Romanian Campaign of 1916.The Invasion

[razu]

.........

A great part of our generation grew up with the ideal of ensuring of a better living,with as less efforts as possible.

The most pretious quality was the ability with which you could succeed in life ,going around systematic work .All the admiration was for the slik ones which"now how to spin".The ideals and serious work provoked smiles and despise;it was the indices of naivity propagated by deeds of the family ,the society ,and sometimes even the school.

Armies rose up from the middle of nations ,of which exponent they are.The fights of the Armies are the fights of nations ;these ones pay for mistakes ,with which they made their lives of state and institutions.The souls steel ,characthers strengthens by hard fight of life .We have been the spoiled children of luck and of a rich country .We got used to wait everything from her and not give anything back.We needed ,though ,the bitter lesson of defeat ,to learn what we didn't know to find out earlier,that we also have holly duties ,which may not be payed but only with the light of inteligence ,with the power of the arm and with the sacrifice of blood.

A new school was made thus,without knowing,during the fights and in the midst of sufferings of all kinds of our military desastre .Her result is the new spirit which will soul the nation and the Army during the second part of our War.It will bring us reabilitation and victory.

[razu]

[1] Cf.E. Ludendorff,Souvenirs de guerre,tome I,Payot,Paris 1921.

[2] On the Southern Front of the Balkanik Peninsula -at Salonic.

[3] See K.A.Jeansen ,Der Kaizer und der General.Die Fuhrungskrise um Bethmann-Hollweg und Felkenhayn(1914-1916),Musterschmidt Verlag,Gottingen ,berlin ,Franfurt,Zurich

[4] Haig ,Sir Douglas (1861-1928) ,British General and then Feldmarshal (since 1917),Commander of the British Expeditionary Corps fighting in France

[5] Luigi Cadorna (1850-1928) ,Italian General ,Chief of of general Staff ,General of Italian Army.

[6] Albert the I-st ,King of Belgium(1909-1933).

[7]Aleksandru I-st Karaghorghvic,inheriter Serb Prince and then King of Iugoslavia (1921-1934).

[8] At 20th of July 1916 ,the Italians unleash an offensive during Battle of Trentino,in Travignolo Valley ,then ,at 6th of August begin the 6th Battle of on Isonzo.In ansamble the results have been far from expectations.

[9]During the brusilov offensive ,the Russians occupy Luck at 6th of June 1916,opening the ways of access at South of Nistru towards Cernauti.

[10] Theatre of Exterior Operations.

[11]Wilson ,Sir Henry ,British General ,Chief of Operational General Staff (1911-1913)-he had great functions during the Great War.

[12]N.M.Castelnau(1850-1916) ,French General.

[13]But where to take them from...?

[14]"Theatre of operations"-Special Service of the French Army.

[15]Horatio Herbert Kitchiner (1850-1916) ,British General,War Minister in the years of the Great War ,disappeared in a naval catastrophe in 1916.

[16]The offensive in Champagne ,on Western Front ,was made by the French during 19-24th of February 1915.Hevy fights took place at Champagne in September 1915 ,October 1915,and January 1916 etc.

[17]War Ministry of Great Britain.

[18] After the military defeat of 1915 campaign ,in the last days of 1915 and beginning of 1916 the Serb troops retreated towards the shore of Adriatic Sea ,from wher Allied ships transported them for remaking in Corfu Island -Greek-under Allied control.

[19]At 5th of August 1916 ,the Bulgarian troops have unleashed an offensive entering on Greek territory ,in Monastir region then,at 19th of August they have advanced in Strumei Valley and in sector Monastir ;at 20th of August the Bulgarians have damed the French-Serb tentative of offensive on Macedonian Front.This front stabilised in sector Lake Ostrov(21st of August).Only at 17 th of September 1916 a new offensive effort ,Allied,on the Macedonian front has trained the conquering of Florina.

[razu]

[20]About this decission see Fritz Fischer ,Griff nach der Weltmacht,Die Kriegsziel politik des kaiserlichen Deutschland 1914/18 ,Dusseldorf ,Droste Verlag 1967.

[21] See Popa M.N.,Wirst World War 1914-1918 ,Chapter IV ,Peace tentatives ,contradictions and disputes between Allies.

