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Remembered Today:

Romanian Campaign of 1916.The Invasion


razu

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The Romanian Government has been assured by the Allies that:1)the enemy will not be able to oppose but seven Divisions ;2)all the measure are taken for the Bulgarian offensive to not produce,and in contrar case ,it will be paralized by a vigorous counteroffensive from the South.Only after the beginning of our War was noticed that the calculus of our Allies were wrong:the enemy was able to put in the line against us a formidable Army ;instead of seven Divisions ,he send 40!*.And to sustain the fight against him ,we have been left almost at our own means as armament ,Commandment and effectives.It has been sent to us the Mission of General Berthelot ,but it was too late and it was not enaugh.Falkenhayn has found the just note for characterizing of the situation :"Berthelot ,is good,but if he doesen't bring also 500 cannons ,heavy,we have nothing to be afraid of him".

As for the reinforcements ,they have been calculated by the Allies,themselves:it was on one hand a Russian Army of 200 0000 men to attack on the Southern Frontier ,the Bulgarians,to leave to the Romanians the freedoom of movement in Transilvania;on the other hand ,it was needed a strong offensive of Sarrail Army at Salonic.

The realization of these conditions ,indispensable,was lower than the good intentions ,with which they have been conceived.We had to renounce at the number of 200 000 of men in Dobrogea -which the Allies themselves have fixed at-and also to their insistences ,to be thankful only with 42 000 ,in tha wake of assurances,that in the general plan of the operations,this number will be enaugh.It showed ,though ,not enaugh to face an organization like the German one.

General Wilson [11] ,Chief of the British Mission General Staff,characterized in this way the insufficiency of the preparations of the Entente actions:"The mistake of the Allies was always that they did not had a system,whatsoever.Their political action was never coordinated with the military action;if it would have been ,Bulgaria would had come ,maybe ,with us in 1915.There was no connection in their military action:if it would have been,the intervention of Romania in 1916 could have been decissive"**.

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*For attracting Romanian into the alliance with the Entente ,have worked very actively T .O .E. service (Theatre des operations exterieures)[10] from the Great General French Headquarter .With all the untrust this service had in General Sarrail and in his Army at Salonic ,the officers composing it,especially its Chief ,Lieut Colnel Billotte ,where making many efforts next to Colonel Rudeanu ,the Chief of the Romanian Military Mission at Paris ,trying to convince him -and by him the Romanian Government -that Sarrail has important forces and orders ,that Sarrail will attack ,that Romanians will be in charge on their campaign a.s.o.This one,although the less convinced by the utility of the Romanian intervention was Joffre himself ,which was informed by Alexeev that the Russians were exhausted and that they will not be able to give Romanians ,in case of need,the prompt help that they might need.Still,the intervention of Romania has won almost entirely the Great French Headquarter.The formulae expressing this desire was:" Five hundred thousand bayonets more,thrown in to the battle ,never harmed those who had them on their side".At this optimist apreciation was added with great authority the affirmations of the Information Bureau ,after which,the enemies have not a single Division available.Crazy hopes were build on this information;

**At the supreme war council,by Capt.Peter E.Wright.In"R.Tg Mil."7-8,1921.General Castelnau[12] thought that the Romanian Army will be the going around wing-l'aile marchante-of the Russian mass.

After the first successes of the Romanians against the Austro-Hungarians ,afirming at Great French Headquarter the hypotesis of a German concentration,to relief Austria ,the Information Bureau replied:"With what do you think the Germans will attack?They have only half a Division left in reserve!"And when this half of a Division changed in to a half a duzin of Divisions ,the deception has been great.The historiograph of the Great French Headquarter stories that he has seen an officer of the Info Bureau keeping his head between his hands and axclaiming:"Mais ou les prennent-ils,n...de D...?"[13].The fury has been unloaded against General Sarrail ,to which were send cominatorii thelegrams;some officers at T.O.[14] asked in big mouth that Sarrail to be shot.

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The offensive of the Army in Macedonia was not strong

"The Orient Army" from Salonic-under the Command of General Sarrail ,has been kept there more with a political goal .The principal supporter of it,Briand,was convinced that her presence there would be a strong means for attracting Romania:It was his great conception.The strategic mission of the Army at Salonic would have been :to cover indirectly the mobilization and concentration of Romanian forces,to operate in combination with the Romanian forces at South of Danube ,to obtain the destruction of the Bulgarian forces.

An antagonism has been established -and on this-between Briand Government and the Great French Headquarter .This one did not understood the importance and the opportunity of the War in Orient,which was considered as a Theatre of War absolutely secondary.After the forecastings of the Great French Headquarter ,the troops had to be held on the principal Front ,the only one where there could be expected decissive actions.Big discussions have been carried between Paris and London on this matter.

Kitchiner[15],putting the offensive of Salonic in connection with the operations in Dardanelles ,wanted to enterprise it with big forces -400 000 men-to obtain decessive successes ,but he could not understand with Joffre where to take them from.During this time ,the situation in the Balkans was worsening day by day .Clemenceau was supporting the same ideea of the concentration of the action on the French Front and Russian one;"On Meusa will remake the Great Serbia and in Poland will lose Germany its colonies".Joffre has refused to give four Divisions ,necessary to the strengthening for the offensive in Champagne[16].The Great French Headquarter had to choose between Constantinopole and Tahure;he chose Tahure.

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The leading of the Army at Salonic was very badly organized ;General Sarrail Commanded the French troops and depended ,not by Joffre,but by the War Ministry directly.General Milne ,the Commander of the British Forces was independent by Sarrail and listened by General C.Monro ,the Commander of the Ally troops at Dardanelles,which in his turn,depended directly by the War Office[17] from London.In any case ,the Army at Salonic was a force which could not be let in inaction.The divergences between the French Commandment and the British one ,were paralising it.The British did not trust the efficacity of this action ,nor in to its Commandment and were threatening even to retreat,what they had there.Joffre was deeply unhappy with this inaction .The pretext of Sarrail that there could not be enterprized actions during the warm season was rejected by the French Generalisim,with the obiectioned that the warm season at Salonic was more bareable than the greatest part of the colonies.

When,from the Entente side,the time was lost in discussions over the opportunity of the action at Salonic.the Germans understood better its importance.A British historiograph writes:"The Central Powers have used the strategical opportunity of continuing to pretend that they will give the principal blow in the West ,when in reality they were looking to have the superiority of men and cannons in the East ,to distract the attention of the British and of the French and minimize the possibility of a strong counteroffensive through Dardanelles and the North of Balkan Peninsula.That is why"the Easteners" from France and England were not listened in the war advices of the Allies ,although on the British part there were first hand politicians ,like Asquith,Loyd George and Grey,and on the French part Briand a.s.o.

