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Third Axis Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941-1945
Romania was the third Axis element in Europe, yet suffered some of the highest casualties of the Allied nations in the last year of the war. This account of Romania's changing allegiance and its part in World War II draws on details from the recently opened archives. Details chart: the relationships between Romania and other Axis powers; the importance of Romania to Hitler, its operational record; the international coup d'etat and liberation; and the change to support the Allied cause. The authors also provide full coverage of the personalities, weaponry and orders of battle.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 16, 2010
I enjoyed this book as I've always been interested in the little countries during the war, though their stories can be difficult to find. a real accomplishment was acquiring the book.
i'd read about it several yrs ago, so i put it on my used book
store list and dutifully checked on it whenever. i look it up on the web and it's anywhere from $150-$250. i finally checked a copy out of the U of Texas library.
some interesting insights:
you tend to feel a compassion for the little guys being swept
along with events and the major powers, but really they're all
just looking out for the themselves just as much as the big guys.
translyvannia was awarded to hungary from romania between
the wars, so the romanians continually schemed to get that back.
they hated the hungarians more than anyone else and bulgaria in
the south had ideas, and then there's poland in the north and
the soviets stole the eastern province of bessarabia. so
even with the war in russia going on, romania,hungary,bulgaria who
were allied w/germany, still watched and worried over their
borders back home.
with the conduct of war being the major item associated with
hitler, it often overshadows the reminder of hitler's genius at
politics; he kept the balkan countries on their toes, seeming to
favor each in turn, for example, giving one country an update on
their tanks, which would worry the other countries.
additionally you'd think w/romanian oil being a major part of
germany's petrol supply that romania would have had more say,
but hitler managed to keep them in line.
antonescu, the romanian leader, was one of the few to stand up
to hitler in meetings and hitler respected him for that.
antonescu also was a military man, so the germans found him easier
to work with regarding the war.
Another goal of the book is to dispute the fact that the
Romanian collapse at Stalingrad was solely responsible for
the pocket. Axworthy contests Guderian's outright blame, and
sites a number of factors, the relative strengths of the
romanians compared to other units, as well as citing times
during the war where german divisions collapsed.
A chapter on the Romanian navy is equally interesting. Photos, maps & charts fill the appendix.
i'd read about it several yrs ago, so i put it on my used book
store list and dutifully checked on it whenever. i look it up on the web and it's anywhere from $150-$250. i finally checked a copy out of the U of Texas library.
some interesting insights:
you tend to feel a compassion for the little guys being swept
along with events and the major powers, but really they're all
just looking out for the themselves just as much as the big guys.
translyvannia was awarded to hungary from romania between
the wars, so the romanians continually schemed to get that back.
they hated the hungarians more than anyone else and bulgaria in
the south had ideas, and then there's poland in the north and
the soviets stole the eastern province of bessarabia. so
even with the war in russia going on, romania,hungary,bulgaria who
were allied w/germany, still watched and worried over their
borders back home.
with the conduct of war being the major item associated with
hitler, it often overshadows the reminder of hitler's genius at
politics; he kept the balkan countries on their toes, seeming to
favor each in turn, for example, giving one country an update on
their tanks, which would worry the other countries.
additionally you'd think w/romanian oil being a major part of
germany's petrol supply that romania would have had more say,
but hitler managed to keep them in line.
antonescu, the romanian leader, was one of the few to stand up
to hitler in meetings and hitler respected him for that.
antonescu also was a military man, so the germans found him easier
to work with regarding the war.
Another goal of the book is to dispute the fact that the
Romanian collapse at Stalingrad was solely responsible for
the pocket. Axworthy contests Guderian's outright blame, and
sites a number of factors, the relative strengths of the
romanians compared to other units, as well as citing times
during the war where german divisions collapsed.
A chapter on the Romanian navy is equally interesting. Photos, maps & charts fill the appendix.
April 1, 2021
Complete coverage of Romania's involvement in WWII from the politics and diplomacy leading to its involvement, to the development of its major weapons systems, to the operations of all three of its armed forces (army, air force, and navy).
The title of the book is indicative of one of the authors theses: that their greater involvement on the Eastern Front, and control of the Ploiesti oil fields, make them the third most important Axis power behind Germany and Japan. That they then changed sides and fought on the side of the Allies, he argues, makes them the fourth most important Ally behind the USSR, the US, and the UK (a less convincing argument than the first one).
His other thesis is that German criticism of Romania for the debacle at Stalingrad is misplaced. With evidence given that Romanian troops were poorly equipped and supported compared to their German allies, and that German troops would not have achieved any greater success given equal circumstances.
He doesn't spend time in the body of the book arguing either thesis, instead simply presenting the known facts of what happened. A good book filling a gap in the history of WWII.
The title of the book is indicative of one of the authors theses: that their greater involvement on the Eastern Front, and control of the Ploiesti oil fields, make them the third most important Axis power behind Germany and Japan. That they then changed sides and fought on the side of the Allies, he argues, makes them the fourth most important Ally behind the USSR, the US, and the UK (a less convincing argument than the first one).
His other thesis is that German criticism of Romania for the debacle at Stalingrad is misplaced. With evidence given that Romanian troops were poorly equipped and supported compared to their German allies, and that German troops would not have achieved any greater success given equal circumstances.
He doesn't spend time in the body of the book arguing either thesis, instead simply presenting the known facts of what happened. A good book filling a gap in the history of WWII.
December 3, 2021
This was definitely an in the weeds look at Romanian military during WWII. I learned a lot from this book.
March 29, 2016
The history of Romania has been largely clouded and neglected by historians until after the 1990's. The Romanian's, while beginning neutral, were aligned pro allies which was unsurprising given the history of the First World War and their actions taken against the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They then are isolated upon the fall of France, forced to seed territory to the USSR and side with the Axis from 1941 to 1944. At which point, with the Russians entering Romanian Territory, they switch to an Allied stance and fight with the Russians until the end of the war becoming a satellite nation of the USSR until the fall of the Soviet Union. Given this convoluted history, their story has largely been neglected. Mark Axworthy takes great pains to address this whole in history.
If you would like to read about the Romanian contribution and actions during the Second World War this is the defining work. From the political implications of the alliance with Germany. The operations that occurred on the Eastern Front, Odessa, Sevastopol, Stalingrad, and the defenses of the Balkans in 1944. The Romanian contribution, land, sea, and air, was significant to Germany. In the initial invasion of Barbarossa, 3.2 million Germans invaded, but the allies contributed over 1 million additional troops, and Romania was the greatest contributor of the German Allies and one that is often overlooked.
A great book on a neglected topic.
If you would like to read about the Romanian contribution and actions during the Second World War this is the defining work. From the political implications of the alliance with Germany. The operations that occurred on the Eastern Front, Odessa, Sevastopol, Stalingrad, and the defenses of the Balkans in 1944. The Romanian contribution, land, sea, and air, was significant to Germany. In the initial invasion of Barbarossa, 3.2 million Germans invaded, but the allies contributed over 1 million additional troops, and Romania was the greatest contributor of the German Allies and one that is often overlooked.
A great book on a neglected topic.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews