Romania in the war 1941 1945. "Immoral" army. German allies on the Eastern Front

The reader is offered excerpts from the memoirs of Manole Zamfir, recorded by his friend.

Today Sergeant Manola Zamfir is 86 years old, he lives alone in the village of Sinesti, 25 kilometers from Bucharest. They call him "Uncle Manole"; Few know that he is a World War II veteran. His wife recently died at an advanced age. His son, who is almost60, lives in Bucharest. Uncle Manole owns an old adobe three-room house, a goat and a plot of land with an area of ​​2000 square meters. On this piece of land, he has grown the most beautiful garden in the entire village, and lives on its fruits–vegetables and grapes that he cultivates himself. Many young peasants come to him for advice on crop production. Near his garden is my summer house, we have known him for 10 years. I wrote down his story, because I believe: such a person deserves not to be forgotten.

On February 15, 1941, soldier Manole Zamfira began his studies at the Petru Rares military school near Cernavoda. After leaving school, he was enrolled in a sapper company of the 36th regiment of the 9th Infantry Division (battalion commander - Major Sekarianu, regiment commander - Colonel Vatasescu, division commander - General Panaiti).

On September 1, 1942, part of it was sent to the Don sector of the Eastern Front. The soldiers of the unit were taken by train to the railway station in Stalino, and then they marched for 6 weeks to the front line. At the time of their arrival, the situation on this sector of the front was calm, and they were tasked with building fortifications and winter shelters.

First major attack Soviet troops in their position began on November 9, 1942. It was unsuccessful, the Red Army units suffered heavy losses. This attack was followed by a month heavy fighting, with attacks from both sides, as a result of which neither side made any significant progress. It was a senseless carnage in which both sides suffered heavy losses.

During attacks under the command of Soviet officers, Red Army soldiers shouted (in Romanian): “Brothers, why are you killing us? Antonescu and Stalin drink vodka together, and we kill each other for nothing! "

Romanian soldiers were directed into frontal infantry attacks, which were preceded by artillery shelling of enemy positions. On the one hand, the Romanian artillery had little effect on strengths enemy, since the guns were small caliber, and the shots were not accurate. Our other weakness was the obsolescence of weapons. Most of the soldiers were armed with ZB rifles with bayonets. The company had only two machine guns and one Brandt cannon, and the platoon had 1-2 machine guns. This led to huge losses, sometimes up to 90% of the personnel. During this period, Manola Zamfir was awarded the rank of sergeant - both for bravery and to compensate for losses among sergeants.

He recalls that after one of the unsuccessful attacks from the entire company, only 7 soldiers survived, including himself. Young officers from the command of the sapper company died so often that Sergeant Zamfir did not even have time to find out their names. During the attacks, they were in front, so they were often killed first.

After several battles, Romanian soldiers began to use captured weapons and equipment. Sergeant Zamfir took a Beretta submachine gun as his main weapon. With regard to anti-tank weapons, the situation was even worse. Grenades against tanks were ineffective, and mines or special anti-tank weapons did not have. Molotov cocktails were used quite successfully. When the tank caught fire, the crew surrendered. But there were few tanks in this sector of the front, and Soviet commanders rarely used them to support infantry attacks. They kept tanks behind their infantry, for a kind of artillery support, quite useless. And Romanian sappers used tanks mainly in those cases when they moved forward during attacks.

Most of the fighting was common in World War II - infantry attacks with hand-to-hand combat in trenches. In one of these battles, Sergeant Zamfir stabbed a Soviet soldier with a bayonet. Before he died, this soldier told him in Romanian that he had five children at home. Until today, Uncle Manole regrets that incident, although he knows that he had no choice.

Another striking event in that sector of the front was the order received from the German high command to kill all Soviet prisoners. This was unacceptable for the Romanian officers, so the Romanian soldiers who released Soviet prisoners, taking their weapons and equipment, were not punished. Many times after the successful attacks of the Romanian units, the captured by them ran across the "no-man's" strip, while the Romanian officers "looked the other way." Sergeant Zamfir remembers the case when his platoon captured four female officers (they were supply officers caught on the front line). The company commander ordered him to take them behind dense bushes and shoot them there. In these bushes, Manole asked the women if they spoke Romanian. To his surprise, they all knew Romanian since they were Moldovans. And he told them: “Now you know where the positions of your troops are. I will shoot at the ground, I hope I never see you here again. Women were created to be mothers, not soldiers! " The captives kissed him and disappeared into the forest. After that, he fired several bursts into the ground and returned to his platoon.

Romanian troops in the south of Moldova, 1944.

Some Romanian soldiers raped Soviet women whenever the opportunity arose. Sergeant Zamfir was horrified by this, he is convinced that this is one of the most terrible sins. If an officer saw this, he would have shot such a soldier on the spot, but the soldiers were not constantly in front of the officers. Often rapists were punished by their own fighters. If the rapist was wounded, he was never removed from the battlefield.

At the end of 1942, four high-ranking German officers visited the positions of the Romanian troops. Although after several weeks of fierce fighting the front had advanced only 2-3 kilometers, the German general proclaimed: "Until next Christmas, we will be marching with you through the streets of America!" Sergeant Zamfir had no idea where this America was, he fought to exhaustion in the cold Russian winter, hoping to survive and meet next Christmas alive.

Three days after the visit of German officers, Soviet troops launched a massive attack supported by powerful artillery fire, as well as many T-34 tanks and dive bombers... In just one night, the Romanian front was broken through, and a hasty retreat of the troops began. Soviet soldiers shouted to us: "Brothers-Romanians, see you in Bucharest!"

In the first week, the retreat was so rapid that they left the wounded who could not walk. Sergeant Zamfir cannot forget the desperate screams of the wounded soldiers and their hands, with which they tried to reach their comrades. The Soviet army killed all the wounded prisoners.

The Romanian troops had almost no supplies, so they had to use captured weapons and captured ammunition and eat what they got in the way. There were periods when dogs, killed horses, or even raw grain and raw potatoes found in villages were eaten. The captured army food was prized most of all, so several attacks were launched - through guerrilla infiltrations into the enemy's location - with the aim of seizing the food. Soon, Soviet troops began to exercise more caution and better defend their supply units.

