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Remembered Today:

Romanian Campaign of 1916,The Campaign in Dobrogea


razu

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As the military action of the Tzarist Army in Dobrogea has been null,as the fleet on the Black Sea has made no deed,letting the enemy to advance undisturbed along the shore of the Black Sea ,exactly on the ground tongue between Tuzla Lake and the Sea,turning the flank of our Army,as in Constanta the Anty Aerian Artillery and the Tzarist hydroplanes have not obstacled the enemy airplanes to throw daily bombs over our hospitals ,the Russian soldiers gave themselves at plunderings on the back of Dobrogean population.Even in the course of the first retreat ,after the Battle on Dobrogean Frontier ,the officers and soldiers of the 36th Romanian Brigade could see a spectacle which filled them with indignation:the Russian Soldiers were retreating with precipitation ,emptying the villages on their way;the inhabitants were runing away as they could and in their wake the Russian soldiers were stealing the villages.You could see wagoons of replenishments carring sewing machines and for kitchens ones,chairs ,wardrobes and even pianos(without tail).Techerghiol has been completely devastated by Russians ,beginning with the wine cellars and ending with furnitures ,tableaus and mirrors in which the drunk soldiers amused themselves by firing shots.The devastations was put on the count of a Cazac Division,which they named it themselves the "Savage Division".In reality this was everywhere the conduct of the Russians ,even in Medgidia ,where it was the General Headquarter of General Zaioncikovski.In the wake of some panic,in which the Russian cavalry and artillery run away North,the small city remained deserted :the inhabitants have run ,loading in haste whatever they could in their wagoons.Until reestablishing the calm and the return of the population,the Russian soldiers have profitted to devastate and steal everything .The disorderly retreats of the Russians widen up the panic to far away and were disorganizing the public life in Dobrogea .Under the impression of panic unleashed by the precipitated evacuation of the general Russian Hedquarter ,of Medgidia ,the authorities in Tulcea have left the city,running away together with the frightened population towards Galati and Ismail.The intervention of the Romanian troops have reestablished the calm.

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On the tracks of the barbarians

The good intentions and the aparent energy of General Zaharov did not had the ocasion to be put to use for liberatig Dobrogea.The Bulgarians continued to advance North with Cavalry,strenghtened with Infantry units ,on the tracks of the Russians which were retreating .The avanguards of Bulgarian Cavalry did not pass but just a little the separation line between Constanta County and and Tulcea County....The power of pursuit of Bulgarians was diminishing as the Russian resistance was increasing;the arriving on to the fighting line of the IV-th Siberian Corps (Divisions 9th and 10th)have stopped quick the advancement of Bulgarians and forbid them the occupation of Babadag.In the same time ,behind the cavalry curtain ,the Bulgarian Infantry was organising a line of resistance in the most narrow region of Dobrogea from Boascic on Danube River,through South of Gelengie,until Lake Tasaul.The line has been formidable strongholded with rows of entrenches and of barbed wire fence ;the elevations West of Topalu and Boascic and Beris-Tepe Hill ,the proeminent points of the line ,which were making two pronounced proeminences towards North ,have been transformed in formidable redoubts.Mackensen has withdrew the 1st Bulgarian Division and 217th German Division ,to organize with them the Army which had to cross the Danube River,upstream.With the rest of the III-rd Bulgarian Army ,meaning,the 4th Division,the Mixt Kantargiev Division ,the VI-th Turkish Corps (Divisions 15th and 25th) with a German Regiment and the 3rd Cavalry Division ,he has started a new offensive at 3rd of November 1916 for conquering the Northern Dobrogea .Faced with the received news about the strenghtening of the Russian Army ,especially being informed that on the left side of the Danube,at Slobozia ,is concentrating a new Russian Army Corps -the 4th -under the Command of General Alekseev,Mackensen has stopped the offensive and gave the order of general retreat on the resistance position of Boascic-Tasaul.

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At 7th of November the Russians begins the advance towards South,on the tracks of bulgarians .Burn and ruin was everywhere .All the villages left by the Bulgarians have been devastated and arsoned.At the right wing of the Russians ,along the Danube,was a Romanian Detachment;the Romanian Division of Monitors was advancing on the Danube ,protecting the flank of the army in movement.A little to the South ,in Balta Dinarii,in Region Calarasi -Fetesti,has been brought the 8th Russian Division.

