Alexandru Ioanițiu (2 February 1890 – 17 September 1941) 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 ...

n major general. He led Romanian troops against the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

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 ...

, and was killed when he accidentally stepped into the moving propeller of his aircraft upon landing at an airport near Odessa while it was under

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

Biography

Ioanițiu was born in

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 ...

, in northern

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 Centra ...

. He attended the military school in Iași, graduating as second lieutenant in 1910 and lieutenant in 1913. After 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, ...

on the side of the Allies, he fought 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 10 ...

of 1916 in

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

and at the

Battle of the Argeș The Battle of the Argeș was a battle of the Romanian Campaign of World War I. Taking place on 1 December 1916, the battle was fought along the line of the Argeș River in Romania between Austro-German forces of the Central Powers and Romanian f ...

. He was promoted to captain in 1916 and major in 1917, and fought at the Battle of Mărășești. Afterwards he pursued his studies at 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 ...

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 ...

(1919–1920). He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1928, to colonel in 1933, and to brigadier general in 1939. From May 1939 to September 1940 he was the commander of the Higher War School. Under his leadership, the first Romanian paratrooper company was created on 10 June 1940. Also in 1940, he was awarded the Order of the Crown, Commander rank. From 6 September 1940, General Ioanițiu served as Chief of the Romanian General Staff. 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 22 June 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. On 17 September he accompanied Marshal

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 ma ...

to the front, to oversee the Romanian offensive during 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 ...

. Just after their

Fieseler Fi 156 Storch The Fieseler Fi 156 ''Storch'' (, "stork") was a German liaison aircraft built by Fieseler before and during World War II. Production continued in other countries into the 1950s for the private market. It was notable for its excellent short fi ...

plane landed at an airport in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden ...

, near

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...

, Ioanițiu was killed in a freak accident, hit by the plane's propeller. Ioanitiu Al grave

He was promoted posthumously to major general, and was awarded post-mortem the Order of Michael the Brave, 3rd class, "for special merits on the battlefield as Chief of the General Staff." He is buried at Ghencea Cemetery, in Bucharest. An alley in the city of

is named after him.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ioanitiu, Alexandru 1890 births 1941 deaths People from Botoșani Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian military personnel of World War I Carol I National Defence University alumni Romanian military personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Chiefs of the General Staff of Romania Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Ukraine Burials at Ghencea Cemetery Academic staff of Carol I National Defence University Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1941