Romanian government returns to Bucharest

On 30 November 1918 (17 November by the Julian calendar, which Romania still used at the time) two trains carrying members of the government, the diplomatic missions and former ministers arrived in Bucharest from Iași. After almost two years, since the authorities moved to Moldavia in December 1916, the capital was once again becoming the seat of government. After Romania re-entered the war and the armistice of 11 November, the German troops occupying the country had withdrawn from Bucharest and were leaving through Transylvania for Hungary. The British chronology of the war records under this day the restoration of the Romanian government in Bucharest.

The journey from Iași

Preparations for the move had been under way in Iași since mid-November. According to the diary of Alexandru Marghiloman, the newspapers wrote that the court’s departure had been brought forward at the urgent insistence of General Henri Berthelot, commander of the French Army of the Danube. For three days the authorities placed special trains at the disposal of officials. On the evening of 28 November two trains left Iași, carrying the legations, members of the government of General Constantin Coandă and former ministers. The country had been ravaged by war and the journey was hard. Marghiloman, who travelled on one of the trains together with Constantin Arion and other former ministers of his government, noted that the train took 41 hours, without heating or light, and that halted troop transports stood at the stations. They reached Bucharest on Saturday 30 November before noon. The Liberals of Ion I. C. Brătianu had left two hours earlier and travelled much faster.

The city was calm. It had been raining for several days. In Bucharest the reckoning for the occupation period had already begun. According to Marghiloman, two newspapers had been closed and several journalists and writers arrested, among them the writer Tudor Arghezi, on charges of collaborating with the Germans. The former prime minister himself, who was accused of Germanophilia, was not invited to the celebrations.

The King’s entry

The next day, 1 December, King Ferdinand I and Queen Marie made their ceremonial entry into the capital. The royal family left the train at Mogoșoaia (PL) near Bucharest and reviewed the troops there. At about 11 a.m. the procession reached the royal palace. The King rode on horseback, with the Queen on his left and General Berthelot on his right. Behind them marched Romanian, French and British troops and a procession of 80 Romanian colours with guards of honour. According to the British official history by Cyril Falls, the whole city came out into the streets to greet the King and Queen, who had come through hard years in the temporary capital. A solemn Te Deum was sung in the cathedral, and in the evening a banquet was given at the palace. On the same day at Alba Iulia an assembly of the Romanians of Transylvania and the Banat proclaimed the union of these lands with Romania.

Coandă’s government did not last long in its new seat. It was a caretaker cabinet, and in mid-December it gave way to Brătianu’s Liberals, who led Romania to the peace conference.