Alexandru A. Dobriceanu (19 September 1894 – 10 February 1978) was an officer in the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () 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 Forc ...

who fought in both

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and rose to the rank of major general afterwards.

Biography

Early life

He was born on 19 September 1894 in

Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...

Dolj County Dolj County (; originally meant ''Dol(no)-Jiu River, Jiu'', "lower Jiu", as opposed to ''Gorj'' (''upper Jiu'')) is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova. Demographics In 2011, ...

, in the

Oltenia Oltenia (), also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions – with the alternative Latin names , , and between 1718 and 1739 – is a historical province and geographical region of Romania in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Da ...

region of the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

. He descended from a family from Dobriceni,

Olt County Olt County () is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (the regions are separated by the Olt River, Olt river). The capital city is Slatina, Roma ...

with a long military tradition. His father, Sergeant Alexandru Dobriceanu-''Chiorul'' fought at the

Siege of Plevna The siege of Plevna or Pleven, was a major battle of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, fought by the joint army of the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Romania against the Ottoman Empire. After the Russian army crossed the Danube at ...

during the

Romanian War of Independence The Romanian War of Independence () is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the phase of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), in which Romania, fighting on the Russian side of the war, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. On ...

, where he lost his left eye. Young Dobriceanu spent part of his childhood in the family compound at Dobriceni, and then returned to Craiova.

Military career

In 1913 he went to study at the Artillery Officer School in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

; soon after, he was sent to fight in

Southern Dobruja Southern Dobruja or South Dobruja ( or simply , ; or , ), also the Quadrilateral (), is an area of north-eastern Bulgaria comprising Dobrich and Silistra provinces, part of the historical region of Dobruja. It has an area of 7,412 square km an ...

, during the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict that broke out when Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia and Kingdom of Greece, Greece, on 1 ...

. He graduated in 1916 with the rank of second lieutenant, and starting in July he served with the heavy artillery 1st Regiment–Dolj. He fought during 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 10 ...

, notably at the

Battle of Mărășești The Battle of Mărășești (6 August 1917 – 3 September 1917) was the last major battle fought by the Central Powers against the Kingdom of Romania and Russian Empire, Russia on the Romania in World War I, Romanian front during World War I. ...

, when he was gravely wounded in his left arm at Muncelu, on 6 August 1917. While recovering in a hospital, he was promoted to lieutenant. In 1919 he participated in the

Hungarian–Romanian War The Hungarian–Romanian War (; ) was fought between Hungary and Kingdom of Romania, Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. After the ...

, commanding his platoon all the way to

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. After being promoted to captain in 1923, he studied at the Higher War School in Bucharest from 1928 to 1930. From 1929 to 1938 he served as staff officer with the elite

Vânători de munte The ''vânători de munte'' (, ) are the elite mountain troops of the Romanian Land Forces. They were first established as an independent Army Corps in 1916 during World War I, and became operational in 1917 under ''Corpul de Munte'' designati ...

troops. He advanced in rank to major in 1934 and lieutenant colonel in 1938, after which he took command of the 1st Regiment–Dolj. On behalf of the General Staff, Dobriceanu attended in 1937 the

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

International Conference for the protection of prisoners of war and civilian population, and was a delegate at the

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Conference of the

Little Entente The Little Entente was an alliance formed in 1920 and 1921 by Czechoslovakia, Romania and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia from 1929 on) with the purpose of common defense against Hungarian revisionism and the prospect of ...

. In June 1940 he was awarded the Order of the Crown, Officer rank.

World War II

On 22 June 1941 Romania joined

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

in order to reclaim the lost territories of

Bessarabia Bessarabia () 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 Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

and

Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...

, which had been annexed by the Soviet Union in June 1940. Dobriceanu was in command of the 3rd Battalion of the ''Vânători de Gardă'' Regiment. His troops crossed the

Prut River The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates on the eas ...

and took control of Lărguța on 12 July. For his actions during this operation he was awarded on 22 September 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 Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...

, Officer rank. Subsequently, he took part in the Siege of Odessa. He was promoted to Colonel in June 1943 and was put in command of the 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment. In April 1944 he was commanding the 1st Regiment during the

First Jassy–Kishinev Offensive The first Jassy–Kishinev offensive, named after the two major cities in the area, Jassy and Kishinev, was a series of military engagements between 8 April and 6 June 1944 (according to David Glantz) by the Soviet Union and Axis powers. Rich ...

, providing artillery support for

Friedrich Mieth __NOTOC__ Friedrich Mieth (4 June 1888 – 2 September 1944) was a German general during World War II. In 1942, he commanded Army Group Don Rear Area. Mieth was killed in action on 2 September 1944 in Iași, Romania. Awards and decorations * Ir ...

's IV Army Corps. After

King Michael's Coup King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by ...

of 23 August 1944, Romania switched sides and joined the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

. Dobriceanu disengaged his regiment and took new positions at

Poienarii Burchii Poienarii Burchii is a commune in Prahova County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of eight villages: Cărbunari, Ologeni, Piorești, Podu Văleni, Poienarii Burchii, Poienarii-Rali, Poienarii Vechi, and Tătărăi. The commune is situated in th ...

, just south of

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a Municipiu, 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 Ble ...

. On 7 September he was assigned to the 4th Army (commanded by General Gheorghe Avramescu), in support of the 6th Infantry Division. He fought against the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and Hungarian forces in 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 ...

, first at

Târnăveni Târnăveni (, historically Diciosânmartin; Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Dicsőszentmárton'', ; German language, German: ''Sankt Martin'', earlier ''Marteskirch'') is a Municipalities of Romania, city in Mureș County, central Romania. It li ...

, and then along the

Mureș River Mureș may refer to: * Mureș County, Romania * Mureș (river) in Romania and Hungary (''Maros'') * Mureș culture, a Bronze Age culture from Romania See also * Târgu Mureș, the capital of Mureș County * Ocna Mureș, a town in Alba Cou ...

Valley. He continued advancing with the 4th Army towards

Oradea Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...

and then crossed into

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. On 19 October, at the battle for

Rákóczifalva Rákóczifalva is a town in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, in the Northern Great Plain region of central Hungary. Geography It covers an area of and has a population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area ...

, his regiment fought was attacked by some 50–60

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

and

Panther tank The Panther tank, officially ''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'' (abbreviated Pz.Kpfw. V) with Sonderkraftfahrzeug, ordnance inventory designation: ''Sd.Kfz.'' 171, is a German medium tank of World War II. It was used in most European theatre of ...

s, coming from the direction of

Szolnok Szolnok (; also known by #Name and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian ...

. Although lacking infantry support, skillful maneuvering and precise firing of the artillery pieces carried the day; four German tanks were destroyed and several damaged, while only two Romanian guns were lost. For this feat of arms, Dobriceanu was awarded in 1945 the

Order of Michael the Brave The Order of Michael the Brave () is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King of Romania, King Ferdinand I of Romania, Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign (World War I), Romanian Campaign of the World War I ...

, 3rd class. By the end of the war he had advanced with his artillery regiment all the way to

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

After the war

Dobriceanu was put in reserve on 9 August 1946, promoted to brigadier general on 21 December, and retired on 9 August 1947.Decretul Regal nr. 1.652 din 7 august 1947 pentru treceri în pozițiunea de rezervă, publicat în ''Monitorul Oficial'', anul CXV, nr. 191 din 20 august 1947, partea I-a, p. 7.512. After the establishment of the

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

, he was tried for participating in the fighting on the Eastern Front and was declared a

war criminal A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

. All his properties (including the family mansion from Dobriceni) were confiscated, he was demoted to the rank of soldier, and was put under forced domicile. Fortuitously, he met in 1966 his former orderly, Andruță Ceaușescu, who agreed to intercede with his son,

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( ; ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last Communism, communist leader of Socialist Romania, Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 u ...

. As a result, Dobriceanu was rehabilitated, his property in the Dorobanți neighborhood was returned to him, and he was promoted to major general (in the reserves) in 1967. That same year he published a book of his war memoirs. He died on 10 February 1978 in

. Some of his memorabilia are displayed in the village museum at Dobriceni, while part of his book collection is with the Municipal Library in Târnăveni. Dobriceanu had a daughter, Sanda, and a son, Alexandru (Ricu), who was an

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

pilot in World War II, then worked for many years as an engineer on restoration projects for the

fortified church A fortified church is a church that is built to serve a defensive role in times of war. Such church (building), churches were specially designed to incorporate military features, such as thick walls, battlements, and embrasures. Others, such as t ...

in Prejmer and the St. Nicholas Church in

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

, before leaving for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Awards

Order of the Crown (Romania) The Order of the Crown of Romania is a chivalric order set up on 14 March 1881 by King Carol I of Romania to commemorate the establishment of the Kingdom of Romania. It was awarded as a state order until the end of the Romanian monarchy in 1947. ...

, Officer rank (8 June 1940).Decretul Regal nr. 1.906 din 8 iunie 1940 pentru numiri de membri ai ordinului „Coroana României”, publicat în ''Monitorul Oficial'', anul CVIII, nr. 131 din 8 iunie 1940, partea I-a, p. 2.790. *

Order of Saint Stanislaus (House of Romanov) The Imperial Order of Saint Stanislaus (; ), also spelled Stanislas or Stanislav, is a Russian dynastic order of knighthood founded as '' Order of the Knights of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr'' in 1765 by King Stanisław II Augustus of th ...

. *

, Officer rank (22 September 1941).Decretul Regal nr. 2.676 bis din 22 septembrie 1941 pentru conferiri de decorațiuni de războiu, publicat în ''Monitorul Oficial'', anul CIX, nr. 237 din 7 octombrie 1941, partea I-a, p. 5.964. *

Czechoslovak War Cross 1939–1945 The Czechoslovak War Cross 1939 (''Československý válečný kříž 1939'' in Czech, ''Československý vojnový kríž 1939'' in Slovak) is a military decoration of the former state of Czechoslovakia which was issued for those who had provide ...

. * Military Order of the White Lion. *

, 3rd class (4 August 1945).Decretul Regal nr. 2.467 din 4 august 1945 pentru conferiri de Ordinul „Mihai Viteazul” cu spade clasa III, publicat în ''Monitorul Oficial'', anul CXIII, nr. 179 din 9 august 1945, partea I-a, p. 6.934.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobriceanu, Alexandru 1894 births 1978 deaths People from Craiova 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 people of the Hungarian–Romanian War Romanian military personnel of World War II Officers of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Officers of the Order of the Star of Romania Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (House of Romanov) Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross 1939–1945 Recipients of the Military Order of the White Lion