The Allied Intervention at Archangel and Murmansk in 1918
In 1918 the United States entered the Russian Civil War on the side of the so-called “Whites,” anti-Bolshevik counterrevolutionaries. This essay explores the decision to intervene at Murmansk and then Archangel, the U.S. Navy’s role in the operations, and the ultimate...
Gorlice-Tarnów in 1915, Romania in 1916 and Caporetto in 1917, prelude to the Blitzkrieg?
Three military campaigns in the First World War are strikingly similar to what would become known in the Second World War as Blitzkrieg. The campaign of the Germans and Austro-Hungarians at Gorlice-Tarnów, the one at Caporetto, and especially the one in Romania in...
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,...
August 1917: The Government of Romania requests US support to continue the fight against the Central Powers
In the summer of 1917, Romania was in an extremely difficult situation. Even though the Romanian army, supported by Russia, managed to achieve three extremely important victories against the Central Powers, at Mărăști, Mărășești and Oituz, the Romanian authorities...
The withdrawal of the Romanian army to Russia, an impossible option in the summer of 1917
In the summer of 1917, uncertainty prevailed among Romanian authorities. Despite the recovery of the army, after the catastrophic defeats in the autumn of the previous year, and some important victories against the Central Powers at Mărășești, Mărăști and Oituz,...
The mechanism of a decision: Why did Romania enter the First World War in the summer of 1916?
The entry of Romania into the First World War was not a reaction to the military situation in the summer of 1916, not even to the offensive of the Tsarist troops led by General Brusilov. It was the result of a political decision calculated to take a decisive step in...
Romania in the geo-strategic architecture after the First World War
Romania after the First World War was a profoundly changed country. The scars of the war were still felt, healed only by the fulfilment of its war objectives, namely the incorporation of the territories inhabited by Romanians from Austria-Hungary (with the notable...