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The centrals have broke the inaction.the Bulgarians ,in understanding with the King Constantin of Grece,crossed the Greek frontier without firing a shot ,occupying Front Ruppel and the whole region left side of Strumei ,such that they have constituted a sure base of action for future operations.The War Council ,French-British has been emotioned by it,and in a meeting held in London ,at 9th of July 1916,decided...the postponing of the action of the Army at Salonic for September ,for the British troops to be able to equip themselves for mountain warfare ,and the Serb Army ,remade in Corfu [18] Island ,to be transported on to the fighting Front.Joffre has seen himself forced to write to General Sarrail to be able to attack only with French forces and did not hide his uncontent provoked by the campaign plan presented to him by the politician General Sarrail.All these frictions and missings ,writes Joffre,contributes "to weaken the zel of the Romanian Government".

Besides,Sarrail Army was really too weak to enterprize decissive actions.Sarrail himself qualified as "bluff" the operations he could enterprize on the Salonic Front with an insifficient Army as effectives and reduced more by the climate conditions and of the hygiene ,bad in which he was.It was simply a bate for Romania.And ,in truth,the Romanian intervention came in time to provoke a relief between the Commandments and Governments French and British,when the quarrel threatened to take very upsetting aspects.

By the conditions of entering of Romania was also decided that Sarrail to enterprize an offensive ,serious,it has also been set the date of this offensive ,which had to preeced the Romanian one .It is known that,even this time ,the Bulgarians went ahead by Florina[19] offensive,and anihilated alltogether whatever influence over Romanian campaign.The offensive of Sarrail in October led to conquering of Monastir ,but has been also a tardive action ,episodic and local.The Central Powers were informed by the lack of the effectives of the Allies and by the attitude of the British ;they knew that it is not possible to take here an initiative in great style to threaten the solidity of the Germano-Bulgar Front in Macedonia.That is why,the diverting offensive Cordonnier did not attract any Bulgarian soldier from the Dobrogean Front to the Balkanic Sector.

The result of the antagonism between the politicians and the French Military Chiefs and of the Great French Headquarter were that:was adopted the Russian War Plan-with the attacking of Austro-Hungary and menage Bulgaria ;it has been given an insufficient help at the Bulgarian frontier ;the action of Sarrail Army was weak.That is why ,the Bulgarians were not taken out of the fight ,and Romania was not liberated by the heavy task of the War on two Fronts ,which would have gave her the opportunity to pursue with energy the principal objective imposed by the Allies.

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*Name given to the partizans of the action in Balkans.Only in 1918 ,the victory of Franchet d'Esperey ,which have determined the final victory ,showed that the "Esterners" were right .

*The official report of the French politician(deputy) Benazet notices that Sarrail had at 1st of October 1916 ,127 000 combatants ,instead of 307 000 ,as he has been shown by the Great General Headquarter French.Still,from this number ,an important number were not capable of fighting because of the diseases.In this way,Regiment 54 Infantry from Kenali had in the first line only 1394 men,instead of 3000;the 1st Marching Regiment from Africa ,in front of Monastir ,had only 1102 men.All over the place Sarrail could not count but only on 28-29000 fighters of Infantry.The Serb Army ,remade at Corfu ,started to arrive ,but without artillery.That is why,one of the conditions set by the Romanian Government for entering of Romania in action,fell;the convergent offensive against Bulgaria could not be acomplished .Not even the Russian could attack from North ,neither Sarrail could attack from South.At 6th of August G.Q.G French ,news Sarrail that his mission is to harras the Bulgarians.

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Was the plan of our campaign wrong?

The defensive on the Southern Front and offensive in Transilvania have been considered by many as a "fatal mistake" which,giving chance to the enemy counterattack on the Dobrogea frontier ,has been the cause of all the missfortunes that followed.The plan of our campaign was imposed to us by severel circumstances.Firstly,the offensive in Transilvania corresponded to the public sentiment in Romania;our War was a nationa l war ,it was the War for Transilvania ;the conscience of this fact had to pour the enthusiasm in the souls of the fighters and give them the impulse of fight and of martyr.Secondly,the liberation of the territories revendicated by us ,was part of the political program of the government;Romania had to have in hand the guarantees of territories which ensured the price of the sacrifices of her victories.But this offensive was-before anything -a condition imposed by the Russians ,strongly supported in this by the Great French Headquarter."The concessions we make to obtain the concur of Romania -were the Russians saying-are limitted to the condition that Romania wil constitute the left wing of our Armies in Transilvania ,in which she will storm,even at the beginnings of operations"*.

It is true that Briand,the Chief of the French Government ,has intervened for the offensive on the Southern Front ,of which personal partizan was,but the French Generalisim ,Joffre and the other military Allies leaders ,which had the decissive word ,in divergence of oppinions with the French Government ,have supported the ideea of the Russian Commandment' s plan ,which has been finally imposed to us.

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The faith that the fate of our Army would have been other in the case when ,instead of of attacking on Transilvania Front ,we would have attacked on the Dobrogea one ,may not be considered as an absolute justification.Military personalities with authority in the leading circles of the Allies have rejected it with decissivness.Same thing would have happened if we woud have mass our troops towards Bulgaria ,leaving weakly defended the long frontier of Carpathian Mountains ,with its numerous mountain passes ,favorable to attacks by surprise.Only the roles have been changed ;the result would have been the same.Even neutral military writers ,from the ones with authority in the field, as the Swiss Colonel Egli ,finds that the plan followed by us was best.Egli convenes that the offensive against Bulgaria had indiscussable advantages from the poin of view of general interests of the Allies :taking out of the fight of the Bulgarians ,isolating Turkey ,reestablishing a more direct link with the Allies in the West with Romania and Russia ,bringing back the Serbs in their country.It was connected by great difficulties,though ,and trumendeous risks for Romania which,surprised through Carpathians,would have been dragged in to a catstrophe."Choosing between the two possibilities was not,ofcourse easy;it fell over the first one -ofcourse-with rightness.This solution had-with all its dangers -more chances of success than an attack in a direction opposite to the political goal pursued".Besides,the offensive at South could not have been made but only in concordance with an action started from Salonic .We know,that the situation of Sarrail's Army did not permit him such an action.In these conditions it could not be talk about a campaign having the taking out of Bulgaria from the fight as principal objective .

