Kingdom of Romania

During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, Romania declared itself independent. The Treaty of Berlin, 1878, established Romanian independence. In 1881 Romania proclaimed itself a kingdom. When Carol I died in 1914 he was succeeded by his nephew Ferdinand.

Romania was neutral during the First Balkan War (1912), but in the Second Balkan War (1913) joined Serbia and Greece against Bulgaria. Romania gained part of the Dobruja from Bulgaria. When World War I broke out in 1914 Romania was neutral, but in 1916 it joined the Allies against Austria-Hungary and Germany. Romania was defeated, and in May, 1918, agreed to a peace treaty with harsh terms. The Allied victory nullified this agreement.

As a result of the war Romania gained Transylvania, Crisana-Maramures, and part of the Banat from Hungary; Bucovina from Austria; and Bessarabia from Russia. The country's area was more than doubled. The greatest national problem was the discontent of the peasants, who demanded the breakup of the large landed estates.

In 1925 Carol, heir to the throne, renounced his rights in favor of his four-year-old son Michael. King Ferdinand died in 1927, and was succeeded by Michael, who reigned under a regency. In 1930 Carol returned to claim the throne as Carol II. He soon became a dictator. His greatest opposition came from the Iron Guard, a fascist group in sympathy with the Nazi party of Germany. In 1938 Carol proclaimed a constitution legalizing his dictatorship.

World War II. When war broke out in 1939 Romania declared its neutrality. In 1940 the Soviet Union seized Bessarabia and Bucovina, and Germany compelled Romania to return to Hungary and Bulgaria much of the land it had gained after World War I. Carol was forced to abdicate in September, 1940. Michael became king, but the actual head of the government was Premier Ion Antonescu. After Germany's attack on the Soviet Union in 1941 Romania entered the war as an ally of Germany. Romanian armies soon occupied Bessarabia and Bucovina and joined in the offensive against the Soviet Union.

In August, 1944, as Soviet forces invaded Romania, Michael ousted the Antonescu regime and signed an armistice. After the war, Romania regained the territory it had lost to Hungary in 1940.