Romanian Eagle

? After the Bulgarian army led by Lieutenant General Kudinchev retreated to Pleven, it was preparing for the defense. Lieutenant General Fereit, who was chasing, also delayed the march after hearing that the Bulgarian army was entrenched in Pleven, and he wanted to make final preparations for the capture of Pleven.

The reason why Lieutenant General Fereit was so cautious, in addition to the large number of Bulgarian troops gathered in Pleven, was also the key to the construction of the local fortifications.

Since ancient times, Pleven has been used as a major communication link between Bulgaria and Romania. There are still traces left by various eras inside and outside the city. Of course, as a major transportation route, the defense against possible enemy attacks is also under consideration. For this reason, Pleven has experienced many wars in history, and has been destroyed three times in it. However, it was later rebuilt by relying on prosperous trade.

Thanks to its location in the interior of Bulgaria, Pleven has not suffered from war in these years. The most recent moment was the attack of Romania in the Second Balkan War. But that time, due to the change of situation, Previn was not attacked either. But the Bulgarians have also built a number of fortifications since then, as a strategic point to defend against their increasingly powerful neighbors to the north, and now is the time to use them.

As the commander who commanded the Romanian army to attack Bulgaria, Lieutenant General Fereit was of course aware of this, so he was gathering his own strength to break this hard walnut. The most advantageous weapon in his hands to conquer the city is the two heavy artillery regiments assigned to him (a 150 heavy artillery regiment and a 210 heavy artillery regiment).

Among them, the 210th Heavy Artillery Regiment was temporarily expedited because the Romanian military found that large-caliber heavy artillery was the most effective in the face of enemy fortifications after the Battle of Suceava. So in the face of the Bulgarian army gathered in the defense of Pleven, Lieutenant General Fereit prepared to use his most powerful weapons.

While Lieutenant General Fereit was waiting for his heavy artillery, Lieutenant General Kudinchev was also strengthening the fortifications inside and outside the city. At the same time, the two of them are also constantly making small moves, arranging troops to harass the supply line to force the Romanian army to disperse its troops, which is the due meaning of Lieutenant General Kudinchev as the commander. It is not surprising that Freyte arranged for a small number of elite soldiers to bypass Pleven and harass the back of the defenders.

So today I am raiding your transport convoy, and tomorrow I am raiding the quarters behind you, which happens frequently before the battle. But both of them knew that these were not effective means to defeat their opponents. Only in the head-to-head offensive and defensive battle in Previn was the focus of the two sides.

Time is so frequent and stressful. After a week of confrontation, the heavy artillery that Lieutenant General Freiit had been waiting for finally arrived. So on the second day of this 1918, the Romanian army was finally ready to attack.

A small village called Petrol, six kilometers outside the city of Pleven, is already filled with Romanian soldiers, and the local Bulgarians have fled the village.

In the open space outside the village, a heavy artillery with its muzzle lifted and its gun jacket removed, as well as artillerymen preparing for the war, let people know that this is a heavy artillery position in Romania.

Among them, the slender large-caliber cannon and the stubby howitzer can be seen here. For heavy artillery positions like Petrol, Lieutenant General Fereit has prepared four places, and they will be heavy hammers against the tortoise shell of Pleven.

When the needle pointed to nine o'clock, the heavy artillery that had already set up its firing parameters was ready to fire.

"Boom, boom, boom"

The rapidly falling artillery shells bombarded the well-prepared positions in Bulgaria, and a lot of painstaking fortifications failed to withstand the bombardment of heavy artillery and turned into dust. The Bulgarian soldiers hiding in the fortifications shivered under the lewd power of the God of War.

This made the Romanian soldiers who were in the position waiting to attack look at ease. When the superior artillery fire swept the enemy's position, everyone was so excited.

"Look, there was a big explosion over there, it should be that the position where the ammunition was stored was directly hit."

The explosion of a front-line ammunition warehouse caused by the hit made the soldiers discuss with excitement.

"I saw the barrels were blown off."

"I also saw machine guns blown off."

Seeing the soldiers having heated discussions, the lower-level officers in charge of leading the team did not step forward to stop them. Talking before the war helped ease their nervousness.

Faced with the heavy artillery bombardment of Romania, the defenders of course would not remain indifferent, and they also used their own heavy artillery to counter it.

"Howl"

A sharp voice came from far to near.

This voice greatly changed the complexion of the experienced officers and soldiers. "Hide quickly, there is artillery bombardment."

