Romanian Campaign of 1916.The Invasion

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(The Romanian Countries and a part of the Balkans Peninsula)

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The fight at Vilcov

The operations against Vilcov announced to be harder.Here have stopped all Russian forces of Danube with the manifested intention to oppose Romanians.Situated at the flow of Danube in the Black Sea ,Vilcov could be also defended by the naval forces of sea ,entirely at bolsevic dispozition.Next to this,its position was a strong one also because of the hill of channels surrounding it ,a real river delta ,of Chilia ,Danube River arm to the sea.Villages Galilesti,Ghibarteni and Jabrieni ,neighbour with Vilcov ,were occupied by numerous groups of sailor soldeiers,bolsevics,with cannons and machineguns ;the enemy had also in this region wireless telegraphy stations.

Against Vilcov has been enterprized an attack from the land combined with another on water.On land,Dragu Detachment ,composed of forces of aproximatively three Battalions of Infantry ,one Escadron of Cavalry and two batteries and a half of Artillery,has advanced by North of Vilcov.A Detachment mixt has been brought at Periprava to constitute ,together with Marine troops a Disembarking Corps close to Vilcov.The defence fleet has taken position ,with the I-st Division of monitors at 500 meters up hill from the mouth of Cernovca Channel ,and with the 2nd Division 500 m up hill of Sulimanca.

At 9th of February ,the land troops have occupied villages Galilesti ,Ghibrateni and Jabrieni ;the Russian troops ,installed in these villges ,run away,after firing cannons and machineguns in our avanposts,abandoning also their wireless instalations of telegraphy .Jabrieni Village could not be held by our troops ,being under the direct beat of the cannons from some Russian vessels of war,which held the sea at East of Jabrieni.The cannoniers and Russian barges from Vilcov have violently bombarded Periprava and destroied the church where the observator of our artillery was.The Romanians answer back ,opening over Vilcov with a howitzer battery and with the artillery of the monitors.The firing range of the Russians ,being directed by observers from the churches 's towers from Vilcov ,manages to frame the I-st Division of river monitors,which retreats with 2 km to the hill.

In the following days ,the Russian's resistance organizes and increases;they have at Vilcov four cannoniers of war type "Donet" and several barges and floating fixed batteries .Their land forces are in the power of an infantry regiment.Other vessels are on the sea,in front of Jabrienilor .Their artillery fires violently to the North ,against our land troops ,but also to the West ,against our fleet especially towards Periprava ,with shells of all calibers ,up to 245 mm,making us some losses.The Russian infantry attacks from Jabrieni direction ,but our artillery keeps it to respect.The trials of the enemy to occupy Galilestii do not succeed;the village remains in our hands .Still,to get out of the ray of enemy fire ,the bulk of Romnian troops has been retreated at Coriacichi ,and in the villages beaten by artillery have been left only advanced posts.The troops of the 13th Romanian Division ,strengthened with Cavalry stretch their left wing ,such that they intercept the communications with Cetatea Alba(the White Fortress).Vilcov is completely blocked from the land;in its edge ,the two adversaries are strengthening their positions with threnches .Romanians occupy Coriacichi and Galilesti ;the Russians occupy Jabrienii .The weather is very bad ;frost ,freezing,blizzard .The snow falls in abundence and our soldiers have the clothes ,rags and the footwear broken.

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The Russians are seeking to disembark troops at Periprava ,during the nights ,with the help of motor boats and lotci ,but are repelled ;few lotci are sunk .Our monitors and vedettes fire all the time and scatter groups of Russian sailors and soldiers ,which sneak through looking to attack our detachments and vedettes.The Romanian Fleet has concentrated her forces .The I-st Division of River Monitors is 3 Km by Sulimanca water ;a floating battery of howitzers of 120 mm is at 300 m up hill of Sulimanca water ;two batteries of howitzers of 127 mm,on the land,at East by the head of Lake Nebuna;a battery of 75 is on Grindul Mare ,East of Letea Forest ;three Companies of the Disembarking Battalion and one of Pontooneers in trenches ,in the edge of Periprava Village .The Fleet asks to the 13th Division the aproval to engage the fight with the Russian forces of water,which are on Danube and on Oceacov Channel .Are set to the Fleet's dispozition two fighting and tunning airplanes and and the action is fixed for 14th of February.

The Romanian bombardment begins at 4 in the afternoon .Our cannons aim especially the towers of the Russian church and the Lipovean one in Vilcov,where are installed the observators ,then cannonieres and barges.The towers are hit,the observers run away ,the telephonic wires are destroyed.One shell hits the house in which is gathered the soviet of the Russian troops.The Russian vessels cannot tune their firing range.Cannonier "Donet" is hit,after she only fired seven shots of 150:she retreats on Oceacov Channel and wrecks on shore.A barge with cannons of 130 runs without firing a single shot,followed by the fires of our monitors .From Oceacov Channel ,the Russian artillery begins to fire an uneffective firing range and is brought to silence by our artillery,which bombards both the vessels of the enemy,and the city.The revolutionary troops have no other choice but to leave the city and embark;the vessels take the road to the sea.

The next day ,15th of February ,a delegation of three citizens -Lipoveni-present themselves to the Commander of the Romanian Fleet announcing him that they surrender the city ,which has been left by the land troops ,as by the sailors which have terrorized it all the time.Without any incident has been occupied Vilcov ,and Jabrieni ,capturing some ten river transport vessels with a great quantity of material an munitions.The Russian troops have embarked on the river transport vessels of the fllet and went out to the sea,with direction Sevastopol,escorted by five motor war boats.,after taking all aliments deposits.Stopped by the sea storm to go out ,they crowded at mouth of Oceacovu from where,however ,have been away by the fires of our monitors and at 19th of February had to go out the sea.The storm have scattered them ;two river transport vessels have been thrown on the shore ,at North East of Jabrieni.

Now the whole region is in our hands;the Romanian troops proceed methodically at disarming of the armed ones and at the arrestation of the chieftains.The Delta is entirely occupied by Romanian troops of Marina.The entering of Romanians in Southern Basarabia have made an excellent impression in the bosom of the population ,which saw coming back order and quiet.In Ismail has been organized ,of the initiative of Russian officers ,which constituted the garrison of the regular local army ,a celebration of the event ,making also a collect and a Ball for the benefit of the Romanian soldiers fallen on Basarabian soil.

