The 1st Infantry Division ''Dacica'' was one of the major units of the

Romanian Land Forces The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

, with its headquarters located in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

. It was the heraldic successor of the Romanian First Army. On 31 August 2015, 1st Infantry Division headquarters disbanded, to become, three months later, the Headquarters Multinational Division Southeast of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Allied Joint Force Command Naples Allied Joint Force Command Naples (JFC Naples) is a NATO military command based in Lago Patria, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. It was activated on 15 March 2004, after effectively redesigning its predecessor command, Allied Forces Sou ...

History

The First Army was one of the major units of the Romanian military in both

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, partaking in such operations as the Romanian offensive in Transylvania in 1916 and the Battle of Mărăşeşti in 1917, and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, seeing action on the Eastern Front, particularly after the 23 August 1944 Coup, when the First Army fought westwards alongside Soviet units in battles such as that of

Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and i ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

and going as far as

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. Following the end of the war, the First Army was disbanded on 2 June 1947, with the units under its command being transferred to one of the four newly formed Military Regions. This reorganization process was applied to all Romanian armies. On 5 April 1980, the First Army was reestablished and headquartered in

, after being assigned units previously under the control of the 2nd Army Command. The latter was relocated to

Buzău The city of Buzău (formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu''; ) is the county seat of Buzău County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Car ...

Dan Ghica-Radu '' Lieutenant-general'' Dan Ghica-Radu (born September 13, 1955 in Topoloveni, Argeș County) was the chief of the Romanian Land Forces Staff from 17 March 2009 to 16 January 2011. Education *"Dimitrie Cantemir" Military Highschool, Breaza – 19 ...

was the intelligence office chief from 1998 until 2000. On the 1st of August 2000, the First Army was restructured, becoming the 1st Territorial Army Corps "

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Ioan Culcer", as part of a wider program to bring the Romanian military in line with

standards. On 15 August 2008, as a continuation of the reorganization process of the

, the 1st Territorial Army Corps "General Ioan Culcer" was reformed as the 1st Infantry Division, receiving the name "Dacica", and becoming the heraldic successor of the First Army. Units of the 1st Infantry Division were deployed (or deployed at some point) in various theaters of operation around the world, such as

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. In 2015 the Division was removed from the Romanian Army's order of battle and was transferred to NATO command; forming the framework for what would become Headquarters Multinational Division Southeast coming under the command of

Former structure

* 1st Infantry Division ''Dacica'' – HQ

** 1st Mechanized Brigade "

Argedava Argedava (''Argedauon'', ''Sargedava'', ''Sargedauon'', ''Zargedava'', ''Zargedauon'', grc, Αργεδαυον, Σαργεδαυον) was an important Dacian town mentioned in the Decree of Dionysopolis (48 BC), and potentially located ...

" - headquartered at

***

2nd Infantry Battalion " Călugăreni" ("Desert Tigers") - Bucharest *** 495th Infantry Battalion -

Clinceni Clinceni is a commune in the southwestern part of Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Clinceni, Olteni and Ordoreanu. The location hosts a small airport. Currently, the village of Clinceni has the Guinness World Re ...

*** 114th Tank Battalion"”-

Târgoviște Târgoviște (, alternatively spelled ''Tîrgoviște''; german: Tergowisch) is a city and county seat in Dâmbovița County, Romania. It is situated north-west of Bucharest, on the right bank of the Ialomița River. Târgoviște was one of the ...

Military Press Archives
/ref> *** 113th Artillery Battalion -

Slobozia Slobozia () is the capital city of Ialomița County, Muntenia, Romania, with a population of 48,241 in 2011. Etymology Its name is from the Romanian "slobozie", which meant a recently colonized village which was free of taxation. The word its ...

*** 288th Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion - Focşani *** 117th Logistics Battalion -

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Blejoi commu ...

** 2nd Infantry Brigade " Rovine" - headquartered at

Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...

*** 20th Infantry Battalion "Black Scorpions" - Craiova *** 22nd Infantry Battalion - Craiova *** Batalionul 26 Infanterie Neagoe Basarab

26th Infantry Battalion "Neagoe Basarab" ("Red Scorpions") - Craiova *** 325th Artillery Battalion -

Caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...

*** 116th Logistics Battalion "Golden Scorpions" - CraiovaRomanian Military Press
/ref> *** 205th

Anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

Artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

Battalion "Blue Scorpions" - Craiova ** 2nd Mountain Troops Brigade " Sarmizegetusa" - headquartered at Braşov *** 21st Mountain Troops Battalion -

Predeal Predeal (; hu, Predeál) is a town in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania. Predeal, a mountain resort town, is the highest town in Romania. It is located in the Prahova Valley at an elevation of over . The town administers three villages: ...

*** 30th Mountain TroopsBattalion -

Câmpulung Câmpulung (also spelled ''Cîmpulung'', , german: Langenau, Old Romanian ''Dlăgopole'', ''Длъгополе'' (from Middle Bulgarian)), or ''Câmpulung Muscel'', is a municipality in the Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is situated among t ...

*** 33rd Mountain Troops Battalion -

Curtea de Argeş Curtea ( hu, Kurtya) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Coșava ( hu, Kossó), Curtea and Homojdia ( hu, Homapatak). Geography Curtea is located in the northeast of Timiș County, close to the border of Hun ...

*** 206th Mixed Artillery Battalion - Braşov *** 228th Anti-aircraft Missile Battalion - Braşov *** 229th Logistic Battalion - Braşov **2nd Logistics Base " Valahia" - headquartered at

**51st Mixed Artillery Regiment "General Cornel Paraniac" - headquartered at

**61st Mixed Anti-aircraft Missiles Regiment "

Pelendava Pelendava (''Pelendoua'', ''Potulatensioi'', ''Polonda'' ) was a Dacian town. Ancient sources Ptolemy's Geographia Tabula Peutingeriana Etymology History Dacian town Roman times Archaeology See also * Daci ...

" - headquartered at Slobozia ** 1st "CIMIC" Battalion - headquartered at

** 49th CBRN Battalion " Argeş" - headquartered at Piteşti ** 96th Engineer Battalion "Joseph Kruzel" ** 313th Reconnaissance Battalion "

Burebista Burebista ( grc, Βυρεβίστας, Βοιρεβίστας) was the king of the Getae and Dacian tribes from 82/61BC to 45/44BC. He was the first king who successfully unified the tribes of the Dacian kingdom, which comprised the area locat ...

" ** 45th Communications & Information Systems Battalion "Căpitan Grigore Giosanu" ** 300th Logistic Support Battalion "Sarmis" - headquartered at Bucharest ** other supporting units

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
1