The Fourth Army (Armata a 4-a Română) was a field army (a

military formation Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a natio ...

) 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 La ...

active from the 19th century to the 1990s.

History

World War I

The Fourth Army fought under the name of "Northern Army" or "Army of the North" (''Armata de Nord'') in the

Romanian Campaign The Kingdom of Romania was neutral for the first two years of World War I, entering on the side of the Allied powers from 27 August 1916 until Central Power occupation led to the Treaty of Bucharest in May 1918, before reentering the war on 10 ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, under the command of General Prezan. Units under its command took part in the First Battle of Oituz, Battle of Prunaru and the Battle of Bucharest.
As Russian forces took over its front, the Northern Army was disbanded in December 1916 and its units were redeployed to other fronts, under command of the 1st and 2nd Romanian Army, The commanders of the Northern Army were : * Divisional General Constantin Prezan: 27 August 1916 – 22 November 1916 * Divisional General Constantin Cristescu: 22 November 1916 – 13 December 1916

World War II

On 22 June 1941, the 4th Army consisted of *the 3rd Army Corps (Guards, 15th, and 35th Reserve Divisions), *the 5th Army Corps (Border Division and 21st Division), *the 11th Army Corps (two fortress brigades), and *the 4th Army Cooperation Command. It was under the command of Lieutenant General

Nicolae Ciupercă Nicolae Ciupercă (20 April 1882 – 25 May 1950) was a Romanian general, born in Râmnicu Sărat. He served during World War I and World War II under the command of Alexandru Averescu and then Ion Antonescu, but would retire from a military li ...

. In 1942, it fought on the Axis side as part of the German

Army Group B Army Group B (German: ') was the title of three German Army Groups that saw action during World War II. Operational history Army Group B first took part in the Battle of France in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands. The second formation of Ar ...

. In July 1941 it took part in Operation München, the recapturing of

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of ...

and Northern Bukovina, which were annexed by the Soviet Union the year before. By August 1941, during 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 ...

, the 4th Army had under command the

1st First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

, 3rd,

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

6th 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

, and 11th Army Corps under its control, with a total of 17 infantry divisions, the 1st Armoured Division (Romania), three cavalry divisions, and a total of 38 artillery regiments. On 9 November 1941, Constantin Constantinescu-Claps was appointed the commander of the Fourth Army, and became a Corps General on 24 January 1942. On 10 February 1943, he was relieved of his assignment and replaced by Constantin Sănătescu. From late 1942 to early 1943, the Fourth Army was almost entirely destroyed during the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...

. The Romanian Third Army suffered a similar fate. During April–May 1944 the Romanian forces led by General Ioan Mihail Racoviță, together with elements of the German Eighth Army were responsible for defending Northern Romania during the Soviet

First Jassy-Kishinev Offensive First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: * World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

, and took part in the

Battles of Târgu Frumos A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. In August 1944, the

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

entered

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

after driving back

Army Group South Army Group South (german: Heeresgruppe Süd) was the name of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland Army Group Sou ...

from the region. On 23 August, Marshal

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and '' Conducător'' during most of World War II. A Romanian Army career officer who ma ...

was dismissed by

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

Michael I, and

declared war on Germany and Hungary some days later. The Soviets took control of the oilfields in the

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 commun ...

area, and the

Romanian Army 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 La ...

was used to fight German forces on the Eastern Front. The Fourth Army became one of the Romanian armies fighting for the

on the Eastern Front. In its campaign from August 1944 to May 1945, the

lost some 64,000 men killed. The Fourth Army took part in

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

offensives, notably at

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 ...

in May 1945, which happened to be the last offensive it took part in World War II. The Fourth Army was involved in the Battle of Turda which lasted from 5 September to 8 October 1944, in the area around

Turda Turda (; hu, Torda, ; german: link=no, Thorenburg; la, Potaissa) is a city in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in the southeastern part of the county, from the county seat, Cluj-Napoca, to which it is connected by the Europe ...

. Troops from the

Hungarian 2nd Army The Hungarian Second Army (''Második Magyar Hadsereg'') was one of three field armies (''hadsereg'') raised by the Kingdom of Hungary (''Magyar Királyság'') which saw action during World War II. All three armies were formed on March 1, 1940. ...

and the German 8th Army fought a defensive action against the Fourth Army and the Red Army. The battle was one of the largest fought in

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 ...

during World War II. In the

Prague Offensive The Prague offensive (russian: Пражская стратегическая наступательная операция, Prazhskaya strategicheskaya nastupatel'naya operatsiya, lit=Prague strategic offensive) was the last major military ...

