Sub semnul Acvilei Cruciate - Romanian AAR

[Red Zenith]

"Sub semnul Acvilei Cruciate" - a Romanian AAR

Historical Background

The Interwar Years saw the materialisation of Romania's national aspirations, bringing the union of almost all the lands inhabited by Romanians under the crown of King Ferdinand I.
In late 1918 Romanian leaders traveled to Paris to forward the kingdom's broad territorial claims at the upcoming peace conference, insisting that the Allies respect the principle of national self-determination and fulfill the territorial promises made in 1916 that had brought Romania into the war on the side of the Allies. Most of the teritories that chose to unite to the Motherland were granted that freedom, except from Southen Banat and Western Crisana, granted to Yugoslavia and Hungary.

As a result of the peace negociations, the Hungarian Goverment resigned and turned power over to a coalition of social democrats and communists, who promised that the Soviet Union would help Hungary restore its prewar borders. The communists, under Béla Kun, immediately seized control and announced the founding of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, initiating military actions against Czechoslovakia. When the French threatened to retaliate, Kun turned his army on Romania. Romanian units, however, penetrated Hungarian lines on July 30, occupied Budapest, and scattered Kun's government. Romania's occupation of Budapest deepened ongoing Hungarian bitterness and revisionism.

The two postwar agreements that Romania signed, the Treaty of Saint-Germain with Austria and the Treaty of Trianon with Hungary, more than doubled Romania's size and brought it's population to 16 millions, adding Transylvania, Dobruja, Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and part of the Banat to the Old Kingdom. The treaties also fulfilled the centuries-long Romanian dream of uniting all Romanians in a single country.

Hungarian, Bulgarian and USSR's claims on interwar Romania

Yet, in the foreign arena, Romania faced Hungarian, Soviet, and Bulgarian demands for restoration of territories lost under the treaties. Romania was forced to gear its interwar network of alliances toward maintaining its territorial integrity surounded by revisionist potential enamies, and with friendly France too farr away and too conciliatorist to help.

Complicating an already unstable situation, the royal family in the mid-1920s suffered a scandal when Crown Prince Carol abdicated his right to the throne in favor of his six-year-old son Michael and went to Paris in exile. Ferdinand I died within several months, and a regency ruled for Michael. Due to the lack of legitimacy of the regency, Prince Carol was soon invited to return to his homeland. In 1930 Carol returned, and Romania's parliament proclaimed him king. King Carol proved an ambitious leader, but he surrounded himself with corrupt favorites and neglected Romania's need for stability and strong defenses.

Romanian Oilfields

Romania's economy boomed during the interwar period. The government raised revenue by heavy taxation of the agricultural sector and began admitting foreign capital to finance new electric plants, mines, textile mills, foundries, oil wells, roads, and rail lines. Romania was at the time a top oil producer and rafinner, hence it's immense strategic value to any long-term european war. Despite the industrial boom, however, Romania remained primarily an agricultural country. In 1929, when the New York Stock Exchange crashed, world grain prices collapsed, and Romania plunged into an agricultural crisis. Thousands of peasant landholders fell into arrears, and the government enacted price supports and voted a moratorium on agricultural debts to ease their plight. In 1931 Europe suffered a financial crisis, and the flow of foreign capital into Romania dried up. Worse yet, the new industries could not absorb all the peasants who left their villages in search of work resulting in high unemployment. When recovery began in 1934, the government used domestic capital to fund new industries, including arms manufacturing, to pull out of the agricultural slump. The depression slowed capacity growth, but industrial production actually increased 26 percent between 1931 and 1938, a period when practically all the world's developed countries were suffering declines.

On the eve of the second Warld War, Romania has a dangerous, yet interesting strategic position, un-friendly neighbours, a fairly large (in raport to it's scale) but obsolete army, and a dificult choice to make on the side it will back in the comming war.


Game settings

HoI 2 Doomsday, normal level, normal aggression, 1936 campaign.


Short to Medium Term Goals

• The primary objective is to prevent Hungary and Bulgaria to indanger the teritorial integrity. A wor on two fronts, especially with Germany's backing should be prevented, even through preemtive military actions.

• The secondary objective is to make Romania a considerable power in the Southern Europe, strong enough to defend itself against major powers.

• The third objective is to find a way to remove the Soviet danger at the borders, by any means.

**"Under the Sign of the Cross Bearing Eagle" is the meaning of this AAR's title. The Cross Bearing Eagle is the symbol of Romanian Nation, of it's Romanity, Christianity and historical tradition.

