Gheorghe Avramescu (26 January 1884 – 3 March 1945) was a Romanian

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

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 ...

. In 1945, he was arrested by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

on the

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

n front and died in custody the next day.

Early life

Avramescu was born

Botoșani Botoșani () is the capital city of Botoșani County, in the northern part of Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga and Grigore Antipa. Origin of the na ...

on 26 January 1884, and attended the

A. T. Laurian National College A. T. Laurian National College ( ro, Colegiul Național "A. T. Laurian") is a public day high school in Botoșani, Romania, located at 19 Nicolae Iorga Street. The school was founded as a gymnasium in 1859. When classes began that September, ther ...

between 1898 and 1906. He then enrolled in the Military School of Infantry and Cavalry in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...

, graduating in 1908 with the rank of

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...

, and being promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

in 1911. After serving 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 ...

in 1913, 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 ...

, and promoted to captain in 1915.

World War I and Interwar

When Romania entered

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, ...

in August 1916 on the side of the Allied powers, Avramescu fought with the Dobruja Army, under the command of Russian General

Andrei Zayonchkovski Andrei Medardovich Zayonchkovsky (russian: Андре́й Меда́рдович Зайончко́вский) ( – 22 March 1926) commanded the defence of the Romanian-Bulgarian border in Dobruja upon Romania's entry into World War I in Augus ...

, and saw action against the German forces of General

August von Mackensen Anton Ludwig Friedrich August von Mackensen (born Mackensen; 6 December 1849 – 8 November 1945), ennobled as "von Mackensen" in 1899, was a German field marshal. He commanded successfully during World War I of 1914–1918 and became one of ...

. In November he took command of the 2nd Battalion from the 38th Regiment, and fought in December at the Battle of the Argeș, falling back towards

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

in a series of defensive actions. For his valor in these engagements he was awarded in 1917 the

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...

, Knight class. In the summer of 1917 he fought at the Battle of Mărășești; for his service he was awarded the Order of the Crown, Grand Officer Class, and was promoted to major on 1 September 1917. In the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...

he advanced to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

in 1923,

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

in 1929,

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

in 1935, and

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 ...

in 1940. At various times, he was in command of the 1st Division

Vânători de munte Vânători may refer to several places: Romania * Vânători, Galați, a commune in Galați County * Vânători, Iași, a commune in Iaşi County * Vânători, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedinţi County * Vânători, Mureș, a commune in Mureș Co ...

, the 10th Infantry Division, and the III Army Corps.

World War II

Avramescu served as General Officer Commanding of a number of army units: the 10th Division in 1941, the Mountain Corps in June 1941, the III Corps in October 1943, the VI Corps in February 1944, and the 4th Army from 1944 to 1945. At the head of the Mountain Corps, he participated in

Operation München Operation München ( ro, Operațiunea München) was the Romanian codename of a joint German-Romanian offensive during the German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II, with the primary objective of recapturing Bessarabia, Northern Bu ...

, the

Battle of the Sea of Azov The Battle of the Sea of Azov, also known as the Chernigovka pocket was an Axis military campaign fought between 26 September 1941 and 11 October 1941 on the northern shores of the Sea of Azov on the Eastern Front of World War II during Oper ...

, the

Crimean campaign The Crimea campaign was an eight-month-long campaign by Axis forces to conquer the Crimea Peninsula, and was the scene of some of the bloodiest battles on the Eastern Front during World War II. The German, Romanian, and defending Soviet t ...

, and the Siege of Sevastopol. After the fall of Sevastopol, his Corps occupied

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

. For his service during the Crimean campaign, Avramescu was promoted on 18 July 1942 to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

(''general de corp de armată''), and was awarded the Order of the Crown, Grand Officer Class (29 July 1942), the

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 Wor ...

, 2nd Class (1 September 1942), and the

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

, in Gold (25 October 1942). After the crushing defeat in the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later r ...

, in which he didn't participate, the Romanian Army was driven back to its own country during 1943 and the first half of 1944. In August 1944, on the eve of the Soviet

Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

, he took de facto command of the 4th Army, since general Ioan Mihail Racoviță was "away on leave" (preparing

King Michael's Coup King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...

). Avramescu could not prevent the disastrous defeat, because of the limited number of armored and motorized units at his disposal, and was dismissed on 23 August and replaced by Ilie Șteflea. After the Royal Coup, he was recalled to command the 4th Army on the side of the Soviets against the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

and the

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...

. He fought many battles with his 4th Army, including the

Battle of Turda The Battle of Turda lasted from 5 September to 8 October 1944, in the area around Turda, Kingdom of Romania, as part of the wider Battle of Romania. Troops from the Hungarian 2nd Army and the German 8th Army fought a defensive action against R ...

and the

Battle of Debrecen The Battle of Debrecen, called by the Red Army the ''Debrecen Offensive Operation'', was a battle taking place 6–29 October 1944 on the Eastern Front in Hungary during World War II. The offensive was conducted by the 2nd Ukrainian Front ...

