Romania

The origins of Romania begin in 1859 when the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia were joined in a personal union. The new state took on the name Romania in 1866 and gained independence from the Ottoman empire in 1877.

The Great War
Romania remained neutral at the outbreak of the Great War. The Allied Powers, particularly France continued to court Romania and by 1916 the Romanians were persuaded to join the war on the side of the Entente.

Romania joined the Entente in the Great War for the express purpose of regaining ancestral territories that they had been lost to Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary. They were understandably irritated when their demands as well as the Allies pre-war promises were completely ignored during the Brussels Peace Conference. The Romanian people, perhaps understandably, felt that they had endured the ravages of war, being over-run and occupied by the Central Powers, and received nothing in return.

Invasion of Hungary
Nationalist sentiment in Romania was at an all time high after the war and nationalist organizations became common. Opportunity arrived sooner than expected when in 1919 Hungary revolted and established the Hungarian republic. With the Hungarian military in disarray and the administration busy trying to organize a new state and government, the Romanians crossed the border in Transylvania and quickly pushed up to the Tisza river.

The added pressure of the Romanian invasion would prove too much for the tenuous Republic of Hungary. Slovak and Hungarian bolsheviks overthrew the Republican government and declared the  Hungarian and Slovak Soviet Republic. The Hungarian Red Army was able to put up a more serious resistance to the Romanian advance, but the new government recognized that they could not long maintain control amidst all the same pressures and tensions that had brought down Karolyi and his Republican government. As a result, negotiations were opened and Hungary agreed to cede Transylvania to Romania.

Iron Guard Romania
From 1920 to 1923 the nationalist grassroots organizations continued to pop up and grew in influence. One charismatic Nationalist leader in particular would rise in popularity and prominence. Corneliu Codreanu was a young and dashing figure who had participated in a number of Nationalist groups and political parties. He eventually founded his own society known as the Legion of the Archangel Michael. Eventually Codreanu transformed the group from community organizing activities and political activism into a paramilitary organization. The name of the organization would also change to the Iron Guard, with the youth wing of the organization retaining the name the Legion of the Archangel Michael.

In 1923 Codreanu led a coup backed by his paramilitary organization and deposed the government. The Monarchy was abolished and the King went into exile. Cordeanu’s new government would refer to itself as the Iron Guard, and Romania as the Legionnaire State.

In the following year when Bulgaria, under its own radical nationalist government, invaded Serbia, Codreanu would be instrumental in mobilizing Romanian sentiment for another war. Romania would join Serbia and Greece in the Balkan Alliance leading to the complete defeat and collapse of Bulgaria. Romania would then finally recover the territory it had lost to Bulgaria, finally reaching their goal of regaining all their lost ancestral lands.

Following Romania's victory in the Third Balkan War, Codreanu's popularity was at a peak and optimism soared in the Legionnaire State. Warning signs were already apparent, however, as Codreanu's character became increasingly erratic, unpredictable, and paranoid. He began to ensconce himself firmly in power by rolling out persecutions against rivals and opposition groups. In addition, Codreanu revealed himself to be a self-indulgent libertine, particularly in regard to womanizing.

By 1929 the persecutions had grown into a full blown reign of terror. In the formerly Bulgarian territories there was significant ethnic unrest. There was also growing agitation among some of the population in the territories formerly occupied by Hungary.

The situation continued to worsen until 1931 when Codreanu began a purge within the Iron Guard. Some within the organization had begun to question Codreanu’s methods and even sanity. The mere rumor of disloyalty set Codreanu in motion and he began rounding up any officers even remotely suspected of disloyalty.

The purge of the Iron Guard command threw the military into disorder and the Hungarian Soviets saw an opportunity too good to pass up. Hungary was still smarting from Romania invading in the middle of their civil war and compelling the victorious Soviet government to cede territory.

Hungarian-Romanian War
When the Hungarians invaded in late 1931, the local Romanian officers were able to organize a solid defense but the high command was in shambles and as a result proper reinforcement and supply was slow to materialize.

Despite the difficulties caused by the purge and resulting disorder, the military was able to mobilize under what remained of the Iron Guard high command. However, shoring up defenses in the north left other areas of the country depleted of troops and insurgents in the southern, formerly Bulgarian, territories took the opportunity to rise up.

