrates her fires to destroy the strongholds and the machinegun nests,uncovered during attacks;in vain teams of scissors sacrifice,crawling to the wire nets;in vain unit after unit crawls on their belly behind all terrain edgesand sneaks through the breaks made by artilleryand widen with so many sacrifice,by cutters;the enemy defense is very well organized.Three companies of the 17th Regiment manage to enter ,by evening,in the first line of enemy trenches,North of height 675,but an enemy counterattack,made with superior forces,rejects them,and Mehedintenii(soldiers from Mehedinti) remain near the nets.Ahead of one of the attack waves of 8th Hunters Regimenthas fallen Bucovinean voluntier Ion Gramada.He had all the rights to stay as a techer at the military school.But the man of science-doctor in letters at the University of Viena-writer of talent and a human of character,of action and elan.he has fought with the word and pen in time of peace for the liberty of his country,and now when the hour of talks has past and came the hour of deeds,his pride and sense of duty could not contend with prudent and fade rols.He has asked to be sent in the first rows of the firing line and,at Ciresoaia attack with the body pierced by two bullets has given his soul,honoring with his heroic death,the intelectuality of Bucovina,of which elite reprezentative he was.*

In the evening the whole 1st Division has surrounded Ciresoaia and the cordon is tight.

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*Fragment from a personal letter of Gramada,written with two weeks before his heroic death:"...I think very little about death and I am not at all afraid of it.I am prepared to face it.I am not afraid by the sins I commited ,because that how saint and just before God is the cause for which so much youth has dressed with the shirt of death,that all of us are awaited by eternity.I am sure of that.Our war is holly.Like I said,I regret only that I haven't linked my name with a heroic deed ,to be of use to others.But I hope in the fight that awaits me,soon God will help to acomplish a deed to cross me in imortality.(God only knows if I'm not making a sin now with my ego).I am amazed that there are still so many men left at their homes,which do not understand how much sublime beauty is in self martyr,martyr made of free will.There are moments when you fill the breath of God touching your forehead with a wind pale of wellbeing.And then you forget everything you loved in life,everything that is traveler ,like sand of the desert and you don't regret at all the world you left behind.

...God,help me to be tough,worthy and unfearful,to be able to revenge the tears of my kind for one hundred and fifty years of slavery..."

[razu]

Robert,

Thank you.

Map Legend;the thick blak line=Enemy Front,D.49Rs.=49th Russian Division,D.1R=1stRomanian Division,Divizia 7 Romana=7th Romanian Division,D.1CvR.=1st Cavalry Romanian Division,D.Albert=Albert Hill,D.6.R.=6th Romanain Division

D.225 G.=225th German Division,Bg15Bv=15th Bavarian Brigade

Vf Ciresoaia =Ciresoaia Peak ,Plaiu Finatu Bisericii=Finatu Bisericci plateau,Dofteana=Dofteana water,Trotus=Trotus River,Slanic=Slanic water,Oituz=oituz water

[Robert Dunlop]

Here is the battle map:

Robert

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The Russians apologise but accuse....

The attack given with so many sacrifices did not succeed.The cause for failure is not only the formidable organization of the defensive position of the enemy,but more the lack of coordination of the Romanian action with the Russian one.As the Romanian units were fighting with great losses,to attack in the chest the formidable position of Ciresoaia,the Russians,which had in front of them a much less organized sector,have given weak and unconnected.General Ragoza ,in a letter send to General Averescu,pretends that it is necessary that the Romanians should firstly occupy height 772,Ciresoaia Peak,after which the Russian will,only intervene.At this curious pretention,the Romanian Commander ,answered,that if the Romanians would succeed to conquer Ciresoaia,there would be no further need of the XXIV-th Russian Corps.The sense of the Russian intervention was just as to ease the principal mission and hard, given to the Romanians.Because in the Russian sector the enemy position were less strong,from nature and weaker organized by the enemy,they could be attacked and conquered easier,reaching in this way,to take the stronger positions by veiling.If the Russians would have entered Fundu Bogatei,between heights 772 and 643,Ciresoaia would imediately be evacuated by the enemy.

