Political and military developments Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina

1 political , military developments

1.1 soviet preparations
1.2 soviet ultimatum
1.3 romanian withdrawal
1.4 incorporation of annexed territories ussr

political , military developments
soviet preparations

by directives ov/583 , ov/584 of soviet people commissariat of defense, military units of odessa military district ordered battle-ready state in spring of 1940. soviet troops concentrated along romanian border between april 15 , june 10, 1940. in order coordinate efforts of kiev , odessa military districts in preparation of action against romania, soviet army created southern front under general georgy zhukov. composed of 5th, 9th , 12th armies. southern front had 32 infantry divisions, 2 motorized infantry divisions, 6 cavalry divisions, 11 tank brigades, 3 paratrooper brigades, 30 artillery regiments, , smaller auxiliary units.

two action plans devised. first plan prepared eventuality romania not agree evacuate bessarabia , bukovina. soviet 12th army strike southward along prut river towards iaşi, while soviet 9th army strike westwards, south of chişinău towards huşi. objective of plan surround romanian troops in bălţi-iaşi area. second plan took consideration possibility romania agree soviet demands , evacuate military forces. in such situation, soviet troops given mission reach prut river , oversee evacuation of romanian troops. first plan taken default course of action. along portions of border offensive planned take place, soviets prepared @ least triple superiority of men , materiel.

soviet ultimatum

on june 26, 1940, @ 22:00, soviet people s commissar vyacheslav molotov presented ultimatum note gheorghe davidescu, romanian plenipotentiary minister moscow, in soviet union demanded evacuation of romanian military , civil administration bessarabia , northern part of bukovina. soviets stressed sense of urgency: military weakness of ussr thing of past, , international situation created requires rapid solution of items inherited past, in order fix basis of solid peace between countries (...) . german minister of foreign affairs, joachim von ribbentrop, informed soviets of intentions send ultimatum romania regarding bessarabia , bukovina on june 24, 1940. in ensuing diplomatic coordination, ribbentrop expressed concern fate of ethnic germans in these 2 provinces, claiming number of germans in bessarabia 100,000, , affirmed soviet demands regarding bukovina new [1]. pointed out germany had strong economic interests in rest of romanian territory.

the text of ultimatum note sent romania on june 26, 1940, incorrectly stated bessarabia populated ukrainians: [...] centuries-old union of bessarabia, populated ukrainians, ukrainian soviet republic . soviet government demanded northern part of bukovina minor reparation enormous loss inflicted on soviet union , bessarabia s population 22 years of romanian reign on bessarabia , , because [...] fate linked soviet ukraine community of historical fate, , community of language , ethnic composition . northern bukovina had historical connections galicia, annexed soviet union in 1939 part of invasion of poland, in sense both had been part of austria-hungary second part of 18th century until 1918. northern bukovina inhabited compact ukrainian population outnumbered romanians, while bessarabia regarded having romanian majority, though larger part of population adopted moldavian identity.

in hours of june 27, carol ii had meeting prime minister, gheorghe tătărescu, , minister external affairs, ion gigurtu, after summoned ambassadors of italy , germany. king communicated wish stand against soviet union , asked countries influence hungary , bulgaria in hope of not declaring war against romania in order reclaim transylvania , dobrudja. stating in name of peace accede soviet demands, ambassadors urged king stand down.

on same day, romanian government replied, suggesting agree immediate negotiations on wide range of questions . on june 27, second soviet ultimatum note put forward specific time frame, requesting evacuation of romanian government bessarabia , northern bukovina within 4 days.

on morning of june 28, 1940, following advice both germany , italy, romanian government, led gheorghe tătărescu, under semi-authoritarian rule of king carol ii, agreed submit soviet demands. without explanation, soviet forces occupied hertza region, part of romanian old kingdom, neither in bessarabia, nor bukovina.

