The 8th Tactical Operational Missile Brigade (''Brigada 8 Rachete Operativ Tactice "Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''), former ''8th LAROM Brigade'', is a Multiple Rocket Launcher brigade 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 ...

. It was formed 1 July 1916 as the 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade, and was named after the Romanian ''

Domnitor ''Domnitor'' (Romanian pl. ''Domnitori'') was the official title of the ruler of Romania between 1862 and 1881. It was usually translated as "prince" in other languages and less often as "grand duke". Derived from the Romanian word "''domn''" ...

'' and politician

Alexandru Ioan Cuza Alexandru Ioan Cuza (, or Alexandru Ioan I, also anglicised as Alexander John Cuza; 20 March 1820 – 15 May 1873) was the first ''domnitor'' (Ruler) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as prince of Moldavia on 5 Janua ...

in 2010. The Brigade is subordinated to the General Staff of the

and has its headquarters in

Focșani Focșani (; yi, פֿאָקשאַן, Fokshan) is the capital city of Vrancea County in Romania on the banks the river Milcov, in the historical region of Moldavia. It has a population () of 79,315. Geography Focșani lies at the foot of the Curv ...

. The high professionalism of the personnel in this unit is the reason why a large number of soldiers in the brigade were, or still are present in various theaters of operations, such as

Bosnia and Herzegovina 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 H ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. Since October 2004, there are no more

conscripts Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

in the structures subordinated to the Brigade; all the personnel is professional.

World War I

During

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 ...

and World War II, the 8th Mixed Artillery Brigade was designated as the 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade with its main subordinated units being the 1st and 5th Heavy Artillery Regiments. The 1st regiment participated in the

Battle of Mărășești The Battle of Mărășești (6 August 1917 – 3 September 1917) was the last major battle between the German Empire and the Kingdom of Romania on the Romanian front during World War I. Romania was mostly occupied by the Central Powers, but t ...

, while the 5th regiment took part in the

Battle of Turtucaia The Battle of Turtucaia ( ro, Bătălia de la Turtucaia; bg, Битка при Тутракан, ''Bitka pri Tutrakan''), also known as Tutrakan Epopee ( bg, Тутраканска епопея, ''Tutrakanska epopeya'') in Bulgaria, was the openi ...

World War II

During

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 ...

, both the 1st and 5th regiments were part of the Romanian forces that fought at the

Siege of Odessa The siege of Odessa, known to the Soviets as the defence of Odessa, lasted from 8 August until 16 October 1941, during the early phase of Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. Odessa was a port on the ...

in 1941; the 5th regiment's cannons were the first Romanian Army's cannons to hit Odessa. The 1st regiment also participated in the Battle of Stalingrad (starting with October 1942), and in the

Battle of Budapest The Siege of Budapest or Battle of Budapest was the 50-day-long encirclement by Soviet and Romanian forces of the Hungarian capital of Budapest, near the end of World War II. Part of the broader Budapest Offensive, the siege began when Budap ...

in 1945.

Organization 2020

* 8th Mixed Artillery Brigade "

", in

** 81st Multiple Rocket Launcher Battalion "Maior Gheorghe Șonțu", in Focșani ** 83rd Multiple Rocket Launcher Battalion " Bogdan I", in

Bârlad Bârlad () is a city in Vaslui County, Romania. It lies on the banks of the river Bârlad, which waters the high plains of Western Moldavia. At Bârlad the railway from Iași diverges, one branch skirting the river Siret, the other skirting th ...

** 96th Multiple Rocket Launcher Battalion " Mircea Voievod", in

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 ...

** 84th Data Acquisition Battalion " Mărăști", in Focșani ** 85th Logistic Support Battalion "General

Mihail Cerchez Mihail Cerchez Cristodulo (1839–1885) was a Romanian general. Biography Descended from an old Moldavian family, Cerchez was colonel in the Romanian Army during the Romanian War of Independence (1877–1878), and fought at the Siege of Pleven ...

", in Bârlad

Equipment

LAROM The LAROM is a Romanian native-made, highly mobile, multiple rocket launcher, attached to a DAC-25.360 6x6 truck, in service with the Romanian Land Forces, built in collaboration with Israel. Currently there are 54 systems in service, all opera ...

multiple rocket launcher A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a volle ...

s * M142 HIMARS multiple rocket launchers * Other supporting/transport vehicles

References

External links

*
Official Site of the Romanian Land Forces
*

{{Romanian Land Forces Brigades of Romania Military units and formations established in 1916 Artillery units and formations of Romania