The Carpathian Mountains are covered with snow, and the cold winter winds silence everything. However, during this time, the road from Bakuu to Reak is full of people, and the roar of cars and the neighing of war horses make this place seem lively.

Lieutenant General Fereitt, who commanded Army Group North, was marching with his command with his army.

Ferreuit, who was sitting in a car with his chief of staff, Major General Jacto, looked at the scenery of the winter mountains and sighed. "The Carpathians in winter have a different flavor, but I don't know if we can speed up."

Major General Jacto, who knew his partner's thoughts, said with a smile. "Commander, we don't have a railway, so we can only rely on ourselves to march fast."

Hearing the words of his chief of staff, Lieutenant General Fereit changed his sitting posture and said. "You're right, I wish all my soldiers could march in cars. It was entirely possible that I would have taken this target in one fell swoop before the Reak defenders could react, but unfortunately I had too few cars. ”

In order to add to his rhetoric, Lieutenant General Fereit gestured as if there were many cars in front of him.

Faced with his partner's rhetoric, Major General Jacto did not answer. Because the Northern Army has a lot of cars, there are eight automobile transport regiments with more than 3,000 cars in its service. The biggest factor restricting the rapid march of Army Group North was the poor road conditions.

With thousands of cars tossing back and forth on the muddy roads of the mountains, you don't expect to drive as fast as you can, and sometimes you don't ride as long as you can push a cart. Therefore, at present, the vast majority of automobiles are used for transportation, heavy equipment such as artillery, military supplies such as ammunition, and military supplies.

While the two group army generals were chatting, a report pulled the two back to reality.

"Lieutenant General, here's a telegram from the General Staff."

A staff officer on a motorcycle handed a telegram to His Excellency the Lieutenant General.

Lieutenant General Fereit reached out and took the telegram and examined it, his expression becoming more and more serious as he read it.

Looking at his partner's increasingly serious expression, Major General Jactoto asked with concern. "What's the matter, what's the news from the General Staff?"

"Look at it."

Fereit handed the finished telegram to his chief of staff. The chief of staff who received the telegram looked at its contents quickly, his expression the same as that of Fellett.

Fereit couldn't help but speak. "I knew that Ankodal's early capture of Deva would disrupt the whole plan. But I didn't expect the Chief of the General Staff to be so bold, this plan was too amazing. ”

After reading the telegram, his heart was shaken, and Major General Jacto, who had not calmed down, said in agreement. "It's really amazing, and our Chief of the General Staff has no small appetite at all. However, if we can follow the plan, then we will have a good enough harvest to take Transylvania in one fell swoop. ”

The new battle plan, which shocked the two men, was based on the fact that the Austro-Hungarian Tenth Army was going to concentrate its forces on the Southern Army. The key was for Army Group South to hold back the Austro-Hungarian Tenth Army, and then Army Group Center to join Army Group North to attack the newly reinforced Austro-Hungarian Ninth Army and seize the regional capital Cluj, and then drive it out of Transylvania. The remaining Austro-Hungarian 10th Army would be left alone and driven out of Transylvania by the combined forces of the three armies.

The whole plan feels imaginative, and the use of troops is also squeezed to the limit, but the profits are also very rich. This would free up forces in advance to defend against an attack on the Moldavian region, and it would also allow the Bulgarian campaign to start earlier and remove threats from one direction.

Fereit was not as optimistic as his chief of staff had thought, and he pointed out two of them. "It's tempting to have a plan, but there are two things that need to be done."

He gestured with a finger. "First, Army Group South will face the main forces of the Austro-Hungarian Tenth Army alone. According to the original plan, it was shared by our three armies, but now it is up to them to face it alone. Moreover, I remember that there are still many mobilization divisions to which Army Group South was originally attached that have not yet been formed. Even if they were now allotted only mobile forces, there would still be a huge gap with the Austro-Hungarian Tenth Army. So I'm afraid that Army Group South won't be able to withstand it. ”

After listening to Fereitt's analysis, Jacto nodded and spoke. "That's what I'm also worried about, and there's a lot of risk."

Lieutenant General Fereit expressed his second concern. "The second point I'm worried about; According to the new plan of the Chief of the General Staff, when Army Group South was attacked by the Austro-Hungarian Tenth Army, we and Army Group Center needed to quickly advance and take the regional capital, Cluj. According to the information provided by the General Staff, the Austro-Hungarian Ninth Army was to reinforce Transylvania. ”

"Intelligence shows that this is an army group of up to 200,000 men, and the enemy also uses the advantage of the railway, which means that the opponent has sufficient supplies and has no worries. And the fact that our supply lines need to cross dirt roads in the Carpathians is a real concern. There is also the issue of dealing with the Austro-Hungarian Ninth Army, which we need to concentrate on two armies, and there is still some gap in the progress of Army Group Center. ”

At this point, Fereit paused, and Major General Jactoor knew that what was not said was that Army Group Center might have delayed the date. Distrust of friendly forces is taboo in the army, which makes Fereitt, who is a high-ranking member of the army, how can he speak.

Knowing that Fereit was worried, Jacto could only persuade from the other side. "The Chief of the General Staff has already sent the plan over, indicating that it has been approved, and now we can only try to make up for the hidden dangers."

Fereit knew that this was for the chief of staff for his own good, after all, there was only a hidden danger that could be done, and he needed to make every effort to ensure that Army Group North was ready according to the time specified in the plan.

Putting aside his worries, Fereit spoke to his chief of staff. "You're right, we need to do ourselves first."

After saying that, he leaned out of the window and asked the communications staff officer who was following him on a motorcycle. "How far is the Forward 7th Division from Reak now?"

The communications staff reported. "The report will show that the 7th Division is still 25 kilometers from Reak. According to its advance reconnaissance, a brigade of the enemy defenders was building fortifications. ”

"Tell the Seventh Division to tell them to capture Reak in one go, and that the enemy of a brigade is not a problem for them."

"Yes, Lieutenant General."

Watching the communications staff leave, Fereit turned to Jacto. "Tomorrow we should rest in Reyak."

Both sides of the war around Deva have lost their pieces, and now it's up to them to see who has the best skills.