1941. The Red Army in Romania: the first weeks of the war
On the southern flank of the German-Soviet front, the events of that tragic summer of 1941 did not take place at all according to the scenario of Hitler’s Barbaros plan. They went according to plan General Staff The Red Army to cover the border (Special) districts of the USSR borders with troops.
Based on the memoirs of military leaders, the memories of participants in those tragic events I would like to present my version of those events in our now Odessa region, which at that time, unlike other sections of the USSR border, were not so catastrophic.
In the first weeks of the war, two episodes - the actions of the border guards of the Danube military flotilla and the troops covering the state border on the Danube and the raid on Constanta by ships Black Sea Fleet(in my opinion, not very successful) brought self-confidence not only to the participants in those events, but also to the entire people in the upcoming victory over fascism.
Background. In 1918 royal Romania, taking advantage of the collapse Imperial Russia and the weakness of the young Soviet state workers and peasants, captured the North. Bukovina and Bessarabia (Moldova and Budzhak). The border ran along the Dniester River.
Despite repeated diplomatic appeals from the USSR government, Romania refused to return these territories. Only after the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact (conspiracy) in 1939, which secured zones of influence in Eastern Europe for the great powers, after the “liberation” campaigns of the Red Army in Western Ukraine and the Baltic states, the USSR was able to satisfy its claims.
According to the decision of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on June 21, 1940, the troops of the 9th Army, concentrated on the Soviet-Romanian border and put on combat readiness, had to cross the Dniester River and clear the area up to the Danube and Prut Rivers from Romanian troops.
Having lost all allies (England and France) on June 28, the Crown Council of Romania had to transfer Bessarabia (Moldova and Budzhak) and Northern Bukovina Soviet Union without resistance. On July 3, 1940, the operation of the 9th Army of the ODVO was completed and these territories became part of the USSR. The construction of the border and border outposts began immediately.
Taking advantage of the weakness of Romania, on August 30, Hungary annexed the lands of Northern Transylvania, inhabited mainly by Hungarians and captured after the collapse Austro-Hungarian Empire, and on September 7, Southern Dobruja went to Bulgaria, as a result of which Romania lost a third of its territories.
On November 24, 1940, the Prime Minister, General Ion Antonescu (who was granted unlimited powers by the new King of Romania, Mihai), dreaming of returning lost territories, signed an agreement with the Axis countries (Germany, Italy, Japan), and joined the Tripartite Pact. Was received with joy. Romania is the only country in Europe that had oil fields.
At the beginning of the new year, 1941, echelons of German troops from occupied France and Poland began to arrive in Romania. In the spring there were, according to some sources, more than 300 thousand, according to others – 500 thousand. Troops were stationed in areas of oil production and processing (Constanza, Ploiesti), for their protection, as well as in the north of Romania - for a future attack on the USSR.
In addition, about 325 thousand Romanian soldiers and officers were concentrated on the Soviet-Romanian border. German and Romanian troops formed part of Antonescu's Army Group, which was covered by about 600 aircraft. The forces of the Red Army opposing them were approximately equal in number, but had advantages in tanks, aircraft and other equipment. But main blow The Germans were preparing to strike at the junction of the Southwestern and Southern Fronts, where they concentrated powerful groups. While Soviet troops were evenly dispersed along the entire border, the advantage in technology was not significant.
Premonition of war. Being surrounded capitalist countries, the young Soviet Republic, feeling the hostile attitude of the states bordering on it, took maximum measures to strengthen the country's combat readiness in case of a surprise attack. Moreover, the USSR’s commitment to world revolution, to the victory of “workers and peasants” throughout the world was a foreign policy doctrine. The Comintern became the herald, where, in my opinion, not the best contingent of all the communist parties in the world gathered, it soon turned into a bureaucratic, advisory body. Therefore, living surrounded by enemies that it created for itself, the USSR pursued a line of self-isolation from other (capitalist) countries.
Preparations were underway for war. Widespread training of young people in schools, institutes, factories and collective farms in military specialties was carried out: pilots, parachutists in flying clubs, snipers - Voroshilov shooters, sergeants, radio operators in OSAVIAKHIM. Soviet newspapers, feature films, political publications throughout the country incited the people to the inevitability of war. And since the USSR was almost constantly in a state of war, the CER (Chinese-Eastern Railway) railway), war in China, lake. Hasan, Khalkin-Gol, the war in Spain, Finland, “liberation” campaigns in Western Ukraine, the Baltic states, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, numerous provocations (Karatsupa and his dogs - over 300 border violators), then the people were ready for the upcoming war with the Nazis .
With the growing threat of war, urgent measures were taken to increase the country's combat readiness. In May 1941, reserves were called up to fill the western military districts almost to wartime levels. Military school cadets were urgently released and sent to the western and border districts, and most importantly, the secret transfer of second echelon divisions from the internal districts began according to the plan to cover the state border. From Romania there was constant information about mass movement troops. Military men increasingly appeared in Bucharest German uniform. Groups of German officers were seen on the border conducting reconnaissance and observing Soviet border. Intruder aircraft were increasingly appearing over the Danube fairway and the surrounding area. They quickly retreated to their own territory from fighters scrambled from Soviet airfields.