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Freeing Cetatea Alba

To end the mission of occupying and pacifying Southern Basarabia ,the 13th Romanian Division had to attack Cetatea Alba(the White Fortress).Placed on Nistru River liman,in the most extreme South-Eastern corner of Basarabia ,the city and the surrounding region have become the refuge place and concentration of all the fighting elements,drifted from the rest of the territory occupied by Romanian Army,a nest and focar of anarchy and agitation.

The mission of the Division was a very hard one.It was weakened by the numerous garrisons left in the occupied localities ,by police Detachments ,tasked with searching the villges and disarming the inhabitants ,as by the losses of th fights ,sufferings and bad weather .The Division had to operate on a very vast erritory :from Bolgrad to Cetatea Alba is a distance of 140KM ,and the width of the sector ,in North-South direction was of 100 Km.It is true that the enemy ,lacking solid military organization and discipline,was not a very serrious adversary.The difficulty was coming from the vastness of the terrain and from the character of the foreign population living in it,mix up of different ntions ,hostile to us in its majority ,armed by the revolutionars ,which cannot be considered as an enemy army and which,considerations of politic order imposed us to treat it with care and kindness.

For the operations against Cetatea Alba has been set to the dispozition of the 13th Division also elements from the neighbour units:a Rosiori Brigade (cavalry) a Regiment of Hunters and the Operations Fleet.The troops have organized on three columns;at the extreme left the 3rd Hunters Regiment with artillery and Cavalry,at the extreme right the Operations Fleet and a part of 47th Regiment of Infantry ,at the center the 25th Brigade of Infantry and the 4th Rosiori Brigade.

The Romanian columns started to move at 4th of March .For four days ,they rove 60 Km of marchings ,disarming the population and fighting with bands ,armed, or with troops mor or less organized.At 8th of March the troops of 50th Infantry Regiment and an Escadron of Cavalry have entered in Cetatea Alba ,and at 12th of March,the Commander of the Division was passing in revist the troops in the center of the city.

A chapter of history was ending in this day .Let's look through the yellowed by time pages of the old letopisets(old chronicles) and go with the thought at old Tyras of the Greek-Romans ,Asprocastron of the Bizantins ,ressidence of Orthodox Episcopy ,the mucenic place of St,Ioan the New,the Patron of Moldavia.The Genovez become the masters of the city ,which becomes a flourishing trade fortress under the name of Moncastro;they make here even golden coins under the name of "Galbeni moncastrenzi"(moncaztrenzi yellows ) and maintain there the comercial domination,even after the Tatari have invaded and set mastering over the city and over entire Buceag.Alexandru cel Bun[9] the Moldavian Voievod ,strtches the land of the country to the sea.,throwing the Tatari over Nistru and incorporates Cetatea Alba in Moldaia.Over the old byzantine and genovese fortress ,Stefan cel Mare build new walls of defence against the new enemy,the Turk,to which the two fortresses of Basarabia of South,Chilia and Cetatea Alba were"with great upset".The Turks are aware, as Stefan that "these fortresses are a wall for the Hungarian Country and Leseasca Country "as writes the great Voievod to the venetian Doge .But the Voievod of Moldavia is let alone to defend them against Baiazid the II-nd [10] ,which attacks them with great forces ,one after the other .At 17th of August 1484 ,after a bombing of two days and two nights from land and sea ,Cetatea Alba falls into the hands of the Turks ,with all the heroic Pircalabs(moldavian army commander) Gherman and Oanea.

And it was given that,after four centuries and almost a half,a Romanian Army ,the soldiers of the 13th Division ,reorganized and remade in the spring of 1917 in Hirlau filled with memories of Stefan cel Mare(Stefan the Great),to end the activity in fight in Southern Basarabia ,bringing memory to the great voievod as gratitude the two fortresses ,for which he has bleed with his body* and with his heart and of which loss,for Moldavia and for Christianity ,bittered his life.

*At 5th of July 1462 ,as he was leading the siege of Chilia ,Stefan Cel Mare has been wounded by an arrow to the ankle of his foot;by this wound he has suffered all his life.

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3.THE UNIFICATION

Independent Basarabia

Liberating Basarabia was fullfiled.Together with her ,the bad dream of madness has past;order and discipline came back between Prut and Nistru.The enemies of unification ,the so called"Peasantry fraction" ,are trying to make a demonstration against the strengthening of the Romanian troops ,makink a peasant congress at 31st of January .There had been presented only 118 delegates out of 384 and,in the wake of the declarations of the Moldavian block and of the student committe ,that this congress is illegal ,the congress disolves ,withoutt any other result but only the ellection of a number of deputies in the Country Advice ,as representatives of this extremist current ,aanty Romanian.Without any obiection ,these new deputies ,ahead with Tiganco ,have been received as well ellected ,in the Country Advice.Under the protection of Romanian soldier ,the Basarabians could now think at will ,which would be the best place for their country.

There were several solutions.The first ,was keeping the autonomy in a great Russian federation.It was the solution to which inclined the elements in general un-Romanian.Some prefered it because of the relatives connections.;ohers because of the ascendent which the imense country ,with its unfinished streams of powers and riches ,exercising over the spirits used with the secular mastering.

The solution of attaching to Ucraina was the less serious.The pretention of the government at Kiev was not supported by no true argument ,neither by an ethnic order ,or history ,economy.Inside the country it had very few partizans,only at the few Ucrainian elements.

Keeping a total independence of the country was a solution in which no one believed.The Basarabian Republic was entirely without financial resources ,and without money was impossible to make a solid state.After four years of War and devastations,it would have to pass many years until the finances of the state to be able to sustain the needs of the country.Other than this,it was obvious that Basarabia ,independent would soon become object of desire for the neighbouring countries ,a new territory of war and occupation.Ucraine confessed the intentions ,and Austria was keeping under occupation Hotin(ul).

