The most annoyed now is General Falkingham. The Battle of Ploiesti once again gave Hindenburg Ludendorff and his gang the handle to "clean up". He could imagine that Ludendorff, who had a more radical personality, must have made a big deal in Berlin: it turned out that Falkingham was not only not a qualified chief of the General Staff, but he was also not a qualified field commander. In short, he was nothing but a sinner in Germany.

Gone is the good feeling he had gained since his march into Romania for defeating the superior Romanian army and capturing Bucharest, replaced by endless chagrin and remorse.

War is one of the most exciting tasks, especially among front-line commanders who control the fate of countless soldiers and even the fate of their country. The feeling of the balance of victory and defeat being reversed in an instant is not something that people in the middle of it cannot experience.

When the chief of the general staff who formulates the overall strategy is different from the commander of a theater or group army, the former can shift the responsibility for the defeat to the latter's ineffective implementation, and the latter can hardly shift the responsibility for the defeat to the former. For the defeat in the Battle of Ploiesti, Falkingham cannot blame anyone except General Bitgarh, who is estimated to have fallen into the hands of the Chinese.

Two elite infantry divisions were lost, in just four days. Under their command, they climbed the mountains and defeated the Luo army, which was twice or more their strength, and won an indisputable victory. By 20 September, he, former Minister of War and Chief of the General Staff of the German Army, had proven to be an outstanding field commander. The Romanian strategy was about to be a complete success, and Germany, which was desperately short of food and oil, could gain access to Romania's abundant resources. His opponent Hindenburg sent a warm congratulatory message. In a sense, he had already justified himself - the defeat of the German army in the two-year war was not a failure of his own chief of the General Staff, but the incompetence of the commanders at the front! A small army group with only five divisions (including one Austrian division) can drive straight into Romania, why do others always blink their heads in front of the enemy's positions? But after September 20, such a good mood was no more, the loss of two divisions in four days was painful, since the outbreak of the war, although the German army paid millions of casualties, but there are few examples of entire divisions being annihilated, and the opponent is inferior yellow people! In a sense, Falkingham created a history that humiliated the German army.

Why not pay attention to the intelligence of the General Staff about the Chinese army? Falkingham remembered General Strauss. Major General Strauss, who suffered a humiliating defeat in the Far East, led the 6,000 officers and soldiers released by the Chinese to return home in batches and was demoted to colonel. He had heard Strauss's account of the Battle of Qingdao face to face. The report on its exaggeration of the combat strength of the Chinese army was sharply ridiculed and reprimanded. I think it's just an excuse for this unlucky guy to shirk responsibility. Now it seems that Strauss did not exaggerate the fact that the Chinese army was covering up his defeat, and that this was indeed a formidable adversary. More than a decade ago, China was a weak country that was bullied by others. A rabble of more than 20,000 could easily capture its capital. What is the reason for this sick man of East Asia to quickly build a strong army that can compete with the German army. But Falkingham didn't have time to study it.

Falkingham made the decision to return to Bucharest as soon as he learned of Bitgger's failure. Ordered to move east to cooperate with Mackensen to encircle the three divisions of the Russian 9th Army and quickly return westward to reoccupy Bucharest before the Chinese army.

However, the Chinese army did not launch an attack on Bucharest, an anomaly that confused Falkingham. What's going on?

He interrogated in detail the officers and men of the 64th Division who had fled back to Bucharest, and there were many contradictions in their descriptions of the battle in Ploiesti, and the course of the battle was generally clear, and the biggest mistake of Major General Bitgel was that he did not foresee the Chinese army taking a night attack, and the troops were caught in a chaotic battle, and the transfer of a regiment before the war was also the main factor in the defeat.

However, Falkingham has not yet received accurate information on the strength of the Chinese army, and how many Chinese troops were there in the capture of Ploiesti. What about their casualties? Without clarity on this point, follow-up actions will be unsupported.

One army group of the Chinese army has been assembled in Ukraine, and the troops put into Romania are two corps, the 9th Army and the 5th Army. According to the establishment of the Chinese army that has been mastered, at least six divisions have arrived at the front. But the attack of Bitgger's 64th Division in the direction of Alonda proved that the Chinese army in front of them was not strong, and it was clear that they were hiding their strength and confusing Bitgger's stupidity. If all six divisions of the Chinese army were concentrated on the Ploiesti line, he would not be able to launch an operation to retake Ploiesti, even though General Mackensen, who had been given supreme command of the Romanian front, ordered himself to counterattack Ploiesti. The Battle of Ploiesti proved that the Chinese army was extremely strong in combat, and it was irrational for three divisions to attack the positions of six divisions, and if Bucharest was lost, the situation would deteriorate to the point of no return.