The fatal cause of our defeat has not ben the plan itself ,of the campaign,but the face with which was executed .The indispensable conditions of a well acomplishing of this plan have not been respected.In the perilled geographical situation ,in which we were,the military action of Romania could not be executed isolated: she occupied only a sector of the great Oriental Front so it had to be supported at the two flanks by the effective colaboration of its Allies.One of the chief conditions formulated by Bratianu for our entering in to action ,has been the defence of Dobrogea frontier by the Russians and retaking the offensive at Salonic.The other condition ,imposed by the strategical colaboration with the Russians ,was the Russian offensive through Bucovina and Galitia .Supported in this way on the two flanks ,the Romanian offensive in Transilvania would have evolved with vigor and effect .The reality was different,though.

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On the Southern Front ,the Russians have brought too few Divisions ,one by one and at long intervals in between.The forced attack of the enemy ,with many forces ,has found here the Russian -Romanian forces week ,scattered ,not united on to the fighting line.In the day in which,after Turtucaia,has benn seen the need that Romania to defend alone on two fronts ,the fate of our War was decided.The action of Sarrail ,ineffective,did not bring any relief to the Southern Front.

On the Northern Front,the Russian colaboration ,did not realize ,also.The offensive of Brusilov has ceased completely in the first half of September .Romanians,advancing in to the heart of Ardeal,did not find with the Russians at the established place and had to stop,with the right flank in the air.In this difficult position ,attacked by the front by Falkenhayn ,with the threat of cutting the communications with the country,without reserves,send all to the Danube,we had to evacuate Ardeal giving up to the offensive.Instead that our intervention to count as offensive factor ,here we are ,as such,in defence on two Fronts.Attacked now alternativ by Mackensen at South and Falkenhayn at North,without serious aid from the Russians,without any vigorous action at the two flanks of our Front,we are forced to begin the fatal game of changing the troops from one front to another,sending them from the ountain at the Danube and from the Danube to the mountain ,or lateral from one point to another of Carpathians,to patch up the holes produced,one after the other ,on the long line of the fighting front .These movements were made with extraordinary efforts and delays ,because of the geographical configuration of the montaineous frontier ,with rows of elevations perpendicular on the Southern versant of carpathians.

Hit in this way from all directions ,threatened with the breaking of the Front in diferent points and with the cutting of our troops in different directions ,without reinforcements to refresh the exhausted forces,we had to abandon the territory of Muntenia ,retreating step by step and forcing the enemy to follow us in retreat,but obstacling him from cutting it.Only after leaving the line of Bucharests ,the Russian reinforcements have started to arrive to save,not the rests of our Army,but the communication lines of the Russian Army ,the left flank of their Carpathian Sector in Moldavia.

So,at the pushing of Romania in to the fight at a disadvantageous moment ,it is also added the abandoning of us at our own powers ,without help on the fighting Front and by the colaboration at the two neighbour wings ,between which we were placed.

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*Briand's declarations in the meeting of the secret committe of the French Chamber in 28th of November 1918

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The enemy had moved his principal action on the Romanian Front

As our Allies were making the mistake of dragging Romania in to the War without a well studied plan,beforehand,without putting at her dispozition the necessary means and without knowing the real situation of the enemy's forces ,this one ,recollecting himself fast,could sneak between the hardships in the beginning and realized perfectly well the situation ,looking to turn it in his advantage.Germany had moved on to the Romanian Front the center of weight of the War.It was obvious that on the principal Fronts was not to be expected any victory ,decissive.Faithful to their doctrine ,of attacking the weaker enemy ,where was a certain success to be obtained and exploit,convinced that the entering of Romania in to the War offered a weak point in the totality of the Front ,the Germans have abandoned the fight in West and East ,where they have left minimum of forces ,indispensable to keep the defence.The circumstance that the winter was arriving ,and on snow and frosts a strengthened line can be defended with much fewer troops than in the summer ,permitted them to retreat especially from the Northern Sector of the Russian Front ,numerous units.All these troops which became available have been aimed to the new Romanian Front.At this combining of forces ,realized against Romania,the Allies could not respond.Brusilov's offensive saved the Italian Front threatened at Arsiero and Asiago;our entering in the War cleared the French at Verdun ,permits the Italians to be victorious at Carso,made easyer for Sarrail to occupy Monastir and escaped the Russians by the blow prepared for them.On the Romanian Front ,the enemy has concentrated in November ,40 Divisions and 6 Brigades ,from which the majority were Germans ;in the same time we had 27 Divisions ,from which 20 Romanians and seven Russians ;their number increased in December to 34(15 Romanian and 17 Russian).

The motives for which the Germans have transformed our Front in to the principal fighting Front of the European War,were several.Firstly,there was a pshchological reason.They have noticed our military weakness which yields from the long and twisted frontier line ,which we had to defend ,by the lack of technical means and from the insufficiency of the Allies support.Descovering this weak spot of the European Front ,they have understood imediately the use they can make out of it:it was the only Sector of the European War ,where ,with a strong effort ,they could obtain a great success,resounding,to impress.It would be the third small country,allied of the Entente ,which would be invaded ,the Capital conquered.It would have been demonstrated in front of the whole world that their forecastings are superior to the ones of the adversaries ,their organization stronger ,their methods better.In short ,they are the best.Elocvent advertisment to the other beligerant and neutral states!

There was anoter motive,of political order.Hungary and Bulgaria had to be held in the alliance of the Central Powers .The defeat of Romania meant a satisfacion ,special,given to these two states ,their liberation of a permanent threat ,their attachment,unconditioned to the fate of German Empire.So much indispensable was the helping of Hungary and -by this-keeping her in the alliance of the Central Powers such that,for procuring the necessary troops,Germany would have not hesitated even if it would had to evacuate Belgium.Over conquered Romania ,it would have been constituted the uninterrupted block of the Central Powers .The material connection of the central Powers with Bulgaria and Turky was now fully acomplished.

Finally,the economical reason.The Central Powers were living with the threat ,permanent,of hunger and lack of war materials.Romania could satisfy two needs of first order:wheat and petrol,over which were aimed the eyes of the Germans ,since the time of neutrality .

But Germany was also following a demonstration .The political leaders and military ones ,Germans,reached the ideea that they cannot win the War anymore.At 20th of September 1916 ,Wilhelm the II-nd was won for the ideea of a manifest by which he pronounces peace[20].But for this proposition to not give the impression of a weakness ,the Great German Headquarter asked the postponing of it,until the obtaining of a loud success on one of the fields of battle*;after this success the proposition of peace was to make the impression of an act of generosity,of humanitarism ,started from the strong one.Such a success was obtainable only on the Romanian Front ,by the concentration here of all forces available and of the most trialed Generals.At 6th of December has fallen Bucharest ;at 12th ,Wilhelm aas launched ,in the name of the central Powers,the celebre manifest of peace[21],written on an arogant note.

