Romania’s participation in World War I encompasses all the political, diplomatic, and military measures and actions undertaken by the Romanian state, either alone or with its allies, between July 15/28, 1914, and October 29/11, 1918, with the main political goal being the realization of a unified Romanian national state.
In terms of its belligerent status, Romania went through various phases: neutral country during the period of July 15/28, 1914, to August 14/27, 1916; belligerent country on the side of the Entente from August 14/27, 1916, to November 26/9, 1917; in a state of armistice during the period of November 27/10, 1917, to April 24/7, 1918; non-combatant country from April 24/7, 1918, to October 27/9, 1918; and belligerent country on the side of the Entente from October 27/9, 1918, to October 29/11, 1918.
At the outbreak of World War I, Romania was internally characterized by the presence of democratic institutions, but the functioning of the state apparatus was far from Western standards. The economy had an archaic and anachronistic structure, relying on subsistence agriculture, traditional and with low productivity levels.
Society was dominated by a landowning aristocracy (large landowners) exercising dominance over a large mass of predominantly rural and largely illiterate population.
Despite the efforts made by the country’s political and intellectual elites in the second half of the 19th century, Romania was still far from synchronization with Western Europe. Despite its shortcomings, Romania remained the most productive country in Eastern Europe due to its natural resources and agricultural potential.
The international system at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century was marked by the rivalry among the great powers for control over the extra-European world. In Europe, Germany had become the main power, and its behavior on the continent led to a significant rearrangement of alliances compared to previous decades.
Romania itself was caught in these power games. On one hand, it was an object of rivalry among neighboring empires that had annexationist plans for different parts of its territory. On the other hand, Romania sought to create the conditions necessary to fulfill its national ideal of uniting all historical Romanian provinces into a single state.
From a military standpoint, Romania followed a victory without glory in the Second Balkan War. The euphoria of victory easily overlooked the shortcomings in military leadership, organization, troop training, and the lack of modern weaponry and technology.
Even though bound to the Austro-Hungarian Empire by a secret alliance treaty since 1883, Romania chose to declare neutrality at the outbreak of hostilities in July 1914, invoking the interpretation of the “casus foederis” clauses. During the years of neutrality, the liberal government led by Ion I.C. Brătianu adopted an attitude of expectancy, despite the pressures and promises from all sides involved in the conflict, urging Romania to join them.
In August 1916, Romania received an ultimatum to decide whether to join the Entente “now or never.” Under the pressure of this ultimatum, the Romanian government accepted to enter the war on the side of the Entente, even though the situation on the battlefronts was not favorable.
After a series of rapid tactical victories in Transylvania against numerically overwhelmed Austro-Hungarian forces, the Romanian army suffered a series of crushing defeats in the autumn of 1916, forcing the state authorities to retreat to Moldova and allowing the enemy to occupy two-thirds of the national territory, including the capital, Bucharest. The main causes of Romania’s defeat in the 1916 campaign against significantly inferior German and Austro-Hungarian forces were major political interference in military leadership, incompetence, imposture, and cowardice among a significant part of the military leadership, as well as inadequate preparation and equipping of troops for the type of warfare being conducted.
The geographical shape of the country in the form of an “L” presented significant problems to the army, as it opened a 1200 km front for an operational force of only 450,000 soldiers.
In the winter of 1916 and the spring of 1917, under the leadership of a new military leadership (Generals Prezan, Christescu, Grigorescu, Averescu, Văitoianu, etc.) and with substantial support from the French Military Mission led by General Henri Berthelot, the Romanian Army was reorganized and trained in modern ways adapted to the requirements of the war.
The campaign in the summer of 1917 was a success, initially achieving the defeat of the Central Powers’ forces in the battles of Mărăști, Oituz, and Mărășești. Romanian military planners intended to continue this offensive to start liberating the occupied territory, but the outbreak of the revolution in the Russian Empire led to the abandonment of these plans and a return to strategic defense.
The situation on the Eastern Front deteriorated, and after Russia concluded the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Central Powers, Romania was forced to request an armistice and then to exit the war and sign a separate peace under humiliating conditions in the spring of 1918. The refusal of King Ferdinand to formally sign this treaty, indefinitely postponing the act, made it possible to resume hostilities in the last two days of the war, thus preserving Romania’s status as a belligerent state at the Paris Peace Conference.
At the end of World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was dissolved, allowing for the formation of Greater Romania through the union of Banat, Bucovina, and Transylvania with Romania.