During 1932 the Romanian troops were holding their own, but they lacked the resources and the leadership to mount an effective offensive against the Hungarian invaders. In addition, the southern territories were effectively in the hands of the Bulgarian nationalists. For much the year the Iron Guard troops on the northern front were lead by Nicolae Tanat. By this time Corneliu Codreanu had ceased to pay any attention to the war effort, alternating between assassination attempts against perceived rivals in the capital and paranoid seclusion. The Iron Guard Central Military Command had ceased to function as most of the high level officers had either been imprisoned, executed, assassinated or fled. As a result Nicolae Tanat ceased to look to the capital and became the defacto military leader of Romania.

By mid 1933 the capital had descended into chaos and anarchy. Prominent civil officials begged General Tanat to restore order in the Capital and seize control. The General, however, was too preoccupied fighting the Hungarians, who were by this time receiving significant aid from the Soviet Russians. The newly reconstituted Imperial Russian State was loath to see Romania become a Soviet Satellite and late in the year began to extend much needed support to General Tanat's forces.

The Arrival of Constantin Sanatescu
In January of 1934, Colonel Constantin Sanatescu returned to Romania at the head of a small volunteer force jointly backed by the British and the Imperial Russian State. Colonel Sanatescu had been posted in England as an attaché to the consulate. The volunteer force was small but organized around a core of well trained and veteran soldiers. Sanatescu assumed the rank of Brigadier General with the approval of the British and the Russians and marched his volunteer brigade on the capital.

Upon the brigade's arrival in Bucharest, Sanatescu was greeted by the beleaguered populace as a liberator and deliverer. He began rallying the remaining Iron Guard troops and restoring discipline in the city garrison. General Sanatescu moved quickly to depose and arrest Corneliu Codreanu. The dictator's personal guard surrendered after putting up a token resistance and it was found that Codreanu had committed suicide rather than face arrest and trial.

Despite Sanatescu gaining control of Bucharest, the Bulgarian nationalist insurrection, now organized as the Bulgarian Home Guard Army, still controlled much of the territory south of the capitol. In the west, Hungarian forces controlled Timisoara and in the north General Tanat's army was fighting for control of Cluj-Napoca.

Throughout 1934 the war began to turn steadily in favor of the Romanians. Under pressure from their Soviet Russian backers, the Hungarians decided to come to the negotiating table while they still had a strong hand. The war was eventually concluded in March of 1935 by the Treaty of Timisoara. The Hungarians gained some small territorial concessions and the Romanians were free to focus on defeating the Bulgarian Home Guard Army and rebuilding the infrastructure that had been torn apart by Codreanu's purges.

During the negotiation General Sanatescu assumed a leadership role and acted as the executive of Romania. General Tanat supported this action and continued to demonstrate his preference for remaining as far away as possible from the politics of the capital. Following the treaty signing, what remained of the Grand National Assembly reconvened and named conferred upon Sanatescu the title of Domnitor, formerly referring to a ruling prince. Sanatescu did not formally reestablish a monarchy and maintained a balance somewhere between constitutional monarchy and nationalist dictatorship.

Mid Century
Domnitor Constantin reversed the anti-Semitic policies of the old Iron Guard Legionnaire State and established the appearance of democracy by permitting elections for the Grand National Assembly. However, most political parties, including all socialist parties, remained outlawed and in practice Sanatescu retained firm control over the assembly. Sanatescu also launched agricultural reforms aimed at easing the plight of the peasant class.

Agriculture remained the dominant economic sector in Romania, but development of oil and coal resources also provided a significant economic boost to the country.

Diplomatically, Sanatescu retained close ties to the British and the Imperial Russians. Relations with Austria, Serbia, and Greece were cordial but not close.

Domnitor Constantin continued to rule Romania until his death from cancer in 1947. Before his death Sanatescu appointed Iuliu Maniu as his successor. Maniu was uncomfortable with the title Domnitor and favored moderate liberalization. He continued and expanded Sanatescu's agricultural and land reforms.

Maniu was already advanced in age and was seen by most as a transitionary leader, or caretaker of the office. He made no radical moves and would remain in office until his death from old age in 1955. Maniu was succeeded by his Inspector General of the Army, Alexandru Balan.

As Domnitor, Balan would emphasize development of Romania's natural resources, particularly petroleum and a variety of metals. Balan's ultimate goal was to put Romania on a competitive footing in the world of industrial production and global trade.