772:
Early on that day, German artillery opened fire in a hellish concert that the
Germans have not experienced for a long time. Towards midday, as the German guns were still blazing away at the Romanian fortifications, the Romanians launched a counterattack. Reckless, death-defying groups repeatedly filled the wide holes torn into their lines by the German artillery, which was so powerful that three Romanian counterattacks were completely crushed. German artillery fire rose to a crescendo during the afternoon, as the Germans stormed the heights against no more opposition. The Romanians who were still alive threw away their weapons in fear. The attacking German companies stormed a bloody and gruesome defence line: churned up ground, shattered corpses, the dead and the groaning wounded, along with the survivors who had held on to the last. Despite the destructive fire, some Romanians advanced with admirable tenacity and determination. Relatively few pushed to within 50 meters of the railway embankment, where they were killed by accurate rifle and machine gun fire. On the night of 5 October, the Geisterwald was lost by the Romanians. Crăiniceanu's growing panic was evidenced by his hasty retreat through the Geisterwald. Panic had completely taken hold of him, and his staff thought he had lost his mind. Retreating from the forest, the Romanians left behind a few hundred prisoners and 48 guns of varying sizes. On 6 October, official reports from Bucharest for the first time abandoned their tone of confidence, announcing that in Southern Transylvania the Romanian Army was retiring before superior forces.
727:, used its covering forces to quickly rout the forces defending the border on the night of 27 August. As they advanced, the Romanians began meeting the forces of the Austro-Hungarian 82nd Infantry Regiment. The regiment's 1st Battalion, assisted by Armored Train IV, stopped three Romanian regiments, holding its ground for the entire day of 28 August, being pushed back only that night. In the west, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions also put up a lively fight, despite running low on ammunition. By nightfall of the 28 August, the 1st Battalion had retreated into Brassó itself. On that same night, Austro-Hungarian government officials withdrew from the city, amid scenes of confusion and suffering. Panicked and desperate Hungarians and Germans attempted to storm trains leaving the city. The Romanians closed in on Brassó in the afternoon of 29 August. Hardly any fighting took place within the city itself, save for Romanian artillery destroying the last train leaving Brassó. That afternoon, a delegation of ethnic Romanians from Brassó surrendered the city to the commander of the Romanian 6th Infantry Regiment. At around 5 pm on that day, Romanian army units entered Brassó, parading to the
789:'s 89th Division had finally arrived and was attacking the Romanians surrounding Barcaszentpéter, although it failed to press all the way to the village. The 89th Division never got its act together: destroyed bridges, poor reconnaissance and minor Romanian resistance all contributed to its slow progress. The soldiers were tired, and the commanders were unaware of the opportunity: attacking immediately would have exposed the Romanian divisions besieging the village to a partial crossfire. Instead, after firing off a few shots, the German infantry began to set up camp. By the end of the 8th, it was clear to the Romanians that Brassó could not be held, and rear area units were ordered to withdraw, followed by the rearguard. The Germans watched the Romanians retreat throughout the night from their vantage points in and around the city, trying to keep them under machine gun fire. Trains fully loaded with military materiel and war plunder were abandoned, as was a train full of soldiers. As soon as it was daylight, the 187th Infantry Regiment marched into the city. The bells in all the town's towers rang victory.
856:. His defence would turn out to be brilliant, as by the first days of November, the Central Powers had not advanced more than 4 miles (6.4 km) across the Romanian border. On the Romanian side, the last major location captured by the Romanians during their initial advance into Transylvania was back in the control of the Central Powers, causing morale in Bucharest to further plummet. Chaotic preparations began to move the seat of Government to the east and some began to question the wisdom of going to war with the Central Powers, resulting in suggestions to seek a separate peace. However, the Romanian King and Prime Minister were determined to fight on. Despite the "disappointing" haul of prisoners, Falkenhayn was confident that he had inflicted enough damage on the Romanian 2nd Army that it would not be able to seriously resist him, even with reinforcements. General Averescu would render Falkenhayn's confidence unfounded throughout the following month.
828:. The entire company had only a machine gun available. In the heat of the battle, the Romanian soldiers didn't notice that their left flank was completely open. German reconnaissance discovered quickly the weak spot and, using darkness to their advantage, a machine gun section of the 189th Regiment quietly sneaked into a ruined depot, 5 metres (16 ft) away from the Romanian trench, while other German soldiers with hand grenades took position behind the Romanians. In two-three minutes the Germans mowed down the whole company of 168 soldiers. A German war correspondent described the scene afterwards: "The dead company lies now in dirt, by the roadside. Man to man they lie down, as they fell on the battle day under the terrifying fire of the machine guns, with a look of dread imprinted on their pale faces and with spread out hands, as if they tried to defend themselves from the misfortune that had befallen them".
798:
785:), until they were halted by German machine guns and small arms. The Romanians withdrew to their initial positions, save for a few who found cover in cornfields, from where they could not be dislodged despite repeated attempts. The Romanians did not retreat any further, but neither did they resume their attack. Inside Brassó, house-to-house battles raged, as the two German regiments in the city were engaged in a bitter struggle in the outskirts of the city. Powerful Romanian counterattacks repeatedly failed. Early on 8 October, the 51st Honvéd Infantry Division moved up in support and attacked the heights which dominated the western and northern parts of Brassó. Accompanied by a brigade from the Honvéd Division, the Germans and Hungarians slowly scattered several Romanian battalions. At around 3 pm, heavy gunfire was heard from the north. General
135:
781:
resistance and counterattacks throughout the following night. The next morning, when the fog lifted, the soldiers of the 187th
Regiment realized that enemy soldiers were located between them and the rest of their division. Walls of Romanian infantry stood between General Edwin Sunkel's two regiments in Brassó and the 187th Regiment. Well-aimed artillery fire quickly dissolved the Romanian formations, but they soon reformed and began to advance, despite the holes appearing in their skirmish lines as the artillery shells landed. The Romanian riflemen advanced steadily towards Barcaszentpéter (
189:
178:
167:
45:
123:
707:, which had almost 63,000 inhabitants. German forces soon reinforced the Austro-Hungarians, and the two Central Powers began a counteroffensive in the region in late September. In early October, the Romanian 2nd Army succeeded in thwarting a Central Powers attack, but - instead of exploiting its victory offensively - the Romanians unexpectedly began to retreat, preventing the Central Powers from pinning them down. The defensive line of the half-strength Romanian 2nd Army was broken on 5 October, and the battle for Brassó started on 7 October.
155:
109:
716:
759:- "the ablest of Rumanian generals". At the start of October, after a counterattack which severely mauled the German 89th Division, the Romanians made an unexpected retreat, preventing the Germans from pinning them down. It was only late on 4 October that the Germans reached the Romanian defensive line west of Brassó. The line was located on the western slopes of the
755:— went as far as to say: "How is that possible?...Do not make such a mistake; he has been confused all his life, and he is absolutely worn out." Adding to the 2nd Army's problems, its forces were halved in mid-September when three of its divisions were sent elsewhere. In sharp contrast to Crăiniceanu, Averescu was - according to historian
780:
As 9th Army approached Brassó on 7 October, some elements ran into defensive positions. After German artillery broke up a determined
Romanian counterattack, elements of the 187th Infantry Division (two regiments) penetrated into the northern part of the city, where they encountered further determined
771:
The German 9th Army moved forward to attack the
Romanian line in the Geisterwald on 5 October. The initial German attack succeeded in ascending the steep slope without apparent difficulty, but before they could exploit their gains, the Germans had to beat off several powerful Romanian counterattacks.
859:
Romania was the only minor power during World War I which managed to invade the territory of a
European Great Power and hold one of said Great Power's cities, with tens of thousands of inhabitants, for over one month (29 August to 7 October), including one entire calendar month (September 1916). It
851:
The Battle of Brassó lasted two days, from 7 to 9 October 1916. The German failure to cut off the escape route of the
Romanians would have serious consequences for the Central Powers. General Alexandru Averescu, who had returned to the command of the 2nd Army after the end of the battle, would
848:) and made his displeasure clear, ordering the 89th Division to "stay glued to the retreating enemy". However, hindered as much by poor roads and difficult terrain as by Romanian resistance, the Germans were unable to cut off the escape route.