[GeneralHannibal]

I would suggest joining France in the Allies as historically French and Romanian relations were quite strong. In the pre-war years you should consentrate on industry.

[lifeless]

yeah build industry. nice beginning! but i would ally germany for the better blueprints

[EvilSanta]

Very nicely written introduction,leaving me eagerly await first gameplay update.

[Alexandru H.]

Wohoo!!! Go for the throat!

[anonymous4401]

Welcome to Paradox, first-post-is-an-AAR-post person! An excellent start you have here.

[Blackoberst]

Go Go Go my friend... and as always I am ready and willing to assist you with any difficulties you may encounter. As you yourself recognize I am your HoI guru :P

As you well know Romania cand conquer Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Greece without any hinderance from anyone... the only problem being it's too-highly set democracy standing... As we romanians know, during that period Romania was a Royal Dictatorship... So a bit of edditing to that would pose no major historichal cunundrums...
Just a thought :P
Anyway, in 2 years' time you'll be able to attack a not-yet-part-of-the-Axis Hungary and a Bulgaria unable to whitstand the full might of the romanian armed forces which are strong enough as they are at the beginning of the game to allow you 2 years at least of building solely industry. (and a few transporters for Crete :P)...

I'll see you in a little while in the real world and discuss the finer points of the strategy with you... (not that we haven't both gone through this over and over before... just never in Doomsday...)

[GeneralHannibal]

Do you two know each other in real life?

[anonymous4401]

I'd assume so...

[AOK. 11]

Its great to see a new Rumanian AAR here. The possibilities are intriguing indeed, and with this excellent start, I will watch this closely.

[NKristof]

Interesting. This will be the first AAR I'll follow from the beginning. Hope you'll complete it. Good luck.

[Red Zenith]

Thanks to everybody for the comments and help, and I hope this AAR will turn out to meet your expectations.
On the matter of the foreign policy this AAR will try to fallow an alternative yet plausible path, as will be detailed in the next posts. The first report will follow very soon, we just have to look a little into the politics of Romania in the '30 for accuracy.

@NKristof, thanks, and be sure this AAR will be completed, otherwise there's no fun.
@GeneralHannibal, yes, me and Blackoberst are friends and live in the same Bucharest neighborhood. He's the one that first showed me the game, and we often discus HoI strategies, so, after the meeting I had with him last night we decided we'll both write this AAR, as I am new here, and I can use all the help.

[GeneralHannibal]

Hmm, an Alternate path, does that mean going with the little entente and helping the Czechs and the French.

[Blackoberst]

So yeah, me and Zenith are friends...

The thing about Romania and the Allies... I know the french army is strong enough to take Germany while they are conquering Poland, but they will never do so (stupid, I know). Also we've been discussing the story behind our future actions and I really think we've got a good ideea on how to explain our actions. How will Romania go in the end? That's an entirrely different story, but remember that we're between a rock and a hard place here... Germany (with Hungary, Bulgaria an Italy) very close and at a certain point even neighbours... The big sleeping bear (USSR) at our doorstep and only a handfull of minor nations constantly bikkering with eachother as almost-allies in this part of the world... The Balkan region hasn't been named the "Gunpowder barrel of Europe" just for laughs, you know...

All will be explained soon enough as soon as I start posting about the history behind opur actions and what went on untill 1936 (the part before 1936 has partially been explained by Zenith earlier... all facts untill 1936 will be real historical facts and we shall try to keep some veridicity to our later actions too)...

Anyway... I hope you'll all enjoy this joint venture...

[Spitfire_Pilot]

Great start, looks good so far. Keep it up !

[Red Zenith]

36's First Two Quarters - The Prologue

Romania, at the start of 1936, was a shadow of the former interwar democracy, moving fast towards the autoritharism of a Royal Dictatorship. After the Argetoianu goverment of 1931, a National Unity Cabinet, comprising of representatives from noumerous parties, and the growing control of state affairs by the large industrial entrepreneurs, adding to the important decline of public trust in the party sistem, Carol II was regarded as the only saviour from the growing crissis, corruption and general desillusion.

The laws of 7th of April and 9th of July 1934 put an official end to the democracy, by limiting the activity of political parties, enpowering the Goverment to legislate by ignoring the Parliament and instituting censorship and the state of emergency indefinitly. Using the animosities inside the major parties Carol II applied the "divide and conquer" strategy brilliantly, a succesion of breake-away parties insuring that a parliamentary majority will be imposibble to achieve.

