The Army of the Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Armata Republicii Socialiste România), known as the Army of the Romanian People's Republic ( ro, Armata Republicii Populare Romîne), until 1965 was the army of the

Socialist Republic of Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian Peop ...

(

Romanian People's Republic The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian Peopl ...

until 1965) from 1947 to 1989. Following the

Romanian Revolution The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred ...

in 1989 it was renamed into the

Romanian Armed Forces The Land Forces, Air Force and Naval Forces of Romania are collectively known as the Romanian Armed Forces ( ro, Forțele Armate Române or ''Armata Română''). The current Commander-in-chief is Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu who is manage ...

. It consisted of the Ground Forces, the Navy and the Air Force.

History

In 1944 the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

invaded Romania in the Jassy-Kishinev Offensive, causing the overthrow of Ion Antonescu's regime via a Royal coup. In 1945, new military regulations were developed based on those of the Red Army and in 1946, Romania came completely under the influence of the Soviet Union and became part of the Eastern Bloc. The military regulations were finalized in 1949. Like all other

socialist state A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country, sometimes referred to as a workers' state or workers' republic, is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. The term '' communist state'' is of ...

s, the Army was subjected to the rule of the Romanian Communist Party, whose general secretary was, since 1974, President of the Republic in addition to his role as commander-in-chief of the army. During the tenure of General

Emil Bodnăraș Emil Bodnăraș (10 February 1904 – 24 January 1976) was a Romanian communist politician, an army officer, and a Soviet agent, who had considerable influence in the Romanian People's Republic.''Final Report'', p. 646 Early life Bodnăraș was ...

as defence minister, the Army went through a period of

Sovietization Sovietization (russian: Советизация) is the adoption of a political system based on the model of soviets (workers' councils) or the adoption of a way of life, mentality, and culture modelled after the Soviet Union. This often included ...

, with Bodnăraș personally sending several Romanian Communists to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

to be trained in Soviet military institutions such as the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

. 30% of the experienced officers corps were purged from the military due to fears of opposition and monarchist loyalties."Development of the Romanian Armed Forces after World War II"
, from the Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World Factbook. Between 1949 and 1952, over 700 Romanian military personnel were being trained in the USSR, a number that would drop by over 200 by in the next 6 years. They also adopted a Soviet-style full dress uniform and everyday uniform. In the early days of the Republic, the Soviet Armed Forces had troops stationed in the country. The Soviet presence came as a result of the

Soviet occupation of Romania The Soviet occupation of Romania refers to the period from 1944 to August 1958, during which the Soviet Union maintained a significant military presence in Romania. The fate of the territories held by Romania after 1918 that were incorporated int ...

. Bodnăraș was seen to have influence in

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

's decision to withdraw Soviet troops in 1958.Arachelian From May 1955 to 1991, Romania was a member of the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist repub ...

, which provided the Romanian Army with weapons and other Soviet-made equipment, as well as assistance in building up its own defense industry. Under the presidency of

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He ...

, the RPA asserted functional independence in the defense industry and on equipment acquisitions while maintaining strong ties to the Warsaw Pact Command, with many of its armored vehicles, aircraft and artillery, as well as individual weaponry, being nationally produced. Also, a new set of enlisted and NCO ranks were adopted in the 1970s, alongside the reinstatement of the senior NCO ranks (''maistru militar''), which replaced the former Soviet rank model for such personnel. On 12 March 1958, the Sports Committee of Friendly Armies was created, with the Romanian Army became a founding member. In November 1986, a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

was held by the government in which voters, when asked whether they approved of reducing the size of the army and cutting military spending by 5%, approved the proposals by 100%, with not a single vote counting against it.Rumänien, 23. November 1986 : Verkleinerung des Heeres, Senkung der Rüstungsausgaben um 5%
Direct Democracy The Armed Forces would be renamed in 1989 following the

, during which officers and personnel of the military defected to the side of the

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

after a public speech by Ceaușescu broadcast on state television and a

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...

provided by paratroop regiment personnel Captain Ionel Boeru, Sergeant-Major Georghin Octavian and Dorin-Marian Cîrlan took part in the

Trial and execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu The trial of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu was held on 25 December 1989 by an Exceptional Military Tribunal, a drumhead court-martial created at the request of a newly formed group called the National Salvation Front. Its outcome was pre-determi ...

on 26 December. In the week after Ceaușescu's downfall, the defected Armed Forces fought bloody street battles against

Securitate The Securitate (, Romanian for ''security'') was the popular term for the Departamentul Securității Statului (Department of State Security), the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. Previously, before the communist regime ...

forces who were still on Ceaușescu's side.