Feeling the need to excuse himself,Ragoza states that,one moment,the russians would succeed in occupying height 643,but the intense enemy fire on the domminant position of height 772 has ravaged his troops and that,especially,the death battalion of the 49th Division would have been decimated.This statement could not be proven.The Russian Commander announced also that,in the case in which neither in the next day ,the operation will succeed,he will suspend the action.

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The unfolding of Ciresoaia Battle ,in the day of 9th of September,has probed,once more,if it was still needed,what funest results has the lack of unity in command.And this especially when one of the two commanders,which has to make harmony in mind,senses and action,has the mentality which General Ragoza has manifested once more,in such a regretable manner,at Marasesti.More sincere than the Commander of the Russian Army,the Chiefof Staff of Hedquarter of the IV-th Russian Army,addmits the exact causes of the Russian failure:"Unfortunately,our fears materialize entirely:our offensive did not had success.The artillery prepare has not given the expected results as did before,maybe because in these thick forests the targets were not visible enaugh,but mostly because our artillery men had not the same elan ,same enthusiasm,the same desire to win with any price,which flamed them two months before.As for the infantry,either it did not move,or they only pretended to attack,whithout getting out of the trences, though.Just some isolated groups ,composed especialy by officers and less soldiers,had thrown ahead.Badly sustained,they fell victims of cowardice an instinct of conservation of the Russian soldiers.

In the first day,the neighbour Romanian Army has obtained some advantages,but could not evolve them because they did not have our support."

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Fighting with the Barb Wire Fences

After the failure of the yesterday attack,the day of 10th of September is used for studying of the means of attack,especialy of the artillery action,of which unefective firing range over the enemy strongholds,have hardened the task of the infantry ,contributing thus to unsuccess.In the morning of the day,all the infantry troops,wich buried themselves in shelters in front of the wire nets of the enemy,have been retreated with 300 m behind,in order to not be exposed to unfriendly and friendly fires.Our artillery has restarted the firing on the whole stretch of the front,over the nets and trenches of the enemy.After three hours and a half of bombardment,numerous patrols have been sent in different points,to notice the effects of the firing range of the artillery.The general impression with which the patrols returned was that the aiming of the artillery was either to long or to short,and so without two points where were made small breaks in the first line,in the whole of the enemy position the wire nets are intact.General Vaitoianu,Commander of the IV-th Romanian Army Corps,which was directly in charge of the battle,has observed that the principal motive for this artillery inefectivness is,firstly,the configuration of the terrain,which barriers the direct observation of the effects of the firing,and secondly,the lack of observers ,to direct the aiming in good conditions.That is why,the bombardment and any important action were suspended for this day and there were send patrols commanded by officers to find the best positions,where the observers would install,which will direct the next day the firing range of destroying the wire nets.The troops of the Romanian attack group ,form an arch arround Ciresoaia.At the right side,in direct contact with the Russians,at Fundu Bogatei,is a battalion of the 1st Calafat Regiment;at its left ,mounted on the origin of Vrinceanu Stream,are the Mountain Hunters,after which follows 8th Hunters Regiment over Vrinceanu.From the edge of the wood,crossing over Toma Peak,are the troops of 17th Mehedinti Regiment,and at its left side,to Slanic Valley is the 27th Regiment.In the reserve of the attack group,on Vrinceanu,it is the 1st Hunters Regiment with a machinegun Company and a mountain battery(cannons).

The Russians are almost inexistent.In the preceeding night has broke out in Russia the revolt of Kornilov*.All their attention is aimed to the events in the country,towards the bloody fights between parties.Who is to think to Ciresoaia (of the Romanians).

