Simion Coman (22 May 1890 – 15 April 1971) 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 ...

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

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 advanced in rank to lieutenant colonel in 1932, and to colonel in 1937. From 1938 to 1940, Coman served as

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

Satu Mare County Satu Mare County ( ro, Județul Satu Mare, ) is a county (Counties of Romania, județ) of Romania, on the border with Hungary and Ukraine. The capital city is Satu Mare. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as ''Szatmár megye'', i ...

. In June 1941, he was appointed Commanding Officer 3rd ''Dorobanți''

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

. In January 1942, he became Deputy General Officer Commanding 2nd Mountain Division (''

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 C ...

''), under the command of General

Ioan Dumitrache Ioan Dumitrache (25 August 1889 – 6 March 1977) was a Romanian major general during World War II, in command of the 2nd Mountain Division. His troops ('' vânători de munte'') were recognized as the elite troops of the Romanian Army throughout ...

. The division left for the front on 6 July, at the start of the

Battle of the Caucasus The Battle of the Caucasus is a name given to a series of Axis and Soviet operations in the Caucasus area on the Eastern Front of World War II. On 25 July 1942, German troops captured Rostov-on-Don, Russia, opening the Caucasus region of t ...

. In October of that year Coman fought with the division at the battle of

Nalchik Nalchik (russian: Нальчик, p=ˈnalʲtɕɪk; Kabardian: //; krc, Нальчик //) is the capital city of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Russia, situated at an altitude of in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains; about northwe ...

, in the foothills of the

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains, : pronounced * hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ, : pronounced * az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced * rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ * tr, Kafkas Dağla ...

. The front was broken between the Soviet 295th Rifle and 2nd Guards Rifle Divisions; on 28 October, after fierce fighting in the hills and forests near Nalchik, the 2nd Mountain Division took its objective. The Battle of Nalchik ended as one of the biggest Romanian victories on the Eastern Front, with the capture of 3,079 prisoners and a large amount of weaponry and war materiel; during the engagement, the 2nd Mountain Division lost 820 soldiers (157 dead, 647 wounded, and 16 missing). In the aftermath, the division moved its headquarters to Nalchik, with Coman as commander of the garrison. In March 1943, he was promoted to brigadier general and named Commanding 5th Instruction Center. In June 1943 he was awarded 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. From June to October 1944, Coman served as General Officer Commanding 21st Training Division, and from October to December of that year he was Commanding Officer 3rd Frontier Brigade, From December 1944 to September 1945, he was Deputy General Officer Commanding 4th Corps Area. He was sent into reserve in 1946 and retired in 1947.Decretul Regal nr. 733 din 16 aprilie 1947 pentru treceri în pozițiunea de rezervă, publicat în ''

Monitorul Oficial ''Monitorul Oficial al României'' is the official gazette of Romania, in which all the promulgated bills, presidential decrees, governmental A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, general ...

'', anul CXV, nr. 92 din 24 aprilie 1947, partea I-a, p. 3.199.

References

External links

* 1890 births 1971 deaths Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Prefects of Romania {{Romania-mil-bio-stub