During World War II, Operation Margarethe II was the name for a planned invasion of Romania by German forces in conjunction with those of Hungary and Bulgaria if the Romanian government decided to surrender to the Allies and switch sides.[1][2][3][4] Although initially abandoned within a few weeks at the start of 1944,[5] after King Michael's coup on 23 August 1944 and Antonescu's arrest, Hitler ordered the operation to commence. Led by Luftwaffe General Alfred Gerstenberg, then by General Reiner Stahel, the operation ultimately failed to occupy Bucharest and overthrow Michael and the new government.[6]
- ^ Chant, Christopher. "Operation Margarethe II".
- ^ Jean W. Sedlar (2007). The Axis Empire in Southeast Europe, 1939-1945. BookLocker.com. ISBN 978-1-60145-297-9.
- ^ John Erickson (1999). Stalin's War with Germany: The Road to Berlin. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-07813-8.
- ^ János Kristóf Murádin (2014), "The German Occupation of Cluj–Kolozsvár and its Consequences on the History of the City in 1944," Central European Papers 2(1): 74–87.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
BWwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Narcis I. Gherghina. "Bombardamentele germane asupra Bucureștiului: 23-26 august 1944". aviatori.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 18 February 2024.