, the Fourth Army, together with the Romanian First Army and Polish Second Army, formed part of the

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front (2-й Украинский фронт), was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943 the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During the Second Jassy–Kishinev ...

. Marshal

Ivan Konev Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( rus, link=no, Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев, p=ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf; – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union who led Red Army forces on the E ...

, the commander of the

First Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front ( Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to ...

, was the main Soviet commander in the area. Together with Marshal

Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...

's First Byelorussian Front, Konev launched the great attack on 16 April that resulted in the fall of Berlin and Soviet victory on the Eastern Front. The offensive started on 6 May, a few days before the end of the war. German resistance in the east was now limited to small pockets scattered across Germany,

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, and Austria. The remnants of

Army Group Center Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army fo ...

held the remaining German-controlled areas in the east. In the attack on

, German resistance was defeated in the city, and the Soviet, Romanian, and Polish forces entered the city on 9 May. Czech partisans had been fighting the Germans there for a few days. By 11 and 12 May, all remaining German pockets of resistance in the east were defeated.

World War II Commanders

* General lieutenant

(2 June 1940 – 9 September 1941) * General lieutenant (10 September 1941 – 8 November 1941) * General lieutenant Constantin Constantinescu-Claps (9 November 1941 – 10 February 1943) * General lieutenant Constantin Sănătescu (11 February 1943 – 24 January 1944) * General lieutenant Ioan Mihail Racoviță (25 January 1944 – 23 August 1944) * General lieutenant Ilie Șteflea (23 August 1944 – 3 September 1944) * General lieutenant Gheorghe Avramescu (4 September 1944 – 11 January 1945) * General lieutenant Nicolae Dăscălescu (12 January 1945 – 18 February 1945) * General lieutenant Gheorghe Avramescu (19 February 1945 – 2 March 1945) * General lieutenant Nicolae Dăscălescu (3 March 1945 – 12 May 1945)

The Post War Situation

The army was active after the war until 1947. In 1945, the Fourth Army comprised two army corps: 2nd Army Corps, at

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 ...

, with Divizia de Gardă and 1st "Tudor Vladimirescu" Volunteer Division, 2nd Heavy Artillery Regiment, 2nd Pioneer Regiment, 4th Călărași Regiment, and corps units;

7th Army Corps 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

, at

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

, with 2nd Infantry Division, the 2nd "Horea, Cloșca și Crișan" Volunteer Division, 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment, 7th Pioneer Regiment, 1st Călărași Regiment, and corps units. From March 1945 to June 1947, the generals in command were Nicolae Dăscălescu, Gheorghe Stavrescu,

Mihail Lascăr Mihail Lascăr (; November 8, 1889 – July 24, 1959) was a Romanian general during World War II and Romania's Minister of Defense from 1946 to 1947. He was born in Târgu Jiu, Gorj County, Kingdom of Romania, and graduated from the Infantry ...

, Grigore Vasiliu Rascanu and C. Nicolau. 4th Army Command was disbanded on 5 June 1947, under the Order M. St.M. nr. no. 40.500, and all units were redeployed. By Royal Decree 1346 of 28 June 1947, the 3rd Military Region, 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 ...

, was established starting 1 July 1947.

The Cold War

The 3rd Military Region, formed after the war in Cluj, changed its name to 3rd Army Command on 30 April 1960. During this time, the training of the officers and the band was made in the new concept of country defense and national military doctrine. Thousands of soldiers participated in the national economy, including the harvest. The army troops participated massively at removing the effects of the catastrophic floods of the 1970s and 1975s and the earthquake of 1977. The intervention of some

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 republi ...

states in Czechoslovakia (except Romania) and the invasion of this country in August 1968, led to profound changes in the structure of 3rd Army Command. At that time, there began the formation of the new 81st Mechanized Division (at Dej), the existing 11th and 18th Mechanized Divisions (from

Oradea Oradea (, , ; german: Großwardein ; hu, Nagyvárad ) is a city in Romania, located in Crișana, a sub-region of Transylvania. The seat of Bihor County, Oradea is one of the most important economic, social and cultural centers in the western par ...

