German Invasion of Romania (1940)

German Invasion of Rumania
Part of World War II
Date October 8, 1940 Location Rumania Result German victory
Belligerents
Germany Hungary Bulgaria Fascist Iron Guard	Rumania
Commanders and leaders
Adolf Hitler Ion Antonescu	Carol II of Romania
Strength
500,000 soldiers	686,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
negligible	negligible

The German invasion of Rumania (Romania) occured when Adolf Hitler ordered the Wehrmacht to establish a protectorate over Rumania, with the pretext being the training of the Fascist Iron Guard. After seizing Ploesti and Bucharest, the Germans established a protectorate and Rumania joined the war against the Allied Powers.

Background Edit

Rumania was one of Germany's allies since the 1880s, but in 1916, they fought against the Germans in hopes of gaining more territory; they were crushed by Axis troops. Ever since then, the Kingdom of Rumania was neutral. However, with the rise of Fascism, in 1927 Rumania became involved in Socialist politics, with the Fascist Iron Guard appearing. The Germans extended their area of control to Rumania's northern border by 1940, and Adolf Hitler was intent on establishing a protectorate over King Carol's government. Minister of Defense Ion Antonescu was a pro-German politician, so the Germans would have a perfect candidate to install over the puppet state.

Invasion... over ruling Edit

On October 8, 1940, 500,000 German troops invaded Romania from Austria. The Germans quickly seized Ploesti and took over Bucharest, without any real losses. Only a handful of German and Rumanian soldiers were killed in the brief war. When the Germans took over Bucharest, they handed over authority to Antonescu, who became the Dictator of Rumania, joining the Axis Powers.

Aftermath Edit

Rumania became committed to fighting alongside Germany, sending troops to fight on the Eastern Front. The Rumanians fought in the Battle of Stalingrad of 1942, which decided Germany's fate in the war with the Soviet Union. By 1944, 1,200,000 Romanian soldiers were serving abroad in World War II. That year, Germany bombed Bucharest after Rumania made a peace treaty with the Soviet Union, and Rumania joined the Allied Powers.