"What, the Germans retreated?"

General Courtois, who was still waiting for the replenishment of troops and equipment in Suceava, asked in surprise when he heard the news. "Are you sure?"

The staff officer who reported the news immediately replied: "I can be sure." Our intelligence officers in Chernivtsi, Lviv, and elsewhere had found the Germans packing their bags, and many trains had already brought their heavy weapons back to the Polish plain. Now that the Ukrainian army has taken over part of Galicia, it is believed that the remaining handover of them will be completed soon. ”

Remembering the telegram from Bucharest, Admiral Courtois instructed his staff officer: "Then we can wait until their handover is complete, and then we can start the operation." Let the troops rest easy. ”

"Okay, I'll give orders to the divisions."

The staff officer left immediately after answering, leaving only Admiral Courtois alone to think quietly.

……

"Stop, what are you doing!"

On the Chernivtsi border, the soldiers of the Ukrainian army, who had just taken over the defense from the Germans and had not yet had time to rejoice, were faced with a dispute with Romania.

"We have a soldier who has gone missing, and according to intelligence, he has been captured by your men, and now we need to go in and search for him."

Looking at the Ukrainian soldiers who were wary of themselves at the border post, the Romanian officer who led the team gave a reason that he did not believe.

"This is impossible, when have we captured your people, we have to speak with evidence."

When the Ukrainian petty officer leading the outpost heard the unreasonable demands of Romania that was clearly provoking trouble, he immediately denied it with righteous words.

"Now we need to go in and search, and if you resist, it means that I am telling the truth. It will be an act of provoking war, and I hope you will know the consequences. ”

After the Romanian leading officer said an unquestionable word to the Ukrainian officer at the outpost, he immediately made a gesture for his men to forcibly enter the outpost and search.

In the face of the Romanians, who were unreasonable to the extreme, the petty officer of the post tried his best to suppress the anger in his heart. He was semi-passively pushed aside by Romania, and at the same time suppressed the impulsive emotions of his men. Let him be so restrained in his emotions, except that the Romanians had a battalion and only one platoon of their own, the phrase that provoked war deterred him.

The Ukrainian officer, who had previously served only as a squad leader in the Austro-Hungarian army, of course, knew the consequences of provoking a war, which his small shoulders could not bear. Of course, there was nothing in his heart, and he wanted to see the expressions of these Romanians who could not find evidence and could only leave in disappointment. Because he knew perfectly well that there could be no lost Romanian soldiers in this outpost.

With the patience of the Ukrainian officers, these Romanian soldiers, who rummaged through the boxes and searched the cabinets, moved quickly. After a while, an angry Romanian officer walked out with a bloodstained Romanian military uniform.

Before the Ukrainian officer at the outpost could understand what was going on, the Romanian officer in a bloodstained uniform walked up to him and said righteously: "This is the evidence that you have taken our people captive." ”

Looking at the evidence in front of him, which he had never seen before, the Ukrainian officer immediately understood something. These Romanians are not here for evidence but for fault, he immediately retorted. "You can also call this evidence, it's ridiculous, you are framing you."

Indeed, what the Ukrainian officer said is the real truth, and a bloodstained military uniform does not serve as a basis. However, whoever let them do it on purpose, the Romanian officer who led the team will not speak according to the facts.

"Now we have every reason to believe that you Ukrainian troops did this. Now we will hold you until the truth is revealed. ”

"How dare you."

The words of the Ukrainian officer immediately filled the two sides with tension, and both sides raised their weapons and aimed at each other, and a clash seemed inevitable.

And in this tense confrontation, there are also differences in the performance of the two armies. The Romanian army seems to have been prepared for this, and the soldiers all have normal expressions, as if they can shoot these Ukrainian troops with a single order. The Ukrainian army, which was unprepared for this, had all kinds of expressions, some were angry, some were dismissive, and some were pale and trembling.

And as their commander, the officers of the Ukrainian outposts are now quite entangled in their hearts. The consequences of provoking a war are not something he can bear, and the gap between the two sides is too big, and if there is a real conflict, he and others will only suffer losses. However, it is intolerable for him to be obediently detained by the Romanians like this, and the dilemma makes him not know what to do.

The entangled expression of the Ukrainian officer completely fell into the eyes of the Romanian officer who led the team. I saw him smile and say to him: "If you don't know what to do about this matter, it's best to leave it to your superiors." In addition, each of you can bring your own finances with you during the processing period, and we can also compensate you during this period in accordance with the Romanian treatment standards. ”

The words of the Romanian officer made the Ukrainian post officer a little moved. Because he knew that this was to give him and his subordinates a step, and if there was a real conflict, he would not have a good result, and if he refused to continue this posture, armed conflict would be inevitable.

"Let me think again."

The words of the Ukrainian officer made the Romanian commander who led the team laugh, and he knew that it was done.

Sure enough, within a few minutes, the outpost officer called a soldier behind him and instructed him to report the news to the rear, while he and the others stayed here for the time being and waited for the results.

And what the Ukrainian post officer didn't know was that while they were surrounded by groups, a corpse in a Romanian military uniform was quietly taken to the stable and buried while they were not looking. And what happened next was not something he could handle.

……

When the results of the clash were reported to the command of the Second Ukrainian Army Corps in Voliv, the commander of the corps, Lieutenant General Ryumidko, who had just taken over the defense from the Germans and had not been happy for long, scolded without anger. "Damn it, these Romanians are so deceitful."

Lieutenant General Ryumidko was born in Galicia, having previously served as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army. After the establishment of the People's Government of Ukraine, it was one of the commanders of three divisions transferred by Austria-Hungary to Ukraine. And this time, he led the team to accept the defense of the German army.

Beside him, Major General Nomichev, who had been his chief of staff since the days of the Austro-Hungarian army, could not help but ask. "So what are we going to do, it seems that the Romanians will not stop when they move."

Nomichev's words made Lieutenant General Ryumidko feel the difficulty of this matter.

"It's really more dangerous than Kyiv, I should have known that I should not have led the team here and let those bastards taste it."

Lieutenant General Ryumidko, who had a headache, couldn't help but complain, and Nomichev, who listened to his complaints, quietly stayed on the sidelines, waiting for the corps commander's disposition.

After Ryumidko complained, he still needed to find a way, who made him the commander. He walked over to the map and looked at where the conflict was and thought. It is impossible to fight, not to mention the Romanian army that can compete with the German army, and none of the divisions under his own command can succeed. Just conscripted the army that has not completed its training for a short time, how to do it with others. And both in terms of equipment and training, the Romanians have to crush themselves. Hands-on is completely out of the picture.

And at the moment the focus of their attention is still on the Soviets who appeared in eastern Ukraine. These Soviet militants, under various names, seemed to come from Moscow. Moreover, what they are doing in Russia at present can scare the courage of the Ukrainian parliament, so these red elements must be severely eliminated.

Lieutenant General Ryumidko, who was thinking about it painfully, still didn't come up with a solution, so he sighed and said to his chief of staff: "Report it to Kyiv and let those high-ranking government officials decide what to do." ”

Ryumityko's words made Nomichev can't help but say: "You also know the current situation in Kyiv, this matter cannot be discussed at all in a short time, is it really good to hand it over to them?" ”

"What can I do. This is a diplomatic matter, who will not hand it over to them?"

Ryumidko's explanation made Nomichev not know what to do, so he could only reply: "Well, let the old men in Kiev deal with this troublesome matter." I just don't know if these old men have free time. ”

They were right, and the telegram from the 2nd Army of Voliv made the situation in Kyiv even worse.