Bessarabian soviet occupation 07.1940, How much time could we resist?

[MMM]

Wow! I mean it! There are lots of documentaries! Also on:
http://filmedocumentare.com/
I think there can be found many interesting (and new) facts!

[lancer21]

From what i can read , it seems that the germans did not have any plans to quickly intervene in Romania if we rejected the soviet ultimatum in june 1940.

Some questions arose from here : were the germans informed by the russians about their intentions about Bessarabia before they issued the ultimatum to us ?

Also, in the case we rejected the ultimatum , i'm wondering , were there any gains for the germans in helping us (somewhat covertly of course , not openly) or at least stay neutral (altho i saw it called somewhere a "negative neutrality" or something like that , gotta look that book again...) like they did with Finland?

Personally (now i am speculating here ) i am certain the Romanian soldiers would have fought like devils , a stiff resistance approaching that of the finns in the winter war is not to be ruled out. One very important disadvantage (among many others) for us would have been tho the topografy of the battle ground, i would assume this would have an important role in the hypothetical evolution of the Romania-USSR war.

It seems the general consensus is that we could not hold for long, but is it possible that by offering a stiff resistance , provoking heavy losses to the russians, would make them start pursuing a quick end of the war , trying to avoid getting bogged down as in Finland , and actually ask less teritory from us at the eventual cease-fire agreement, than they eventuly got without a shot being fired ( metaphorically speaking )?
I know it is far fetched , but maby , just maby ...

Thanks for your time.


This post has been edited by lancer21 on September 14, 2010 10:46 pm

[MMM]

Hi, lancer!
1. Yes, the Germans were informed, as almost everybody else, when in March 1940 Molotov stated "there is the unsolved problem of Bessarabia" in front of the Central Committee of USSR's Communist Party; also, there were the talks between von Schulenburg, the German ambassador in Russia and Molotov, a couple of days before the ultimatum; it was the moment when the Germans found out about Bukovina and "reduced" the claim to only the northern part. BTW, they also suggested to "soften the blow" by returning the confiscated thesaurus to Romania - a thing rejected outright by Molotov.
2. + 3. - The Germans would have everything to lose by transforming Romania into a battlefield, because of the oil!
4. There is no way USSR would've settled with less. My "personal" guess is that if we wouldn't have fought alongside them from 23.08.1944 on, we could have lost the entire Moldova and/or Bukovina! (to talk about far-fetched... look at the maps of Poland and Czechoslowakia in 1937 and in 1947!) Also, I doubt that the conditions on the Finnish winter front would have been in any way similar to a summer offensive!

[Petre]

From a text in russian :

Bessarabia Airborne Operation 29 - 30 June 1940

One year before the War, The Red Army conducted a large-scale airborne operation in Bessarabia.
June 22, 1940, in the event of Romania refuse the ultimatum, was submitted to the Southern Front (Gen.Jukov) to perform to the Romanian army two strikes : The 12.A from the area N Chernautzi - a rapid advance along the river Prut, and The 9.A from the area N Tiraspol-Comrat on Hushi.
To disrupt the enemy's rear, were assumed to be landed units of The 201, 204 and 212 Airborne Brigades in the area of Targu Frumos. Total involved by plan : 120 TB-3 transport planes, covered by 300 fighter planes and 2940 paratroopers. Before this, the Soviet bombers were to hit the Romanian airfields.
After Romania has made concessions, the plan was corrected.
Evening of 28 June, through the CO of The 209. Heavy Air Bg., the mission was given to The 204. Airborne Bg. ( Col.Gubarevich ). At 04.00 the troops arrived on the airfield and 09.00 started loading the planes. The mission went to a certain risk, no air cover and no landing area recognition. At 09.30, 99 TB-3 planes with 1422 paratroopers took off and 12.30-14.30 they landed 10 km N Bolgrad (only 1372 people) in a wide area. Only at 16.30 the brigade was assembled together, and two battalions launched an attack on Bolgrad and on the station Valul Traian. Within 2 hours, town and station were in their hands. A representative of the Southern Front arrived, with a new order - to take Reni and Cahul.
At night, the Soviet paratroopers, on requisitioned vehicles reached Reni, where they exchanged fire with the retreating Romanian units. The 204. Airborne Bg early in the morning on July 01 entered and take under control Cahul, where romanian soldiers were robbering the city. Units of The 25. Rifle Division entered Cahul only July 04.
Morning of June 30, The 201 Airborne Bg was ordered to disembark landing troops in Izmail. At the noon, 44 TB-3 with 809 paratroopers on board took off from Skomorohy. The first 12 planes landed safely in Izmail, with 240 men, who quickly captured the airfield. The airport Izmail being too small for so many heavy aircraft, it was urgent taken the solution to land the remaining troops with parachutes. Total managed to throw 509 paratroopers and 3 planes with 60 soldiers returned to their airfields. Losses : 3 people died in accidents, 32 fractures and minor injuries. Romanian troops have not had any resistance.

http://softcahul.ucoz.ru/publ/malo_komu_iz...operaci/1-1-0-4

http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1%80%...%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0
The text in romanian differes here.

This post has been edited by Petre on March 10, 2011 06:19 pm