Mackensen had already ordered the Austrian 1st Army to move rapidly eastward, targeting not Ploiesti but Buzeu. This was a powerful move, and if the 1st Army, commanded by General Ats, with five divisions, appeared behind Ploiesti and occupied Buzeu, the fighters that completely annihilated the Chinese army in front of them would appear. But Falkingham was worried that the Chinese army would have a large number of follow-up troops, and that their group army would not only have two corps, what if they had four or five? The 1st Army of the Austrian Army, whose combat effectiveness was weaker than that of the 9th Army, was afraid that it was no match for the Chinese Army.

Therefore, after returning to Bucharest, Falkingham sent a telegram to General Mackensen, saying that the Austrian army should advance eastward cautiously, and first find out the situation.

General Mackensen, who had won numerous victories on the Eastern Front, was a veteran general of the German army, and quickly sent a telegram back to Fakinham, "We must not sit back and wait for the follow-up troops of the Chinese army to assemble!" The Ploiesti army was to be defeated before its reinforcements arrived in order to gain the initiative. The 77th Division has been sent north to reinforce your troops, and it is necessary to take vigorous action to contain the Chinese army in Ploiesti and prevent it from escaping. ”

Mackensen also believes that there are still a large number of Chinese troops that have not yet arrived on the battlefield. If this judgment is based, Mackensen's decision is correct, and it must be divided and annihilated before it merges. Mackensen ordered himself to attack Ploiesti in order to contain the Chinese army in front of him so that it could not move lightly, and to create conditions for the Austrian army's westward advance. This is the most logical deployment in the current situation. Therefore, Falkingham ordered the air force to strengthen reconnaissance on the one hand, and on the other hand, organized a counteroffensive against Ploiesti.

From August 28, the Germans began shelling the positions of the Chinese army south of Ploiesti, and the two divisions under the command of Major General Zhang Qingyi, commander of the 5th Army, were responsible for guarding them. After a day and a half of tentative offensives, the battle became fierce. The battle reproduced the characteristics of the European war, with artillery bombardment. The infantry looked for weaknesses and attacked. The defenders did not budge. In some areas there were fierce battles on the Western Front, which led General Falkingham to confirm that the Chinese army was superior in combat strength to the Russians. Although they were inferior to the Germans in long-range artillery, their infantry firepower was superior to the Germans, and a large number of light and heavy machine guns and mortars inflicted severe casualties on the German attacking troops. According to the report of the commanders of the front-line divisions. The construction level of the Chinese army is extremely high. The depth of the position is large. The reserves were used reasonably, and the few breakthroughs they achieved were all defeated by the strong counterattacks of the reserves.

Hoping to find a weak point and break through the Chinese army's defenses in one fell swoop, Fakinghan dispelled hope. The Chinese army on the front had only two divisions, and aircraft reconnaissance confirmed that there was at least one more division in the rear of the front-line positions. And north of Ploiesti there are traces of large Chinese troops. It was an extravagant hope to defeat the Chinese troops of the two armies in front of him with the four divisions in his hand that had not been replenished due to continuous operations. Falkingham now pinned his hopes entirely on the Austrian 1st Army, which was advancing eastward. Now, the Austrian army, struggling to cross the Southern Carpathian Mountains, is approaching the Sinaia-Brasov line, and once the road from Brasov to Ploiesti is controlled, the initiative in the battle situation will be transferred to their own hands. It is very powerful to either move south to flank the Chinese army, or continue to cross the Eastern Carpathians to attack Buzeu and cut off the rear route of the Chinese army.

Falkingham and Mackensen closely followed the air force's reconnaissance and bombing of the main road from Ukraine to Romania, because the weather was bad, the frequency of aircraft sorties was extremely low, and the movements of large Chinese troops were not detected, and only sporadic convoys were bombed and strafed by German planes. On 28 September, German planes encountered Chinese planes for the first time over Faulknia, and an air battle ensued, and a German plane was shot down. This news strengthened Falkingham's fears, and it was clear that the Chinese air force had already entered the battlefield.

During his tenure as chief of the General Staff, Falkingham heard briefings on the situation of the Chinese Air Force by relevant departments on more than one occasion, and according to the information held by the German Army, the Chinese Air Force was world-class in terms of aircraft type and tactics, and the combat effectiveness of the Chinese Air Force was proved by the combat against Japan two years ago. Their weakness lies in the industrial base, which cannot mass-produce combat aircraft like Germany, Britain, France and other countries. If the Chinese army threw the existing flying units into the Romanian front, it would have a serious impact on the situation of the war.

