Alexandru Pastia (January 25, 1893 – November 21, 1942) was a

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

n military officer. He was born in

Fălticeni Fălticeni (; ''; ;'' ) is a town in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Western Moldavia. According to the 2021 census, Fălticeni is the third largest urban settlement in the county. It was declared ...

, then in

Baia County Baia County is one of the historic counties of Moldavia, Romania. The county seat was Fălticeni. In 1938, the county was disestablished and incorporated into the newly formed Ținutul Prut, but it was re-established in 1940 after the fall of Caro ...

(now in

Suceava County Suceava County () is a county (') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper. The county seat and the ...

); his mother was Olga Pastia, née Millo. He graduated in 1907 from the Alecu Donici High School in his native city and then entered the infantry officers’ academy 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 ...

. In 1912, he was sent to study in Germany. Upon his return, Pastia was assigned to an infantry regiment, within which he took part in 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 also served in the infantry during

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 ...

, until being taken prisoner in 1916, during combat near the

Argeș River Arges or Argeș may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Romania * Argeș County, a county in Muntenia, with its capital at Pitești * Argeș Region, an administrative division from 1950 to 1952 * Argeș River, which flows through the Southern ...

. After his release, Pastia was placed in charge of a machine-gunners’ company. Major Pastia took part 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 ...

, seeing combat in

Maramureș ( ; ; ; ) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northern Romania and western Ukraine. It is situated in the northeastern Carpathians, along parts of the upper Tisza River drainage basin; it covers the Maramureș Depression and the ...

and

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 ...

, where in July 1919 he stood out at the battles of

Kisújszállás Kisújszállás 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 of 12,869 people (2002). Politics The current mayor of Kisújszállás is ...

and

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

. Fighting with distinction, he was awarded the Order of the Crown, Knight class; 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 class; and 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. In 1925, he graduated from the Higher War School and was enrolled as a major in the general staff. From 1928 to 1930 he served as

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, in the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

. Promoted to lieutenant colonel, Pastia taught at the Higher War School and was a commander at the infantry officers’ academy. He also headed the Royal Military Guard. After Romania entered

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 ...

in June 1941, he asked to be sent to the Eastern Front. On November 19, 1942, at the start of the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

, Colonel Pastia was assigned to the (General Gheorghe Radu), which was subordinated to the

Third Romanian Army The 3rd Army (Armata a 3-a Română) was a field army of the Romanian Land Forces active from the 19th century to the 1990s. It fought as part of the German Army Group B during World War II, in Ukraine, the Crimea, and the Caucasus. General Petre ...

(General

Petre Dumitrescu Petre Dumitrescu (; 18 February 1882 – 15 January 1950) was a Romanian general during World War II who led the Romanian Third Army on its campaign against the Red Army in the Eastern Front. Early life and military career Dumitrescu was bor ...

). He was in command of Group 1, comprising the 1st Tank Regiment, the 4th Motorized

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 ...

Regiment, and a detachment from the 1st Artillery Regiment. His group, located on the heights between the Zariaza and Zuskan valleys, had the mission to advance on November 20 in the direction of Nizhny Zariznski and the

Chir River The Chir () is a river in Rostov and Volgograd oblasts of Russia. It is a right tributary of the Don, and is long, with a drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such ...

, in order to connect with the German

22nd Panzer Division The 22nd Panzer Division was a German Panzer Division in World War II. It was formed September 1941 in France. It was transferred to the southern sector of the Eastern Front in March 1942. The 22nd was the last Panzer Division to be issued with ...

, some away. That day, the 1st Romanian Armored Division, equipped with 121 R-2 light tanks and 19 German-produced tanks (

Panzer III The ''Panzerkampfwagen III (Pz.Kpfw. III)'', commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Nazi Germany, Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was List of Sd.K ...

and IV) fought against the 19th Tank Brigade of the Soviet 1st Guards Tank Division; by the end of the day, the Romanians had destroyed 62 Soviet tanks for the cost of 25 tanks of their own. The next day, Pastia's group was attacked by artillery fire; he was mortally wounded by falling pieces of mortar. Initially buried at

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

, on December 26 he was reinterred at

Ghencea Cemetery Ghencea Cemetery is located in Ghencea neighbourhood of Bucharest, on Ghencea Boulevard, in Sector 6. The cemetery has two sections, civilian and military. Notable interments * Ioan Ioniță (1924–1987), Communist general and politician who ...

. He was posthumously granted the Order of Michael the Brave, 3rd class and advanced to brigadier-general. The 63rd Tank Brigade of the

Romanian Land Forces 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 Force ...

bears Pastia's name, and so does a street in

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pastia, Alexandru 1893 births 1942 deaths People from Fălticeni Romanian military personnel of the Second Balkan War Romanian military personnel of World War I Romanian prisoners of war in World War I Romanian people of the Hungarian–Romanian War Romanian military personnel killed in World War II Military attachés for Romania Officers of the Order of the Star of Romania Knights of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Carol I National Defence University alumni Academic staff of Carol I National Defence University Romanian Land Forces generals Burials at Ghencea Cemetery Deaths by firearm in the Soviet Union Deaths by firearm in Russia Deaths by explosive device