An often overlooked reason for Grossdeutschland's success (especially in German accounts) can be attributed to the forceful pinning attacks mounted by the Romanians further south. Romania's battle-hardened Royal Guards Division carried out one such attack at Gănești. Viewing them as a symbol of political reaction, Red Army Kommissars encouraged a particular dislike for the Romanian division, one heartily returned by its Romanian officers.

While Soviet Guards units received their designation for outstanding performance in battle, the Romanian Royal Guard Division did not. Their history before the war involved ceremonial duties, but their prestige assured that the division received the Army's best young officers and recruits. Hard experience in front of Odessa earlier in the war ground the softness out of the division, who could no longer be called parade-ground soldiers. They performed admirably under trying conditions for several years. Despite their lack of heavy weapons, the Royal Guards pressed forward hard enough to secure Gănești and tie up the Soviet defenders such that they could not send reinforcements northward to deal with Grossdeutschland.