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INTRODUCTION
The Great War resulted in the death of empires, the birth of nations, and in national boundaries
being redrawn around the world, including for the Romanian nation. The consequences of World
War I, the analysis and measures taken by all parties involved in the Great War prepared the
ground for World War II.
But how Romania played its cards in this strategic game? Which were the security choices,
actions and contexts which led to diplomatic isolation and internal weakness for Romania when
World War II started knocking at its doors?
In my opinion, the biggest mistake made by all big European states was their lack of reaction to
the Germany`s rearming which led to WWII and its consequences.
“The setting up of the (Romanian) unitary national state was a brilliant historic victory of the
long heroic struggle of the masses for creating the Romanian nation and the coming true of the
age old dream of all Romanians to live in unity within the borders of the same country, in one
free and independent state” (Nicolae Ceausescu – 1983).
The Romanian diplomats, especially Nicolae Titulescu (1882-1941) had a special activity in the
frame of Nations League to maintain the peace and to assure the territorial integrity and national
suzerainty of Romania.
Romanian State was close to France between the two world wars. Therefore, Romanian strategic
thinking and military reforms were produced according to the French model.
Factors taken into account in Romania`s defense strategy after 1918:
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the new political-state configuration of Center and South-East Europe closing the process
of state unification;
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changing the geopolitical and geostrategic status;
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WWI experience;
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the evolution of means of war and strategic and tactical concepts;
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changes occurred in the European and world powers.
Romania`s surface, population and economic potential was increased due to the unifying process
of Bessarabia, Bucovina, Transylvania and Banat. The active army was of about 750,000 –
800,000 persons, mobilized staff being 3.4 - 3.5 million persons, almost double than before
WWI.
If in 1914 Romania was caught between two rival empires, Austro- Hungarian and Russian,
strategic directions on which Romania could be attacked were most probably East, West and
South, a difficult situation for the Romanian military specialists being created.
After 1918, Romania changed its geopolitical and geostrategic status, becoming an important
actor of Central Europe.
The Romanian diplomacy was concerned with organization of some regional alliances to
guarantee the existent borders. So on 1921, from the initiative of Romania it formed the Little
Agreement (Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia) and on 1934 ''The Balkanic Agreement''
(Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia, Turkey).
Romanian Army performed its campaign plans taking into account the evolution of the
international situation, directions and objectives of Bucharest’s external politics, Romania`s
external agreements and mainly bilateral and multilateral agreements, Romania`s threats,
national military potential and so on. These documents were produced and improved yearly for
all the above mentioned fronts.
In 1930, Romania`s democracy was changed towards fascist dictatorship. Iron Guard, supported
by Germany committed many political assassinations.
After 1931, based on political orientations, West Front became the first priority, Hungarian
attack supported by Germany being considered probable. That`s why all resources were directed
towards the Western Front.
In 1933, liberal prime-minister Ion Duca dissolved the Iron Guard, arrested thousands and a few
days later he was assassinated by Iron Guard legionnaires.
Till 1935, the East Front was considered as the main one. Soviet Union was perceived as the
most dangerous enemy. East frontier was protected by the Romanian-Polish alliance performed
in 1921 and renewed in 1926 and 1931.
King Carol met Adolf Hitler in 1937, the German chancellor`s wish being to see a Romanian
Government led by the pro-Nazi Iron Guard.
In April 1938, king Carol arrested Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, the Iron Guard`s leader, imprisoned
him. A few months later Codreanu was killed along with other legionnaires.
Military factor followed the directives given by political authorities.
South Front was considered as a secondary front.
Bulgaria had a difficult situation being less probable to attack Romania, taking into account the
Danube River and the agreement between Romania and Yugoslavia.
The conclusion was that Hungary and Bulgaria could act only within alliances, being inferior of
Romania.
After Hitler and his party took power in Germany, the Romanian Big Major State considered the
West Front the most exposed one. As a consequence, a special plan has been elaborated in 1933-
1934. The Big Major State concluded that regarding the 3 potential enemies, and the importance
of the problems they can put, the order was Soviet Union, Hungary and Bulgaria. As an
emergency order in solving the problems, hierarchy was: Hungary, Soviet Union and Bulgaria.
The Romanian Big Major State took into account the hypothesis of generalized conflict,
Romania being attacked by 3 of the above mentioned states.
As a strategy, the Big Major State predicted on the South Front the defensive approach the main
attention being given to Dobrogea. In 1938-1939, Romania was surrounded strategically.