The Romanians restart the fight dicided at wathever sacrifice.During the night of 10th-11th of September,at 2,30.four groups of voluntiers of the 31st Romanian Infantry Regiment,commanded by sub-Officers,armed with scissors and grenades ,are sneaking over the ground through Fundu Bogaei Valley,North of Ciresoaia,towards the enemy wire nets.Behind them,following them close,are another four groups of grenadieri.Scissors-men arrive at the netsand start cutting wire,but are discovered by the vigilent enemy.Aviolent fire begins one side and the other;grenades fly like balls;machineguns start to rattle.The scissors works fast and the cut wires fell surrounding the bodies of scissors-men hit by bullets,which torment in spasm of agony .A large breach of 200 meters is made in the first row of nets,but behint it is another one and then the third one!Obviously the arms of men move fastand the lives which martyr,whatever cheap they would be,are not enaugh.Machines have to intervene.It is given the order to bring four trenches mortiers;but arriving and installing them needs time,and the day light arrives before the mortiers could begin their work.

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Still at 6,30 in the morning,all arround Ciresoaia our artillery begins the fire,at which the enemy cannons respond shot by shot.At 11,30 a platoon of the 31st Regiment is pushed through the breaking made to the nets in Fundu Bogatei Valley,to see the depth and widness of it;a battalion is brought behind the platoon tu sustain it and eventualy attack;another battalion stays in reserve,placed in attack waves.The reconnaisance platoon is stopped in front of the second line of wire fences,as the enemy artillery from Muncelu direction,fires furiosly making barrier arround Ciresoaia.The attack at Fundu Bogatei is paralized.It is needed an action of diversion and of helps.The 17th Regiment ,together with a battalion of the 27th Regiment,receive the order to attack in direction height 707,veiling Ciresoaia Peak-height 772-from South.At 1 in the afternoon the soldiers begin the advance in open terrain,swept by the blows of the enemy artillery,cross vigorously over height 707,and with heavy losses they arrive at the enemy nets in Finatu Bisericii Meadow.The violent fight begins again in front of the nets;a Romanian battalion ,unfolded on the plateau of height 707,sustains the attack.The 7th company of the 31st Regiment finds a break in the nets,made in the eve by trenches mortiers;a platoon of the company elans and,after one minute,our soldiers are in the enemy trenches.But through the narrow break,the company cannot intervene imediately and the handful of soldiers is overwhelmed by the enemy flow and thrown out of the trenches,with grave losses.The platoons does not give up;the soldiers stay strong on the slope of the hill,between the enemy trenches in front and the wire nets behind.With grat difficulty,a second platoon of the company enters through the nets and strenghtens the position of their mates,in the danger spot.Another neighbour company,the 3rd,manages tu cut,the nets,as well ,widening the break,with all the violent fire of the enemy,and stops ,exhausted with losses,in front of the second row of barb wire fence.In this way,at the two extremities of the attack group,at Fundu Bogatei and at Finatu Bisericii(finat=hey biserica=church),few detachments succeed to break first of the barrier and find themselves in front of the second one.In the interval between the two extreme points,the 8th Hunters regiment and the Mountain Hunters have closed in to the nets,but could not break through,in any place,all the scissors-men being killed by grenades and machineguns of the enemy.They have contributed though,through their lively fire of machinegun,at the general action.

A short break is necessary at 2 in the afternoon,to remake the units.There are brought wooden beams to be thrown over the second row of the nets.The attack restarts at 2,30 but the advance is impossible.At 5,15 is given a new assault at which participates the whole group of assault ,together with the 31st Regiment at the right side and 27th Regiment at the left side.The artillery fires violently over the enemy positions,and the infantry troops start the assault in the whole stretch of the front,in the sound of trumpets.Again the soldiers are in front of the fatal wire nets ;some of them are cutting the wires ,others are throwing the beams for escalading.The enemy throws torrents of fire ;the nails of the wire cut the meat of the attackers and the stopped waves are thined more and more .The 7th Company of the 17th Regiment manages this time as well to enter in the enemy lines and it is counterattacked with fury.At the right side and at the left side ,the neighbour companies cannot help her ;the enemy nets are compartimented with transversal rows and no side communication is possible .After half an hour of ferocious fight,the company is rejected beyond the wire nets.

