Constantin Prezan (January 27, 1861 – August 27, 1943) was a

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

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1930 he was given the honorary title of Marshal of Romania, as a recognition of his merits during his command of the Northern Army and of the General Staff. Besides his participation in World War I, he also took part in the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict that broke out when Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia and Kingdom of Greece, Greece, on 1 ...

and the 1918–1920 military operations for safeguarding the

Great Union In Romanian historiography, the Great Union () or Great Union of 1918 () was the series of political unifications the Kingdom of Romania had with several of the Romanian historical regions, starting with Bessarabia on 27 March 1918, continuin ...

. He avoided getting actively involved in politics, although he had a series of political titles, which were rather honorary in nature. For instance, he held the title of senator by right, based on his high rank in the army, and that of member of the Crown Council of Romania.

Biography

He was born in the village of Sterianul de Mijloc, plasa Snagov,

Ilfov County Ilfov () is the Counties of Romania, county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but, after the fall of communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, whi ...

, currently in Butimanu commune,

Dâmbovița County Dâmbovița County (; also spelt Dîmbovița) is a county () of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Târgoviște, the most important economic, political, administrative and cultural center of the county. It is a traditional administra ...

. He graduated from the officers' infantry and cavalry school in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

and the

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (, , abbr. ESM) is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ''Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre'', litera ...

. Made a second lieutenant in 1880, he rose to captain in 1887. A military engineering specialist, he took part in the

. General Prezan commanded the 4th Army Corps in 1915-1916, and then became head of the Romanian Fourth Army during the Romanian Campaign later in 1916, against the forces of the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

. Prezan led the

Romanian Armed Forces The Romanian Armed Forces ( or ''Armata Română'') are the military forces of Romania. It comprises the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Force. The current Commander-in-chief is Lieutenant General Gheorghiță Vlad who is managed by ...

in the

Battle of Bucharest The Battle of Bucharest, also known as the '' Argeş– Neajlov Defensive Operation'' in Romania, was the last battle of the Romanian Campaign of 1916 in World War I, in which the Central Powers' combatants, led by General Erich von Falkenhayn ...

(November–December 1916), and as those forces retreated into the northeastern part of

(

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

). In July and August 1917, Prezan, who was by then Chief of the General Staff (and assisted by the then-Lieutenant-Colonel

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and Mareșal (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''Conduc� ...

) successfully stopped the German invasion led by Field Marshal August von Mackensen. He continued serving in this position until 1920. Documents found in military archives have brought to light Prezan's role in creating the Romanian National State. In October 1916, Prezan was rewarded with the

Order of Michael the Brave The Order of Michael the Brave () is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King of Romania, King Ferdinand I of Romania, Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign (World War I), Romanian Campaign of the World War I ...

, Third Class for deeds of merit, courage, and devotion. In July 1917, when he commanded the General Army Quarters, Prezan was honoured with the Order of Michael the Brave, Second Class. During the

Hungarian–Romanian War The Hungarian–Romanian War (; ) was fought between Hungary and Kingdom of Romania, Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. After the ...

(November 1918–March 1920), Prezan led the Romanian Armed Forces in the battles of

Bessarabia Bessarabia () 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 Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...

, and

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

. For his outstanding service,

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Ferdinand I awarded him in February 1920 the Order of Michael the Brave, First Class. Prezan was promoted to Marshal of Romania in 1930. In 1917 Prezan was awarded the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, Grand Officer. He was also awarded the Order of the Cross of Takovo and a number of other decorations. In 1920 he was moved to the

military reserve force A military reserve force is a military organization whose members (reservists) have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional ma ...

, and spent most of his time at his villa in Schinetea,

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% * Romani ...

. He died în 1943 in Bucharest, and was buried at his residence in Schinetea. A major

boulevard A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway or wide road in a commercial district. In Europe, boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former ...

in Bucharest (running from

Arcul de Triumf Arcul de Triumf (Romanian language, Romanian; "The Triumphal Arch") is a triumphal arch located on the Șoseaua Kiseleff, Kiseleff Road, in the northern part of Bucharest, Romania. The monument, designed by Petre Antonescu, was built in 1921– ...

to Charles de Gaulle Square) is named after him.

References

Who's Who: Constantine Prezan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prezan, Constantin 1861 births 1943 deaths People from Dâmbovița County Field marshals of Romania Chiefs of the General Staff of Romania Romanian military personnel of the Second Balkan War Romanian Army World War I generals Romanian people of the Hungarian–Romanian War Honorary members of the Romanian Academy Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Takovo Members of the Romanian Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave, 1st class Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour People from the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia