Romanian Naval Doctrine and Its Tests in the Second World War

This article highlights a fierce debate among Romanian sailors over naval doctrine during the interwar period and illuminates problems that did not allow them to realize any of the proposed strategies in the war against Russia. The Romanian general staff regarded the navy as its least important arm. However, being the only Axis naval force opposing the Soviet Black Sea Fleet in 1941, the Romanian navy faced a challenge greater than the army and air force that operated merely as minor allies of the Wehrmacht. The navy's missions were less ambitious than those set for the other arms overrated by Romanian strategists. The navy performed its tasks unglamorously but it was an important component of Axis logistics, and it avoided the spectacular failures frequently experienced by the Romanian land forces

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