The First Army was a

field army A field army (or numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps and may be subordinate to an army group. Likewise, Air army, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, ...

of the

Romanian Land Forces The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

, active from 1916 to 2000.

World War I

The First Army took part in the

Romanian Campaign The Kingdom of Romania was neutral for the first two years of World War I, entering on the side of the Allied powers from 27 August 1916 until Central Power occupation led to the Treaty of Bucharest in May 1918, before reentering the war on 1 ...

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, ...

. Its commanders during that time were : * Divisional General Ioan Culcer: 15 August 1916 – 11 October 1916 *

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 ...

Ioan Dragalina Ioan Dragalina (16 December 1860 – 9 November 1916) was a Romanian general, who died during the World War I in the First Battle of the Jiu Valley. Dragalina was born in the city of Karansebesch (now Caransebeș, Romania), which at the time ...

: 11 October 1916 – 12 October 1916 * Brigadier General

Nicolae Petala Nicolae Petala (29 August 1869 – 1947) was a Romanian general who was one of the generals of the Romanian Land Forces in the First World War. He served as commander of the 1st Army and several army corps and divisions in the campaigns of 1916 ...

: 13 October 1916 – 21 October 1916 * Brigadier General

Paraschiv Vasilescu Paraschiv Vasilescu (March 14, 1864–1925) was one of the generals of the Romanian Land Forces in the First World War. Between March 3, 1904 and April 1, 1905, Major Vasilescu was the commander of the Border Guard Corps. He served as a division ...

: 21 October 1916 – 12 November 1916 * Brigadier General

Dumitru Stratilescu Dumitru Stratilescu, sometimes spelled as Dumitru Strătilescu, (28 August 1864 – 1927) was a Romanian general and military commander. During World War I, he commanded the First, Third, Fourth, and Fifth corps of the First Army of Romania. A ...

: 13 November 1916 – 19 December 1916 * Divisional General

Constantin Christescu Constantin Cristescu (2 December 1866 — 9 May 1923) was a Romanian lieutenant general during World War I, and Chief of Staff of the Romanian Army. Biography Early life He was born on 2 December 1866 in Pădureți village, in Argeș County. ...

: 11 June 1917 – 30 July 1917 * Divisional General

Eremia Grigorescu Eremia Teofil Grigorescu (28 November 1863 – 21 July 1919) was a Romanian artillery general during World War I, and Minister of War in the Constantin Coandă cabinet (October–November 1918). Early life Born in 1863 in the village Golășe ...

: 30 July 1917 – 1 July 1918

World War II

During

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 ...

, when

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

entered

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 ...

on the side of the Axis in June–July 1941, the First Army was in the interior of Romania while the

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hi ...

and Fourth Armies formed the main Romanian assault force. The First Army comprised at the time the 1st Army Corps ( 2nd, 11th, 30th, 31st IDs, 6th Army Corps, and 7th Army Corps). (Romanian Artillery p. 117) In August 1944, the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

entered Romania after driving back Army Group South from the region. On August 23,

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and ''Conducător'' during most of World War II. A Romanian Army career officer who mad ...

was dismissed by

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

Michael I, and Romania declared war on

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and

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, Cr ...

some days later. The

Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in ...

took control of the oilfields in the

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Blejoi commun ...

area, and the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

was used to fight German forces on the Eastern Front. The First Army became one of the Romanian armies fighting for the

on the Eastern Front. In its campaign from August 1944 to May 1945, the Romanian Army lost some 64,000 men killed. At the Battle of Debrecen in October 1944, where Romanian units played a key part in the overall Soviet offensive, the First Army consisted of the 4th Army Corps with the 2nd Infantry Division and the 4th Infantry Division, and the 7th Army Corps with the 9th Infantry Division and 19th Infantry Division. The 7th Army Corps, with the 2nd and 19th Infantry Divisions and what was reported as the 9th Cavalry Division, then took part in the Siege of Budapest as part of the Red Army's 3rd Ukrainian Front. The last offensive of World War II in which the First Army took part in was the

Prague Offensive The Prague offensive (russian: Пражская стратегическая наступательная операция, Prazhskaya strategicheskaya nastupatel'naya operatsiya, lit=Prague strategic offensive) was the last major military ...

in May 1945. During this offensive, the First Army operated together with the Romanian Fourth Army as part of the Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front. The offensive started on May 6, a few days before the end of the war. German resistance in the east was now limited to small pockets scattered across

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. By May 11 and 12, all remaining German pockets of resistance in the east were crushed.

WW II Commanders

* Divisional General (23 March 1939 – 2 June 1940) *

Army Corps General An army corps general or corps general is a rank held by a General officer who commands an army corps. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. Normally, the rank is above the divisional ge ...

(2 June 1940 – 9 September 1940) * Divisional General (acting) (9 September 1940 – 25 March 1941) * Divisional General (25 March 1941 – 9 November 1941) * Army Corps General

Nicolae Macici Nicolae Macici (7 November 1886 – 15 June 1950) was a Romanian lieutenant general during World War II, when he commanded the Romanian First Army, first on the side of the Axis (1941–1944) and then on the side of the Allies (1944–1945). C ...

(9 November 1941 – 12 February 1945) * Army General

Vasile Atanasiu Vasile Atanasiu (April 25, 1886 – June 6, 1964) was a Romanian general in World War II. Biography He was born in Târgoviște, Romania in 1886, in a Greek-Romanian family, the son of Ștefan and Paulina Atanasiu. He graduated from the "Milit ...

(13 February 1945 – 30 April 1946)

After World War II

General Ioan Mihail Racoviță commanded the 1st Army from 20 May 1946 to 30 June 1947. In 1989, the order of battle of the First Army was as follows:{{cite web, url=https://www.worldwar2.ro/forum/index.php?showtopic=530&st=30, title= Romanian Army in the Second World War * 1st Mechanised 'Tudor Vladimirescu' Division (Cat A) –

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 ...

T-55A The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks ...

, TR-77, and

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet/Russian main battle tanks that entered production in 1969. The T-72 was a development of the T-64, which was troubled by high costs and its reliance on immature developmental technology. About 25,000 T-72 tanks h ...

tanks, SU-100 SP ATG, TAB-71/-71M APCs, MLI-84 IFVs, S-60 57mm and Md.1980 30mm AA Guns, M-30 122mm and Md.1981 152mm howitzers, APR-40 40x122mm MRLs. *57th Tank Division (Cat A) – Bucharest: T-55A and TR-85 tanks, TAB-71/-71M APCs, Md.1980 30mm AA Guns, M-30 122mm and Md.1981 152mm howitzers, APR-40 40x122mm MRLs. *4th Mountain Brigade (Cat A) –

Curtea de Argeș Curtea de Argeș () is a municipality in Romania on the left bank of the river Argeș, where it flows through a valley of the Southern Carpathians (the Făgăraș Mountains), on the railway from Pitești to the Turnu Roșu Pass. It is part ...

. The First Army was redesignated the 1st Territorial Army Corps in 2000 and the

1st Infantry Division (Romania) The 1st Infantry Division ''Dacica'' was one of the major units of the Romanian Land Forces, with its headquarters located in Bucharest. It was the heraldic successor of the Romanian First Army. On 31 August 2015, 1st Infantry Division headquart ...

in 2008.

References

Field armies of Romania Military units and formations established in 1916 Military units and formations of Romania in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 2000