Romania

As part of the Nazi-Soviet Pact of August 1939, a secret protocol was enacted that gave the Nazis Romania as within their sphere of influence. Earlier in the year, Britain and France had tried to guarantee Romania's borders, but Romania's refusal to allow the Red Army to cross its borders kept Russia out of the pact, and the guarantee fell apart.

After the Battle of Kursk in July 1943, the Germans took up defensive positions and fell back in an orderly retreat.The Red Army, now with aggressive, confident commanders like Georgi Zhukov and Vasily Chuikov backed by increasing quantities of tanks, aircraft, planes and men, supplemented by deliveries from the United States and the U