Crimean Campaign Discussion & Pictures, Romanian Participation in the Crimea

I thought it would be interesting to use this thread in discussing German and Romanian participation in the Crimean Campaign. We could also use this place to post pictures relevant to this conversation.

I'll start the discussion by posting an interesting picture (it's actually a freeze-frame from a propaganda clip). It was taken during the Romanian troop parade in Sevastopol, shortly after the city was conquered in the summer of 1942.
What makes the picture interesting, in my opinion, is that it portrays many of the Romanian Commanding Officers who participated in the Crimean battles up to that point.
Namely, I think I have identified several officers, but if I made a mistake or if you happen to recognize another officer not "labeled" by me, please point it out in this topic.

A notable absence is Korne, although I think he may be the third officer from the right (it's difficult to tell due to the angle as well as to the poor quality of the frame).

Please let me know if you cannot see the picture.

The officer in black, in centre, appears to be an Italian one.

Gen. Dénes

Personally I believe that the only person that can be identified in this photo is Avramescu.

The others are just wild guesses. FOr example, IMO, the person identified as Mociulschi isn't him. His physical features are different. He appears to wear a staff badge and Mociulschi hadn't been through the military academy. Plus he is wearing the berret on the left side, while I have only seen photos of Mociulschi wearing it on the right side

Victor, perhaps you are right.

Yet, there were not too many Romanian generals in Crimea in the summer of 1942. And from what I could see (I may be wrong), the officers I identified in the picture are generals.

So who could they be? It's not like we're guessing from 20 million people, they can only be from a select handful of general officers - especially the ones wearing the "Vinatori de Munte" beret.

With respect to Baldescu - IMO it does look like him, but yes, it is a guess. Maybe Dragos03 can help confirm or infirm his identification.

And the one on the right edge of the frame does look like Dumitrache - once again, no proof here.

Are they guesses? Sure, that's precisely the reason I posted the picture. But I certainly wouldn't say they are wild guesses.

Denes, thanks for your comment.

Take care, guys.

This may actually spark a potentially interesting discussion. Upon referencing the book "Romanii in Crimea" by Adrian Pantea and Eftimie Ardeleanu, here are the Romanian General Officers with active commands in Crimea in June-July 1942:

Participating in the Sevastopol area:

General Gheorghe Manoliu - 4th Mountain Division
General Constantin Vasiliu-Rascanu - 1st Mountain Division
General Leonard Mociulschi - Deputy Commander, 1st Mountain Division
General Radu Baldescu - 18th Infantry Division
General Gheorghe Avramescu - Mountain Corps

In addition, one may consider that the senior officers of the 7th Corps, though operating in the Kerch area (not in the Sevastopol area), may have participated in the Sevastopol troop parade as well, due to their indirect but nonetheless important contributions. These commanders are:

General Florea Mitranescu - 7th Corps
Colonel Corneliu Carp - 8th Cavalry Division
General Sava Caracas - 10th Infantry Division
General Carol Schmidt - 19th Infantry Division

I'm not aware of any other Romanian generals holding active command in Crimea during the June - Early July 1942 time frame.

Therefore, one may conclude that the generals depicted in the freeze-frame shown in my previous message likely belong to the two groups listed above, with a special emphasis on the first group, since these officers actively fought in the Sevastopol area.

Given this data, it seems that my identification (educated guess) of Dumitrache was wrong, since he held no command in the sector at that time (as far as I know - please correct me if I'm wrong).
The identification of Trestioreanu may also be incorrect, for the same reason.

As to the rest of the generals in the picture, there is no positive identification of them, but chances are that most, if not all of them, are among the two groups of names listed above.

Thoughts? Opinions?

If anyone can add to the list of active Romanian generals in Crimea during June - Early July 1942, please do so, as I may be inadvertently omitting some.

Thanks.

This post has been edited by mabadesc on April 24, 2007 01:33 am

IMO, the person you identified as Mociulschi is Gheorghe Manoliu.

They wear the beret on the same side and have the Military Academy badge

It's quite possible, indeed. Here are two other frames from the same parade, slightly different angle.

Also, please note the German officer in the center of the picture. Can you make out his identity or at least his rank? Thanks...






The second officer from the left - moustache, square face, resembles the pictures I've seen of General Baldescu.

Crimea, summer 1942. Hospital beds of an infirmary serving Romanian soldiers, improvised in what looks like a church alcove.

I oferr for you this suggestive link :
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=414107490&size=l


for you ; goroon

Isumalan,

I was only able to find one page of text on the web address you mentioned.
Could you please post the pictures you have of Romanian troops? Thanks.

This post has been edited by mabadesc on July 05, 2007 05:52 am

Hand-painted (watercolor) table place-holder for military banquet held in Crimea, 1942.

Author signature illegible: Lt. S. Horatiu (?) or Haratim (?)

Does anyone know if the green symbol in the upper-right corner has any significance?

Front Cover:




Inside page (menu):



This post has been edited by mabadesc on December 31, 2007 03:48 am

Happy New 2008 Year dear collegues reenactors!!!!

I believe is the mountains troops symbol badge .


Happy new year to all of you !

This post has been edited by Cantacuzino on January 01, 2008 10:17 am

Thanks for the answer, Cantacuzino!

The fir tree branch was used as a symbol of the mountain troops. Some battalions had a fir tree branch on their 7 year service badge.