Constantin Constantinescu-Claps (February 20, 1884 – June 1961) 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 general 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 command of the Romanian Fourth Army at 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 re ...

Biography

He was born in Beceni,

Bacău County Bacău County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with its capital city at Bacău. It has one commune, Ghimeș-Făget, in Transylvania. Geography This county has a total area of . In the western part of the county ther ...

in 1884. From 1903 to 1905 he attended the Military School of Artillery and Genius, graduating with the rank of second lieutenant, advancing to lieutenant in 1909 and captain in 1913. During 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 r ...

and 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 ...

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, ...

he served with the 12th Artillery Regiment. He fought in the Battle of Transylvania in 1916 and the battle of Măgura Cașin in 1917. For his valor, he was promoted to major in 1917 and was awarded in 1917 the Order of the Crown, Knight rank. After the war, Constantinescu-Claps was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1919, and attended 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 ...

in 1919–1920. During the interwar period he rose through the ranks in 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 La ...

, being promoted to colonel in 1925 and brigadier general in 1935. On February 1, 1940, he was promoted to major general and was appointed the commander of X Corps. In June 1940 he coordinated the retreat of the Corps during the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. On May 9, 1941 he was awarded 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 ...

, Commander rank.Decretul regal nr. 1.299 din 9 mai 1941 pentru acordări de decorații, publicat în '' Monitorul Oficial'', anul CIX, nr. 109 din 10 mai 1941, partea I-a, p. 2.486. After Romania entered World War II on the side of the Axis in June 1941, Constantinescu-Claps commanded the XI Corps from July 18, 1941, during

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 ...

. He took part in Operation München and 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 ...

. In the early stages of Operation Barbarossa, General Nicolae Ciupercă noted: ''"General Constantinescu has led the army corps with a lot of competence, causing, indirectly, the withdrawal of the Soviet forces between the

Dniester River The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...

and the Suhoz Lake. I consider him to be a very good army corps commander, who is distingushed by great devotion and precious optimism"''. On November 9, 1941, Constantinescu-Claps was appointed the commander of the Romanian Fourth Army and was promoted to lieutenant general in January 1942.Decretul Conducătorului Statului nr. 505 din 19 februarie 1942 pentru înaintări în Armata de Uscat, publicat în '' Monitorul Oficial'', anul CX, nr. 44 din 20 februarie 1942, partea I-a, p. 1.157. Map Battle of Stalingrad-en

He fought later that year at the

, where the Romanian armies suffered a crushing defeat. Constantinescu’s 4th Army, with 75,580 men, comprising the 6th Army Corps (1st, 2nd, 18th, and 20th Infantry Divisions) and the 7th Army Corps (4th Infantry Division, 5th and 8th Cavalry Divisions), was deployed to the south of

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stalingrád, label=none; ) ...

. Most of these formations were in deplorable shape, with at best 73% of necessary manpower, with the 1st Infantry Division going as low as 25% and an almost nonexistent arsenal of heavy antitank guns. The 4th Army occupied a line running approximately from Staraya Otrada to Sarpa, which provided the perfect spot for Marshal

Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...

's southern strike at the start of

Operation Uranus Operation Uranus (russian: Опера́ция «Ура́н», Operatsiya "Uran") was the codename of the Soviet Red Army's 19–23 November 1942 strategic operation on the Eastern Front of World War II which led to the encirclement of Axi ...

. On 20 November 1942, the Romanian Fourth Army was attacked by the Soviet 57th and 51st Armies, with the main blow in the sector of the 6th Army Corps. In all, the Romanian Army lost 158,854 men (dead, wounded and missing) between November 19, 1942 and January 7, 1943. On February 10, 1943, Constantinescu-Claps was relieved of his assignment and replaced by Constantin Sănătescu. He retired from the Army in 1943. In spite of his rank and unlike many other Romanian generals, he never received any German medals and was in conflict with Conducător

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 ...

due to his anti-fascist stance. After

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 t ...

of August 1944, Constantinescu-Claps received the Order of Michael the Brave, 3rd class, and was promoted to general (reserve) in September 1944. Once the

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Com ...

was established in Romania, he was arrested in September 1951, and incarcerated at Văcărești Prison. Accused of giving the order to execute four

Soviet partisans Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. T ...

at Bilyayivka, he was condemned to 15 years' imprisonment in September 1954. One year later he was exonerated and released; he died in 1961 in

Bacău Bacău ( , , ; hu, Bákó; la, Bacovia) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. At the 2016 national estimation it had a population of 196,883, making it the List of cities and towns in Romania, 12th largest city in Romania. The city is ...

. He was married to Henrietta, née Răileanu, a descendant on her mother's side of the Sturdza and Rosetti families; the two had a son, Radu Constantinescu (1919–1998). In 2019, a street in Buzău was named after Constantinescu-Claps.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Constantinescu-Claps, Constantin 1884 births 1961 deaths People from Bacău County Carol I National Defence University alumni Romanian military personnel of the Second Balkan War Romanian military personnel of World War I Romanian military personnel of World War II Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Romania Commanders of the Order of the Star of Romania Knights of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave

Biography

See also

References

External links