Still,some seen the independence of Basarabia as a tranzitional solution ,which kept them to declare in the open for one of the definitive solutions.Declaration of Ucraine as an indpendent republic broke the material connections with Russia.This circumstance has been taken by the Council of directors as starting point,to propose to the Country Advice declaration as independnet of Basarabian Republic .It ha sbeen shown above as in the day of 24th of January ,old style,the aniversary day of the unification of Romanian Principates(Valahia,Moldavia and Transilvania),the Country Advice voted in unanimity the complete independence of the Moldavian Republic of Basarabia .The Council of directors disolves ,being replaced by a Council of Ministers presided by Dr.Cigureanu .The president of te republic remained Inculet.

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(Romanian troops in the Great War)

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Tratatives with the Romanian governments

One big step forward has been done.Basarabia broke the secular chain which held her tight by the Great Russian Empire.Free on her fate,she could now go in the direction showed by her own interests,thought by herself.And this direction ,to which she was dragged with irezistible force ,was the one in the hearts of three quarters of the population,the indigeneous of the land,the followers of those which for four centuries ,with their arms and blood sealed the Romanian character of the country.The voice of the Romanian cannon looked the dust covering the bodies of the old fighters of the Moldavian country and reawakened the conscience of nation which was dormant.Now she was rising with strength and,not obstacled by any pressure,was asking for fulfilling of what was right and useful.Basarabia has been broken from Moldavia bodie ;she belonged to her after historic wright ,by the population and traditions ;she was tightly connected to her geographically and econamically ,and her crowds wanted to reestablish the old union ,interrupted by slavery for a century.

The solution of unification imposed more and more;it did not made anyone afraid anymore ,it seemed the most natural.The hesitators became more and more less numerous.Even at the celebration of the independence of Basarabia ,almost all speakers saluted the unification which was to come;the most reserved were asking only a little patience.The presence of the Romanian Army ,shield of free and peaceful evolution of the country ,gave the impression of force and solidity in the midst of collapsings and ruins in the neighbours,and the zelous activity of the missionaries of the Romanian culture from the Kingdom ,Ardeal and Bucovina ,which took a leading role in the spiritual life of Basarabia ,conquered more and more the hearts of Basarabians for the ideea of integral unification of the Romanian hood(nation),in whichh the atachment of Basarabia to the old Kingdom constituted one of the episides .The contact of the Romnaian soldiers with Basarabian villages fulfilled the masterpiece of cultural propaganda .The brothers met again.The deep masses of the population were now won for the great ideea .Faster than it could be imagined ,any fears and reserves ,have dissappeared.The unification of Basarabia with the mother country was now the most natural solution,the most simple one.

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At 26th of January ,a delegation composed by Ion Inculet ,the president of the Moldavian Republic and Dr.Ciugureanu ,the first minister of the republic,came to Iasi to thank the King for the military aid given to the young republic and to make contact with the Romanian Government,for the preparation of the unification.In two meettings ,at 26th and 28th of February ,the two leaders of Basarabia have exposed to General Averescu [11] the situation in Basarabia and oppinioned that the spirits are prepared and favorable for unification.Averescu answered advicing them to stay for a while under the form of independent republic ,waiting for a better moment than the present one ,to fulfill the unification.In truth,the first minister of Romania started the tratatives at Buftea with the Germans and these ones,confessing their intention to kidnap Dobrogea from Romania,were waving before the Romanians eyes the enticeing for Basarabia as a compensation ,to make them bare the pain of the amputation of the national territory.With honesty,Averescu replied to the germas:"You want to take what is ours,meaning Dobrogea,and give us in exchange what is not yours:Basarabia".

To not make the game of te enemy ,Averescu ,being sure that the unification of Basarabia will be made by itself anyway ,without costly tranzitions ,postponed the making of the Unification and the Basarabian delegation went back to Chisinau ,in awaiting for the oportune moment.

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With all these the manifestations for the unification became stronger and stronger.At 3rd of March ,Zemstva of Balti County ,ellected by universal vote ,requested by a decission the unification with the mother country "wishing to share with her the prosperity or sufferings of our future life ,as in the times of Moldavia of Stefan cel Mare ".Together with Zemstva ,the league of the big owners of that county was voting a motion of unification with Romania ,appealing to all zemsteviale gatherings in Basarabia to associate to this motion "to request to the Country Advice in Chisinau to send a delegation to Iasi ,to set to the feet of the Romanian Throne our omages of devotion and faith to King Ferdinand the I-st,of all Romanians"*.At 13th of Marrch ,a resembling motion has been voted by the gathering of Zemstva of Soroca County ,together with the Duma of the city and with the gathering of cooperatives ,of the orthodox cler ,israelit ,as the big and small owners.Zemstva from Orhei is preparing also to proclame the unification .In the smae time ,a dlegation of the former big owners and high dignitaries under the Tzarist regime ,lead by Sinadino ,Semigradov a.s.o. come to Iasi and ask also the unification with Romania,as the only means to"side a state of revolution organized by a pretended government".A new circumstance has hasted the end.The council of Ministers of the Ucrinian Republic ,by its president Gulubovici ,has intervened by a note to the government of the Central Powers ,asking that Ucraine to be represented to the peace tratatives which were held in this time in Bucharest ,because the matter of the ROmanian-Russian frontier -which was supposed to be decided in Bucharest -to not be decided but only with the participation and acord of the Ucrainian government representatives..This ,on the motive that,because of the etnographic order ,politic and economic ,"Basarabia forms a indivisible unity with the fundamental territories of Ucraine".The reducement in area of the Ucrainian pretentions over the Basarabian territory after which,at the entering of the Romanian Army in Basarabia ,Ucraine has manifested her gladness for the occupation of Basarabia by Romanians ,provokes an explossion of indignation and of protests in the Country Advice ,expressed by a motion(document) ,whic has been voted in unanimity .It also showed that the imposed solution must be hasted.

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At 2nd of March ,a delegation of the Country Advice composed of Inculet ,Halippa and Ciugureanu ,comes to Iasi to make contact with the new Marghiloman Romanian Government(Marghloman being the primeminister).In the discussions had with the Romanian prime minister ,the Basarabian delegates declares for making imediate the unification.Inculet formulates two reserves though.The first one,pretaining to the bad impression made to the Allies of a unification made under a germanofil government.There have been consulted the representatives of the Allied Powers (Entente) .The Minister of Italy ,Fasciotti ,gave an evasive response.The British Minister ,Barklay ,answered that England will not obstacle the unification made.The American Minister,Vopicka adviced to make the unification.With outstanding friendship and warm has been treated the matter by the French Minister ,Saint-Aulaire:"Make the Unification -said him to Inculet -as soon as possible.No one amongst the Allies could be found,to not support this beginning of making the Great Romania"."Asking also the advice of the former Romanian Prime Minister Bratianu ,this one at his turn,adviced Inculet to go with courage to unification ,because no one would break the unification,once made.

