While Germany, Japan, and Italy are the Axis powers most remembered, studied, and written
about, many countries also contributed to the Axis war effort either through soft diplomacy or full
alliance. Others became unwilling puppet states, forced to provide resources to fuel the war. But
none of these minor Axis powers had a greater impact on the war than the Kingdom of Romania.
British historian, Mark Axworthy claimed “that Romania could even be considered to
have had the second most important Axis army of Europe, even more so than that of Italy.”
But if Romania was as integral as Axworthy claimed, why isn’t it more prominent in
the history books? And how did Romania actually contribute to the war effort?
At the onset of the war in September 1939, King Carol II of Romania adopted a stance
of neutrality, hoping to maintain ties with both sides, both diplomatically and
economically – a move that would backfire on him within a year. However, as Romania was
a resource-rich country, Hitler set his eyes upon it , hoping to win Romania’s allegiance
On the first of September 1939, Germany invaded Poland from the west. The Soviets soon followed,
attacking Poland from the east on the 17th of September 1939,
as agreed upon in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with Germany. The Polish generals, realizing
the Western aid they were promised would never arrive, ordered their troops to flee to France.
Romania, despite its early-war neutrality,
allowed many of Poland’s soldiers safe passage through the country on their way to France.
Romania also let Polish gold be transported safely through Romania,
which Germany objected to, claiming it was a breach of neutrality. These decisions came from
Prime Minister Armand Călinescu, a Pro-Allied politician, and they put a target on his back.
The Iron Guard – a Romanian fascist military movement with
close ties with Germany – wanted Călinescu dead.
Indeed, in Bucharest, on September 21, 1939, the Iron Guard, aided by the Germans,
gunned down Călinescu after his car was ambushed in the street.
Călinescu’s successor, Gheorghe Argeșanu, assassinated nine of the Iron Guard’s leaders
and drove the rest underground, in an attempt to crack down on pro-German sentiment.
However, the tide of public opinion began to shift after the cessation of Romanian
territory to the Soviet Union in June 1940, and soon, King Carol II would have to take a stand.
In July 1940, with France struggling on the Western Front and the Romanian people disgruntled
by the loss of eastern territory to the Soviets, Carol decided to align Romania with the Axis.
By September, the remaining Iron Guards had rebuilt a following and were hosting
public demonstrations demanding Carol’s abdication from the throne.
In hopes of easing tension, Carol appointed General Ion Antonescu,
a Romanian military officer and Iron Guard sympathizer, as his Prime Minister.
However, Antonescu took advantage of his popularity with the Iron Guard and made
some leadership changes, forcing Carol to abdicate on the fourth of September 1940.
Michael I, Carol’s son, was appointed King,
but purely in a ceremonial role. Atonescu became the de facto dictator of Romania.
Antonescu was a fierce facist leader. Just two months after he’d gained power,
Atonescu officially joined Hitler and the Axis by signing the Tripartite Pact. Germany had gained
support from Romania and would chew through its many resources throughout the war to come.
Antonescu was a personal favorite of Hitler’s, meeting with him at least 10 times between
September 1940 and August 1944. The two dictators formed a close bond, and Antonescu was often privy
to military plans and operations that other Axis leaders didn’t know about.
Antonescu believed, above all, in the protection of the Romanian state and,
like Hitler, was particularly obsessed with safeguarding the ethnicity of his people.
This is what moved him to align with the Axis. If Germany won the war,
he could count on Germany as a stalwart ally in the new world order.
Antonescu was willing to supply Germany with
whatever it required – from oil to men to land itself.
Indeed, in early 1941, Romania allowed Germany
to use the country as a base while it fought rebellions in Yugoslavia
and rescued the Italians in the Greco-Italian war. This would prove vital to Germany securing
that region and was Romania’s first major contribution to the Axis war effort.
Soon, however, Germany would ask much more from Romania,
and Antonescu would oblige without hesitation.
In one of his meetings with Antonescu, Hitler revealed his plans for Operation Barbarossa – an
Axis invasion into the Soviet Union. Eager to lend a hand, Atonescu offered up his weapons and men.
Before the invasion of the USSR, what Hitler needed most
was men. With fighting on the Western Front depleting Germany’s manpower,
the nation turned to its allies to lead the charge against the Soviets.
In June 1941, Romania participated in Operation Barbarossa. As a minor axis power,
Romania supplied more men to the Front than Italy. During the first several years of the war,
Romania manned several major fronts in Ukraine and Bessarabia – one of Romania’s lost territories.
The Romanian army fought alongside Germany on the Eastern Front. With over 686,000 men in 1941,
a number that ballooned to over 1.2 million throughout 1944,
Romania had the second most troops fighting in the Eastern Front, second only to Germany.
With the Romanians at the helm, the Axis retook much of the land ceded by the Soviets
and continued on the warpath through Odessa and Sevastolop. This was a huge early win for Hitler.
But it wouldn’t last.
The constant supply of men early in the war allowed Hitler’s reign to take much
of the East by storm. But the tables turned as the Axis arrived at Stalingrad and the
sixth month siege killed 158,000 Romanian troops and destroyed 72 Romanian planes.
Because of this the Romanian people’s support for Germany started to falter,
though Antonescu and his military remained fully committed.
Antonescu clung to the idea that Germany would win the war and he continued to dump
resources into it, despite the objection of the Romanian people.
In addition to flesh and blood, Romania also contributed
many natural resources. If you remember, this is why Hitler wanted the alliance in
the first place – not just because of his bromance with Antonescu.
As the second largest producer of natural gas and oil (second only to the Soviet Union),
Romania was poised to provide the black gold required to fuel the Nazi war machine.
Oil was a precious resource for the Germans, particularly as it powered their Blitzkriegs.
Before the war, and even until Operation Barbarossa,
Germany had relied heavily on oil produced in the Soviet Union. After the invasion,
though, that well had dried up, figuratively speaking. Germany was eager to suck Romania dry.
And Romania, eager to help, expanded the Ploesti oil fields to accommodate Germany’s thirst.
During the war, Romania operated 40 oil refineries and was capable of processing millions of barrels
of oil a year. By December 1939, Romania was exporting approximately 130,000 barrels of
oil to Germany monthly. Within six months, that number had increased to nearly 200,000.
Romania became the largest single supplier of Axis oil in Europe,
exporting 12 million tons of oil to their allies between 1940 and 1943.
In 1940, Romania provided 8 million barrels to Germany alone,
an insane increase from the 3.3 million barrels they supplied yearly before the war.
The Romanian oil fields were so critical to the Axis war effort that, in the summer 1943, the
Allied forces launched an air raid on them. Dubbed Operation Tidal Wave, the operation unfortunately
proved a failure for the Allies, resulting in 310 Allied casualties and 53 planes shot down. The
oil fields, while damaged, were quickly repaired and the post-assault was higher than ever before.
However, because the war had finally breached Romania’s border,
Romanian morale, and trust in Antonescu’s leadership, plummeted even further.
Despite the resources Romania provided Germany,
Germany often refused to compensate Romania with goods or gold in return. This led to massive
inflation and an increase in anti-German sentiment by 1944. Even Antonescu began to
tone down his rhetoric, hoping to appear more genial to the Western Allied forces.
This, along with the mass Romanian casualties suffered in the Battle of Stalingrad, ultimately
led to King Michael I ousting Antonescu in a coup in 1944. After Antonescu’s departure, the
Romanians withdrew support for the Axis. On the 23rd of August 1944, Romania joined the Allies.
Romania’s support, especially early in the war, proved extremely valuable to Hitler.
With a loyal military leader, a massive army, and much-needed oil, Romania was the most impactful
non-major axis force in World War II. But like many alliances during the war, it wasn’t meant
to last, and Romania’s switch to the Allies was a devastating blow to an already wounded Germany.
But what do you think? Did you know that Romania was so integral to the
Axis war effort? Did you know that Hitler and Antonescu were
so tight? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.