Simion Coman (22 May 1890 – 15 April 1971) 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 advanced in rank to lieutenant colonel in 1932, and to colonel in 1937. From 1938 to 1940, Coman served 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' ...

Satu Mare County Satu Mare County (, , ) is a county (Counties of Romania, județ) of Romania, on the border with Hungary and Ukraine. The capital city is Satu Mare. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as ''Szatmár megye'', in German language, Ge ...

. In June 1941, he was appointed Commanding Officer 3rd ''Dorobanți''

Infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

. In January 1942, he became Deputy General Officer Commanding 2nd Mountain Division (''

Vânători de munte The ''vânători de munte'' (, ) are the elite mountain troops of the Romanian Land Forces. They were first established as an independent Army Corps in 1916 during World War I, and became operational in 1917 under ''Corpul de Munte'' designati ...

''), under the command of General

Ioan Dumitrache Ioan Dumitrache (25 August 1889 – 6 March 1977) was a Romanian major general during World War II, in command of the 2nd Mountain Division. His troops (''vânători de munte'') were recognized as the elite troops of the Romanian Army throughout ...

. The division left for the front on 6 July, at the start of the

Battle of the Caucasus The Battle of the Caucasus was a series of Axis and Soviet operations in the Caucasus as part of the Eastern Front of World War II. On 25 July 1942, German troops captured Rostov-on-Don, opening the Caucasus region of the southern Soviet ...

. In October of that year Coman fought with the division at the battle of

Nalchik Nalchik (, ; ; ) is the capital city of Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia, situated at an altitude of in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains; about northwest of Beslan (Beslan is in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania). It covers an area of ...

, in the foothills of the

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains * * Azerbaijani: , * * * * * * * * * * * is a mountain range at the intersection of Asia and Europe. Stretching between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, they are surrounded by the Caucasus region ...

. The front was broken between the Soviet 295th Rifle and 2nd Guards Rifle Divisions; on 28 October, after fierce fighting in the hills and forests near Nalchik, the 2nd Mountain Division took its objective. The Battle of Nalchik ended as one of the biggest Romanian victories on the Eastern Front, with the capture of 3,079 prisoners and a large amount of weaponry and war materiel; during the engagement, the 2nd Mountain Division lost 820 soldiers (157 dead, 647 wounded, and 16 missing). In the aftermath, the division moved its headquarters to Nalchik, with Coman as commander of the garrison. In March 1943, he was promoted to brigadier general and named Commanding 5th Instruction Center. In June 1943 he 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. From June to October 1944, Coman served as General Officer Commanding 21st Training Division, and from October to December of that year he was Commanding Officer 3rd Frontier Brigade, From December 1944 to September 1945, he was Deputy General Officer Commanding 4th Corps Area. He was sent into reserve in 1946 and retired in 1947.Decretul Regal nr. 733 din 16 aprilie 1947 pentru treceri în pozițiunea de rezervă, 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 CXV, nr. 92 din 24 aprilie 1947, partea I-a, p. 3.199.

References

External links

* 1890 births 1971 deaths Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Prefects of Romania {{Romania-mil-bio-stub