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Stopping Ciresoaia Battle

At seven in the evening,the Romanian Commander gives the order of general cease of the attack and of strenghtening the troops on their actual positions.General Ragoza have communicated to General Averescu that he had ordered to the Russian troops of the XXIV-th Corps to cease any offensive action.The cause ,which have determined the Russians to stop the fight ,is axplained Chief of Staff of the IV-th Russian Army:"After two days of futile forcings,in which we tried in vain to send our troops to assault,we had to give up definitely and come back to defensive.This has been the lamentabil result of our last try to offensive.In our souls we were satisfied that it did not end up with a defeat,or a complete catastrophe ,that the soldiers have remained in position,instead of beating in retreat,which would have been more than possible,in the face of unstopped propaganda in favour of imediately cease of battles and for closing the peace,which was going on in the trenches".

Obviously that in such conditions ,there can be no talk about continuing the fight.She ended by the Russians refusal to fight and by the failure of our attack.The Romanians begin to consolidate their defensive front,in their turn,and the two adversaries remain face to face with the ready weapon.Both of them have to admit that each one of them is strong enaugh to put up to the enemy quite a resistance,but not enaugh to rip the victory in a offensive action.

*The counterrevolutionary rebelion conducted by General Kornilov has started at 25th of August/7th of september 1917.It was defeated at 30th of August/12 of Sptember 1917.

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The end of the 1917 Campaign

Battles of Varnita and Muncelu were the last trials of two armies which begin to tire,after the great forcings of before.The Austro-Germans had to admit their incapacity to keep the initiative of offensive move.This meant the complete renunciation of any velleity for conquering Moldavia and of capturing the Romanian -Russian forces,with which they begun the sounding offensive on Siret River and Trotus River..The only thing left for them to do was to observeand and give a hand the proces of terminating the Russian Armies,from which they will expect more important successes than from their own bayonets.

The Austro -German armies gather in defensive position,deepening and multiplying their trenches and point outwards the nails of the barbwire fences ,more dense then before.They als know that,beyond their lines ,the Russians does not count anymore as fighting power and that the Romanians ,with all their bravery,could not enterprise by themselves a dangerous offensive action.

And as the long Romanian front,from Oituz to SIret,the cannon rares its blow,to retake the normal rithm of daily bombardmebt,as the adversaries bury their dead and make count for an expensive campaign,the Great German Headquarter of Kreuznach closes in his turn the offensive game of Trotus and Siret.On the page of proffit ,the Generalisim writes a big zero,and on the page of losses he is forced to admit the pulverising of some of the most beautiful units ,the colapse of a great plan and the funeral of some reputations.But the reel of war unfolds to fast for a chief to loose his time in regrets and retrospective considerations.Ludendorff has finished the campaign in Moldavia with a big defeat.His eye turns again from East ,towards West,where the horizon begins to redden at the heat of the burn which refires in the fields of Flandre ,on the hills arround Verdun and on the shores of Isonzo.And because the gallery of spectators must have been impressed with a resounding bluff ,the gret director sends his divisions on the shores of Divina,at Riga assault[1].Ludendorff knows that Russian front is the only place where he can win an easy victory and this is very necessary for strenghtening a prestige,which begun ti crack from all joints.

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The Romanian Campaign of 1917 has kept for fifty days.She has started at 22nd of Julyin the ferocious bombardment of Namoloasa and Marasti,to give her soul in front of the babwire fence nets on Ciresoaia.It followed small local actions to rectifying mor advantageously the front lines.The most important were: an attaempt made on Oituz front,with troops of the 6th Romanian DIvision at 9th of September,against Negroponte Castle;another one at 18thof September,with troops of Regiments 46th and 24th over Lesuntu Hill and finally,the one enterprised of troops from 3rd and 11th DIvisions on Vrinceanu Hill,between Alunei Valley and Susita River.,at 17th of September.None of them had apreciabil results.Other than that,only the artillery continued its fires to spread the enemy patrols which tried to get close to the front line,with purposes more of corruption then agression.An offensive prepared by the II-nd Romanian Army with direction Tirgu Ocna has been canceled because of the events in Russia.

From the strategical point of view,the 1917 campaign has been a double victory of Romanians.Two were her moments:an offensive one in the beginning,when the initiative was on our side and a defensive one ,the last,when we had to barrier the the hit of the enemy.Our offensive,stopped during its unfolding,has given the admirable victory of Marasti.

