In less than two days, the Romanian army opened a gap in the defensive line, which the Austro-Hungarian army never expected. The headquarters was located within the Austro-Hungarian 10th Army in Adela, and Lieutenant General Sam was firing about the situation.

"Damn, how did they fight, it took less than two days for the enemy to break through. Will they fight again, they are all a bunch of pigs! ”

In the face of the commander's anger, the staff officers and other personnel of the command headquarters did not dare to get too close, for fear of becoming the target of venting.

It was broken through the line in less than two days, and it is no wonder that Lieutenant General Sam was angry. In the defense plan designed by the lieutenant general, the front-line confrontation troops, with the blessing of the fortifications, needed to hold at least until the arrival of reinforcements, and the time for reinforcements to arrive was three days.

In fact, Lieutenant General Sam knew that there was some gossip in the army, and he also knew that the soldiers were more or less war-weary. However, it is the duty of a soldier to serve the country, and it is his duty to command the soldiers to fight. So when the front-line troops were attacked, he immediately understood the situation. Having discovered the location of the main Romanian attack, he immediately sent two divisions that had been prepared for a long time. And he immediately sent a telegram to the Sixteenth Army behind him, asking them to reinforce him. But now the position was broken through in less than two days, and he didn't even wait for reinforcements, which he never expected.

Not only did this disrupt his deployment, but it also left a huge gap for the enemy. He had just received the latest news that the enemy had sent heavy troops to pounce on him through the gap. If he did not repel the enemy's moves, then his Tenth Army would most likely not be able to retreat. If so, then the result will be catastrophic, the consequences of which you cannot imagine. How did this not make him angry and not vent his emotions. However, he also knows that simply venting his emotions will not help, so he recovered quickly, and how to make up for it now is the key.

After Lieutenant General Sam calmed down, he immediately came to the combat map. Looking at the position of the gap in the battle line that had just been marked in red, he pondered.

At this time, Major General Hans, the chief of staff of the group army, who arrived at the inquiry, saw that Lieutenant General Sam had calmed down, and walked to the side without disturbing the lieutenant general's thinking.

"That's all we have to do now."

Lieutenant General Sam, who had been thinking about it for a long time in front of the map, spoke.

"What's the solution?"

At this time, the voice of Major General Hans came from the side.

"You're here."

Sam turned his head to see his chief of staff standing next to him, a smile on his face, but the worry in the corners of his eyes had been masked by him.

"Of course, I can't come here."

Sam knew that the chief of staff was talking about what he had just been angry about, but now he had calmed down. However, as a partner for many years, Major General Hans had already seen the hidden expression of the lieutenant general, but he did not say anything, and continued to ask: "I have thought of a way." ”

"yes."

Pointing to a point fifteen kilometers from Adra, Sam said: "I intend to intercept the enemy's advance here, and give the troops on the front line time to retreat." ”

Hans looked at the location Sam was talking about, a small town called Saul, and he had an impression of it. It is a crossroads that leads not only to Adela but also to Oradea, and the location is very important. There are also rolling hills, especially a river to the east of the town, which also brings some convenience to the defense. It is one of the few good positions near Adela that is conducive to defense.

"And how many people are you going to put in this town?"

"I'm going to put ......"

Sam thought of the recent fluctuation of the army's morale, and stopped what he was about to say, and changed his words: "I put the only three divisions in my hand, and only ask them to resist for four days, and the Sixteenth Army should be able to reach here." ”

Hans was very surprised to hear Sam's words. As a partner for many years, he knows too well that he doesn't have a little reserve on hand, which is very rare.

He still couldn't help but remind: "Don't think about it anymore?"

"I don't think about it. If that doesn't stop the enemy's onslaught, I'll have nothing to say. ”

Seeing Sam's bitter words, Hans sighed inwardly. How could he not know about the recent turmoil in the hearts of the army, now it depends on how much fighting spirit these soldiers can have, and both of them were silent for a while.

……

At the center of Sam and Hans's conversation, an assault group consisting of the 1st, 3rd, and 7th Cavalry Divisions was already on its way to Adra.

On both sides of the road, soldiers scattered walking, and in the middle of the road, tanks and vehicles towing artillery were marching slowly. The large number of vehicles makes the road congested, and it looks like a slow-moving earthworm from the air. In order to leave enough space for these big men, the soldiers were more pressed, and they had already walked out of the range of the road and stepped on the field, but I believe that no one dared to ask them for the loss of green seedlings. And further along the road, there were cavalry spreading out cover. The cavalry of the brigade watched vigilantly on both sides, guarding against a possible enemy surprise attack.

In the long march, Hoffman's armored brigade was lined up in the rear along with the towed artillery. This made him a little worried, fearing that he would not get a chance to go to war, because so far they had not encountered interception by the Austro-Hungarian army. It was only a few times that the Austro-Hungarian reconnaissance cavalry and planes came, but they were all dispersed.

And on this march, Hoffman met acquaintances again, and Lieutenant Colonel Antonescu, who was now the commander of the cavalry, was in a car with him.

"It's good that you're here, unlike me who is busy here and doing some errand guard duties."

Lieutenant Colonel Antonescu, who was sitting next to Hoffman, stretched his limbs and hummed words of envy.

Hoffman also did not expect that it would be the lieutenant colonel's troops who would serve as the guard for him. For Antonescu, who has only met him a few times, he can't drive others away, so this is the current situation.

However, he couldn't help but ask: "Antonescu, in case of emergency, don't you have to command the troops?" ”

In response to Hoffman's words, Lieutenant Colonel Antonescu, still lying on the leather seat, replied without even moving his hand: "It is impossible to meet this way." The combat effectiveness of these Austrian-Hungarians has declined so quickly, it is impossible for them to rush to their deaths, they must have chosen a good position to wait for us to attack. Do you think they're waiting for us to attack in Adra?"

Not to mention that the lazy Antonescu had a good insight into the battlefield, and he failed to guess the location and touched the mentality of the Austro-Hungarian army.

Hoffman looked at Antonescu's demeanor and asked with some curiosity: "Don't you want to make a war exploit?"

"Why don't you want to, but the opponent doesn't cooperate. I also want the commander of the Austro-Hungarian army to lead the army to fight us to the death, just as you break through the opponent's line, and I will be responsible for pursuing the enemy's defeated army. It's better to catch that Lieutenant General Sam and that's perfect, but it's not possible. ”

Listening to Antonescu's inconsequential words, Hoffman was also surprised that he could make friends with such a person.

While the two were chatting, a herald on horseback arrived next to them.

"In the town of Thor, twenty kilometers ahead, a large enemy force was spotted, and Lieutenant General Mandev ordered the two to speed up and prepare for battle."

Heard the order of Lieutenant General Mandif, commander of the 3rd Division, who served as the commander of the assault group. Antonescu was in good spirits at once, and he immediately asked his orderlies to lead his horse, and after riding on, he said goodbye to Hoffman: "In the next battle, do you want us to compete again?" ”

Faced with Antonescu's embarrassing proposal, Hoffman refused: "Forget it, I don't gamble. ”

"What a boring guy."

After seeing Antonescu leave, Hoffman also summoned heralds and ordered to increase the speed of advance, and he had been impatient to wait for this big battle.

On Antonescu's side, who left on horseback, the orderlies who had followed him for many years asked with some curiosity: "Commander, I don't think that colonel treats you very warmly, why do you want to stay there?"

Faced with the inquiry of his own orderly, Antonescu replied: "You know what, when the observation team chatted with him, I knew that this man was very capable. Sure enough, in less than three years, he was a colonel and brigade commander, and I was still the regiment commander. I've talked a few times, and I haven't seen each other for two or three years, who can have much enthusiasm. ”

Antonez thought about himself after answering a few sentences to the orderly, and in the small talk with Hoffman, he felt that the other party's level had improved a lot. And he thinks Hoffman has a good saying. It's not okay to stay in one class all the time, you need to go to other classes to see more and broaden your horizons.

Now this war has proved that the cavalry is in decline. Although it still has some role in Eastern Europe, this cannot change the fact that the arms are declining, and you need to take precautions.