15th battalion vanatori di monte

I would like to know more about this 15th battalion of the 2nd Mountain Division.

Where was it located 1939, 1940, 1941-45, especially 1944?
Who were the most important leaders?
Was it only ONE battalion or was it divided?
Which were its most important victories, which were their hardest losses?
... and a lot more of informations you could have.

I would like to trace the way(s) it took during ww2.

Thank you in advance

The 15th Mountain Battalion in the battle for Northern Bukovina and Herţa.

At the beginning of operations, the 2nd Mixed Mountain Brigade was in the reserve of the 3rd Army in Northern Bukovina, in the area Hilişeu, Curt, Dersca, Mihăileni. Commander of the 15th Mountain Battalion: Lieutenant-Colonel Victor Bădescu.

The action of the 15th Mountain Battalion began on 3rd of July, 1941, as the spearhead of the division, when it attacked the Soviet positions at Oxen Hill, at 15:15 hours.

At the end of 4th of July, the 2nd Mountain reached the alignment Buda – Mogoşeşti – 4 km SW of Noua Suliţă.

On 5th July, after heavy fights the 2nd Mountain and 8th Cavalry reached Noua Suliţă and crossed the River Prut, establishing a bridgehead at Mălineşti – Dinăuţi.

The next days the 2nd Mountain Brigade continued pushing towards Hotin.

On 8th of July the “Lieutenant-Colonel Bădescu” Group, made of the 15th Mountain Battalion, “Ciubotaru” Detachment and the 2nd Mountain Howitzer Battalion, attacked on the direction: the forest 3 km west of Dărăbani, Hotin. Under the successful Romanian offensive, the Soviet troops fell back, leaving Hotin in Romanian hands by 17:00 hours.

The following sodiers of the 15th Mountain Battalion are mentioned in the book “Spre cetatile de pe Nistru”, ANVR, 1996: Captain Ion Balaban, Corporal Filip, Sergeant Florin Junc, Private Roman Siler, Private Teodor Ungureanu, Private Ioan Pană, Private Traian Neguţ, Sergeant Gherasim Conţ, Private 1st Class Ioan Mica, Lieutenant Tiberiu Hoblea, Sergeant Stelian Iordache, Lieutenant Gheorghe Boberco, 2nd Lieutenant Vasile Roban, Sergeant Berenvic, Sergeant Nica Bernevic, Sergeant Manga, Sergeant Bâlbâie, Private Lala, Private 1st Class Zarafescu.

Dragos,

first of all, I want to thank you very much for this extensive answer.
You gave a lot of informations and they produced a lot of much more questions

When was this battle and who fought against whom?

Which year are you refering to?

I did not find any of these locations on a map, could anybody include a map?

Where are these towns?

Does there exist any plan of the way it took?

Is this a book about the battle for Northern Bukovina and Herţa? about the 15th Battalion? A general book about castles?

What more is known about this 15th battalion?

Florin had posted a picture of this battalion some months ago
(->EasternFrontPictures), is it possible to identify some of the names you mention on the picture? What about the mentioned town Deva?

Greetings

You are welcome jivana.

When was this battle and who fought against whom?

Which year are you refering to?

It is about the Operation München - retaking Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina - 1941, at the begining of war with the Soviet Union.

I did not find any of these locations on a map, could anybody include a map?

You can take a look at this fragment of a wartime map. Unfortunately most of the mentioned localities are off the map, a bit to the North, but in the upper-left corner you can see the localities Mihaileni and Dersca, the departure position of the 2nd Mixed Mountain Brigade.
http://www.worldwar2.ro/images/forum/map/13.jpg

Does there exist any plan of the way it took?

Here is a map from the same book with the battle for Hotin. You can notice the 15th Battalion at the 4th Mountain Group south of Hotin.

Is this a book about the battle for Northern Bukovina and Herţa? about the 15th Battalion? A general book about castles?

It is a book about the liberation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina 22, June 1941 - 26 July 1941, with veterans' recollections.

What I posted now is only for beginning. Others can contribute too.

Jivana, my advice would be to read the article on general Ioan Dumitrache, who commanded the 2nd Mountain Brigade/Division for most of the war. The 15th Battalion was part of this big unit. It should give you an idea on its activity.

Hello, Dragos, hello Victor,

I have read your answers and the links you gave me and I am thinking about them and I´m trying to bring them together with the other informations I have got:

I have:

- Dragos´informations, mostly about the year 1941

- Victor´s information and articles around the activities of the 15th battalion and the 2nd division

-the article about general Dumitrache´s life and military career, which is connected to this battlion. BTW, his name was one of the few I had somehow already heard before I got to know this forum

- I´m trying to fit these informations with the informations Florin gave about this battalion in the picture he posted; I don´t understand how a battalion can be in two places almost simultaneously (Kaukasus and Deva; well I don´t know anything about the velocity of military movements, but I think it takes a longer time)

- Also I would like to know if this battalion was separated once of if single soldiers, officers etc could have changed the unit. If so, which could have been the reasons? I still have problems to cope my informations with other pesonal informations I have.

So I am very thankful if I get more informations, i. e. if I get more pieces for my unfinished "puzzle".

Greetings and thank you

Yes, officers and NCOs could be shuffled between units. I don't think conscripts could though, except in cases were their original units were disbanded.

All units had two parts:
-partea activa (PA): the active part, which was the one involved in operations
-partea sedentara (PS): the sedentary part, the one that stayed behind in the garrison and took care of training new recruits as replacements for the active part.

Thus, while the 15th Battalion PA was fighting in the Caucasus, the 15th Battalion PS was in Deva.

Thanks for the explanation, Victor, that makes some aspects a little bit clearer.