Nicolae Cambrea (5 April 1899 – 5 February 1976) 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 brigadier 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 ...

. He was born in

Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu (, is the capital city, capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathian Mountains, Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu (river), Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the ...

Gorj County Gorj County () is a county () of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu. ''Gorj'' comes from the Slavic ''Gornji'' Jiu (“upper Jiu”), in contrast with Dolnji (“lower Jiu”). Demographics At the 2011 census, the count ...

, the son of the city's police chief. After his father's death in 1916, during the

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 ...

occupation of Târgu Jiu 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 ...

, he volunteered to serve 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 ...

. He remained in the army after the war, advancing in rank as officer. In 1942, he served as Chief of Staff 5th Division. He was briefly a Soviet

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

, but the following year joined his captors and became

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

of the Tudor Vladimirescu Division, which earned him the nickname "Red General". After the war he was Vice Chief General Staff in 1945, Deputy General Officer Commanding 2nd Military Region in 1947,

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

Army Instruction Center in 1948, and General Officer Commanding 3rd Military Region in 1949. Cambrea retired in 1950. In August 1969, he was promoted to colonel general in the reserves.

References

1899 births 1976 deaths People from Târgu Jiu Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian military personnel of World War II Romanian prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by the Soviet Union Tudor Vladimirescu Division personnel Romanian military personnel of World War I Recipients of the Order of Alexander Nevsky Knights of the Order of the Star of Romania Collaborators with the Soviet Union {{Romania-mil-bio-stub