Romania in the First World War (1914–1918)

When the First World War broke out in the summer of 1914, Romania was bound by a secret treaty to the Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary), but public opinion favoured the Entente, since it might help bring about the union of Transylvania with the country. King Carol I, of German origin, died at the beginning of the war, and the new king, Ferdinand I, had to decide. The liberal government led by Ion I.C. Brătianu proclaimed neutrality, using the period to prepare and to negotiate with both camps.

By the treaty signed with the Entente in Bucharest on 4/17 August 1916, Romania obtained a guarantee of the annexation of Transylvania, the Banat and Bukovina, and in return undertook to enter the war. On 14/27 August 1916 Romania declared war on Austria-Hungary, and the Romanian army advanced into Transylvania. Unfortunately, the offensive did not succeed: the forces were insufficient, the weaponry poor, and the support of the allies proved unreliable. The German and Austro-Hungarian armies, commanded by General Falkenhayn and Field Marshal Mackensen, launched a powerful counteroffensive.

The Romanian army withdrew from Transylvania, while Mackensen attacked from the south, out of Bulgaria. The battle of the Argeș and the Neajlov (November–December 1916) was lost, and Bucharest was occupied on 6 December 1916. The government, the king and a large part of the administration withdrew to Iași, which became the country’s provisional capital. Two thirds of the country’s territory was occupied by the enemy. Yet the army did not fall apart. Under harsh conditions, with epidemics of typhus and thousands of deaths, its reorganization began with French help, led by General Henri Berthelot.

In the summer of 1917 the reorganized Romanian army won the most important victories of the campaign: Mărăști (July), where General Alexandru Averescu led a successful offensive; Mărășești (6 July–6 August), where General Eremia Grigorescu halted the German advance with the words “They shall not pass here!”; and Oituz (August). These battles saved Moldavia from occupation. Ferdinand honoured the promises he had made to the soldiers at the front in April 1917: land reform and universal suffrage. The legendary Mausoleum at Mărășești preserves the memory of thousands of heroes.

After the Russian Revolution of October 1917 Russia withdrew from the war, and Romania was left isolated, surrounded by the Central Powers. With no other solution, the Averescu government signed the armistice of Focșani (December 1917), and then the Peace of Buftea–Bucharest of 7 May 1918, which was harsh on Romania. King Ferdinand refused to sign the treaty, which allowed a return to the war. On 10 November 1918, one day before Germany’s capitulation, Romania re-entered the conflict. Through its sacrifices (hundreds of thousands dead, military and civilian), the country won the right to take part in the Peace Conference of 1919.