For all these reasons ,the Germans have given to the War with Romania , an importance no one expected at the beginning.The prey was rich and easy:she has been throwed almost without thought in to the hungry claws of the most redutable of the enemies.The Germans have stopped in defence on all Fronts ,where they did not expect any victory whatsoever ,but neither a catastrophe to be afraid of ,and stormed with all forces over the imprudent newcomer.

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...has,is November ,since the breakthrough of Jiu until Casin Battle.I hope that thanks to this table it will be established definitive the importance "Oficiului de pompa" exercitated by the Romanian Front over the enemy forces on European Fronts and will be rectified the current errors ,which get in,even in some official publications.

Enemy units on the Romanian frontier in November 1916

photo1-15.jpg>>

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Russia's attitude

During the whole time of the 1916 Campaign ,Russia's attitude towards us has been one of bad faith and bad will.Numerous incidents and episodes ,happened during the War,have surprised the world.No doubt that a more numerous participation of the Russians ,more energic and especially made at the oportune moment would have given another course to the War.

The French Generalisim,Joffre ,whithout showing himself sympathetic to the Romanians ,confesses all the time in his Memoirs,the difficulties he met from the High Russian Commandment ,represented in the beginning by Alekseev ,then by Gurko,to bring it to a just understanding of the need to help the Romanians.The hostility of the Russian Commandment was obvious .The measures asked by Joffre were either not executed ,or executed but only partialy ,and this from "the difference for my insistent requests".It seemed that Alekseev wanted more to demonstrate that more need had Romania for Russia ,than this one by her new ally.The Chief of the Russian General Staff expressed himself in this way:"The entering of Romania in to the war is a real calamity".Joffre resumes the situation in these words:"In an atmosphere like this one ,the Russian-Romanian operations could not have been marked but only by a series of delays ,disorders,twists and turns,and finally by desastre".

The unfolding of the operations is filled with examples which ilustrates the oppinion of the French Generalisim.During our offensive in Ardeal,the Russians had a pasive attitude..When ,in the first weeks of the War ,the passes of Carpathians of Moldavia have been forced by our Armies ,leaving free the passing of the Russians ,which could storm into Transilvania as a wave ,unstoppable by anything ,not even a foot of Russian soldier did not yield in Carpathians .Only when our defeats have started ,when the mountaineous frontier has been well locked with Austro-Hungarian troops ,the Russians have begun to give the series of weak attacks of thir celebre "Offensives of ease up" of the Romanans.

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In total the enemy had during November 1916 the enemy had on the Romanian Front the following units:

a)Germans:16 Divisions of Infantry ,one Mixt Brigade Germano-Bulgar Infantry,four Cavalry Divisions ,one Brigade of cavalry and one Brigade of Cyclists.

b)Austro -Hungarian 10 Divisions of Infantry ,two Brigades of Infantry ,One Division and One Brigade of Cavalry.

c)Bulgarians:five Divisions of Infantry and one of Cavalry.

d)Turkish:three Divisions of infantry.

The total on weapons:34 Divisions of Infantry and three Brigades ,six Divisions of Cavalry and two Brigades ;one Brigade of Cyclists.

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In Dobrogea ,the Russian action has been weak :the Russian units have arrived tardive ,successive and weak as effectives.That is why,the Romanian Army has supported alone the Germano-Bulgar attack at Turtucaia and was not able to reestablish the situation in Dobrogea.During the battles ,the Russians have fought bad and have compromised the results,either by their delayed intervention ,or by their intempestive retreat from the fighting line.Zaioncikovski has been an incapable man,but his succesor ,Zaharov ,General with good reputation ,has started in Dobrogea with noise ,for then to do nothing really,although he had under his Command an Army greatly superior(as number) than the enemy has left in front of him.His inaction has lost Dobrogea.Leaving of Dobrogea by the Army of General Zaharov ,greatly superior to the Bulgarian one ,withot fight,is qualified even by the Russian military historiograps ,as a"deplorable manoeuvre",justified by nothing,with grave consequences.

In the epoch of the breakingthrough of our Carpathian mountains Front ,thelegrams ,almost desperate ,were asking to the Russian General Staff to give order to the four Russian Divisions ,which were inactive in Basarabia ,to come to Carpathians ,where they could have obstacled the breaking of the Front.But the Russian General Staff responded invariable that"It is not drew enaugh the action of the enemy ,to know exactly where are more necessary those troops ".During the Arges Battle ,the quicker entering of the Russian Divisions from the Danube and their intervention in the fight ,in time,would have decided maybe,on our part the victory which started to be announced.General Keller has delayed with several days the intervention of the three Divisions of Cavalry he Commanded ,under the pretext that his horses are not shoed,and has provoked thus the abandoning of Cricovului line and the retreat towards Rimnicu Sarat.

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The explanation of the unfriendly attitude of the Russians towards Romanians is in light.Abandoning Muntenia and Dobrogea and the retreat on a line behind has been the continuous preoccupation of the RUssians ,even from our first insuccesses.During the German counteroffensive in Transilvania ,when noone could forecast the Romanian desastre ,Alekseev,showing to Berthelot on Romanian map the line of Siret River ,declared:"Here we will resist.At West of this line we will not fight".During the fights for defending the Carpathians of Moldavia -october 1916-presented to General Prezan the Russian General Veliciko-a reputed specialist in fortifications ,which has colaborated in the past at fortifying Port Arthur[22].the Russian General ,arrived in Romania with the mission to study the works in Moldavian Carpathians ,told to his Romanian camarad that in his mission is comprised also the extending of these strongholds through Siret Valley,adding ,in confidential mode,that it was forbidden to him to bring this to the knowledge of the Great Romanian Headquarter(Prezan verbally).

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In vain Berthelot seeked to explain to the Russians that there cannot be comparation between the imensity of the Russian territory and the surface of small Romania ;the big retreats in Russia did not perilled the vital conditions of the huge country ,whereas the abandoning of Muntenia meant for Romania a deadly blow.But ,at Berthelot appeals ,which was asking for Romania the support of the available troops of Lecitki and Zaharov ,Gurko was answering :Not a man ,nor a cannon!".

And, as Romanians were giving with desperation at Arges the battle of which depended the Capital and their Country ,Gurko was organizing with no problems whatsoever the new Front Cartpathians-Siret -Black Sea .Sacrificing beforehand the greatest part of the Romanian territiry .In the country,Berthelot noticed that General Beleaev ,the reprezentative of the Great Russian Headquarter near the Romanian Commandment ,has as mission to counterstrike all the measures proposed by the French Mission in Romanian's favour.Beleaev declared:"Whatever big the belly of General Berthelot is ,he will not be able to swallow all the kicks we will administrate him in the back".Storying these things in his memoirs ,Saint-Aulaire ,the French Minister in Romania ,added the comment:"Romania is the only country which has suffered a double occupation ,half of it by the enemy and half by the false ally ,and this one has been much havier".

