The Romanian forces, made up primarily of infantry, were overrun by large numbers of tanks.
Following the Red Army's retreat from the north, the Romanian forces were not pulled back.
The German and Romanian forces suffered considerable losses during the evacuation.
The Romanian force engaged in the war reportedly exceeded German demands.
There are however questions about the accounts by the two German officers, relating to the failure to include Romanian forces into their account.
Facing tremendous losses from the overwhelming Romanian force, the guerrillas rushed across the river followed by the refugees.
It was also tasked with plugging gaps in the line caused by the disintegrating Romanian forces.
These factors meant that the Romanian forces became too strained to put up effective resistance against the enemy advance.
Soon afterwards, Romanian forces crossed the Danube and joined the siege.
The Romanian forces took the control of Kolozsvár on 24 December 1918.