King Mihai

Does anyone know who is the officer in the centre of this photo (between Ana Pauker and King Mihai)?



He seems to be wearing the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown.

It's general Lascar.

Heh, what a nice pic!!!

From left to right :

Ana Pauker, Florica Bagdasar, Mihail Lascar (wearing Michael the Brave 2nd Class, Crown of Romania Great Cross, the Academy badge and three other awards), Lucretiu Patrascanu and the handsome monarch (having Michael the Brave 3rd Class, Aeronautical Virtue Officer, Pobeda Order and Carol I order).

A unique pic, since I never say another with the Pobeda on Michael's right chest! :mrgreen:

And BTW, I already saw a photo with Ana Pauker wearing the Order of the Crown, the Great Officer class!!!

Getu'

[quote]...Mihail Lascar wearing Michael the Brave 2nd Class...[/quote]
It is interesting to note that Gen. Lascar is wearing the 1941 model of Michael the Brave, i.e. the decoration he received on 31 December 1941 for fighting against the Russians.

The 2nd class was awarded also for his activity on the Eastern Front, against the USSR.
Btw, I do not think it was possible to wear the 2nd class, without wearing the 3rd
class.

[quote]The 2nd class was awarded also for his activity on the Eastern Front, against the USSR.[/quote]
I never contested that. In fact from the date listed on your page on Gen. Mihail Lascar (31 December 1941) it is obvious that he received the 2nd class badge of the order for actions on the Eastern Front.

What I intended to point out is that Gen. Lascar as Minister of Defence in a pro-Soviet government was publicly wearing a decoration won for fighting against the Soviet state.


[quote]Btw, I do not think it was possible to wear the 2nd class, without wearing the 3rd class.[/quote]
Actually I do not know the answer to this question. Generally speaking only the highest class of a decoration in possession had to be worn at a particular time, being understood that the person has already received the lower classes. But the Order of Michael the Brave was probably an exception.

In the particular case of Gen. Lascar in the photo above, the 3rd class of the Michael the Brave order might very well be the first badge on the left side of his chest.

Here is a photo of both His Majesty and Marshal Antonescu with their Marshal Batons saluting at a march past!

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/4868/nr...erotundecd1.jpg

Its a bit hazy but its there!

I don't think there were any 2nd class Mihai Viteazul orders awarded for the Western Front campaign (i.e., post August 23, 1944).
As far as I know, all were awarded for actions on the Eastern Front, hence they were all 1941 models.

Sorry for the slightly off-topic comment.

Interesting observation. However, I think that after August 23, Romanian officers shed their German decorations but continued to wear their Romanian awards (regardless of when they were obtained), such as the Star of Romania or the Romanian Crown. One possible exception may have been the "Fight against Bolshevism" decoration.

This post has been edited by mabadesc on April 22, 2007 10:51 pm

One more thing: Are you guys sure the officer in the picture isn't General Sanatescu? I'm not sure, but it looks like him.

Sanatescu did not receive the Mihai Viteazul Order 2nd class.

In that case, my guess was obviously incorrect. Thanks for pointing this out.

Here is an earlier picture of Lascar, from a different angle (profile), taken in the Crimea, probably in late 1941 or early 1942. At least I think it's Lascar, based on the resemblance and on his protuberant nose, but I'd like to know your opinion.

all romanian kings were marshalls.

even king Caril II, who deserted during ww1

Carol II, sorry

This photo was sold on e-bay 2 days a go for ~ 25$.