Radu Băldescu (16 October 1888 – 2 December 1953) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Biography

Băldescu was born on 16 October 1888, at Mihăileștii de Sus, a village that now belongs to

Scornicești Scornicești () is a town in Olt County, Romania, with a population of 11,766. The town administers 13 villages (Bălțați, Bircii, Chițeasca, Constantinești, Jitaru, Mărgineni-Slobozia, Mihăilești-Popești, Mogoșești, Negreni, Piscani, R ...

Olt County Olt County () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (the regions are separated by the Olt river). The capital city is Slatina. History On 24 August 2017, the Olt Co ...

, in the family of a priest. He was admitted in the Infantry Officers School in 1909 and graduated in 1911, receiving the rank of 2nd lieutenant on 1 July. He fought with the 3rd Regiment ''Dorobanți Olt'' in the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

(1913), and in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and its aftermath (1916–1919). He advanced in rank to lieutenant in 1914, captain in 1917, and major in 1920. After the war he was admitted to the

Higher War School The National Defence University of Warsaw ( – AON) was the civil-military highest defence academic institution in Poland, located in Warszawa–Rembertów. In 2016 it was succeeded by the War Studies University. The National Defence Universit ...

, which he graduated in 1921. He then moved to

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

, where he taught at the newly-founded Infantry and Cavalry Officers School. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1929 and colonel in 1935. Băldescu pursued his military career in 1936 as

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latit ...

of the 93rd

Infantry Regiment Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mari ...

''Cloșca'' in Arad. In 1937, he returned to Sibiu, where he became commandant of the Officers School. On August 1, 1940, he became commanding officer of the 16th Infantry Brigade in

Satu Mare Satu Mare (; hu, Szatmárnémeti ; german: Sathmar; yi, סאטמאר or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in t ...

; a month later, his brigade had to leave

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania ( ro, Transilvania de Nord, hu, Észak-Erdély) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of ...

, which was ceded to

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

as a result of the

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award, also known as the Vienna Diktat, was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all o ...

. On September 15 Băldescu became Deputy General Officer Commanding 18th Division, and was promoted to brigadier general on May 10, 1941. Romania joined

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

on June 22, 1941 in order to reclaim the lost territories of

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of ...

and

Northern Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berger ...

, which had been annexed by the Soviet Union in June 1940. The 18th Division was kept in reserve until the fall, when it was sent to the Romanian 4th Army to take part in the

Siege of Odessa The siege of Odessa, known to the Soviets as the defence of Odessa, lasted from 8 August until 16 October 1941, during the early phase of Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. Odessa was a port on the ...

, being subordinated to the 3rd Corps. Băldescu was General Officer Commanding 18th Division in 1942, serving in the 6th Army Corps under the command of General

Corneliu Dragalina Corneliu Dragalina (5 February 1887 – 11 July 1949) was a Romanian lieutenant general during World War II. Biography Early life and World War I He was born in the city of Karánsebes, Austria-Hungary, in what is now Caransebeș, Caraș-Severin ...

. Băldescu went into reserve in 1944, but later that year became Deputy General Officer Commanding 6th Corps Area. In 1945, he started as General Officer Commanding 5th Corps Area and then became General Officer Commanding 6th Corps. Băldescu went into reserve again from 1946 to 1947, and retired in 1947. In 1951, he was arrested by the

Securitate The Securitate (, Romanian for ''security'') was the popular term for the Departamentul Securității Statului (Department of State Security), the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. Previously, before the communist regi ...

and never heard of again. Records show he died on 2 December 1953 at

Jilava Jilava is a commune in Ilfov county, Muntenia, Romania, near Bucharest. It is composed of a single village, Jilava. The name derives from a Romanian word of Slavic origin ( Bulgarian жилав ''žilav'' (tough), which passed into Romanian as ' ...

prison.

Awards

Order of Michael the Brave The Order of Michael the Brave ( ro, Ordinul Mihai Viteazul) is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign of the First World War, and was again awarded in the Second World ...

, 3rd Class (1 September 1942) *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia e ...

** 1st Class (July 1942) ** 2nd Class (28 February 1942)

External links

* * Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian military personnel of World War II 1888 births 1953 deaths Romanian people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Securitate custody Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Romanian military personnel of the Second Balkan War People from Scornicești Romanian military personnel of World War I Carol I National Defence University alumni {{Romania-mil-bio-stub