On June 18 – 21, 1941, the OdVO troops were put on combat readiness. Since our “ally” - Germany could not be provoked, regiments and battalions moved forward to fire in summer camps, as well as tactical and staff exercises.
On June 19, 1941, an order was received from the People's Commissariat of Defense to disperse aircraft at field airfields and camouflage them. However, many air unit commanders considered this order difficult (unnecessary!?) to carry out. Because at the airfields of the regiments there were the newest, recently arrived and standing under a tarpaulin, aircraft for which neither the pilots nor the technicians had yet been retrained. But the main thing is that these commanders were afraid that when landing on field airfields with poorly trained crews, these planes could receive various types of damage - which often happened. Hundreds of combat aircraft were destroyed in the first minutes of the war due to the negligence and irresponsibility of the command. For example, at the Chisinau airfield, 7 SB aircraft, 3 R-ZeT aircraft, 2 U-2 aircraft were destroyed, since commander A.S. Osinenko. did not fully comply with the order to transfer aircraft to field airfields.
On June 21, 1941, the commanders of the border districts and the People's Commissar of the Navy received a directive from the People's Commissariat of Defense and the General Staff to bring special (border) military districts to full combat readiness to repel a sudden attack by the Germans and their allies. In the border zone of the OdVO, on the night of June 22, 7 rifle, 2 cavalry, 2 tank and 1 motorized divisions and fortified areas were alerted and took up positions to cover the state border. The number 1 Danube military flotilla and the base of the Black Sea Fleet - Sevastopol - were put on alert, even to the point of blacking out city blocks.
Fleet personnel were called to combat posts. The Black Sea Fleet base was ready for battle. At about 3 a.m. on June 22, VNOS (Aerial Observation, Warning and Communications) posts reported the approach of an armada of German bombers. By order of the fleet commander, Admiral F.S. Oktyabrsky was opened fire by ships and anti-aircraft air defense batteries. At 3.15 fire anti-aircraft battery Lieutenant Kotov shot down the first German bomber. The Germans were faced with the task of blocking the fleet in the bays and preventing it from going to sea. But this did not happen. Due in a timely manner measures taken As Sevastopol darkened, the mines dropped by parachute fell not into the fairway, but onto the shore, where they exploded, destroying houses and killing people. The fleet commander's report to Moscow about the air raid on the base was the first signal of WAR.
On the Soviet-Romanian border, by June 1941, only earthen battalion defense areas had been prepared, in contrast to the old border with concrete fortifications. At the command of Readiness No. 1, they were occupied by units of the 51st Perekop Rifle Division under the command of Lieutenant General P.G. Tsirulnikova. On June 22, mortar and artillery fire was opened on Reni, Izmail and the bases of the Danube Fleet. Simultaneously Romanian aviation began the bombing of Bolgrad, Belgorod-Dnestrovsky, Izmail and airfields. But thanks to a timely order, the ships from the Danube bases were transferred to other sites, and the aircraft were stationed at field airfields. Attempts assault groups Romanian troops to seize a bridgehead and gain a foothold on the eastern bank of the Danube were repelled by the border guards of the 79th detachment and the troops of the 51st Perekop division.
There was relative calm on the Danube, since the main blow was delivered to the north, at the junction of the South and Southwestern Front. But systematic shelling of the coastal cities of Chilia, Izmail and Reni continued, thereby hampering the movement of Soviet troops and the Danube military flotilla.
Danube landing. To stop the shelling, the commander of the 51st Perekop Division, General P.G. Tsirulnikov gave permission to land troops on the Romanian bank of the Danube and destroy the batteries standing there. On the morning of June 24, after aerial reconnaissance A detachment consisting of 4 armored boats and 2 artillery support monitors reached Cape Satul-Nou. An amphibious detachment consisting of a combined company of border guards of the 79th border detachment, a machine gun and rifle company of the 51st rifle division and a platoon of Danube sailors was accepted onto the armored boat. In a short battle, two Romanian companies were defeated and 70 soldiers and officers were captured. 2 guns and 10 machine guns were captured. To develop the success, an infantry battalion of the 51st Infantry Division was transferred to the cape. Cape Satul Nou was completely cleared of Romanian troops. WITH Soviet side there were no losses.
Meanwhile, the command was developing a plan to capture the city of Chilia Veche. Since June 22, border guards have been repeatedly transported to the Romanian coast for the purpose of reconnaissance of enemy positions, sabotage and capture of prisoners. Intelligence 23 rifle regiment, which was to take part in the landing, mapped the enemy’s positions and firepower. Local residents who visited the other side during the Romanian occupation were interviewed.
Raid on Constanta. On June 25, the People's Commissar of the Navy approved, presented to him by the command of the Black Sea Fleet, a plan for an attack on the port and oil depots of Constanta.
For this purpose it was created strike force ships consisting of the leaders of the destroyers "Kharkov" and "Moscow" under the command of captain of the second rank M.F. Romanov and the Black Sea Fleet aviation in the amount of 13 aircraft. The support group consisted of the cruiser Voroshilov and the destroyers Soobrazitelny and Smyshlyny (Rear Admiral T.A. Novikov). It was planned to strike with bomber aircraft before dawn, after which the artillery of the strike group of ships would come into action. To achieve surprise in the attack, the ships had to leave the base at nightfall and move on a false course. In February 1941, installations were made around Constanta. minefields at a distance of 17 miles - 31 kilometers. Only people knew how to navigate the fairway senior officials Romanian and German command.
On June 25, 1941 at 20.10, the strike group of ships left Sevastopol. Two hours later, a group of support ships followed her. At 5.00, the leaders “Kharkov” and “Moscow” set out on a combat course and from a distance of 24 km. opened fire on oil storage facilities and the port of Constanta. About 300 shells were fired in 10 minutes. Warehouses and oil terminals in the port caught fire. Maneuvering and avoiding the fire of a 280 mm caliber Tirpitz railway battery, the leader “Moskva” was blown up in a minefield, broke and sank. The Romanians attribute its sinking to their batteries. There is also an assumption that the sinking was caused by the Soviet submarine. But such an assumption is unlikely - the submariners knew the silhouettes of their ships.
The leader of “Kharkov” could not provide assistance, because At that moment he himself was under fire from coastal batteries and was repelling attacks from German bombers. Having shot down 2 of them, he repelled the attack, but received damage to his boilers from dangerously close explosions of aerial bombs. About 70 people of the Moskva leader, including the commander, were picked up by Romanian boats.
While heading to the base, the leader “Kharkov” and the destroyer “Soobrazitelny”, which came to guard the damaged ship, abeam Bugaz, were attacked by a submarine. Dodging the torpedoes, the destroyer attacked her with depth charges and sank her. Present obvious signs her death. This, as it turned out later, was the Soviet submarine M-118, on combat duty. Due to poor coordination and lack of communication, our own people drowned our own. By the way, after the war, another sunken “baby” was found nearby, 100 meters from the sunken M-118 - perhaps at the same time. The M-type submarine can be seen on the 411 Battery Memorial.
Meanwhile, on the Danube events developed as follows. To capture the city of Chilia Veche, 4 armored and 10 border boats were allocated. Artillery support was provided by 2 monitors and the 99th howitzer regiment. Major P.N. was appointed to command the landing. Sirota is the commander of the 23rd Infantry Regiment. At dawn on June 26, coastal batteries and bombers of the Black Sea Fleet opened fire on several positions on the Romanian coast in order to camouflage the landing site. In the first echelon of the landing force was the 3rd rifle company of Lieutenant Yurkovsky. As they approached the shore, the boats were spotted and artillery fire was opened on them. Despite the damage received, the boats of the first wave of landings moored to the shore, the company attacked the enemy and knocked him out of their positions, which made it possible to occupy the city. By 10.00 on June 26, the city of Chilia-Veche was captured by troops from the 23rd Infantry Regiment and border guards. The garrison of the city and the border post were destroyed. More than 200 soldiers and officers were killed, and 720 people laid down their arms. The trophies included 8 guns and 30 machine guns. The landing party lost 5 people killed and 7 wounded. On the same day, the islands of Tataru and Dallaire were occupied. Thus, a 76 km long bridgehead was captured on Romanian territory. along the Chilia branch of the Danube from Rapida to Periprava. The Danube military flotilla received the opportunity to support operations ground forces without fear of shelling.
Since the beginning of the war, reconnaissance groups began to be formed in border cities to work on the territory of Romania. Scouts were trained from proven local residents - after all, from 1918 to 1940, this territory was captured by Romania. Individual groups reached Bucharest, bringing valuable information about the enemy and the mood of the civilian population.
51 Perekop division, border guards and sailors of the Danube military flotilla heroically held the bridgehead, despite the ever-increasing attacks of the Romanian troops. And they left him only by order of the command, because... to the north, the situation worsened and there was a threat of a strike on the flank and encirclement of Soviet troops on the Danube. July 19 last ships The Danube flotilla with landing troops removed from the Romanian shore left the Danube and went to Odessa.
By this time, fascist German troops had captured the Baltic states and Belarus, took Minsk, Lvov, Chisinau, and the defense of Kyiv and Leningrad began.
Valery LUTSEVICH,
Search group "Free Odessa"
On March 26, 1944, units of the 2nd Ukrainian Front reached the pre-war border between Moldavian SSR and Romania.
Exists historical joke with a bit of a joke that “over the centuries defensive wars The territory of Russia has increased significantly." In the modern ideology of Eastern European democratic regimes, the fundamental dogma about the end of the Second World War is the following: “The Nazi occupation gave way to the Soviet occupation.”
What it all looked like in reality is worth remembering today. On the day when we celebrate the anniversary of the Red Army's entry to the borders of the Soviet Union.
Privates of the 24th Border Regiment Merkulov, Kravchenko and Dmitrichenko are restoring a border post on the border with Romania
Small historical background. The Uman-Botoshan operation of the 2nd Ukrainian Front was an integral and final part of the so-called. “Stalin’s second strike” (Dnieper-Carpathian operation), the purpose of which was the liberation Right Bank Ukraine. Specifically, Konev was faced with the task of defeating the 8th Army of the Wehrmacht, as well as dissecting Army Group South of Erich von Manstein.
