23 - Marshal Antonescu’s Government

Summary

The moment General Antonescu was brought by King Carol II from Bistriţa Monastery—where he was under house arrest and military guard—he had the sympathy and trust not only of the army but also that of public opinion, due to his civic courage and his unyielding attitude toward the king, to whom he told the truth openly, just as Iuliu Maniu had.

In the first world war he had been aide de camp to Marshal Prezan, supreme commander of the army, and as such he had designed the plan for the battle of Argeş, which was unanimously appreciated by all the generals—I had an opportunity to spend time with all of them in prison—even though they didn't like him much because of his arrogance. If General Socec hadn't had the bad luck of falling into German hands with the operational plans for the battle on the day before, in the generals’ opinion it was quite likely we would have won.

Later on, Antonescu was appointed military attaché to Britain, and he studied in France. He commanded the School of War, even though he only had the rank of colonel, and after that, also at a very young age, he was Army Chief of Staff. In the Goga government he was appointed minister of war.

He took a critical attitude toward King Carol's abuses, so the latter took away his command and put him under house arrest, but he was called back the day after the Vienna Award to save the country and the Crown. Especially the Crown, because no one else, given Maniu's opposition toward the king, could save it. After consulting with the latter and with the other party chairmen, he submitted a request for resignation to the king, offering him a guarantee for free passage out of the country with all assets untouched. The alternative would have been to bring down the monarchy itself, because Voivod Mihai—as the future king was called at that time—would have been in a moral quagmire with regard to accepting the Crown if his father had been prosecuted or assassinated.