The second reserve was circumstanced by the conservatorism of Marghiloman Government .The Russian revolution brought in Basarabia a wide spirit democratic.It has been introduced the universal vote,and the land hs entered ,in fact ,in peasants's hands.In the old Kingdom,Marghiloman Government did not offer any guarantees for such reforms.To have effective assurances that the reforms made in Basarabia will be kept ,Inculet proposed "the unification with conditions".Inserting these conditions in the Unification act ,was making-after Inculet -the voting of the Unification in the Country Advice and was a guarantee that,once these reforms existed in a part of the country (Basarabia),fatal will be made in the rest of the Kingdom(Romania) ,latter on.

In the day of 5th of March ,a council of ministers ,at which took part also Basarabian delegats ,decided to step to the attachment of Basarabia ,with the conditions formulated by Inculet.

It was only left now,that the Country Advice ,the legal expression of the Basarabian nation ,to proclame this will of his.

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The Country Advice proclaims the Unification

At 8th of April Marghiloman,the prime minister of Romania ,arrives in Chisinau where ,had to take place the next day the gathering of the Country Advice ,which had to take the greta decission.

The day of 9th of April has been for Basarabia the judgement day .The great unjustice made at 25th of May 1812 has been repared.Moldavia,broken in two has became whole again .The Moldavian land between Prut and Nistru ,taken from the bosom of the mother country and enslaved ,came back to the old body.

The unification declaration of the "Country Advice of the Democratic Moldavian Republic" sounded in this way:"In the name of the Basarabian people,the Country Advice declares;"The Democratic Moldavian Republic (Basarabia) ,in her borders,between Prut River and Nistru River ,Danube River ,Black Sea and the old frontiers with Austria ,broken by Rusia a hundred and more years ago from the body of old Moldavia ,in the power of the historic wright and right of hood ,based on the pinciple that nations alone to decide their fate ,from now on for ever unites with her mother Romania".The declaration then rows a numer of 11 points based on which is made the unification and which were meant to ensure Basarabia a legislative autonomy and administrative ,maintaining her regional institutions and guaranteeing the keeping of the reformms ,democratic ,made.It has been written and presented to the "Moldavian block".It have refrain from the vote the Ucrainian delegates ,Bulgarians and Germans ,which declared that they have no mandate to pronounce in the matter.The majority of the peasantry fraction ,following Tiganco deputy ,abstained as well;the Romanian members of the group have voted with their brothers from the "Moldavian block" for unification.In the name of the Polish Nation ,their representative saluted with enthusiasm the Moldavian Nation ,which has the supreme happyness to come back to the bosom of her mother and declares that votes the unification"as the Moldavians request it,rightful masters of this country".The members of the Moldavoan block have held rising speeches and moving ones.The Unification has been voted with 86 votes ,being three against 36 absteinances*.After the voting,Marghiloman the Romanian Prime Minister ,has been invited in the meetinng room where he took knowledge with the vote of the gathering and declared ,in the name of King Ferdinand and of the Romanian Nation ,Basarabia united for ever with Romania ,one and unparted .A religious moment at the cathedral ,officiated in Romanin language by arhimandrit Gurie ,a military parade in which the young troops of Basarabia ,next to the veterans heroes of Jiu ,Oituz and Marasesti have made to flutter in front of the members of governments and of the deputies their glorious flags ,and finally a feast ,in which has been cheered for the King of the country ,in the honour of Country Advice ,for the peasantry in entire Romania and for everlasting Unification ,have ended this historic day ,worthy to stay at the side of great Nation's celebrations days.At the preparation and acomplishing the great act of 9th of April ,has took active part also Constantin Stere .Coming to Chisinau from the territory occupied by the Germans with the concur of the Germna authorities and of Marghiloman Goverment ,in the eve of the historic meeting of the Coutnry Advice ,he has been imediately received as deputy in the Avice ,as indigeneous of the country and old fighter of Basarabia.Stere has brought great services to the Unification by his personal authority ,which he enjoyed in front of the young Basarabian fighters ,of which mentor he has been ,and by the power of convincing of his speeches ,spoken in Romanian and in Russian as well.In the discussions for the Unification he has brought a new point of view ,different by the one's of the Basarabian Moldavians .His policy of afiliate of the Central Powers made him to see int the attachment of Basarabia ,not only the effect of the free initiative and spontane of the indigens of the country itself,but moreover,a political act of the Central Powers ,which aproved the Unification as a compensation fo Dobrogea kidnapping and of the mountains ,and as a derivative to the old national Romanian politics aimed to Carpathian Mountains ;not as much a strong and consciece manifestation of the national sentiment ,awaken from a long letargy ,but an episode of the triumphal march of the social-revolutionar Russian ideal ,which would not stop at Prut ,but must cross it ,to tear down the "Bastille-s" and give freedom to the enslaved nation.

After three days ,at 12th of April ,Iasi ,dived in to sadness because of the enslaving peace imposed to Romania at Bucharest by the Central Powers,forgets for one moment the pain and dressed the celebration cloth.The members of the government of the former Moldavian Republic were coming to bring to news of the public of the country and to the King the unification of Basarabia with Romania.In the celebration atmospehere ,in which the glad dress form the surface was covering imperfect the sad with grief spirit of the nation,the King saluted in the representatives of Basarabia "a beautiful part of a dreamm wich will never go away".Tears of grief were mixed with tears of joy.And when around the statue of Cuza Voda ,the domnitor of the first Unification of Romania ,started the simbolic hora(Romanian popular dance),in which caught the inheriter prince of the throne with the princesses and the ministers together with people from the nation and simple soldiers ,was in everybody's spirit the Christian thought that from the pain is made the forgiveness and that from the table of suplice at Bucharest ,where Romania was tortured and mutilated ,it will rise the resurection of the whole nation of Romania.The today dispatches of the Basarabian unification were the first signs of the tomorrow celebratio.A royal decrete promulgates at 23rd of April the vote of the Country Advice by which Basarabia unites with Romania .Inculet and Ciugureanu entered in the Romanian Government as ministers without portfolio ,and for the provincial administration provisory of Baarabia was instituted a Council of nine directors[13].

