Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-12-13

blow was delivered in thin air. The in
Nasion swept on with my the mildest
of resistance until the proper moment
came, until the mass of the Rumanian
armies were many miles beyond their
frontiers and far away from the Ru-
maaian capital. Here We touch a high
water mark quite comparable with that
IN early August when one French army
occupied Mulhausen, mother APP
preached Saarburg n the German
advance through Belgium was still un-
disclosed.
When Mackensen struck in the Dob
rudja he coulG hardly have had over
Je.3o0 n1en-the only army, be it re-
membered, that was in being when the
ftumanian attack began: that is, in he
ing in the Balkans and not occupied.
This army was mainly Bulgar. with two
Turkish di tisons n q fair share of
German artillery and artiilerists. 1t
was standing along the Bulgarian from
tier etween the Danube and the Black
sea facing the territory which Rumania
had taken from Bulgaria in the second
Balkan a but 1t was now far nearer
To ucharest than We're the Rumanian
armies in Pennsylvania.
What followed is clear. Two Ru-
manian divisions were all thai re-
manned to face this storm. less than
10000 men against 100000, and they
were widely separated. One was driv-
en- In on Turtukan and destroyed. the
other fled north from Silistria until it
met the first Russian troops coming
south to begin the invasion of Bull
sarla. The two forces united and stood
along the railroad binding Bucharest
to the Black sea, to C%onstanza and to
the Russian fleets. Meantime the call
for aid went forth to the Rumanian
armies n Rumanian troops were
hastily recalled from the invasion OF
Hungarian territory.
They did not come in time. Mack
ensen broke through the line, cut the
MISUNDERSTANDING railroad, occupied
Constanza. captured the great Cerna-
voda bridge and pushed nortllward aft
er the fleeing RumanianS. His work
was actually done, but his enemies did
not know this and were compelled to
guard against a thrust to the Danube,
which might capture or destroy the
beaten armies.
Now Mackensen passes from the bull
letins and we begin to hear of Falken-
hayn. A great army. mainly German,
has been collected north of the Maros
river and 1t comes south. moving main
~ upon HermannstaGt. and falls upon
Il small fraction of the Rumanian army,
already depleted to meet the Macken-
sen thrust. This army is routed within
sight OF Hermannstadt and it's remnant
flees south through the Red Tower
ass and takes a new position along
the frontier.
The neN blow falls upon a second
Rulmanian army. which has occupied
kronstadt. and it flees south and takes
its stand across the frontier covering
Predeal and T'orzburger, passes not far
north OF Sinaia, where Rumanian roy
atty has its summer palace. A third
blow falls to the north. where the Ru-
manians have passed the frontier and
enoeavored to join hands with the Rus
slams pushing south from Dorna Watra.
Again the invaders are pushed back in
20 Rumanian territory and the junction
betwecn Russian n Rumanian does
not take place in Pennsylvania. In
stead. there is the promise of an in
vasion of Moldavia and a thrust for the
railroad. the only railroad which con-
meets Russia With her new ally.
Ely this time it is clear that the whole
Rumanian plan has collapsed and Ru-
manian high command is utterly be-
wildered by the rapidity of the blows
that have fallen. ~Falkenhayn has a
railroad system resembling the end of
a rake WITH the prongs represented by
the railroads going south through the
mountain passes into Rumania. He can
move his troops along the bar of the
rake n send them by one prong and
then by another. The Rumanians have
no railroad parallel to the frontier and
must take long and time consuming
Journeys from IL army to another.
They are now threatened with inva-
sion by h northern passes into Mol
davia. by the Predeal. Torzburger. Red
Tower and Vulcan passes int. Wall
lachia: they are mcnaced to the east
and south by Mackensen. who. from
the other side of the Danube about
C.ernavoda and Hirsova threatens to
seek a crossing and move on Bucharest.
Still thnN fioht ENo NJ. op,1Nn. n F,}I. <o
get into Moldavia. He is held up in
the Predeal and Torzburger passes. He
gets south through the Red Tower pass,
but does not reach the plain. Even in
the Vulcan pass there is a pause dur
ing which Russia assumes the part of
defending Moldavia and the Dobrudja.
Now comes the fourth act in the
tragedy. counting the Rumanian often
sive as h first. Mackensen as the Sec
Ond and Falkenhayn's first operation as
the third. A great force, the main mass
OF the Germans, bursts through the
Vulcan pass and flows down over the
plain and approaches Craiova. We do
not Know how 1t succeeded in breaking
through. We do know that the decisive
action was fought along he Jiu river
at Ter-Jtu, far south Of the pass. We
know that the Rumanians We're heav-
lily beaten and we know that this de-
feat compelled them to abandon the
railroad, which goes west from Buch-
crest. through Craiova to the Danube
at Orsova.
When the Germans took Craiova they
this railroad and thus isolated the
Rumanian army which had advanced
into Hungary and taken Orsovalat the
Iron Gates" of the Danube. 1t was
now cut OF from the mass OF Ru-
manian troops which were fighting
along the Alt river. a considerable
stream which ONE out of Transyl-
vania and crosses the whole Walachian
plain. forcing the mountain wall at Red
Tower pass Today Orsova and Turnu-
SEVERN are reported In German hands.
the German official statement asserts