49 – Romanian Participation (4)
December 12, 1914, Bucharest, Kingdom of Romania, War Headquarters.
Vasile Jotu, the Chief of Staff of the Romanian Army, had recently received orders from the King and the Prime Minister to prepare for the implementation of a war plan against Russia.
Originally, Romania had regarded Russia as a hypothetical country during the reign of Charles I and had been preparing a war plan against them, so the operation itself had been prepared in advance.
However, devising a plan and carrying it out were completely different areas of work.
Especially, the Chief of Staff had to be cautious about secretly preparing for war without issuing a mobilization order. What kind of war preparation ties one’s hands and feet?
Basilio Joto wanted to ask, but he couldn’t defy the decision of the country’s leadership. He reluctantly sat down with Hans von Zekt, the German military advisor who had secretly entered the country, and began to prepare the plan according to the precondition that no mobilization order would be issued.
“It’s fortunate that the Russian 7th Army is weak.”
Basilio Joto placed his hope on this fact.
On the other hand, Hans von Zekt, the German military advisor, had a negative opinion about this.
“What can we do if the Russian army is weak? The Romanian army is even weaker.”
The army of the Kingdom of Romania, which Zekt had personally seen when he visited Romania, was a military force so inadequate that it could not even be described in words. It was a military force composed of officers filled with feudal ideas and illiterate soldiers conscripted from a backward rural area, barely sustained by a terrible military discipline.
Their doctrine and equipment were outdated, adopting tactics that would have been obsolete two or three generations ago in Western Europe. Compared to that, even the “Austrian army” that Kaiser despised was considered an excellent military force.
What was even more serious was the military capability to support the execution of the war. The Romanian military industry did not have the ability to manage the quality of military supplies, so even the most important shells were not reliable. Insufficient explosive power of shells and explosions inside the gun barrel were not even worth mentioning.
Romania could not even produce enough of these substandard shells. The average daily production of about 500 shells was ridiculously insufficient to support full-scale warfare against powerful nations.
In Zekt’s view, the only advantages Romania could count on were that they had twice the numerical advantage over the infantry of the enemy and the ability to strategically surprise them.
Considering that the Russian army relied on strong fortresses, even this seemed like a significant advantage.
However, it was his mission to make this seemingly difficult task possible.
After much consideration, Colonel Zekt came up with the following solution.
“If we don’t have enough power right now, why don’t we bring our allied forces to Romania before the war?”
Of course, to use this method, it was necessary to thoroughly deceive the eyes of the Russian army.
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Austria and Bulgaria responded positively to Zekt’s idea.
“But how do you plan to hide the fact that our army is entering?”
“Can’t we disguise ourselves as the Romanian army?”
The allied forces agreed to provide troops in support of this plan.
Basilio Joto, the Chief of Staff of the Romanian Army, also prepared a large stock of Romanian military uniforms as requested by Zekt. The allied forces dressed their soldiers in civilian clothes and secretly sent them to Romania, hiding weapons on trains returning from exporting grain and other goods.
The project managed the entry route for the allied forces into Romania without arousing suspicion.
By the eve of the battle, nearly 200,000 allied soldiers had entered Romania. The Romanian authorities concealed the sudden influx of troops within their existing military bases, controlling their movements and outings to prevent any rumors from spreading.
With this, Romania achieved overwhelming numerical superiority over the Russian 7th Army and prepared for the battle.
The project managed to complete the preparations for the operation in this way.
However, the German Ambassador to Romania, Count Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff, delivered a bewildering piece of news.
“I don’t know how this happened, but we have received intelligence that the Russians have begun moving their troops towards the Romanian border.”
“Has our battle plan been leaked?”
“That is highly likely.”
Bernstorff did not deny the possibility. No matter how secretly a nation prepares its war plans, it cannot completely prevent information from leaking.
A good example of this was Japan, who had prepared a surprise declaration of war in the Russo-Japanese War. Despite being a closed society where it was difficult for non-Japanese to operate, Japan failed to hide its intention to surprise attack. They had taken security measures in Tokyo, but Russia had already seen through their thoughts.
The Far Eastern Army had learned that nine days before the war broke out, Japan had gathered 60 transport ships in Sasebo to carry their army, and had anticipated that within a few days, Japan would launch a large-scale attack.
In hindsight, the Russian Far Eastern Army and the Pacific Fleet fell victim to a perfect surprise attack, but they had enough information to grasp the situation.
A similar situation could be understood in this case as well. Even though it was unclear where the information had leaked from, the strategic surprise attack was as good as gone. Of course, it was not entirely hopeless for Russia, who had even punched their own nose when faced with the enemy’s attack in the Russo-Japanese War.