Our defensive has been sa well,victorious.All the fight given for a month,from 24th of July till the end of August,with all the outstanding names borrowed from geographic centers ,arround which ,have unfolded ,are in reality the episoes of one single big battle,given by the Germans on the Romanian front on the South-West of Moldavia ,between mountains and Siret River.The aim of this battle was the destroing of the IV-th Russian and II-nd Romanian Armies,turning the VI-th and IX-th Russians and so,conquering of Moldavia.The result was ,though,another:the IV-th Russian has been saved by the I-st Romanian Army,which took her place,the II-nd Romanian Army efended vigorously.The two Romanain Armies have barrier the road of the enemy,and bloody rejected all the attempts of breakthrough,and in the end they remained master on the situation.The enemy had to bend his head,to give up the battle and to transport his forces for other enterprises.It is the great victory of the Romanian war,obtained in the greatest battles given on the South-Oriental theatre of the European War.She has escaped Moldavia by the enemy invasion,preserved the humanity of Romanian State and rose us up in the eyes of our allies ,as well as our enemies.

The great German Hedquarter has been very afected by the defeat in Moldavia.Ludendorff intends to not give up,restarting the attack against Moldavia in the second week of September,with bigger forces by troops brought from Riga.His plan is to attack Moldavia from two parts,from Siret and from Bucovina.The experience showed him that an action against Romanians is not an easy enterprise,and the Austro-German forces had to be put aside for the actions which would take place on the western front.On the Italian front it was prepared the hit of Tolmino and Caporetto.The Alpine Corps, the 117th German DIvision,the 13th Austrian Division and a lot of heavy artillery,are taken from the Romanian front and send to Isonzo[2].That is why,Ludendorff has to renaunce at the operation projected for Moldavia,which he considered more important then the one in Italy.This renaunciation it is-for the Chief of German Staff-"ridiculous".The success at Riga is counted only"weak compensation" compared with the operations in Moldavia,"but than nothing,it was still something!".

With this ends definitive the Romanian campaign of 1917.On our side,the Russians did not want to fight,and the Romanians alone,were not so strong,to enterprise offensive actions of great perspectives.

At the biginning of September ,Emperor Wilhelm came into the occupied territory to visit the Romanian front.He has passe first to Curtea de Arges to put flowers on King Carol grave,has visited the petrolifer terrains of Cimpina and has been received at Cernavoda by Zar Ferdinand of Bulgaria,on a land which the Zar wanted for Bulgara.Finally he went to the front.From the height of Magura Odobesti,th Kaizer listens amused the conference made by General Morgen over the great battles .But his angry eyes can only see in front the strong wall, unmoved by which his armies accidented and crushed.Beyond this wallthe Country of Moldavia is unfolding her green and happy hills ,untouched by the foot of the enemy.Near the Imperial guest,Marshal Mackensen follows with fear the iritated eye sights which stop one by one over Oituz Mountains and then Vrancea Mountains,and then Muncelu Hills and Panciu Hills,then over the fields of Marasesti,over the silvery bow of Siret River.

And in this eyes,the conquerer of other times has read the disgratious sentence for today defeated.The glorious career of the Marshal has ended here.He will remain in the post,without danger and glory,of Commander of occupation army of Romania.Germany will still try to give big blows.This fall in Italy,and in the spring in France.All the German Commanders ,of German motherland ,will be called to lead the armies in these supreme forcings.No one thinks,though,at the old Marshal,who travels his nostalgy of battle fields under the trees of Kiseleff Street and on the plateau of Expozition Park in Bucharest.

[1] The Germans attacked Riga sector and crossed Divina at 1st of September 1917.At 3rd of September they entered Riga and the Russian troops retreated to Petrograd.

[2]On the Italian front on Isonzo was prepared a big operation ,offensive,Austro-German,with the aim to take Italy out of war.For the first time in the Great War,in the autumn of 1917,the Germans send troops to Italy to sustain Austro-hungary,which was incapable to obtain victories by its forces,as on the Serbian front in 1914-1915.The big hit was given at Coporetto,where the Italian front has been broken at 24th of October 1917.