Political and military leadership

Supreme Commander-in-Chief

The title of Supreme Commander-in-Chief was held by the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' leader of the nation, General Secretary, despite the fact that the President of the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

was the ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

until 1974, when it was replaced by the

President of Romania The president of Romania ( ro, Președintele României) is the head of state of Romania. Following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, the president is directly elected by a two-round system and serves for five years. An indi ...

Minister of National Defence

The office of Minister of National Defence () is the chief political leader of the military. Before that, it was the Minister of War () who handled military affairs in the government. The country's defense policy was managed by the agency the minister headed, the Ministry of the National Defense, led by a professional officer with the rank of Colonel general or above. The minister was a permanent member of the Politburo of the PCR.

Chief of the General Staff

Components

As of 1985, the Army was organized into the following service branches:Армия Социалистической Республики Румынии // На страже мира и социализма / сост. В. С. Шкаровский. М., "Планета", 1985. стр. 110-119 * Ground Forces (''Forțele Terestre'') * Air Forces (''Forțele Aeriene'') * Navy (''Marina'') Several other branches were not part of the Ministry of National Defense but were directly controlled by the Romanian Army or the PCR: * Patriotic Guards (''Gărzile Patriotice'') * Security Troops (''Trupele de securitate'') * Border Troops (''Trupele de frontieră'') A distinctive feature of the system of manning the RAF armed forces was the continued possibility of conscription of women for military service (although the bulk of the female military personnel serving at that time were doctors, nurses, and radio communications operators). The Army active personnel amounted to the following numbers:Assembly of Captive European Nations, First Session, pp. 65-67 From 1947 to 1960, the military was organized into 3 military regions: Western (based in

Cluj ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Status , subdivision_name2 = County seat , settlement_type = City , le ...

), Eastern (based in

Bacău Bacău ( , , ; hu, Bákó; la, Bacovia) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. At the 2016 national estimation it had a population of 196,883, making it the 12th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of ...

), and South (based 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 ...

). Succeeded by army corps in the 60s, they were areas that in wartime would become an army corps with their headquarters acting as areas of responsibility.

Ground Forces

The senior most units in the ground forces was the

Tudor Vladimirescu Division The Tudor Vladimirescu Division (full name: ''Romanian 1st Volunteer Infantry Division 'Tudor Vladimirescu – Debrecen' '') was a Soviet-organized division of Romanians that fought against Germany and Hungary during the final year of World War I ...

and the Horia, Cloșca și Crișan Division, both of which were used as political tools by communist leaders. They were composed of former prisoners of war, Soviet trainees and Communist activists such as

Valter Roman Valter or Walter Roman (October 9, 1913 – November 11, 1983), born Ernst or Ernő Neuländer, was a Romanian communist activist and soldier. During his lifetime, Roman was active inside the Romanian, Czechoslovakian, French, and Spanish C ...

.Mihailov In 1980, the Romanian Ground Forces was reorganized in 4 Army Commands: * 1st Army Command (

) * 2nd Army Command (

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 Carp ...

