Alecu Ioan Sion (September 28, 1890 – November 24, 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 soldier and a major general in the

Land Forces Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land surface ...

. Born in

Pitești Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș (river), Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in th ...

, he attended the military high school from

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

and then studied at the military school for artillery and engineers officers 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 ...

from 1909 to 1911. He entered the army as a second lieutenant in 1911. Promoted to lieutenant in 1914, he later took part 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 ...

, commanding a unit within the 2nd Artillery Regiment. During the Romanian Campaign of 1916, he stood out at the battles of Perșani and Porumbacu, for which he was awarded the

Order of the Crown of Romania The Order of the Crown of Romania is a chivalric order set up on 14 March 1881 by King Carol I of Romania to commemorate the establishment of the Kingdom of Romania. It was awarded as a state order until the end of the Romanian monarchy in 1947. ...

, Knight class. He was promoted to captain in 1917, and fought in the battles in Moldavia during that summer. After the war, Sion advanced in rank to major in January 1921, and then attended the Higher War School from November 1921 to October 1923. He became a lieutenant colonel in 1931 and a colonel in 1937. He commanded the center for artillery instruction between 1940 and 1941. On 10 May 1941 he was promoted to brigadier general and on 16 May he was appointed commanding officer of the 1st Armored Division. The division was equipped with some 200 armored vehicles, out of a total of 374 such vehicles in all of the Romanian Army. Of those, 75 were Renault FT.1917 light tanks (imported from France and Poland), organized in a battalion; 45 tanks in 3 platoons comprising a mechanized battalion; and 53 tanks attached to 4 cavalry divisions. At the start of

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 ...

, the division passed under the operational command of the XIth Corps

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

's 11th Army, led by General

Eugen Ritter von Schobert Eugen Siegfried Erich Ritter von Schobert (13 March 1883 – 12 September 1941) was a German general during World War II. He commanded the 11th Army during Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Schobert died when his observati ...

. Romania joined

on 22 June 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

Northern 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. Sion crossed the

Prut River The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates on the eas ...

with the 1st Armored Division during the night of July 2/3, at the start of

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 ...

. After an engagement with 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 ...

Brătușeni Brătușeni is a commune in Edineț District, Moldova. It is composed of two villages, Brătușeni and Brătușenii Noi.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 ...

, first in the direction of

Mohyliv-Podilskyi Mohyliv-Podilskyi (, ) is a city in Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion within the oblast. It is located in the historic region of Podolia, on the border with Bessarabia, Moldova, along th ...

, then towards

Soroca Soroca is a city and municipality in northern Moldova, situated on the Dniester River about north of Chișinău. It is the administrative center of the Soroca District. History It is known for its well-preserved stronghold, established by t ...

and

Bălți Bălți () is a city in Moldova. It is the second-largest city in terms of population, area and economic importance, after Chișinău. The city holds the status of municipiu. Sometimes called "the northern capital", it is a major industrial, cu ...

, and then playing a decisive role in the occupation of

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

on July 16. On 5 August the 1st Armored Division was put under the operational command of the Romanian 5th Corps. That night, the division crossed the Dniester, and then served as the lead unit of the Romanian 4th Army (under the command of 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 ...

) in its advance towards

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

, reaching the outskirts of the city by August 14. After a disastrous attack on 18 August on the Karpova railway station (where the Soviets had dug in along the railbed embankments), Sion was relieved of his command 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� ...

and replaced by General . He returned to the command of the 1st Armored Division on October 10, and kept the position until January 10, 1942, when General took over, with Sion as second in command. On August 1, 1942, Sion was named commanding officer of the 15th Infantry Division. With it he moved to the front, near

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 ...

, being subordinated to the Romanian 3rd Army, led by 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 ...

. Sion was killed on November 24, 1942 at Bolshaya Doshchinka, during 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, ...

, when his 15th Infantry Division was overrun and wiped out during the Soviet

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 ...

. He was the only Romanian division commander killed in action 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 ...

. After his death, he was made a major general, retroactive to October 22, 1941,Ottmar Trașcă and

Dennis Deletant Dennis Deletant (born 5 March 1946) is a British-Romanian historian of the history of Romania. As of 2019, he is Visiting Ion Rațiu Professor of Romanian Studies at Georgetown University and Emeritus Professor of Romanian Studies at the UCL S ...

, ''"Chestiunea evreiască" în documente militare române, 1941–1944'', p.298. Institutul "Elie Weisel", 2010. and was awarded 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.

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sion, Ioan 1890 births 1942 deaths People from Pitești Romanian military personnel of World War I Romanian military personnel killed in World War II Romanian Land Forces generals Knights of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Carol I National Defence University alumni