THE INTERVENTION OF THE ROMANIAN ARMY IN BESSARABIA – A STRATEGIC NECESSITY FOR ENSURE THE SECURITY OF MILITARY DEPOSITS AND COMMUNICATION LINES, RESTORING INTERNAL ORDER AND DEFENDING THE UNION ACT OF MARCH 27 / APRIL 9, 1918

The geopolitical and strategic context of the Romanian Army’s intervention in Bessarabia in 1918 was represented by the following essential aspects: a) the inability of the Board of Directors of Bessarabia to control the situation in the newly established Moldavian Democratic Republic. It was threatened by the pressures of the anarchist Bolshevik forces and the annexationist claims of Ukraine, and the difficulties of the Board in managing the internal state of affairs determined the request for help from the Romanian Government; b) the major interest of the Kingdom of Romania to benefit, with the agreement of the Entente representatives, in the territory between the Prut and the Dniester, from a stable area that would ensure the security of communications and access to stocks of weapons, ammunition, food, etc.; c) the threat, from the Allies’ perspective, of the expansion of Bolshevism in southern Ukraine, as well as the interest of the Central Powers to impose the acceptance of the largest possible concessions from Romania, engaged in the peace negotiations in Bucharest, favored the support of both belligerent camps for the Romanian military intervention across the Prut. The presence of the Romanian Army in the territory between the Prut and the Dniester and the restoration of internal order in this space ensured the freedom of action of political structures and professional organizations and the free expression of the will of the majority population in Bessarabia, materialized in the historic decision of the Country Council of March 27/April 9, 1918.