The German and Russian influences over Romania were clear and the two powers took decisions
related to Romania.
The signing of pact Ribbentrop-Molotov at 23rd August 1939, at Moscow instituted the
supremacy of the two powers (Germany and Russia) over South-Eastern Europe. In this context
it accentuated Romania's isolation and provoked to it grave territorial loses.
STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN ROMANIAN SECURITY
Military dimension of the political and territorial unification process of the Romanian state
The political and territorial unification of the historical regions in 1918 determined the necessity
of establishing of the national structures and also the foundation of the future developing. This
was the most difficult task that Romania had to accomplish in the first decade after the First
World War and it was highly debated in the national parties (National Liberal Party, Romanian
National Party, People’s Party etc.). The liberals were seen in that period like the creators of the
national union, so their opinion concerning the future steps that Romania should take was very
important. They promoted the idea that Romania should develop itself through its own potential,
focusing on the national capital (,,prin noi înșine”). On the other side, the National-Pleasants’
Party promoted the foreign capital oriented policy, which was supposed to enhance the
developing possibilities of Romania.
In that period, we were witnessing a new Romanian state that was not consolidated enough. The
military dimension had a very important role in maintaining the unification non-affected. Also, it
needed a strategic reform updated to the new national context. In theory, the debate about this
subject came up with a lot of solutions, but the real problem was that Romania did not have the
financial resources to put them in practice. Romania had to go back mostly to the pre-war model,
keeping similar amounts for the military spending.
1. INTRODUCTION
World War II, also called Second World War, during the years 1939–1945 was in many respects
a continuation of the disputes left unsettled by World War I.
The principal belligerents were the Axis powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan and the Allies:
France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union and China.
During this period, each and every country involved had to improve their military force in order
to be victorious at the end.
If we make the aftermath, we can easily see the consequences which occured, such as
banckrupcy, ruins, decolonization, lost empires, new borders of Europe, etc. The End of World
War II resulted in milions of deaths which make it the bloodiest conflict, as well as the largest
war, in history.
At the beginning of war the romanian army was poorly formed, during this time, Marshal Ion
Antonescu`s important goal of his government was to reform the military force.
The onset of the XX-century has been marked by profound changes of the security environment.
The world has become ever more complex, and globalization has asserted itself as an irreversible
process.
Some of the World War II causes were Italian fascism in the 1920s, Japanese militarism and
invasions of China in the 1930s, and the political takeover in 1933 of Germany by Hitler and his
Nazi Party and its aggressive foreign policy. Because Germany was defeated along with its
allies, Germany was stripped of one sixth of its territory and forced to pay huge reparations.
The war in Europe began with Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939. The immediate cause was
Britain and France declaring war on Germany after it invaded Poland on 1 September 1939.
Within a month, Poland was defeated by a combination of German and Soviet forces and was
partitioned between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Until December 1941, United States of
America did not enter the war, but once it did, it took a leadership role.
World War II gave hope that a revised League of Nations, supported by the United States and the
Soviet Union and profiting from the lessons of the 1930s, might serve as the basis for a new
international order.
Because the League of Nations had become discredited, in the eyes of the Soviet Union, expelled
from the league in 1940 because attacked Finland, it was necessary to create a new world
organization. The United Nations was officially established in 1945 after earlier conferences and
discussions.
The United Nations it differed in some particulars from the League of Nations but reflected the
same basic philosophy of collective security. It placed more power in the hands of the five major
states, which had veto powers and permanent representation, the Security Council, which had
exclusive jurisdiction in security matters. The permanent members were the United States, the
Soviet Union, China, France, and the United Kingdom.
Collective security may be defined as a plan for maintaining peace through an organization of
sovereign states, whose members pledge themselves to defend each other against attack.
As Clausewitz said : World War II was a continuation of World War I by the same means.
In order to analyze the Romanian military reform between 1940 and 1945 we must acknowledge
that the army reform was absolutely neccesary from multiple reasons that we will exhibit in the
following.
In 1940 the army had to retreat without a fight from Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, northeastern
Transylvania, Southern Dobrogea, which amounted to a major military defeat.
In this matter, the ruptures in the summer of 1940 led to the dismantling of the military system,
erected after World War I.
Fist of all, the Romanian State was stripped of essential stability, large units, population and
economic potential has diminished, there have been significant losses of men, weapons, fighting
technique, the moral state of the soldiers of all ranks had much to suffer. All this required a
redesign of the national military body, so as to become an instrument of war more effectively.