Not even one Russian historian do not doubt this attitude of Russia,trying to justify it by that for Russia would have been preferable a Romania which would have kept neutrality ,because it would have guaranteed its left flank of its Front,to an ally Romania ,which was badly guarding a frontier of 800 km.Only ,that this attitude taken after our entering in to the war ,is in flagrant contradiction with the attitude during neutrality ,when the big pressures and uninterrupted of Russia to get Romania in to the War were qualified ,by a very high Russian personality ,as a crazy fury.

Russia liked to complain that the new ally is badly equiped,material,to wage a modern war.But,in the same time,she did almost nothing to side this weakness ,not respecting her contractual obligations.In thruth,the War material send by France and England through Russia suffered inexplicable delays or were even retained in Russia.In this way,the machineguns and cannons ,any -aerian have not been given to us,by the Russian;the first ones have been send to Petrograd ,to serve latter against the Russian revolutionaries ,and the second ones have been send to Riga."After a month ,since our entering in the War ,our transports have been stolen;from several automobiles,aeroplanes ,engines ,trucks there were stolen parts to make them unusable at their arrival.The trains with armament,minitions ,heavy artillery ,aeroplanes,insted of being directed to our country,have been directed to Caucaz line,and others destroyed by burning them.On the lines of Caucaz ,in the spring of 1917 ,have been found by officers from the French-British Mission ,send there for finding and bringing the materials ordered by us ,all the trains that had to replenish our country ,hidden and delayed".

The result on the terrain was the acomplishing of the plan at which the Russians were working even from the beginning :a Front almost exclusive Russian was stretched from Baltic Sea to Black Sea ,and the greatest part of Romania ,with all her riches ,were in the hands of the enemy.

All these made that a grave suspicion to be risen against our ally.Its sincerity was very doubtful;it was pronounced even the word of treazon!Which could be the cause of the strange attitude of the Russians towards us?

It was obvious that the Russians did not treat us as real friends.Political and psychological reasons explained this thing.Russians and Romanians could not be sincere friends.The traditional tendency of the Russian politics to unite with the Slave population from South to open up the road for Constantinopol[23] has met always the most serious obstacle in the existence of the Romanian State.The interest of our national conservation ,pushed us in the opposite camp of Russia [24].A bigger and stronger Romania was to become,undoubtfuly,an obstacle even greater in the way of Russian aspirations*.

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The antagonism was real.The Mondial War created ,it is true,a community of interests between Romania and Russia,but it was incidental ,passing,born from the wish to take down the commun enemy:Austro-Hungary .Even this alliance with Russia ,become inevitable by the adhession of Romania at the action of the Entente ,was tha black spot of our war politics ;it was thus exploited by the adversaries and showed as imoral and dangerous for the future development of our state.The alliance of Russia with Romania resembled much with one of those conventional marriages ,in which each of the parteners ,husband and wife,makes reserves over the future conduct.Our colaboration with Russia and the reciprocal raports have been impregnated ,from the beginning ,by a sentiment of untrust;it has dominated our log tratatives for our entering in the War and were also the cause for delaying this entering.It was not a brotherly colaboration ,enthusiast ,spontane,started from the heart ,wich connected us with France and Italy ,nor the one started from the deep ideeas as the one with England.In the bottom of or conscience we were afraid of the definitive victory of Russia ,which opened to us frightening perspectives,On her part,Russia had the interest ,for us to not come out too strong.A Russian Military historian ,which had an important function on th Romanian Front 1917-1918 ,confesses with sincerity that there is a serious contradiction between "the Romanian politic objective" and Russian military objectives.

From this situaton ,false,went out all the attitude of Russia.The appreciation of the Romanian aid and its invokation by Russia were changing after the fate of operations on Fronts,and our own necessities when they were pressing ,when abandoned.In the course of these oscillations ,Russia have considered for a long time the concur of Romania as inutile,then,when she considered it necessary ,has opposed a long and stubborn resistance to addmitting of our revendications ,under the pretext of defending the interest of Slavism(Slav nations).She has throwed us in to the War for her interests when and in the direction she wanted.She did not let us to strengthen too much ,stealing our war material ,gave us a very problematic help and did not intervene serious but only when the situation started to become threatening.The impressions in the beginning,became latter a sure thing.Russia did not wanted the victory of Romania .On the contrary ,it seemed that she wanted the dezastre of her ally.

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It cannot be established with precission because the formal acuzation of treason ,used even by political figures with great responsibility and with ballanced word-that for instance ,A. Tardieu [25]-may be justified.At the Court of Petrograd was a nebular atmosphere ,loaded and suspect.It was attributed to the wife of the Zar ,of German origin [26],also her anturaje ,in which have played tenebrous roles ministers Sturmer and Protopopov,as the odious monk Rasputin[28],the Germanophil feelings and the intention to prepare a separate peace with Germany .The necessary pretext ,to justify this treason faced with the commune cause of the Allies ,had to be a military desastre ,which to not touch directly Russia ,but which to prove in an elocvent way the military superiority of the Central Powers and the inutility of extending the war any further.This pretext ,wellcomed ,was just the collapse of Romania ,indicated to this by her proximity ,by the direct link of the fighting frontiers and by the great hopes put at her entering into action.This is why the conducteurs of this politics were pushing Romanian to desastre.

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A secret document published latter by the Bolsevic regime ,brings light over the feelings of the leading circles of the Russian politics and their intentions.It is the celebre "report Polivanov",written either by the former War Minister ,either by a high clerk from the Ministry of Foreign Relations ,Russian,with the same name .Polivanov makes the history of our entering in the War and of the tratatives that followed;he is of oppinion that the territorial extenssions given to Romania "did not corresponded to her participation to the military operations".Continuing with the showing of the phazes of the War ,Polivanov describes in this way the situation created by the events:"From the point of view of the Russian interests ,having in sight the actual situation in Russia ,we have to be lead by the following considerations :if the circumstances would evolve in this way ,such that the military and political convention of 1916 with Romania could be fully realized ,it would be created in the Balkans a very strong state ,composed of Moldavia,Valahia and Dobrogea-the today Romania-,Transilvania ,Banat and Bucovina-the territories conform with treaty of 1916 -with a population of almost 13 millions .It is obvious that it cannot be counted that this state to remain friendly with Russia and that he wil not want to realize his aspirations ,national,over Basarabia.In the Balkans ,he will try to counterballance the Russian influence and,being given the Latine predominant character of his popolation ,he will find under the great political influence of France and Italy.That is why the destroying of Romanian dreams ,pretaining her will to become a great power in the above proportions ,it is not contrar to the Russian political interests.We have to take advantage of this circumstance ,to tighten up for as long as possible the forced connections uniting Russia with Romania".

