stituted in favor of her kinsmen in Austria-Hungary. These hopes had not been realized. The war, in which almost all of Europe participated, brought out the gravest problems which affected the national development and the very existence of states. Rumania, desiring to contribute toward hastening the end of the conflict, and under the imperative necessity of guarding her racial interests, felt compelled to join the ranks of those who would assure her national unity. For these reasons she considered herself from this moment in a state of war with Austria-Hungary. Dated at Bucharest, August 27, 1916, 9 P.M. The reasons for this act, as given in the declaration, were as follows: The alliance between Germany, AustriaHungary and Italy had been essentially of a defensive nature, to preserve the peace of Europe. Desiring to harmonize her politics with these peaceful W ASSISTANCE. tendencies, Rumania had joined the alliance. The last Balkan wars, by destroying the status quo, had imposed on her a new line of conduct. When actual war broke out, Rumania, like Italy, refused to join in the declaration of war. When Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary, the Triple Alliance had ceased to exist. Rumania felt herself no longer bound, for the Central Powers had themselves upset the basis on which the alliance had rested. Hitherto Rumania had maintained a strict neutrality, because she had been assured by Austria-Hungary that the attack against Serbia had not been undertaken with the object of conquest. This promise had not been kept. Since it was obvious that great territorial transformations were imminent, Rumania felt herself in danger and was compelled to take measures to protect herself. By adhering, in 1883, to the group of the Central Powers, Rumania had not forgotten the ties of blood uniting the populations of the kingdom with the Rumanian subjects of AustriaHungary. As for Austria-Hungary, she found in the friendly relations established between herself and Rumania assurances for her tranquility. In spite of these assurances, the Rumanians of Austria-Hungary had been severely oppressed. Two years of war had passed, and Rumania had hoped that internal reforms might be in HAT THE ALLIES HAD PROMISED FOR The Allies, France, Italy, Great Britain and Russia, promised Rumania not only the new territorial acquisitions which she claimed, but the integrity of her territory. Military assistance was also promised. A Russian army was to pass the Danube and establish a front against the Germans, Bulgarians and Turks who had for some time been massed in the Dobrudja against the Rumanian frontier. The forces at Saloniki, were to begin an offensive simultaneously with the Rumanian attack on the Austrians. Most important of all, a sufficient supply of munitions was guaranteed. It was considered at the time that the diplomacy of the Allies had won a great victory in gaining the military support of Rumania, for, although her participation in the Second Balkan War had been no test of the efficiency of her Army, her military organization was still considered one of the best in the Balkans, at least equal in quality to that of Bulgaria and Serbia. With a population of over 7,000,000, Rumania could raise over 700,000 men. The artillery of all classes numbered about 1,500 guns, nearly all of small calibre. In rifles there was a considerable shortage; these numbered about 600,000. In ammunition the shortage was perhaps even more marked, but great quantities were expected from the Allies, largely through Russia, and Copyright MAP OF RUMANIA SHOWING THE AREA CAPTURED UP TO THE END OF 1916 Rumania formed a salient jutting out into territories in German hands. She was exposed to attack by Austrians on the Transylvanian frontier, and on the line of the Danube by Bulgarians. She invaded Transylvania but the enemy captured Turtukai. Then Mackensen swept from the west and south, and von Falkenhayn from the Transylvanian Passes, and by the end of 1916 all Rumania from the Iron Gates to the River Sereth was in their hands. Tower Pass, and in the passes leading to Brasso. Thus it was indicated that Rumania would probably direct her main campaign toward an invasion of Transylvania, the coveted province. which demanded conquest of the territory inhabited by the oppressed Rumanians under Austria-Hungary. It was understood also that the Russian forces in Bessarabia should defend the Dobrudja, leaving Rumania free to overrun Transylvania. It seems also that the Russians assured the Rumanians that Bulgaria would not attack. In planning her campaign, Rumania UCH OF TRANSYLVANIA IS OCCUPIED The initial attacks of the Rumanians against the Austrians in the Carpathians met with immediate success, and at once the former began penetrating to á considerable depth into Tran sylvania, while the Austrians retired before them. Meanwhile on September 1, 1916, the German Empire declared war against Rumania. Down in the Dobrudja, as already stated, was a force of mixed Bulgarians, Turks and some Germans, numbering about 180,000 under the command of the famous von Mackensen. Against these the Rumanians had only a few GENERAL VON MACKENSEN Balkan Peninsula for two thousand years. The Roman Emperor Trajan built a wall across it to keep back the barbarians; the Goths and Slavs in their invasion of the Eastern Empire came this way, and Russia followed in her invasions of the Turkish lands. This sparsely populated region contains representatives of many peoples, Turks, Russians, Tartars, Germans, Rumanians, Serbs, Greeks, Armenians and Bulgarians. In the South the Bulgarians predominated, and the fact that the Southern Dobrudja was taken from Bulgaria and added to Rumania as a result of the Second Balkan