) * 3rd Army Command ( Craiova) * 4th Army Command ( Cluj-Napoca) All four Army Commands consisted of 8 Mechanized Infantry Divisions, 2 Armoured Divisions and 1 Armoured Brigade, as well as 4 Mountain infantry Brigades as specialized motorized infantry units, in addition to an administrative division of 4 parachute infantry regiments. Between 1960 and 1964, the rifle/mechanized divisions were converted to mechanized infantry (motorized rifle) divisions, which resulted in reductions in size due to it being a merger of both types of units. The newly established mechanized infantry divisions were structured similarly to the Soviet ones, organized into a division HQ, three mechanized infantry regiments, a tank regiment, a field artillery regiment, as well as in battalion-size subunits of other specialities, while the armoured divisions were structured in three tank regiments, a mechanized infantry regiment, a field artillery regiment and a number of other battalion-size subunits of other specialities. The degree of mechanization of the infantry was not complete, unlike the other member states of the Warsaw Treaty, for in 1985 only two of the three infantry battalions from the composition of the mechanized regiments were equipped with wheeled armoured personnel carriers

TAB-71 The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers (APCs). It was developed in the late 1950s as a replacement for the BTR-152 and was seen in public for the first time in 1961. BTR stands for ''Bron ...

and TAB-77. Even though since 1985 the infantry regiments began receiving new amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle

MLI-84 The MLI-84 is a tracked Romanian infantry fighting vehicle currently in service with the Romanian Land Forces. It was derived from the chassis of the Soviet BMP-1 but possessing a lengthened hull, a 12.7×108mm DShK 1938/46 heavy machine gun mou ...

the mechanization of the whole infantry had not succeed until 1989. Disbanded by the Soviets in the early years of occupied and post-war Romania, the ''

Vânători de munte Vânători may refer to several places: Romania * Vânători, Galați, a commune in Galați County * Vânători, Iași, a commune in Iaşi County * Vânători, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedinţi County * Vânători, Mureș, a commune in Mureș Co ...

'' (Mountain Huntsmen) was reestablished in 1958, being the equivalent of the Soviet

7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division , image = Great emblem of the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division.svg , image_size = 200 , caption = 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division great emblem , dates ...

or the American

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in the US military to re ...

. It was considered the Ground Forces' best-trained unit due to its equipment consisting of

MLVM MLVM ( ro, Mașina de Luptă a Vânătorilor de Munte, meaning "infantry fighting vehicle of vânători de munte") is a Romanian armoured personnel carrier. The vehicle was designed and used as an infantry fighting vehicle for the ''vânători ...

APCs and 76mm. mountain guns, and was organized into 4 brigades stationed in the mountainous areas. The Special Counter-terrorism Unit (Unitatea Specială de Luptă Antiteroristă, USLA) was a key part of the Ground Forces security aspect, preventing

terrorist attacks The following is a list of terrorist incidents that have not been carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are listed at List of assassinated people. Definitions of terrori ...

such as a May 1985 attempt by two Arab terrorists to bomb cars belonging to Syrian students on the

Politehnica University of Bucharest Politehnica University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea Politehnica din București) is a technical university in Bucharest, Romania. 200 years of activity have been celebrated lately, as the university was founded in 1818. In the early postwar years, the Romanian Navy was deprived of its merchant fleet due to the rapid takeover of the Romanian vessels by the Soviet Navy. In September 1944, the Soviet Navy transferred all Romanian warships to ports in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

near

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, all of which were not returned until just over a year later, with the exception o the ''Regele Ferdinand''-class that was kept by the Black Sea Fleet until the early 1950s. A number of warships such as ''Amiral Murgescu'' were never returned and stayed in Soviet service until they were decommissioned. Once in possession of patrol ships, the Romanian Navy formed Danube Squadron, which later changed its name to the River Brigade in 1959. As a result of the 1940s reform of the naval forces, a patrol squadron was converted into an independent unit, which operated under the Naval Headquarters until May 1951. Four years later, naval ships and Marine units were subordinated to the headquarters. In 1962, the 42nd Maritime Division was founded, continuing the traditions of the Sea Division, a large unit was had ceased to carry out functions since the end of World War II. In the late 70s and early 80s, several naval ships were built in the Romanian shipyards, specifically the Midia and Constanța escort ships from the Brăila shipyard. In the early 1980s, the Navy ramped up efforts to develop its own domestic naval industry by building new patrol boats using Chinese and Soviet technology and designs. In 1989 the Romanian Navy had more than 7,500 sailors, all of whom were organized into the Black Sea Fleet, the Danube Squadron, and the Coastal Defense. Its major naval bases and shipyards were the ports of

Mangalia Mangalia (, tr, Mankalya), ancient Callatis ( el, Κάλλατις/Καλλατίς; other historical names: Pangalia, Panglicara, Tomisovara), is a city and a port on the coast of the Black Sea in the south-east of Constanța County, Northern ...

and Constanța on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

. Based in Constanța, the 2,000-member Coastal Defense Regiment was the shore-based component of defense against attack from the Black Sea.

Air Force

In 1946, following a reorganization, the Air Force consisted of seven Air Flotillas, of which two were fighter flotillas and the rest were bombardment, assault, information, and transport. A total of 953 aircraft were in service, these included both pre-war and WW2 models like the Bf 109G,

IAR 80 The IAR 80 was a Romanian World War II low-wing monoplane, all-metal monocoque fighter and ground-attack aircraft. When it first flew, in 1939, it was comparable to contemporary designs being deployed by the airforces of the most advanced milita ...

IAR 37 The IAR 37 was a 1930s Romanian reconnaissance or light bomber aircraft built by Industria Aeronautică Română. Development The IAR 37 prototype was flown for the first time in 1937 to meet a requirement for a tactical bombing and reconnaissan ...

Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...

, etc.Vasile Tudor
"Modernizarea aviatiei militare romane"
''Orizont Aviatic magazine no. 26'', December 2004. Following a condition imposed during the Paris Peace Treaties of 1947, the strength of the military aviation of Romania was reduced to 150 aircraft, of which 100 were for combat and the rest for training. On 15 February 1949, the Romanian Aviation Command was established following the Soviet model of aviation regiments instead of the British squadron model. This would later be renamed to the Romanian Air Force. The first jet fighters arrived in 1951, with the first Jet Air Division (''Divizia Aeriană Reactivă'') being established on 1 April of the same year, at

Ianca Ianca () is a town in Brăila County, Muntenia, Romania. At the 2002 census, the town had a population of 12,886 people, making it Brăila County's second-largest urban locality. History The first mention of the town dates to 1834. It official ...

. The unit was equipped with Soviet-made

Yak-23 The Yakovlev Yak-23 (russian: Яковлев Як-23; USAF/DoD reporting name Type 28, NATO reporting name Flora) was an early Soviet jet fighter with a straight wing. It was developed from the Yak-17 in the late 1940s and used a reverse-engine ...

and

Yak-17 The Yakovlev Yak-17 (russian: Яковлев Як-17; USAF/ DOD designation Type 16, NATO reporting name Feather) was an early Soviet jet fighter. It was developed from the Yak-15, the primary difference being tricycle landing gear. The traine ...

fighters and had three Regiments (the 11th, 12th and 13th). The 97th Jet Fighter Aviation Division was declared combat ready on 15 September 1951. The first interception mission was carried out on the night of 28/29 October 1952, when a Soviet Il-28 bomber entered Romanian airspace unauthorized. The first

MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...

s also entered service in 1952. These aircraft were first in use with the Soviet Regiments deployed at Craiova and

Deveselu Deveselu () is a commune in Olt County, Oltenia, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Comanca and Deveselu. Geography The commune is situated on the Wallachian Plain, about west of the river Olt. It is located in the south-central part of ...

and were transferred to the Romanian Air Force in September 1952. The first supersonic flight happened on 5 March 1958, with a

MiG-19 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-19; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is a Soviet second generation, single-seat, twinjet fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. It was the ...

at the Deveselu Air Base. In 1969, an

air defence 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 ...

unit was created to provide protection against air attacks while a

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...

regiment was founded in 1980, both of which were assigned to the

Câmpia Turzii Câmpia Turzii (; german: Jerischmarkt; hu, Aranyosgyéres) is a municipality in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania, which was formed in 1925 by the union of two villages, Ghiriș (''Aranyosgyéres'') and Sâncrai (''Szentkirály''). It was de ...

Air Base (now the RoAF 71st Air Base). A Romanian-made IAR-93 attack aircraft flew its first flight on 31 October 1974 over

, marking the first jet fighter in the Eastern Bloc to be domestically manufactured. The

Mikoyan MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG ...

aircraft entered the inventory of the Air Force just a few days before the

of December 1989.

Patriotic Guards

Formed in 1968 after

Ceaușescu's speech of 21 August 1968 Ceaușescu's speech of 21 August 1968 was a public address by Nicolae Ceaușescu, General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party and President of the State Council of Romania, strongly condemning the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovaki ...

, the Romanian Patriotic Guards was an organization dedicated to

public security Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensur ...

, with its functions including civil policing to an active reserve for the Army. During wartime, the President of the Republic could authorize the guards to become a large "

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

" that would provide

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...

-style security, as well as augment the ground forces, and operate as guerrillas forces. The force was not part of the Ministry of National Defence but was instead a directly reporting unit of the PCR and the

Union of Communist Youth , colorcode = red , logo = Symbol of Union of Communist Youth.svg , caption = Emblem , logo2 = , caption2 = , founded = 1922 , dissolved = 1989 , headquarters = Bucharest, Socialist Republic of Romania ...

, of which it drafted members of both. Members of the guards were considered territorial troops (''Forțele teritoriale''), as they were organized into companies and/or platoons and were based in every '' județ'', municipality, and industrial/agricultural area under the command of the first secretary of the local PCR.

Securitate Troops

On 23 January 1949, the communist government disbanded the Royal Romanian Gendarmerie only to purged its personnel and redistribute them to the newly created Directorate for Security Troops (''DTO'') of the

(''Department of State Security''), modeled after the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

Internal Troops The Internal Troops, full name Internal Troops of the Ministry for Internal Affairs (MVD) (russian: Внутренние войска Министерства внутренних дел, Vnutrenniye Voiska Ministerstva Vnutrennikh Del; abbreviat ...

and the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

.''Repere istorice''
, Romanian Gendarmerie website, accessed on 14 April 2007 It acted as a 20,000-strong eilite paramilitary force consisting of selected people form the conscripts pool for the Army who performed routine law enforcement functions such traffic control and issuance of identification cards. It was organized into infantry units who were equipped with small arms as well as artillery, and armored personnel carriers. The security troops were directly responsible to the Minister of the Interior and there the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, giving then the ability to guard important installations including PCR office buildings and state radio and television stations. The regime of Ceaușescu could have theoretically called in the security troops as a private army to prevent a military coup d'état and/or suppress antiregime riots. It was also responsible for ensuring total loyalty among the

rank and file Rank and file may refer to: *A military term relating to the horizontal "ranks" (rows) and vertical "files" (columns) of individual foot-soldiers, exclusive of the officers *A term derived from the above used to refer to enlisted troops, as oppose ...

in the Army, employing political officers to push the country's military doctrine. It operated under a more strict discipline and routine than the regular military, which resulted in their special treatment and enjoyment of better living conditions then their counterparts. In late 1989, the directorate was disbanded and replaced first by the Guard and Order Troops (''Trupele de Pază și Ordine''), and later on the reformed Gendarmerie.

Equipment

Armored fighting vehicles

Main battle tanks (MBTs): * 1,053 x

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The C ...

* 756 x

T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tank ...

* 413 x TR-580 * 617 x

TR-85 The TR-85 is a third-generation main battle tank designed for the armed forces of Romania. Based on the TR-77-580, the TR-85 tank was developed from 1978 to 1985 and produced from 1986 until 1990. A modernization program was initiated in Marc ...

* 30 x

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet/Russian main battle tanks that entered production in 1969. The T-72 was a development of the T-64, which was troubled by high costs and its reliance on immature developmental technology. About 25,000 T-72 tanks h ...

Assault guns:Bogdan Szajkowski, James Gow, Longman Group, 1993, ''Encyclopaedia of Conflicts, Disputes, and Flashpoints in Eastern Europe, Russia, and the Successor States'', p. 274
/ref> * 326 x SU-76 * 66 x

SU-100 The SU-100 ('' Samokhodnaya Ustanovka'' 100) was a Soviet tank destroyer armed with the D-10S 100 mm anti-tank gun in a casemate superstructure. It was used extensively during the last year of World War II and saw service for many years af ...

* 20 x

ISU-152 The ISU-152 (russian: Самоходная установка на базе танка ИС с орудием калибра 152мм, ИСУ-152, Samokhodnaya Ustanovka na baze tanka IS s orudiyem kalibra 152mm, meaning " IS tank based self-prope ...

Infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs): * 154 x

Armored personnel carriers (APCs): * 26 x

BTR-40 The BTR-40 (БТР, from Бронетранспортёр, or '' Bronetransporter'', literally "armoured transporter† is a Soviet non-amphibious, wheeled armoured personnel carrier and reconnaissance vehicle. It is often referred to as the ''So ...

* 35 x BTR-50 * 50 x

BTR-60 The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers (APCs). It was developed in the late 1950s as a replacement for the BTR-152 and was seen in public for the first time in 1961. BTR stands for ''Brone ...

* 155 x TAB-77 * 441 x

TABC-79 The ABC-79M (4x4) (Romanian: ''amfibiu blindat pentru cercetare'') armoured personnel carrier has been developed in Romania and uses some automotive components of the TAB-77 (8 × 8) armoured personnel carrier. Although previously known as TABC-79 ...

* 1,870 x

* 53 x

Reconnaissance: * 139 x

BRDM-2 The BRDM-2 (''Boyevaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina'', Боевая Разведывательная Дозорная Машина, literally "Combat Reconnaissance/Patrol Vehicle") is an amphibious armoured scout car used by states that we ...

* 8 x TAB-80

Artillery

Total: 3,707 Heavy artillery: *

240 mm mortar M240 The Soviet 240 mm mortar M240 is a 240 millimeter (9.4 in) breech loading smoothbore heavy mortar that fires a 130 kilogram (290 lb) projectile. Description The mortar consists of a smooth-bored barrel with a breech and a breech-block fra ...

1976, ''Military Review, Volume 56, Issue 3'', p. 101
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Navy

Ships: * Poti-class corvette *

Kronshtadt-class submarine chaser Project 122bis ( NATO codename Kronshtadt class) submarine chasers were a Soviet design which were exported throughout the communist bloc in the 1950s. The first ship, BO-270, was built at Zelenodolsk in 1945-1947 and a total of 227 were built f ...

Osa-class missile boat The Project 205 Moskit (''mosquito'') more commonly known by their NATO reporting name Osa, are a class of missile boats developed for the Soviet Navy in the late 1950s. Until 1962 this was classified as a large torpedo boat. The Osa class is ...

Type 025 torpedo boat The Type 025 torpedo boat, also known as the Huchuan or Hu Chwan class, was once the backbone of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in its confrontations with its much larger opponents in the Republic of China Navy. Although no longer serv ...

* Epitrop class fast attack craft *

Type 062 gunboat The Type 062 gunboat is a class of gunboat of the People's Liberation Army Navy first developed and constructed in the 1950s. This unsophisticated class is relatively well-armed for its size and is the most widely built and exported Chinese nava ...

* Cosar class minelayers * Democrația-class minesweeper In the early 1990s, the equipment for major units were scrapped due to age and the cost of maintenance.

Videos

110. Armata României în Decembrie 1989

Cenusa pasarii din vis (1989) (1)Revoluţia română: La TVR se anunță că Armata Română va apăra obiective importante din BucureştiArmata Republicii Socialiste RomâniaSocialist Romania Military Oath – Jurământul Militar din Armata RSR

References

{{Warsaw Pact militaries Socialist Republic of Romania Military history of Romania 1947 establishments in Romania 1989 disestablishments in Romania Military units and formations established in 1947 Military units and formations disestablished in 1989 1950s in Romania 1960s in Romania 1970s in Romania 1980s in Romania Warsaw Pact Military units and formations of the Cold War