On May 2, 1943, in one of the clashes with the Soviet infantry, Sergeant Zamfir was wounded by shrapnel from an artillery shell. He was lucky: he was evacuated to a field hospital, so he survived. A week later, this hospital with all the wounded retreated to Sevastopol. Sergeant Zamfir, among 700 Romanian and German wounded, was taken aboard a German floating hospital and evacuated in the direction of Constantinople.

Despite the fact that the hospital ship was painted white and had a red cross on it, it was attacked by Soviet bombers immediately after leaving the Sevastopol harbor. He sank 12 kilometers offshore. After the attack, only 200 people survived, including the crew. They had to spend the night in the water, as the lifeboats on the ship sank with it. By morning, less than 100 people survived. The survivors were picked up by a German submarine leaving Sevastopol, but its command could not change its route in order to deliver the rescued Romanians to the Romanian port of Constanta. Many of those rescued from the water died on the way, as there were no doctors on board, only crew members. By the end of the journey, only 30 people survived from the deceased hospital ship.

Sevastopol destroyed as a result of battles

Sergeant Zamfir was taken to a large hospital in Vienna, where he was cured. Two months later, he was sent by plane to Constanta to return to warhead... His division had by then been tasked with coastal protection of the Constanta area, recovering from huge losses on the Eastern Front. This was a calm period for the division, as the enemy made no attempts to land on the coast of Romania.

During the autumn of 1944, the restoration and rearmament of the 9th division was completed, and it was sent by train to Tarnaveni, and from there on foot to Oarbu de Mures. There, the division met with several Soviet combat units and was ordered to cross the Mures River and attack the Germans, taking them by surprise. Romanian fighters were supposed to go on the attack, and Soviet troops "support" them from the rear. Colonel Vatasescu addressed his soldiers and told the truth about the situation: “We must do this to stay alive and protect our country. If we do not attack the Germans, Soviet troops will shoot us as prisoners, burn down our houses, and kill our children. The Soviet units that you see here are not here to support us, but to shoot us if we retreat. So don't count on their help. If any of you survive this war, remember that we did it for the sake of our people. "

The Mures River was crossed, crossing to rubber boats, and went into a frontal attack on the German troops located across the river. The attack was successful, mainly because the fighters fought to the last, knowing that they had little support from artillery and armored vehicles. And the Germans had good artillery support and even several tanks, so the losses of the Romanians were significant. But the Romanians nevertheless made a breakthrough and then continued the offensive almost without delay, freeing Hungary from the Nazis.

Orders were received from the Soviet command to attack constantly, without breaks for rest or replenishment of personnel. The first stop was allowed only at Debrecen, when the 9th Division was weakened so much that it no longer had any chance of a successful advance. Even the Soviet command understood that in order to advance further, it needed replenishment from Romania.

After a short break in Debrecen, the offensive resumed in the same difficult conditions. The most brutal and terrible battles were in the highlands, in the Tatras, where battles often turned into one-on-one battles in trenches, with the help of knives and stakes. Real mutual carnage. Here Sergeant Zamfir was again wounded, with three bullets in his right thigh. He was evacuated by plane to Medias (Romania) and operated on. Luckily for him, the shots were fired from a long distance, and the thigh bone was not shattered very badly. Just two weeks later, he was returned to the front, not fully recovered, but "fit for military service."

Once some Soviet officer addressed the Romanian troops with the following words: “We must completely destroy Germany, shoot everyone, from children to old people, and women too. Germany must remain completely deserted. " (Where this was said is unknown, since many soldiers were not told where they were.) Most Romanians were shocked by this order, only a few followed it. But attitude Soviet soldiers to the Germans pushed some Romanian soldiers to the fact that they, like some Red Army men, began to rape German women and rob German houses.

Sergeant Zamfir remembers that the women smeared themselves with earth and feces so that the soldiers of the invading armies would not rape them. Sometimes mothers themselves surrendered to the soldiers in order to save their children from violence. German men preferred suicide to Soviet captivity, so as not to be tortured by Soviet soldiers. These were inhuman principles of behavior, a terrible time. Sergeant Zamfir is convinced that only faith in God saved him. The principles of Christian teaching were the only law for him. He is ashamed of the behavior of some of the soldiers in his army, and he prays for the civilians in Germany who were then killed.

The advance of the Romanian troops ceased with the end of the war. Over the next month, Romanians, led by Soviet commanders, patrolled the occupied territory. After that, they were sent to get home on foot, as the Soviet command refused to provide rail transport. They reached the Romanian border on July 19, 1945, from there they were sent to Brasov. There the Red Army men disarmed them and let them go home. During the time that they fought against the German troops, they did not receive any payment, they went home, having nothing with them except their clothes. But they were glad they were alive.

Until 1940, Romanian military thought and military practice were guided by the French military school. However, after the defeat of France in June 1940, the Romanian military began to give preference to the German school. In October of the same year, a permanent German mission arrived in Romania. Its main goal was to prepare the Romanian army for war, with the greatest attention being paid to the fight against tanks and the training of junior command personnel.

The modernization program was only partially successful. A Czech-made 7.92mm rifle replaced the old 6.5mm Mannlicher system, and the cavalry received light czech assault rifle ZB 30. At the same time, there were still many weapons of obsolete models in the army. The anti-tank artillery was weak, although the Germans supplied the Romanians with captured 47-mm guns. Only the mountain rifle corps received modern Skoda artillery pieces. Most of the field guns have been in service since the beginning of the First World War, although captured French and Polish 75-mm guns also entered the army. Most of the artillery was still horse-drawn.

On September 1, 1939, the Romanian army consisted of 1 guards and 21 infantry divisions. In 1940, the intensive formation of new compounds began.

The general leadership of military development was carried out by the Supreme Defense Council, chaired by the Prime Minister. With the outbreak of the war, this post was taken over by the leader (conducător) Ion Victor Antonescu.

The Ministry of War (through the General Staff) was directly in charge of the armed forces.

The Romanian Armed Forces consisted of ground forces, air force and the navy, as well as the border guard corps, the gendarmerie and the building corps.

The ground forces consisted of 3 combined arms armies (21 infantry divisions and 14 brigades). They were armed with 3850 guns, up to 4 thousand mortars, 236 tanks.

The infantry division of Romania in 1941 included 3 infantry regiments, 1 artillery brigade (2 regiments), a battery anti-aircraft guns, company anti-tank guns and machine guns, reconnaissance squadron, communications battalion, engineering battalion and service units. In total, the division had 17,715 people, it had 13,833 rifles, 572 machine guns, 186 guns and mortars (75-mm field guns, 100-mm howitzers, 37-mm and 47-mm anti-tank guns).

Shelves regular army wore numbers from 1 to 33 and from 81 to 96, and the regiments of the first group were traditionally called "grenadiers" - "Dorobanti" (Dorobanti). Some divisions had Vanatori regiments, i.e. rifle, which wore numbers from 1 to 10.

After the First World War, elite mountain units were formed on the Italian model, like the "Alpine shooters". Each of these 4 brigades had 1 artillery and 2 rifle regiment as well as a reconnaissance squadron.

A squad of skiers from the Romanian mountain shooters. 1941 g.

Romanian mountain riflemen in positions in the Crimea. 1942 g.

The attack of the Romanian mountain shooters. Crimea, 1942

Particularly strong was considered Romanian cavalry. In addition to the Horse Guards, in the summer of 1941 there were 25 more linear cavalry regiments.

Romanian cavalry in the Ukrainian steppes. 1941 g.

In 1941, the only separate tank regiment (existed since 1939) was combined with the motorized rifle regiment into an armored brigade. At the beginning of the war, Skoda LTvz 35 tanks were mainly in service with the Romanian army, and for reconnaissance in the units there were a number of CKD light tanks. Most of the Skodas were lost in the battles at Stalingrad (some later converted to self-propelled 76-mm guns), and they were replaced German PzKpfw 38 (t) and T-IV.

Romanian Air Force included 11 aeroflotillas: fighter - 3, bomber - 3, reconnaissance - 3, seaplanes - 1, balloons - 1. In total, the Air Force had 1,050 aircraft, of which about 700 combat aircraft: fighters - 301, bombers - 122, others - 276.

The Romanian naval forces consisted of the Black Sea Fleet and the Danube Flotilla. Black Sea Fleet Romania by the beginning of the war had 2 auxiliary cruisers, 4 destroyer, 3 destroyers, submarine, 3 gunboats, 3 torpedo boats, 13 minesweepers and minelayers. The Danube river flotilla included 7 monitors, 3 floating batteries, 15 armored boats, 20 river boats and auxiliary vessels.

In the summer of 1941, for the attack on the Soviet Union, Romania allocated 2 field armies (3rd and 4th), which consisted of 13 infantry divisions, 5 infantry, 1 motorized and 3 cavalry brigades, about 3 thousand guns and mortars, 60 tanks.

The offensive of the ground forces was to be supported by 623 combat aircraft. In total, 360 thousand troops were involved in the war against the Soviet Union.
Romanian military uniform.

1st stage of the war against the USSR

To wage war against the Soviet Union, the Romanian army used mainly infantry weapons own production... In 1941, Romania produced 2.5 thousand light machine guns, 4 thousand automatic rifles, 2250 60-mm and 81.4-mm mortars, 428 75-mm artillery pieces, 160 47-mm anti-tank guns, 106 37-mm and 75-mm anti-aircraft guns, over 2.7 million mines and shells.

The Romanian troops were entrusted by the German command with the tasks of ensuring the deployment of the 11th German army in Romania and its offensive in the Right-Bank Ukraine. 4 infantry divisions, 3 mountain rifle and 3 cavalry brigades were reassigned to the headquarters of the 11th army from the 3rd Romanian army. The rest of the Romanian troops, consolidated into the 4th Army, were deployed on the extreme right wing of the Soviet-German front.

For hostilities in the Black Sea, Germany, not having its own warships there, used the Romanian navy.

The 3rd Romanian Army included a mountain rifle (1st, 2nd and 4th mountain rifle brigades) and a cavalry (partially motorized 5th, 6th and 8th cavalry brigades) corps. The 4th Army included the first three divisions trained by German instructors (5th, 6th and 13th) and other elite formations (Guards Division, Border and Armored Brigades).

During the siege of Odessa (August 5 - October 16, 1941), the Romanian troops received significant reinforcements and eventually began to include the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th 1st, 11th, 14th, 15th, 18th and 21st Infantry and 35th Reserve Divisions, 1st, 7th and 9th Cavalry Brigades; in addition, separate German units were attached to the armies.

Near Odessa, due to poor training and a lack of weapons, the Romanian units suffered heavy losses - on September 22, 2 infantry divisions were defeated. After the Odessa garrison was evacuated from October 1 to October 16, 1941, the 4th Romanian army had to be sent to reorganize.

Military units from the 3rd Army (as well as the 1st, 2nd, 10th and 18th Infantry Divisions) remained at the front, although they came under the command of German generals. The mountain rifle corps fought in the Crimea as part of the 11th German army, and the cavalry corps as part of the 1st tank army... Smaller units, such as the Romanian mechanized regiment and skier squads, also operated in conjunction with the German units during the winter campaign.

2nd stage of the war against the USSR

In the summer of 1942, there was a build-up of Romanian forces on the Eastern Front. The Mountain Rifle Corps (later the 18th Infantry and the 1st Mountain Rifle Divisions) was involved in the attack on Sevastopol. In 1942, the brigade was reorganized according to Wehrmacht standards and created the 1st Armored Division (later called "Greater Romania").

In August, a strong Romanian corps (which included the 18th and 19th Infantry, 8th Cavalry and 3rd Mountain Rifle Divisions) crossed the Kerch Strait with battles. At the same time, the 2nd Mountain Rifle Division, which had been on vacation since the end of 1941, was transferred to the North Caucasus, where it became part of the 3rd German tank corps... General Dumitrescu's 3rd Army reappeared at the front (5th, 6th, 9th, 13th, 14th and 15th Infantry, 1st and 7th Cavalry, 1st Armored Division ) and in October occupied the area north of Stalingrad. Meanwhile, the Romanian corps reached the front lines on the southern flank.

