The Coup
On 23 August 1944, King Michael joined with pro-Allied opposition politicians (who included the communists) and led a successful coup with support from the army. Michael, who was initially considered to be not much more than a "figurehead", was able to successfully depose the dictator Ion Antonescu. The king offered a non-confrontational retreat to German ambassador Manfred Freiherr von Killinger, but the Germans considered the coup "reversible" and tried to turn the situation around by military attacks. The Romanian First Army, the Romanian Second Army (under formation), the remnants of the Romanian Third Army and the Romanian Fourth Army (one corps) were under orders from the king to defend Romania against any German attacks. The king then offered to put Romania's battered armies on the side of the Allies.
Read more about this topic: King Michael's Coup