Mihail Lascăr

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Mihail Lascăr as Minister of Defense

Mihail Lascăr (born November 8, 1889 in Târgu Jiu , † July 24, 1959 in Bucharest ) was a Romanian officer, most recently four-star general and Romanian Minister of Defense (1946-1947).

Life

Lascăr attended the infantry officer school from 1908 to 1910 and was promoted to lieutenant at the end. He fought as a lieutenant in the Second Balkan War. When Romania entered World War I, he had the rank of captain. He was promoted to major in 1917, then had to wait an additional 10 years to rise to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was promoted to colonel in 1934 and brigadier general in 1939 .

On January 10, 1941, he was appointed commanding officer of the 1st Mountain Brigade, an elite unit of the Romanian 3rd Army . From June 22, 1941, he took part in Operation Barbarossa as commander of the mountain brigade . His brigade took part in the attack by the German 11th Army in northern Bukovina . The mountain brigade initially fought in Bukovina and northern Bessarabia . He was awarded the Military Order Michael the Brave III on October 17, 1941 . Class excellent. According to the decree, he was awarded the medal “for the courage, determination and remarkable energy he showed in the border operations, the conquest of Bukovina and northern Bessarabia. When crossing the Dniester he led the brigade with determination and energy, then fiercely defended the bridgehead and fended off all enemy attacks by counter-attacks. "

Lascăr then swung his unit to the east and crossed the rivers Dniester , Bug and Dnieper . He then fought at the Battle of the Sea of ​​Azov , thereby resisting Soviet attacks with superior forces, with his unit even being encircled until German units became available and intervened. This was followed by the deployment over the Isthmus of Perekop in the Crimea , where he overcame defensive positions of the Red Army. His unit then pursued the withdrawal of the Soviet forces. In four days, his unit marched 180 km and took 2,447 prisoners until they reached the coast at Sudak. For a short time she conducted anti-partisan operations in the Jaila Mountains. From November 1941 he took part in the Battle of Sevastopol 1941-1942 . The 1st Mountain Brigade conquered Kapellenberg together with the German 170th Infantry Division . Lascar was awarded the Military Order Michael the Brave 2nd Class and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his use in battle . Erich von Manstein mentioned Lascăr in his memoir. His immediate superior, Major General Gheorghe Avramescu (Mountain Corps Commander), wrote in his personnel file: He is full of energy and commitment, with a lot of initiative. Solid character and personality, self-confident. He proved to be a high quality general who kept his troops well under control.

He was in command of the Mountain Infantry Brigade until February 10, 1942. He has now been promoted to major general. On March 11, 1942, he took command of the 6th Infantry Division, one of the best units in the Romanian Army, which was trained by German instructors in 1941. He fought in the battle of Stalingrad . After the Romanian front was breached in the Battle of Stalingrad, the Romanian units were encircled. Lascăr was given command of the remnants of the 3rd Army, consisting of remnants of the 5th, 6th, 13th, 14th and 15th Infantry Divisions in defense. The 3rd Army fought for four more days. He was captured on November 22, 1942 and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves that day. He was the first non-German to be awarded the oak leaf. He spent the years 1943 to 1945 in captivity in the Soviet Union. He was in camps in Kranogor, Suzdal and Ivanov, and finally in Special Camp No. 48, reserved for generals.

On April 12, 1945 Lascăr was commander of the Horia, Cloşca şi Crişan Division . On September 12, 1945 Lascăr was appointed commander of the 4th Army . He was a leader of the Army Electoral Commission in the run-up to the November 19, 1946 parliamentary elections. After a Romanian Communist Party-led coalition won the election, he was appointed Minister of Defense and four-star general. He held this department from November 29, 1946 to December 27, 1947, when he was replaced by Emil Bodnăraș. He fell out of favor because he allegedly showed too much sympathy for the bourgeoisie and the king and mentioned that friendship with the Soviet Union is important, but also relations with the UN . He was then General Inspector of the Romanian Army until January 12, 1950, when he was released from active service.

Lascar was under investigation for war crimes, but he was not found guilty.

Others

On June 7, 1947, as Minister of Defense, he signed the decree establishing the football club Asociația Sportivă a Armatei Bucureşti , now CSA Steaua Bucharest .

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Decretul shelf no. 2,886 din 17 octombrie 1941 pentru conferiri de ordine, publicat în Monitorul Oficial, anul CIX, no. 248 din 18 octombrie 1941, partea Ia, p. 6,394.
personal data
SURNAME Lascăr, Mihail
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Romanian officer, most recently General in World War II and Minister of Defense (1946–1947)
DATE OF BIRTH November 8, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH Târgu Jiu
DATE OF DEATH July 24, 1959
Place of death Bucharest