Fourth Army (Romania)
 | This article includes a list of generalreferences,butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations.(June 2011) |
| Fourth Army Armata a 4-a Română | |
|---|---|
| Active | August 1916 – June 1947 April 1980–2000[citation needed] |
| Country |  Romania |
| Branch | Romanian Land Forces |
| Garrison/HQ | Cluj-Napoca |
| Anniversaries | 15 August |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | MarshalConstantin Prezan Nicolae Ciupercă GeneralMihail Lascăr GeneralConstantin Constantinescu-Claps GeneralIoan Mihail Racoviță GeneralGheorghe Avramescu |
TheFourth Army(Armata a 4-a Română) was afield army(amilitary formation) of theRomanian Land Forcesactive from the 19th century to the 1990s.
History
[edit]World War I
[edit]
The Fourth Army fought under the name of "Northern Army" or "Army of the North" (Armata de Nord) in theRomanian CampaignofWorld War I,under the command of GeneralConstantin Prezan.Units under its command took part in theFirst Battle of Oituz,Battle of the Eastern Carpathians,Battle of Prunaru,and theBattle of Bucharest.As Russian forces took over its front, the Northern Army was disbanded in December 1916 and its units were redeployed to other fronts, under command of the1stand2ndRomanian Armies.
The commanders of the Northern Army were:
- Divisional GeneralConstantin Prezan:27 August 1916 – 22 November 1916
- Divisional GeneralConstantin Cristescu:22 November 1916 – 13 December 1916
World War II
[edit]On 22 June 1941, at the start ofOperation Barbarossa,the 4th Army consisted of the following units.[1]
- The3rd Army Corps(Guards, 15th, and 35th Reserve Divisions).
- The5th Army Corps(Border Division and 21st Division).
- The 11th Army Corps (two fortress brigades).
- The 4th Army Cooperation Command.
The 4th Army was under the command of Lieutenant GeneralNicolae Ciupercă.In 1942, it fought on theAxisside as part of the GermanArmy Group B.In July 1941 it took part inOperation München,the recapturing ofBessarabiaandNorthern Bukovina,which wereannexed by the Soviet Unionthe year before.
By August 1941, during theSiege of Odessa,the 4th Army had under command the1st,3rd,4th,5th,6th,and 11th Army Corps under its control, with a total of 17 infantry divisions, the1st Armoured Division (Romania),three cavalry divisions, and a total of 38 artillery regiments.[2] On 9 November 1941,Constantin Constantinescu-Clapswas appointed the commander of the Fourth Army, and became a Corps General on 24 January 1942. On 10 February 1943, he was relieved of his assignment and replaced byConstantin Sănătescu.
From late 1942 to early 1943, the Fourth Army was almost entirely destroyed during theBattle of Stalingrad;theRomanian Third Armysuffered a similar fate (seeRomanian armies in the Battle of Stalingrad). During April–May 1944, the Romanian forces led by GeneralIoan Mihail Racoviță,together with elements of theGerman Eighth Armywere responsible for defending Northern Romania during the SovietFirst Jassy-Kishinev Offensive,and took part in theBattles of Târgu Frumos.
In August 1944, theRed ArmyenteredRomaniaafter driving backArmy Group Southfrom the region. On 23 August,MarshalIon AntonescuwasdismissedbyKingMichael I,and Romania declared war on Germany and Hungary some days later. The Soviets took control of the oilfields in thePloieștiarea, and theRomanian Armywas used to fight German forces on theEastern Front.
The Fourth Army became one of the Romanian armies fighting for the Red Army on the Eastern Front. In its campaign from August 1944 to May 1945, the Romanian Army lost some 64,000 men. The Fourth Army took part inSovietoffensives, notably atPraguein May 1945, which happened to be the last offensive it took part in World War II.
The Fourth Army was involved in theBattle of Turdawhich lasted from 5 September to 8 October 1944, in the area aroundTurda.Troops from theHungarian 2nd Armyand theGerman 8th Armyfought a defensive action against the Fourth Army and the Red Army. The battle was one of the largest fought inTransylvaniaduring World War II.