The following facts best demonstrate how serious the success of the operation was:
Ratio irrecoverable losses The ratio between the Red Army and the Wehrmacht during the operation was 1:2. On average, during offensive operations, the losses of the attacking side are four times higher. This is about the question of “filled with corpses”;
For the second in a row major failure and disagreements regarding further actions A. Hitler sent Manstein into honorable exile. Until the very end of the war, one of the best generals of the Wehrmacht did not accept direct participation in the leadership of troops;
Order to the commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Front I. Konev in connection with the entry of troops into state border The USSR was read on the radio by Yu. Levitan.
The successful actions of the Soviet troops could not but have a demoralizing effect on Germany's allies. But it was not Romania that was the first to falter (already by March 20, the 2nd Ukrainian Front reached its then borders), and Hungary. On March 19, Hitler, alarmed by the possibility of the Hungarian leadership starting separate negotiations, gave the order to send troops there. Thus, not only the existing German defense on the western borders of the USSR was cracking (in particular, troops were transferred to Romania from other sectors of the front, thereby weakening them), but also the entire political system dictatorial Europe created by Hitler.
Now let’s remember what kind of Europe our country was dealing with in the spring of 1944.
In Romania there is the dictatorship of Antonescu, an ally of Hitler. Romanian soldiers occupied the south of the Ukrainian SSR, Crimea, and only recently died at Stalingrad for the interests of the Reich.
In Bulgaria there is a pro-Hitler regency council.
In Hungary - which had previously joyfully sawed off Yugoslavia along with the Reich - it faltered and was just replaced by the German puppet Horthy: Hungary is occupied by German troops, pro-Nazi sentiments are still strong (which will come back to haunt us in 1956).
In Poland (which shared Czechoslovakia with Hitler before the sad events of 1939) there is a Home Army, deeply anti-Soviet. And by the way, several hundred thousand Polish soldiers fighting as part of the Wehrmacht.
The Finns, loyal allies of Hitler, still occupy Petrozavodsk.
And the cunning Churchill, who believes the best option mutual exhaustion of the USSR and Germany has been delaying the opening of the Second Front for many years now (history will show that the British Prime Minister will outplay himself: the opening of the Second Front will make it easier for the Soviet troops further promotion to the West, but the dream of “not letting the Russians into Europe” will remain a dream).
In a word, all Eastern, Central or Western Europe- both the one that is still for Hitler, and the one that is already against - this is minced meat from anti-Soviet forces, armies and parties. All of Europe, from Spain to Finland, fought in the Nazi convoy on Russian soil. Or - in the case of Great Britain - played the “balance of power” game.
According to the legends and myths of modern Eastern Europe, ideally soviet soldiers They should have, after watering the Eastern European lands with their blood, delicately left and given the opportunity to Hitler’s ex-allies to calmly return to power.
This did not happen. Soviet soldiers, having reached the border with Romania on March 26, 1944, first of all dug back the border pillars. But the USSR could not leave its enemies in power.
By the way, the Western allies behaved in exactly the same way, spending a lot of effort and human lives to prevent pro-Soviet communists from coming to power in France, Italy, and Greece.
Therefore, when today propagandists allegedly ask “ difficult questions"about what Soviet soldiers did in liberated Europe from 1945 to the 1990s, we should first ask what Europe did on Soviet soil from 1941 to 1944. And what, by the way, are the American occupation forces doing to this day in Germany and Italy.
On March 26, 1944, units of the 2nd Ukrainian Front reached the pre-war border between the Moldavian SSR and Romania.
There is a historical joke with a grain of humor that “over centuries of defensive wars, the territory of Russia has increased significantly.” In the modern ideology of Eastern European democratic regimes, the fundamental dogma about the end of the Second World War is the following: “The Nazi occupation gave way to the Soviet occupation.”
What it all looked like in reality is worth remembering today. On the day when we celebrate the anniversary of the Red Army's entry to the borders of the Soviet Union.
Privates of the 24th Border Regiment Merkulov, Kravchenko and Dmitrichenko are restoring a border post on the border with Romania
A little historical background. The Uman-Botoshan operation of the 2nd Ukrainian Front was an integral and final part of the so-called. “Stalin’s second strike” (Dnieper-Carpathian operation), the goal of which was the liberation of Right Bank Ukraine. Specifically, Konev was faced with the task of defeating the 8th Army of the Wehrmacht, as well as dissecting Army Group South of Erich von Manstein.
The following facts best demonstrate how serious the success of the operation was:
– The ratio of irretrievable losses of the Red Army and the Wehrmacht during the operation is 1:2. On average, during offensive operations, the losses of the attacking side are four times higher. This is about the question of “filled with corpses”;
– For the second major failure in a row and disagreements regarding further actions, A. Hitler sent Manstein into honorable exile. Until the very end of the war, one of the best generals of the Wehrmacht does not directly participate in the leadership of the troops;
– I. Stalin’s order to the commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Front I. Konev in connection with the entry of troops to the state border of the USSR was read out over the radio by Yu. Levitan.
The successful actions of the Soviet troops could not but have a demoralizing effect on Germany's allies. But the first to falter was not Romania (by March 20, the 2nd Ukrainian Front reached its then borders), but Hungary. On March 19, Hitler, alarmed by the possibility of the Hungarian leadership starting separate negotiations, gave the order to send troops there. Thus, not only the existing German defense on the western borders of the USSR was cracking (in particular, troops were transferred to Romania from other sectors of the front, thereby weakening them), but also the entire political system of dictatorial Europe created by Hitler.
