Corneliu Dragalina (5 February 1887 – 11 July 1949) 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 ...

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

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 ...

Biography

Early life and World War I

He was born in the city of Karánsebes,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, in what is now Caransebeș,

Caraș-Severin County Caraș-Severin () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Serbia. The majority of its territory lies within the historical region of Banat, with a few northeastern villages considered part of Transylvania. The county seat is Reșița ...

. His father, Ion Dragalina, was a general in

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 ...

. After attending the Artillery Military 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 ...

(1905–1907), Corneliu Dragalina graduated with the rank of second lieutenant; he was promoted to lieutenant in 1910 and to captain in 1915. When Romania entered World War I in August 1916 on the side of the Allied powers, Dragalina fought with the Dobruja Army under the command of Russian General Andrei Zayonchkovski, and saw action against the

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n forces. Wounded in battle, he was taken by barge on the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

to a hospital in

Galați Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...

, where he was operated upon. Shortly after that he went back to Bucharest to take leave of his father, who, at the command of the 1st Romanian Army, had been mortally wounded at the First Battle of the Jiu Valley. For his valor, Dragalina was decorated in November 1916 with 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 1917 he was promoted to major.

The interwar period

After the war, he pursued his military studies at the Higher War School (1919–1921). During that time (April 1920–February 1921), he also served (via a delegate) as

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

Timiș-Torontal County Timiș-Torontal was a county () in the Kingdom of Romania. Its capital was Timișoara. The territory of the county had been transferred to Romania in 1920 from the Kingdom of Hungary under the Treaty of Trianon. Geography Timiș-Torontal County ...

. Dragalina was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1920, colonel in 1928, and brigadier general in 1935. On 1 January 1940 he was named commander of the 6th Army Corps, stationed in

Cluj Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

, while on 6 June 1940 he was promoted to major general. In the aftermath of the

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all of Maramureș and part of Cri ...

(signed on 30 August 1940), Dragalina took a leading role in the evacuation of the Romanian troops from

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania (, ) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1946), Kingdom ...

, and moved his headquarters to

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, ...

. During the Legionnaires' rebellion of January 1941, Dragalina with his troops restored order inside the city and secured the radio broadcast station at Bod. As a prelude to the

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put fo ...

by the

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

in the spring of 1941, the 6th Army Corps was relocated to the

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

, but eventually the Serbian Banat was occupied by

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 ...

troops.

World War II

General Dragalina was still in command of the 6th Army Corps when 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 ...

on 22 June 1941 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. The 6th Corps was kept in reserve inside Romania and was sent to the Eastern Front only in October 1941, when it took part in the final phase of the Siege of Odessa. It then took part in the

Crimean campaign The Crimean campaign was conducted by the Axis powers, Axis as part of Operation Barbarossa during World War II. The invading force was led by Nazi Germany, Germany with support from Kingdom of Romania, Romania and Fascist Italy, Italy, wh ...

, after which the 6th Corps moved in the spring of 1942 to the south of

Izium Izium or Izyum (, ; ) is a city on the Donets River in Kharkiv Oblast, eastern Ukraine that serves as the administrative center of Izium Raion and Izium urban hromada. It is about southeast of the city of Kharkiv, the oblast's administrative cen ...

, where it took under its command four Romanian infantry divisions (the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 20th). In May 1942, Dragalina led his troops during the

Second Battle of Kharkov The Second Battle of Kharkov or Operation Fredericus was an Axis powers, Axis counter-offensive in the region around Kharkov against the Red Army Izium bridgehead offensive conducted 12–28 May 1942, on the Eastern Front (World War II), Easter ...

. The 6th Corps lost 2,983 men during the battle, but took 26,432

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

s, and also captured a large number of T-60 light tanks, as well as the first

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank from World War II. When introduced, its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than many of its contemporaries, and its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, ...

and KV-1 tanks taken intact by the Romanian Army. For the 1942 German summer offensive, Dragalina was subordinated to the

1st Panzer Army The 1st Panzer Army () was a German tank army that was a large armoured formation of the Wehrmacht during World War II. When originally formed on 1 March 1940, the predecessor of the 1st Panzer Army was named Panzer Group Kleist (''Panzergruppe ...

