Armata a 4-a Română

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Armata a 4-a Română

Statul Major General.jpg

Arms of the Armata Română
active August 1916 to June 1947
Country Romania kingdomRomania Romania
Armed forces Romania kingdomRomania Armata Română
Type army
Butcher World War
One World War II

The Armata a 4-a Română ( German  4th Army ) was a military association of the armed forces of the Kingdom of Romania during the First and Second World Wars . The army was established in 1916 and was disbanded in 1947.

First World War

At the end of August 1916, shortly after the declaration of war, the Romanians broke into the Hungarian border provinces. The Romanian 4th Army (Northern Army) was deployed in the eastern Carpathians on the night of August 27-28 in the valleys of the Bistritza and Casini. While the 1st and 2nd Armies invaded Transylvania at the same time , the 4th (North) Army to the east under General Averescu tried to take possession of the Burzenland , but was transferred to the Austro-Hungarian 7th Army on September 20th Baba Ludowa stopped and thrown back at the Szurduk Pass.

Constantin Prezan

IV Army Corps General Gheorghe Văleanu

  • 7th Infantry Division Brigadier General Ioan Istrate
  • 14th Infantry Brigade, Colonel Octav Boian
  • 13th Infantry Brigade, Colonel Petre Velicu
  • 8th Infantry Division , Brigadier General Ioan Pătraşcu
  • 15th Infantry Brigade, Brigadier General Nicolae Petala
  • 56th Infantry Regiment, Colonel Constantin Niculcea
  • 2nd Cavalry Division, Brigadier General Gheorghe Basarabescu
  • 4th Calarasi Infantry Brigade
  • 14th Infantry Division , Brigadier General Paraschiv Vasilescu
  • 27th Infantry Brigade, Brigadier General Luca Vlădoianu
  • 28th Infantry Brigade, Brigadier General Constantin Ionescu

Commander in Chief

Second World War

At the beginning of Operation Barbarossa (June 22, 1941), the Romanian 4th Army under the command of Lieutenant General Nicolae Ciupercă was assigned to Army Group Antonescu together with the German 11th Army and consisted of 4 corps groups:

  • III. Army Corps, General Atanasiu (15th Infantry and 35th Reserve Divisions)
  • V. Army Corps, General Sion (Border Guard and 21st Infantry Division)
  • II Army Corps, General Nicolae Macici (Danube Group with 9th and 10th Divisions)
  • XI. Army Corps, General Constantinescu (4th Infantry Division and 1st and 2nd Fortress Brigade).
  • Reserve: 5th Infantry Division

The 4th Army marching on the Prut sector faced the Soviet 9th Army (General Tscherewitschenko) on the southern front .

In August 1941, during the siege of Odessa , the 4th Army was assigned to the 17th infantry, 1 armored division and 3 cavalry brigades:

  • III. Corps, Major General Vasile Atanasiu (2nd, 3rd, 7th and 11th Infantry Divisions)
  • I. Corps, Major General Teodor Ionescu (1st Guard and 21st Infantry Divisions)
  • IV Corps, General Constantin Sănătescu (8th and 14th Infantry Divisions)
  • V Corps, Major General Aurelian Sion (1st, 4th, 13th and 15th Infantry Divisions)
  • XI. Corps, Constantin Constantinescu (6th, 10th and 21st Infantry Divisions)
  • Reserve: 5th Infantry, 1st Border Guard and 1st Panzer Division, 2nd and 9th Cavalry Brigade

Because the first attacks under Lieutenant General Ciuperca did not penetrate despite the strong superiority, he was replaced on September 10 by General Iosif Iacobici. On September 22nd, the Soviet forces reinforced by the Black Sea Fleet began a strong counterattack, which pushed the Romanians back 5 to 8 km. After the German invasion of the Crimea, the Soviet High Command decided to evacuate Odessa. By October 16, 86,000 members of the Red Army and 15,000 residents had been evacuated to sea. On November 9, 1941, General Constantin Constantinescu was appointed the new commander of the 4th Army.