In November 1942, it was replenished with other units, and then transferred to the 4th German Panzer Army (a total of 6 Romanian divisions: 1st, 2nd, 4th and 18th Infantry, 5th and 8th Cavalry ). Hitler proposed that most of the units of the 4th German Panzer Army go into the 4th Army of General Constantinescu, and then, together with the 3rd Romanian and 6th German armies, form new group Army "Don" under the command of Marshal Antonescu.

The 4th Army moved forward and began deployment just at the moment when Soviet troops began an operation to encircle the Stalingrad group. Most of the Romanian divisions were defeated, and two (20th Infantry and 1st Cavalry) ended up inside the "Stalingrad Cauldron". The remnants of the units were collected in hastily organized army groups "Goth" (1st, 2nd, 4th and 18th Infantry, 5th and 8th Cavalry Divisions) and "Hollid" (7th, 9th I, 1st 1st and 14th Infantry, 7th Cavalry and 1st Armored Divisions), but they suffered such heavy losses that by February 1943 they were taken to re-form.

The morale of the Romanian military dropped significantly. This allowed the Soviet command to begin in the fall of 1943 to create from former prisoners Romanian formations as part of the Soviet army.

3rd stage of the war against the USSR

The counteroffensive of Soviet troops led to the fact that many Romanian divisions were under the threat of encirclement on the Kuban bridgehead and in the Crimea (10th and 19th infantry, 6th and 9th cavalry, 1st, 2nd, 3rd I and the 4th Mountain Division). The Germans tried to remove them from the front line and throughout 1943 they used the Romanians mainly in the defense of the coastline and in the fight against the partisans.

In April 1944, the 10th Infantry and 6th Cavalry Divisions, which were considered "resistant", were defeated in the Crimea. Most of the units were withdrawn from the fighting and returned to Romania for reorganization. The troops withdrawn to Romania were used to defend Bessarabia.

4th stage of the war against the USSR

By May 1944, the 3rd and 4th armies were sent to the front. Now the Romanians managed to insist on establishing a certain parity in the distribution of command posts in the German-Romanian grouping. On the right flank, as part of the Dumitrescu army group, there were the 3rd Romanian and 6th German armies (the 2nd, 14th and 21st infantry, 4th mountain rifle and 1st cavalry Romanian divisions fought here).

The 4th Romanian army, together with the 8th German army, formed the army group "Weller" (it included the following Romanian formations: Guards, 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 11th 1st, 13th and 20th Infantry, 5th Cavalry and 1st Armored Divisions). With the beginning of the Soviet offensive in August 1944, this front collapsed.

Romania in the war against Germany and Hungary (1944 - 1945)

King Mihai arrested Antonescu and Romania joined the anti-Hitler coalition. Her participation in the war on the side of Germany ended. At the same time, some a number of convinced Romanian fascists voluntarily joined the Waffen SS.

After some hesitation, the Soviet command decided use Romanian formations at the front... The 1st Army (created on the basis of the divisions and training units withdrawn from the Crimea) and the new 4th Army (almost entirely composed of training units) began again fighting in Transylvania. In hostilities against the German-Hungarian troops the Romanian Air Force was active.

In total, Romania lost 350 thousand people in battles with Soviet troops, and at the end of the war another 170 thousand in battles with German and Hungarian troops.

On June 22, 1941, together with Germany, fascist Romania attacked the USSR. The main goal of Romania's foreign policy was the return of the territories transferred in 1940 to the Soviet Union, Hungary and Bulgaria. Despite the tension in relations with the latter two states, in reality Romania, under the auspices of Germany, could only claim the return of the lands occupied by the USSR (Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia).

Preparing for an attack

For military operations against the USSR, 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. According to statistics, the Romanian army was the largest among the allied troops of Germany.

However, 75% of the Romanian soldiers were disadvantaged peasants. They were distinguished by unpretentiousness, patience, but they were illiterate and therefore could not understand the complex military equipment: tanks, cars, rapid-fire German guns, machine guns confused them. Was colorful and National composition Romanian army: Moldovans, Gypsies, Hungarians, Turks, Transcarpathian Ukrainians. Romanian officers were extremely poorly trained. There were no military traditions in the Romanian army, which could be used to educate military personnel. 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 provided the largest cavalry contingent. Six pre-war cavalry brigades were deployed in a division in March 1942, and in 1944 the number of regiments in each division was increased from three to four. The shelves were traditionally divided into two types - Rosiori and Calarasi. Roshirami in the XIX - early XX century. called the Romanian regular light cavalry, reminiscent of the hussars. Kalarash were territorial cavalry formations recruited from large and medium-sized landowners who provided themselves with horses and part of the equipment. However, already in 1941 the whole difference was reduced only to the names. Foreign observers have repeatedly noted that, compared to conventional infantry divisions, the Romanian cavalry was characterized by high discipline and a spirit of military brotherhood.

The logistics of the army were poor. All this was known to Hitler, so he did not count on the Romanian army as a force capable of solving strategic tasks. The German General Staff planned to use it mainly to carry out auxiliary service in the rear areas.

Invasion of the USSR

The first German troops, numbering 500,000, arrived in Romania back in January 1941 under the pretext of protecting the Antonescu regime from the Iron Guard. Also, the headquarters of the 11th German army was transferred to Romania. However, the Germans settled near the oil fields, as they were afraid of losing access to Romanian oil in the event of larger legionnaire riots. 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.

