ational protest against the king in early September
culminated in his abdication in favor of his son, Michael. A new
government under General Ion Antonescu was formed, composed almost
entirely of members of the Iron Guard, whose leader was made vice
premier. German troops entered the country under the pretext of
protecting the oilfields, and on November 23, 1940, Romania joined
Germany, Italy, and Japan in the Anti-Comintern Pact.

In January 1941 members of the Iron Guard, attempting to seize full
control of the government, initiated a terroristic campaign that was
suppressed with much bloodshed by the Romanian army, which had remained
loyal to the government. With the continued support of the Germans,
Antonescu dissolved the Iron Guard and formed an almost exclusively
military dictatorship. After stabilization of the government, Romania
entered the war against the Soviet Union and incurred heavy losses in
the prolonged fighting on the eastern front.

After the defeat of the German and Romanian forces at Stalingrad in
early 1943, the Soviets mounted a counteroffensive, which by mid-1944
had liberated the southwestern portions of the Soviet Union and had
advanced deep into Romania and threatened Bucharest. On August 23, 1944,
King Michael, with the support of the major political and military
leaders, overthrew the regime of Antonescu, halted all fighting, and
installed a new, moderate, coalition government. Under the terms of the
armistice that followed, Romania reentered the war on the side of the
Allies, agreed to reparation payments, and accepted the military
occupation of the country until the conclusion of a final peace
settlement.

Romanian forces that continued the war were committed in support of the
Soviet army in Transylvania, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Those engaged
on the Moldavian front were disarmed, and control over the greater part
of the country was maintained by the Soviets. Among the occupation
troops stationed in Romania was the communist-indoctrinated "Tudor
Vladimirescu" division, a force composed of captured Romanian prisoners
that had been organized after the German-Romanian defeat at Stalingrad.
In addition, the Soviets were given the chairmanship of the Allied
Control Commission, the joint body that was established to administer
the occupied country.

COMMUNIST SEIZURE OF POWER

The several conferences held by the Allied powers concerning postwar
arrangements and the understandings th