[22]Russian Chinese convention of 27 March 1898,imposed by Russia ,established the leasing by Russia of Chinese city Port Arthur -in Extreme Orient ,on the shore of Pacific Ocean .The Zarism has transformed Port Arthur in to a formidable fortress ,considered inexpungable .But sieged by Japanese during the War with Russia in 1904-1905 ,the fortress has been forced to surrender .

[25]Andre Tardieu (1876-1945),newspaper man and influent politician ;connected with the History of First World War -La paix,paris,Payot ,1921.

[26]Alexandra Feodorovna (1872-1918),Principess of Hessa ,Zarina of Russia (1894-1917).

[27]See A. Viroubova,Secret Journal (1909-1917) ,Paris,Payot,1928.

[29]See Russian Secret Documents ,1914-1917,Paris ,Payot ,1928.

[30] A.A. Ignatiev ,General and diplomat,Russian;P.Suvalov-Russian diplomat .Ignatiev and Suvalov linked their names by the Russian Zarist politics ,especially by the epoch of Oriental Crisis in years 1877-1878.

[31] Cabinet D.Loyd George was in power in period December 1916-October 1922.

[32] Admirable desorganized.

[33]Close colaborators of Emperor Napoleon Ist ,Joachim Murat (1767-1815),Cavalerist,Marshal of France ,King of Neapoli(since 1808);Louis de Colaincourt (1772-1827),General.Duke of Venice.

[razu]

(Volunteer Seargent Gheorghe Donici ,who fell on 10/23 November 1916, during the Charge of Robanesti)

(Moment during the fights for defending Azuga locality)

[razu]

(Position of Romanian troops during the fights in Transilvania-September 1916)

[razu]

[razu]

(Moment from the fights of Romanian troops supported by civilian population for defending Tirgu-Jiu)

[razu]

[razu]

(Scene from Cerna Fights,October -November 1916)

[razu]

(The Great Romanian-Russian Headquarter at Birlad,from left to right,Col.E.Nicoleanu,King Ferdinand and Generals.Saharov,Bielajev,Berthelot etc)

[razu]

[razu]

(The Charge at Prunaru)

[razu]

[razu]

[razu]

(Romanian soldiers in the trenches during the fights for defending Carpathian Mountains line)

[razu]

(The fight of encountering between Romanian units and German ones in Turnu Rosu(Red Tower) Pass)

[razu]

(Romanian field battery changing position under enemy fire)

[razu]

(General David Praporgescu,Commander of Lotru Detachment and then of I-st Romanian Army Corps,fell heroic in the Fights on Olt Valley 30 September/13 October 1916)

[razu]

......after Battle of Ciresoaia,the end of 1917 Romanian Campaign.

VI-th Part

Between Russians and Romanians

Chapter 1

Displacement of the Romanian Russian Alliance

On to separate roads

The Russian revolution ,capital event in the World History ,had grave repercussions for the Russian -Romanian relations in the Great War.The military alliance,Russian -Romanian was beginning to cease to exist.The two allies will find themselves ,from now on,in two separated camps ,not pursuing a common goal,anymore.The revolutionary Russia was not seeing as a principal goal of her politics to continue to victory of the War started ,next to the Allies of the West.Her interest has moved from foreign affairs to internal ones;the organization of the socialist revolution ,consolidating the new order .political and social.All the efforts of the leaders will be aimed towards this goal.For to acomplish these,the War had to be liquidated with any price.Romania,on the contrary,was remaining faithful to the goals which brought her in the Entente Camp.She understood to make heroic efforts to tend to the wounds provoked by defeat and by the enemy occupation and continue with determination and with heroic sacrifices the War ,until the final victory ,with the Allies ,to ensure the acomplishing of the national ideal for which she entered in to the fight in the first place.

Given the vecinity of the two countries and the interdependence of the two armies on a common front ,their separation will meet dificulties ,threatening to dezagregate in to conflicts.And ,truly,the future will show the seriousness of this peril.The turn off of the elan of the Russian fighting forces on the common Fighting Front,the detachment and taking out off their positions of the military units ,which were left behind(the positions) ,will leave the Romanian troops alone in the face of the redutable adversary ,on a line with big interruptions.The material imposibility in which the Allies in the West were ,to straighten up a little ,the military situation thus created by the Russian defection,was giving to the tragic situation,proportions of catastrophe.Romania was threatened not only by the danger of losing the War,but in her existence itself.It is easy to understand the spiritual process happening in the soul of the Romanian soldier because of the procedure of his former ally ,which, he considered as treason.