Now let’s remember what kind of Europe our country was dealing with in the spring of 1944.
In Romania there is the dictatorship of Antonescu, an ally of Hitler. Romanian soldiers occupied the south of the Ukrainian SSR, Crimea, and only recently died at Stalingrad for the interests of the Reich.
In Bulgaria there is a pro-Hitler regency council.
In Hungary - which had previously joyfully sawed off Yugoslavia along with the Reich - it faltered and was just replaced by the German puppet Horthy: Hungary is occupied by German troops, pro-Nazi sentiments are still strong (which will come back to haunt us in 1956).
In Poland (which shared Czechoslovakia with Hitler before the sad events of 1939) there is a Home Army, deeply anti-Soviet. And, by the way, several hundred thousand Polish soldiers are fighting as part of the Wehrmacht.
The Finns, loyal allies of Hitler, still occupy Petrozavodsk.
And the cunning Churchill, who believes that the mutual attrition of the USSR and Germany is the best option, has been delaying the opening of the Second Front for many years now (history will show that the British prime minister will outplay himself: the opening of the second front will make it easier for the Soviet troops to further advance to the West, but the dream is “not to let the Russians in” to Europe” will remain a dream).
In a word, all of Eastern, Central or Western Europe - both those that are still for Hitler and those that are already against - are mincemeat of anti-Soviet forces, armies and parties. All of Europe, from Spain to Finland, fought in the Nazi convoy on Russian soil. Or – in the case of Great Britain – played the “balance of power” game.
According to the legends and myths of modern Eastern Europe, ideally, Soviet soldiers should have poured their blood on the Eastern European lands, delicately leave and allow Hitler’s ex-allies to calmly return to power.
This did not happen. Soviet soldiers, having reached the border with Romania on March 26, 1944, first of all dug back the border pillars. But the USSR could not leave its enemies in power.
By the way, the Western allies behaved in exactly the same way, spending a lot of effort and human lives to prevent pro-Soviet communists from coming to power in France, Italy, and Greece.
Therefore, when today propagandists ask supposedly “hard questions” about what Soviet soldiers did in liberated Europe from 1945 to 1990, we should first ask what Europe did on Soviet soil from 1941 to 1944. And what, by the way, are the American occupation forces doing to this day in Germany and Italy.
On June 22, 1941, together with Germany, fascist Romania attacked the USSR. The main goal of Romania's foreign policy was the return of territories transferred in 1940 to the Soviet Union, Hungary and Bulgaria. Despite the tension in relations with the two the last states, in reality, Romania, under the auspices of Germany, could only claim the return of lands occupied by the USSR ( Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia).
Preparing for an attack
The Romanian 3rd Army (mountain and cavalry corps) and the 4th Army (3 infantry corps), with a total strength of about 220 thousand, were intended for military operations against the USSR. According to statistics, the Romanian army was the largest among the allied forces of Germany.
However, 75% of Romanian soldiers were from among the dispossessed peasants. They were distinguished by their unpretentiousness and patience, but were illiterate and therefore could not understand the complex army equipment: tanks, cars, high-speed German guns, machine guns confused them. Was motley national composition Romanian army: Moldovans, Gypsies, Hungarians, Turks, Transcarpathian Ukrainians. Romanian officers had extremely poor training. There were no fighting traditions in the Romanian army on which military personnel could be educated. As a German corporal recalls: “The Romanian army was the most demoralized. The soldiers hated their officers. And the officers despised their soldiers.”
Along with the infantry, Romania contributed the largest contingent of cavalry. Six cavalry brigades pre-war period in March 1942 they were deployed into divisions, and in 1944 the number of regiments in each division was increased from three to four. The regiments were traditionally divided into two types - Rosiori and Calarasi. Roshiors in the 19th – early 20th centuries. called the Romanian regular light cavalry, resembling hussars. Kalarashi were territorial cavalry formations, recruited among large and medium-sized landowners, who provided themselves with horses and part of the equipment. However, already in 1941 the whole difference came down only to names. Foreign observers have repeatedly noted that, compared with conventional infantry divisions, the Romanian cavalry was characterized by high discipline and a spirit of military brotherhood.
The army's logistics were poor. Hitler knew all this, so he did not count on the Romanian army as a force capable of deciding strategic objectives. The German General Staff planned to use it mainly for auxiliary service in rear areas.
Invasion of the USSR
The first German troops, numbering 500,000 people, arrived in Romania back in January 1941 under the pretext of protecting the Antonescu regime from the Iron Guard. The headquarters of the German 11th Army was also transferred to Romania. However, the Germans positioned themselves near oil fields, because they were afraid of losing access to Romanian oil in the event of larger riots of legionnaires. By that time, Antonescu had managed to enlist the support of the Third Reich in the fight against the legionnaires. In turn, Hitler demanded that Antonescu assist Germany in the war against the USSR. Despite this, no joint agreements were concluded.