In thePrague Offensive,the Fourth Army, together with theRomanian First ArmyandPolish Second Army,formed part of the Soviet2nd Ukrainian Front.MarshalIvan Konev,the commander of theFirst Ukrainian Front,was the main Soviet commander in the area. Together with MarshalGeorgy Zhukov'sFirst Byelorussian Front,Konev launched the great attack on 16 April that resulted in thefall of Berlinand Soviet victory on the Eastern Front.
The offensive started on 6 May, a few days before the end of the war. German resistance in the east was now limited to small pockets scattered across Germany,Czechoslovakia,and Austria. The remnants ofArmy Group Centerheld the remaining German-controlled areas in the east. In the attack onPrague,German resistance was defeated in the city, and the Soviet, Romanian, andPolishforces entered the city on 9 May.Czechpartisanshad been fighting the Germans there for a few days. By 11 and 12 May, all remaining German pockets of resistance in the east were defeated.
World War II Commanders
[edit]
- General lieutenantNicolae Ciupercă(2 June 1940 – 9 September 1941)
- General lieutenantIosif Iacobici(10 September 1941 – 8 November 1941)
- General lieutenantConstantin Constantinescu-Claps(9 November 1941 – 10 February 1943)
- General lieutenantConstantin Sănătescu(11 February 1943 – 24 January 1944)
- General lieutenantIoan Mihail Racoviță(25 January 1944 – 23 August 1944)
- General lieutenantIlie Șteflea(23 August 1944 – 3 September 1944)
- General lieutenantGheorghe Avramescu(4 September 1944 – 11 January 1945)
- General lieutenantNicolae Dăscălescu(12 January 1945 – 18 February 1945)
- General lieutenant Gheorghe Avramescu (19 February 1945 – 2 March 1945)
- General lieutenant Nicolae Dăscălescu (3 March 1945 – 12 May 1945)[3]
The Post-War Situation
[edit]The Fourth Army was active after the war until 1947. In 1945, it comprised two army corps:[4]2nd Army Corps,atBucharest,with Divizia de Gardă and1st "Tudor Vladimirescu" Volunteer Division,2nd Heavy Artillery Regiment, 2nd Pioneer Regiment, 4th Călărași Regiment, and corps units;7th Army Corps,atSibiu,with2nd Infantry Division,the2nd "Horea, Cloșca și Crișan" Volunteer Division,1st Heavy Artillery Regiment, 7th Pioneer Regiment, 1st Călărași Regiment, and corps units.
From March 1945 to June 1947, the generals in command wereNicolae Dăscălescu,Gheorghe Stavrescu,Mihail Lascăr,Constantin Vasiliu-Rășcanu,and C. Nicolau. 4th Army Command was disbanded on 5 June 1947, under the Order M. St.M. nr. no. 40.500, and all units were redeployed. By Royal Decree 1346 of 28 June 1947, the 3rd Military Region, based inCluj,was established starting 1 July 1947.
The Cold War
[edit]The 3rd Military Region, formed after the war in Cluj, changed its name to 3rd Army Command on 30 April 1960. During this time, the training of the officers and the band was made in the new concept of country defense and national military doctrine. Thousands of soldiers participated in the national economy, including the harvest. The army troops participated massively at removing the effects of the catastrophicfloods of 1970and 1975 and of the1977 Vrancea earthquake.The intervention of someWarsaw Pactstates inCzechoslovakia(except Romania) and theinvasion of this countryin August 1968, led to profound changes in the structure of 3rd Army Command. At that time, there began the formation of the new 81st Mechanized Division (atDej), the existing 11th and 18th Mechanized Divisions (fromOradeaandTimișoara) were strengthened, as was the 6th Tank Division (fromTârgu Mureș). In the next year (1969), it was appreciated that the fighting capacity of the 3rd Army Command grew by over 75% from the point of view of the personnel, and about 55% in regards to military equipment.
Doctrinal reasons, as well as the tense political-military situation in the 1980s, resulted in the organization of the Romanian Land Forces on four army headquarters. Starting with 5 April 1980, the 3rd Army Command changed its name again to 4th Army Command.