The history of our War will find herself now at the most grave turning point.The former allies will go ,from now on on two separate ways :the Russian on the road of internal politico-social revolution ;Romanians on that of continuing the fight for saving the Country and wholing the Nation.The future episodes will be deeply influenced of this divergence and will be filled with , more and more vengeful character.The attitude of the government and of the Romanian Army ,the measures taken for defending the territory ,for keeping and strengthening of the Fighting Front ,must not be understood in a wrong way:they will not be aimed against Russia as a state,or against the revolution as ideological movement ,but as the most elementary conservation of the fighting forces -moral and material-necessary for the resistance of the Army and by the continuation of the War.The parallelism between the actions of the Western Powers-England and France-aimed against the sovietic governation in Russia ,and the one of Romania,could some how give the superficial impression of engaging of Romania in-a fight ,ideological enterprized between the former big allies in which Romania would have been transformed in to a "bridge-head" against the Russian revolution.It is undoubtful that the Western Powers were not seeing with good eyes the evolution towards bolsevism of the Russian revolution ,because the defection of her Armies ,disorganized and withdrawal from the Front ,was diminishing the fighting forces of the Entente and advantaged,considerable,the Germans.That is why,they used any occasion and encouraged any combination which might have brought a straightening of the situation created by the Russian revolution.Amongst these ,counted also the ferm attitude ,and constant,on to the old positions of the Romanian Government.This circumstance will tigthen up ,in a natural way ,the relations between the Western powers and Romania,abandoned by the Russian ally,such that the future unfolding of the War ,will be characterized by supporting of Romania by the Western powers to keep her military forces intact,uncontaminated by the virus of dissolution ,and ready for fight.

The stages of liquidation of the Romanian-Russian alliance will make hard the the going on of the trial which,step by step,has pushed two states and two armies in hostile camps.They will clarify,as well,how the attitude of the Russian revolution leaders -following a program of propagating of the revolutionar ideology in the bosom of the Romanian Army and of the Romanian people -wich were persevering to put on the first plan , the independence of the Country and the hope of realizing of the national unity -lead to the agravation of the conflict between the two states,after they have separeted their ways.

.......

[razu]

The agony of a great Army

The old Bible legend of the consul with the legs made out of clay ,sentenced to roll over at the blow of a small stone rolled out of a rock ,have never found the realization more true than in the process of decompozition and smashing of the Russian military power.

The formidable Russian Army ,the strongest as force met by the Mondial War,imense as huge territory where it stretched her roots,infinite as the undryable reservoir from which she fed ,was dragging now a life of agony and was vanishing day by day ,not by the blow of the enemy,but by her own dezagregation .Wat did not acomplish the metal will of Hindenburg ,neither the clever combinations of Ludendorff ,nor the brutal strikes of Mackensen ,was made now by the invisible miracle of indiscipline,nested in the soul of the Russian soldier.From the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea was no more the unbudged wall which guarded for three years the huge Empire ;it was no more the steel guard ,at which shelter was to grow the power of the Armies in the West,in the awaiting of the hour of supreme effort.It was a construction in ruin,which was collapsing ,with the rotten fundation.A more violent blow of the storm of War ,or even a stronger kick of foot,was enaugh to throw to the ground the rotten build up.And if the enemy was delaying to give it,it was because he wanted to make economy of this weak effort,prefering to let her collapse by herself.So ,ofcourse ,it was the fatal ending closing in with fast steps.

The geographical position of Romania and the political-startegical combinations of the War linked the fate of the country by Russia's.On the fighting Front of Moldavia and on her territory were over a million of Russian soldiers in tight contact with the Romanian soldiers and with the civilisan population.The Russian revolution of February 1917 earned fast these masses of men.That is why ,the eyes of politicians ,leaders,and military of Romania wee watching with a growing unrest ,increasing,the process of dezagregation going on in the Russian Army ,which was precipitating,without a doubt ,to the fatal ending.

...........

[razu]

The revolution and the Russian soldier

The decomposition of the Russian Army has been the effect of the political revolution over the soul of the soldier of the Old Empire.

