Romanians robbed and mistreated them, avowedly in revenge for the heavy losses that they had suffered in the preceding fighting. During the morning of the next day, the Romanians led them to a nearby riverbed, where they were fired upon by a unit commanded by an elderly officer. Ten of them were killed immediately, twelve more were seriously wounded. Nearby Jägers, seeing what happened, recklessly attacked. The sudden intervention of German machine-gun fire prevented the massacre of all defenseless prisoners, driving off the Romanians in panic. Supposedly, the executions were authorized by General David Praporgescu (20th Division commander). The Germans spread word about this atrocity, and it became known even in Bucharest. As a result, anger ran high among 9th Army units, who subsequently had little desire to take prisoners. Romanian retreat (28-29 September) The critical day of the battle had arrived. The morning of the 28th started off well for the Central Powers. The situation continued to deteriorate for Popovici, when the XXXIX Corps started making progress against the main Romanian positions, driving his beleaguered battalions back into the mouth of the Red Tower Pass. Although driven out of its main line of defenses, Popovici's force remained unbroken. The 187th Division advanced steadily. Flanking units also pressed forward as Romanian resistance diminished. The German forces in the Red Tower Pass were involved in heavy fighting everywhere, and the danger of them being wiped out was high. There were multiple signs of a partial Romanian collapse: wrecked guns and vehicles, corpses and dead animals. However, although there was no longer determined resistance, the haul of prisoners remained very small. The main Romanian group remained intact, still disposing of substantial forces despite being clear that it had suffered very heavy losses. As von Falkenhayn himself noted: "Seldom in my life, which had not lacked dramatic moments, had I awaited the outcome with such suspense as on the morning of 29 September.". Romanian morale plummeted as exaggerated rumors about the situation in the pass reached the front line troops. Exaggerated accounts of German bombing of railway stations and staff headquarters served to further demoralize the Romanians. At 7 p.m., Popovici met with the commander of the 23rd Division - General Castriș - who reported that his forces had retreated to their last defensive line. By then, contact with most units was lost, including the 13th Division. Disheartened by the incessant German shelling