novelraw Chapter 716: The Arrow is on the String
Chapter 716: The Arrow is on the String
Queen Mary was momentarily at a loss upon hearing this.
It wasn’t from the words spoken by Shire and Gallieni, but from their expressions and eyes.
Being adept at reading people, she knew it was a sign of helplessness, speechlessness, and inability to assist.
Words might lie, but eyes do not.
This made her realize that the Romanian army might really be easily defeated by the Germans.
This was Gallieni and the "Mars of France’s" judgment, which was likely correct, whether she wanted to believe it or not.
"General, Your Excellency," Queen Mary’s gaze shifted between the two, her tone sincere: "Please help Romania, she is an ally of France, and helping Romania benefits us all."
Gallieni pondered for a moment, got up, searched through some papers on his desk, and returned with a map in hand.
He spread the map out in front of Queen Mary and pointed to it, saying:
"There is still some room for maneuver, Your Majesty."
"The Carpathian Mountains are Romania’s natural barrier."
"Your country’s army only needs to fully defend the mountains and passes, then I believe even the German Army would be wary."
(The above picture shows the direction of the Carpathian Mountains. The eastern region is Romania, and the western region is the area of Transylvania that Ferdinand I hoped to reclaim.)
Queen Mary was both surprised and delighted: "Really? That’s wonderful."
But she still wasn’t reassured and turned her gaze to Shire.
She wanted to hear Shire’s opinion; Shire was the war god, while Gallieni was more of an armchair strategist.
Shire chose to remain silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, pretending not to notice and not expressing an opinion.
Queen Mary looked puzzled but didn’t dare to ask further.
After a while, it was Gallieni who couldn’t hold back, looking at Shire in confusion: "Is there a problem?"
"No, no problem, General," Shire replied:
"This plan is indeed feasible."
"The area near the Carpathian Mountains is unsuitable for armored units and can also weaken the impact of aircraft."
"As long as troops are concentrated in the passes and stationed on the high ground, it would be very difficult for the Germans to get through."
Not "impossible" for the Germans to get through.
But the Germans would need to suffer heavy casualties to get through.
At that time, the Germans would calculate: the Eastern and Western Fronts have already suffered heavy losses, if they achieve another Pyrrhic victory in Romania, what’s the point?
Especially since Shire would also teach the Romanians "reverse slope defense tactics," the German Army’s attack would ultimately be a "human wave."
Queen Mary was overjoyed: "Then, I will immediately send this plan back to Romania..."
Gallieni stopped Queen Mary, who was about to leave, his gaze fixed on Shire as he asked solemnly: "And then?"
He knew Shire had more to say, otherwise, he wouldn’t have this attitude.
Sure enough, Shire sighed lightly: "But that is impossible, General. The King will not agree."
Gallieni and Queen Mary asked in unison: "Why not?"
"Think about it," Shire replied calmly: "On what grounds did His Majesty declare war on Austria-Hungary? For what reason did he mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops? The campaign for Transylvania has already reached the point of no return. He cannot agree to just taking a defensive posture and doing nothing!"
Gallieni and Queen Mary were stunned; they hadn’t considered this aspect.
It was indeed the case.
The declaration of war was based on the reason of reclaiming Transylvania, rallying the military and civilian population likewise.
Simply put, he had boasted to both the domestic and international audiences: "Romanian citizens, unite and let Transylvania return to our embrace. This is our mission and glory, and victory will surely belong to us!"
The Romanian military and civilian morale was greatly boosted, sharpening their swords.
Now you tell them to just defend the Carpathian Mountains?
If that’s the case, what’s the point of the declaration of war?
No war declaration would even be better, no need for defense, no one would come to fight us!
Gallieni nodded secretly; he was simply thinking from a military perspective, not the political needs.
And political needs are the key determinant of everything!
Queen Mary stood up abruptly: "No, I must try, maybe the King will agree to our plan."
She then maintained her noble demeanor and bowed slightly to the two: "Please excuse me for a moment."
She hurried to the communications room, clearly to send a telegram to the King.
Soon after, Queen Mary returned, her face pale.
"You guessed it right," Queen Mary smiled bitterly: "The King refused my suggestion, he has already recalled Vice Admiral Averescu, and may launch an attack on Transylvania in the next few days."
Queen Mary cast a pleading look at Shire: "Is there any other way?"
Shire shrugged: "As I said before, with the Romanian army’s equipment and combat strength, fighting the German Army on the plains without the cover of the mountains is suicide, no one can save you."
Gallieni nodded: "Your main force will be defeated west of the Carpathian Mountains, leaving you without enough troops to defend. Then..."
No need to say more, Romania would be destroyed.
Queen Mary’s face changed again and again, she anxiously paced back and forth on the open ground:
"No, I can’t let this happen. I should go back to persuade the King."
"Sorry, Your Excellency, General Shire."
"I think I should go back immediately!"
Gallieni nodded: "Of course."
After Queen Mary left, Gallieni sighed deeply, asking Shire: "Do you think the Queen can persuade the King?"
"No," Shire shook his head: "The fundamental reason is that the King believes he has a chance of winning."
Gallieni agreed: "Yes, it’s always because the King doesn’t understand his position. He doesn’t know the disparity in power between the enemy and us, so he wishfully imagines the great benefits of victory and universal admiration, even hoping to leave a mark in history, without ever considering the miserable consequences of failure."
"So," Gallieni’s eyes showed a trace of helplessness: "Romania’s oil and food resources will fall into German hands, and the war must continue, right?"
Shire said nothing, this was actually what he was happy to see.
As the saying goes, "a dead rabbit, a cooked dog," once the external enemy, Germany, was thoroughly defeated, Shire as a general would also face being stripped of power.
At this moment, Shire had not yet consolidated his position, had not yet developed his military power into political and commercial influence, so even if the Germans surrendered now, Shire wouldn’t agree.
However, allowing the German Army to become uncontrollably strong was also against Shire’s interests.
Shire took the map from Gallieni’s hand, pondered for a while, and answered: "Not necessarily, there is still room for maneuver."
(In response to reader requests, here is a map of the Eastern Front. The red line in the above picture shows the 1915 front line. It can be seen that because Romania remained neutral at that time, a gap formed in the front line along the Romanian section. Historically, Romania declared war in August 1916, and three months later, on December 1st, the Romanian capital was captured. Thus, by 1917 as shown by the brown line, the gap in the Eastern Front was filled.)