Nicolae Petala (29 August 1869 – 1947) was a Romanian general who was one of the generals 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 ...

in the

First World War 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 ...

. He served as commander of the 1st Army and several army corps and divisions in the campaigns of 1916, 1917, and 1918.

Alexandru Ioanițiu Alexandru Ioanițiu (2 February 1890 – 17 September 1941) was a Romanian major general. He led Romanian troops against the Soviet Union during World War II, and was killed when he accidentally stepped into the moving propeller of his aircraft up ...

(Lt.-Colonel), '' Războiul României: 1916-1918 '', vol 1, Tipografia Geniului, București, 1929

Military career

He was born in

Vaslui Vaslui (), a city in eastern Romania, is the seat of Vaslui County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. The city administers five villages: Bahnari, Brodoc, Moara Grecilor, Rediu, and Viișoara. History Archaeological surveys indicate ...

in 1869 and attended high school in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

from 1881 to 1887. After graduating in 1889 from the

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 ...

military school of officers with the rank of second lieutenant, Petala advanced in rank to lieutenant (1892), captain (1897), major (1906), lieutenant-colonel (1910), and colonel (1913). He held various positions in the artillery units or in the upper echelons of the army, the most important being those of commander of the 40th Infantry Regiment (1911–1912), chief of staff of the 2nd and 3rd Army Corps (1913–1915), and commander of the 15th Infantry Brigade (1915–1916). Ministry of War, '' Yearbook of the Romanian Army for 1915 '', George Ionescu Printing House and Graphic Arts Establishment, Bucharest, 1915 In 1913 he participated in the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

. In 1916, Petala advanced in rank to brigadier general. After Romania entered World War I 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, he successively fulfilled the functions of: commander of the 15th Infantry Brigade (between 27 August and 7 September); commander of the 22nd Infantry Division (between 25 August and 12 September); commander of the 9th Infantry Division (between 30 August and 12 October); commander of the 1st Army Corps (12 October to 25 October); commander of the 1st Army (between 25 October and 3 November). Subsequently, he was commander of the 1st Army Corps (between 3 November 1916 and 3 June 1918) and commander of the 4th Army Corps (between 3 June 1918 and 12 July 1919). He was promoted to major general in 1918. In May 1919 he participated in the Romanian occupation of Pokuttia. After the war, he headed the Command of the Western Troops from

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 ...

(between July 1 and September 30 1920) and the 6th Army Corps from Cluj (between March 24, 1921 and April 1, 1924). In 1925 he was appointed Inspector General of the Army and Military Education. Between 1921 and 1928 he was the director of the newspaper '' Cultura Poporului''. He was a legal senator. Petala was married to Rosetta Pilat and had 2 children from the marriage, Elena-Alice and Vintilă.Adrian Stroea, Marin Ghinoiu, ''From the elite of artillery'', Publishing House of the Technical-Editorial Center of the Bucharest Army, 2012 Petala died in Bucharest in 1947.

References

Bibliography

Constantin Kirițescu Constantin Kirițescu (September 3, 1876 – August 12, 1965) was a Romanian zoologist, educator and historian. Born and schooled in Bucharest, he occupied successive posts in the Education Ministry, with education being a running theme of his div ...

, ''History of the war for the unification of Romania'', Scientific and Encyclopedic Publishing House, Bucharest, 1989. *

(Lt.-Colonel), ''The Romanian War: 1916-1918'', vol 1, Tipografia Geniului, Bucharest, 1929. ** ''Romania in the World War 1916-1919, Documents, Annexes'', Volume 1, Official Gazette and State Printing Offices, Bucharest, 1934. ** ''The General Headquarters of the Romanian Army. Documents 1916 - 1920'', Machiavelli Publishing House, Bucharest, 1996. ** ''The military history of the Romanian people'', vol. V, Militară Publishing House, Bucharest, 1989. ** ''Romania in the years of the First World War'', Militară Publishing House, Bucharest, 1987. ** ''Romania in the First World War'', Militară Publishing House, 1979. {{DEFAULTSORT:Petala, Nicolae 1869 births 1947 deaths People from Vaslui Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian military personnel of the Second Balkan War Romanian Army World War I generals Officers of the Order of the Star of Romania Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Romania)