German Invasion of Rumania | |||||||
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Part of World War II | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Strength | |||||||
500,000 soldiers | 686,000 soldiers | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
negligible | negligible |
Background
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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
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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
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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.