The end of 1917, when victory seemed certain for the Central Powers
The Central Powers were at their most favourable moment at the end of 1917. Russia had fallen prey to revolutions and the Bolsheviks, Lenin suing for peace. Russia’s exit from the war would have dramatic consequences for Romania, the only other Eastern European ally...
What did Woodrow Wilson thought about the Russian Bolsheviks at the end of the First World War
US President Woodrow Wilson believed that the Russians alone had to find their way. He told a British diplomat in Washington a week before the end of the war that: “I think we have to let them find their own way out, even if they have been struggling in anarchy for...
The German offensive on the Western Front in 1918, the Spanish flu and the Allies
Following the conclusion of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Russian Bolsheviks, Germany concentrated its forces on the Western Front. But the military offensives in the spring and early summer of 1918 were thwarted by both Allied soldiers and an unexpected enemy-...
The strategy of the Russian Bolsheviks in the negotiations of Brest-Litovsk
One week after the signing of the armistice between Russia and the Central Powers, negotiations between the two sides for the signing of a peace treaty began in Brest-Litovsk. The Bolsheviks successfully insisted that the talks be public, something never seen before...
The peace treaty of Trianon
The Trianon Peace Treaty was signed on June 4th, 1920 by France, Great Britain, Italy, the United States, Japan, Romania, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Czechoslovakia and nine other states, on the one hand, and Hungary, on the other hand, being...
The Great Powers and Hungary at the Paris Peace Conference
The Allies considered Hungary ready to sign the peace at the end of 1919. Thus, they invited the representatives of its government to Paris for final discussions before the conclusion of the peace treaty. The French greeted the Hungarians coldly but cordially, and...
The Abdication of Nicholas II
Nicholas II signed his abdication on 15 March 1917 (2 March, Julian Calendar), at 3.05 pm. The document was countersigned by the Minister of the Imperial Court, and directed to the Chief of Staff. In the days of the great struggle against the foreign enemies, who for...
Tsar Nicholas’ Declaration Against the Bulgarians
When Tsar Nicholas II understood that Bulgaria went to war against Serbia was very disturb, because in Russian ideology the Slavs should be united under his rule. We reproduce for you the Tsar Nicholas' Declaration against the Bulgarians By the Grace of GodWE,...
The Resolution of the National Assembly of Romanians of Transylvania and Hungary,
On December 1, 1918 (November 18 Old Style), the National Assembly of Romanians of Transylvania and Hungary, consisting of 1,228 elected representatives of the Romanians in Transylvania, Banat, Crişana and Maramureş, convened in Alba Iulia and decreed (by unanimous...
The news of the armistice, in refuge. «Wilson has publicly stated that he will uphold Romania’s right to unite all of its people into one country»
The First World War, that started on July 28, 1914 ended on November 11, 1918, after nearly 53 months of tragic battles. The armistice between the German Empire and the powers of the Entente was signed on November 11, 1918, at eleven o’clock in the morning. However,...
The Treaty of Versailles and Clemenceau’s predictions
It was just after 3 pm, on June 28th, 1918, when the two German ministers elected for the ungrateful task of signing the Peace Treaty entered the great Hall of Mirrors in the Versailles Palace. German Foreign Minister Hermann Muller and Transport Minister Johannes...
Treaty of Versailles – “peace without victory” and German humiliation
The Treaty of Versailles, signed in June 1919 at the Palace of Versailles in Paris at the end of World War I, codified peace terms between the victorious Allies and Germany. The Treaty of Versailles held Germany responsible for starting the war and imposed harsh...
What do the German campaign in Romania in 1916 and the Blitzkrieg against France in 1940 have in common?
In the Romanian military campaign of the Central Powers in 1916, German forces used a technique that later, in the Second World War, would be known as Blitzkrieg. Today, the Blitzkrieg is normally associated with the Second World War, mainly with the first campaigns...
General von Falkenhayn and the prelude to Blitzkrieg in Romania
Historian Michael B. Barrett considers that the Austro-German campaign in Romania during 1916 can be considered a precursor to the Blitzkrieg of the Second World War. The man in charge with organizing and implementing the campaign was General Erich von Falkenhayn, the...
Was the German campaign of 1916 in Romania a prelude to the German Blitzkrieg?
Historian Michael B. Barrett in his book “Prelude to Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in Romania” argues that the campaign of 1916 in Romania can be considered the forerunner of what would become known in the Second World War as Blitzkrieg. In 1916, in...
Why did Romania refuse to participate in the negotiations of Brest Litovsk?
Immediately after gaining power in Petrograd, following the October Revolution, the Bolshevik government demanded the start of peace negotiations with the Central Powers. On December 15, 1917, the armistice was closed on the Eastern Front, and on December 22, 1917,...