On August 27, 1916, after Romania declares war on Austria-
Hungary, formally entering World War I, Romanian troops
cross the border of the Austro-Hungarian Empire into the
much-contested province of Transylvania.
By the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914, Romania had long
been at odds with Austria-Hungary over the issue of territory,
specifically Transylvania, which was ethnically Romanian but
then part of Hungary. Seeing Russia’s success against Austria
on the battlefields of the Eastern Front during the summer of
1916, Romania hoped to make an advantageous entry into the
war in order to realize long-held dreams of territorial expansion
and national unity.
On August 18, 1916, the Romanian government signed a secret
treaty with the Allies; by its terms, in the event of an Allied victory Romania would acquire Transylvania, up to the River Theiss, the province of Bukovina to the River Pruth, and the entire Banat
region, all territory under Austro-Hungarian control. On August
27, Romania fulfilled its treaty obligation by declaring war against Austria-Hungary.
Erich von Falkenhayn‘s cavalry entering Bucharest on
December 6, 1916.
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