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Romania
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(45)
1918
November
13
The Hungarian–Romanian War begins
On 13 November 1918 Hungary signed an Allied military convention in Belgrade as Romanian patrols crossed the Carpathians. The fight for Transylvania began.
1919
August
01
The fall of the Hungarian Soviet Republic
On 1 August 1919, as the Romanians advanced on Budapest, Béla Kun's government resigned and he fled to Austria. Social Democrat Gyula Peidl took power.
03
The Romanians enter Budapest
On 3 August 1919 General Rusescu’s Romanian cavalry rode into Budapest, followed by the main force on 4 August. The Hungarian–Romanian War was over.
1929
February
09
The Litvinov Protocol
On 9 February 1929 in Moscow the USSR, Poland, Romania, Latvia and Estonia signed the Litvinov Protocol, bringing the Kellogg–Briand Pact into force early.
1934
February
09
The Balkan Pact
On 9 February 1934 in Athens Greece, Yugoslavia, Romania and Turkey guaranteed each other’s Balkan borders. Bulgaria and Albania stayed out of the Entente.
1939
March
23
The German–Romanian economic agreement
On 23 March 1939 in Bucharest, Germany and Romania signed a treaty on economic relations, opening the way for the Reich to Romanian oil, grain and timber.
September
06
Romania declares neutrality
On 6 September 1939 the Crown Council backed Romanian neutrality. Poland's ally stayed out of the war but agreed to let aid for Poland pass through.
14
German pressure on Romania
On 14 September 1939, under pressure from Berlin, Romania resolved to intern Polish leaders if they crossed its border and restricted arms transit to Poland.
18
The Polish government crosses into Romania
On the night of 17–18 September 1939 the President, government and Commander-in-Chief crossed into Romania, hoping to reach France. They were interned.
21
The assassination of Armand Călinescu
On 21 September 1939 Iron Guard legionaries shot the Romanian prime minister Armand Călinescu in Bucharest. Hundreds of legionaries were executed without trial.
October
20
German pressure on Romania in October
In October 1939 Berlin refused to let Mościcki leave Romania for Switzerland, and the envoy Fabricius pressed Bucharest over the British guarantee.
December
24
Mościcki leaves Romania
On 24 December 1939 Romania, defying Germany, allowed former President Mościcki to leave for Switzerland. He left with his family on Christmas Day.
1940
March
29
Molotov on Bessarabia
On 29 March 1940 Molotov reported to the Supreme Soviet on the Winter War and reminded Romania of an “unsettled dispute” – Bessarabia.
June
26
The Soviet ultimatum to Romania
On 26 June 1940 Molotov demanded Bessarabia and northern Bukovina. Lacking Berlin’s support, Bucharest gave way; on 28 June the Red Army crossed the Dniester.
August
30
Key event
The Second Vienna Award
On 30 August 1940 Ribbentrop and Ciano announced at the Belvedere in Vienna an award that took northern Transylvania from Romania and gave it to Hungary.
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.
November
20
Hungary, Romania and Slovakia join the Tripartite Pact
Between 20 and 24 November 1940 Hungary, Romania and Slovakia joined the Tripartite Pact. Hitler bound to the Axis the states he needed for war in the east.
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.
27
Manstein in the Crimea
At the end of October 1941 Manstein’s Eleventh Army broke the Soviet defences at Ishun and burst into the Crimea. On 30 October it stood before Sevastopol.
December
06
Britain declares war on Finland
On 6 December 1941 London announced it would be at war with Finland, Hungary and Romania from one minute past midnight on 7 December. The dominions followed.
17
The second assault on Sevastopol
On 17 December 1941 Manstein's 11th Army launched a second assault on Sevastopol. After two weeks, with Soviet landings at Kerch and Feodosia, it stalled.
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.
25
The Kerch landing
On the night of 25–26 December 1941 the Red Army began landing near Kerch and on 29 December at Feodosia. Manstein had to halt his Sevastopol assault.
1942
March
01
The Crimean Front offensive
From 27 February 1942 the Crimean Front attacked the Germans and Romanians at Ak-Monai to relieve Sevastopol. By April it had stalled in mud and fire.
June
05
The US declares war on Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania
On 5 June 1942 Roosevelt signed Congress's resolutions on a state of war with Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania – the last formal US declarations of war.
July
01
Key event
The fall of Sevastopol
On 1 July 1942 Manstein’s troops entered ruined Sevastopol. The defence commanders were evacuated; tens of thousands of soldiers were left on Cape Khersones.
September
06
The Germans take Novorossiysk
On 6 September 1942 German and Romanian troops broke into Novorossiysk, a Black Sea Fleet base. They took most of the city, but not the bay's eastern shore.
November
05
The Germans at Ordzhonikidze
In early November 1942 the Germans took Alagir and stood outside Ordzhonikidze. A Soviet counter-attack at Gizel ended their drive on the oil of Grozny.
19
Key event
Operation Uranus begins
On 19 November 1942 the Red Army hit the Romanians on the 6th Army's flanks. In three days the front broke and the pincers were closing west of Stalingrad.
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
March
20
The Red Army at the Romanian border
On 17–20 March 1944 Konev's troops crossed the Dniester into Bessarabia and Zhukov's took Vinnytsia. The German front in Ukraine was falling apart.
April
03
The raids on Budapest and Bucharest
On 3 April 1944 bombers of the US Fifteenth Air Force struck Budapest for the first time, and Bucharest a day later. Several thousand civilians died.
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.
08
Key event
The Crimean offensive begins
On 8 April 1944 the 4th Ukrainian Front attacked Crimea via Perekop and the Sivash. Simferopol fell on 13 April and the Germans fell back to Sevastopol.
10
The Red Army in Odessa
On 10 April 1944 Malinovsky's 3rd Ukrainian Front took Odessa, ending two and a half years of occupation of the capital of Romanian-run Transnistria.
16
The liberation of Yalta and Kerch
The Coastal Army retook Kerch on 11 April 1944, Feodosia on 13 April and Yalta on 16 April. In Crimea the Germans and Romanians now held only Sevastopol.
May
09
Key event
The liberation of Sevastopol
On 9 May 1944 the 4th Ukrainian Front took Sevastopol, two days after storming Sapun Ridge. The remnants of the German 17th Army fell back to the Chersonese.
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.
31
The Red Army in Bucharest
On 31 August 1944 troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front entered Bucharest. The city was already clear of Germans, and Romania was still awaiting an armistice.
October
06
The Battle of Debrecen begins
On 6 October 1944 the 2nd Ukrainian Front advanced on Debrecen. Pliyev's group broke the Hungarian Third Army, but the Germans held Oradea.
25
The liberation of Romania
On 25 October 1944 Romanian and Red Army troops took Carei and Satu Mare. Northern Transylvania, ceded to Hungary in 1940, returned to Romanian hands.