Transylvania

The combat losses of the opposing armies are indicative not only of the casualties and the intensity of the fighting, but also a factor in assessing the combat effectiveness of the troops. The article, which is based on documents from the State Military Historical Archive of Bulgaria (DVIA), the Russian State Military Historical Archive (RGVIA), the Austrian State Archive (ÖStA), the Bavarian Main State Archive (BayHSA), and information collected by researchers from different countries, identifies and clarifies the losses of the armies of Bulgaria, Romania, Austria-Hungary, the German, Ottoman and Russian Empires during the Romanian campaign (September 1916 — January 1917). The substantial losses sustained by the Romanian army in Transylvania, particularly in Dobrudzha, were a contributing factor to the defeat of the Romanian forces in the autumn and winter of 1916. This ultimately resulted in the loss of Wallachia and Bucharest. Researchers have not yet reached a consensus on the precise figure for the size of the losses suffered by the Romanian army, which is estimated to be between 300 thousand and 500 thousand men. The losses sustained by the Russian armies of the Romanian Front are documented for the first time (totalling up to 262 thousand men). The losses sustained by the armed forces of the Quadruple Alliance during the Romanian campaign of 1916 were significant, with a total of 167,000 casualties recorded. This was primarily attributable to the intensity of the hostilities. The Bulgarian army suffered significant losses, with estimates reaching up to 55,000 casualties.