![Южен_фронт_ВСВ_(22](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/%D0%AE%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%BD_%D1%84%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%82_%D0%92%D0%A1%D0%92_%2822.06_-_10.07.1941%29.png)
Operation München ( ro, Operațiunea München) was the
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
*** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...
codename of a joint
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
-
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n offensive during the
German invasion of the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...
in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, with the primary objective of recapturing
Bessarabia
Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...
,
Northern Bukovina
Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berger ...
and the
Hertsa region
The Hertsa region, also known as the Hertza region ( uk, Край Герца, Kraj Herca; ro, Ținutul Herța), is a region around the town of Hertsa within Chernivtsi Raion in the southern part of Chernivtsi Oblast in southwestern Ukraine, ne ...
, ceded by Romania to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
a year before (
Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina
The Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina took place from June 28 to July 3, 1940, as a result of an ultimatum by the Soviet Union to Romania on June 26, 1940, that threatened the use of force. Bessarabia had been part of the Kin ...
). The operation concluded successfully after 24 days of fighting. Axis formations involved included the Romanian
Third and the
Fourth Armies and the German
Eleventh Army. The invasion was followed by a genocide against the Jewish population of Bessarabia.
![Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F016198-0032, Rumänien, Brückenbau über den Pruth](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Bundesarchiv_B_145_Bild-F016198-0032%2C_Rum%C3%A4nien%2C_Br%C3%BCckenbau_%C3%BCber_den_Pruth.jpg)
The offensive started on 2 July, with Romanian forces striking north. On 5 July,
Chernivtsi
Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the upp ...
, the capital of Northern Bukovina, was seized by the 3rd and 23rd
Vânători de Munte Vânători may refer to several places:
Romania
* Vânători, Galați, a commune in Galați County
* Vânători, Iași, a commune in Iaşi County
* Vânători, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedinţi County
* Vânători, Mureș, a commune in Mureș Co ...
Battalions. On 16 July,
Chișinău
Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...
, the Bessarabian capital, was seized after heavy fighting by Romanian forces spearheaded by the 1st Romanian Armored Division (Divizia 1 Blindată), equipped mainly with 126
R-2 light tanks. By 26 July, the entire region was under Romanian-German control. On 17 August, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina were formally re-integrated into the Romanian state.
Fighting in Southern Bessarabia
The combat operations in
Southern Bessarabia
Southern Bessarabia or South Bessarabia is a territory of Bessarabia which, as a result of the Crimean War, was returned to the Moldavian Principality in 1856. As a result of the unification of the latter with Wallachia, these lands became part ...
were some of the most complex in the entire operation, involving artillery, warships, aviation, soldiers and marines from both sides. The Soviet Danube Flotilla consisted of 5 river monitors, 22 armed and armored motor boats and 7 minesweeping boats. The
Romanian Danube Flotilla The Romanian Danube Flotilla is the oldest extant naval force on the Danube, dating since 1860, when the Romanian Navy was founded. It saw service during most of the wars involving Romania, and was the most powerful river naval force in the world du ...
had 7 river monitors, but fewer, about 4, small armed small boats. Fighting in this sector of the front started days before the operation, with a first skirmish between Soviet and Romanian warships on 23 June, when the Soviet vessels attempted to break the Romanian naval blockade. During the night of 9/10 July, the Soviet warships took advantage of the reduced visibility and managed to sneak out of the blockade. On 26 June, in support of the sea-borne
Raid on Constanța
The Raid on Constanța was an attack by the Soviet Black Sea Fleet on the Romanian port of Constanța on 26 June 1941, shortly after the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, and resulted in the only encou ...
, Soviet armored motor gunboats landed troops at
Chilia Veche
Chilia Veche (Romanian pronunciation: /kiˈlija ˈveˈke/; meaning ''Old Chilia''; uk, Стара Кілія, translit=Stara Kiliia) is a commune in Tulcea County, Northern Dobruja, Romania, in the Danube Delta. It gave its name to the Chilia bra ...
and captured most of the Romanian 15th Marine Infantry Battalion, Romanian losses amounting to 468 troops. The remnants of the battalion, supported by one armed boat and two motorboats, managed to defend Stipoc Island against further Soviet attacks. The Romanian 17th Marine Infantry Battalion managed to hold the
Periprava sector all throughout the Operation and the preceding days, repelling numerous Soviet attacks. During this time, its artillery also sank four Soviet armored boats. On the night of 22–23 July, the battalion occupied
Tatarbunary. Ultimately, the losses of the Soviet Danube Flotilla amounted to two river monitors damaged, five armored motor boats sunk and one more damaged. On 18–19 July, the Flotilla withdrew from the
Danube Delta
The Danube Delta ( ro, Delta Dunării, ; uk, Дельта Дунаю, Deľta Dunaju, ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Ro ...
. Thus, on 22 July, the Romanians occupied
Reni,
Izmail
Izmail (, , translit. ''Izmail,'' formerly Тучков ("Tuchkov"); ro, Ismail or ''Smil''; pl, Izmaił, bg, Исмаил) is a city and municipality on the Danube river in Odesa Oblast in south-western Ukraine. It serves as the administra ...