By 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 strength of more than 600,000 were pulled up 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 passes) 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. Romanian aviation in the first hours of the fighting inflicted air strikes across the territory of the USSR - the Moldavian SSR, the Chernivtsi and Akkerman regions of the Ukrainian SSR, the Crimean ASSR of the Russian SFSR. At the same time, artillery shelling of border settlements began from the southern bank of the Danube and the right bank of the Prut. On the same day, after the artillery barrage, Romanian and German troops crossed the Prut near Kukonesti-Veki, Skulen, Leushen, Chory and in the direction of Cahul, Dniester near Kartal, and also tried to force the Danube. The bridgehead plan was partially implemented: on June 24, Soviet border guards destroyed all Romanian troops on the territory of the USSR, with the exception of Skulen. 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 interfluve of the Dniester and Bug

Hitler agreed to the annexation of Bessarabia, Bukovina and the interfluve of the Dniester and the Southern Bug to Romania. These territories came under the control of the Romanian authorities, on which the Bukovina governorate (under the control of Rioshyanu), the Bessarabian governorate (governor - K. Voiculescu) and Transnistria (the governor became G. Aleksianu) were established. Chernivtsi became the capital of the Bukovina governorate, Chisinau in Bessarabia, and Tiraspol, and then Odessa, in Transnistria.

These territories (primarily Transnistria) were needed by Antonescu for economic exploitation. They were actively involved in the Romanization of the local population. Antonescu demanded that the local authorities behave as if "the power of Romania was 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 occupied territories.

The Romanian administration distributed all local resources that were previously 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. The inhabitants of Bessarabia and Bukovina were used for the repair and construction of roads and technical structures. By Decree-Law No. 521 of August 17, 1943, the Romanian administration introduced corporal punishment of workers. Also locals regions were exported to the Third Reich as ostarbeiters. About 47,200 people were hijacked from the Romanian-controlled territories to Germany.

In agriculture, the labor of "working communities" - former collective and state farms was used. Each community had at its disposal from 200 to 400 hectares of land and consisted of 20-30 families. They cultivated agricultural crops both for their own needs and for the needs of the Romanian troops and administration. The communities and farms were not engaged in cattle breeding, since all the cattle were expropriated by the Romanian army. Of all that was produced in the community in a 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 other settlements where they were not engaged in agriculture, a rationing system for buying bread was introduced. One person received from 150 to 200 g of bread per day. In 1942, Antonescu issued a decree according to which the norms for the distribution of food on the territory of Bessarabia were reduced to a minimum (apparently, such was the minimum in calories necessary for physical survival), while the harvest was harvested under the supervision of the police and gendarmerie, and agricultural products, up to before production wastes were transferred to the jurisdiction of local Romanian authorities.

The Romanian administration pursued a policy of Romanization in the occupied regions. A number of laws were adopted that ousted Russian, Ukrainian and other languages ​​not only from business sphere but also from Everyday life... Thus, all books in Russian, including those written in pre-reform Russian, were seized from libraries without fail. Also, books in other languages ​​of Europe were seized. The confiscated literature was treated differently: some were burned on the spot, some were exported to Romania.

The population of the occupied territories was divided into three categories - ethnic Romanians, national minorities and Jews, who received identity cards of different colors (Romanians - white, national minorities - yellow, Jews - green); all representatives of the Romanian state apparatus (including educators and priests) were ordered to "prove to the population that they are Romanians."

A repressive policy was carried out against the civilian population, affecting all spheres of life. According to the orders of the Romanian gendarmerie, not only weapons that were in private use were subject to confiscation, but also all radio receivers of private individuals. Repression was even envisaged for group singing in the street. It should be noted that these orders have much in common with similar German orders in force in Ukraine. As the local Romanian authorities themselves admitted, in reality, the occupation measures carried out by Romania were controlled by the Germans, moreover, in order to avoid the unwillingness of the Romanians to fight on the side of Germany, the Germans deployed so-called "centers for the re-education of Romanian deserters", and the advancing Romanian units were often followed by SS defensive detachments ...

There was a gradual Romanization educational institutions... This primarily concerned Transnistria, where more Ukrainians and Russians lived than Moldovans. Romanian language teachers were sent to schools in the region and assigned to each class. In Chisinau, a strict law was introduced, generally forbidding to speak 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, as they carried out the popularization and propaganda of the 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 units of the Romanian Air Force: the 7th link of fighters, the 5th link of bombers, the 1st link of bombers, the 8th link of fighters, 6 the third link of fighter-bombers and the third link of bombers. These links were supposed to provide air support for 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 about 152,490 people. The 4th Army, under the command of Constantin Constantinescu, took up positions south of Stalingrad. In November 1942, this army numbered 75,580 people.

Between the 3rd and 4th Romanian armies, the 6th German army under the command of Friedrich Paulus was located. Also in this region were the 4th German Army, the 8th Italian 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, near Stalingrad, the first major battle took place with the participation of Romanian troops. It began with Soviet artillery preparation, followed by the Red Army on the offensive. The Romanian units found themselves in a difficult position, since heavy Soviet tanks... In this regard, they had to retreat to Raspopinskoe. Another major battle took place in this village, when Soviet tank units tried to liberate the village. The Romanian troops managed to repel the attack, but the Red Army in two places broke through the Stalingrad front near the 3rd Romanian army.

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 settlement of Morozovskaya, and the 15,000-strong group of General Mihai Laskar was surrounded. On the same day, the 51st and 57th Soviet armies launched an offensive against 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 onslaught on the group of Mihai Laskar, but on the way it was itself dragged into battle. The 1st Romanian Division tried to help the 22nd Division, but during the counteroffensive it mistakenly arrived at the Soviet positions. Only on 25 November did the remnants of the 1st division manage to leave the dangerous area.

On the evening of November 22, Laskar's group tried to get out of the encirclement, but on the way to the German positions, Mihai Laskar was captured, and most of the soldiers were killed. This group was destroyed on 23 November. Many Romanian units were also surrounded. On November 24, the Red Army continued the offensive, as a result of which the Romanian units suffered heavy losses. Only 83,000 Romanian soldiers managed to escape from the encirclement. The Stalingrad front now ran 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 the onslaught of Soviet troops. However, on November 26, the 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 offensive of the Red Army 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. South of the defeated 3rd Army, the 4th Romanian Army and the 8th Italian Army were still located, which jointly defended and tried to establish contact with the German troops in Stalingrad. The 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 Battle of Stalingrad Romanian troops suffered total losses of 158 850 people, the Romanian Air Force lost 73 aircraft during the fighting. 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 with the victory of the Red Army.

Krasnodar operation

In December, the Romanian troops were defeated at Stalingrad, and a difficult situation developed for the 2nd Mountain Division in the Caucasus. 2nd Division on December 4, 1942 received an order to leave 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, in which there were 64,000 Romanian soldiers.

On January 11, 1943, the 6th and 9th cavalry divisions, together with the German 44th corps, blocked the path of the Red Army to Krasnodar. On January 16, the 9th division entered into battle with three Soviet divisions, during which it was able to repel the attack. On February 12, the troops of the Red Army entered Krasnodar, and then made an attempt to drive the German armies out of the Kuban. The 2nd Romanian Mountain Division found itself in a difficult situation, in connection with which on February 20, the German 9th Infantry Division and the 3rd Romanian Mountain Division temporarily suspended the Soviet offensive and broke through to the 2nd Division.

At the same time, the Kuban front was reorganized. Two Romanian cavalry divisions were sent to Anapa and the Black Sea coast. The rest of the Romanian divisions were attached to the German forces or divided into several parts. The 2nd Mountain Division remained in the same 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 positions and repel the attack, and all the Romanian units also remained in their positions. Despite the successful actions of the Romanian-German troops, they suffered heavy losses. Because of this, the 17th Army reduced the front line, and the 2nd Mountain Division left the Kuban and withdrew 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 retreat to the rear due to heavy losses. On May 26, the fourth offensive began, this time Anapa became the main direction. 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 the Kuban decreased, during the break, the 3rd Mountain Division was sent to the 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 offensive were unsuccessful. During the battle for the city, the 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 forces were sent to Kerch, and the 6th Cavalry Division was also sent to Crimea. She was replaced by the 4th Mountain Division.

On September 9, the Novorossiysko-Taman offensive operation of the Red Army began. In order not to lose control over Novorossiysk, the Romanian-German troops threw all their forces into battle. However, the Red Army spent 10 September landing operation having disembarked 5,000 people at the Novorossiysk port. On September 15, the battle for Novorossiysk ended - the German-Romanian troops were driven out of it. In the north of the Kuban, a difficult situation was also developing, in connection with which 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 German troops in Novorossiysk, the evacuation began. The 1st and 4th divisions left the region by aircraft on 20 September. On September 24 and 25, the rest of the Romanian units retreated from the Kuban to the Crimea, but the 10th Infantry Division entered the Crimea only on October 1. The retreat was accompanied by constant battles with Soviet troops. As a result, from February to October, the Romanian troops lost 9668 people (of which 1598 were killed, 7264 were wounded and 806 were missing.

Coup d'état and reorientation of foreign policy

On August 23, 1944, Ion Antonescu with his advisers, on the advice of the loyal Mihai I, Constantin Sanatescu, 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 Jassy-Kishinev operation, there was a breakthrough of 100 km at the front, and Antonescu urgently arrived at the king. He did not know that Mihai I and Communist party agreed on a coup d'état, and the Communists even prepared 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 detachments took control of all state institutions, telephone and telegraph stations, depriving the country's leaders and German commanders of communication with Germany. At night, Mihai I appeared on the radio. During his speech, he announced a change of power in Romania, the end of hostilities against the USSR and an armistice with Great Britain and the United States, as well as the formation of a new government headed by Constantin Sanatescu. Despite this, the war continued. Not all Romanian officers knew about the truce or supported the 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. It was Army Group Southern Ukraine, which included the 6th German Army, 8th German Army, 17th German Army Corps and 2nd Hungarian Army. In order to suppress the uprising in Bucharest, German units were sent there, which were stopped by the Romanian troops loyal to the king. German aviation undertook several bombings of Bucharest, Romanian fighters entered into fierce battles with them. German troops, who were at the front near the Prut, also immediately went 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 oil fields. These units tried to retreat from Ploiesti to Hungary, but suffered heavy losses and were unable to advance further. As a result, more than 50,000 German soldiers were taken prisoner in Romania. The Soviet command sent 50 divisions to help the Romanian troops and the rebels.

In Romanian historiography, it is generally accepted that the Romanian people independently overthrew Ion Antonescu and defeated the German armies in Romania, while Soviet assistance and other foreign policy factors did not play a significant role in the coup d'état.

Ion Antonescu was extradited to the Soviet Union, and the Ciguranza service that supported him was disbanded. However, later he returned the former conductor of the USSR back to Romania, where he, by the verdict of the tribunal, was shot along with some of his entourage.

Romania's position changed dramatically when the Nazis came to power in Germany. In the conditions of Hitler's foreign policy successes, the ruling clique of Romania also took the path of fascism. After the signing of the Soviet-German non-aggression pact, Germany agreed to fulfill the USSR's demand for the transfer of Bukovina and Bessarabia. Another circumstance that influenced the external orientation of Romania was the surrender of France on June 18, 1940. The return of Bessarabia and the preservation of the territorial integrity of Romania now depended on the will of Germany.

On September 3, 1940, King Karol of Romania brought General Ion Antonescu (1882-1946) to power, former boss General Staff of the Romanian Armed Forces, known for its pro-fascist views. The king counted on the general's loyalty. On September 6, 1940, Antonescu insisted on the abdication of King Carol from power, expelled him from the country and handed over power to King Mihai. Antonescu became a "conductor" (tantamount to "Fuhrer" in Germany or "Duce" in Italy), i.e. the de facto head of state. He eliminated the remnants of democratic freedoms and established a totalitarian regime in the country. The entire Romanian economy was placed at the service of Germany. In October of the same year, Romania was flooded with German instructors stationed along the Soviet border and at strategically important points.

