Constantin Constantinescu-Claps (February 20, 1884 – June 1961) 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 general during

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 ...

who commanded the Romanian Fourth Army at 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, ...

Biography

He was born in

Beceni Beceni is a commune in Buzău County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of nine villages: Arbănași, Beceni, Cărpiniștea, Dogari, Florești, Gura Dimienii, Izvoru Dulce, Mărgăriți, and Valea Părului. Natives *Constantin Constantinescu-Cl ...

Buzău County Buzău County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Buzău. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 432,054 and the population density was 70.7/km ...

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 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 ...

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 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 ...

he served with the 12th Artillery Regiment. He fought in the

Battle of Transylvania The Battle of Transylvania was the first major operation of Romania during World War I, beginning on 27 August 1916. It started as an attempt by the Romanian Army to seize Transylvania, and potentially knock Austria-Hungary out of the war. Althou ...

in 1916 and the battle of

Măgura Cașin Măgura may refer to the following places: * Măgura, Bacău, a commune in Bacău County, Romania * Măgura, Buzău, a commune in Buzău County, Romania * Măgura, Teleorman, a commune in Teleorman County, Romania * Măgura, a village in Bucium C ...

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 in 1919–1920. During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

he rose through the ranks 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 ...

, 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 Between 28 June and 3 July 1940, the Soviet Union occupied Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, following an ultimatum made to Romania on 26 June 1940 that threatened the use of force. Those regions, with a total area of and a population of 3,776 ...

. 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 Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...

, Commander rank.Decretul regal nr. 1.299 din 9 mai 1941 pentru acordări de decorații, publicat în ''

Monitorul Oficial ''Monitorul Oficial al României'' is the official government gazette, gazette of Romania, in which all the promulgation, promulgated bills, President of Romania, presidential decrees, Government of Romania, governmental ordinances and other m ...

'', 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 An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

in June 1941, Constantinescu-Claps commanded the XI Corps from July 18, 1941, during

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 ...

. He took part in

Operation München Operation München () was the Romania, Romanian codename of a joint Nazi Germany, German-Romanian offensive during the Operation Barbarossa, German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II, with the primary objective of recapturing Bessa ...

and the Siege of Odessa. In the early stages of Operation Barbarossa, General

Nicolae Ciupercă Nicolae Ciupercă (20 April 1882 – 25 May 1950) was a Romanian general, born in Râmnicu Sărat. He served during World War I and World War II under the command of Alexandru Averescu and then Ion Antonescu, but would retire from a military ...

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 ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...

and the Suhoz Lake. I consider him to be a very good army corps commander, who is distinguished 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 ''

'', 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,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...

. 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 SARPA S.A.S. (Spanish: ''Servicios Aéreos Panamericanos S.A.S.'') is an air charter and air ambulance operator, with its main base at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, and an auxiliary base in Medellín. History The airline was founde ...

, which provided the perfect spot for Marshal

Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( 189618 June 1974) was a Soviet military leader who served as a top commander during World War II and achieved the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. During World War II, Zhukov served as deputy commander-in-ch ...

's southern strike at the start of

Operation Uranus Operation Uranus () was a Soviet 19–23 November 1942 strategic operation on the Eastern Front of World War II which led to the encirclement of Axis forces in the vicinity of Stalingrad: the German Sixth Army, the Third and Fourth Romani ...

. 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 Constantin Sănătescu (14 January 1885 – 8 November 1947) was a Romanian general and statesman who served as the 44th Prime Minister of Romania after the 23 August 1944 coup after which Romania left the Axis powers and joined the Allies. Ea ...

. 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 ''Conducător'' (, meaning 'Leader') was the title used officially by Romanian dictator Ion Antonescu during World War II, also occasionally used in official discourse to refer to Carol II and Nicolae Ceaușescu. History The word is derived from ...

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and Mareșal (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''Conduc� ...

. 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 August 1944, Constantinescu-Claps received 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, 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 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 ...

was established in Romania, he was arrested in September 1951, and incarcerated at

Văcărești Prison Văcărești Prison was a prison located in Bucharest, Romania. The prison, situated in the southern part of the city, was established in 1865 within the former , where defendants found guilty of press offenses had been held since 1861. It was a ...

. Accused of giving the order to execute four

Soviet partisans Soviet partisans were members of Resistance during World War II, resistance movements that fought a Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war against Axis powers, Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Territories of Poland an ...

Biliaivka Biliaivka (, ) is a city in Odesa Raion, Odesa Oblast, Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Biliaivka urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The city is located in the Dniester Delta, on the left bank of the Turunchuk River. Lake Safi ...

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

Bacău Bacău ( ; , ; ; ) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. With a population of 136,087 (as of 2021 census), Bacău is the 14th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the ...

. He was married to Henrietta, née Răileanu, a descendant on her mother's side of the

Sturdza The House of Sturdza, Sturza or Stourdza () is the name of an old Moldavian noble family whose origins can be traced back to the 1540s. Members of the family played important political role in the history of Moldavia, Russia and later Romania. ...

and Rosetti families; the two had a son, Radu Constantinescu (1919–1998). In 2019, a street in

Buzău Buzău (; formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu'') is a city in the historical region of Muntenia, Romania, and the county seat of Buzău County. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carp ...

was named after Constantinescu-Claps.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Constantinescu-Claps, Constantin 1884 births 1961 deaths People from Buzău 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 People detained by the Securitate 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 Inmates of Văcărești Prison

Biography

See also

References

External links