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Operations in Transylvania and Rumania, 1916-7. After the unexpectedly great results of the Russian summer offensive under Brussilov in 1916 the conviction gained ground in Rumania that the moment had now come for her intervention on the side of the Entente Powers. In accordance with the policy pursued since the Balkan Wars of 1912-3 of harvesting from international quarrels the greatest practicable advantage with the least pos- sible sacrifice, Rumania now hoped to be able to realize the desire, cherished by the entire nation, for the enlargement of the kingdom by the incorporation of the districts of Austria-Hungary inhabited by her nationals.

The Austro-Hungarian Supreme Command had foreseen most clearly the intervention of Rumania, while at German Head- quarters the danger did not appear so imminent; and the Hungarian Government fearing unrest among their own pop- ulation and in the hope of not destroying the last chances of maintaining peace with Rumania avoided taking in the threatened frontier districts the measures necessary in the event of war breaking out. Thus it happened that Transylvania was quite inadequately defended from the military point of view against the Rumanian attack, and the country was hardly pre- pared at all as a theatre of war. On account of the pressing need for all effective units on the Russian and Italian fronts, the Austro-Hungarian Supreme Command could transfer to Tran- sylvania in the beginning of Aug. only the seriously reduced 6ist Div., the sist Honved Div., and the 82nd Inf. Regt., troops for which an urgently needed rest had been intended. The nth Honved Cav. Div., disentrained in Transylvania, was at once constituted the southern wing of the VII. Army. The removal of the war-worn 39th Honved Div. began in the last days of Aug. 1916. In addition there were in Transylvania, at the end of Aug., 8 newly formed inf. batts., 2 Landsturm batts., 10 com- munication batts., 3 mining batts. (armed coal-miners from Petrozseny), 9 "alarm" batts. (march batts. not yet fully trained), about 5,000 frontier police, 3 Landsturm squadrons and 9 field batteries, which were formed into newly created larger units whose formation was, with many changes, only completed in Oct. 1916. All the troops above mentioned, in the areas between the Hungarian frontier of the Bukovina and the Danube at Orsova, were from Aug. 13 onwards under the newly created Austro-Hungarian I. Army headquarters, under Gen. Arz von Straussenburg, at Klausenburg (Kolozsvar). Prepa- rations were also made for the thorough destruction in the passes, of the roads and railways leading to Rumania.

At the end of July a convention was concluded at Pless between the German, Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian Army Commands for common action in case of hostile Rumanian intervention, and to this Turkey shortly afterwards became a party. The plan of campaign was laid down in its main outlines and the contingents to be provided by the separate States agreed upon. The Germans allotted 5 to 6 inf. and i to 2 cav. divs., which, however, the German Supreme Command in expectation of coming events did not yet wish to place in reserve in Transyl- vania, as they would certainly be missed at critical points on the other battle-fronts. They therefore confined themselves for the time being to sending German construction troops to strengthen the existing railway lines in Transylvania, S.E. Hungary and northern Bulgaria for the advance of larger bodies of troops. The German detachment under Kauffmann, already placed in northern Bulgaria with a view to the creation of a German- Bulgar-Turkish army on the Dobruja frontier, was reenforced, and had heavy artillery, mine-throwers and flying formations.

Bulgaria placed on the Dobruja frontier the III. Army, com- manded by Gen. Toshev, consisting of the ist, 4th and one-third of the 6th Inf. Divs., 1 one cav. div., the garrison of Varna, and a part of the Kauffmann detachment, while the Danube was guarded from Tekija (opposite Orsova) to the mouth of the Vid by the Bulgarian i2th Inf. Div., and from there eastwards as far as Ruschuk by the German Kauffmann detachment. At

1 A Bulgarian inf. div. had 3 bdes. of 8 batts., i.e. 24 batts. in all.

Sistova there was a heavy Austro-Hungarian bridging train with its complement of men, some heavy batteries, and the Austro-Hungarian Danube flotilla. The supreme command over all the troops in Bulgaria for operations against Rumania was exercised by Mackensen, with headquarters at Tirnovo.

It was considered most probable that Rumania, when she struck, would begin by invading Transylvania, in order to gain possession of the country and to use it as a base from which completely to shatter the Carpathian front, which the Austro- Hungarians, as it was, were only maintaining with difficulty, while comparatively weak forces only would be employed against Bulgaria. On this assumption it was proposed to surprise and overrun the Rumanian positions in the Dobruja with the German- Bulgar-Turkish forces, in order to penetrate to the narrowest part of the district between the Danube and the Black Sea. The strongest possible forces would then be collected, and held ready at Sistova, where the heavy Danube bridging train was already placed, for a forward push in the direction of Bucharest. In Transylvania the Austro-Hungarian forces were to hold up the Rumanians in the mountains on the frontier if possible, but at latest on the position prepared on the upper Maros and the Little Kukullo (Kleine Kokel), until the attacking troops being concentrated meanwhile could be marched up. These, and Mackensen's troops to be held ready at Sistova, would then proceed to the reconquest of Transylvania and the overthrow of Rumania. In this case the unusual happened, and the actual operations' in their main lines were successfully executed as had been proposed in the discussion of war plans at Pless.

Rumania had pushed forward her mobilization, and by con- tinuously reenforcing the troops on the Transylvanian border had so nearly completed their concentration that operations could begin immediately on the declaration of war, which was handed in at 9 P.M. on Aug. 27. It was intended first to conquer Transylvania. For this purpose strong forces were to push forward from the E. over the mountains on the frontier, and advance westwards through the valleys of the Kukullo, the N. Kukullo and the Maros. The calculations included a simulta- neous push forward of the Russian front adjoining on the N., whose advance would be greatly facilitated by the offensive of the Rumanian army S. of the chain of the Carpathians stretching from Hungary into the Bukovina. The forces which penetrated the passes on the Transylvanian southern front were then to hold these by means of positions in the nature of bridgeheads, and to join the forces of the main offensive from the E. as these advanced.

On the Rumanian side expectation of an easy victory prevailed. In conformity with the plan of operations there was a concentric advance. The I. Army (Gen. Culcer), with about 4$ inf. divs. and 3 cav. bdes., and a stronger group on the E., advanced through the Roter Turm pass on Hermannstadt (Nagy Szeben), and with a weak group on the W. over the Vulkan and Szurduk passes in the line Petrozseny-Hatszeg (Hateg). The Orsova group (about one reenforced div.) on the Danube defended the left flank and the rear communications of the portions of the I. Army fighting in Transylvania against any advance from the Banat. The II. Army (Gen. Grainiceanu), with about 4 divs. and 4 cav. bdes., operated from the Torzburg to the Ojtoz pass through all the defiles leading into the Kronstadt (Brasov) basin and the Haromszek. The IV., or Northern Army (Gen. Presan), with about 4 divs. and I cav. bde., operated N. of the II. Army and in connexion with the Russian Carpathian front through the Uz, Gyimes, Bekas and Tolgyes passes into the basins of the Csik and the Gyergyo. The III. Army (Gen. Averescu), with about 4 inf. divs. and a cav. bde., faced Bulgaria on the Dobruja frontier in strong, well-fortified positions, and was to maintain the defensive. On the stretch of the Danube from Turnu Severinu to the mouth of the Alt stood protecting troops, one div. strong. In the district S. of Bucharest the Rumanians assembled a group of several res. divs. and other new formations for disposition as reserves.

The Rumanian Invasion. The Rumanians crossed the frontier on the night of Aug. 27-28 over all the passes into