Battle of Mărăşti The Battle of Mărăşti was one of the main battles to take place on Romania n soil in World War I . It was fought between July 22 and August 1 , 1917 , and was an offensive operation of the Romanian and Russian Armies intended to encircle and destroy the German 9th Army . The operation was planned to occur in tandem with the Nămoloasa offensive ; however , this operation was abandoned before it began . The opposing forces . At the beginning of July , based on the campaign plan drawn up in May by the High Command , final instructions were given to the 1st and 2nd Romanian Armies . The 1st Army was to carry out the principal attack around Nămoloasa and then , on terrain prepared by the latter , the 2nd Army , commanded by General Alexandru Averescu , was to carry out a second - order attack toward Mărăşti . The objective of the operation – the retaking of enemy positions from the Poiana Încărcătoarea – Răcoasa sector — was contained in Operations Order Nr . 1638 . Altogether the opposing sides were rather evenly matched , although the Romanian High Command had massed additional forces along the direction of the attacks planned for the 2nd Army , thus creating a more advantageous force equilibrium for Romania . The combat units were as follows : The 2nd Romanian Army had the following battle formations : The Gerok Group contained : The ratio of forces was as follows : In the summer of 1917 , one of the largest concentrations of forces in the First World War was located in Romania : 9 armies , 80 infantry and 19 cavalry divisions , totalling 974 battalions , 550 squadrons and 923 artillery batteries . 800 , 000 combatants and 1 , 000 , 000 reservists were present . Situation on the front . When the operation began the situation on the Mărăşti - Nămoloasa front was as follows : the 2nd Romanian Army was positioned between Arşiţa Mocanului hill and the commune of Răcoasa . The 9th Russian Army was on its right flank and the 7th Russian Army on its left flank . Each of the three divisions from the first - order vanguard of the 2nd Army covered some 12 km of the front . Facing the Romanians was the right flank of the First Austro - Hungarian Army ; more specifically , these were elements of the Gerok Group . The main Austro - Hungarian forces were placed between Momâia hill and Arşiţa Mocanului hill . Again , each division covered 12 km of the front . Preparations for battle . The Romanian order for battle provided for the principal offensive to unfold in three phases . The first phase envisioned breaking through the enemy defenses between Încărcătoarea clearing and the village of Mărăşti with the aim of taking Teiuş hill . The 3rd Infantry Division and right - flank forces of the 6th Infantry Division were selected to break through , after which they were to hold the Încărcătoarea clearing – Câmpurile – Vizantea Mânăstirească – Găurile line . If needed , second - order troops could be sent in . In the second phase , the 4th Army Corps was to join the fight by starting a left - flank offensive toward the Coada Văii Babei clearing . To the south , the advance was to occur in cooperation with the 4th Russian Army ' s right flank and with the aid of the 2nd Romanian Army , the objective being to reach the Coada Văii Babei clearing – Rotileşti – Teiuş hill – Valea Teiuşului line . The third planned phase envisioned the front shifting to the Sboina Neagră Peak – hills to the north of Lepşa – north of the Putna River – Valea Sării line . The enemy commanders had been informed of the Allied armies ' operations , but thought that it had the ability to repulse their offensive and even to launch a counterattack . The German and Austro - Hungarian units ' defensive works were of two varieties . The first consisted in resistance centres connected by a network of redoubts and trenches protected by various obstacles and covered by artillery and machine - gun fire . At essential points , these resistance centres had steel domes , labyrinths of redoubts that facilitated communication and firing , artillery platforms , machine - gun alcoves , and shelters for personnel and munitions . The centres were connected by well - maintained , well - placed trenches that allowed the troops to keep fighting even when encircled . The second consisted in discontinuous sections of hastily - built trenches situated 1 , 500 – 2 , 000 m from the front line . The subterranean defensive lines were poorly developed ; moreover , the first line of defense was spread out over uncovered terrain and lacked strong forward posts . This allowed Romanian Army ground patrols as well as the Air Force to easily identify these positions . Another disadvantage that these lines of defense had ( and which was successfully exploited by the Romanian Army ) lay in the difficult terrain in front of the lines which allowed numerous groups of Romanian troops to hide therein and carry out swift bayonet attacks or decisive assaults . Before ground troops made their assault , the Romanian artillery had a decisive role in the success of the operation . Divisional artillery attacked , destroyed and disorganized the military engineers ' works in the first line of defense and created breaches in the barbed wire fences . The army corps artillery had an anti - artillery mission , destroying enemy batteries . The preparatory work of the artillery took place between July 22 at 12 noon until the next day at 8 pm . The efficiency of this work was much appreciated by the Romanian officers , and was continually monitored by the front - rank troops . The 2nd Army Command thus decided , through Order Nr . 1908 , to launch the ground assault on July 24 at 4 am . Aftermath . The Battle of Mărăşti represented an important turning point in the evolution of the military operations on the Romanian Front , also raising the morale of Romanian troops . Reorganised and thoroughly trained , also having experienced the 1916 campaign , Romania ' s troops showed themselves to be an adversary capable of posing a problem for and even defeating the renowned German and Austro - Hungarian armies . The result of this battle was due not only to the tactical abilities of the Romanian officers , the efficiency of the Romanian artillerymen and their excellent collaboration with ground troops , and the determination and tenacity in battle of Romanian soldiers , but also to the precious aid given by locals , who provided intelligence about the enemy and guided Romanian troops along mountain paths toward the enemy flanks and even behind their armies . The results of the offensive can be summarized as follows : Archduke Joseph made a report identifying and presenting the principal causes for his defeat at Mărăşti : During the Battle of Mărăşti , the highest average rate of offensive actions by Allied troops in the European theatre in 1917 was achieved , as shown by the following table . The Romanian victory strongly affected public opinion , as illustrated by the reactions of the press . A few days after the battle was over , " The Times " wrote : " The only point of light in the East is to be found in Romania , where the rebuilt army is vigorously attacking the Carpathian lines , obtaining notable successes . " France ' s Minister of War used the same tone to describe the Romanian victory : " The French Army has learned with joy of the beautiful successes of the Romanian Army ( . . . ) Please send my warmest congratulations and the most hearty good wishes of the French soldiers to their brothers in arms . " The success of this offensive caused Field Marshal von Mackensen to move a significant part of the 9th German Army from Nămoloasa toward Focşani . This caused the 9th German Army to alter its offensive direction , thus reducing pressure along the Nămoloasa front . Furthermore , a breach that could be further opened had been created in the enemy lines ; a basis now existed from which the Allied armies could greatly expand their offensive operations on the Romanian Front . The Mărăşti Mausoleum . In order to honour the memory of the heroes of Mărăşti and to keep alive a recollection of the fighting that occurred there , the cornerstone of the Mărăşti Mausoleum was laid in a ceremony on June 10 , 1928 . The mausoleum was built at an altitude of 536 m ( where some of the heaviest fighting took place ) at the initiative of a group of officers and generals who were part of the Mărăşti Society in the commune of Răcoasa , village of Mărăşti . Above the entrance gate to the mausoleum grounds there is a sign that reads , " The historic battlefield of Mărăşti " . The architect Pandele Şerbănescu designed the mausoleum , with bas - reliefs executed by Aurel Bordenache . Spread out over a surface of 1000 m² , the mausoleum is held up by two large rectangular concrete pillars on top of which two urns were placed in which an eternal flame once burned . The pillars are amply decorated with bronze bas - reliefs that depict a Romanian peasant crossing the front with information about the enemy , and the reception given to a Romanian general by the inhabitants of Marăşti . Between the two pillars , on a concrete wall , there are thirteen white marble slabs inscribed with the names of over 900 Romanian troops who fell in battle . In the basement there are soldiers ' ossuaries as well as crypts for the officers who fell in battle . After their deaths , the coffins of Marshal Alexandru Averescu and those of Generals Artur Văitoianu , Alexandru Mărgineanu and Nicolae Arghirescu were laid to rest here . The mausoleum , open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 am to 5 pm , can be reached by the Focşani - Soveja county highway .