Сухопутные войска Румынии: История и современность

Army of Romania

The Romanian Land Forces (Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forces was founded on 24 November 1859 [O. S. 12 November 1859]. It participated in the Romanian War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire, the Second Balkan War against Bulgaria, World War I against the Central Powers (in which it won the decisive battles of Mărăști and Mărășești), and the Hungarian–Romanian War. During most of World War II (until 1944), Romanian forces supported the Axis powers, fighting against the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front. From August 1944 until the end of the war, Romania fought against Germany under the control of the Soviet Union. When the communists seized power after the Second World War, the army underwent reorganisation and sovietization. Following the Romanian Revolution of 1989, due to shortage of funds, many units were disbanded and much equipment was phased out. Likewise, Romanian military capability declined because of a lack of fuel as well as training. However, since the late 1990s, a number of positive changes have come about and the level of combat readiness has been growing steadily; since 1996, the military budget has grown more than four times, rising from 636 million dollars to 2.8 billion dollars in 2007. Conscription has been abolished and professionalisation has been completed.

The modern Moldavian and Wallachian armies were formed in 1830 following Regulamentul Organic. During the 1848 Wallachian Revolution, Gheorghe Magheru assembled an army at Râureni (now part of Râmnicu Vâlcea). However, due to the lack of proper equipment and the hesitation of some revolution leaders, Magheru ordered his troops to disband when the Ottoman forces swept into Bucharest to stop the revolution. A battle between the Bucharest fire company together with Line infantry soldiers against the Ottomans also took place at Dealul Spirii in 1848.

The current Romanian Land Forces were formed in 1860, immediately after the unification of Wallachia with Moldavia, and were commanded by Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Domnitor of Romania until his abdication in 1866. In 1877, at the request of Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich of Russia the Romanian army fused with the Russian forces, and led by King Carol I, fought in what was to become the Romanian War of Independence. They participated in the Siege of Plevna and several other battles. The Romanians won the war, but suffered about 10,000 casualties (dead and wounded).

The Romanian Army entered the Second Balkan War against Bulgaria, allowing Romania to annex Southern Dobruja (also known as the Cadrilater). Although some 330,000 troops were mobilised, the Romanians met little resistance in Bulgaria and as such this is not considered a major conflict in Romanian history. This was due to historical claims on land and the area no longer belongs to Romania. During the Second Balkan War, the Romanian Army suffered a cholera outbreak that provoked 1,600 deaths.

On 6 July 1916, the Kingdom of Romania declared war on the German Empire and Austria Hungary, following the initial success of the Brusilov Offensive (a major Russian offensive against the armies of the Central Powers on the Eastern Front). The Romanian armies entered Transylvania (then part of the Austro Hungarian Empire), together with Russian forces. However, German forces under the command of General Erich von Falkenhayn stalled the attack in November 1916, and drove back the Romanian forces. At the same time, Austro Hungarian and Ottoman forces invaded southern Romania, forcing the country into a two front war. The Central Powers drove deep into Romania and conquered the southern part of the country (Wallachia, including Bucharest) by the end of 1916. The Romanian forces, led by Marshal Constantin Prezan, retreated into the north east part of Romania (Moldavia). In the summer of 1917 however, Prezan, aided by Ion Antonescu, successfully defended the remaining unoccupied territories against German and Austro Hungarian forces led by Field Marshal August von Mackensen. General Alexandru Averescu led the Second Army in victory at the Battle of Mărăști (22 July to 1 August 1917), while Major Generals Constantin Cristescu and Eremia Grigorescu led the First Army in victory at the Battle of Mărășești (6 August to 8 September 1917). As a result of the Russian Revolution, Romania was left isolated and unable to continue the war, and was forced to sign the Treaty of Bucharest with the Central Powers. Later on, in 1919, Germany agreed, in the Treaty of Versailles Article 259, to renounce all the benefits provided to it by the Treaty of Bucharest in 1918. After the success of the Vardar offensive on the Macedonian front, which put Bulgaria out of the war, Romania re entered the war on 10 November 1918, a day before its end in the West.

After World War I, in December 1918, the Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia proclaimed a union with the Kingdom of Romania. Later on, in April 1919, the newly established Hungarian Soviet Republic vowed to retake occupied territories by force, and Hungarian troops attacked Romanian formations in Transylvania. Under the command of generals Gheorghe Mărdărescu and Traian Moșoiu, the Romanian Army defeated the Hungarians and occupied Budapest in August 1919.