The Tatarescu Cabinet, governing from 1934, was no more than a docile instrument in the hand of the king*. It's orientation was social-conservative, beeing comprised of two main groups: the military ministers, of which the most proemient beeing the Chief of Staff, Ion Victor Antonescu, and the social-liberal industrialist ministers (Madgearu, Gafencu, Calinescu). Due to Carol's lack of trust for the generals, his disrespect for the royal immage mentained by his predecessors, and the weakness of the Prime Minister, numerous conflicts plagued the cabinet.

The Royal Cabinet

In the foreign arena, the Kingdom mentained good relation with both the western democracies and the fascist european powers. The relations with France and the UK, the traditional alies of Romania, were rather constant (from +47 to +44, and from +53 to +56 respectively, in the first half of 1936), but in respect to the US the situation was totaly different (+4 to +8), leaving the romanian diplomacy to wonder uppon the real support that could be provided by the democratic block. The single reminder of the old alliance was a Mutal Non-aggression Pact with France... Furthermore, the conciliatorist, optimistic and seemingly uncomitted attitude of these countries forced a strategic shift towards other posible powers that would guarrantee the romanian soveignty.

From Italy came noumerous approching initiatives, the bilateral relations beeing improuved dramaticly (from +47 to +64), making Italy Romania's most important strategic partner. The Italian foreign campain in the South-Eastern Europe was acompanied by an increse in the German interes in Romania, materialised mostly in the comercial sector (relations increse from +47 to +49). Also, Italy and Germany are the only major powers guaranteing our territorial integrity.

The relations with Japan are terrible, yet the romanian goverment had no particular interest in the far-east(-48 to -46)

The Soviet Union, Romania's largest neighbour, and the only major power with which we shared a (contested) border, had a growing revisionist and cold attitude towards Romania (from -2 to -5) that worried Bucharest more than anything else. From 1918 USSR has been considered the greatest danger to the Romanian Kingdom, due to it's territorial claims and the doctrine of spreading the communist revolution. All tentatives of mediating the diplomatic conflict resulted in failure, and a conflict with them seems unavoidable, even if a Mutual Non-aggression Pact is still active.

Closer to home, the South-Eastern Europe was dominated by a security mechanism composed of The Little Entante and The Balcanic Entante, initiated and endorsed in the past decade by Romania together with Yugoslavia, Cechoslovacia, Poland, Grece and Turkey. Yet, the viability of this set of accords is debatable without the support of France and the UK. Relations with this neighbours improved slightly in the case of Poland and Cechoslovacia (from +43 to +46, and from +23 to +26 respectevly) and worsened in the case of Yugoslavia and Grece (from +97 to +94, and from +97 to +94 respectevly). With all this countries Romania has Mutual Non-aggression Pacts and guaratees.

Concerning Hungary and Bulgaria, their revisionist attitude is visible, yet the relations with them are improuving(from +3 to +5, and from +27 to +29 respectevly), the two countries seeking a favorable moment to press their claims.

Romania and it's neighbours

The romanian industrial capacity, eventhow sizable in South-Eastern Europe, is clearly not nearly enough to insure the the economical and military needs of a kingdom in such a dangerous strategical position. A third of the 30 base IC was concentrated in the key provinces of Bucharest and Ploesti, the rest beeing distributed unevenly. The infrastructure was in a better shape, with an average of 75,6% and a minimum of 60% in the 4 mountain provinces, so the Cabinet didn't accepted any plan for future upgrade.
After a bitter debate, Virgil Madgearu announced in January a spectacular industry building program, designed to improve the base IC by 1/3. Yet, the insueing economical dificulties ment that no more than 50% of the needed funding was recived. The consumer goods production also needed a sizable slice of the budget (nearly 15%).

In the field of research, Romania had just two tech slots, with medium research teams available, and no one to trade blueprints with. An alliance with a major industrial power was considered imperative, yet there was no clear agreement on just who that might be. The MAN and Carbosim finished in spring research of Census Tabulating and Basic Machine Tools, and now work is in progress for Mechanised Agriculture and Basic Computing at MAN and the University of Bucharest.

Statistical figures 1 January 36 - 1 July 36

Romania's most important natural resource was the oil, with a impressive production of 56 units/day. In accordance, oil was to be the Kingdom's main export, to compensate for the shortage of other resources. The main deficit was in energy and metal, of which great quantities were needed to sustain the economy.
Romania's economical strategy, aimed at recovering from the economical crisis by investing in industry needes a high degree of stability and fine tunning. Yet, the instability and corruption dued to the royal authoritarism, as well as the need for a strategic repositioning, meant that in the spring of 1936 a chain of shortages hit the country. The reserves of suplies were all but exhausted, and all indicators save oil hit red.

A few trade agreements proposed by Italy seemd to bring salvation, but it soon became aparent that the country's growing needs could not be suported only by this. In March a romanian delegation headed by Madgearu, along with the foreign minister, Gafenco, and Antonescu, the Chief of Staff, traveled to Berlin to negociate new trade deals. The jorney was a succes, Germany beeing verry simpathetic and almoust excesively interested in the romanian oil considering it's courrent needs. The deals arranged for the export of all the oil not used, in return reciving energy, metal, some rare materials and even some suplies, as few romanian ICs could be spared for their production at home.

The trade summay at 1 July 36

The Romanian Royal Land Forces consisted of 31 divisions, a figure considered sufficient for the moment. Due to the fact that many of these divisions were not up to strength, the Chief of the Army, Gheorghe Tatarascu, asked for funding and resources to replenish them. Considering the growing threat posed by the hungarian and bulgarian revisionism, the Government aprooved the mobilisation of about 128000 conscripts, a lot of IC beeing spent for this in the spring months.
Of the 31 divisions, 21 are infantry, 6 cavalry, 3 mountain and 1 light armored, to which were added 8 suport brigades. Dispite the demands for a total upgrade of the now-obsolite infantry and cavalry divisions (Greate War tech), such a project was indefinitly posponed. The mountain divisions are quite new, as the light armored division is equiped with R1 tankettes of czech origin. The Romanian Army is ranked 9th in the world, and the most powerful in South-Eastern Europe.

Aeronautica Regala Romana (The Royal Romanian Airforce) functions as suport for the Army, being organised into Gruparea Aeriana de Lupta (The Combat Air Grouping), composed of an interceptor group, a tactical bomber group, and a naval bomber group. Dispite te rejection of the plans to create a further interceptor group and two tactical bomber groups, the ARR recived full-funding for the upgrade of it's planes. The Bristol Blenheim Mk.I interwar tactical bomber was upgraded to Bloch MB.210 early tactical bomber, and the PZLP.11c interwar fighter was upgraded to Hawker Hurricane Mk.I early fighter. Only the SIAI-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero basic naval bomber could not be upgraded due to lack of technology for it. The ARR is considered the most powerful airforce in South-Eastern Europe.

Marina Regala Romana(The Royal Romanian Navy) is small, being made up of a squadron of Regele Ferdinand class Great War destroyers, and a squadron of Delfinul class dive boats, grouped in the Flota de Mare (The Sea Fleet).

The region's geography

The countrie's geography, as well as the danger posed by it's revisionist neighbours, structured the defence into three fronts: the north-eastern region (Moldova), bordering the USSR, the southern region (Muntenia and Dobrogea), bordering Bulgaria, and the western region (Transilvania), bordering Hungary.
The Kingdom's defences don't include any coastal or land forts. There are 8 antiair batteries in the key provinces of Bucharest and Ploiesti, as well as in Constanta, Roamania's naval base (level 3).

Concerning the political allignment of the Kingdom, there were two oppinions inside the Cabinet. Mihail Moruzov, the head of Serviciul Secret de Informatii (SSI - Secret Inteligence Service, the main inteligence agency), suported by Gafencu, the foreign minister and Calinescu, the interior minister (head of Directia Sigurantei Generale - General Security Direction, the internal secret and sometimes political police), considered Hungary and Bulgaria as Romania's greatest enemies and advised for a preemtive doctrine, whille hoping to mentain good relations with the western democracies, and believing as possible a normalisation of the relations with the Soviets. On the other side, General Antonescu, the Chief of Marele Stat Major (MSM - The High General Staff) and of it's 2nd Section (the military inteligence and planning agency), suported by many high ranking officers, pointed to the USSR as being the greatest threat to Romania's sovereignty, and stated that an alliance with Germany and Italy is needed to prevent the Hungarian and Bulgarian revisionism from within, and to protect the romanian interests in relation to Russia.
Carol's aparent support for Moruzov's point of view, as well as a great deal of indecision, sparked a great deal of conflicts in the Cabinet, and led to the lack of a coherent strategy for the future in the summer of 1936. Yet, in the context of the March German reocupation of the Rhineland, and the Italilan annexation of Ethiopia, Romania moved a little more towards interventionism, understanding the weackness of it's alliances.

