The Battle of Herkulesfürdő was a military engagement during the Romanian Campaign of World War I. It was fought between Romanian forces on one side and Central Powers forces (Austria-Hungary and Germany) on the other side. It resulted in a Romanian victory.
Background The Kingdom of Romania declared war on Austria-Hungary on 27 August 1916. On the following day, the Battle of Orsova commenced, the Romanians managing to secure the Danube port-town as well as the western bank of the Cserna (Cerna) River and a few other settlements by 4 September. In this sector of the front, the 1st Division (General Ion Dragalina) of the Romanian 1st Army (General Ioan Culcer) fought against the 145th Brigade (Colonel Rudolf von Fiebich-Ripke) of the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army (General Arthur Arz von Straußenburg). On 5 September, the first German unit to arrive in nearby Transylvania – the 187th Regiment of the 187th Division – promptly rushed its III Battalion to Herkulesfürdő (Băile Herculane/Herkulesbad), one of the settlements taken by the Romanian forces on 1 September (another such settlement was Mehádia). The aim of the Central Powers was to secure the Iron Gates.Michael B. Barrett, Indiana University Press, Oct 23, 2013, Prelude to Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in Romania, pp. 1-2, 4, 20-21 and 98
Battle The battle took place between 6 and 10 September.Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung, Verlag der Militärwissenschaftlichen Mitteilungen, 1930, Öesterreich-Ungarns letzter Krieg, 1914-1918, Volume 1, p. 89 However, only on 6 September — the first day of the battle — did the Central Powers gain any ground. Their forces managed to secure Herkulesfürdő as well as Mehádia, but fell short of reaching Orsova.Edmund Glaise-Horstenau, Österreich-Ungarns letzter Krieg 1914 – 1918. Vol. 5: Das Kriegsjahr 1916; 2; Beil, Verl. der Militärwiss. Mitteilungen, Wien, 1932 Orsova was the location of the Iron Gates, and securing the Iron Gates was the objective of the Central Powers.Michael B. Barrett, Indiana University Press, Oct 23, 2013, Prelude to Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in Romania, p. 98 As early as 8 September, two days before the end of the battle, Vienna admitted that the Romanians had taken Orsova, five days after the town was seized.Military Service Institution of the United States, 1916, Journal, Volume 59, pp. 517-518 Also on 8 September, the XXXIX Corps of German General Hermann von Staabs assumed responsibility for operations in southern Transylvania. The units placed under the command of von Staabs included the covering troops at Mehádia.Encyclopædia britannica Company, Limited, 1922, The Encyclopædia Britannica: The New Volumes, Constituting, in Combination with the Twenty-nine Volumes of the Eleventh Edition, the Twelfth Edition of that Work, and Also Supplying a New, Distinctive, and Independent Library of Reference Dealing with Events and Developments of the Period 1910 to 1921 Inclusive. The First-third of the New Volumes, Volume 30, p. 915
Aftermath
A mixed Austro-Hungarian and German force under the Hungarian Colonel Szívó had moved along the Cserna River in mid-November, during a general Central Powers offensive against Romania which started on 11 November, and captured parts of Orsova during fighting on 11–13 November.Michael B. Barrett, Indiana University Press, Oct 23, 2013, Prelude to Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in Romania, p. 241Austria. Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung, Verlag der Militärwissenschaftlichen Mitteilungen, 1930, Öesterreich-Ungarns letzter Krieg, 1914-1918, Register-Band, p. 91
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