. On 22 June, the 6th Corps forced the

Donets River The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets (), is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv ...

and continued the offensive towards the

Don River The Don () is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its basin is betwee ...

, advancing 450 km in 20 days. On 18 July Dragalina was promoted to lieutenant general, after which he was subordinated to the

4th Panzer Army The 4th Panzer Army (), operating as Panzer Group 4 () from its formation on 15 February 1941 to 1 January 1942, was a German panzer formation during World War II. As a key armoured component of the Wehrmacht, the army took part in the crucial ...

, helping it advance across the Don River. At the beginning of September, the 6th Corps (consisting by then of the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 18th Infantry Divisions) was assigned to the Romanian Fourth Army, commanded by General

Constantin Constantinescu-Claps Constantin Constantinescu-Claps (February 20, 1884 – June 1961) was a Romanian general during World War II who commanded the Romanian Fourth Army at the Battle of Stalingrad. Biography He was born in Beceni, Buzău County in 1884. From 190 ...

. The 4th Army had joined in 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, ...

, helping to protect the southern flank of the

6th Army as it tried to conquer the city 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 ...

, defended by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. On 20 November 1942, the 4th Army was attacked by the Soviet 57th and 51st Armies, with the main blow in the sector of the 20th, 2nd, 18th and 1st Infantry Divisions. Overpowered and poorly equipped, Dragalina's 6th Corps troops received the brunt of the Soviet offensive (

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 ...

) south of Stalingrad. On 23 November, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Fourth Army demanded and received from the Romanian General Headquarters the authorization to make decisions independently from the 4th Panzer Army. Subsequently, the 6th Corps fell back to the Aksay River, but to no avail, as the Soviets were already in control of the communication center of Aksay. On 27 November, the Soviets managed to break through the line of the 6th Corps at the 18th Infantry Division, thus forcing it to retreat 25–30 km south of the river. The remnants of the 6th Corps tried to defend a line of villages backed up by

Radu Korne Radu Korne (23 December 1895 – 28 April 1949) was a Romanian Brigadier General during World War II. Biography World War I He was born in Bucharest. From 1913 to 1915 he studied at the Cavalry Officer School in Târgoviște, graduating with th ...

's detachment, but the Soviets had an almost free hand as the Romanian forces disintegrated. The losses of the 6th Corps in this operation were catastrophic, with up to 80% in personnel at the 1st, 2nd, and 18th divisions. On 16 December 1942, Dragalina was recalled from the Eastern Front by

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

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 relinquishing command of the 6th Army Corps on 20 March 1943, he served as Governor-General of the

Bukovina Governorate The Bukovina Governorate () was an administrative unit of Romania during World War II. Background and history In 1775, the region of Bukovina, historically part of the Romanian principality of Moldavia, officially became part of the Austrian Ha ...

from 21 March 1943 until 23 March 1944, when the Red Army occupied Bukovina during the

Uman–Botoșani Offensive The Uman–Botoșani offensiveTsouras, p. 244 or Uman–Botoshany offensive () was a part of the Dnieper–Carpathian offensive, carried out by the Red Army in the western Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic against the German 8th Army (Wehrma ...

. He was then put at the disposal of the Ministry of Defense. He returned as General Inspector of the Mechanized Troops between November 1944 and March 1945, when he was definitively retired by order of the Petru Groza government.

After the war

Dragalina later lost his house in

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

and was harassed by the

Securitate The Department of State Security (), commonly known as the Securitate (, ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the '' Siguranța'' with help and direction from the Soviet MG ...

, but, unlike many other military commanders who had fought on the Eastern Front, he was not arrested. He died from natural causes on 11 July 1949 in Bucharest, escaping persecution by the new

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 is buried at Bellu Military Cemetery in Bucharest.

Awards

** 3rd Class (11 November 1916) ** 2nd Class (1 September 1942) *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1939) 2nd and 1st Class *

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

(9 August 1942)

Legacy

The National Military Museum in Bucharest houses a permanent exhibition that displays personal objects which belonged to top Romanian military leaders, including memorabilia of Corneliu Dragalina.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dragalina, Corneliu 1887 births 1949 deaths People from Caransebeș Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Knights of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave, 2nd class Romanian military personnel of World War I Carol I National Defence University alumni Burials at Bellu Cemetery