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Ion Antonescu
Person page: Ion Antonescu →
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(10)
1940
September
06
The abdication of Carol II
On 6 September 1940 Carol II handed the throne to 18-year-old Michael and fled. General Ion Antonescu took power in Romania in alliance with the Iron Guard.
October
07
The German military mission in Romania
In October 1940 a German military mission arrived in Romania. Officially it was to train the army; in fact it guarded Ploiești oil and prepared war on the USSR.
1941
January
21
The Legionnaires’ rebellion and the Bucharest pogrom
On 21–23 January 1941 the Iron Guard rose against Antonescu and staged a pogrom in Bucharest in which some 125 Jews were killed. The army crushed the revolt.
October
22
The Odessa massacre
On 22 October 1941 a mine destroyed the Romanian headquarters in Odessa. In reprisal Romanian troops murdered 25,000–34,000 Jews within a few days.
December
21
The Bogdanovka massacre
On 21 December 1941 the massacre of Jews from Odessa and Bessarabia began at the Romanian camp at Bogdanovka. By 31 December over 40,000 had been killed.
1943
August
01
Key event
Operation Tidal Wave
On 1 August 1943 US Liberators attacked the Ploiești refineries at very low level. Nearly a third of the aircraft were lost; the damage was soon repaired.
1944
April
05
The first raids on Ploiești from Italy
On 5 April 1944 the US Fifteenth Air Force, flying from Italy, bombed the Ploiești rail junction, also hitting refineries. The war on Romanian oil had begun.
May
12
The end of the fighting in the Crimea
On 12 May 1944 the last 17th Army units on the Chersonese surrendered. The Crimea was in Soviet hands; many Axis troops were evacuated, thousands drowned.
August
20
Key event
The Jassy–Kishinev offensive begins
On 20 August 1944 the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts struck at Iași and Bender. Within days they encircled the German Sixth Army and Romania left the Axis.
23
Key event
The coup in Romania
On 23 August 1944 King Michael I had Marshal Antonescu arrested. The new government stopped fighting the Allies; Germany lost Romanian oil and the Prut front.