BUCHAREST, TREATY OF, the agreement which terminated the war be tween Rumania and the Central Powers, signed at Bucharest, May 6, 1918. The withdrawal of Russia from the war had robbed Rumania of her only strong ally in eastern Europe, and thus had made her defeat inevitable. At the end of November, 1917, the eastern front from Bukowina to the Black Sea had been held by a combined force of Russians and Rumanians. The former were com posed of 450,000 men and the latter of about 180,000. When the Russian ar mistice was signed, Rumania was com pelled by the threats both of the Ger mans and the Russians themselves to adhere to it. While the Russo-Teuton conferences were in progress, the Rus sian armies melted away rapidly, and Rumania was left alone to confront, with vastly inferior forces and supplies, the victorious troops of Von Mackensen, who had already captured a large part of their territory, and who could now be re-enforced by the other German and Austrian armies released from the fight ing on the Russian front. For a time, help was promised by the Ukraine, but this last hope faded when the latter country signed its separate peace with the Central Powers. It was simply a case of capitulation or annihilation, and the little country bowed to the inevitable. On Feb. 6, 1918, Field Marshal Von Mackensen dispatched an ultimatum to the Rumanian Government, then at Jassy, demanding that peace negotia tions be begun within four days. After
fruitless efforts at delay, the Govern ment acquiesced and discussions were begun. They were protracted, however, through the unwillingness of Rumania to accept the drastic terms proposed by her conquerors, and a second ultimatum was sent by the Germans on March 4, giving the kingdom twenty-four hours to accept the terms or be crushed. There was no alternative and a prelimi nary treaty was signed which was to be the basis of a final treaty to be con cluded later. This final treaty was signed May 6, 1918, at Bucharest, from which it takes its name.
In general, the effect of the treaty was to leave Rumania with only a shadow of real independence and to put all her natural resources under the con trol of the victors. This was confirmed by her bitter experience following the signing of the treaty, when she was ground down and plundered by the exac tions of the German armies.
As in the case of the Brest-Litovsk treaty, the Allies denounced the iniqui tous provisions of the treaty of Bucharest and promised that it should be annulled. This was done when the peace treaty that ended the war was signed at Ver sailles, June 28, 1919.