and

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

) were strengthened, as was the 6th Tank Division (from Târgu-Mureș). In the next year (1969), it was appreciated that the fighting capacity of the 3rd Army Command grew by over 75% from the point of view of the personnel, and with about 55% from the military equipment. Because of doctrinal reasons, as well as the tense political-military situation in the 1980s, resulted in the organization of the Romanian Land Forces on four army headquarters. Starting with 5 April 1980, the 3rd Army Command changed its name again to 4th Army Command. In 1989, the 4th Army Command was reported to consist of the 6th Tank Division ( Targu Mureș), named as Horia, Cloșca și Crișan Division, the 11th Mechanised Division "Carei" (

), and the 81st Mechanised Division "Someș" ( Dej), as well as smaller units: the 1st Mountain Bde, 5th Mountain Bde, and 37th Tactical Missile Brigade.165 Years of Existence of Romanian Artillery
p. 222-223 The 11th Mechanised Division "Carei" reportedly consisted of the following units: *21st Mech. Rgt. -Oradea : with TR-77 tanks, TAB-71M apc-s, MLI-84 ifv-s, TABC-79 recon vehicles, SU-76 sp guns, ZiS-3 76mm field guns, Md.1982 120mm mortars, ?? TAB-71AR with 82mm mortars, AG-9 rr-s, MR-4 quad 14,5mm aa hmg-s, DAC-443T and -665T trucks, TER-580 evacuation tank, TERA-71L recovery apc-s, *23rd Mech. Rgt. - Beiuș -same *19th Mech. Rgt. - Arad -same *21st Tank Rgt. -Oradea: with TR-77 tanks, BTR-50PK and PU apc-s, TABC-79 recon vehicles, TAB-71A R-1451 command apc, MR-2 quad 14,5mm aa hmg-s, DAC-443T and -665T trucks, TER-580 evacuation tanks, MTP/BTR-50P recovery apc-s, *26th Artillery Regiment -Ineu: with M-30 122mm how., Md.1981 152mm how., APR-40 122mm mrls, SR-114 and DAC-444 trucks, TMA-83 arty tractors, TABC-79A-POMA and TAB-77A-PCOMA command vehicles, *119th Recon Battalion -Oradea: with TABC-79 recon vehicles and DAC-444T trucks,

Present

Since 17 October 1990 the 4th Army Command has borne the honorary name of "Transylvania", which it also bore after the Great Union in the Hungarian–Romanian War. After 1992, five motorized infantry battalions were set up in the garrisons of

Satu Mare Satu Mare (; hu, Szatmárnémeti ; german: Sathmar; yi, סאטמאר or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in t ...

Carei Carei (; , ; /, yi, , ) is a city in Satu Mare County, northwestern Romania, near the border with Hungary. The city administers one village, Ianculești ( hu, Szentjánosmajor). History The first mention of the city under the name of "Karul ...

, Salonta,

Marghita Marghita (; hu, Margitta ; yi, מארגארעטין ''Margaretin'') is a city in Bihor County, Romania. It administers two villages, Cheț (''Magyarkéc'') and Ghenetea (''Genyéte''). Geography Marghita is located in the northern part of the c ...

, and

Chișineu-Criș Chișineu-Criș ( Hungarian: ''Kisjenő'') is a town in Arad County, Crișana, Romania. Geography The town is situated on the north-western side of the county, at a distance from Arad, the county seat. The administrative territory stretches ov ...

. Between 1993 and 1995, as a consequence of the reorganization of the entire army, all existing mechanized and tank divisions were disbanded, and new headquarters were established: the 5th, 6th, and 7th Army Corps Commands, in

Târgu Mureș Târgu Mureș (, ; hu, Marosvásárhely ) is the seat of Mureș County in the historical region of Transylvania, Romania. It is the 16th largest Romanian city, with 134,290 inhabitants as of the 2011 census. It lies on the Mureș River, th ...

, and Dej. In May 1994, the territorial troops became subordinate to the Army Troops. On 1 August 1995, the 4th Army Command "Transylvania" had 3 Army Corps commands, 23 brigade-sized units, and a number of other formations and directly subordinate structures. The Fourth Army was redesignated as the 4th Territorial Army Corps in 2000 and subsequently as the 4th Infantry Division in 2008.

References

External links

Official website of the 4th Territorial Army Corps
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820034634/http://www.clujarm.ro/ , date=20 August 2011
Website dedicated to the Romanian Army in WW II

Military units and formations of Romania in World War II

Military units and formations established in 1916 Military units and formations disestablished in 2000 ro:Armata a 4-a Română (de Nord)