Misleading appearances: The military context in which Romania entered the First World War
Romania entered the First World War on August 27, 1916, after two years of hard negotiations with the Entente. Romanian Prime Minister Ionel Brătianu considered that the time had come for action for several reasons: the Entente had transmitted an ultimatum, it was now...
1917- The Bulgarians rob the Romanian Academy
In 1917, the whole of Muntenia was forced to go into exile, in Iași, leaving behind many assets and valuable goods. Among them were many important documents of the Romanian Academy. This time, however, the Germans were not guilty of theft, but the Bulgarians and it...
The first repercussions of the Paris Peace Conference. “In Romania, you have to throw the body out to save the boat”
The treaties between the Allied Powers and the defeated states began to be signed beginning with the end of June 1919. Standing in between the great powers, the delegations of the smaller states each tried to have their claims recognized, while the delegations of the...
Prince Carol’s desertion from the army and his marriage to Zizi Lambrino. The scandal that rocked the Royal House of Romania in 1918
To the many problems Romanian authorities had to face during the difficult year of 1918, there also was a dynastic crisis in the royal family to deal with. At the end of August, the Crown Prince Carol left his mountain troop unit in Târgu Neamț and fled to Odessa,...
The elections of June 1918: «The Marghiloman Parliament»
Following the toppling of the first Averescu cabinet (January 29-March 4, 1918), King Ferdinand I was forced to entrust the formation of a new executive to Alexandru Marghiloman, a conservative politician and avowed Pro-German, with the hope that he would be able to...
What were the risks for Romania if the war continued in the winter of 1917-1918?
Lenin's decision to conclude peace with the Central Powers left Romania in a particularly vulnerable position. The withdrawal of the Russian soldiers exposed the Romanian army, which could not effectively cover the 1.500 kilometre long frontline. The Romanian...
Romania, in a geostrategic nightmare after Russia’s exit from the First World War
Following the victories of Mărăști, Mărășești and Oituz in the summer of 1917, the Romanian Front finally stabilized in the autumn of that year. The Bolshevik takeover in Russia and the conclusion of the armistice in Brest-Litovsk threw Romania into a geostrategic...
Nicolae Titulescu, the League of Nations and the Soviets
Romanian politician Nicolae Titulescu gained his international reputation as Romania’s permanent delegate (1920-1936) to the League of Nations, and was elected as president of the international organization in 1930 and 1931, the only one to hold this position twice....
Ukraine’s reaction after the union of Bessarabia with Romania: Kiev demands the annexation of the territory between Prut and Dniester
The union of Bessarabia with Romania, voted by a large majority of the Chișinău Country Council on April 9 (March 27, old style) 1918, was contested by Ukraine. Kiev rejected the unification and raised claims on the territory between Prut and Dniester. The Romanian...
Romania, one year after the war: “We are a ruin”
One year after Romania entered the war, Bucharest was under German occupation. Even though the majority of Muntenia’s inhabitants took refuge in Moldavia, especially in Iași, there were many who remained. This was the case of Vasile Th. Cancicov, a writer and...