Who has Romania secretly allied with to protect its borders. The story of a treaty that would have changed the destiny of our country

Romanians have changed camps several times in history. They had to make compromises and even endure humiliations in order to survive. Little known to the general public is the fact that at one point the Romanians concluded a secret pact with Germany and Austria-Hungary.

Charles I in 1878 PHOTO The truth

Ever since the foundation of the first medieval states, in the 14th century, the Romanians, surrounded by powerful kingdoms and predatory neighbors, had to constantly adapt in foreign policy, change sides when needed and always ensure that they have support from the powerful. Many rulers juggled the Ottomans while secretly negotiating with the Habsburgs or the Russians. Others suddenly switched sides in a permanent struggle for stability and independence.

The 19th century and the foundation of the modern Romanian state finds the Romanians in a similar situation.

A young state, which had barely gained its independence in 1878, needed security guarantees, especially since the Tsarist Empire had never given up on the idea of ​​occupying the Principalities. Under these conditions, the Romanians had to make compromises. They abandoned their traditional ally, France, defeated and humiliated by the Prussians, and tried to find support in the German zone. More precisely, they concluded a secret treaty of alliance with Austria-Hungary, entering the Triple Alliance alongside Germany and Italy. It was a compromise that would have shocked Romanian public opinion, strongly pro-French, if it had been found out. In the First World War, Romania should have, based on this orientation and approach, entered the battle on the side of the Triple Alliance, a decision that would certainly have changed the fate and history of our country.

Romania's independence and the hidden thoughts of the tsarist allies

In 1877, a new Russian-Turkish war broke out. Defeated in the Crimean War, Russia takes advantage of the anti-Ottoman revolts of the Balkan states and rushes on the Ottoman Empire. To this end after Serbia and Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire, Alexander II met with the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I at Reichstadt in Bohemia. There the cards were made for the fate of the Balkans. The Russians agreed to give the Bosnians to the Austrians and the Russians would get southern Bessarabia and the port of Batumi. Bulgaria was to become independent, but obviously under Russian influence.

After a year of negotiations between the three emperors (of Russia, Prussia and Austria-Hungary), Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire on April 24, 1877. Romania also entered the story. Charles I and Tsar Alexander II agreed that the Russian troops would be allowed to pass through the territory of our country to Bulgaria, where the Russian attack was to take place. In addition, the Romanians ensured their role as spectators. However, things are getting complicated for the Russians on the Bulgarian front. They get stuck in the redoubts around Plevna and are forced to ask the Romanians for help. Charles I and the government couldn't wait. Moreover, the Romanian troops were already mobilized. The Romanians cross the Danube and make a sensation. They make a decisive contribution to the defeat of the Turks in Bulgaria. Only the Russians, after the war, start showing their brass on their face. They had a hidden and not friendly plan regarding Romania. in short, they prepared to occupy the country.

“Soldiers of the Russian XI Division are spreading the rumor that now Romania is no longer an independent state but has incorporated itself with Russia, and even Carol I fled the country, being replaced by Grand Duke Nicholas”it was stated in a document sent to the Ministry of the Interior.

Another even more worrying report pointed to serious issues regarding Russian propaganda on Romanian territory. “The Russians came to the country only out of a desire to improve the fate of the peasants and for this they will occupy Bucharest, disarm the Romanian Army, kill the owners and take their lands to distribute to the villagers who will cultivate them and will make the tithe reduced to only one in ten”.

Things have taken a worrying turn. During the meeting of the Council of Ministers on April 6, 1878, the occupation of a part of Romania's territory by Russian troops was noted. At that time we were saved by the British who threatened Russia with war. In addition, the tsar feared that the Romanians, who had shown what they could do on the battlefield, had allied themselves with the English and the Ottomans, cutting off their retreat. Only a year after the end of the Russo-Turkish war, the Russians withdrew their troops from Romanian territory.