*In the moment of Unification the Country Advice was composed of 138 members .The three which voted against ,are a Bulgarian an d two Ucrainians .Of he 36 which absteined ,26 belonged to the foreign elements ,most of them send by the Tzarist government as teachers of secondary schools ,meaning,as russificators.13deputies have been absent.

Notes

[1]The Romanovs have held the throne in period 1615-1917.The dinasty have passed through a process of partial germanization ,by marriages ,becoming in fact Romanov-Gottorp-Holstein.

[2]Zemstva guberniala-the Tzarist county administration ,ellected by nobility and social categories well off.

[3]The event took place at 24th of November /6th December 1843.

[4]Municipal council.

[5] Caffa-Feodosia of today from Ucraine -strong Genovese fortress of Crimea .At 6th of June 1475 the Turks have conquered the fortress.

[6] Administrative organs in hamlets and fortresses of Moldavia.

[7]Chiefs and clerks.

[8]Soleiman the I-st Kanuni(Soliman) ,Ottoman Sultan (1520-1566).

[9] Alexandru cel Bun(Alexandru the Good),Voievod/King of Moldavia (1400-1432).

[10] Baiazid the II-nd ,Ottoman Sultan (1481-1512).

[11] Al Averescu which was prime minister at the time.

[12] Hofmeister -Intendent of the Court.

[13] About the singular position of C. Stere ,dezavuated by the great majosity of politicians of the epoch .

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Map of Transilvania(or Ardeal)

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Chapter III

A Romanian anabassis

The Retreat Of Ardeal Volunteers Through Siberia

Himeric plans

Very adventurous has been the fate of Romanians from Ardeal ,former soldiers in the Austro-Hungarian Army ,prisoners in Russian camps.The bolsevic revolution of November 1917 has inerrupted the recruting activity of volunteers of these prisoners* and sending them in Romania to fight with their brothers under Romanian flag.The chaos mastering in Russia did not made possible anymore no organized action.The volunteers,employed beforehand,manage with difficulty to rove individually or in small groups ,different internal Fronts.In fight with the Ucrainians ,which have proclaimed the Ucrainian Republic at Kiev ,the bolsevics were closing in to this capital ,which they have conquered at 26th of Jnuary 1918 .The Romanian Volunteers Corps has been disolved ;have remained at Kiev only a simple bureau of informations for prisoners from Ardeal and Bucovina ,which has also been liquidated formal in May 1918.

Breaking of the connections .political,betwen the new bolsevic regime and the Romanian governmet,has put in a difficult situation the Romanian prisoners from Ardeal in Russia .They could not go back in their country ,where they would have met the enemy under which flag they have been forced to fight for strange cause and against their nation and where they were considered now as traitors ,nor in Romania ,which was ,in the wake of the peace ,under the foot of the same enemy.On the oher hand ,bolsevic Russia ,in state of War with Romania ,started now to consider them as dangerous for the new state of affairs.Their sentiment of simpathy to the Romanian State and their intentions of military cooperation with him,showed them to the bolsevics as enemies.The situation ,chaotic in Russia made that things to wait ,without being possible to be organized ,forr the time being,anything serious.

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Plans were made ,plenty.General Berthelot ,passing through Russia ,after the leaving of the French Mission from Romania [1] conceived the plan of forming of a new Front of battle ,anty-bolsevic and anty-centralist ,facing West and with the wings supported on Volga and Don ,having as replenishment base and communications Siberia.The constituitive elements of this Front would have been the remains of the former Russian Army ,faithful to the flag -the so called "the White Russians",Cossacks of Don,but especially the Cehoslovak volunteers -constituting some two DIvisions -and the Romanians concentrated in Kiev region ,at some 5000 men.The Front could then be strengthened by units transported from the West.The plan proved to be utopic ;it lead to the tragig enterprises of Admiral Kolceak[2].The Allied leaders realised though that this scattering of forces ,tasked with the mission to fight through the imensities of Russia and Siberia,would not be of any practical use.It was ,such,preferable to transport all fighting formations from here to the Western Front ,the most importand and decissive for the result of the War.It was a extraordinary daring enterprises the one of forcing the road to East ,across the Russian imensities and Siberia,following th only and very long trans-siberian line ,in enemy country,to reach the ocean and,arrived there,belting the globe of Earth ,to go to France ,where to continue the fight to win the national ideal.

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Romanians from Ardeal in Siberia

In April 1918 ,the Chehoslovak troops and Romanians have started to evacuate in trains towards Vladivostok.The first stage more important ,in this long journey ,has been Samara city ,on Volga.At the asking of the French Colonel Paris ,the Romanians have decided to make here a"new Corps of Romanians from Ardeal and Bucovina",independent from the Cehoslovak formations ,although working in the same direction.The propagandist have left in all directions ,to gatther the prisoners and group them in units.There had been formed two centers of gathering of Romanian volunters : Samara on Volga and Celeabinsk ,in Ural .The whole lenght of the trans siberian railway was swarming with volunteers from Cehia ,Romania and Jugoslavia ,seeking the grouping centers.In May the long and disordered column reached with the avanguard at Vladivostok ,as the tail barely passed Moscow .The Allied military missions ,especially the officers of the French Mission ,put to the dispozition of the volunteers means for assigning,equipment ,arming ,replenisments and instruction.

Under the pression of the Austro-Germans ,which have closed with Russia the peace at Brest-Litovsk[3],the sovietic government wanted the disarming and disolving of the volunteer troops.In this attitude full of despise ,the Russian bolsevics have gained a natural ally:the Hungarian prisoners ,which were making hungarian bolsevism employed by the Russians soviets.The two new mates have attacked by surprise the Ceh volunteers and Romanians in some train stations.Then the Cehs ,organized in independent formations with own Commanders ,have counterattacked the Hungarians and started the activity of War.At some of these fights wave took part also Romanians ,which also had victims.