Anyway, Ject was extremely disappointed with the information provided by Ambassador Bernstorff. He thought it would be much better to issue a mobilization order, reveal the allied forces, and call them into Romania.
“If Petrograd knows everything about the situation, there’s no reason to wear a mask any longer.”
Ject met with Colonel Vasile Jotu and proposed that since the “enemy” knew everything, they should immediately declare a mobilization order and bring the allied forces into Romania.
The Chief of Staff was quite taken aback by the sudden suggestion.
But upon hearing that the information had leaked, he immediately understood everything.
“It would be best to meet His Majesty and inform him of this.”
“I think so too.”
Since everything was already out in the open, there was no need for Zecht to hide his identity. He appeared at the palace wearing only his Romanian military uniform. The fact that a German military advisor would show his face at the Romanian palace in broad daylight was a clear expression of his determination to no longer engage in any theatrics.
King Ferdinand of Romania was taken aback when he heard that the German military advisor had come along with his chief of staff and requested an audience. He wanted to reprimand them for their audacity.
“But what if the Russian ambassador finds out about our plans?”
“Russia knows everything, Your Majesty. We have received information that Petrograd has begun moving troops towards the Romanian border.”
“……!!!”
Ferdinand couldn’t hide his astonishment at Zecht’s response.
“Now, what matters is time. If the enemy knows our intentions, we won’t have the luxury to pretend peace and take our time. We must issue a mobilization order as soon as possible, call upon our allied forces, and act to maximize our strategic advantage in the upcoming war.”
The king bit his lip for a moment.
Zecht waited anxiously for his response.
Finally, Ferdinand made his decision.
“If we both know each other’s intentions, there’s no need to hesitate. Chief of Staff!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“As soon as the Prime Minister arrives, issue the mobilization order and prepare for it.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Zecht and Vasily Zhukov quickly left the palace as soon as they obtained the king’s permission. They immediately summoned the key generals who were overseeing the affairs upon their return to the war department. With this, the deceptive masquerade of peace that had been unfolding came to an end.
Now, the main actors in Act 2, the guns and cannons, would be prepared.
Not long after, the sound of soldiers’ marching echoed through the streets of Bucharest.
*
Russian Embassy, Bucharest, capital of the Kingdom of Romania.
Stanislav Alfonsovic Foklevski-Kozlov, the Russian ambassador to Romania, had been a seasoned diplomat ever since he graduated from university. He believed that with proper decorum and dignity, he could resolve everything through diplomacy.
However, his faith was completely shattered by a single telegram from Petrograd. Foreign Minister Sazonov unexpectedly sent a proposal to the Romanian government, including the cession of all territories west of the Dniester River, including Bessarabia. While the ambassador requested confirmation from Petrograd, thinking that the content of the proposal was too absurd, he had a gut feeling that something was amiss.
Otherwise, Petrograd would not have ordered him to convey such an unthinkable proposal. As expected, Petrograd replied that there were no errors in the content of the dispatch they sent. Through this response, Stanislav realized that Romania had been deceiving him all along and preparing to join the alliance.
As a former first secretary of the Russian Legation in Tokyo during the Russo-Japanese War, Stanislav had experienced the lies of the Japanese, and now he couldn’t help but tremble at this cunning deception he found himself in once again.
But he couldn’t let emotions dictate his diplomacy.
Stanislav met with Romanian Prime Minister Ionel Bratianu and presented Petrograd’s conditions, asking if they could continue to maintain a friendly neutrality. The Prime Minister’s response was extremely ambiguous.
“Let me discuss this with my cabinet.”
The ambassador could only respond positively, asking for a thorough review.
However, his experience as a seasoned diplomat told him that this negotiation was doomed from the start.
Upon returning to the embassy, he immediately sent a negative report to Petrograd, stating that there was no hope for the success of the negotiation.
Of course, he had no intention of giving up on convincing Bucharest. Whether it succeeded or not, it was the duty of a diplomat to explore all possibilities for the benefit of the nation.
From the next day onwards, Stanislav met with pro-negotiation figures from the National Liberal Party, subtly discussing the topic of Bessarabia. The idea that one could acquire territories without shedding blood simply by sitting still was undeniably appealing to strong nationalists.
The ambassador mentioned that if Romania participated in the negotiations, they could not only obtain the desired Transylvania but also receive additional territory from neighboring countries.
In fact, even though these plausible stories did not make Romanian nationalists shout for war against Germany, they saw no possibility of engaging in a war with no chance of victory. They were not fools.
But the idea of “neutrality” was convincing enough.
Stanislav went around to the hardliners of the National Liberal Party and key figures in the opposition, discussing what Russia could “offer.”
“We can’t just let Bucharest prepare for war as they please.”
At the very least, it was necessary to hinder their war preparations as much as possible and delay the outbreak of war.
The ambassador’s efforts had some effect.
The Romanian government, which had intended to prepare for war by rallying the Conservative Party and the mainstream of the National Liberal Party, saw a significant increase in voices favoring neutrality after promoting the fact that neutrality could also be advantageous. As a result, the plans of the cabinet, which sought to gain popular support in parliament and prepare for war, were significantly disrupted.
In this way, Stanislav did everything he could within his limits.
However, his efforts were now coming to an end.
“Your Highness! The Romanian government has issued a mobilization order.”
Ambassador Stanislav was shocked when he received the unrelated report.
Considering the international community’s common sense of regarding the mobilization order of the opposing country as a preparation for war, it was not surprising to consider Romania’s actions as a de facto declaration of war.
“Please report to Petrograd first.”
“Understood.”
An hour later, a reply came from Petrograd, asking who Romania’s mobilization order was targeting. It was a question with an obvious answer, but it couldn’t be ignored without confirmation.
The ambassador hurriedly went to the palace with only his secretary.
King Ferdinand I of Romania did not refuse the ambassador’s request for an audience and accepted it.
With a humble attitude, Stanislav asked the king about Romania’s intentions.
“There has been some tension between Petrograd and Bucharest, but it wasn’t a serious situation to dilute the sense of unity built up through joint struggle against the Turks. Your Majesty, I sincerely ask you. Which country is Romania intending to oppose by issuing a mobilization order?”
“Petrograd.”
Instead of beating around the bush, the king confidently revealed the truth. There was no need to turn the words around when both sides clearly knew each other’s intentions.
“In other words, can we interpret this as Romania’s intention to wage war against our Russia?”
“We have received intelligence that Russia is preparing an offensive operation targeting Bucharest. This is purely a defensive measure taken in a self-defense capacity.”
There were hardly any cases where a country openly declared an attack on its opponent. Even during the First World War, when Germany invaded Belgium without prior consultation, they pushed the excuse that they regretted not being able to discuss the transit issue. The king of Romania’s response was also closer to finding a convenient excuse to beat around the bush.
But it was a statement of sufficient level to reveal the intention of war.
“Your Majesty, we have no reason to prepare for war to threaten Bucharest.”
“Just as France started a preventive war against Germany to prevent future threats, Petrograd may have decided on war. We feel uneasy about having conversations with Berlin.”
Through the Great War, the major powers themselves proved that they could wage war even without justification when national security was at stake. Therefore, the story that Romania issued a mobilization order in response to Russia’s suspicious behavior sounded somewhat reasonable.
However, it was a forced logic to say that Russia, which was already burdened with fighting against the Allied countries, including Germany, would try to extend the front.
“That’s an unreasonable speculation.”
The ambassador countered the king’s speech in a refined tone.
“Wars often happen for unreasonable reasons. The ruler leading the nation has the obligation to prepare for such situations in advance.”
“If you are concerned about hasty mobilization orders, I will suggest to Petrograd not to increase troops on the Romanian border.”
“Do you not know that our trust between us has greatly deteriorated?”
Ferdinand made it clear that he had no intention of withdrawing the mobilization order.
“May I report Your Majesty’s statement to Petrograd?”
Stanislav asked.
“That is the ambassador’s freedom.”
After expressing his respect to the king, Stanislav withdrew from the audience room.
When the ambassador was about to leave the palace, Foreign Minister Emmanuel Forumbaru approached him in the corridor and spoke to him.
“Please convey to Petrograd that I opposed this war.”
Although it was a ridiculous happening, it was enough to show that there was no complete consensus within the cabinet.
The ambassador believed that the divided national sentiment in Romania would ultimately undermine their ability to wage war in the long run, but it was uncertain whether they could strategically exploit their weaknesses, especially considering the formidable German army they were facing in Russia.
Stanislav made it clear to his homeland that Romania had no intention of withdrawing the mobilization order, and that their target was clearly Russia.
Petrograd did not give any further instructions on what to do about this. It had reached a situation where a few words would be useless. However, they only ordered the destruction of confidential documents and prepared for the withdrawal of the embassy.
Withdrawal of the embassy.
This meant the severance of diplomatic relations.
Although they did not exchange ultimatums or declarations of war, the two countries were practically entering a state of war.
‘Once the Romanians cross the border, the war will begin.’
After uttering those words with a heavy sigh, the speaker instructed the staff to prepare for the destruction of classified documents.