The Battle of Kolun was a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

military engagement fought between Romanian and

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

forces (Germany and Austria-Hungary). It was part of the wider

Battle of Transylvania The Battle of Transylvania was the first major operation of the Romanian forces Campaign during World War I, beginning on 27 August 1916. It started as an attempt by the Romanian Army to seize Transylvania, and potentially knock Austria-Hungary ...

and resulted in a tactical victory for the Central Powers.

Background

On 27 August 1916, Romania joined

on the side of the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

by invading

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, at that time part of the Hungarian half of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. The advance of the Romanian 1st Army north of the Red Tower Pass came to a halt on 10 September, when Sellenberk (

Șelimbăr Șelimbăr (german: Schellenberg; hu, Sellenberk) is a commune in central Romania, in the county of Sibiu in Transylvania, to the east of the county seat Sibiu. The village of Șelimbăr has been known to exist since 1323 and is the site of the B ...

/Schellenberg) was taken. In mid-September, General Ioan Culcer - the commander of the Romanian 1st Army - moved the I Corps headquarters (General Ioan Popovici) to Nagytalmács (

Tălmaciu Tălmaciu (german: Talmesch; hu, Nagytalmács) is a town in Sibiu County, in central Romania, south of the county seat, Sibiu. It lies on the eastern end of the Mărginimea Sibiului area. At the 2011 census, 95.3% of inhabitants were Romanians, ...

/Talmesch), to direct the operations of the two divisions located there. Popovici and his staff arrived in Nagytalmács on 16 September. Popovici had two divisions, the 13th Division of General Ioan Oprescu being the one deployed to the east. On 19 September, General Erich von Falkenhayn assumed command of the German 9th Army. Among the units of this army was the Schmettow Cavalry Corps, comprising the 1st Austro-Hungarian and 3rd German Cavalry Division, both under von Schmettow's command, the 3rd Division's commander. As part of von Falkenhayn's plan for the

Battle of Nagyszeben The Battle of Nagyszeben was a World War I military engagement fought between the forces of the Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary) on one side and the forces of Romania on the other side. It was the decisive engagement during the Battle ...

, von Schmettow had to block any reinforcements that might have come from the Romanian 2nd Army, threatening the 9th Army's vulnerable flank.

Battle

The left of the Central Powers forces - the German column which was to encircle the Romanians from the east - succeeded in forcing the crossing of the

Olt River The Olt (Romanian and Hungarian; german: Alt; la, Aluta or ', tr, Oltu, grc, Ἄλυτος ''Alytos'') is a river in Romania. It is long, and its basin area is . It is the longest river flowing exclusively through Romania. Its average disch ...

at Kolun (

Colun Colun or Colún may refer to: * Cooperativa Agrícola y Lechera de La Unión Limitada (COLUN or Colún), a Chilean dairy cooperative company * Colún Beach, in Chile * Colún River, in Chile *Colun, a village in Porumbacu de Jos Porumbacu de Jos ( ...

/Kellen), east of Porumbák ( Porumbacu/Bornbach). Thus, an effective barrier was created between the 1st and the 2nd Romanian armies. In its advance across the mountain ridge separating the valleys of the Hortobágy (

Hârtibaciu The Hârtibaciu (German: ''Harbach''; Hungarian: ''Hortobágy'') is a river in the Transylvania historical region of Romania. It develops in the South Carpathians and flows into the Cibin, a tributary of the Olt, in Mohu, southeast of Sibiu.

/Haarbach) and Olt Rivers, this German column was faced with determined resistance. Still, its numerical superiority enabled it to prevail. By the evening of 25 September, Kolun was in German hands.

Aftermath

Although von Falkenhayn's left succeeded in cutting any communication with the 2nd Army, it failed to execute a proper flanking movement. Von Falkenhayn had judged a withdrawal over the Fogaras Mountains as impossible, due to a lack of good roads. However, this area was precisely the place through which the Romanians retreated, with the loss of "only" 3,000 unwounded prisoners and 13 guns.Lieutenant-Colonel E. M. Benitez, Command and General Staff School, 1939, ''Quarterly Review of Military Literature, Volume 19, Issue 73'', p. 9

References

{{coord missing, Romania Kolun Kolun Kolun Kolun History of Transylvania (1867–1918) Kolun 1916 in Romania