Also, the military reform was required because of the experience brought by the first year of the
New World Conflagration. The war had changed their physiognomy, he became one of
movement, the great alianiamente defense, such as the "Maginot line" was outdated. Based on
the French model, it quickly collapsed because of the german "blitzkrieg", which has
successfully used tanker aircraft. binomial tank-plane.
In the other hand, the military reform was also required by the new external orientation of the
country. To power, Ion Antonescu declared that Romania will join the Axis system, which
resulted in joining the Tripartite Pact in 23 November 1940 and in the arrival of a German
Military Mission in Romania, requested by King Carol II.
The German Military Mission in Romania had to train the Romanian army, according to new
techniques and methods of warfare. Unofficially, the mission was to ensure the protection of oil
fields and to pursue a discreete control regime on the Bucharest regime, in anticipation of future
conflict with the Soviet Union, although the two great totalitarian powers were allied, at that
time.
On September 14, 1940, Romania was proclaimed 'National State-legionary'. Ion Antonescu,
self-proclaimed 'leader of state', he established full control over the military.
Therefore, the concept of reforming the army or its reorganization, belonged to Ion Antonescu,
assisted by a team of soldiers led by chiefs of the General Staff of the period, Alexandru Ioaniţiu,
Joseph Jacobici, Ilie Steflea and Gen. Constantin Pantazi.
Military strategy and tactics are essential to the conduct of warfare. Strategy is the planning,
coordination, and general direction of military operations to meet overall political and military
objectives. As it is the situation of General Ion Antonescu who stressed that the reform of
military forces represent one of the most important goals of his government.
The most urgent task of the new government installed on September 14, 1940 was
deconcentration and military demobilization.
The program was extremely ambitious military, he materialized in the formula 'a small army, but
strong' with discipline and instruction, which must be appropriate with the 'Romanian realities
and modern technical conditions'.
Between September 1940 and August 1944 military reform has undergone three major stages:
• September 6, 1940 - June 22, 1941;
• December 1941-September 1942;
• January 1943 - February 1944.
In the first stage, the conception that guided the military reform was based on a complex of
factors of which we retain:
The army reorganization plan was outlined in September November 1940 with the German side,
in the government debates, in the Ministry of National Defense and in the General Staff.
The program established in these discussions had the idea of creating an army with reduced
effectives but well equipped, trained and highly mobile.
In particular it would consider the following measures:
• establish the Peace framework and the mobilization of the army in accordance with
demographic and material resources of the country;
• adequacy the organizational structures to the state's financial resources
• equipping large units with modern combat means and in particular with armored anti-
aircrafts means, anti-tank etc;
• conducting recruitment;
• abolition of all existing commandments to peace and no utility in wartime;
• creation of large homogeneous units which has a good mobility on the field;
• reduction of units with special recruitment in order to enhance the quality and the
recruitment conditions of the operative army, particularly the infantry.
6. SECURITY THREATS
In terms of vulnerabilities, internal/structural factors that can affect the national security, there
can be identified a series of major issues as follows:
- to stop the border threats from Hungary, Romania organized regional army which had the
mission to secure the actions of the enemy from this side of the border
- a possible Soviet attack from the East
- a possible Hungarian attack (backed up by Germany) from the West
- the dependency on import, especially for military equipment
7. VULNERABILITIES
- Germany was the main supplier of the armament in Romania in 1940, so that Romania
was vulnerable because Germany wasn`t interested to supply the Romanian army in case
of a war between the two parties
- Romania was weakly endowned with modern technology of war in 1940, because of the
fact that they we`re only partially supplied by the Germans and the Italians and in case of
war they we`re far from the requirements they needed to fulfill
- Germany trained the Romanian air force, but in their advantage and not Romania`s ,
because the Germans we`re highly interested in protecting the petroliferous region
- the lack of tanks represented to Romania in 1941 a deficiency , although improvised
solutions we`re applied, but the effects we`re not as positively as expected
8. OPPORTUNITIES
- Germany and Italy (30 August 1940 - Dictate of Vienna) assured the border of Romania,
which relaxed the external situation of the country
- the possibility of accommodating the German army experience with the Romanian
armament and methods
- the decision of General Ion Antonescu, taken in 1941, that Romania shouldn`t pe part of
the war for a long period, is an opportunity for the Romanian army to reorganize and
prepare for a future war
RISKS
- USSR was feeling threatened by the imposed Dictate, he feels that Romania is assuring
the border from them, seeing them as the enemies.