At 8th of November,the Romanian troops ,made out of the fourth battalion from Regiments Bacau and Neamt,strenghtened with a Navy Detachment ,disembarked by the fleet and with a Russian Cavalry Detachment ,reoccupied Hirsova,as the Russian front line was much further North.The little city was completely destroyed and arsoned;two weeks of Bulgarian occupation transformed it into smoking ruins .The barbarianism did not know to respect not even the most beautiful manifestations of human spirit ;the admirable regional museum of teacher Cotovu,the crop of a lifetime of work,served by a noble passion was also ash and rabble.The heroes of Louvain were schooled.The destroing instincts of the Bulgarians were known to Mackensen which,by repeated orders,prescribed that no harm to be brought to Cernavoda Bridge(Carol the Ist Bridge),and to Constanta Harbour ,but only with direct order of Mackensen headquarter.

The Romanian fleet was always ahead of the Russian one,bombarding the back and flanks of the Bulgarians.After two days ,the artillery of the monitors away the Bulgarians from Toplau,which is occupied by Romanians.The fleet continued the advance to Boascic and Seimenii Mari,sending vedettes in reconissance until Cernavoda,defending the missfortuned Romanian population of the Danube villages ,not only against the enemy,but also against the Russian ally of which soldiers given themselves to devastations and brigandages of all kinds.

The pursuit has stopped in front of the fortified line of Boascic -Topalu,in which the III-rd Bulgarian Army with its Turkish strenghtenings and German ones,under its new Commander General Nerezov*has received the order to resist to the last man.It wasn't need for this of too much heroism.Zaharov ,edged himself to give from 23rd of November till 2nd of December a series of unsewed fights ,attacking isolated points ,without energy and without the intention to give a serious battle .Then, quiet went over the Dobrogean Front .And the fights will not reflame again but only when the Bulgarians ,edificated totally over the enemy in front of them ,will think it is the moment to throw him out of Dobrogea by an only one vigorous push.

But this episode does not belong to the Romanian Campaign;it is an episode of the strange Russian strategic game.

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The End of Dobrogean Campaign

The bloody and painful Dobrogen act of the Romanian Campaign was ending now.Ment to be a secondary action in our war ,it became all of a sudden the principal cause of defeat.The Dobrogean Campaign has begun with the sad episode of Turtucaia Fortress and,slowly ,has pumped all the reserves of our military strenght and has paralised the elan with which the Army has hastened over Carpathian Mountains .Rejected from one line to another ,we have lost ,in the end,Constanta as well.Dobrogea has been the grave of some tens of thoulsands of sons of the Kingdom and of the most beautiful ilussions.

A deep discourageemnt and a great bitterness was descending in our souls.Our national pride was lowered.We have abandoned in the power of Bulgarians also a corner of our soul.Because for forty years ,the Romanian labour managed to transform the deserted region,about which Moltke was talking in 1835,in to the garden which imposed admiration even to the ferocious enemy.Mackensen himsel said:"The traveler which enters Dobrogea through Bulgaria has the impression that he passes from Asia to Europe".In a few weeks ,the Bulgarian invasion has passed with the fire of destruction over the Romanian civilization .The fluorishing villages were now rubble and ash;the population have taken the world in the head(run away).Bulgarians have succeeded to bring Dobrogea half a century back.

We also have lost the strong bastion which,in our War Plan,was supposed to defend us from the South,so that we had free hand in the North.We have also lost the unfinshed trust we had till then in the fighting power and in the vigor of our military organization,we have lost the trust in the power and sincerity of our Russian ally.A formidable coalition of enemies ,which put ahead the most capable military chiefs ,was grasping us more and more in the circle of fire ,and in the midst of it,exhausted of strenghts ,we were alone.Beyond the fire circle of the enemy our big friends ,eased by our jump into the spin of fire of the enemy,were sending us words of rising up moral and,regreting that for the moment were unable to send something else as well,they were edging in saying that we were weaker than they have been expected.

In the same time ,our war material,which had to be set on foot of equality with the enemy,was lost through the vastness of Russia or were at the bottom of the ocean by the submarines of the enemy.In our bitter hearts ,a hunch begins to make way:our principal ally was betraying us....

In these circumstances of inferiority and depression of soul,was ironing now the fight for defending the Kingdom by enemy invasion.

*Between Mackensen and Tosev the conflicts were chaining.The last one of them has been determined by Mackensen order as the 1st Bulgarian Division to be imediately withdrew from Dobrogean Front and enter the composition of the Danube Army.Tosev,protesting against this decission ,was forced to resign from the Commandment of the III-rd Bulgarian Army.

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[1]In the 1914 campaign ,Austro-Hungary prooven incapable of crushing Serbia,although has occupied temporarily Belgrade.The Serb victory of Rudnik(4th-5th September 1914)forced the Austrians to retreat towards frontier.At 15th of December in the wake of a new offensive the Serbs reoccupy Belgrade and liberate their national territory.The great offensive ,decissive,Austro-German against Serbia will start at 6 th of October 1915.

[2]The Legitimeers ,Monarhist party in France ,had as goal the abolition of republican form of government and reinstauration of Monarchy,by bringing back the Burbon Dynasty.Burbon Dynasty has ruled in France in 1589-1792,1814-1815,1815-1830.

[3]On the War Theatre in Serbia .Wishing to suport Serbia ,the Expeditionary Ally Corps at Salonic has send troops towards North-West ,which have arrived in the sector between Crna and Vardar.The Bulgarian troops which have begun the hostilities against Serbia at 21st of October 1915 ,oppose resistance and force the allies to retreat at 2nd of December from Crna and Vardar.

[4]In the Enetente camp there was no unity of oppinions pertaining the strategical periferical goals and of the Army of Salonic ;few French and British politicians and militaries were partizans of creating and activation of the Balkan Front ;for general Joffre ,example,the Balkan Front-secondary- would have swallowed important ally units so necessary on the French Front ,where the faith of the War was decided.On the Salonic Front have been ,however,send step by step,units of the armies of the great powers of Entente and Serbs-but ina very different measure.

[5]Prime Minister of France and ,and respectively of Great Britain.

[6]In this stage ,Grece was a neutral country,even there were two political opposed groups -proGerman and Ententofila."Grece and the Great powers" 194-1917George L.B.,Thesaloniki,Institute for Balkan Studies 1974

[7]Vasil Radoslavov (1854-1929) Bulgarian politician ,Primeminister(1886-1887,1913-1918).

[8]National Gathering of Bulgaria.

[9]Russian-Romanian-Turk War 1877-1878

[10]On the oriental Theatre of operations in Poland ;in 30th of November -6th of December 1914 here was a great battle ,in which the Russian Army suffered a defeat.

[11] about Turtucaia failure

[12]This is our Verdun

[13]Vaux and Thionville were strong forts of the fortifications system of Verdun,on the Frence Front,for which extremely bloody battles have been given in 1916.

[14]"Turtucaia is our Verdun,those who provoke it attak themselves"

[15]Fortress Przemysl,strong military fortification in Poland territories(Galitia),under Habsburgic domination,for which have been given hard and repeated battles between Russians and Austro-Hungarians .For the first time in September 1914 the Russians attack the forthress and siege it,but at 11th of October they been forced to end up the siege;still at 22 March 1915 the Russian force Przemsl to capitulate ,whit occassion in which they captured 120 000 prisoners ,900 cannons etc.Faced with this desaster ,what happened at Turtucaia were modest losses .The strong modern fortifications of Liege (Belgium) have been attacked by the Germans at 4th of August 1914,the fortress could not be conquered but only after heavy fights ,the German troops enterd Liege at 6th of August 1914,after the forts have been demolished with the aid of the formidable heavy artillery fabricated by Krupp.

[16]Justinianus Ist,Bizantin Emperor (527-565)

[17]Sveatoslav,Sovereign of Kiev (964-972)

[18]Dobrotici ruled Dobrogea 1354-1386

[19]Baiazid I(Ildirim),Ottoman Sultan 1389-1402

[20]I F Paskevici 1782 1856,Russian General ,have Commanded the Russians Armies in the Romanian Principates(countries) in the Crimean War 1853-1856

[21]Extraordinary Council of Defense of Tzarist Russia

[22]Monastir has been occupied by the French-British-Serb troops of the Ally Army of Salonic at 19th of november 1916.

[23]In depth

[24]Nizami-Ottoman infantry units(Turkish)

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  • 1 month later...

Bloody Hell, Razu :o What a piece of work. No wonder I can never get on the website - only joking :lol: Are you publishing this as a written article somewhere? Antony

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