On 11 August, the 10th and 2nd Hussar Divisions arrived, and Rudolph's troops were all in position.

During the week, nearly 200 trains shuttled through the Hungarian railways day and night. A steady stream of soldiers, supplies were sent to the Romanian front.

The battle on the south bank of the Muresh River has begun, and the 9th Army is still holding the line, defending the transport hub of Deva City.

The 5th and 6th armies of Field Marshal Conrad's Balkan Front, while maneuvering with the Serbs, protected the supply lines and flanks of the Southern Front.

These two group armies were so weak that they did not dare to act rashly at all. Allied forces had been massed in Greece, and while they were unlikely to enter Serbia, they were still a threat.

Several skirmishes took place between Rudolph's troops and the Romanians, and the two sides won and lost each other. It turned out that the combat effectiveness of the Luo army was expected. Rudolph decided to attack on his own initiative, and he gave the order to fight.

On 14 August, the units had arrived at their intended location.

Rudolph kept moving his command forward, and eventually he went directly to the station of the 27th Division, less than fifty kilometers from the front line.

The 27th Division was his reserve and his old unit. There were only 36,50 infantry regiments in the division, and there were only nearly 10,000 people at full capacity, of which less than half were veterans who had participated in the last battle. The 133rd Regiment was left with only one frame left in the rear, and the armored vehicles and assault guns were all wreckage in the city of Lemberg.

But they are still an elite force, and the officers and men are fully trained and fully equipped with weapons and equipment. Such a unit was already one of the few in the Austro-Hungarian Army.

On August 15, under the command of Lieutenant General Stefana, commander of the 19th Army, the 38th and 93rd Divisions launched an offensive on a battlefield of more than thirty kilometers.

Scattered shells exploded on the opposite side, and the Hungarians were ready to attack.

The few shells came back, and the Romanian artillery was even more unbearable. Compared to the battlefields that were ploughed by artillery on the Western Front, it seems that it is a whole generation behind.

"Drive out the invaders and defend the lands under St. Stephen's crown. Offensive! ”

The soldiers rushed forward, they did not even build fortifications. The Hungarians were so angry that they didn't leave a way out, they just had to keep attacking.

The flat land was undefendable, and even more so for the Romanians, who lacked artillery, machine guns.

On Rudolph's orders, the two divisions were fighting almost desperately. Instead of building defensive positions, they pushed the old field guns to the front line and hit the enemy's trenches with precision.

Bullets flew indiscriminately through the crowd, and the troops suffered only minimal casualties, and the soldiers rushed into the enemy trenches.

The battle changed at this point. As a defense force unit that had participated in the Eastern Front, the Hungarians turned the 38th Division into a garrison.

After a hand-to-hand encounter with the enemy, the soldiers of the 38th Division quickly gained the upper hand, especially those veterans who had returned from Russia and knew how to properly use pistols and submachine guns. And some experienced officers, too, knew how to concentrate on breaking through the line of defense, and then capture the enemy.

The young soldiers were inspired by the victory, and they celebrated with each other. Those who had been on the battlefield were surprised by the vulnerability of the Luo army, and it seemed that the battle was easier than expected.

The vulnerability of the Luo army was only relative, at least for the 93rd Division, they encountered an opponent of equal strength. With only a brand new summer uniform, these newly enlisted soldiers carried canvas bags and rifles on their backs, and ushered in their first battle.

Soon the time came for the bayonets to be red, and these recruits were inexperienced, and strong patriotic fervor was their only reliance.

Rudolph felt that he was commanding a Napoleonic campaign. A group of newly mobilized citizens, after the cannon fired, rushed forward with rifles. Perhaps a little different, it is those modern rifles that give them the ability to fight skirmishers. But due to the lack of training, the battle inevitably went into white-knuckle combat, and victory was still decided by the bayonet.

However, they were still lucky, in this ancient way of fighting, they were at least able to see the blood of the enemy and appreciate the value and honor of a soldier. Instead of holding a shovel and digging a trench day and night to serve as his own grave.

Such a battle was naturally unpredictable, and all Rudolph could do was to demarcate the location of the attack on the map.

Maps don't reflect the real situation, and on a specific battlefield, an unknown hillside or village can be the grave of hundreds of people.

On the afternoon of August 16, the casualty report was officially counted. Both divisions completed their initial combat missions, the enemy forces were repulsed, their positions were captured.

About 4,000 people were killed or wounded, and more than 1,000 lives were lost. For these sacrificed officers and soldiers, the troops can only cremate them hastily, then bury them in the land where they fought, and finally erect a tombstone and hold a simple memorial service.

Before the outbreak of the war, the army promised to provide coffins for the fallen officers and soldiers, and then bury them in military cemeteries for future generations to pay their respects.

Now it seems that this wish is simply not realized, and the transport team will not be able to meet even the needs of ammunition. Families who lost their fathers and sons could only receive a death notice printed in the rear. As for the soldiers who were judged missing, their families did not even know of their deaths.

Rudolph learned about the losses of the troops, but for him it was just a number. On the sand table, the troops were well organized, not a single regiment withdrew from the battle, everything was going on in an orderly manner.

Instructions need to be detailed, telegrams need to be exchanged all the time, and Rudolph is very busy and extremely engaged. He had a sense of unreality, like he was playing a real strategy game.

War is not child's play after all, and there has never been a set script and rules. Having stopped the hustle and bustle on the map, Rudolph needed a brief relaxation.

The officer in the communications office brought a stack of telegrams, all of which were commendation telegrams, and Rudolph didn't have to look at them to know who they came from.

"Send the whole army."

"Yes."

As soon as the communications officer had been sent away, the Director of Information came.

"General, the day after tomorrow is the emperor's birthday. Upper Peak demanded that the victory be reported. ”

"Sir, I would like to remind you that it has only just begun."

"But the country needs such a victory, so can we disclose the results of the war?"

Rudolph thought for a moment and replied: "Feel free, anyway, the battle has begun." Be careful not to divulge any relevant information, focus on describing the enemy's losses, and then write about the heroic deeds of our army. ”

"Okay, I'll take care of the review, and I'll use those captives for the press release images."

"Remember, you must not let others know anything about the battlefield." Rudolph was afraid that others would see what he was doing.