With this face,the Cehs and Romanians found themselves mixed up in the Civil War.Only the stretch of land along the trans siberian was in the hands of the volunteers and of the counterrevolutionaries.The rest of the imense territory was rove through in all directions by Detachments of "partizans" bolsevic,which were hiding through the woods ,from where they went out to give themselves to attacks and robberies over the train stations and localities on the railway.In fact,there were two fighting Fronts:one along the Trans-Siberian ,and another one on Volga ,facing West.

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In the autumn of 1918 ,the bolsevics start the attack of the Front on Volga , which was defended by the 1st Cehoslovak Division and by groups of the Russian Counterrevolutionary Army .The Romanian Battalion in Samara was defending the left flank Cehoslovak.Another Romanian Battalion at Celeabinsk has been detached at Kurgan ,where he took over the guard of the city,cleaning the region of the robbering bands.

At the setting of the winter ,the Western Front has been retreated from Volga and established in Urali ,on a line easier to defend .The Romanian troops in Samara ,Celeabinsk and Kurgan have been concentrated at Petropavlovsk ,in Central Siberia ,for organization and instruction/training.The Romanian Commander of the city has occupied himself especially with cleaning the surroundings of bands of thieves.

Out of lack of Romanian superior officers ,has been proclaimed Commander of the Romanian Volunteers Corps ,a brave Ceh ,Colonel Kadletz .In the same winter ,the Romanian volunteers Corps has ben concentrated at Irkutsk ,the Capital of Oriental Siberia.;here have been also brought the few volunteers arrived at Vladivostok.

During the autumn and winter of 1918 ,the Romanian Volunteer Corps has finished the organization and defined its mission.The Corps has been organized on Battalions.There were two active Battalions :"Horia" and "Marasesti" ;two armoured trains with the same names ;a Reserve Battalion ;a Company of Pioneers ;an Escadron of Lancers ;a Company of the General Staff .At the beginning ,the effective was of 2500 men ;the number increased ,with the former prisoners arriving from the assigning center of the region ,until it reached over 5000 of men with more than 100 officers.

The mission of the Corps has been defined:the fight for acomplishing the Romanian national ideal .As leading organ has been instituted a National Romanian Committe of Russia .At 24th of August 1918 ,it has closed a convention of colaboration with the "National Cehoslovak Council ",the executive organ of the volunteers corps from Cehoslovakia,which had a solid organzation and strong material means ,indispensable for the replenishment of the Romanian volunteers .The two committes have recocnized their commune interest and bound to proceed in tight colaboration for acomplishing the nationaa ideals of the respective nations ,putting their forces at the dispozition of the Allies of the West,to remake an allied Front in Russia.It was put great hope also on the colaboration with the Japanese ,which were occupying the territory at the other exremity of Siberia[4].

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With this face ,the flag of the Romanian revendications ,taken down from its spear in the mother country,by the Peace of Bucharest ,was rise up again in the imense deserts of Siberia ,just by the sons of the enslaved regions .At 29th of October ,as answer to the manifest of Emperor Carol of Austria[5],the Romanian volunteers have proclaimed in all siberian garrisons of Ardeal,Banat,Maramures and Bucovina,the breaking off with Austro-Hungary and their unification with Romania.The Romanian volunteers were fighting as soldiers of an independent country ,for her national goals.

The Volunteers Corps has had a very important activity cultural and national.The officers of the Corps have edited a newspaper "The Romanian Nation",have held over 40 conferences ,have made a Romanian library ,have written a solemn protest in Banat matter.The military activity was though the most important one.Entering in action on the internal Front ,have been given to the Romnian volunteers for guarding he most dangerous sector of railway in Siberia ,in the region of secular forest ,taiga,on a distance of almost 1000 Km.In short time,the Romanian volunteers have afirmed with the most disciplined troops in Siberia.The defence of the sector given to them has determined the Romanians to make a number of 37 incurssions in the secular forest ,on distances which had between 150-800 Km , from their base .They have cost the Romanians over 60 dead and numerous wounded.

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The tragedy of Kolceak enterprise

In the night of 17-18th of November ,an illegal seizure of power brought Kolceak as governor supreme ,with dictatorial powers ,of Western Siberia ,with the Capital at Omsk.All the remains of the old politics ,imperialist,and nationalist Russian ,were grouped around him.By the power of circumstances,the military formations of volunteers were called to colaborate with Kolceak .It could not be established though a sincere colaboration.The attitude of Kolceak was not loial towards nationalities.He was the ghost of the old Russian imperialist mentality ,unadapted to the new conceptions.Hiding all the time after the great Russian Constituant ,which had to elaborate the form of government of the future Russian state ,he did not recognize te indepentend Polish State and was instigating at Paris against the unification of Basarabia with Romania.The untrust between camarads,with a commune fighting goal ,has weakened the strength of the fighters and has been the cause of dezastre.

The home sick was increasing more and more amongst the legionaire foreign troops.No one wanted to extend the staying in Siberia anymore ,to fight for Kolceak.The Allied governments have seen themselves forced to decide the evacuation of the national units from Siberia.The French General Janin has been named the Supreme Commander of these troops .The Romanian troops appear in the first plane ,as trustworthy troops,called to intervene not only in th e fights with the enemy ,but also for reestablishing the order necessitated many times by intern frictions ,interallied.

In the month of July 1919 ,the sovietic troops have managed to force the Front of Urals and to force

the troops of Kolceak to begin a retreat ,dezastrous,towards East.The civil population of the cities and villages has been dragged into catastrophe .The winter of 1919 -1920 has seen the unfortunate exod from Siberia ,to which local circumstances-unfinishing distances ,unbareable blizzards ,piles of snow covering the roads ,gave it a tragic character untouched yet by none of the episodes of this kind of the Great War.

Kolceak has been forced to leave Omsk and retreat at Irkutsk.His Army starts to desintegrate and bolsevise.A part of the Cehoslovak troops are caught in this moveement.The adventure of Kolceak ends in tragedy.Arrsted by his own partizans and surrendered to the revolutionaries of Irkutsk ,has been shot together with the members of his family and with the camarads which remained faithful till the end.Great part of the officers and soldiers of his former Army died by frost-even General Kappel ,the most energic of the Lieutenants of Kolceak ,died frozen on his horse -or in fight with the bolsevics.Those that did not die in the fights ,have been caught and hanged by the trees along the driveway.Their remains have been scattered.

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The fight at Seragul

The national Armies were retreating towards East on the two railways.The Polish legions ,which came first into contact with the bolsevic troops ,have been smashed to pieces.The remains made prisoners ,have been throwed in the coal mines.The Cehs did not want to fight and did not resist anywhere ,thankful that they are let to occupy the trains ,taking all locomotives,pouring to East.

At 19th of January 1920 ,the Romanian Legion could embark in long trains ,starting into slow move towards Est.It was now the arierguard of the national troops,having to cover the retreat.

At Nijni-Udinsk ,the Jugoslav Legion has been destroyed by bolsevics .The 3rd Cehoslovak Division did not intervene ,but away-ed quick with the trains.The Romanians have stayed to held chest to the enemy ,which was advancing.In Seragul Train Station was ,at 3rd of February ,the Romanian Battalion "Marasesti" ,with its armoured train ,the Escadron of Lancers of the Legon ,a Detachment of destroying of the Pioneers Company and some trains with Cehoslovak troops of the 3rd Division.Some more Kilometers to the West ,in Asei Train station,has arrived the bolsevic avanguard :three Battalions ,few Groups of horsemen and two cannons.To the South,endless forest;all around imense piles of snow.A reconnoitring of lancers ,Romanians,is surrounded by enemy superior powers.The Romanians are part killed,part captured.These latter ones refused to give any information and have been murdered.

In the night of 3-4th of February a Brigade ,bolsevic,has attacked from the North-West the Village Traktovaia .A Battalion of Ceh troopss ,which was in the village has left the train and retreated.The bolsevics advance until the train station and attack by surprise the Romanian ,which were sleeping in the carriages .In short time ,however,the Romnians recollect,get out of the carriages and make Frot against the enemy.

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A fierce fight cooks up in the night ,lighted by the reflexes of the snow field ,on a frost of -40 Celsius.The armoured train "Marasesti" bombards with its cannons the Village of Trotskaia ,at the half of the road between Traktovaia and Seragul,barriering the arriving of the Russian reinforcements.The ROmanian soldiers resist to the Russian attak ,sheltering behind the frozen snow piles ,as in the trenches.The Romanian machineguns catch in heir bundles of fire the Russian rows ,which were advancing uncovered on to the paths dug in the snow piles,from where they could not dodge neither to the left nor to the right ,and they are cropped .From the group in avanposts sound at once the shout:"Jump on them lads!At bayonet"! In shouts of urra !stands up the entire line of the volunteers and starts in a wave against the enemy ,which could be seen here and there as black mounds on to the white shines of the snow .The Russians are repelled and retreat towards Traktovaia ,pursued by Romanians .The next day ,the Romanian esalons and Ceh ones could start again towards East ,after blowing up Seragul Train Station ,in which have entered a bolsevic group with white flags.In the fight ,during the night,the Romanians had only eight dead and eight badly wounded.

A new trial of the bolsevics ,made the next day ,4th of February ,to surround the Romanian Legion at Kuitun ,one train station further ,has been also unplayed.

The retreat continued methodically.The Romanians,forming all the time the arierguard of the national toops ,have blown up the train stations ,have destroyed the reservoirs of water in the stations ,have mined the forest which was stretcing to the edge of the rails ,have tore down the telegraphs poles and cut the wires.The discipline and moral of the troops have been all the time admirable.Offers of truce ,made by the Russian bolsevics ,have been rejected by Romanians ,for the word that the volunteers consider themselves as integrant part of the Romaian Army ,with which the Soviets are in a state of War on the shores of Nistru River.

At 7th of February 1920,the Cehoslovaks have closed the truce with the Russian bolsevics ,with the condition that these ones stay 50Km behind the arierguard troops .With this face ,the Romanians have been caught also in the truce .To pevent the conflicts between Romanians and Russians ,because of the fierce of the precedent fights between the two camps ,the arierguard has been formed this time by the Cehs in Irkutsk city and the neighbourhoods.The guard of the railway around Baikal Lake ,together with the watch of the tunnels ,have been taken by Romanians ,until Transbaikalia ,where the line was occupied by Japanese troops.

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(Military Swear by the Romanian volunteers from Transilvania and Bucovina -27th May/9th June 1917)

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(The supreme Commander of the Romanian Army accompanied by General D.V.Scerbacev(in the first plane) in the middle of Romanian and Russian officers)

Towards Patria

At Harbin ,the Romanian Volunteer Corps has made contact with the Romanian Mission ,under the Command of Major in reserve V.Cadere ,send from the country to repatriate the Romanians.In the spring of 1920 ,the Romanian volunteers succeeded to touch Vladivostok ,the shore of everlasting Thalassa,the forgivness(as in church) of all drifters ,eager for the home left so long ago.They could be proud of what they have acomplished in the long and penible retreat through Russia and Siberia.Because thanks to discipline ,vigor and bravery showed ,have saved the existence and dignity of their Corps,and rose up in the eyes of the foreigners the reputation of the Army and Romanian Nation.

At 10th of May 1921 ,in front of all foreign representatives ,has been celebrated the bravery of the soldiers ,Romanians in Siberia,to which have been given by the chief of the military mission the flag of the Legion ,under which they swore again faith to King Ferdinand and to their patria ,made whole again.Numerous distinctions have been accorded to the Romanians by foreign military representatives.

A tedious work has unfolded the mission of repatriation ,in fight with great difficulties till ,in May 1921 ,the Romanians,embarked on ships "Tras-os montes" and "Huntsgreen" could take the road of the patria(Romania).A small number of volunteers remained on the road ,making familial and social uses in Siberia or America.

In August 1921 ,the first group of volunteers of Ardeal stepped on to the land of their liberated patria and were received in celebrations in Romanian Brasov .The Unification was a fact already entered in history.It seemed so old even,that the quarrel already nested between brothers.And the volunteers which went around the globe of the Earth ,after six years of the most hard trials and adventurous happenings ,to step in penitence in the temple of Romanianism ,for which edification died so many camarads of theirs,they found instead a multitude of fighting "smallchurches" one with the other[6].

