Romania 1914–May 1918

In 1914 Romania was an independent monarchy, which had been created from Moldavia and Walachia. Romania joined with the Allies against the Central Powers in 1916, in World War 1. This created a stalemate when the Romanians were defeated in their attempt to seize the disputed territory of Transylvania. They were forced into retreat after a successful German counteroffensive at Brasov. The Germans proceeded to advance further into Romania and reached the regional capital, Craiova on 21 November 1916. Despite stiff resistance, the Germans began to march on Bucharest on 26 November. After the Romanian withdrawal from Transylvania the Hungarians created a new boundary that pushed Romania’s borders back further. In early 1918, Romania was forced to surrender to the Central Powers, as the Russian army was on the verge of collapse and could offer little support. After the war, Romania was given control of Transylvania.