686:
withdrew from the city, leaving behind only 1,175 prisoners. As the
Romanians failed to defend Brassó, so did the Central Powers fail to cut off their escape route, enabling the Romanians to regroup and — under better leadership —
681:
and the largest
Transylvanian settlement taken by the Romanians during their August-September offensive in the region, the retreating Romanian forces decided to make a stand there. However, when its defense proved untenable, the
904:. By 11 September, the Serbs had penetrated 20 miles into Austro-Hungarian territory. On that same day, however, the Serbian advance faltered, and by 14 September the Serbs had evacuated Syrmia.
810:
384:
572:
485:
562:
1191:
490:
271:
844:), sent several messages to von Morgen, urging him to keep moving. On the morning of the 9th, von Falkenhayn stormed into von Morgen's headquarters at Földvár (
582:
523:
747:, was a major downgrade in leadership. Crăiniceanu's appointment caused consternation, as elements of the General Staff did not think he was qualified, and
577:
567:
1176:
1186:
1181:
1196:
893:
182:
797:
621:
305:
752:
703:
on 27 August, and two days later it captured Brassó, which — at 41,000 inhabitants — was the second largest city in
Transylvania, behind
264:
815:
638:
257:
550:
719:
Airborne leaflet dropped by the
Romanian Army over Brassó, calling on the local population to support the Romanian offensive
892:), but all of these were minor powers. One somewhat comparable example was the Serbian invasion of the Syrmia region of the
860:
is difficult to find anything to compare this to, given that minor powers could hardly invade Great Powers. During the war,
448:
691:
the German and Austro-Hungarian attempts to break through the mountains in the region throughout the following month.
480:
824:) had dug in for 200 metres (660 ft) along the railroad in order to defend the city from an attack coming from
889:
512:
32:
468:
340:
603:
443:
1211:
367:
335:
406:
320:
372:
806:
631:
325:
744:
598:
159:
1206:
1201:
934:
591:
533:
497:
463:
431:
350:
294:
212:
836:
The battle for Brassó was over. The Germans had captured 1,175 prisoners and 25 artillery pieces.
885:
426:
394:
315:
853:
688:
654:
518:
473:
453:
438:
300:
281:
28:
873:
555:
977:
748:
683:
608:
458:
205:
44:
837:
740:
504:
361:
310:
171:
760:
330:
8:
877:
861:
540:
416:
345:
616:
881:
724:
670:
421:
154:
114:
865:
545:
528:
728:
869:
626:
411:
401:
1143:
A History of the Great War: From the battle of Verdun to the third battle of Ypres
1034:
A History of the Great War: From the battle of Verdun to the third battle of Ypres
1008:
A History of the Great War: From the battle of Verdun to the third battle of Ypres
965:
A History of the Great War: From the battle of Verdun to the third battle of Ypres
786:
700:
666:
355:
193:
140:
71:
897:
658:
1170:
662:
188:
177:
166:
128:
739:
After taking Brassó, General Averescu was transferred to the command of the
900:
ordered the Serbian 1st Army to cross the Sava River into Austro-Hungarian
792:
678:
389:
756:
704:
36:
782:
763:, in the forest known to the Germans and Austrians as the Geisterwald.
845:
674:
249:
75:
1117:
Prelude to Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in Romania
1091:
Prelude to Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in Romania
1021:
Prelude to Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in Romania
952:
Prelude to Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in Romania
939:
Prelude to Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in Romania
825:
79:
901:
841:
840:, observing the fighting from a church steeple in Feketehalom (
821:
715:
710:
734:
1115:
Michael B. Barrett, Indiana University Press, 23 oct. 2013,
1089:
Michael B. Barrett, Indiana University Press, 23 oct. 2013,
1019:
Michael B. Barrett, Indiana University Press, 23 oct. 2013,
950:
Michael B. Barrett, Indiana University Press, 23 oct. 2013,
1076:
Istoria războiului pentru întregirea României (1916-1919)
1052:
Istoria războiului pentru întregirea României (1916-1919)
801:
Fallen Romanian soldiers at the Bertalan railway station
766:
657:. It took place between 7 and 9 October 1916, between
723:
The Romanian 2nd Army, under the command of General
1128:Prit Buttar, Bloomsbury Publishing, Sep 22, 2016,
1102:Prit Buttar, Bloomsbury Publishing, Sep 22, 2016,
993:Prit Buttar, Bloomsbury Publishing, Sep 22, 2016,
920:Prit Buttar, Bloomsbury Publishing, Sep 22, 2016,
852:successfully defeat the Central Powers during the
653:was the last major military engagement during the
1192:Battles of World War I involving Austria-Hungary
1168:
1068:
1066:
1064:
1062:
1044:
1042:
793:"Death trench" at the Bertalan railway station
1130:Russia's Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916–17
1104:Russia's Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916–17
995:Russia's Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916–17
982:Russia's Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916–17
922:Russia's Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916–17
265:
1059:
1039:
711:Romanian conquest of Brassó (27 – 29 August)
1177:Battles of the Eastern Front (World War I)
735:Further developments (September – October)
272:
258:
43:
1072:
1048:
105:
1187:Battles of World War I involving Romania
1182:Battles of World War I involving Germany
796:
714:
1073:Kirițescu, Constantin (December 1925).
1049:Kirițescu, Constantin (December 1925).
1169:
896:. On 6 September 1914, Field Marshal
809:, a company of 168 soldiers from the
767:Battle of the Geisterwald (5 October)
279:
253:
1197:History of Transylvania (1867–1918)
1156:World War I: A Student Encyclopedia
13:
14:
1223:
743:on 7 September. His replacement,
1154:Spencer Tucker, ABC-CLIO, 2006,
187:
176:
165:
153:
133:
121:
107:
1148:
1135:
1122:
1109:
1096:
1083:
890:Bulgarian occupation of Albania
677:was the second largest city in
1141:John Buchan, T. Nelson, 1922,
1032:John Buchan, T. Nelson, 1922,
1026:
1013:
1006:John Buchan, T. Nelson, 1922,
1000:
987:
970:
963:John Buchan, T. Nelson, 1922,
957:
944:
927:
914:
1:
907:
807:Brassó-Bertalan train station
694:
673:forces on the other side. As
831:
7:
1079:. Vol. 1. p. 338.
1055:. Vol. 1. p. 337.
10:
1228:
775:
291:
230:
199:
146:
99:
53:
42:
26:
21:
935:Indiana University Press
699:Romania declared war on
894:Austro-Hungarian Bosnia
639:Romania rejoins the war
854:Battle of Predeal Pass
811:24th Infantry Regiment
802:
745:Grigore C. Crăiniceanu
720:
655:Battle of Transylvania
316:Petroșani (offensive)
