Constantin Poenaru (April 8, 1842–1912) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n general. Born 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 ...

, Poenaru attended the local officers’ school from 1859 to 1861, followed by the

École supérieure de guerre The ''École supérieure de guerre'' ("Superior School of Warfare") was the most senior military education institute and staff college of the French Army, from 1876 until 1993, when it was merged into the inter-service ' (Joint Defense College), wh ...

in Paris. A second lieutenant from 1861, he rose to captain in 1867 and to major in 1872, and commanded the military engineers’ battalion from 1872 to 1877. When the

Romanian War of Independence The Romanian War of Independence is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), following which Romania, fighting on the Russian side, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. On , Romania and the R ...

broke out in 1877, he saw action during the

Siege of Plevna The siege of Pleven, was a major battle of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, fought by the joint army of Russia and Romania against the Ottoman Empire. After the Russian army crossed the Danube at Svishtov, it began advancing towards t ...

. Gheorghe Șonțu and Valter Mărăcineanu were under his command.Oroian, pp. 48-50 In 1880, Poenaru was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and he became inspector of military engineers. In 1882, he was made commander of the first engineers’ regiment in the Romanian Army. In 1884, he was placed in charge of the officers’ school. Promoted to colonel in 1886 and to brigadier general in 1891, he headed an army corps from 1896. He taught strategy both at the officers’ academy and at the Higher War School. In June 1894 he became War Minister, serving until October 1895. Together with

Iacob Lahovary Iacob N. Lahovary ( ro, Iacob N. Lahovari; 16 January 1846 – 7 February 1907) was a member of the Romanian aristocracy, a general, politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of War and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of ...

Chief of the Romanian General Staff The Chief of General Staff ( ro, Șeful Statului Major General) is the highest professional military authority in the Romanian Armed Forces. He is appointed by the President of Romania, at the National Defense Minister's proposal (with the appro ...

, he pursued institutional reform, modernizing the army's structure and cementing the special status of the general staff. From 1898 to 1901, Poenaru, from 1900 a division general, himself served as General Staff Chief, with Lahovary as War Minister. The two continued to collaborate, with Poenaru focused on updating mobilization plans and battle regulations. He also drew up plans for an eventual occupation of

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

ruled

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, foreseeing a vigorous offensive from multiple directions. Finally, in the interests of monitoring the border with Austria-Hungary, he detached infantry battalions to the mountain passes of the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The ...

. Poenaru was awarded the Order of the Crown, commander, grand officer and grand cross; the

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...

, officer and grand officer; the

Order of the Cross of Takovo The Order of the Cross of Takovo was a Serbian state order. History It was instituted in the Principality of Serbia in 1865 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire, which had started in Takovo, Serbi ...

; and the

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Hol ...

Notes

References

*Teofil Oroian, ''Șefii statului major general român 1859-2000'', pp. 48–50. Bucharest: Editura Europa Nova, 2001, {{DEFAULTSORT:Poenaru, Constantin 1842 births 1912 deaths Military personnel from Bucharest Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Romanian Ministers of Defence Chiefs of the General Staff of Romania Carol I National Defence University faculty Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Officers of the Order of the Star of Romania Grand Officers of the Order of the Star of Romania Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Takovo Recipients of the Order of St. Anna