Gen. Dumitrescu - a biography?

[sid guttridge]

I am just looking at the transcript of proceedings of the US Army War College 1985 "Art of War Symposium: From the Dniepr to the Vistula: Soviet Offensive Operations, November 1943 - August 1944."

In it, on p.466, the German General von Trotha, who seems to have been on the staff of Army Group South Ukraine in 1944, states:

"For psychological reasons as well as the realities of coalition warfare we placed our 6th Army under the very good Romanian commander, General Dumitrescu."

It is unusual for German generals to describe any of their allies' generals as "very good".

Is there a biography of Dumitrescu yet?

If not, why not? He held command continuously throughout 1941-44, in both victory and defeat. No Romanian military personality deserves one more.

Cheers,

Sid.

[Victor]

There is a small biography on the website: http://www.worldwar2.ro/generali/?article=98, but I suppose you mean a book dedicated to Petre Dumitrescu. AFAIK there isn't one and you are right: he definately deserves one. Another unfortunately overlooked exceptional general is Radu Korne, who was also held in high regard by the Germans.

[Domnul Greg]

In the past couple of decades of off-and-on personal research I have found little in English or any other language on this most notable of Romanian Army generals. Serban Ionescu's Who Was Who in Twentieth Century Romania (Columbia University Press, 1994) has a very brief entry which includes the comment "According to some sources he died during the Great Retreat from Russia in 1944" which has since been disproven. Dutu and Dobre's wondrous Armata Romana in al doilea Razboi Mondial, 1941-1945: Dictionar Enciclopedic Editura Enciclopedica, 1999) has an entry about a paragraph in length. I have a bibliographic citation to a work written by Petre Dumitrescu, namely Consideratii Aspura Bataliei din Cotul Donului, Noembrie 1942 described as a manuscript completed in 1945 but I've yet to locate a copy. Perhaps it is in some government archive somewhere in Bucharest? [and if so, it's certainly one I'd pay dearly to obtain!]

As for Radu Korne. yes, another sadly missing subject. In Joseph Dragan's Antonescu: Marshall and Ruler of Romania, 1940-1944 (Europa Nova Publishing, 1995) the author -- formerly an officer assigned to Antonescu's staff -- reminisces about Korne in a narrative of some four and a half pages length, which is the best I've come across myself.

Glad To Be Of Service!

Greg "Domnul" Kelley

[mihai]

I think that the Description of the general in this site is good,but I'll reas more information about him more!
I know that The book"Armata Si Luptele Romanilor" have some description about General Dumitrescu P192.

regards

Mihai

[Victor]

Armata si luptele romanilor has only a couple of paragraphs on him. The book on the whole is very general.