the decision accept soviet ultimatum , commence withdrawal (avoiding usage of word cede) bessarabia , northern bukovina deliberated upon romanian crown council during night of june 27–28, 1940. second (decisive) vote outcome, according journal of king carol ii, was:

reject ultimatum: Ștefan ciobanu, silviu dragomir, victor iamandi, nicolae iorga, traian pop, ernest urdăreanu
accept ultimatum: petre andrei, constantin anghelescu, constantin argetoianu, ernest ballif, aurelian bentoiu, mircea cancicov, ioan christu, mitiță constantinescu, mihail ghelmegeanu, ion gigurtu, constantin c. giurescu, nicolae hortolomei, ioan ilcuș (minister of defence), ion macovei, gheorghe mironescu, radu portocală, mihai ralea, victor slăvescu, gheorghe tătărescu (prime-minister), florea Țenescu (chief of general staff of army)
abstained: victor antonescu.

during same night, carol ii convinced alexandru vaida-voevod sworn in minister. vaida, along of above, signed final crown council recommendation, in carol ii ordered army stand down.

romanian withdrawal

ethnic map of interwar romania (census 1930)

on june 28, @ 9:00, communique no. 25 of general staff of romanian army officially announced contents of ultimatum population, acceptance romanian government, , intent evacuate army , administration prut river. 14:00, 3 key cities — chişinău, cernăuți , cetatea albă — had turned on soviets. military installations , casemates, built during 20-year period event of soviet attack, relinquished without fight, romanian army being placed command under strict orders not respond provocation.

soviet marshal semyon timoshenko in bessarabia

a part of population left regions along romanian administration , on 70,000 request repatriation romania recorded afterwards. according april 1941 romanian census, total number of refugees evacuated territories amounted 68,953. on other hand, august 1940 between 112,000 , 149,974 people left other territories of romania soviet-ruled bessarabia. figure comprised natives of region, included jews wanted escape officially-endorsed anti-semitism in romania.

incorporation of annexed territories ussr

as romania agreed satisfy soviet territorial demands, second plan put action on morning of june 28. june 30, red army reached border along prut river. on july 3, border closed soviet side.

romania in 1940 bessarabia , northern bukovina highlighted in orange-red



a soviet meeting in chișinău on july 4, 1940.

one month after military occupation, on august 2, 1940, moldavian soviet socialist republic established on main part of annexed territory, while smaller portions given ukrainian ssr. 6 bessarabian counties, , small portions of other 3 counties, along parts of moldavian assr (formerly part of ukrainian ssr), disbanded on occasion, formed moldavian ssr, became 1 of 15 union republics of ussr. soviet governmental commission headed nikita khrushchev, communist party chief of ukrainian ssr, allotted northern bukovina, hertsa region, , larger parts of hotin, ismail, , cetatea albă counties ukrainian ssr.

during 1940–1941, political persecution of categories of locals took form of arrests, executions, , deportations eastern parts of soviet union. according alexandru usatiuc-bulgăr, 32,433 people received politically motivated sentence, of 8,360 sentenced death, or died during interrogations.

refugees after occupation

serious incidents occurred in northern bukovina, attempts locals force border towards romania resulted in soviet border guards opening fire against unarmed civilians. in 1 case, @ fântâna albă, resulted in massacre. incidents took place on romania side of border: @ least 300 civilians waiting leave soviet-controlled bessarabia shot romanian army in galați railway station on june 30, 1940.

the installation of soviet administration accompanied major changes in economic domain, medium , large commercial , industrial enterprises nationalised. soviet government instituted land reform, redistributing 229,752 hectares 184,715 poor peasant households, , limiting estate size 20 hectares in south, , 10 hectares elsewhere. collectivisation drive started in 1941, however, due lack of agricultural machinery, progress extremely slow, 3.7% of peasant households being included in kolkhozes , sovkhozes midyear. in order bolster government s image, large part of 1941 budget directed towards social , cultural needs, 20% allocated health services, , 24% education , literacy campaigns. while theological institute in chişinău closed, 6 new higher education institutions created, including conservatory , polytechnic. furthermore, salaries of industrial workers , administrative personnel increased 2 3 times compared pre-soviet levels.