Gheorghe Mihail

Gheorghe Mihail.

Gheorghe Mihail (born March 13, 1887 in Braila , † February 2, 1982 in Sinaia ) was a Romanian army general and chief of staff in World War II .

Life

Early military career

He attended the military school for infantry and cavalry (Şcoala Militară de Infanterie şi Cavalerie) in Bucharest from 1905 to 1907 and was then assigned to the newly formed 6th Jäger Battalion. On July 1, 1910, he was promoted to lieutenant and was transferred to the 34th Infantry Regiment in Constanța . In 1911 he won an international competition for special training with the Austro-Hungarian Army , and spent two years with the Austro-Hungarian 7th Infantry Division in Esseg . During his several weeks of free time he traveled to Berlin, Breslau , Venice and Rome. After his return home he was promoted to captain in 1913 and was in the service of a battalion of the 34th Infantry Regiment opposite the Bulgarian border during the Second Balkan War . After demobilization , he continued his military service in Constanța. In the summer of 1914 he wanted to attend the Higher War School in Bucharest, but the outbreak of the First World War ordered him to attend a cadre school for reserve officers in Constanța. He was promoted to captain in April 1915 and appointed commandant of a new school for active officers. After the August 1916 in the Austro-Hungarian Empire declaration of war, he took a major part in the fighting in Buzau Valley. His regiment did not follow the crossing of the Danube into Bulgarian territory, but covered the southern apron of Bucharest and the Tunari fortress on the north bank. On July 28, 1917, he was wounded during the Battle of Mărasti. However, he quickly resigned after his recovery and took part in the Battle of Mărăşeşti in August 1917 . The 34th Infantry Regiment rejected three enemy attacks, but lost 1,586 men. The remnants of the regiment were re-formed as the 2nd Battalion, which was placed under his command. On October 7th, Michael the Brave was awarded the military order of 3rd class for his service . From 1919 to 1920 he attended the military academy , in 1927 he was promoted to colonel . In October 1933 he was appointed head of the General Staff's intelligence department . In 1935 he was promoted to brigadier general and between November 1937 and January 1938 he occupied the position of head of the royal military bureau.

In World War II

Between February and October 1939, he was the deputy state secretary in the Ministry of Defense and was promoted to division general. Romania was in a critical situation in the summer of 1940. On July 4, 1940, he was appointed Vice Prime Minister and on August 23, Chief of the General Staff. From this position he advised King Carol II during the time of the Viennese dictation . Although the army was ready to fight, the German-Hungarian demands were accepted because of the superior strength of the enemy. When the pro-German Ion Antonescu came to power, Mihai was recalled on September 6, 1940 and placed under house arrest in Sinaia. In November 1943 he was summoned by the young King Mihai I , who offered him his old position again. He participated in several meetings again, but his conflict with the communist leader Emil Bodnaras forced him to withdraw again. After the destruction of the German Army Group in Southern Ukraine on the Prut , he was reinstated as Chief of the General Staff on August 23, 1944. He ordered the rest of the troops in the Vltava to withdraw on the fortified line Nămoloasa - Focsani - Braila . All other troops were concentrated in the Bucharest- Ploiesti area as support for the intended change of front against the German Wehrmacht . At the same time he tried to maintain Romania's independence from its new Soviet allies. After the 1st and 4th Armies had to be subordinated to the 2nd Ukrainian Front , its general staff only functioned for administrative tasks. Mihail took a firm stand against the Control Council of the Red Army and denied Marshal Malinowski's request to disband the remaining divisions within Romania. He applied to the Soviets in vain to release the prisoners of war in Moldova after August 24th. Because he did not agree to the participation of the Romanian troops in the battle across the Romanian borders in 1940, he was forced to resign on October 12, 1944. He was appointed inspector general of the army and was promoted to army general in November 1944 .

post war period

After the war, he was removed from the Romanian army under pressure from the new communist leadership. On January 20, 1948, he was arrested and tried along with Ion Gigurtu and other members of his cabinet for the anti-socialist measures of 1940. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, which he spent in the prisons of Văcăreşti (Bucharest), Pitesti , Ocnele Mari, Sighet and Jilava . He was released on October 10, 1957 and died 25 years later in Sinaia in February 1982.

literature

• Alesandru Duțu / Florica Dobre: Drama generalilor Români: 1944–1964 , pp. 183–87. Editura Enciclopedică, Bucharest 1997
• Stelian Neagoe: Istorie politică încarcerată , Editura Institutului de Științe Politice și Relații Internaționale, Bucharest 2006