The Russian soldier was ,in his great majority,the simple man in uniform.Without culture at all,kept by the secular autocrat regime far from any political understanding ,and participation to the state matters,he did not had clear notions about the fundaments of social and citizen life:country,national solidarity ;he was not spirited even by the hatred against the enemy ,nor by the warm of an ideal.It was the Zar's soldier,and that is it.In the semy-God person of the Zar was resumed the whole thing about him being a soldier.For the Zar he had to spill "his" blood ;to him was his life,and he had to sacrifice it ,because that is how "he " commanded.

The revolution in March ,took down the idol ,and the boken pieces were laying scattered on to the ground .The soul of the soldier remained empty.On this ruin has fall the new seed which,finding virgin ground prepared to beliefe in saving ideeas by a multisecular exploatation, caught roots and grew fast ,overwhelming with her vigurous eflowerescence the soul of this Army ,tired and demoralized ,inspiring to her other beliefs ,other goals,another ideal.

The three stages of the revolution in Russia :the aristocracy stage(Miliukov-Gucikov),social-democrat(Kerenski-Cernov) and communist one(Lenin-Trotki)[1] ,have had over the Army an continuous influence and growing one of democratization ,of weakening ,then of undermining of discipline -wich is the back bone of a force of an army-and,finally ,of dissolution of the Army itself.The chieftain trumpeted phrase of the elements of left(communist) ,which were conquering step by step the influence and power in leading of the revolution ,has been from the beginning :"ending the War and closing the peace",no matter the conditions will impose the enemy.Out of all revolutionary phrases/statements ,this one had the most resounding and direct influence over the soldier on the Front which,dressing in it,did not want to fight no more with the outside enemy ,preserving himself for the Civil War,unleashed in his own country.The first news about the revolution in Petrograd have impressed the Army on the Front and spread an atmosphere of unrest and of melancholy.The soldier was disoriented .Mutiny ,which caught roots imediately in the troops of the Capital ,has been unknown ,in the beginning ,on the Front.Soon then,started the process of transforming of the soul of the soldier within the trenches .Articles of newspapers and defetist materials ,although in the beginning concealed ,arriving however on the Front,turmoils the simple soul of the soldier and awake instincts wich the regime of opression and blind discipline of the Zarist government kept them numb,but which the lack of culture could not destroy.

...........

[razu]

........

One day ,the newspapers of Petrograd brought the celebre day order no.1 of the deputies of soviets ,of workers and soldiers in Petrograd.Although concealed by the revolutionar government [2],the day order arrived to be known with the speed of lightning on the whole Front.It was the first blow given to discipline.The order was unborning the obligatory salute to the superior,leaving to the soldiers the liberty to miss the sevice without authorization ,to make trade ,to take part in meetings to enter political groups etc.Undoubtfuly that the soldiers asimilated very quick the dispozition of the said order of the revolution,they applied it in all parts concerning the rights ,and forgot totally about the obligations,of it.The military training has been all together canceled,and the training fields transformed into places of public meetings ,in which the speakers were pouring more and more, the revolutionary propaganda in the souls of the listeners.

The second strike ,given to the ierarhic discipline was the decission by which Kerenski authorized the creation of autonome administrative organs ,under the forms of committes of all kinds.The discipline power was taken from the hands of the chiefs and given to the tribunals of regiments and companies ,made out of officers and soldiers choosen ,in equal number ,by the rest.It has been the death of discipline.

The third stage was the arriving on the Front of the agitators send by different central committes ,with the task to explain the men about the revolution.They were in the most part young men ,members of one of the unnumbered committes of action.;most of them were industrial workers or intelectuals ,which during the Zarist regime activated clandestine in socialist organizations of right or left,veterans of the move and its disciples.The resounding retoric of these missionaries of the revolution completed the masterpiece of destroying the Army.It was speaked about the closing of the peace without negotiations of territories and money matters,compensations,of entering in tratatives with the enemy ,about the inutility of wars ,by the crimes of the governors ,the universal broderhood ,about federative republic ;it was stigmatized the aristocracy which enslaves the people.The words of the propagandists entered deep and caught roots in the hearts of simple men ,which knew in their live only slavery ,work without just repay,and have been kept away of any participation to the state matters;they opened new horizons to them:peace,land,equality between men,happiness.