"boom"

An artillery shell landed more than ten meters in front of the starting position, making the soldiers who had been discussing heatedly before become disgraced.

"Damn, these Bulgarians are not going to get any better."

"What about our artillery, kill those who dare to fight back against Bulgarian chops."

Seeing their embarrassed appearance, the soldiers denounced them again and again, hoping that their artillerymen would teach them a lesson to these embarrassed enemies.

In order not to disappoint them, he had air supremacy and set up the artillery brothers of the artillery school hot air balloon, and soon hit the cannonballs on the enemy artillery that dared to show his face.

In the face of Romania's counter-artillery shelling, the artillery on the defending side was scattered and evaded, and all that could not be avoided were turned into parts under the bombardment of the heavy artillery regiment. This also relieved the artillery shelling suffered by the Romanian soldiers on the position, and also reduced the damage suffered by the shelled Bulgarian positions, which also became the goal of the defensive side.

After two hours of heavy artillery shelling, the Bulgarians' positions were in disarray, the fortifications were almost flattened, and it looked like a pitch-dark lunar surface full of craters.

Seeing this, the officers who led the team waved their arms and shouted loudly. "attack."

The soldiers on the starting position were also very morale, and immediately followed their commander and rushed towards the enemy. Looking from the sky, it seemed as if the army green tide was about to drown the opponent.

The Bulgarian soldiers who were shaking their heads and feeling dazed at the positions that had been abused by Romanian heavy artillery, changed their expressions greatly when they saw this situation.

"Get ready to fight back."

The officers among them immediately and eagerly issued orders to their soldiers.

"There are not many enemies, so hurry up and seize the position."

The sparse sound of gunfire on the position did not stop the soldiers from attacking, but boosted their morale.

This situation also made Major General Foctor, who was in charge of commanding the battle, overjoyed, and he directly ordered the staff by the pillow. "Let the artillery immediately increase the interception firepower, and must not let the enemy reinforcements come up. I want to take the enemy's forward positions in this battle."

Under the order of Major General Foctor, the already fierce artillery fire was a little more urgent. This made it impossible for the Bulgarian soldiers who reinforced the front line to pass, and it also made the Bulgarian commander in charge of defense jump with anger.

Led by officers, they charged into the shattered positions with few casualties and engaged in close firefights with the enemy. Without the addition of reinforcements, the defenders on the position were driven out one by one, much to the satisfaction of Major General Foctor, who was in charge of commanding the battle.

"Send a message to Lieutenant General Fereit, our army has won the forward position in the first battle. The enemy army has been defeated and retreated to the rear, requesting instructions for the next step."

Soon Lieutenant General Freiit's receipt came to him, and there was only one sentence. "I hope to make persistent efforts in the future to attack the defense line of the enemy in front of you."

The words of Lieutenant General Freiit greatly satisfied Major General Foctor, and he called in the communications staff to continue giving orders. "Let the rear artillery prepare, we will continue to attack the enemy's positions in the afternoon, and we cannot give the enemy a chance to breathe."

In the next battle, the Romanian army used its artillery and soldiers to occupy an absolute advantage, and launched a fierce attack on the defending Bulgarian positions one after another.

Heavy artillery bombardment of infantry occupation, this set of tactics that let the Romanians themselves face the German army in Suceava suffered a big loss, and it is just as easy to use on the Bulgarians.

Although Romania's heavy artillery was not as numerous and large as the German army, the Bulgarian fortifications were not as strong as those built by Romania. As Bulgaria, whose national strength is not as strong as its opponent, it is not realistic to build Pleven into a solid fortress composed of reinforced concrete.

Most of the fortifications outside the city are mainly based on civil works, and only a few key defense points, hidden military holes, and ammunition storage points are reinforced with reinforced concrete. And the fortifications in the city can only be simply reinforced with a large number of dwellings, and only a few points are built according to the standard of standing fortifications. Most of these fortifications cannot be resisted under heavy artillery bombardment.

Facing the non-stop onslaught of the Romanian army, Lieutenant General Kudinchev, who was in command, complained repeatedly. After a week of onslaught without leaving his hands, he finally couldn't bear it and asked the Bulgarian commander-in-chief Admiral Zekov for help.

In the telegram for help, Lieutenant General Kudinchev said. "If there is no reinforcements within ten days, then it will be impossible to resist the enemy's offensive."

In the face of Lieutenant General Kudinchev's request for help, Admiral Zekov was greatly surprised, so he could only find a way to draw troops from the front line of Thessaloniki, which turned the Bulgarian campaign into a turning point.

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