Participation of Romanian troops in World War II

In the spring of 1941, German troops were concentrated in Romania, which were intended to invade the USSR according to the Barbarossa plan. After the end of military operations in Yugoslavia, they were sent to the borders of the USSR. On June 11, 1941, at a meeting between Hitler and Antonescu, plans for a joint attack on the Soviet Union were finally clarified. The Romanian leadership hoped to return Bessarabia, as well as try to expand Romania to Odessa and southern Ukraine. Antonescu provided Germany with 24 infantry, 4 cavalry, and 2 mechanized divisions, up to 1 million soldiers. However, the Romanian army was not ready for war: poorly trained soldiers had no combat experience. Already in November 1941, the losses of the Romanian army in killed and wounded amounted to over 300 thousand people. The Romanian command was forced to withdraw them to Romania for reorganization.

In July 1942, Romanian troops reappeared on the Soviet-German front. On the approaches to Stalingrad, 18 Romanian divisions out of 24 were defeated, of which 12 were completely destroyed or taken prisoner. The total losses of the Romanian army on the Soviet-German front amounted to over 1 million people.

At the beginning of April 1944, Soviet troops crossed the state border of the USSR, in August 1944 entered the territory of Romania and reached the Danube. This served as the impetus for the intensification of the mass movement against the regime of General Antonescu. The organizers of the resistance were democratic forces, united in a united workers' front, created in 1944.

Capitulation of Romania

On August 23, 1944, the fascist dictatorship of Antonescu was overthrown. The "conductor" himself was arrested by order of King Mihai, and in 1946 he was sentenced to death for war crimes. The government of General Sayaatesku came to power. It included the leaders of four parties that formed a national-democratic bloc. The new government asked the allied command for an armistice. On September 12, 1944, Great Britain, the USSR and the USA signed an armistice with Romania in Moscow. She capitulated, breaking off relations with Germany and turning weapons against her. However, the fulfillment of the terms of the armistice ran into opposition from the reactionary forces, which sought to limit its scope. In opposition to the reaction in Romania, the National Democratic Front of the Left forces was formed. advocating the fulfillment of the terms of the armistice and a decisive break with the anti-democratic regime.

Struggle to Implement Democratic Reforms

At the end of February 1945, a wave of mass rallies swept across the country, the participants of which demanded the implementation of democratic reforms, the liquidation of Hitler's organizations. The government responded with massive repression, rallies and demonstrations were dispersed with the wave of troops. Under pressure from the working masses, the reactionary government of General Radescu was forced to resign. On March 6, a new government was formed, headed by the leader of the front of farmers, Petru Groza (1884-1958). The new government has taken decisive steps to democratize and renovate the country. On March 20, a law was passed on agrarian reform who undermined the influence of large landowners and landowners on political life country. This laid the prerequisites for the rise of agriculture and the genuine democratization of the country. P. Groza's government carried out the democratization of internal government.

On August 2, 1945, at the Berlin Conference, it was decided to support “Romania's request to join the UN. and on August 6, the USSR restored diplomatic relations with Romania.In February 1946, the new Romanian government was recognized by the United States of America and Great Britain.

• Summary
  1940-1944 - cooperation between Romania and Germany
  August 1944 - the USSR army entered the territory of Romania
  September 1944 - Romania signed the act of unconditional surrender
  March 1945 - Petru Groza - Implementation of Democratic Reforms

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Who fought in numbers, and who - by skill. The monstrous truth about the losses of the USSR in World War II Sokolov Boris Vadimovich

Losses of Romania

Losses of Romania

Romanian losses in World War II are calculated by us within the borders on September 1, 1941, with Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, re-included in Romania at the beginning of August 1941 and again taken away from it The Soviet Union in August 1944, and also without Northern Transylvania, ceded by Romania to Hungary by the decision of the Vienna Arbitration on August 30, 1940. The losses of the Romanian armed forces amounted to 71,585 killed, 243,625 wounded and 309,533 missing during the war against the USSR in June 1941 - August 1944. During the war against Germany and its allies in August 1944 - May 1945, Romanian losses amounted to 21,735 killed, 90,344 wounded and 58,443 missing. The Romanian land army in the war against the USSR lost 70 406 killed, 242 132 wounded and 307 476 missing. Its losses in the fight against Germany amounted to 21,355 killed, 89,962 wounded and 57,974 missing. The Romanian Air Force lost 4,172 people, of which 2,977 people during hostilities on the side of Germany (972 dead, 1167 wounded and 838 missing) and 1195 people during hostilities against Germany and Hungary at the final stage of the war (356, 371 and 468). The losses of the fleet in the fight against the USSR alone amounted to 207 killed, 323 wounded and 1219 missing, and in the fight against Germany - 24, 11 and 1, respectively. The total losses of the Romanian armed forces in the Second World War amounted to 92 940 killed, 333 966 wounded and 331 357 missing. Of the missing, about 130 thousand are prisoners taken in the Iasso-Chisinau cauldron, in fact, after Romania went over to the side Anti-Hitler Coalition ... In total, 187,367 Romanians were captured in Soviet captivity, of which 54,612 people died. In addition, 14,129 Moldovans who served in the Romanian army were captured by the Soviet Union. The death rate among Moldovans in Soviet captivity is unknown. It can be assumed that the majority of Moldovans were drafted into the Red Army shortly after the capture. In total, according to some estimates, 256.8 thousand inhabitants of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina were drafted into the Red Army, of which, according to official Russian data, up to 53.9 thousand people died. Since we have established that this source underestimates the losses of the Red Army by approximately 3.1 times, the number of Moldovans who died in the ranks of the Red Army could be estimated at 167 thousand. drafted into the Red Army from the former Romanian territories, the total losses of the inhabitants of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina in the ranks of the Red Army could be estimated at 200 thousand dead. However, the figure of 53.9 thousand is too small, and the coefficient obtained for the total value of irrecoverable losses cannot be applied to it, since the number 53.9 thousand is significantly less than the possible statistical error. Therefore, we will proceed from an overall estimate of the number of mobilized residents of the former Romanian territories at 256.8 thousand people. According to our estimates, up to 60% of all mobilized men died in the ranks of the Red Army. The overwhelming majority of Moldovans fought only in the last nine and a half months of the war, which, formally speaking, reduced the likelihood of their death in comparison with all those mobilized, many of whom entered the battle in June 1941. On the other hand, most of the inhabitants of the former Romanian territories were mobilized directly into the units, and the losses among them were especially great. The last 9 1/2 months of the war accounted for approximately 22% of the casualties and deaths from wounds, or 4.9 million people. The average number of ground forces and aviation at the front was 6135.3 thousand people for the second quarter of 1945, and 6714.3 thousand people for the third quarter of 1944. Suppose that for the period from August 1944 to May 1945, almost all the wounded and sick had time to return to service, and the new conscription was only to replace irrecoverable losses, as well as about 100 thousand prisoners. Then, about 4.4 million conscripts were supposed to enter the Red Army during this period. In total, during this period, about 11.1 million servicemen were supposed to pass through the formations at the front. The probability of death for them was approximately 44%. Then the death toll at the front of the inhabitants of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina can be estimated at 113 thousand people. This is very close to the existing Romanian and Moldovan estimates of 110 thousand conscripts from Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina who died in the ranks of the Red Army. To form the pro-Soviet division "Tudor Vladimirescu" and other units of the Romanian army in 1943-1945, 20,374 Romanians and 7 Moldovans were released from the camps. Taking into account the fact that 201,496 Soviet servicemen were captured by the Soviet Union, the total number of those who died in combat among the missing in the war against the USSR can be estimated at 129,139 people. If we take the mortality rate from wounds in the Romanian army at 7%, given that the number of wounded exceeds the number of those killed by only 1.2 times, then in the fight against the USSR, the Romanian troops could have lost about 17 thousand dead from wounds, and in the fight against Germany - about 6.3 thousand people. In Germany, 229 Romanian prisoners died. About 1,500 Romanian servicemen are buried in the Czech Republic, and 15,077 in Slovakia. In total, this gives about 25,372 people, which is 3,637 more than the number of those killed in the war against Germany and Hungary. However, the Romanians suffered significant losses in the battles in Northern Transylvania. Assuming that the number of Romanian soldiers killed there is equal to the number of those killed in the territory of modern Hungary, the number of those killed in Northern Transylvania can be estimated at 8.6 thousand people. Assuming that all those who died from wounds in August 1944 - May 1945 were buried in Romania, we estimate the total number of those killed in the war against Germany and Hungary at 34 thousand people, and together with those who died in German captivity - at 229 people. Then the total number of those who lost their lives in this war can be estimated at 12,494 people. Then we can estimate the number of Romanian soldiers who survived the German and Romanian captivity at 45,949 people.