The Order of Battle as stated by the Chief of Staff in June 1936:

Corpul 1 Armata (1st Army Corps) – General Antonescu (3/0)

Divizia 1 Infanterie (1st Infantry Division) – Inf
Divizia 2 Infanterie (2nd Infantry Division) - Inf
Divizia 3 Infanterie (3rd Infantry Division) - Inf
Divizia 4 Infanterie (4th Infantry Division) - Inf

Corpul 2 Armata (2nd Army Corps) – Lt General Ionascu (2/0, Fortress Buster)

Divizia 5 Infanterie (6th Infantry Division) – Inf-Art
Divizia 6 Infanterie (7th Infantry Division) – Inf-Art

Corpul 3 Armata (3rd Army Corps) – Lt General Phelps (3/0, Offensive Doctrine)

Divizia 7 Infanterie (7th Infantry Division) – Inf
Divizia 8 Infanterie (8th Infantry Division) – Inf
Divizia 9 Infanterie (9th Infantry Division) – Inf

Corpul 4 Armata (4th Army Corps) – General Sanatescu (2/0)

Divizia 13 Infanterie (13th Infantry Division) – Inf
Divizia 14 Infanterie (14th Infantry Division) – Inf
Divizia 15 Infanterie (15th Infantry Division) – Inf

Corpul 5 Armata (5th Army Corps) – Lt General Schwab (2/0, Offensive Doctrine)

Divizia 16 Infanterie (16th Infantry Division) – Inf-Art
Divizia 17 Infanterie (17 th Infantry Division) – Inf-AT
Divizia 18 Infanterie (18 th Infantry Division) – Inf-AA

Corpul 6 Armata (4th Army Corps) – Lt General Zaharescu (2/0, Engineer)

Divizia 19 Infanterie (19th Infantry Division) – Inf-Art
Divizia 20 Infanterie (20th Infantry Division) – Inf-AT
Divizia 21 Infanterie (21th Infantry Division) – Inf-AA

Corpul Vanatori de Munte (Mountain Hunters Corps) – Lt General Ionescu-Sinaia (2/0, Commando)

Divizia 1 Vanatori de Munte (1st Mountain Hunters Division) – Mtn
Divizia 2 Vanatori de Munte (2nd Mountain Hunters Division) - Mtn
Divizia 3 Vanatori de Munte (3rd Mountain Hunters Division) - Mtn

Corpul Blindate (Armored Corps) – General Constantinescu-Claps (2/0, Defensive Doctrine)

Divizia 1 Care de Lupta (1st Tank Division) – L Arm
Divizia 10 Infanterie (10th Infantry Division) – Inf
Divizia 11 Infanterie (11th Infantry Division) – Inf
Divizia 12 Infanterie (12th Infantry Division) – Inf

Corpul Cavalerie (Cavalry Corps) – Lt General Rozin (2/0, Offensive Doctrine)

Divizia 1 Rosiori (1st Cavalry Division) – Cav
Divizia 2 Rosiori (2nd Cavalry Division) - Cav
Divizia 3 Rosiori (3rd Cavalry Division) - Cav

Corpul Garda Calare (Horse Guard Corps) – Lt General Nicolae Sova (0/0)

Divizia 4 Garda Calare (4th Horse Guard Division) – Cav
Divizia 5 Rosiori (5th Cavalry Division) - Cav
Divizia 6 Rosiori (6th Cavalry Division) – Cav

Gruparea Aeriana de Lupta (Combat Air Grouping) – Lt General Gheorghiu (1/0, Superior Tactician)

Grup 1 Vanatoare (1st Fighter Group) – Int F
Grup 2 Bombardament (2nd Bomber Group) - Tac
Grup 3 Naval (3rd Naval Group) - Nav

Flota de Mare (Sea Naval Force) – Rear Admiral Macellariu (3/0, Blocade Runner)

Escadronul NMS Regele Ferdinand (NMS Regele Ferdinand Squadron) – DD
Escadronul NMS Delfinul (NMS Delfinul Squadron) – SS

* the in-game democracy setting has been shifted by 1 towards authoritarism in accordance with the historical conditions

[anonymous4401]

A nice summary of Romania's position.

[NKristof]

At least... the first update

[Red Zenith]

Well, sorry for the delay, I've been verry busy at work this days, and the horible heat is melting my brain...add to this a good traditionall romanian laisiness, and u get the picture ... I hope the next posts will come sooner

[Red Zenith]

I have edited some errors in the update...