Chapter 719: They Know Nothing About War
Queen Marie was one of the many who had been misled. She had no idea that a declaration of war could be withdrawn.
When King Ferdinand I received her telegram, he immediately contacted Romania's ambassador in Vienna. As it happened, the declaration of war had not yet been delivered.
But then—Ferdinand hesitated.
Would this end up like the last time? A repeat failure at the last moment?
Why had France repeatedly opposed Romania's entry into the war?
Surely, having Romania as an ally should align with French interests?
It was baffling.
Even if France feared Romania might lose, having another force on the battlefield would at least force the Central Powers to spread their troops thinner.
Was Romania truly considered that weak?
Then a new telegram arrived—from General Averescu.
Ferdinand read it, and the realization struck him: "So that's why. Of course, this doesn't align with France's interests."
General Davidescu, standing nearby, asked with confusion, "How could our declaration of war go against France's interests?"
"It's simple," Ferdinand replied with certainty.
"France has Charles, General."
"Think about it—France is on the path to total victory over Germany, and likely Austria-Hungary too."
"When the war ends, France will effectively control both powers. And here we are, claiming sovereignty over Transylvania."
Davidescu finally understood: "So France doesn't want us to enter the war?"
"Exactly!" Ferdinand nodded. "Or more precisely—Charles doesn't want us to enter."
Charles was terrifying.
With just 20,000 men, he had crushed hundreds of thousands of Germans.
One day, if he took command of all France's forces, the German and Austro-Hungarian armies would stand no chance.
He'd march through Germany, take Berlin, then Vienna—maybe even Budapest!
So the only country Romania could trust now was Britain.
Britain had no territorial ambitions in the region and no designs on Transylvania.
With that in mind, Ferdinand issued a new order—without informing Queen Marie.
He told the ambassador to go ahead: deliver the declaration of war.
…
Berlin — Wilhelmstraße, German Army General Staff Headquarters
The command center was silent.
Though still operational, everyone moved stiffly, with blank, heavy faces.
The German army was crumbling. Early estimates suggested over 300,000 soldiers had been surrounded.
General Falkenhayn was sinking into despair.
The trapped troops were a crisis—but not the only one.
What haunted him most was the loss of the Meuse River line.
The Meuse had been a formidable natural barrier. Now, with the French and British across it, the German army was locked into the east—unable to move forward.
To the north, from the direction of Belgium, Charles's Sixth Army Group blocked any escape.
Worse yet, supplies had all but run out. With no logistical support, defeat was only a matter of time.
There was already talk of negotiation at home.
Falkenhayn opposed it.
Negotiating now was no different from surrender. Germany would be forced to accept unbearable terms.
As he sat with his head in his hands, Colonel Moritz entered and handed him a telegram. "General, from Vienna—Romania has declared war on Austria-Hungary. Also, Romanian troops are mobilizing along the border."
Falkenhayn responded with a lifeless "hmm."
The moment Germany looked weak, the scavengers would swoop in. It was expected.
Let Romania declare war—it made no difference.
…
Wait.
"What did you say?" Falkenhayn sat bolt upright. "Who declared war?"
"Romania," Moritz repeated.
"Are you sure? Romania?" Falkenhayn snatched the telegram and read it himself.
He read the words. Then read them again.
And then he burst out laughing.
"This is perfect! Thank God—this came just in time!"
…
"You cannot possibly win," Charles said coldly. "This isn't about numbers. Your army simply can't fight."
Queen Marie's expression darkened. "I don't agree, General. You may not be familiar with our military, which is why you've formed that impression…"
"I know far more than you imagine, Your Majesty," Charles replied bluntly, not softening his tone at all.
And he wasn't wrong.
Historically, after Romania declared war in 1916, it was invaded and collapsed in less than four months.
Germany and Austria-Hungary only used 16 understrength divisions—around 200,000 troops—to defeat Romania's over 500,000.
(Clarification: Romania had mobilized 23 divisions and more than 500,000 soldiers.)
Still, Queen Marie refused to accept that.
"But the Entente is winning," she argued. "The Germans are defeated on both fronts. Their morale is low, and they lack supplies…"
"That only proves how much combat experience they've gained," Charles interrupted again.
"If they move fast enough, they can seize your supplies instead."
"And don't assume the Germans get weaker the longer the war lasts."
"For example, does Romania have fighter planes? Bombers? Tanks? Do you even know how to use them in battle?"
Marie was speechless.
After a moment's hesitation, she said, "On the battlefield… aren't those things rather unnecessary?"
Charles could only stare at her in disbelief.
He could only hope Romania's generals didn't think like this.
But deep down, he suspected they probably did.
Even Haig—an experienced field commander—had once considered those weapons "optional." What could be expected of an army that had known nothing but peace?
Gallieni now fully understood. He nodded thoughtfully. "So the Germans' advantage isn't just experience—but also access to new technologies of war?"
"Yes," Charles said.
"In our battles, the Germans have learned quickly. Some of their tactics are now fully developed—and in some areas, they've even surpassed us."
"For example, they know how to pair 'Upper Silesia' tanks with LK2 models to compensate for each other's weaknesses in combat."
This was something Charles had deduced from examining destroyed enemy tanks.
If he hadn't incinerated the entire First German Tank Division in that forest, the outcome of that battle might've been very different.
Gallieni turned to Queen Marie. "Your Majesty, have your armed forces invested in new training? Upgraded your equipment?"
She looked confused and slowly shook her head. "Not to my knowledge. In fact, our army was only mobilized days ago. We had just 200,000 soldiers before that."
Gallieni closed his eyes and sighed.
So more than half of Romania's troops were green, untrained recruits.
How foolish—they knew nothing about war. They had made no preparations.
All for the sake of ambition—rushing into battle like moths to flame.
So eager, no one could stop them.
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