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The Romanian Front () was an
The Romanian Front () was an army group
An army group is a military organization consisting of several field army, field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. An army group is the largest field organizatio ...
level command of the Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...
and 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 ...
during the First World War
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 ...
.
Overview
The front was created in mid-December 1916 out of the headquarters of the former Russian Danube Army, following the defeat ofRomanian 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 ...
forces at the Battle of Turtucaia
The Battle of Turtucaia (; , ''Bitka pri Tutrakan''), also known as Tutrakan Epopee (, ''Tutrakanska epopeya'') in Bulgaria, was the opening battle of the first Central Powers offensive during the Romanian Campaign (World War I), Romanian Campaig ...
in Southern Dobrudja. Nominally. the commanding officer of the front was King
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
Ferdinand I of Romania
Ferdinand I (Ferdinand Viktor Albert Meinrad; 24 August 1865 – 20 July 1927), nicknamed ''Întregitorul'' ("the Unifier"), was King of Romania from 10 October 1914 until his death in 1927. Ferdinand was the second son of Leopold, Prince of Hoh ...
; however, the '' de facto'' power lay in his "deputies," which were Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
s delegated by the Russian Stavka
The ''Stavka'' ( Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка, ) is a name of the high command of the armed forces used formerly in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine.
In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrat ...
.
Initially the front consisted of three armies: the Russian 4th, 6th, and 9th Armies. Soon it was joined by the forces of the Romanian 1st Army under General Constantin Cristescu and the Romanian Second Army under Alexandru Averescu
Alexandru Averescu (; 9 March 1859 – 2 October 1938) was a Romanian marshal, diplomat and Populism, populist politician. A Romanian Armed Forces Commander during World War I, he served as List of Prime Ministers of Romania, Prime Minister of thr ...
, and, in September 1917, by the Russian 8th Army.
Following the October Revolution
The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
of 7 November 1917, the front was merged with the Southwestern Front as the Ukrainian Front under administration of the Central Rada of Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
.
Composition
Command
;Commander in Chief * 1916 – 1918King of Romania
The King of Romania () or King of the Romanians () was the title of the monarch of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when the Romanian Workers' Party proclaimed the Romanian People's Republic following Michael I's forced abdication. ...
Ferdinand I
;Deputies of the Commander in Chief
* 12.12.1916 – 01.04.1917 — General of Cavalry Vladimir Viktorovich Sakharov
Vladimir Viktorovich Sakharov (; 20 May 1853 – August 1920) was a Russian general of the cavalry who served in the Russian Imperial Army. In his army career from 1869 to 1917, he served in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, the Russo-Japanes ...
* 11.04.1917 – 25.03.1918 — General of Infantry Dmitry Shcherbachev
;Chief of Staff
* 12.12.1916 – 08.04.1917 – General Mikhail Shishkevich
* 17.04.1917 – 15.10.1917 – General Nikolai Golovin
* 23.10.1917 – ? – General Georgy Viranovsky
Componenets
* Danubian Army (as a separate army of the Southwestern Front supporting theRomanian Armed Forces
The Romanian Armed Forces ( or ''Armata Română'') are the military forces of Romania. It comprises the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Force. The current Commander-in-chief is Lieutenant General Gheorghiță Vlad who is managed by ...
, merged with the Russian 6th Army)
;Original composition (December 1916)
* 4th Army (from Western Front, General Alexander Ragoza
Alexander Frantsevich Ragoza (; 20 June .S. 8 June1858 – 29 June 1919), also known as Oleksandr Frantsevych Rohoza (), was a Russian Empire, Russian General of the Infantry (Imperial Russia), general of the infantry during World War I, a ...
(HQ 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 ...
))
** 8th Army Corps (General Anton Denikin
Anton Ivanovich Denikin (, ; – 7 August 1947) was a Russian military leader who served as the Supreme Ruler of Russia, acting supreme ruler of the Russian State and the commander-in-chief of the White movement–aligned armed forces of Sout ...
)
** 7th Army Corps (General Arkadiy Sychevskiy)
** 30th Army Corps (?)
**separate formations
* 6th Army (from Petrograd, General (HQ in Bolhrad
Bolhrad (, ; ; , ) is a small city in Odesa Oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, in the historical region of Budjak. It is the administrative center of Bolhrad Raion (district) and hosts the administration of Bolhrad urban hromada, one of ...
))
** 4th Army Corps (General )
** 47th Army Corps (General V. Artyomov?)
** 4th Siberian Army Corps (General )
** 3rd Cavalry Corps (General Fyodor Arturovich Keller)
** 6th Cavalry Corps (General Aleksandr Pavlov)
* 9th Army (from Southwestern Front, General Platon Lechitsky (HQ in Kamianets-Podilskyi
Kamianets-Podilskyi (, ; ) is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi. Formerly the administrative center of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the city is now the administrative center of Kamianets ...
))
** 26th Army Corps (General Yevgeny Miller)
** 2nd Army Corps (General Vasily Flug)
** 36th Army Corps (General Nikolai Korotkevich)
** 24th Army Corps (General )
** 40th Army Corps (General Georgy Bergmann)
** 5th Cavalry Corps (General Leonid Veliashev)
* Reserve
** 29th Army Corps (General Nikolai Lisovskiy)
* 2nd Romanian Army (General Alexandru Averescu
Alexandru Averescu (; 9 March 1859 – 2 October 1938) was a Romanian marshal, diplomat and Populism, populist politician. A Romanian Armed Forces Commander during World War I, he served as List of Prime Ministers of Romania, Prime Minister of thr ...
)
* Danube detachment
;Later added (Summer 1917)
* 1st Romanian Army (General Constantin Cristescu)
* 8th Army (August 1917 from Southwestern Front, General Mikhail Sokovin (HQ in 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 ...
))
** 11th Army Corps (General Konstantin Gilchevsky)
** 16th Army Corps (General Nikolai Stogov)
** 23rd Army Corps (General Mikhail Promtov)
** 33rd Army Corps (General Mikhail Samoilov)
** 2nd Cavalry Corps (General K. Tumanov?)
;Other formations (uncertain status)
* 10th Army Corps (General Nikolai Danilov)
* 18th Army Corps (General Andrei Zayonchkovski)
See also
* List of Imperial Russian Army formations and units * Romania during World War I *Moldavian Democratic Republic
The Moldavian Democratic Republic (MDR; , ), also known as the Moldavian Republic or Moldavian People's Republic, was a state proclaimed on by the ''Sfatul Țării'' (National Council) of Bessarabia, elected in October–November 1917 foll ...
(Bessarabia Governorate
The Bessarabia Governorate was a province (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its administrative centre in Kishinev (Chișinău). It consisted of an area of and a population of 1,935,412 inhabitants. The Bessarabia Governorate bordered t ...
)
* Rumcherod
Rumcherod () was a short-lived organ of Soviet power in the South-Western part of Russian Empire that functioned during May 1917–May 1918. The name stands as the Russian language abbreviation for its full name Central Executive Committee of ...
* Romanian Front electoral district (Russian Constituent Assembly election, 1917)
Notes
{{Russian Empire Ground Forces Fronts of the Russian Empire Military units and formations established in 1916 Romania in World War I Campaigns and theatres of World War I