Falkingham's fears became a reality. On September 29, Chinese planes took advantage of the clear weather to appear on the Ploiesti battlefield for the first time, bombing two German artillery positions and destroying six artillery pieces. An air battle broke out between the German planes that took off urgently and the Chinese planes, with two German planes shot down and only one Chinese plane shot down. The Germans were impressed by their accurate bomb dropping and superb air combat skills. Based on the frequency of sorties by Chinese aircraft, it can be proved that they have built a field airfield near Ploiesti. On the northern front, the Austrian army, on which Falkingham pinned all his hopes, was also bombed, indicating that the Austrian army advancing east had been discovered by the Chinese, which is not good news. It was impossible for a large army of tens of thousands of men to completely cover up the news, but Falkingham still hoped that the Austrians would achieve maximum suddenness, and now it seems that this cannot be done.

On the evening of 29 September, Falkingham sent a long telegram to Commander Mackensen, saying that instead of capturing Buzeu, the Austrian army would move south to attack Ploiesti. There are good roads to the south from Sinaia, but to the east you have to continue over the mountains. Falkingham first resolved the Ploiesti issue, and when the enemy situation was still confusing, it was more important to annihilate the Chinese army in front of him. As long as the Chinese army occupying Ploiesti is routed, the battle situation is still promising. In his telegram, Falkingham revealed his concern for the Austrian 1st Army, hoping that the army, which had four Austrian divisions and one German division, would quickly join him.

Mackensen, who was commanding the Danube Army, agreed with Falkingham. But it's too late.

At noon on September 30, Falkingham received a report that the Austrians had encountered the enemy, and a large force of Chinese troops had appeared near Sinaia.

"This must be the follow-up force of the Chinese Expeditionary Force! They were eyeing the Austrians! Damn, quickly find out the enemy's situation, how many of them are there? Falkingham yelled at his staff.

Falkingham did not have command of the Austrian 1st Army, that was Mackensen's business. However, he paid close attention to the battle of Sinaia and sent continuous telegrams to the Austrian 1st Army to understand the situation of the battle. He received only one reply, from the German division of the 1st Army, saying that the superior Chinese army had ambushed them and that the battle was raging. The telegram did not answer many of Falkingham's questions. Ambush? That is to say, the Chinese have long mastered the whereabouts of the Austrian army, and their daring to ambush shows that they have an advantage in troops, how many Chinese troops are there? The location and format of the fighting are not discussed. Falkingham called again, but there was no response.

At noon the next day, Mackensen telegraphed Falkingham, who had not slept all night, to attack Ploiesti with all his might, and Mackensen's telegram said that at least seven divisions of the Chinese army had appeared near Sinaya, and that the Austrian army had been cut off and cut into north and south parts and surrounded on three sides, and General Atz (commander of the Austrian 1st Army) sent continuous telegrams for help. Your troops must ensure that the Chinese army of Ploiesti does not move north to attack General Ats.

If you come to the aid of General Atz, the closest one is himself, and Mackensen's 8 divisions and 1 cavalry brigade are still on the Danube. But he was blocked by the Chinese army, and the Chinese army did not use all its strength.

Falkingham had a hunch that he was in big trouble. He never looked down on the Chinese who would completely change the situation in Romania. Dead horses must also be treated as live horse doctors. From the early morning of October 1, Falkingham exerted all his strength and began to launch a fierce attack on the positions of the 5th Army of the Chinese Army. The battle was fierce, and the German 117th Division briefly broke through the Chinese positions, but was stopped by the Chinese army's harsh counterattack. On this day, the artillery fire of the Chinese army increased sharply, causing heavy casualties to the attacking troops. As the battle wore to dark, Falkingham judged that he was unable to break through his opponent's strong defenses, and switched to defense without consulting Mackensen. He now had to think about how to retreat.

Falkingham's hunch was right. The progress of the Battle of Sinaia once again surprised the Germans and even the Russians. The two and a half armies (one division of the 12th, 7th, and 16th Armies) forced their way into the battlefield and routed General Atzi's 1st Army in one fell swoop under the command of General Ye Yanbing. After 54 hours of continuous fighting, three and a half divisions of the Austrian army were annihilated, 30,000 enemies were captured, and about 15,000 people broke through the encirclement and fled to the mountains to the west. But the Battle of Sinaia completely shattered the Romanian strategy of the Central Powers.

Now, Mackensen and Falkingham must consider retreating. Markenson said that there was only one Russian 9th Army and the Romanian 19th Division opposite him, which had been severely weakened, but Falkingham was facing a strong Chinese army, and he would also face the main force of the Chinese army that would quickly move south. (To be continued......)