The French are desperate, the Romanians are changing their ways and looking for a stronger ally

In this delicate context, a young state like Romania, with great expansionist powers, in the neighborhood like the Tsarist Empire or the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was looking for urgent security guarantees. Especially after the mess with the Russians. Those who supported Romania the most in its process of modernization and becoming a national state were the French. More precisely, Napoleon III, the emperor of France supported the Romanian cause in 1859 and especially the project of a buffer state, through the unification of Moldova with Romania, as a balancing factor in the central-eastern European area. In the year 1878-1879, the Romanians could no longer rely on the French and especially on Napoleon III. The French Emperor had died in 1873 and France had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Prussia in the war of 1870.

The King of Prussia had crowned himself German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, and a new superpower, the German Empire, was being born in Europe. In short, the French had their worries, with political struggles caused by the establishment of the Third Republic. In addition, they no longer represented the superpower of the era of Napoleon III. So the Romanian politicians, obviously influenced by the German Carol I, sought to change the situation. That is, to reorient their foreign policy and look for stronger friends who will guarantee their territorial integrity and above all their independence.

A secret alliance despite public opinion

Under these conditions, Romania reoriented itself towards the powerful of the time, i.e. towards the German Empire. An alliance with the Germans and Austria-Hungary would have meant a big problem for the Government and the king. And this in the conditions in which, in Romania, there was a general sympathy for France and a strong adversity for Germany and Austria.

The Germans were not seen well by the population because they had attacked and humiliated France, while the Austrians were considered real enemies of the Romanian nation after, starting in 1867, in Transylvania, the forced denationalization of the Romanians took place. The anti-Dynastic movements against the background of the Franco-Prussian war were also known, but also the patriotic projects and the establishment of organizations that campaigned for the liberation of Bucovina and Transylvania from Austro-Hungarian rule. The best example was the “Carpathians” society founded by Mihai Eminescu in 1882, with the aim of uniting all the Romanian territories in a state called “Dacia Mare”.

In other words, if he knew about the new direction of foreign policy, a huge scandal would have erupted in Romanian society. So Prime Minister Ion C. Brătianu and Carol I decided to conclude a secret pact with Austria-Hungary. Initially, it was a rapprochement with Germany, the only one that could offer solid guarantees to Romania, being at the time a formidable military force at the European level. The alliance with Germany, however, also implied a rapprochement with Austria-Hungary. For their part, the Austrians were looking for an alliance with Romania to strengthen their southern flank. The idea of ​​getting closer to Germany was supported by few politicians, especially pro-German conservatives including PP Carp and Titu Maiorescu. The negotiations took place in the bathrooms. That is, in the resort of Franzebad, where Ion C. Brătianu met Otto von Bismarck, the “iron chancellor” of Germany. Later, the king of Romania, a pure Prussian, was invited to be the godfather of the future German emperor, Wilhelm II. In other words, things were getting better and better.

On the advice of Kaiser Wilhelm I, Prime Minister of Romania, together with King Carol I, they visited Vienna where they met Emperor Franz Joseph. On August 25, 1883 Charles I and Franz Joseph clapped. The technical meetings between Ion C. Brătianu and DA Sturdza followed, with the Austrian foreign minister von Kalnoky but also with Bismarck, the German chancellor. On October 18, DA Sturdza the foreign minister of Romania and his counterpart von Kalnoky signed the secret treaty between Romania and Austria-Hungary in Vienna. Through this treaty, the two states obliged themselves to come to each other's aid in the event of an unprovoked attack. In addition, the two states promised each other friendship. The treaty had a duration of five years, but was automatically extended for another three years, unless denounced by either party. Germany also joined the treaty on October 18

“Whatever intimate feelings we may harbor at the bottom of our hearts, we must show neither sympathy nor hatred for any power or nation. Our politics, which must infuse every moment, which must absorb all our powers, our politics must be guided by one and only sentiment, the sentiment of national conservation.”stated Prime Minister Ion C. Brătianu.

In other words, initially, Romania joined the Triple Alliance, along with Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. Carol I, said that this treaty is the most advantageous for Romania.

Especially since it provided for the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, after 1914, and Romania could easily take Transylvania and Bucovina, through a unification process. Later, the Romanians switched sides again and sided with the Entente alongside France and Great Britain, under the pressure of public opinion and pro-Entente political parties. Carol I would have wanted Romania to respect the alliance of which it was a part and enter the war on the side of Germany. It was only supported by PP Carp.