The conclusions of this report are of a cinism which makes true the worse assumptions towards Russia's attitude:"The events takingplace now in Romania have modified radical the conditions of 1916 treaty.Instead of a military concur ,relatively modest,which was obliged to give in Dobrogea,Russia had to give to her troops almost entirely for the defending of Romania .This military aid of Russia has taken now proportions ,such that the promisses made to Romania by the above treaty ,relativ at territorial compensations in exchange for her entering in the War ,must be,without a doubt ,reviewed.If in the actual circumstances,it would be inoportun the rising of this matter ,it has to be set now to the day order in the closest moment and most favorable one"[29].

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The methods of the Russian politics are evident from this report;he forms a serious base for the accuzations of unsincerity,or even of treason ,of the military Russian actions and political ones.It is full accord and direct continuity ,with the attitude of Sturmer in the last phaze of the tratatives in the summer of 1916,which led to the closing of the two conventions with Romania:the premeditated decission to not held these engagements written in these conventions.

There were two Russias,which worked against one another.First was the militarist Russia and nationalist ,Russia of Alekseev ,for which Romania has been the indispensable auxiliary but unsympathetic ,of which anihilation ,once the service acomplished ,was wanted by the Zarist Empire ;it was the same old Russia of 1878,of Ignatiev and Suvalov[30].The second one was Underground Russia ,of Sturmer ,Protopopov and Rasputin,the Russia of ocult combinations and treasons,for which Romania was only a tranzaction object ,or traffic.

Whatever would have been of these two the face with which Russia was presenting herself towards us,it cannot be seen the trust we could put in to our great ally and how just appear the precautions ,which Bratianu(Romanian Primeminister) thought to take against Russia ,during our tratatives of alliance.One thing is beyond any discussion:during the 1916 campaign ,attacked by superior forces ,without the real support of the Allies from the West ,we had next to us ,an unsincere and bad will ally*.

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Lacks in our military preparation

The collaps of our military power has not only outside causes .There are also causes which must be looked in her organization and preparation.We must admit them with sincerity.The chief critic brought to the organization of the Army is her hipertrofiation ;pumping up the effectives to give the impression of a numerous Army.This increasing of effectives was made in the detriment of her solidity.From 15 Divisions ,which had before 1914,the Army has been increased to 23 Divisions.To reach this number ,there have been introduced numerous weak elements ,physically and as training.Nor the officers ,or the trained men,neither the armament ,or munition ,we had,did not permit an incrasing such considerable of the Army.There were no trained reserves either,or capable to be trained ,to fill in the gaps.In short,our power did not excede 15 Divisions.The diluation of the Army,provoked by the increasing too much this number ,had as result the diminishing of her combative value.Instead of an Army less numerous ,buth homogen and full of cohesion ,we presented in the War with an Army pumped up as number ,but carrying in this inflation the signs of weakness.Such lacks were observed during 1916 campaign in the preparation for the fight of the Army.It cannot be said that during the two years of neutrality there haven't been made efforts for material equiping of the Army and for preparation for War;our Army of 1916 did not had anything in common with the one in 1913 in Bulgaria campaign.But the two years of European War made that the tactic ,and the armament ,to realize huge progresses ,as there haven't been done in two decades of peace.Isolated by the two adverse camps,we have learned too less.It is true that we did not had teachers.Our situation of neutral country ,having in the rib the continuous threat of the Germans imposed us reserve.The offer of the French to send us a Military Mission ,under the Command of General Mondesir ,to train the Romanian Army in the spirit of the new methods of fight ,had to be declined by the Romanian Government ,of fraid of the grave complication it would have birth.The Mission of General Berthelot arrived too late ,when we have already started to slip on the slope of defeat He was able to notice that we are"admirable desorganises"[32] and to bring imense services for reorganizing of the Army which would have to fight in the second part of the campaign.

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With this total lack of knowing the circumstances of the modern War ,with anacronic tactic manners ,with important Commandments ,occupied by unprepared men ,brought to high positions not by selection ,but by connections of interests or friendship,we have started the War having as enemy ,that nation for which war was a "national industry"-after the word of a French politician and "a biological necessity",after a celebre German General ,with that Army,whose chiefs ,by the probe of two years of fierce War ,were the creators of the most fighting methods .These circumstances made us commit numerous mistakes which cost us thousands of lives and shaken the trust of our soldier.We wil quote some of the most frequent.Our attacks were insuficiently prepared by artillery and many times uncovered.The trenches ,dug by ours,superficial,sheltered badly the fighters.We did not know to hide;in the first night ,even,at the crossing of Carpathians ,a Commander of Regiment has been shot ,because he had an electric lamp on his pocket ,at the centurion.There have been ordered charges of cavalry ,like the times of Murat and Coulaincourt[33],against some enemy positions strongly retrenched with barbed wire fence ;they have melted in the fires of enemy machineguns .Not enaugh measures of protection made painful tactical surprises.Unsufficeient reconnoitrings or superficial ones -due also to the lack of motorcycles and of aeroplanes -put us many times face to face with greatly superior forces,or permitted us the exploitation only of beginning of successes.The lack of cooperation between infantry and artillery was one of the grave downs on conducting the fights.Generally,was put little importance over the firing with the rifle -neglected during peace time-and too much over bayonet attacks ,primitive system ,risky and costing to many lives,face with the strong means of defence at distance of the modern war.

The foreign technicians have noticed that the instruction of the artillery was defectuous:she has stopped at the battery school.Because of this,the firing range of the isolated batteries ,good by themselves ,were not capable of sufficient tactical aplications.The lack of preparation of group firing range was explained also by the poor of means of the artillery:in the beginning ,the batteries had only 2 km of cable ;they could not work with efficiency ,being without connection with the infantry,also.Because of this she could not make use of the advantages of the terrain,being forced to choose uncovered positions ,or to replace the telephone with men of connection.The artillery also did not had sightings aparatus ;it was a pitty to see good units dying because of the lack of elementary technical means.