Under the influence of these states of affairs,the Russian Army was weakening more and more its fighting force.As Kerenski,in understanding with the Western Allies ,was preparing the July offensive ,and the Romanian Army was aprehensive to fight ,the Russian Army was decomposing in a multitude of committes : of companies ,of battalions ,of regiments until committes of army corps ,which were discussing over all matters brought by the revolution : about the future political organization of Russia,about the conditions of the peace,about military reforms,about the previous administration acts,even about small matters,as :changing the units in the first line ,the duration of the exercises,the trust or untrust they may have in certain chief etc.All around, a swarming activity was mastering.The Romanians were sharpening their weapons ,the Germans were counting their men and transporting new units,and on the Russian Fronts was talked politics."Only in the IV-th Russian Army were 40 000 men which were part of a committes or a commitet ,40 000 men which were not doing anything else but talk".In this way is explained why the IV-th Army made out of three Army Corps with nine Divisions ,become to have an effective of only 80 000 men,as four Romanian Divisions.Undoubtfuly that noone thought about training anymore ,to manoeuvres ,at bettering the positions.In some regiments has been fixed the duration of the work day,military, at six,five or even four hours.Othe units refused to leave the cantoonaments to relieve their camarads from the first line of fighting,only after long tratatives ,they could be convinced to do it.

.......

[razu]

German propaganda

The Germans full aware of the advantages they could drag out of what was going on to their adversaries,have organized in the most clever manner and activ ,a service of propaganda ,meant to destroy even the shadow of discipline which has still remained in the Russian troops,to push them to refuse to fight and abandoning the Front.The Great German Headquarter have communicated to the units ofn the Front certain directives for a systematic propaganda .It was thus exploited the wish for peace of the Russian soldier ,insinuating that the Germans have been and are ready in all moments to receive it and that only the Russians governors ,and in general of the Entente ,have opposed.The only way ,in which the Russian soldier can impose the peace ,is to leave the Front.It is thus,excited the spirit of greed of the peasant soldier ,telling him that ,at the moment in the country are given to the population the big lannds of the aristocracy ,those of the Crown,those of the great Dukes ,of land owners and that those who were missing from this process ,remain empty handed.These things and others ,were spread by manifests,as by special newspapers or by a Russian Edition of the German Socialist Newspaper "Vorwarts".They were put with regularity by the German soldiers in certain points of the Front,from which then came the Russians to take them .After this,started the direct contact between the soldiers of the adverse Armies and the broderhoodings.It has also been established comercial relationships between the two Fronts;thanks to them,the bread and sugar,Russian,was passing to the "camarad",German,in exchange for alcohol drinks.At 25th of May,1917,the Great german headquarter ,in acord with the Foreign Ministry ,sensing the retaking of the operations ,have send to the German troops on the Romanian Front new orders ,to advice the Russian soldiers " to pretend form their Commander a cease of the hostilities -for 3 to 4 weeks ,to take part in to the ellections" and "the refusal of participating to an offensive".The Germans were giving again assurances to the Russians of their peaceful intentions and by their wish of reglementing in a friendly way the matter of territories."Peace without territorial annexations and without compensations" was the hipocrit formulae ,under which the snake like Germans were hiding ,in the face of the naive Russians,their greedy intentions.The propaganda was made with outstanding intensity on the Fronts of IV-th and VI-th Russian Armies.As it is known,at 5th of June ,Divisions 13th and 34th ,Russians,have reached with the Germans agreements ,written,in which they took the engagement to fight no more.The Commander of the IX-th German Army communicated to the great Headquarter of the Army,under No.6196 of 5th of June 1917:"Out of the tratatives of these days,it has been earned the impression that the 34th Russian Division is so much influenced now ,that her deputies have the power now to force their superiors to close a written agreement with us ,for a long suspending of the hostilities on this portion of the Front.The 12th Bavarian Division ,as the officer of general Staff communicates from this Division,is of the same opinion.The Russian deputies have expressed their intention to propagate to the neighbouring Divisions ,Russian,a movement in the favour of supressing ,official,of the hostilities (the deputies of the 13th Russian Division seem already to be rady for it) and it is not excluded,that a movement,stretching from the 34th Division ,step by step,to take over other parts of the Front and exercitate a great influence over the places where are expected Russian attacks".The Commander of the I-st Corps of Reserve,German,General von Morgen,has been authorized ,officialy,(order no.2 076 of 6th of June 1917) by Ludendorff to close with the committes of Russian Divisions 13th and 34th ,the suspending of hostilities.