147:Commanders and leaders
91:Central Powers victory
61:7–9 October 1916
29:Battle of Transylvania
984:, pp. 353-354 and 356
978:Bloomsbury Publishing
800:
749:Alexandru Marghiloman
718:
231:Casualties and losses
218:German 187th Division
954:, pp. 56, 86 and 127
933:Michael B. Barrett,
838:Erich von Falkenhayn
805:To the right of the
751:— the leader of the
505:The Romanian Debacle
449:Southern Carpathians
224:51st Honved Division
221:German 89th Division
172:Erich von Falkenhayn
878:Battle of Turtucaia
874:Ovče Pole Offensive
632:Treaty of Bucharest
481:Eastern Carpathians
160:Grigore Crăiniceanu
882:Battle of Bazargic
803:
753:Conservative Party
725:Alexandru Averescu
721:
669:) on one side and
551:Pitești–Târgoviște
402:Orșova (offensive)
16:World War I battle
1212:History of Brașov
761:Perșani Mountains
741:Romanian 3rd Army
684:Romanian 2nd Army
646:
645:
311:Sibiu (offensive)
283:Romanian Campaign
248:
247:
95:
94:
49:Map of the battle
33:Romanian Campaign
1219:
1159:
1152:
1146:
1139:
1133:
1126:
1120:
1113:
1107:
1100:
1094:
1087:
1081:
1080:
1070:
1057:
1056:
1046:
1037:
1030:
1024:
1017:
1011:
1004:
998:
991:
985:
980:, Sep 22, 2016,
974:
968:
961:
955:
948:
942:
937:, 23 oct. 2013,
931:
925:
918:
870:Morava Offensive
819:
651:Battle of Brassó
627:Treaty of Buftea
286:
284:
274:
267:
260:
251:
250:
241:25 guns captured
192:
191:
181:
180:
170:
169:
158:
157:
139:
137:
136:
127:
125:
124:
117:
113:
111:
110:
55:
54:
47:
22:Battle of Brassó
19:
18:
1227:
1226:
1222:
1221:
1220:
1218:
1217:
1216:
1207:1916 in Romania
1202:Battles in 1916
1167:
1166:
1163:
1162:
1153:
1149:
1140:
1136:
1127:
1123:
1114:
1110:
1101:
1097:
1088:
1084:
1071:
1060:
1047:
1040:
1031:
1027:
1018:
1014:
1005:
1001:
992:
988:
975:
971:
962:
958:
949:
945:
932:
928:
919:
915:
910:
834:
813:
795:
787:Curt von Morgen
778:
769:
737:
713:
701:Austria-Hungary
697:
667:Austria-Hungary
647:
642:
636:
613:
407:Băile Herculane
287:
282:
280:
278:
240:
239:1,175 prisoners
238:
237:
208:(half-strength)
194:Curt von Morgen
186:
185:
175:
174:
164:
152:
141:Austria-Hungary
134:
132:
131:
122:
120:
108:
106:
83:
72:Austria-Hungary
48:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1225:
1215:
1214:
1209:
1204:
1199:
1194:
1189:
1184:
1179:
1161:
1160:
1147:
1134:
1121:
1108:
1095:
1082:
1058:
1038:
1025:
1012:
999:
986:
969:
956:
943:
926:
912:
911:
909:
906:
898:Radomir Putnik
833:
830:
794:
791:
777:
774:
768:
765:
736:
733:
712:
709:
696:
693:
659:Central Powers
644:
643:
635:
634:
629:
624:
619:
612:
611:
606:
601:
588:
587:
586:
585:
580:
575:
570:
560:
559:
558:
553:
548:
538:
537:
536:
526:
521:
516:
513:2nd Jiu Valley
501:
500:
495:
494:
493:
488:
478:
477:
476:
471:
469:1st Jiu Valley
466:
461:
456:
446:
441:
436:
435:
434:
429:
424:
419:
409:
404:
399:
398:
397:
392:
382:
381:
380:
375:
370:
365:
358:
353:
348:
343:
338:
333:
328:
323:
318:
313:
308:
306:Northern front
292:
289:
288:
277:
276:
269:
262:
254:
246:
245:
242:
233:
232:
228:
227:
226:
225:
222:
219:
209:
202:
201:
200:Units involved
197:
196:
162:
149:
148:
144:
143:
118:
102:
101:
97:
96:
93:
92:
89:
85:
84:
69:
67:
63:
62:
59:
51:
50:
40:
39:
24:
23:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1224:
1213:
1210:
1208:
1205:
1203:
1200:
1198:
1195:
1193:
1190:
1188:
1185:
1183:
1180:
1178:
1175:
1174:
1172:
1165:
1158:, pp. 594-595
1157:
1151:
1144:
1138:
1132:, pp. 359-360
1131:
1125:
1118:
1112:
1105:
1099:
1093:, pp. 123-125
1092:
1086:
1078:
1075:
1069:
1067:
1065:
1063:
1054:
1051:
1045:
1043:
1035:
1029:
1023:, pp. 119-120
1022:
1016:
1009:
1003:
997:, pp. 356-358
996:
990:
983:
979:
976:Prit Buttar,
973:
966:
960:
953:
947:
940:
936:
930:
923:
917:
913:
905:
903:
899:
895:
891:
887:
883:
879:
875:
871:
867:
863:
857:
855:
849:
847:
843:
839:
829:
827:
823:
817:
812:
808:
799:
790:
788:
784:
773:
764:
762:
758:
754:
750:
746:
742:
732:
730:
726:
717:
708:
706:
702:
692:
690:
685:
680:
676:
672:
668:
664:
660:
656:
652:
641:
640:
633:
630:
628:
625:
623:
620:
618:
615:
614:
610:
607:
605:
602:
600:
597:
596:
595:
594:
593:
592:1917 Campaign
584:
581:
579:
576:
574:
573:Râmnicu Sărat
571:
569:
566:
565:
564:
561:
557:
554:
552:
549:
547:
544:
543:
542:
539:
535:
532:
531:
530:
527:
525:
522:
520:
517:
515:
514:
510:
509:
508:
507:
506:
499:
496:
492:
489:
487:
484:
483:
482:
479:
475:
472:
470:
467:
465:
462:
460:
457:
455:
452:
451:
450:
447:
445:
442:
440:
437:
433:
430:
428:
425:
423:
420:
418:
415:
414:
413:
410:
408:
405:
403:
400:
396:
393:
391:
388:
387:
386:
383:
379:
376:
374:
371:
369:
368:3rd Petroșani
366:
364:
363:
359:
357:
354:
352:
351:Mount Cindrel
349:
347:
344:
342:
341:2nd Petroșani
339:
337:
336:1st Petroșani
334:
332:
329:
327:
324:
322:
319:
317:
314:
312:
309:
307:
304:
303:
302:
299:
298:
297:
296:
295:1916 Campaign
290:
285:
275:
270:
268:
263:
261:
256:
255:
252:
243:
236:Unknown total
235:
234:
229:
223:
220:
217:
216:
215:
214:
210:
207:
204:
203:
198:
195:
190:
184:
179:
173:
168:
163:
161:
156:
151:
150:
145:
142:
130:
129:German Empire
119:
116:
104:
103:
98:
90:
87:
86:
81:
77:
73:
68:
65:
64:
60:
57:
56:
52:
46:
41:
38:
34:
30:
25:
20:
1164:
1155:
1150:
1142:
1137:
1129:
1124:
1116:
1111:
1103:
1098:
1090:
1085:
1077:
1074:
1053:
1050:
1033:
1028:
1020:
1015:
1007:
1002:
994:
989:
981:
972:
964:
959:
951:
946:
938:
929:
921:
916:
876:), Romania (
858:
850:
835:
804:
779:
770:
738:
722:
698:
679:Transylvania
650:
648:
637:
590:
589:
511:
503:
502:
474:Dragoslavele
444:Cinghinarele
377:
360:
301:Transylvania
293:
211:
183:Edwin Sunkel
100:Belligerents
27:Part of the
941:, pp. 24-26
814: [
757:John Buchan
729:city square
432:2nd Cobadin
427:1st Cobadin
37:World War I
1171:Categories
908:References
695:Background
622:Bessarabia
498:Olt Valley
439:1st Orșova
846:Feldioara
832:Aftermath
826:Méheskert
705:Kolozsvár
609:3rd Oituz
604:Mărășești
541:Bucharest
534:Robănești
519:2nd Oituz
486:Úz Valley
464:Sălătrucu
459:1st Oituz
417:Turtucaia
1145:, p. 244
1119:, p. 122
1106:, p. 359
1036:, p. 234
1010:, p. 242
967:, p. 226
924:, p. 358
864:invaded
862:Bulgaria
783:Sânpetru
671:Romanian
661:forces (
524:Zimnicea
422:Bazargic
395:Flămânda
385:Bulgaria
321:Șelimbăr
213:9th Army
206:2nd Army
70:Brassó,
66:Location
886:Albania
663:Germany
599:Mărăști
583:Focșani
563:Retreat
546:Prunaru
529:Slatina
454:Predeal
412:Dobruja
326:Livadia
244:Unknown
115:Romania
80:Romania
74:(today
31:of the
902:Syrmia
884:) and
866:Serbia
842:Codlea
822:Tecuci
776:Battle
689:thwart
675:Brassó
617:Galați
578:Brăila
491:Ghimeș
378:Brașov
373:Bărcuț
138:
126:
112:
88:Result
76:Brașov
818:]
568:Buzău
556:Argeș
362:Sibiu
356:Colun
346:Roșia
665:and
649:The
390:Ruse
331:Baru
58:Date
35:of
1173::
1061:^
1041:^
880:,
872:,
816:ro
731:.
78:,
888:(
868:(
820:(
273:e
266:t
259:v
82:)
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