German soldiers helping wounded Romanian prisoners, 1917.

German soldiers helping wounded Romanian prisoners, 1917.

German soldiers helping wounded Romanian prisoners, 1917.

Colourised by @cassowarycolorizations (Who thought these were Belgian soldiers, and colourised them as such).

Today 106 years ago, on August 6, 1917, the Battle of Mărășești began between German and Romanian forces - a key battle on the Romanian Front.

Following the Battle of Mărăști in July 1917, the Central Powers planned to go on the counter-offensive against Romania.

The German 9th Army would strike the Romanian 1st Army and Russian 4th Army at Mărășești west of the Siret river, and the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army would attack the Romanian 2nd Army further northwest in the Oituz Valley, with the goal of forming a pincer movement encircling the Romanian 2nd Army and knocking them out of the war.

On August 6, 1917, following a powerful 3-hour-long artillery bombardment, the German 9th Army attacked the Russian 4th Army at Mărășești, breaking through and forcing a 10 km breach, as the Russians retreated east across the Siret.

The Romanian 1st Army  counter-attacked the Germans and prevented them from crossing the Siret. The Germans opted to drive northwards instead, managing to advance 3 km on August 7.

The Germans continued to attack but suffered heavy losses to Romanian artillery fired across the Siret. Although breaking through several times, the Germans were halted by Romanian counter-attacks. The combat was fierce, bloody and hot, with many soldiers fighting in just their shirts due to the suffocating heat.

On August 8, the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army with German support, following a powerful 4-hour-long artillery bombardment, launched their attack in the Oituz Valley, which would be the Second Battle of Oituz.

The Central Powers enjoyed a 4:1 numerical superiority in troops and pushed the Romanian 2nd Army 2-3 km back, capturing the Pavrila Peak. The Romanians retreated to the Cosna mountain, where they put up stiff resistance and carried out counter-attacks.

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Only on August 19 did the Austro-Hungarians manage to capture the Cosna mountain, the Central Powers having advanced just 2-6 km along a 20 km wide front, failing to achieve the desired breakthrough.

Meanwhile at Mărășești, the Germans kept attacking the Romanian and Russian positions, only achieving minimal gains at the cost of high losses.

On September 1, the Romanians and Russians launched a counter-attack, advancing a mere 200 m. Having suffered high losses and failing to capture their objectives, the Germans called off offensive.

The Romanians and Russians continued their counter-attacks until September 3, but fighting only stopped on September 8.

In the Battle of Mărășești the Romanians had suffered 27,410 casualties, among 5,125 killed and 9,818 missing. The Russians had suffered 25,650 casualties of whom 7,083 were killed and 8,167 were missing. The battle had been a huge defensive victory for the Allies.

The Germans had suffered some 60,0000 - 65,000 casualties. The Austro-Hungarian losses at Oituz are unknown, but would've been up in the thousands.