To the beginning of the Great Patriotic War The 11th German Army and units of the 17th German Army and the 3rd and 4th Romanian armies with a total number of more than 600,000 people were drawn to the Romanian-Soviet border. The Romanian command planned to capture small bridgeheads on the left bank of the Prut (the river along which the eastern Romanian border runs) and launch an offensive from them. The bridgeheads were located at a distance of 50-60 km from each other.
At 3:15 am on June 22, Romania attacked the USSR. In the first hours of the fighting, Romanian aviation carried out air strikes on the territory of the USSR - the Moldavian SSR, the Chernivtsi and Akkerman regions of the Ukrainian SSR, Crimean ASSR Russian SFSR. Simultaneously with south coast The Danube and the right bank of the Prut began artillery shelling of border settlements. On the same day, after artillery preparation, Romanian and German troops crossed the Prut near Cuconesti-Vechi, Sculeni, Leuseni, Chory and in the direction of Cahul, the Dniester at Kartal, and also tried to cross the Danube. The plan with bridgeheads was partially implemented: already on June 24, Soviet border guards destroyed all Romanian troops on the territory of the USSR, with the exception of Sculeni. There the Romanian army took up defensive positions. The Romanian troops were opposed by the 9th, 12th and 18th Soviet armies, as well as the Black Sea Fleet.
Occupation of Bukovina, Bessarabia and the area between the Dniester and Bug rivers
Hitler agreed to the annexation of Bessarabia, Bukovina and the interfluve of the Dniester and Southern Bug to Romania. These territories came under the control of the Romanian authorities, and the Bukovina Governorate (under the control of Riosheanu), the Bessarabian Governorate (the governor was K. Voiculescu) and Transnistria (the governor was G. Alexeanu) were established. Chernivtsi became the capital of the Bukovina governorate, Chisinau became the capital of the Bessarabian governorate, and first Tiraspol and then Odessa became the capital of Transnistria.
These territories (primarily Transnistria) were necessary for Antonescu for economic exploitation. They carried out active Romanianization of the local population. Antonescu demanded that local authorities behave as if “Romanian rule had been established in this territory for two million years,” and declared that it was time to move on to an expansionist policy, which included the exploitation of all types of resources in the conquered territories.
The Romanian administration distributed all local resources, previously the state property of the USSR, to Romanian cooperatives and entrepreneurs for exploitation. The local population was mobilized to serve the needs of the Romanian army, which led to damage to the local economy due to the outflow of labor. Free labor of the local population was actively used in the occupied territories. Residents of Bessarabia and Bukovina were used to repair and build roads and technical structures. By Decree-Law No. 521 of August 17, 1943, the Romanian administration introduced corporal punishment workers. Also, local residents of the regions were exported to the Third Reich as Ostarbeiters. About 47,200 people were deported from Romanian-controlled territories to Germany.
In agriculture, the labor of “labor communities” was used - former collective farms and state farms. Each community had from 200 to 400 hectares of land and consisted of 20-30 families. They grew crops both for their own needs and for the needs of the Romanian troops and administration. Communities and farms did not engage in cattle breeding, since all livestock was expropriated by the Romanian army. Of everything produced in the community during the year, the Romanian authorities allowed only 80 kg of grain per adult and 40 kg per child to be left for food; the rest was confiscated. In cities and others populated areas, where they did not engage in agriculture, a card system for purchasing bread was introduced. One person received from 150 to 200 g of bread per day. In 1942, Antonescu issued a decree according to which food distribution standards in Bessarabia were reduced to a minimum (apparently, these were the minimum calories necessary for physical survival), while the harvest was collected under the supervision of the police and gendarmerie, and agricultural products, even to production waste, were transferred to the jurisdiction of local Romanian authorities.
The Romanian administration pursued a policy of Romanianization in the occupied regions. A number of laws were adopted that ousted Russian, Ukrainian and other languages not only from the business sphere, but also from everyday life. Thus, all books in Russian, including those written in pre-reform Russian, were necessarily confiscated from libraries. Books in other European languages were also confiscated. The confiscated literature was dealt with differently: some were burned locally, some were taken to Romania.
The population of the occupied territories was divided into three categories - ethnic Romanians, national minorities and Jews who received identity cards different colors(Romanians - white, minorities - yellow, Jews - green); to all representatives of the Romanian state apparatus(including educators and priests) were ordered to “prove to the population that they are Romanians.”
In relation to the civilian population, it was carried out repressive policies, affecting all areas of life. According to the orders of the Romanian gendarmerie, not only weapons in private use were subject to confiscation, but also all radio receivers of private individuals. Repression was even envisaged for group singing on the street. It should be noted that these orders have many similarities with similar German ones that were in force in Ukraine. As the local Romanian authorities themselves admitted, in reality, the Germans controlled Romania’s occupation activities; moreover, in order to avoid the reluctance of the Romanians to fight on the side of Germany, the Germans set up so-called “points for the re-education of Romanian deserters”, and behind the advancing Romanian units often followed barrage detachments SS.
