The Tudor Vladimirescu Division (full name: ''Romanian 1st Volunteer Infantry Division 'Tudor Vladimirescu – Debrecen' '') was 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, ...

-organized division of

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...

that fought against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

during the final year of

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 ...

Creation

Named after

Tudor Vladimirescu Tudor Vladimirescu (; c. 1780 – ) was a Romanian revolutionary hero, the leader of the Wallachian uprising of 1821 and of the Pandur militia. He is also known as Tudor din Vladimiri (''Tudor from Vladimiri'') or, occasionally, as Domnul Tudor ...

, the leader of the

Wallachian uprising of 1821 The uprising of 1821 was a social and political rebellion in Wallachia, which was at the time a tributary state of the Ottoman Empire. It originated as a movement against the Phanariote administration, with backing from the more conservative bo ...

, the division was formed from Romanian prisoners of war in October 1943, under the command of Brigadier General Nicolae Cambrea.

Wartime service

The division marched into Bucharest on August 29, 1944 as liberators, liberating the city alongside the units of 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 Lan ...

when Romania left the

Axis Powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

and attacked German troops stationed in the country. The division, still under Soviet control, saw real combat during the final months of the war 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 Ap ...

, and

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

, playing a key role in the Soviet seizure of

Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and i ...

, Hungary, in October 1944. Combat losses were heavy; by March 1945 the strength of the division had sunk to 4,436 men.Gosztony, p. 209. In March 1945 the division was pulled out of the front lines, but remained under the operational control 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 O ...

until August 15, 1945.

Postwar political role

In late 1945 the division was reported to have been integrated into the Romanian 4th Army. Relentlessly politicized by their communist leaders, the Tudor Vladimirescu Division became a politically reliable military formation of the Romanian communists. Along with another Romanian communist unit, the

Horea, Cloșca și Crișan Division The Horea, Cloșca și Crișan Division (full name: ''Romanian 2nd Volunteer Infantry Division 'Horea, Cloșca și Crișan' '') was established in April 1945 from Romanian volunteers, mostly prisoners of war, but also Communist activists such as V ...

, and backed by tens of thousands of

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

troops, the Tudor Vladimirescu Division played a key role in imposing communist rule in Romania after the war. The two communist divisions were integrated into the Romanian Army on August 22, 1945. The Tudor Vladimirescu Division was converted into an armored division by 1947 while the regular Romanian army was reduced to four divisionsAxworthy, p. 46 with no tanks, thus providing the Romanian communists the trump cards of mobility and firepower had a conflict with anti-communist elements in the Romanian Army taken place. The Division was converted into the 1st Armored Division in 1947, then 5 Tank Corps, followed by 47 Tank Corps, and finally take the name of 37 Mechanised Division, which became in 1957 a Mechanised Division. In the 1950s, during the

Soviet occupation of Romania The Soviet occupation of Romania refers to the period from 1944 to August 1958, during which the Soviet Union maintained a significant military presence in Romania. The fate of the territories held by Romania after 1918 that were incorporated int ...

, Soviet officers were employed as advisors. Order subunits (battalions, companies) was matched by political officers. After 1956-1957, the youth division officers were assigned to three years in military school or other schools 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 ...

References

External links

*''The Romanian Army of World War 2'', Mark Axworthy and Horia Șerbănescu, London: Osprey, 1991. . *''Stalins Fremde Heere'', Peter Gosztony, Bonn: Bernard & Graefe Verlag, 1991. . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tudor Vladimirescu Division Military history of Romania during World War II Military history of the Soviet Union during World War II Expatriate units and formations of Romania Socialist Republic of Romania Divisions of Romania Romania–Soviet Union relations Military units and formations established in 1943

Creation

Wartime service

Postwar political role

See also

References

External links