pal towns of central Transylvania. The Rumanians
advancing by way of Gyimes, after a sharp encounter with the
Austrians, had driven the latter back to the heights east of
Csikszereda, a point over twenty miles inside the Austrian frontier.
Finally, spirited fighting was taking place in the Varciorova Pass on
the Danube, and here too the Austrians made a very poor showing.

Then on the last day of the month came the announcement from Bucharest
that Russian forces had arrived on Rumanian soil and were already
crossing the Danube over into Dobrudja, their left wing on the Black
Sea coast being protected by ships of the Russian fleet. The commander
of this force was General Zaionchovsky, who, together with his staff,
had been welcomed in Bucharest by a throng of the enthusiastic
inhabitants, women and children hurling bouquets of flowers on the
Russians as they passed through the streets. Another peculiar feature
of this event was the organization of a brigade of Serbians, interned
soldiers who had escaped into Rumanian territory during the invasion
of their country the year previously. These now became a part of the
Russian contingent. Meanwhile in the north the Rumanians and the
Russians had also joined forces, and on August 29, 1916, Berlin
officially announced that the German-Austrian forces in that section
had been attacked by the Russo-Rumanians in the Carpathians.

On the Danube the Austrian river fleet showed some activity. A monitor
shelled Varciorova, Turnu Severin, and Giurgevo, situated on the
Rumanian bank, and some small craft were captured at Zimnita. On the
other hand, the Rumanians were reported to have begun a general
bombardment of Rustchuk, an important Bulgarian port on the river. And
on the night of the 28th the fact that the nation was at war was
brought home to the citizens of the capital by an aeroplane and a
Zeppelin, which sailed over the city dropping bombs, but doing very
little harm. During the following month such raids were to be almost
daily occurrences, and many were the women and children killed by the
bombs hurled down from above.

On the 1st of September, 1916, came the announcement of a really
striking victory for the Rumanians: Orsova, where heavy fighting had
been raging since the first hour of the war and in which the Austrians
were daily claiming success, was finally taken. Here the Austrians
held a strong position, against which the Rumanians had hurled one
assault after another