We estimate the total losses of the Romanian army in the fight against the USSR at 272.3 thousand dead, and the losses in the fight against Germany and Hungary at 40.5 thousand dead.

36 thousand Romanian Roma became victims of the genocide. The victims of the Holocaust, including the Jews of Northern Transylvania, are estimated at 469 thousand people, including 325 thousand - in the territory of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. The number of victims of the Holocaust in Northern Transylvania is estimated at 135 thousand people. It should be emphasized that the Romanian official figures for the number of Jews killed in Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina are much less - about 90 thousand out of 147 thousand. They seem to us closer to reality. We estimate the total number of exterminated Jews in Romania within the borders as of September 1, 1941 at 233 thousand people. It is possible that part of the Jews of this region in 1944 was drafted into the Red Army and died in its ranks. As a result of the bombing of the Allied aviation, 7693 civilians were killed. During the first Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina in 1940-1941, on June 12-13, 1941, 30,839 people were deported and arrested. Of this number, 25,711 people are deported. It is not known exactly how many of these people were shot or did not survive imprisonment or deportation. It can be assumed that this number was at least 5 thousand people. N.F. Bugay estimates the number of those shot at 1,000, which seems to us close to reality, and the number of those killed in the camps and at the site of deportations at 19,000, which also seems to us to be a very realistic estimate. By mid-September 1941, there were 22,848 immigrants from Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina in places of special settlement and imprisonment. Taking this into account, the total number of those who were shot and died by this time can be estimated at 8 thousand people. Of this number, approximately 1,000 were found shot in the prisons of Romania and Northern Bukovina, including 450 in Chisinau, after their liberation by the German-Romanian troops in July 1941. Since the main mortality rate of the deported fell on the winter of 1941/42, we estimate the mortality rate among those deported from Bessarabia and Bukovina from mid-September 1941 to the end of the war at 12 thousand people, and the total number of victims of the first Soviet occupation is 20 thousand people. In addition, the number of civilians in Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina who died during the hostilities in 1941-1944 is estimated by Romanian and Moldovan historians at 55 thousand people. This latter estimate seems to us to be significantly overestimated. Conditionally, we take the number of those killed during hostilities at 25 thousand people.

According to the former German liaison officer with the Romanian troops, “we assessed the Romanian units as the best of our allies,” although the level of their commanding staff in comparison with the German ones left much to be desired: “My impression of ordinary soldiers was positive, but, unfortunately, it did not apply to the officers. Most of the soldiers were simple sons of farmers, since in those days, as now, Romania was a fertile agricultural country. The officers arrived almost exclusively from the big cities, and Francophilia was extremely common among them. None of these officers were eager to be in action. When I told the Romanian officers that their headquarters were too far from the front line, they replied that they "had enough telephone cable" ...

Several times I was invited to dine at the command post of the Romanian division. Each time it was a large meal of several courses, and it could last for many hours. Yet I have never seen ordinary soldiers eat anything but one dish, which consisted mostly of large beans.

The German officer corps had a different attitude to this issue. The German company commander was the last in line at the field kitchen. It was a tradition! "

On the Eastern Front, the Romanian army played an important role in World War II, in many ways comparable to that which the Austro-Hungarian army played here in the First World War. And the ratio of casualties with the Red Army in the Romanian army in 1941-1944 was close to 1: 1.

We estimate the total losses of Romania in World War II at 747.5 thousand dead, including 425.8 thousand servicemen, of which 153.5 thousand died fighting on the side of the Anti-Hitler coalition. In addition, a certain number of Germans in Romania, not exactly ascertained, died in the German army, in particular in the 11th SS Motorized Volunteer Division "Nordland".