In June 1940 the Soviet Union occupied Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. After General (later Marshal) Ion Antonescu took power in September 1940, Fascist Romania signed the Tripartite Pact with the Axis Powers and subsequently took part in Operation Barbarossa in 1941. An expeditionary force invaded the Soviet Union in Bessarabia and southern Ukraine, alongside the Wehrmacht. The expeditionary force, 'Army Group Antonescu,' was composed on 22 June 1941 of the 3rd Army, the 4th Army, the 2nd Army Corps, and the 11th Infantry Division. The 3rd Army comprised the 4th Army Corps (6th and 7th Infantry Divisions), the Cavalry Corps, the Mountain Corps, two separate artillery battalions, a TA unit, and the Air Force's 3rd Army Cooperation Command. The 4th Army consisted of the 3rd Army Corps, the 5th Army Corps, the 11th Army Corps (two fortress brigades), and the 4th Army Cooperation Command. The army group level 2nd Army Corps, under Major General Nicolae Macici, controlled the 9th and 10th Infantry Divisions and the 7th Cavalry Brigade. Additionally the 1st Armoured Division was formed for service on the Eastern Front. The Army Group's first offensive, in conjunction with the Eleventh Army, Operation München, enabled Romania to retake the territory immediately east of the Dnister, former part of Moldavia. The Romanian armies saw their first major battles at Odessa and Sevastopol, and in 1942 advanced with other Axis forces deeper into Soviet territory during operation Case Blue. In early November, Romanian mountain troops under the command of Brigadier General Ioan Dumitrache took Nalchik, the farthest point of Axis advance into the Caucasus. The worst defeat for the Romanian expeditionary force on the Eastern Front occurred at Stalingrad, where, during the Soviet counter offensive of November 1942, the thinly spread forces of the Third Army (under the command of General Petre Dumitrescu, deployed north of Stalingrad) and of the Fourth Army (under the command of Lieutenant General Constantin Constantinescu Claps, deployed south of Stalingrad) were attacked by vastly superior Soviet forces and suffered combined losses of some 158,000 personnel. During April–May 1944 the Romanian forces led by General Mihai Racoviță, together with elements of the German Eighth Army were responsible for defending Northern Romania during the Soviet First Jassy Kishinev Offensive, and took part in the Battles of Târgu Frumos. In late August 1944, the Red Army entered eastern Romania.

On 23 August 1944, a coup led by King Michael I of Romania deposed Marshal Antonescu and set up a pro Soviet government. It has been estimated that the royal coup shortened the war by six months. Romania soon declared war on Nazi Germany and its allies, and the First Army (under the command of General Macici and later Vasile Atanasiu) and the Fourth Army (under the command of Lieutenant General Gheorghe Avramescu and later Nicolae Dăscălescu) were pressed into action. After expelling the last of the Wehrmacht and Hungarian Army units from Romania at the battles of Turda and Carei, the Romanian armies took part in the Siege of Budapest and the Prague Offensive of May 1945.

During the early 1990s, some major units were disbanded and much equipment was phased out or scrapped due to a severe shortage of funds. The whole land forces structure was reorganized from armies into territorial corps, and from regiments into battalions. In the mid 1990s, the situation of the land forces was critical: the military budget was one third that of 1989 (636 million dollars), 50% of the equipment was older than 30 years, and 60% of the armoured vehicles and 85% of the missile units were non operational. Due to lack of fuel and training, the level of combat readiness and military capability was extremely low (only about 30% of the entire land forces were operational). However, after 1996 the government took serious action; the military budget was increased greatly, and modernisation of equipment commenced. Officially, the program to modernize and restructure the armed forces began on 11 April 2000.

In 2005, the army comprised eight combat, four combat support, and two logistic brigades, while ten combat, five combat support and two logistic brigades were further mobilised in case of crisis. Many of these units have been reorganized as part of the 2007 Force Plan. Currently, about 75,000 military personnel and 15,000 civilians comprise the armed forces, for a total of 90,000 men and women. Out of the 75,000 military personnel, about 43,000 are in the Land Forces.

The Romanian Land Forces are undergoing a three stage modernisation. In 2007, the first short term stage was completed (reorganisation of the command structure and implementation of the voluntary military service). 2015 marked the end of the second stage (operational integration in both NATO and the European Union). 2025 is the set date for when the long term stage is to be completed (full technical integration in NATO and the EU). The stages aim at modernising the structure of the armed forces, reducing the number of personnel, as well as acquiring newer and improved technology that is compatible with NATO standards. Romania abolished compulsory military service on October 23, 2006. This came about due to a 2003 constitutional amendment which allowed the parliament to make military service optional. The Parliament of Romania voted to abolish conscription in October 2005, with the vote formalising one of many military modernisation and reform programmes that Romania agreed to when it joined NATO in March 2004.

In peacetime, the supreme commander of the Land Forces is the Minister of Defence, while in wartime, the president assumes the role of supreme commander.

After the Romanian Revolution, many firing ranges and training areas were closed and abandoned due to lack of funds. Currently, the military schools and training units of the Romanian Land Forces are directly subordinated to the central headquarters. There are 5 military high schools (Câmpulung Moldovenesc, Alba Iulia, Craiova, Breaza, and Constanța), five military academies, one officer school (Pitești), 3 training schools (Sibiu, Pitești, Buzău) and 9 training battalions. In the past few years, many training exercises have taken place in Romania with other Balkan or Allied countries. Most of these exercises took place at Babadag, which is one of the largest and most modern training firing ranges and military facilities in Europe, with a total surface area of 270 square kilometres. It was announced on December 6, 2006 that 1,500 U. S. troops stationed at Mihail Kogălniceanu, which in time will form Joint Task Force East, will be using Babadag as a training base.

The Romanian Land Forces distinguishes four career paths: officers (Ofiţeri), warrant officers (Maiştrii militari), NCO's (Subofiţeri) and enlisted men (Soldaţi şi gradaţi voluntari). The Marshal rank can be given only in wartime by the President of Romania; in fact, Romania had only three marshals coming from the officers` rank in its history: Ion Antonescu, Alexandru Averescu and Constantin Prezan. Kings Ferdinand I, Carol II and Mihai I also held the rank of Marshal of Romania. King Carol I held simultaneous ranks as Russian Marshal and German Field marshal.