World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseHaving crossed the Romanian-Ukrainian border in the first week of Apr 1944, the Soviet STAVKA ordered 2nd Ukrainian Front and 3rd Ukrainian Front to embark on the Jassy-Kishinev Offensive, named after the Romanian cities of Iasi and Chisinau (now a part of Moldova), two among the several objectives of this operation. On 9 Apr, Soviet troops captured Târgu Frumos, Romania by surprise. On the following day, German Grossdeutschland division (with 160 tanks in support, including 40 Pather and 40 Tiger models) counterattacked from the east while Romanian 1st Guard Division and Romanian 7th Infantry Division attacked from the south, driving Soviet troops out of the city by 2200 hours. Although the Soviets would continue to make limited attacks in northeastern Romania, the German South Ukraine Army Group (Heeresgruppe Südukraine) was able to stand its ground, even making limited counterattacks of its own. As both sides grew exhausted, Jun 1944 was relatively quiet in Romania, but small scale engagements would last through the entire month. Meanwhile, starting in early Jun, anti-German political leaders in Romania began engaging the Soviet Union for peace terms. In Jul 1944, Soviet troops were finally able to capture Iasi, but it was more so due to German and Romanian inability to maintain an effective defensive that led to the Soviet capture.

ww2dbaseIn Aug, a fresh offensive was launched by 2nd Ukrainian Front and 3rd Ukrainian Front. While the 2nd Ukrainian Front assaulted north of Iasi, 3rd Ukrainian Front attacked near Tiraspol (now a part of Moldova). German 13th Panzer Division attempted to counterattack, which was repulsed by the Soviets; German 13th Panzer Division suffered such heavy casualties that it would soon cease to exist as an effective fighting formation. By late 21 Aug 1944, less than two days after the commencement of the Second Jassy-Kishinev Offensive, the German-Romanian defense line began to crumble, and Soviet 6th Guards Mechanized Corps seized the opportunity to strike, penetrating the Axis lines by 40 kilometers. By 23 Aug, German 6th Army and Romanian 4th Army were encircled by the two Soviet fronts. On the same day, 23 Aug, King Mihai I of Romania, backed up Romanian communists, ousted Conducator Ion Antonescu and sent negotiators to the Soviet Union. German troops attempted to occupy Bucharest on 24 Aug, the capital of the country, but they were repulsed by troops loyal to the king. On 12 Sep, the armistice was signed; the terms were so one sided that the document effectively constituted an instrument of surrender by the Romanians to the Soviet Union. Soviet troops, with their new Romanian allies, fortified the Romanian-Yugoslavian and Romanian-Bulgarian borders on 26 Sep 1944.

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Jassy-Kishinev Offensive and Romania's Surrender Timeline

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