Because the Russian Artillery kept whatever combativity,the Russian infantry not only that drift away the artillery observers from their sectors,but agreed with the Germans to signall their own batteies which would open ,to be punished by the Germans with retaliations ,by artillery firings.In this matter,the 2nd article of the convention is the following:"To support the general desire of the Russian infantry to obstacle any firing range of the Russian Artillery ,it will be answered ,from the German side,by a firing with a doubled number of projectiles".

The history have recorded during the centuries many cases of mutinies from armies,tired of fight;never ,though,have not been seen the spectacle in which one part of the troop to close agreements with the enemy,to wheel to this one the power to fire with greater profit in his camarad ,which fghts shoulder to shoulder with him,under the same flag.Latter on,the catastrophe at Tirnopol has reached to be known on the Romanian Front .It has been found out that ,amongst other abominable acts ,during the assaults ,the officers haste alone to attack and have been shot,and murdered, by their own soldiers ,which stood still,in the trenches.The news spread to the Russian soldiers on the Romanian Front ,which declared ready to do the same.

.....

[razu]

The Russian Army during the great battles of 1917

In these spiritual dispositions ,with an army in dezintegration ,there have been given ferocious fights in July and August.They were meant to bring the total collapse of the Russian Army .The Romanian troops were threatened to be dragged in the spin of the dezastre.If the catastrophe did not happened ,set to happen by the Germans and Russians,the cause is only the determined resistance and heroic one of the Romanian."Only the rising patriotism of the Romanian troops has saved the situation",declares the Russian historiograph of the epoch by the dezagregation/desintegration of the Russian Army ,even the Chief of the IV-th Russian Army."During the Battle of Marasesti ,continues Monkevitz,I was near the Romanian troops and I was involved in the common work of their soldiers and ours;I am such permitted to say that,in those trgic days ,the Romanian bravery has been wonderful".As a contrast ,the Russian General Monkevitz notices with sdness the attitude of his troops:"In the second half of August has burned out this series of fights ,the most fierce of 1917 on the Romanian Front and which gave the Romanians the right to consider them victorious.For the Russian troops ,though,it has been the song of the swan.Even during the battle ,the attitude of some units has been real murderous.A Division ,almost complete,has started to run away at the first contact with the enemy"*.She has been for six months behind the Front line,occupying herself exclusively with politics and seeding fear in to the population by its insubordinations and plunderings.General Ragoza ,the Commander of the IV-th Army ,which had this Division in suborder ,has made latter an enquiry and published ,in an day order for the Army,the dezaprobation of this troop.But the Divisionary committes were upset by it,and declared that General Ragoza must be trialed for insulting the Division !And the delegat comissary of the prvisional government on the Romanian Front,which was named by Russian groups -" tovarasul(communist for Mr.) Tiesenhausen",but which signed himself as "baron of Tiesenhausen"-,did not find anything better but to ask General Ragoza to change the day order,which naturaly,the General has refused.

After the fights ended ,the dezagregation continues to make progresses.It was no more the Army full of pride and prestance which inspired respect and admiration ;it was a gathering which inspired untrust and even fear .The image of the Russian soldier in the period of decompozition of the Russian Army is in the memory of all those who lived the bitter days in Moldavia.The Russian soldiers were dreaming now only to peace and going back home;they have given up to any soldier appearance.The presence of the Chiefs,even the highest ranks did not disturb them anymore,or intimidate.On the contrary .With intention and ostentativeness,were taking then the most free attitudes ,chewing sun flower seeds ,and spitting the remains on the sides.The Romanian Officers and soldiers were looking with concern to this spectacle ,unusual and not to be understood by them,of a Russian superior Officer giving the report to an inferior one ,with the hand at his cap,or sometimes even to a soldier with neglected outfit,opened up at his tunic ,which was rambling and answered lazy and indifferent.It was a delegate of the central authorities,attached to the Command Unit of the Superior officer to supervise things.The chaos in the Army was increasing ,as it arrived on the Front the echo of intestinal fights between revolutionary currents in Petrograd.Two tendencies,extreme,caught a decissive contur:the right current ,of old aristocratic order,of continuing the War by the Allies,having in temple General Kornilov ,and the one of bolsevism ,extremist, represented by Lenin and Trotki.Between the two extreme currents ,kerenski ,able craftsman of talk ,but undecided character,was looking to keep a middle line,floating in echivoc ,perseviring in an unstable position.But middle lines cannot be understood but only by small circles ,souled by ideeas ,capable of reflection,conscious of perils.The masses,lead by primar instincts and passions,fall pray to the extreme currents :Orientation of right or left.The Russia of soldiers tired of fight of arms ,and of the workers deeply entered in to the political fight ,was made for the second solution.The fall of Kerenski was eminent.At the horizon was rising the new red constelation:the duality lenin-trotki(names of communist leaders).

*The author is pretaining ,possibly ,to the 124th Russian Division which,during the Battle of Iresti,at 28th of August 1917,has run away from the Front ,without firing a single shot,imediately the enemy begun the advance.

.........

[razu]

The start of the bolsevic Russia

At 7th of November unleashes at Petrograd the bolsevic revolution;in less than a week ,Kerenski admits himself defeated and runs away.The bolsevic revolution is victorious.It is the new era ,the regime of the communist society ,trumpeted by so many generations of idealists and vizionaries.Russia had the occassion to experiment communism and to prove its pathetic value.

The great changes of social order ,economical and political ,made from the inside go hand in hand with measures , radical ,on the foreign politics terrain ,in tight connection with the leading of the War.The new government starts by annulating all the treaties and engagements ,political,made by the preceeding governments.The connections and conventions made with the Allies are broken imediately.At 21st of November ,a radiogram addressed to "all" signed by lenin,the president of the soviet of the commissaries of the people and by trotki(name of communist leader),the commissary for foreign affairs ,proposes to the beligerants the closing of the general truce and the beginning of peace tratatives.

General Duhonin,the supreme commander of the Russian Army ,refuzes to close the truce.A tem of "soldiers" ,ahead with praporcic krilenko[3] ,attacks and murder the Generalisim in Moghilev Train Station,where it was the terrain of the Great Russian Headquarter ,cut his body to pieces ,throwing him out of the train carriage.bolsevic Russia was in a hurry to close the peace ,to have free hand in the interior ,to finish the masterpiece of consolidating the social revolution.

The Russian Army has been deadly hit by the revolution.On the Romanian Front ,the military-revolutionar committe declares supreme authority and makes a congress af all the units on this Front .The congress was held in Roman .Its result was the official bolsevisation of the Russian Army.The "soldiers" asked for closing imediately of the peace and demobilization ;in the case in which these things woud not realize ,the announced that they will leave the Front.

At Brest-Livosk, krilenko is put generalisim of the Russian Army ,closes the truce with the austro-germans[4].On the Romanian Front ,Serbacev refuses to admit the authority of krilenko,of the sovietic government at Petrograd and of the truce closed by them.But the soldiers begin to destitute ,and degrade and arrest their Officers ,replacing them with other commanders ,chosen amongst them.Inferior officers or simple soldiers are put in positions of commanders of Army Corps,of Divisions and of Regiments.Even General Ragoza ,the Commander of the IV-th Russian Army ,is arrested by his own troops.Ahead of the units are put revolutionary committes .The unreplaced Commanders by the bolsevics left by themselves,not being able to withstand the situation in which they were.

Face with this state of affairs ,which was unbareable it was no longger possible to prolongue the echivoc situation of the Russian Army on the Romanian Front.It was beyond any doubt that,at the slightest pressure from the enemy,the troops would have refused to fight and would have put the units ,Romanian,in the impossibility to withstand and organize the resistance.Moldavia and Basarabia would have been imediately occupied by the enemy.Serbacev was himself in the face of a catastrophe situation,from which he could only get out through the only gate of truce.He declared to the King and Romanian Government that he is not able anymore to set his will in front of the Army ,which he continues to Command ,with the name,and that ,in the case in which he will not close the truce ,the Army will,over his will.The King and the Government had to admit that the situation was so ,as showed by the Russian Generalisim and that there was nothing else to do ,but to bend in front of the imperious necessity.

.........