The inferiority of our armament was one of the decissive causes of the defeat.Heavy artillery we had too few.All over the place we have been dominated by the enemy ,as mouths of fire ,as by calibers and length of firing range:each enemy Division had a strong heavy artillery.Our batteires were all the time framed and smashed by the enemy heavy artillery .The lack of horses or tractors made difficult even more the transport of our cannons ,heavy ones;most of them had to be transported with oxes.That is why our heavy cannons could not be brought and used almost in none of the fights during the 1916 campaign.Against the numerous enemy heavy artillery ,we opposed the "rifles" of 53 mm ,which "spit" their projectiles at 2 km.In a war made on a mountaineous frontier ,we were totally without-because of known causes-by mountain artillery,where as the enemy had special units armed ,equiped and trained for this kind of war.

A foreign technician writes:The infantry was too nervous and inferior to the enemy one as training:she had almost no machineguns at all ,grenades ,scissors for cutting the metal wires and rolling kitchens .Followed from behind by the enemy heavy artillery and weakly supported by the own one ,she went tired in a service without exchanges and could not be sheltered by a certain moral depression".

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*The summing up of the complex of circumstances in which it was made the entering in to the War of Romania and ofthe attitude of the Allies towards her,has been cristalized by some severe rows ,ofcourse,but very interesting,because they come fom an eminent personality,political and military,English ,General Thompson ,former military attache at Bucharest ,which became latter the Minister of Aeronautics in English Cabinet of Loyd George[31];"The first act of the Romanian tragedy is close to the end.A Latine small country gave up to the baits and threats and entered under Russian auspices in to an European War.Now,here she is ,crushed and smashed ,victim of two invasions :one ,of the enemy at the South,the other one of the Russians at the North.The Western powers were giftful,unmeasurably,in their simpathy -they wouldn't be giftful with something else-and they were the witnessess of the missfortune caused by themselves .In France ,an optimism ignorant,had conceived an egoist plan.England supports this plan,and Russia in the name of the Allied interests ,follows a Russian politics ,traditional,which has been obscure and sinistre.

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The disproportion of the number of machineguns ,which we had next to the enemy ,had fantastic proportions.Our old Regiments had six machineguns each;the new ones ,only two ,or none.The rifle-machinegun was unknown in our Army.As ,we had 8-24 machineguns for Division-some had none -the germans had 324 machineguns for each Division,from which 108 heavy ones and 216 light ones*.

We had almost no aeroplanes.Our Army was blind ,moved with fear ,sensing with prudence the directions of advance ,as the sky was splintered in long and wide by enemy squadrons of reconissance and bombardment.In some occassions ,the bombarding from enemy aeroplanes made us extraordinary casualties ,as in a battle.The aeroplanes brought to the enemy excelent services of directing the artillery firing range ;we did not know this method ,our artillery was firing blind or made her aiming after old fashioned practices.

Our soldier realized very quickly the imense superiority of the enemy in technical means.He was discovered and killed from distance by the enemy ,which he cannot touch whith his bayonet,and sometimes could not even see him.We must also add the multitude of trucks ,which permitted the provisioning ,qoick ,and even transport of troops;the multitude of telephones connecting even the most adavnced posts with the Commandment ;wireless telegraph ,signalling aparatus and all the modern scientific gear.

There are known the circumstances which did not permit us to prepare the Army during the neutrality time.We have entered the War with the hope ,based on the promises of the Allies,that we will acomplish fast these lacks ,even during the campaign.Hardships of all kind obstacled us to do it.The base of provisioning our Army was outside the country and the link with this base was made by a fantastic going around:through the Ice Ocean by Arhanghelsk and through the pacific ocean by vladivostok!Added to the difficulties by this distance ,was added also the bad will and neglecting of the Russians and an unlucky fate.Two ships of the Romanian Maritime Service ,Bistrita and Jiu which were transporting War materials from France ,expediated from there without escort ,have been sunk by the german submarines in the Ice ocean ,losing in this way imense quantities of war material**.

Face with the crushing technical superiority of the adversary ,were needed qualities of bravery ,legendary,of our soldier ,to keep an inequal fight for four months.All the military critics and war correspondents haste to recocnize it.The Swiss Colonel Elgi,of which Germanofilism is well knownin a very severe critics made to our Army ,writes:"Their peasant soldiers ,which fought with a real despise for death ,were send against the barbed wire nets and trenches ,which have not been hit by artillery fire ,as over them was falling a real rain of bullets".A Russian General,tasked with an important mission on the Romanian Front ,writes :"The Romanian soldier is excelent :brave ,disciplined ,quick to learn,capable to withstand missgivings and hardships ,and when it is well Commanded ,to give violent attacks".

The respect for truth oblige us to admit that not the entire human material of our Army was up to the recocnizing made by the foreigners and sang by us.Increasing the effectives have introduced in the fighting units also a great proportion of weak men,elements eaten by ,deseases,undernourishing or men past the age and former -reformed ,which a wide but tardive revision found them apt for military service.These kind of men ,which could be used behind the front line,without physical strength or spiritual,with not enaugh military training ,throwed in to the fighting line sometimes without even firinga shot in their life with the weapon set for the first time in their hands*,were standing in the way and were compromising the fight ,demoralizing also their camarads.In this way are explained the cases of run away,surrender in mass or automutilation ,which have determined in some parts the most severe measure of repression.

Mistakes of organization contributed to the lowering of the randament of the troop.Among these,to many changes of the Commanders of units of differend orders.The order of battle had been the bigest secret of War preparation.Around the entering into action ,a real avalanche of movings had as effect that the Commanders to not know the troop to which they had to Command ,to not know the value of the elements which they have to use in different missions ,even to have very vague ideeas of the topography of the terrain on which they had to operate.This thing was bad ,especially to the Commanders of big units .It was steped over the base principle of military pedagogy,that who prepares a troop in the eve of war,that is the one who has to Command it in action.

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*Schwarte,Technik der Weltkriege,...

**Bistrita ship was loaded with material of over 30 000 000 Lei(Romanian currency) She had on board 100 machineguns system Hootchiss,20 mortiers of 58 mm,66 automobiles ,22 truks ,5 sanitary automobiles,7 ambulances with complete sanitary equipment ,2 hangars of aeroplanes ,5 baloons with all accessories ,10 000 rifles ,60 000 steel helmets ,380 000 grenades ,fireheads and cartridges for cannons,few millions cartridges for machinegun,883 tons of steel in bars ,29 tons of nichel,23 tons of pucioasa ,8,5 tons led,62 machines for dynamite.