Notes

[1] The French Mission has left Romania at 12th of March 1918.

[2]About the counterrevolutionary action against the soviet power lead by Admiral Kolceak ,see GG Alahvedov...Short History of the CIvil War from URSS

[3]The peace at Brest-Litovsk on the Oriental Front ,closed at 3rd of March 1918.

[4]At 3rd of August 1918 in the antysovietic intervention of the Entente ,British troops and Japanese have been disembarked at Vladivostok,in Extreme Orient.

[5] The imperial manifest pretaining he federalization of Austro-Hungaary has been given at 17th of October 1918.

[6] About the matters pretaining the Romanian prisoners activity in Rusisia see C.Enca,"The Organization and actions of the Romanian prisoners transsiberian in Russia (1917-1918)" in SAI no 11, Bucharest History Library..etc

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The VII-th Part

Under German Slavery

The Romanian occupation in Romania

(From the invasion until the Bucharest Peace)

1.Politico-Administrative Aspects Of The Occupation

The two Romanians

The end of 1916 recorded the defeat of Romania and the conquering of her territory.The entering of the enemy in the Capital of the country ,at 6th of December ,exactly one hundred days since the entering of Romania in the War ,sealed her defeat.At this date,the enemy Front was stretching in an inunterrupted line ,from Carpathian Mountains until the Danube River,cutting the territory of Romanian Country(Valahia or Wallachia) in two pieces.The wave was following the movement to the East ;in its face the free territory was diminishing ,and on the same measure,behind the wave ,the territory conquered and enslaved was widening.At the end of December ,after tha fall of Focsani ,the painful operation has ended .The metal and fire barrier of the fighting Front has stopped definitive on the line followed a long time by the Great Russian Headquarter:it was descending from Oituz Mountains ,along Valleys of Susita ,Putna and Siret River,until the Danube.This line will separate for two years ,long and hard,the two Fronts of the country and their sons.

Two years,the history will unfold in a different way,like in two countries foreign by one another.The power of the Romanian State was stretching now only over one third of her territory.Beyond the barrier ,supported by the Allies and in tight connection ,spiritual and material with them,Moldavia wil have an intenssive life.She will live the cold days of the remaking ,days of enthuiasm of victory ,days of tragedy and hope of the end.The life of Moldavia in these two years is a piece of the history of idependent Romania.There have been concentrated the whole vigor of the country;there is the mind that plans and the arm that strikes.

This side of the barrier ,Muntenia(Valahia) and Dobrogea ,two thirds of the country ,are under the mastering of th enemy .Isolated completely by the brothers and friends ,the Romanians in the occupied territory will live days of "emprissonment",mockery,humiliation and plundering.There is no Romanian public life in these two black years.In the occupied territory only the crying eyes and hearts that suffers and hope.

The German military occupation of Muntenia(or Valahia or Romanian Country;not to be mistaken with Romania) and Dobrogea constitutes the most dark chapter of the history of our War.

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Sabat and bacanale

The first effect of the military occupation has been the breaking of the connections of any kind with the outside world.Not only with the rest of the country ,free ,not only with the forigners ,but also with the interior of the own country ,occupied.There is no mail ,there is no telegraph ,there is no metal road ,there are no newspapers.A complete darkness went over the conquered territory.Used to know everything that goes on outside his circle,used with the possibility of travel for matters of all kind,the citizen feels his soul pressured.Especcialy there was no news about the fate of our Army.Did it exist anymore?Was she still fighting?What fate had for us the future?So many questons without answer.The first characteristic of the occupation regime appeared from the beginning :it was a cellular prisson regime .When,latter,started to appear newspapers ,they could not change the atmosphere ;written by the order of the master and under his control ,they were a mean to poisson of the spirit ,and not to enlight him.

And it was explicable and wellcomed this darkness which veiled the beginning of the regime of occupation.To what use it would have seve to the population ,overwhelmed by sadness ,the knowing of the abominable scenes which accompanied the entering and installation of the nemy through the cities and villages,of ours?Whou would,even today,after many years , complete the catalogue of barbarian deeds ,of the cruelties and infamous acts to which gave themselves the hungry germans and bulgarians?The germans pray,load in waggons the wealth of the inhabitants in the villages on their way,maltratate people,keep for themselves the food and sell the others.These were the brutal soldier manifestations ,unleashed under the blazon of the army which had the pretention to bring ,together with force,a superior culture and civilization.

But the country must not be hit only with the feast,with bayonet and mud of infamy.She has to be mined in her social placement.It must appeal to a population held,unfortunately,a long time in a regime of injustice and in the lack of a political maturity and social one.The german soldier starts the plunder and then,with a grim of satisfaction ,stepd aside and invites the population to continue.And the left empty cities ,the abandoned conacs(mansions of land owners) of the lands ,the emptied houses by the run away masters ,the rich installations or well off estates become the prey of the crowds.

In internationalized Bucharests ,along the streets and in the consumation locals,filled by the colorful crowds which the enemy arrmy took out from the bottoms of prissons and from the deportation places ,or from the prudent reserve in which had lived nested,the officers and soldiers are celebrating in noisy bacanale the honney moon of occupation.And beyond the barriers ,along and wide of the country,arson and destruction extends.

But the chaos o the first days does not last long.The interest of the occupant asks for a tight organization .As ,at East,the conquering army follows the road to Siret River,behind begins the masterpiece of consolidation of the occupation and of military organization ,administrative and economic.The prey must be inventoried ,the present riches must be put to safety ,the streams of future riches must be taken care of.The most refined exploatation of the occupied territory will have to start ,not only to maintain ,the campaign armies and of occupation in the coutry ,but to come in the aid of the hungry patria(Germania).The military expedition in Romania has been conceived as a rentable bussiness.The enterprise succeeded ;the success had to be exploited .The riches of Romania ha to extend the power of resistance of the central empires ,arrived almost at the end of their resources[1].And the celebre german method will be applied with all the cruelty and meticulosity ,as to drain the last trace of Romanian blood,to infuse with him life to Germania and its sattelites.

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(Romanian officer uniforms of the Great War)

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