, and was in command at the

Battle of Carei The Battle of Carei was the last stage of recovering Romania's former territory of Northern Transylvania, ceded in 1940 to Hungary as a result of the Second Vienna Award. The battle occurred towards the end of World War II, in the wider conte ...

, the last engagement of the war within the present borders of Romania. Avramescu complained repeatedly to the Soviets about the lack of supplies and impossible tasks for his Army. For this, he was relieved of command on 11 January 1945, and put on reserve. Nevertheless, he was promoted to

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

on 9 February and recalled to duty. Returning to the front, he successfully led the 4th Army in the assault on the

Zvolen Zvolen (; hu, Zólyom; german: Altsohl) is a town in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers, close to Banská Bystrica. It is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the West ...

–

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other alternative names) is a middle-sized town in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica ...

line, in what was the prelude to the Bratislava–Brno Offensive in

Death

On 2 March 1945, when on the

n front, General Avramescu was summoned by the commander of the Soviet

40th Army The 40th Army (, ''40-ya obshchevoyskovaya armiya'', "40th Combined Arms Army") of the Soviet Ground Forces was an army-level command that participated in World War II from 1941 to 1945 and was reformed specifically for the Soviet–Afghan War fr ...

. After one hour, the Romanian delegation was told that Avramescu and the 40th Army commander, General

Filipp Zhmachenko Filipp Feodosyevich Zhmachenko (russian: Филипп Феодосьевич Жмаченко; – 19 June 1966) was a Soviet Army colonel general and Hero of the Soviet Union. Biography Zhmachenko was born on 26 November 1895 to a Ukrainian ...

, left for the command post of the

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front (2-й Украинский фронт), was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943 the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During the Second Jassy–Kishinev ...

, as they were expected there by Marshal

Rodion Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky (russian: Родио́н Я́ковлевич Малино́вский, ukr, Родіо́н Я́кович Малино́вський ; – 31 March 1967) was a Soviet military commander. He was Marshal of the Sov ...

, leading later commentators to assert General Avramescu was arrested. The Romanian 4th Army was placed under command of General

Nicolae Dăscălescu Nicolae I. Dăscălescu (29 June 1884 – 28 September 1969) was a Romanian general during World War II. Biography He was born in a poor peasant family in Căciulești, Neamț County, Kingdom of Romania. After completing elementary school in ...

, who struggled to find out what had happened to Avrămescu. Zhmachenko advised him to find information about Avramescu at the Romanian Ministry of Defence or the Romanian General Staff. Avramescu was killed on March 3, 1945 in an aerial attack on the car which transported him, and his body was buried in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

's Soshalom cemetery. The general was the only occupant of the car to be killed. According to the official report issued on March 23, 1945 by

head

Lavrentiy Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (; rus, Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия, Lavréntiy Pávlovich Bériya, p=ˈbʲerʲiə; ka, ლავრენტი ბერია, tr, ; – 23 December 1953) was a Georgian Bolshevik ...

, Avramescu was hit by a bullet through the car's windshield. Also on 3 March 1945, Adela, Avramescu's wife and Felicia Avramescu-Sturdza, his daughter, were arrested and sent to

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...

. His daughter committed suicide; according to Soviet sources, this happened on 6 March 1945. Adela returned to Romania in 1956. On 23 October 2000, his remains were brought back to Romania and were reburied with military honours at the

Hajongard Cemetery Hajongard cemetery (officially Central Cemetery, in Hungarian language, Hungarian ''Házsongárdi temető'', from German language, German ''Hasengarten''), on Avram Iancu Street, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, founded in ...

Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

. A bust of Avramescu has been erected in the city's Ștefan cel Mare Square. Streets in

Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The Sud-Est (development region), ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2011 Romanian ...

, and

Târgu Mureș Târgu Mureș (, ; hu, Marosvásárhely ) is the seat of Mureș County in the historical region of Transylvania, Romania. It is the 16th largest Romanian city, with 134,290 inhabitants as of the 2011 census. It lies on the Mureș River, the ...

, as well as a school in Prăjești bear his name. The 24th "General Gheorghe Avramescu"

Battalion is headquartered in

Miercurea Ciuc Miercurea Ciuc (; hu, Csíkszereda, ; german: Szeklerburg) is the county seat of Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, a mainly Hungarian-speaking ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, and is situated in the Olt Ri ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Avramescu, Gheorghe 1880s births 1945 deaths People from Botoșani Carol I National Defence University alumni Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian military personnel of the Second Balkan War Romanian military personnel of World War I Romanian military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave, 2nd class Knights of the Order of the Star of Romania Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Iron Cross, 2nd class Romanian military personnel killed in World War II Deaths by airstrike during World War II