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Concept
Romania in World War II
Summary
The Kingdom of Romania, under the rule of King Carol II, was initially a neutral country in World War II. However, Fascist political forces, especially the Iron Guard, rose in popularity and power, urging an alliance with Nazi Germany and its allies. As the military fortunes of Romania's two main guarantors of territorial integrity—France and Britain—crumbled in the Fall of France (May to June, 1940), the government of Romania turned to Germany in hopes of a similar guarantee, unaware that the then-dominant European power had already granted its blessing to Soviet claims on Romanian territory, in a secret protocol of 1939's Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.
In the summer of 1940 a series of territorial disputes were decided against Romania, and it lost most of Transylvania, which it had gained in World War I. The popularity of the Romanian government plummeted, further reinforcing the fascist and military factions, who eventually staged a coup in September 1940 that turned the country into a dictatorship under Mareșal Ion Antonescu. The new regime officially joined the Axis powers on 23 November 1940. As a member of the Axis, Romania joined the invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) on 22 June 1941, providing equipment and oil to Nazi Germany and committing more troops to the Eastern Front than all other allies of Germany combined. Romanian forces played a large role during fighting in Ukraine, Bessarabia, and in the Battle of Stalingrad. Romanian troops were responsible for the persecution and massacre of 260,000 Jews in Romanian-controlled territories, though half of the Jews living in Romania itself survived the war. Romania controlled the third-largest Axis army in Europe and the fourth largest Axis army in the world, only behind the three principal Axis powers of Germany, Japan, and Italy. Following the September 1943 Armistice of Cassibile between the Allies and Italy, Romania became the second Axis Power in Europe.
The Allies bombed Romania from 1943 onwards, and advancing Soviet armies invaded the country in 1944.
Official source
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