Ioan Hristea (17 March 1897 – 1 March 1974) 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 ...

Officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

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 ...

. He was born in 1897 in

Chițcani Chițcani (russian: Кицканы, Kitskany; uk, Кіцкань, Kitskan) is a commune in Căușeni District, Moldova. It consists of the village ''Chițcani'' and two small villages (hamlets), ''Merenești'' and ''Zahorna''. Chițcani is situa ...

, at the time in

Tutova County Tutova County is one of the historic counties of Moldavia, Romania with the city of Bârlad as capital. Geography Tutova County covered 2,498 km2 and was located in the central-eastern part of Greater Romania, in the south-eastern part of Mol ...

, now in

Vaslui County Vaslui County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historical region Western Moldavia, with the seat at Vaslui. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 395,499 and the population density was 74/km². * Romanians - over 98% * Rom ...

. He attended military school from 1914 to 1916, graduating with the rank of second lieutenant. After the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

entered

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 ...

on the side of the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

in August 1916, Hristea fought in the passes of the

Carpathian Mountains 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 Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

and was wounded at the

First Battle of Oituz The First Battle of Oituz was fought between 12 and 27 October 1916 between the Kingdom of Romania on one side and Austria-Hungary and the German Empire on the other. It was part of the Romanian operations for the defense of the passes in the C ...

. On November 28, 1916, he fought at the

Battle of Prunaru The Battle of Prunaru was a military engagement between German and Romanian forces during the Romanian Campaign of World War I. It resulted in a tactical German victory, but following the heavy Romanian resistance the Germans halted after taking ...

, where he was the only Romanian officer who survived the engagement with the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

forces. In 1917 he advanced in rank to lieutenant and fought with the 2nd '' Roșiori'' Regiment in Moldavia. He then participated with his regiment in the

Romanian military intervention in Bessarabia The Romanian military intervention in Bessarabia took place between 19 January and 8 March ( Old Style .S.5 January – 23 February) 1918, as part of the broader Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. It pitted the Kingdom of Romania, ...

and in 1919 he fought in the

Hungarian–Romanian War The Hungarian–Romanian War was fought between Hungary and Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. The Allies of World War I intended ...

. In 1920 he was promoted to captain. On June 22, 1941, Romania joined

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

on the side of the

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis *Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...

, in order to reclaim the lost territories 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 Be ...

and

Northern Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berger ...

, which had been annexed by the Soviet Union in June 1940. Hristea fought at the battle to retake

Khotyn Khotyn ( uk, Хотин, ; ro, Hotin, ; see other names) is a city in Dnistrovskyi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine and is located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. It hosts the administration of Khotyn urban hromada, one of the h ...

; for his actions during this battle, he was decorated in October 1941 with the

Order of Michael the Brave The Order of Michael the Brave ( ro, Ordinul Mihai Viteazul) is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign of the First World War, and was again awarded in the Second Wor ...

, 3rd Class. In 1942 he was promoted to colonel and took command of the 2nd ''

Călărași Călărași (), the capital of Călărași County in the Muntenia region, is situated in south-east Romania, on the banks of the Danube's Borcea branch, at about from the Bulgarian border and from Bucharest. The city is an industrial centre ...

'' Regiment. At 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 ...

, his regiment defended an gap in the frontline, permitting the retreat of the

Romanian 4th Army Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

. Gravely wounded by fire from a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

tank, Hristea was evacuated on a cart, almost frozen to death. For his actions at Stalingrad, he was awarded in March 1943 the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

. Hristea retired from the Army in 1946 and was put in the reserves in 1947. He was promoted to brigadier general (reserves), and later advanced to lieutenant general (reserves). He died in 1974 in

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 ...

Awards

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

(1939) 2nd and 1st Class *

(17 October 1941) 3rd Class *

(28 March 1943)

References

1897 births 1974 deaths People from Vaslui County Romanian military personnel of World War I Romanian people of the Hungarian–Romanian War Romanian military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross {{Romania-mil-bio-stub