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...And some spiritual downs

More than the simple soldiers are asked outstanding qualities to the chiefs of any rank,which Commands them.A troop values as much as her leaders value.Never a troop showed cowardice ,when her leaders have been up to the cahllenge.That is why ,the solid preparation of the Officer Corps must be made in time and with care.Victories or defeats are prepared during the peace time.The fundament of the professional education of those in which hands are set in difficult moments thousands of lives and the existence of nations,must be an armonious development of the spiritual(soul) qualities-used to make good work,honesty,to be used with the ideea of self sacrifice -together with a careful training ,technical and solid physical one.

The circumstances of our political life and social did not permit us to do always the right thing.It is not the place here to make the critic of different aspects of this life;we can only notice some of the defects.

The physical and spiritual preparation of the masses for a War considered as unavoidable ,fatal,even whished for fullfiling a hystorical process ,has been to many nations the principal preoccupation ,towards which all the energies were polarizing ,for which all the sacrifices were made.In this way was to the Japanese ,Germans and even Bulgarians.It was not the same for us.

It is true that for some decades,the school-specially the secondary one ,inspired by postulates expressed by the great guides of the national conscience -in front with Eminescu(poet),Iorga,Goga-have done a loot to creat a new spirit of the younger generation ,rising her in the national spirit ,which had the supreme expression in the ideal of wholing the nation in a single bundle.Did she succeed in forming up the Romanian soul?The probe of War puts us in the face of a worrying question.The task we took over our shoulders wasn't maybe too hard for our strengths?It is ,ofcourse,firstly about the spiritual forces ,the ones that command to the material powers.We dared to make a great Romania!

A painful suspicion crosses the minds of those used to think,to analize ,to disecate our actions ,their mobiles and the used energies:maybe we wern't prepared for such a great deed.Exited too soon from a slavery wich lasted long time(Ottoman) and left uncleared marks,in haste to do in a short time what others have made in centuries ,mixing the ancestral bread with all kinds of new elements ,not enaugh caught by the land,we took things easy and thought that the great postulates are acomplished with sounding talk and less work ,with improvizations without depth ,with the hope of luck and without serious preparation.It is about,ofcourse,by these qualities seen on the ethnic plane as a property of the hood ,as it is seen in the mass of the nation ,as to the leaders she chooses ,or which she supports in her temple.Over a great chapter of social pedagogy ,of forming of the character ,we have been deficients.We did not had the school of serosity ,of foreseeing ,of tenacity of work for an ideal.In short,we did not had enaugh stregth of character,quality wich sums up and resumes all the gifts of civic spirit-in the lower masses ,and especially in the upper class.Because,ofcourse,not the entire leading class has arrived to be spirited by the national ideal-understood in all its aspects-and ready to sacrifice all that has better in his being-until the most extreme one.The materialism,made by the haste for a comfortable living,and the scepticism which paralizes the elan for higher goals,were propagated by the social ambiance ,lead by the people under the shield of party politics.

In general,this world was dominated by superficial ideeas ,wrong,about the evolution of the circumstance of general politics.

Few decades ,we have considered war as impossible,in the worst case as improbable .Our belief was neutrality,our program ,of state:a peaceful economical evolution.The realization of the national ideals :fanasies of febril heads which gave ,in the years of youth ,circumstance for agitation and quiet down with age .Our foreign politics was inspired by the fraid of Russia and by the need to attache to the Central Powers,which guaranteed our pecefulness and evolution.To this need we have sacrificed entirely the national aspirations whic,alone,could have constituted the engine of an energic action.The prudence of our foreign policy /politics was legendary now.We were proud,when Europe gave us the prize of well behaviour.The alliance with Germany and Austro-Hungary kidnapped any independence of thought ,any veleity of independent action.We were like the hanging plant which cannot live but only supported by her suport.We did not even thought to seek power in ourselves;it was so easy and safe to find it at the neighbour!From this cause we got used to consider the Army as sensless and burden institution .Not only to the masses but even to the Army itself ,missed for a long time the real preparation for the war;the training was superficial,the marchings were made more for parades ,firing to the target neglected -it was a common thing the lack of seriosity of the training officers ,which fired in to the wind for fulfilling the number of cartridges/bullets obligatory.The organization ,filled with birocracy ,which kills the real soldier's virtues.

All of a sudden ,in the middle of this dreaming,a cruel awekening.The cannon was thundering and recalled us to reality.All the national problems ,eliminated from our calculus of official diplomacy ,were set up on the wall with brutality ;their solving could not be made with the help of the Austro-German protector ,but against it,through fight.

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The war entered in the calculus of most close probabilities and it was finding us with the ranks of our Army unorganized.Then,the run after officers .For forming up of the active ones ,was populated over the brim the military schools,emptying the superior classes of the highschools ,not always by the most distinguished students ,bu in genere, by those who saw in the military career the means to create quick a budgetary shelter.For the officers in reserve were called up the graduated of the middle schools of all kinds ,comercial ones,censervatory ones ,then the whole learned mass.It has been in this way fabricated in haste an officer corps which gave the ilussion of the ranks of a numerous Army.The compozition and value of this Corps were very unequal;few elite elements ,next to many elements weak.The Army whith which we entered the War did not have omogeneity ;it could be felt the febril character of her organization :a lot of improvization ,a lot of superficiality ,a lot of trust in "Romanian's luck",in inspiration of the moment and in "the protection of our great Allies".

It is true that during the War some nations ,as the English and Americans(Northern) ,have proven that in a few months can be formed from an educated young man ,a good officer.But his training at the troop was given to an experimented instructor and was made with an outstanding method and intensity under direct influence of War itself ,almost under the fire on the enemy.This instruction went over the fundament of a strong moral education and physical one ,earned in the family as in school and was lightened by the flame of a burning patriotism ,streamed rom the proud rase ,from secular warior traditions .We cannot say the same thing about the face in which it has gotten to the point of more than double the effectives of officers of our Army ,in the eve of 1916 campaign.

The cultural and social currents in our country did not allow the evolution of our Army as an unitary organism,with a single colective soul.It could only be the icon of the society ,with its contrasts and lack of solidarity of the two classes composing it.Not enaugh evolved in their economical and cultural evolution,having the weakness of indifferentism of a poor material condition .On one hand ,the great masses of the population ,and such of the Army ,did not know yet well ,or ,in the best case,were not in the situation to be spirited by national ideals,the supreme target for which supreme realization were made our War preparatives.The sentiment on which could be counted more was that one of fulfilling with hollyness of the one's duty ,of the ancestral obedience towards "the great ones".On the other hand ,in some upper blankets of the society ,a state of soul spirited by a fierce egoism/avarism ,by a hasted scepticism ,by the cult of appearances could not help at forming up of that elit corps ,to know to spirit the masses ,by personal example ,the duty of supreme sacrifice for great victories.

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