Fall of Iasi in August 1944

What do you know about the fall of Iasi in the summer of 1944? I am afraid that these events are somewhat neglected as they took place right before the Romanian about-face of 23rd of August 1944.

I remember reading some years ago an article that summarised the succession of events during the Iasi-Chisinau offensive. There it was stated that the Soviet offensive was started by an attack launched in the morning of 20th of August against the positions held by the Romanian Third and Fourth Armies, the latter being stationed near Iasi. Following "a brief but bitter fight", Iasi fell on 21st of August to the 52nd Soviet Army under the command of Lt. Gen. K. A. Koroteyev.

Do you have more details about the events that took place then? How fierce were the street fights in Iasi? Were they taking place between the Soviets and the Romanians or between the Soviets and the Germans?

In Iasi it is said that the front line was at some point in the northern part of the city, on the Copou hill, and that it was possible to reach it simply by taking the tram. Even though I doubt that city utilities were still running in those conditions, I wonder how much truth is in this story. A strong argument for the statement above is that Copou hill has still plenty of unexploded shells from the battles in the summer of 1944.

I remember three images regarding these fights. One of them is a photo in the above mentioned article illustrating the bitterness of the house-to-house fighting that took place. It was showing the central square in Iasi where some of the buildings were in flames. There were also some silhouettes and a truck, but I could not make them out.

The second image is also a photo from the same article showing a German assault gun knocked out right in front of the Administrative Palace (nowadays the Palace of Culture). The tank-like vehicle seems so battered that it was most likely knocked out in that spot, not only abandoned there (proof enough that street fights indeed took place).

Finally, the third image I remember is a small clip from an old Russian documentary showing a Russian artillery piece in front of the same Administrative Palace that was shooting round after round. The whole clip was only a few seconds long and I could not make out the direction of their fire. I guess that they were shooting on a south-western direction over Bahlui valley towards Galata hill or Cetatuia hill (on the outskirts of Iasi) and not right at the palace. Short as it was, the clip indicates that there were still fights south of the former Copou line (unless the footage was only propaganda).

Do you have any more information or personal stories about those battles in the summer of 1944?

I could not find any reference of street fights in Iasy. Something I could find is a testimony of a second lieutenant of the 8th Rosiori Regiment (5th Cavalry Division), that states that the Soviet forces attacked in their left flank, against a german battalion commanded by the captain Reinhardt, which fell back, so the Soviets reached the outskirts of Iasi, at Copou. On 20 August most of the Romanian units disposed in the first defense lines withdraw from their original positions to avoid encirclement.

By the time the Iasi-Kishinev operation started, the Iasi was already turned into rubble by the Soviet bombings, so the burning buildings in the pictures may be the results of these bombings.

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By the time the Iasi-Kishinev operation started, the Iasi was already turned into rubble by the Soviet bombings, so the burning buildings in the pictures may be the results of these bombings.

Thank you Dragos for your reply. It seems that it is very hard to reconstitute the events that have taken place in the days just before 23 August 1944. I have also heard recently that Iasi was simply abandoned without any significant fights. I find this quite surprising given the moral implications of the abandonment of what was definitely then the second city of Romania. It thus seems that the article I have read was only quoting propaganda information intended to hide the reality of the abandonment.

However, I have to contradict your statement above. From what I have heard, more damage was inflicted in 1941 due to Soviet bombings than in 1944. And in general, Iasi fared the war surprisingly well compared to other cities on the frontline or even behind it. Indeed, most of if not all the important public buildings of the city remained intact at the end of the war. And in general the same thing happened to the private buildings. As a matter of fact some of the buildings were affected more by the 1977 earthquake than by the war. So the "turned into rubble" statement is not supported by reality.

You are right, I did not mean the the entire city was turned into rubble as if it was razed, but bombing did occur and affected spots of the city, therefor the photographs and some eyewitnesses testimonies.

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From what I have heard, more damage was inflicted in 1941 due to Soviet bombings than in 1944.

I don't have enough information on the bombings of 1941 and 1944, but on 20 August, some 100 planes raided the city just before the Soviet offensive.

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... but bombing did occur and affected spots of the city, therefor the photographs and some eyewitnesses testimonies.

If possible, I would very much like to see the photographs and read the eyewitness accounts you have mentioned. Thanks.

Vasile Caia, sergeant in 14th Infantry Regiment:
"... Din data de la 1 aprilie si pana la 23 august, cat am stat pe front la Iasi, cateva intamplari mi-au ramas in memorie prin tragismul lor. (...) In acele zile de groaza, ne bombardau tara, impreuna cu rusii si avioanele anglo-americane. Iasul, frumosul oras, s-a transformat in ruine. ..."

Source: ANVR, "Veteranii pe drumul onoarei si jertfei (1941-1945). De la Stalingrad la Batalia Moldovei (august 1942-august 1944)", Editura Vasile Cârlova, 1997.

About photographs, I was referring to those you mentioned.

Thank you for the fragment. I would appreciate if you (or anyone else) will post similar fragments or bits of information you might come across that will shed some light on the events that have taken place in those days. Thanks.

Here is the first photo from the article I have mentioned above.


AKG PHOTO - published in World War II (March 2001)

Original legend: This street scene shows the damage done in the relatively brief but extremely bitter house-to-house fighting between German and Red Army forces as the Soviet Fifty-second Army closed on Jassy.

And this is the second photo from the article I have mentioned above.


AKG PHOTO - published in World War II (March 2001)

Original legend: During the street battle in Jassy this German assault gun was knocked out by Soviet troops. Due to the unavailability of German tanks, each army corps was assigned an assault-gun detachment in lieu of the normal panzer reserve.

Same place, some 60 years later.

Attached Image

A fragment from the war diary of Slt. Constantin Isărescu (Magazin istoric 1/1999):

Can anyone confirm this episode? What American unit has bombed Iaşi in the summer of 1944? Are there any surviving photos from those operations?

This must have occured during one of the so-called 'shuttle missions', part of Operation FRANTIC, between Italy and the USSR.
The closest one in June happened on the 11th, when 15th AAF B-17s, returning from the inaugural FRANTIC mission, attacked the Axis airfield of Focsani. I know it's rather far from Yassy, but it's the closest official target I found. Nevertheless, there could have been a few bombs released on Yassy or vicinity, which triggered the above quoted comment.

Gen. Dénes

Thanks Dénes for the information. Focşani is indeed quite far from Iaşi and a few bombs may not be considered "heavy bombardment" (if the memories of Slt. Constantin Isărescu are reliable - see Targul Frumos Battle May 1944 for some doubts).

Were there any other bombing missions to Iaşi later that summer (in July or August)? Or was Iaşi only a secondary target for the American planes?

I have a funny story.Sort of...
When Soviets entered Iassi ,they entered a Natural history museum.
There were a lot of recipients with formol and dif animals conserved inside.
Some soldiers darnk the formol thinking it's alcohol....
A stupid way to die...