,
Kiliya
Kiliia or Kilia ( uk, Кілія́, translit=Kiliia, ; ro, Chilia Nouă) is a town in Izmail Raion, Odesa Oblast of southwestern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Kiliia urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Kiliia is located in t ...
and
Vylkove
Vylkove ( uk, Ви́лкове, ; russian: link=no, Вилково; ro, Vâlcov) is a small city located in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta, at utmost southwest of Ukraine, on the border with Romania. Administratively it is part of Izmai ...
.
Naval engagements
The Romanian naval formation involved in the operation, the ''Tulcea Tactical Group'', fought several naval engagements against the Soviet Navy. These battles resulted in the damaging of two Soviet monitors and two armored motor gunboats, as well as the sinking of another armored motor gunboat. The two damaged Soviet gunboats were the result of an
action
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
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Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
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preceding the operation by several days.
Action of 13 July
On 13 July, the Romanian monitor ''
Mihail Kogălniceanu
Mihail Kogălniceanu (; also known as Mihail Cogâlniceanu, Michel de Kogalnitchan; September 6, 1817 – July 1, 1891) was a Romanian liberal statesman, lawyer, historian and publicist; he became Prime Minister of Romania on October 11, 1863 ...
'' encountered a Soviet monitor near the village of Copana Balca. The Romanian monitor attacked, scoring a direct hit against her Soviet counterpart. The Soviet warship returned fire with no result before retreating.
Action of 14 July
On 14 July, ''Mihail Kogălniceanu'' attacked the Soviet monitor ''Udarnyy'' at
Ismail
Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...
. Like on the previous day, the Romanian monitor scored a direct hit against her Soviet foe, despite the latter's fierce return fire. ''Udarnyy'' continued firing while retreating, but yet again, no damage was inflicted upon the Romanian warship.
Action off Isaccea
At some point during the Operation, Romanian armed barges shelled and sank an armored motor gunboat off
Isaccea
Isaccea (; tr, İshakçı) is a small town in Tulcea County, in Northern Dobruja, Romania, on the right bank of the Danube, 35 km north-west of Tulcea. According to the 2011 census, it has a population of 4,955.
The town has been inhabite ...
.
Air combat
The first Soviet-Romanian aerial combat was carried out by Sub-Lieutenant Teodor Moscu of ''Escadrila 51''. While flying over Southern Bessarabia, his
Heinkel He 112
The Heinkel He 112 is a German fighter aircraft designed by Walter and Siegfried Günter. It was one of four aircraft designed to compete for the 1933 fighter contract of the ''Luftwaffe'', in which it came second behind the Messerschmitt Bf 1 ...
was attacked by a formation of five
Polikarpov I-16
The Polikarpov I-16 (russian: Поликарпов И-16) is a Soviet single-engine single-seat fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world's first low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to attain ...
. The Romanian pilot swiftly shot down three of them, causing the other two to retreat. Eight more Soviet aircraft were shot down during this battle and 40 more were strafed on the ground, but the Romanians lost 11 of their own aircraft to Soviet ground fire. On 12 July, responding to a powerful Red Army counteroffensive, the Romanians assembled an air fleet of 59 bombers (mostly of Italian and Polish construction) escorted by 54 fighters (including Romanian-made
IAR-80
The IAR 80 was a Romanian World War II low-wing monoplane, all-metal monocoque fighter and ground-attack aircraft. When it first flew, in 1939, it was comparable to contemporary designs being deployed by the airforces of the most advanced milit ...
s). This mixed force swept the Soviets from the sky before decimating Soviet ground forces (artillery, troops, transports and tanks). In one instance, IAR-80 pilot Vasile Claru ran out of ammunition after destroying three of the six Polikarpovs pursuing him. Consequently, he rammed his plane into a fourth, killing a deputy Soviet squadron commander (M. Shamanov), but Claru himself didn't survive the crash either. Ultimately, the Soviet counteroffensive was repulsed with heavy losses. By 26 July, the Romanians had established air supremacy over Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. They flew a total of 5,100 missions, claiming 88 enemy aircraft shot down in aerial combat plus 108 destroyed on the ground for the cost of 58 of their own aircraft. An additional 59 Soviet aircraft were shot down by Romanian flak.
Frank Joseph, ''The Axis Air Forces: Flying in Support of the German Luftwaffe'', ABC-CLIO, 2011, p. 164
/ref>
See also
*Romanian Navy during World War II
The Romanian Navy during World War II was the main Axis naval force in the Black Sea campaigns and fought against the Soviet Union's Black Sea Fleet from 1941 to 1944. Operations consisted mainly of mine warfare, but there were also escort missi ...
*Action of 9 July 1941
The action of 9 July 1941 was a naval engagement between the Soviet and Romanian navies during World War II, taking place near the Romanian port-city of Mangalia.
Background
When the Axis Powers launched ''Operation Barbarossa'' in June 1941, R ...
*Naval operations in Romanian-occupied Soviet waters
Between 1941 and 1944, Romania held control over much of the Ukrainian Black Sea coast East of the Crimea. This was acquired during ''Operation Barbarossa''. The Romanian conquest of the Soviet Western Black Sea coast started in July 1941 during ...
References
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munchen
Battles involving Romania
Operation Barbarossa
Battles and operations of the Soviet–German War
Military operations of World War II involving Germany
Battles involving the Soviet Union
1941 in Romania
1941 in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic
1941 in Ukraine
1941 in the Soviet Union
Naval battles and operations of the European theatre of World War II
Naval battles of World War II involving Romania
Naval battles of World War II involving the Soviet Union
July 1941 events
German–Romania military relations