Gradual Romanization took place educational institutions. First of all, this concerned Transnistria, where more Ukrainians and Russians lived than Moldovans. Teachers were sent to schools in the region Romanian language, which were attached to each class. A strict law was introduced in Chisinau that generally prohibited speaking Russian. In addition, the administration demanded the use of Romanian equivalents of Slavic names: Dmitry - Dumitru, Mikhail - Mihai, Ivan - Ion, etc. The local population did not obey these laws. According to the governor of Chisinau, “the use of the Russian language is again becoming a custom.” To resist Romanian laws and preserve the original culture of the peoples of Bessarabia, the intelligentsia created underground circles. These societies were persecuted by the police because they popularized and propagated non-Romanian cultures of Bessarabia and Bukovina among the population.
Battle of Stalingrad
In September 1942, the 3rd and 4th Romanian armies arrived at Stalingrad, along with them were units of the Romanian Air Force: 7th fighter flight, 5th bomber flight, 1st bomber flight, 8th fighter flight, 6 1st flight of fighter-bombers and 3rd flight of bombers. These units were supposed to provide air support to the Romanian armies and the 6th German. The 3rd Army, under the command of Petre Dumitrescu, defended the German positions from the Don. By November 19, 1942, this army numbered approximately 152,490 men. The 4th Army under the command of Constantin Constantinescu took positions south of Stalingrad. In November 1942, this army numbered 75,580 people.
Between the 3rd and 4th Romanian armies was the German 6th Army under the command of Friedrich Paulus. Also in this region were the German 4th Army, the Italian 8th Army and the 2nd Hungarian army, which, together with the Romanian troops, were part of Army Group B. They were opposed by the 51st and 57th Soviet armies.
On November 19, the first major battle with the participation of Romanian troops. It began with Soviet artillery preparation, after which the Red Army went on the offensive. The Romanian units found themselves in a difficult position, since heavy troops took part in the offensive. soviet tanks. In this regard, they had to retreat to Raspopinskoye. Another major battle took place in this village when Soviet tank units tried to liberate the village. Romanian troops managed to repel the attack, but the Red Army broke through the Stalingrad front near the Romanian 3rd Army in two places.
By the end of November 20, the front near the 3rd Army had been broken through 70 kilometers. In this regard, the army headquarters was transferred to the Morozovskaya settlement, and the 15,000-strong group of General Mihai Lascar was surrounded. On the same day, the 51st and 57th Soviet armies launched an attack on the 4th Romanian, and in the evening the 1st and 2nd Romanian divisions were defeated. On November 21, the 22nd Division tried to weaken the pressure on Mihai Lascar's group, but along the way it itself was drawn into battle. The 1st Romanian Division tried to help the 22nd Division, but during the counter-offensive they mistakenly arrived at Soviet positions. Only on November 25 did the remnants of the 1st Division manage to leave the dangerous area.
On the evening of November 22, Laskar’s group tried to escape the encirclement, but on the way to the German positions, Mihai Laskar was captured and most of the soldiers were killed. On November 23, this group was destroyed. Many Romanian units were also surrounded. On November 24, the Red Army continued its offensive, as a result of which the Romanian units suffered heavy losses. Only 83,000 Romanian soldiers managed to escape from the encirclement. Stalingrad Front now passed along the Chir River.
In the following days, the situation at the front only worsened. On November 25, the 4th Romanian division was forced to retreat under pressure from Soviet troops. However, on November 26, Romanian-German troops took the initiative into their own hands, stopping the Soviet offensive. On November 27, during the operation of the German troops "Wintergewitter", the advancing Soviet units were stopped at Kotelnikovo. Although the Red Army's offensive was suspended, during the operation the 4th Romanian Army suffered losses of more than 80% of its personnel. On December 16, Soviet troops launched Operation Little Saturn, as a result of which the Romanian armies again suffered heavy losses. On the night of December 18-19, the 1st Corps, while trying to retreat, was detained by the 6th Soviet Army and defeated. To the south of the defeated 3rd Army there were still the Romanian 4th Army and the Italian 8th Army, which were jointly defending and trying to establish contact with the German forces at Stalingrad. Italian army was defeated on December 18, and on December 26, the 4th Army retreated, suffering serious losses. On January 2, the last Romanian troops left the Chir River.
During the Battle of Stalingrad, Romanian troops suffered total losses of 158,850 people; the Romanian Air Force lost 73 aircraft during the battles. Of the 18 Romanian divisions stationed at Stalingrad, 16 suffered heavy losses. Another 3,000 Romanian soldiers were captured. On February 2, 1943, the battle of Stalingrad ended in victory for the Red Army.
Krasnodar operation
In December, Romanian troops were defeated at Stalingrad, and a difficult situation arose for the 2nd Mountain Division in the Caucasus. The 2nd Division received orders to leave on December 4, 1942. North Ossetia. The retreat was carried out in difficult conditions, with low temperatures and constant attacks by Soviet troops. The 17th German Army was already in the Kuban, which included 64,000 Romanian soldiers.
On January 11, 1943, the 6th and 9th Cavalry Divisions, together with the German 44th Corps, blocked the Red Army's path to Krasnodar. On January 16, the 9th Division entered battle with three Soviet divisions, during which she was able to repel the attack. On February 12, Red Army troops entered Krasnodar and then attempted to dislodge German armies from Kuban. The 2nd Romanian Mountain Division found itself in a difficult situation, and therefore on February 20, the German 9th Infantry Division and the 3rd Romanian Mountain Division temporarily stopped the Soviet offensive and broke through to the 2nd Division.
