 Adding to the 2nd Army's problems, its forces were halved in mid-September when three of its divisions were sent elsewhere.In sharp contrast to Crăiniceanu, Averescu was - according to historian John Buchan - "the ablest of Rumanian generals".At the start of October, after a counterattack which severely mauled the German 89th Division, the Romanians made an unexpected retreat, preventing the Germans from pinning them down.