In 1989, the 4th Army Command was reported to consist of the 6th Tank Division (Targu Mureș), named asHoria, Cloșca și Crișan Division,the11th Mechanised Division"Carei" (Oradea), and the81st Mechanised Division"Someș" (Dej), as well as smaller units: the 1st Mountain Bde, 5th Mountain Bde, and 37th Tactical Missile Brigade.[5]
The 11th Mechanised Division "Carei" reportedly consisted of the following units:
- 21st Mech. Rgt. -Oradea: with TR-77 tanks, TAB-71M apc-s, MLI-84 ifv-s, TABC-79 recon vehicles, SU-76 sp guns, ZiS-3 76mm field guns, Md.1982 120mm mortars,?? TAB-71AR with 82mm mortars, AG-9 rr-s, MR-4 quad 14,5mm aa hmg-s, DAC-443T and -665T trucks, TER-580 evacuation tank, TERA-71L recovery apc-s.
- 23rd Mech. Rgt. -Beiuș-same.
- 19th Mech. Rgt. -Arad-same.
- 21st Tank Rgt. -Oradea:with TR-77 tanks, BTR-50PK and PU apc-s, TABC-79 recon vehicles, TAB-71A R-1451 command apc, MR-2 quad 14,5mm aa hmg-s, DAC-443T and -665T trucks, TER-580 evacuation tanks, MTP/BTR-50P recovery apc-s.
- 26th Artillery Regiment -Ineu:with M-30 122mm how., Md.1981 152mm how., APR-40 122mm mrls, SR-114 and DAC-444 trucks, TMA-83 arty tractors, TABC-79A-POMA and TAB-77A-PCOMA command vehicles.
- 119th Recon Battalion -Oradea: with TABC-79 recon vehicles and DAC-444T trucks.
Present
[edit]Since 17 October 1990 the 4th Army Command has borne the honorary name of "Transylvania", which it also bore after theGreat Unionin theHungarian–Romanian War.After 1992, five motorized infantry battalions were set up in the garrisons ofSatu Mare,Carei,Salonta,Marghita,andChișineu-Criș.Between 1993 and 1995, as a consequence of the reorganization of the entire army, all existing mechanized and tank divisions were disbanded, and new headquarters were established: the 5th, 6th, and 7th Army Corps Commands, inTimișoara,Târgu Mureș,andDej.In May 1994, the territorial troops became subordinate to the Army Troops. On 1 August 1995, the 4th Army Command "Transylvania" had 3 Army Corps commands, 23 brigade-sized units, and a number of other formations and directly subordinate structures.
The Fourth Army was redesignated as the4th Territorial Army Corpsin 2000 and subsequently as the4th Infantry Divisionin 2008.
References
[edit]- ^Leo Niehorster,Army Group Antonescu, 22 June 1941,accessed June 2011
- ^(in Romanian)165 Years of Existence of Romanian ArtilleryArchived26 August 2011 at theWayback Machinep. 139
- ^Pettibone, Charles D. (2012).The Organization and Order or Battle of Militaries in World War II: Volume VII: Germany's and Imperial Japan's Allies & Puppet States.Trafford.ISBN9781466903517.OCLC1152207547.
- ^Pah, Petru; Daniliuc, Iulian (2010)."Divizia 4 Infanterie" Gemina ", pe coordonatele evoluției de la războiul întregirii neamului la războiul împotriva terorismului"(in Romanian). Archived fromthe originalon 18 July 2011.Retrieved4 September2020.
- ^(in Romanian)165 Years of Existence of Romanian ArtilleryArchived26 August 2011 at theWayback Machinep. 222-223
Further reading
[edit]- Colectiv, Armata a IV-a Transilvania la 80 de ani, Editura Dacia, Cluj-Napoca, 1996, p. 11.
- Colectiv, Armata a 4-a "Transilvania" în cruciada eliberării Europei, vol.III, Editura Dacia, Cluj-Napoca, 1998, p. 16.