In the autumn of 1942 the 4th Army established itself in the Kotelnikowo area and took up positions between the Volga and the Kalmyk steppe , subordinate to 5 infantry and 2 cavalry divisions:

  • VI. Army Corps (Lieutenant General Corneliu Dragalina ) with 2nd, 18th and 20th Infantry Divisions
  • VII Army Corps (Lieutenant General Florea Mitrănescu ) with 1st and 4th Infantry Divisions
  • Cavalry Corps Popescu (Major General Ion Popescu) with 5th and 6th Cavalry Divisions

During the Russian Operation Uranus (November 1942 to early 1943), the 3rd Army on the Upper Don was almost completely destroyed during the Battle of Stalingrad . The Romanian 4th Army, which joined the German IV Army Corps to the south, suffered the same fate. Despite counter-attacks by the 8th Cavalry Division, the advance of the Soviet troops could not be stopped. During the breakthrough, the Romanian 20th Infantry Division split off (November 20th), pushed north and encircled together with the German 6th Army .

In April – May 1944, after the advance of the Soviet 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Front, the Romanian armed forces were reorganized. The 4th Army was reorganized together with the German 8th Army (General Wöhler) to defend Northern Romania. During the Soviet operation Jassy-Kishinev , the Romanian 4th Army under General Racoviţǎ was concentrated in the Târgu Frumos area and defeated by the Red Army . During Operation Jassy-Kishinev, the German and Romanian troops also faced the 1st Romanian Voluntary Infantry Division "Tudor Vladimirescu" , which consisted primarily of soldiers of the 4th Army captured near Stalingrad who had meanwhile fought for the Soviets.

Outline August 1944

  • VII Army Corps (8th Inf. Division, 103rd and 104th Mountain Brigade)
  • I. Army Corps (6th and 20th Inf. Divisions)
  • 5th Army Corps (Guard Division and 4th Inf. Division)
  • VI. Army Corps (5th Inf. Division and 101st Mountain Brigade)
  • IV Army Corps (3rd and 7th Inf. Divisions, and 102nd Mountain Brigade)
  • Reserve: 1st and 13th Inf. Division and Panzer Division "Greater Romania"

On August 23, 1944, the Romanian head of state, Marshal Ion Antonescu, was dismissed by King Michael I and a few days later Romania declared war on Hungary and the German Empire. The Soviets took control of the Ploieşti oil fields . The Romanian 4th Army was immediately deployed on the Soviet side against the Germans and accompanied the advance of Malinowski's troops through Transylvania and northern Hungary . The 4th Army fought from September 5 to October 8, 1944 in the Battle of Turda against troops of the Hungarian 2nd Army and the German 8th Army.

A few days before the end of the war, the Romanian 4th Army took part in the Prague operation of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, which started on May 6, 1945 and ended with the occupation of Prague . In the campaign from August 1944 to May 1945, the Romanian 1st and 4th Armies together lost around 64,000 deaths.

Commander in chief

  • Lieutenant General Nicolae Ciupercă , June 2, 1940 to September 9, 1941
  • Lieutenant General Iosif Iacobici , September 10, 1941 to November 8, 1941
  • Major General Constantin Constantinescu , November 9, 1941 to February 10, 1943
  • Lieutenant General Constantin Sănătescu , February 11, 1943 to January 24, 1944
  • Lieutenant General Mihai Racoviţǎ , January 25, 1944 to August 23, 1944
  • Lieutenant General Ilie Steflea, 23 August 1944 to 3 September 1944
  • Lieutenant General Gheorghe Avramescu , September 4, 1944 to January 11, 1945
  • Lieutenant General Nicolae Dascalescu , January 12, 1945 to February 18, 1945
  • Lieutenant General Gheorghe Avramescu, February 19, 1945 to March 2, 1945
  • Lieutenant General Nicolae Dascalescu, March 3, 1945 to May 12, 1945

literature

  • Friedrich Forstmeier : Odessa 1941. The struggle for town and port and the evacuation of the sea fortress, August 15 - October 16, 1941 Freiburg im Breisgau 1967.
  • Carl Wagener: Army Group South , Podzun Verlag, Bad Nauheim 1969

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Carl Wagener: Army Group South , Podzun Verlag, map section p. 55