At the same time, a reorganization of the Kuban front took place. Two Romanian cavalry divisions were sent to Anapa and to Black Sea coast. The remaining Romanian divisions were attached to the German forces or divided into several units. The 2nd Mountain Division remained in its previous positions. This reorganization preceded the Soviet offensive towards the Taman Peninsula. The offensive began on February 25, 1943. The 17th German Army managed to hold its position and repel the attack, and all Romanian units also remained in their positions. Despite the successful actions of the Romanian-German troops, they suffered big losses. Because of this, the 17th Army reduced the front line, and the 2nd Mountain Division left Kuban and retreated to the Crimea. On March 25, Soviet troops again tried to break through the German defenses, but the offensive again ended in failure. During the battle, the 1st Romanian battalion distinguished itself, which did not allow the Red Army to encircle the 17th Army. During the third Soviet offensive in April the 19th Division was forced to withdraw to the rear due to heavy losses. On May 26, the fourth offensive began, this time the main direction was Anapa. During the fighting, the Red Army managed to take only Hill 121 by June 4. By that time, the 19th Division had returned to the front.
At the beginning of June 1943, the intensity of the fighting in Kuban decreased; during the break, the 3rd Mountain Division was sent to Crimea. On July 16, Soviet troops launched another offensive, but were driven back to their original positions. On July 22, two Soviet battalions broke through to Novorossiysk, all attempts to repel the attack were unsuccessful. During the battle for the city, Romanian-German troops suffered heavy losses, some units lost more than 50% of their personnel. Meanwhile, the evacuation of Romanian troops to Crimea continued, Romanian air force units were sent to Kerch, 6th cavalry division was also sent to Crimea. The 4th Mountain Division arrived to replace it.
On September 9, the Novorossiysk-Tamanskaya began offensive Red Army. In order not to lose control of Novorossiysk, the Romanian-German troops threw all their forces into battle. However, the Red Army held on September 10 landing operation, landing 5,000 people in the port of Novorossiysk. On September 15, the battle for Novorossiysk ended - German-Romanian troops were driven out of it. A difficult situation was also developing in the north of Kuban, and therefore the Romanian troops began to retreat.
On September 4, plans began to be developed for the evacuation of Romanian-German troops from the Taman Peninsula, and in mid-September, after the defeat of the German troops in Novorossiysk, the evacuation began. The 1st and 4th divisions left the region by plane on September 20. On September 24 and 25, the remaining Romanian units retreated from Kuban to Crimea, but the 10th Infantry Division reached Crimea only on October 1. The retreat was accompanied by constant battles with Soviet troops. As a result, from February to October, Romanian troops lost 9,668 people (of which 1,598 were killed, 7,264 were wounded and 806 were missing.
Coup d'etat and reorientation of foreign policy
On August 23, 1944, Ion Antonescu and his advisers, on the advice of Constantin Sanatescu, loyal to Mihai I, went to the palace of Mihai I in order to report on the situation at the front and discuss further military actions. By that time, during the Iasi-Chisinau operation, there was a breakthrough of 100 km at the front, and Antonescu urgently arrived to the king. He did not know that Michael I and Communist Party agreed on a coup d'etat, and the communists even prepared an armed uprising. Ion Antonescu, arriving at the palace, was arrested and removed from power. At the same time, in Bucharest, military units led by communists and volunteer units took control of all government institutions, telephone and telegraph stations, depriving the country's leaders and German commanders of communication with Germany. At night, Mihai I spoke on the radio. During his speech, he announced a change of power in Romania, a cessation of hostilities against the USSR and a truce with Great Britain and the USA, as well as the formation of a new government led by Constantin Sănatescu. Despite this, the war continued. Not all Romanian officers knew about the truce or supported new government. Thus, military operations in the south of Moldova continued until August 29, but already on August 31, Soviet troops occupied Bucharest.
The coup was not beneficial to Germany and the German troops stationed in Romania. This was Army Group Southern Ukraine, which included the German 6th Army, the German 8th Army, the German 17th Army Corps and the Hungarian 2nd Army. In order to suppress the uprising in Bucharest, German units were sent there, but were stopped by Romanian troops loyal to the king. German aviation launched several bombings of Bucharest, Romanian fighters engaged them in fierce battles. German troops, who were at the Prut front, also immediately headed to the capital of Romania, but they were surrounded by the Red Army. At the same time, Romanian troops attacked German military units stationed in Ploiesti to guard the oil fields. These units attempted to retreat from Ploesti to Hungary, but suffered heavy losses and were unable to advance further. As a result, more than 50,000 German soldiers were captured in Romania. Soviet command sent for help Romanian troops and the rebels 50 divisions.
In Romanian historiography, it is generally accepted that the Romanian people independently overthrew Ion Antonescu and defeated the German armies located in Romania, and the assistance of the USSR and other foreign policy factors did not play the most significant role in the coup d'etat.
Ion Antonescu was handed over to the Soviet Union, and the Siguran service that supported him was dissolved. However, later the USSR returned the former conductor back to Romania, where he was shot along with some of his associates by the verdict of the tribunal.