War, was one of Bulgaria's chief grievances. This defeat came to Rumania as a severe shock. Three divisions were immediately withdrawn from the Transylvanian front, (none too strong as it was), to strengthen the southern front. An appeal was sent to Russia for assistance, but the traitor Stürmer was then Premier, and his reply was that only two or three divisions could be sent. Three divisions did arrive from Russia some days later, one of which was composed of Serbian vol General von Mackensen broke the Russian line in with severe loss. All through Sep 1915 with his "Grand Phalanx" tactics. Before Verdun early in 1916, he afterwards directed the fighting against Rumania in the Dobrudja. divisions. Bulgaria had not remained neutral but had declared war on Rumania on September 1, and invaded the Dobrudja. The fortress of Turtukai was taken, and the garrison at Silistria hastily evacuated the position. tember and well into October this struggle continued in the Dobrudja, until the Rumanians had been driven over to the north bank of the Danube, first destroying the famous bridge crossing the river at Czernavoda, the only bridge over the Danube below Belgrade. Constanza, Rumania's one seaport, was taken. Meanwhile the main Rumanian armies across the Carpathians in Transylvania were also finding themselves in difficulties. With furious determination Germany rushed to the assistance of the Austrians with some 800,000 men, taken from both the eastern and western fronts. The combined forces of the Austrians and Germans, amount ing to about a million and a half of men, under the command of General von Falkenhayn, began to drive the Rumanians, who on this front numbered considerably less than half a million, back toward the Carpathians. Once more in the passes, the Rumanians offered desperate resistance; they had the courage of men defending their homeland from invasion. But the German artillery was far superior to anything the Rumanians possessed, and one by one the mountain passes were cleared and the Teutons began pouring down into the level plains of Rumania, driving King Ferdinand's troops before them. By the middle of November the Allied countries realized that Rumania was in danger. It was a period during which the whole Allied cause seemed in peril, for on none of the fronts could real pressure be applied to relieve the struggling Rumanians. In Macedonia Sarrail indeed began an advance, but beyond capturing the unfortified city of Monastir, he made no material progress. Along the eastern front the Russians were meeting with more resistance than they encountered before the Rumanians entered the war. THE HE GERMAN FORCES PRESS TOWARD Toward the end of November it was not only obvious that the Rumanians were being pressed back, but that they were in imminent danger of being destroyed as a fighting organization; that at least a part of the army might be captured. Von Falkenhayn's right wing was moving rapidly toward the Danube; should it reach the north bank, there would be nothing to prevent a junction with von Mackensen's forces on the other side. On the 24th came the announcement from Berlin that von Falkenhayn had captured TurnuSeverin on the Danube. More serious to the Rumanians was the news that von Mackensen's men had crossed the Danube at Zimnitza, opposite Sistovo, and were advancing toward Bucharest, behind the main Rumanian lines. The crossing was made under cover of artillery and with the help of river craft. This, rather than pressure from in front, sent the Rumanians retreating rapidly, for now their rear was threatened. That Bucharest was in danger is shown by the fact that a few days later the Rumanian Government retired from the capital and established itself at Jassy, about two hundred miles northeastward, near the Russian frontier. By December 1 the Teutons had almost reached the Argesh River, the last wide stream that lay between them and the outer fortifications of Bucharest. Here the Rumanians stayed their flight and fought a hard battle for a whole day, making the last stand that was possible before Bucharest must be abandoned. The treachery of General Sosescu, a naturalized German, lost the battle, according to the Rumanians. UCHAREST IS ABANDONED AND OC BCUPIED BY THE GERMANS. The blow which finally decided the fate of Bucharest, however, came from the north. The real danger lay in the German forces coming down from the passes south of Kronstadt-north of Bucharest. From this point the invaders streamed down the Prahova Valley, which begins at the passes and which runs down southeast, behind Bucharest. The Rumanians now had the choice of evacuating their capital, or having it surrounded and besieged. Bucharest was a fortified city, but the Germans carried guns which no man-made fortifications could withstand. stand. The Belgian fortresses had shown that fact. The Rumanian General Staff wisely decided in favor of abandoning Bucharest, first blowing up the arsenal. The Germans entered on December 6, and General von Mackensen occupied the Royal Palace. HUNGARIAN VILLAGE ON THE RUMANIAN BORDER Every Rumanian peasant soldier on entering Transylvania, when greeted in his own tongue by his countrymen This territory had been occupied. part was the most fertile and the Germans secured some food from it. Later they were able to repair some of the damage done to the oil wells. Meanwhile the Rumanian troops stood firm in the northern part of the country, and the people were undaunted. After the fall of Bucharest there was a halt in the German-Austrian advance, due to bad weather conditions and disadvantages of terrain which they were now encountering. By this time, too, the belated Russian assistance was beginning to arrive and stiffened Ruschin |