Romania, Bulgaria and the Decline of German Military Power at the Black Sea (November 1942-September 1944)
Romania, Bulgaria and the Decline of German Military Power at the Black Sea (November 1942-September 1944)

Summary/Abstract: The capture of Sevastopol, on 4 July 1942, and the military developments of the following months marked a genuine peak of German military presence and power at the Black Sea. Until the autumn of 1944, this presence would be history, after a quasi-uninterrupted series of Red Army successes. In this article, the impact of these military and political developments on Romania and Bulgaria and the relations between the two neighbouring states west of the Black Sea is analysed. Thus, from the position of asymmetrical allies of the Third Reich, Romania and Bulgaria would finally almost simultaneously become allies of the Soviet Union, but still find themselves in asymmetrical positions compared to the new regional hegemon. The bibliography of the article includes important Romanian, Bulgarian and Western historiographical contributions, which vary in terms of typology and range, to which many documents from the Romanian military archives, partly original ones, are added.

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