When the news of the Romanian army attacking Cluj arrived at the headquarters of the Ninth Army in Sonat, Lieutenant General Van Sten was stunned.

The chief of staff of the group army, who broke into his room with a telegram, saw that this was not the way to do it, and immediately said loudly in his ear. "Major General Lakauf needs reinforcements, we can't afford to lose Cluj, such consequences are something we can't afford."

The Chief of Staff's words made Lieutenant General Vansten think back to normal, but in the face of the Chief of Staff's inquiry, he closed his eyes and came back to his senses, and then said calmly. "Now let's take a look at the current situation in Cluj before we decide to send reinforcements."

Seeing that his partner had recovered, the chief of staff did not urge, because he knew that the situation was now extremely difficult because of the attack on Cluj, and it could even be said that it had taken a sharp turn. Now it is up to a good helmsman to lead the Ninth Army through this storm, and it is clear that only Lieutenant General Van Sten has such a capability at the moment.

Therefore, the chief of staff told the lieutenant general about the information sent by Cluj, and after saying that, the chief of staff did not rush to wait for the lieutenant general's decision.

Lieutenant General Fan Sten said after thinking for a while. "Now we know too little information, we need to send another telegram from Major General Lakauf, I'll go with you to the communications office and wait for news."

"You haven't changed your clothes yet."

Lieutenant General Fan Sten, who was still wearing pajamas, waved his hand and said. "Where am I in the mood to change clothes now, let's go and understand the situation first."

Looking at Lieutenant General Fan Sten, who hurriedly took the lead out of his room, the chief of staff could only ask an officer to take the lieutenant general's clothes, after all, the pajamas were too obvious.

By the time the chief of staff arrived at the communications office, the lieutenant general was already asking the communications staff officer to send a telegram.

"Now we need to wait a little while to find out what is happening in Cluj." Lieutenant General Fan Sten, who was sitting and waiting, opened his mouth to tell his chief of staff his plans. However, from time to time, the lieutenant general swept the gaze of the dispatcher, and it was clear that he was not as calm as he appeared.

"There's news."

Without making Van and the chief of staff wait long, a communications officer said what they wanted to hear.

"Receive it now."

The communications officer, who was also waiting, immediately ordered.

As the radio waves were gradually converted into words, a telegram from Cluj appeared before them.

Lieutenant General Van Sten took over the latest telegram from Cluj, but the contents of the telegram made him look very ugly. The chief of staff glanced at it and saw that the news from the telegram was that most of Cluj had now fallen into the hands of the enemy, and only a few data points, such as the railway station arsenal, were still in the hands of the Austro-Hungarian army.

Lieutenant General Vansten, who couldn't stand the news, scolded. "Damn it, how did Lakauf become a major general, how could he have lost Cluj in less than midnight."

In fact, most of the responsibility for this problem needs to be borne by Zhong himself, in fact, Van Sten himself understands that greed blinded him and made the decision to cut off Cluj, but now it is time for him to take measures to redeem it.

"What should we do now, should we send troops back from the front?"

The chief's words reminded Lieutenant General Van that he needed to respond, even if it was wrong than inaction.

Facing the urging of the chief of staff and the waiting of many officers in the combat hall, Vansten was also under heavy pressure, because his own decision was related to the life and death of the Ninth Army. Just when he was having trouble making a decision, looking at the dense markings on the combat map, Fan Sten suddenly had other ideas.

"Now send a message to the 11th, 41st, 64th, and 78th divisions, asking them to immediately assemble their troops and withdraw from the front."

Faced with Lieutenant General Fan Siten's decision to withdraw part of the troops, the chief of staff asked a question. "Is it Major-General Lakauf preparing to reinforce Cluj?"

"No"

When asked by the chief of staff, Lieutenant General Van Sten denied it directly, and then pointed to a location on the map to speak. "We're not going to reinforce Cluj and let them defend here, and then we need to retreat."

The chief of staff looked at the position that Fan Sten pointed to, and his face was very ugly. Because it is called Dyge is located in the northwest of Transylvania, and further back from here is the Great Hungarian Plain. It turned out that Lieutenant General Van Sten did not intend to reinforce Cluj, but intended to retreat.

Faced with this unexpected decision of His Excellency the Lieutenant General, the Chief of Staff said in shock. "Van Sten, you have to think about it."

The meaning of the chief of staff's words, as a partner for a short time, Fan Steng understands it very well. If he retreats like this, then the greatest responsibility for the failure of this battle must be him. But what can be done about it, as long as Cluj is captured tomorrow, their supply lines will be broken. For the army that has been cut off from the supply line, where is there still combat effectiveness to speak of, and even if the enemy has not yet come, it will be in chaos.

So in the face of the Chief of Staff's concern, Vansten gave his reasons. "I know the consequences of doing this, but I need to see the scale of the enemy attacking Cluj."

Lieutenant General Fan said, holding out three fingers. "The enemy attacking Cluj is no less than 30,000 men, and in order to retake Cluj, we must send no less than 45,000 reinforcements. If the urgency of retaking Cluj is taken into account, then the number of troops cannot be less than 60,000, and it is possible to recapture it in three days. ”

Lieutenant General Fan Sten stared into the eyes of the chief of staff and continued. "This is still the ideal situation, and I made my judgment after considering that most of the fortifications of Cluj have been destroyed. And now, just outside, there are two enemy army groups eyeing each other, plus the news of the fall of Cluj cannot be hidden. Do you think Romania will give us three days after we transfer our troops? ”

After hearing Lieutenant General Fan Siteng's analysis, the chief of staff said with some unwillingness. "If Lieutenant General Sam comes back, we should have enough troops."

In the face of the words of the chief of staff, Lieutenant General Fan Siten directly criticized. "Your radical ideas, Chief of Staff, are dangerous. Have you ever considered the consequences if we didn't retake Cluj, which would put us and the Tenth Army in a desperate situation? By that time, the Great Hungarian Plain will be under the enemy's edge, which will bring to naught the Italian campaign prepared by His Majesty, and will bring shame on our family. ”

In the face of Lieutenant General Fan Siten's words, the chief of staff thought for a moment and the consequences of angering the young emperor were self-evident.

For this he sighed. "It seems that the defenders of Cluj will have to be sacrificed."

Lieutenant General Fan replied quietly. "There is no way to do this, after all, we need to think about the more than 100,000 people in the group army."

After finishing speaking, he didn't forget to mention it. "Remember to send a telegram to Major General Lakauf, saying that reinforcements will not arrive until noon, and I hope he can hold the point and wait for our rescue."

In this way, the defenders of Cluj were regarded as outcasts by Lieutenant General Van Sten, and Major General Lakauf, who received the order, used this telegram to encourage the Austro-Hungarian troops who had retreated to the key points. The same news also made the attacking Lieutenant General Andrew split half of his forces to defend against reinforcements that could not arrive.

However, a lie is a lie after all, and the Austro-Hungarian army, which defended the main points, has been struggling to resist the Romanian attack. Wait until four o'clock in the afternoon, defending the railway station until Major General Lakauf sends the last telegram. 'We are about to fall, long live the Empire. ’

In the end, Romania only got the body of Major General Lakauf, and Lieutenant General Andrew sent a message to the country that Cluj had been captured and the enemy commander had been killed.

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