Prelude to Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in Romania

4. Clearing Transylvania

93 Arad, Hungary The officers of the 9th German Army assembled in the swaying dining car of their troop train, racing east across Hungary. Von Falkenhayn, their newly assigned commander, wanted to talk to them about what they were likely to face when they reached theiras yet unknown destination in the province of Transylvania. Very few of the officers knew the general personally, but everyone knew him by reputation. For two years he had led the German forces as chief of staff of the Prussian Army, but theRomanianentryintothewarhadledtohissummarydismissal,making him the first German casualty of the campaign, and his command of the army now heading for the Romanian Front begged for an explanation . Speculation about his resurrection undoubtedly fueled many a whispered conversation among the officers and soldiers in the train’s compartments. When the train arrived in Oppeln, in Silesia, on 15 September, von Falkenhayn, coming from Berlin, joined the group of 37 officers and 240 soldiers. Accompanying the general were the three key assistants he had been allowed to pick: Colonel Hans Hesse (1865–1938), chief of staff; Major Rudolf Frantz, operations officer (1873–?); and Lieutenant Colonel Huebner, quartermaster.1 Of course, the officers accompanying von Falkenhayn had no idea what lay behind the resurgence of this seemingly disgraced general, and theywereuneasyinhispresence.Noonewantedtositnearhimatmeals; everyone shied away. The junior officers in particular were afraid of slipClearing Transylvania 4 94 Prelude to Blitzkrieg ping and bringing up the unpleasantness of his recent relief. The atmosphere , wrote Captain von Engelbrecht, his adjutant, was painful.2 In an era when unpleasantness was often accepted as formality, von Falkenhaynhadasingularreputationforboth .HesseadmittedthatvonFalkenhayn outdid himself on the train ride to Hungary. It proved later that a toothache was partially to blame,3 but most in the assemblage believed thatresentmentoverhisdismissalaccountedfortheheightenedtension. Von Falkenhayn paid no attention. He gathered the officers into a dining car and described what they were facing. Romanian army units had burst over the rugged mountain barrier with Hungary, invading the province of Transylvania, although no one knew exactly how far they had advanced. The general explained that they were at least well over the range of the Carpathians and emerging into the basins of central Transylvania.4 What everyone did know for certain was that their Austrian allies were in terrible shape, having taken a terrific beating at the hands of the Russians that summer. The Austrian 4th and 7th Armies had been completely crushed and driven back from Galicia into northern Hungary. Over 300,000 Austrians had simply surrendered.5 Frantz, who had just left Archduke Karl’s Army Group, the Austrian headquarters for the southeast region, described their situation as “deplorable.”6 All those present knew they would soon be standing side by side with the Austrians in combat, and in the back of all minds lurked the question, just how much more could the Dual Monarchy take? The intelligence from the High Command indicated that the few divisions Austria had rushed to Transylvania on the eve of the invasion had either arrived badly chewed up from the Russian Front or were brand-new, formed from replacement battalions and the remnants of broken units. Arz, the Austrian commander in Transylvania, already hadhishandsfull.BoththeGermanandAustrianHighCommandshad promised reinforcements, and although some were en route, it would take a long time to move units from distant fronts to remote Transylvania .Timewasacommoditythenew9thArmycommanderdidnothave. The High Command had charged him with driving the Romanians out of southern Transylvania and back over the border.7 It was already midSeptember , and winter came early in the few passes leading from the Clearing Transylvania 95 Alps into Romania. If the 9th Army could not cross the mountains and wrap up the campaign in Romania by the time snow closed the passes, which often happened by late October, the Central Powers faced the grim prospect of adding 500 miles of front in Transylvania and another 270 along the Bulgarian border. One bright spot was the fact that the Romanian advance into Transylvania had slowed noticeably. Intelligence experts concluded that the change in pace originated either from logistical difficulties or the effect of von Mackensen’s campaign in the Dobrogea region. Von Falkenhayn told his officers that the Bulgarian-German force had taken the Romanian fortresses of Tuturcaia and Silistria on the Danube on 6 and 9 September , respectively, and was advancing into the Dobrogea on a line from the Danube to Dobrich. The sound of the heavy artillery, audible in Bucharest...