Question about Captain Ion V. Emilian, 2nd Calarachi regimen

[Siniestro]

Hello everybody

I got to read a Spanish 1977 edition of "Les Cavaliers de L'apocalypse" (The horsemen of apocalypse, written in collaboration with Jean Marcilly, printed in 1974) written by Ion V. Emilian, a Rumanian hero of WWII, 14 decorations including the Order of Michael the Brave and the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class...and oddly enough got decorated posthumously by the Soviets with the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky and the Medal of Victory (it was a propaganda ploy), andI was fascinated by the epic of the calarachi cavalry regiments, that were the unit that reached the easternmost point during the Russian campaign. It's one of my favorite war books of all time.

I have a small request, could somebody find out what happened with Captain Emilian? after the war he was active against the communist regime, could you found it if he lived to see Communism downfall?
I always wondered what happened to him.

Thanks in advance.

[dragos]

Weird, I could not find any captain Emilian in the "Michael the Brave" holders list published in the book "Armata Romana 1941-1945", 1996.

You said he was decorated posthumously, but you ask if he lived after the war?

And the Soviet "Pobeda" (Victory) medal was awarded only to King Mihai I.

[Siniestro]

QUOTE

Weird, I could not find any captain Emilian in the \"Michael the Brave\" holders list published in the book \"Armata Romana 1941-1945\", 1996.

Well.. I don't think he was a fictional character, or that he made up the story, I think maybe you can't find him in the Rumanian official records because he was a prominent antiCommunist activist and worked for the American secret service after the war, and as he tells at the end of his book, survived several assasination attempts by the NKVD, so maybe his name was deleted from the records.

Here are several data points to track the man and confirm he was not making stutf up:

QUOTE

You said he was decorated posthumously, but you ask if he lived after the war?

As he tells in the first chapter of the book, he "died" in combat in 1945.

quote:

"To be precise, I was killed on 17th January 1945, when at the head of the 2nd regiment of Calarachis he took from the Germans hill 672 in the metal ore terrains of Silicka Planina, Slovakia"
...
".. the Pravda diary mentioned me as a legendary figure of the cavalry, and that I was decorated with the order of Bodgan Khmielnitsky"

"and not to be outdone, the comrade Stalin declares that I'm decorated posthumously with the Medal of the Victory"

"I deserve little this supreme praise. The soviet leaders take advantage of me, Romanian cavalry officer , quite popular in the army, as a model for our troops, to incite them to follow my "example"

Actually at the time Ion Emilian was a Hauptsturmführer in the Waffen SS and was at Dollersheim (Austria) "among numerous elements or the Führer reserve"

He mentions aside from the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class that he was decorated with the Crimea campaign shield by field marshal Von Manstein in person..

He surrendered to the Americans in Liezen, and was prisoner in the camp at Atlheim since 20 May 1945.

After being released, he starts work for the americans and stablish an association named Christian Association of Rumanians of the Upper Austria (don't know the original acronym ACRAS, maybe?)

There are mentions of "SS Captain Emilian" and his organization in the communist press of the time

"Die Neue Zeit" 6 october 1947
"Osterreiche Zeitung" 27 January 1949

After a failed kidnapping attempt the NKVD took a reprisal against him by executing his brother
13 Decermber 1949 Marcelo Emilian was shot in the Jilava prison, Bucharest , alongside lieutenant colonel Dan Tetorial (9th Rochioris) and major Mihai Elialde (2nd Calarachi)

The last chapter of the book read as a death premonition, and not only because of the assasination attempts, the man smoked 3 packs a day, so I have the feeling he was dying of cancer by the time he wrote the book with the aid of Marcilly, in 1973.

I hope Captain Emilian lived long enough to see the fall of communism. Just wanted to know the date and place of death.

[Victor]

Ion Valeriu Emilian was born on 14 December 1906 at Craiova. He went to the Sf. Iosif high school in Bucharest and then to the Manastirea Dealul military high school in Targoviste. The family however was opposed to his future military career, so he went to Law School and became a lawyer. He then joined the right wing National Christian Defense League and was named the prefect of the Neamt County during the short Goga government (in 1938). After the war started he volunteered for service and was assigned to the 2nd Calarasi Regiment General David Praporgescu, as squadron CO, and served during the 1941 and 1942 campaigns. The events of 23 August 1944 found captain Emilian in Transylvania. He disagreed with the decision in Bucharest and deserted to the Germans. After the war he resided in Muenchen and founded in 1952 the newspaper Stindardul, which he led until his death on 6 July 1985 (he had cancer).

He does not appear in the list compiled about the Mihai Viteazul Order from the Monitorul Oficial. If the award would have been revoked, it would also had appeared in the MO. However, there other cases where an officer was awarded the MV Order and he does not appear in the MO. Another such case is of. echip. cl. III Ion Milu, who received the award along with the other 4 great aces of the 7th Fighter Group at the end of August 1943, but he does not appear in the MO like the others do. And there are plenty photos with him wearing the MV Order 3rd class. Ion Pantazi (the son of the Antonescu government MoD) collaborated with Emilian at his newspaper in the 80s. He was also a cavalryman decorated with the MV Order. I doubt he would have done it if Emilian would have lied about his MV Order.

[Siniestro]

Thank you very much. Sad the old warhorse didn't live long enough to see Romania free, though he lived long enough to see the first cracks on the Steel Curtain.

By the way, Emilian never claimed to have been awarded the Michael the Brave order, in the preface Marcilly notes that he had known that from other people, Emilian didn't talk about his decorations he said that "the only respectable crosses are those of the dead"

By the way, there's a German translation of his book

Der phantastische Ritt

http://www.wintersonnenwende.com/scriptori...n/1130phan.html


I hope this epic narrative is available in Romanian language now.

[Dan Po]

[quote]I hope this epic narrative is available in Romanian language now.[/quote]

I never heared about this book . Who knows if it was published in Romania or in romanian ?

[Siniestro]

There are French, Spanish and German editions of the book, of course, it couldn't be published in Romania until after the fall of the Communist regime. I hope a Romanian publisher prints it because it's not only one of the best WWII narratives I've ever read, a great novel about the last cavalrymen, and a part of Romanian heritage.

So if anybody in this forum knows a Romanian history or military publisher, I encourage you to tell them to take a look at this one. It's worth it.
Incalecarea!

[Dan Po]

[quote] Incalecarea![/quote]

What a forgotten word ! :ro:

[CCJ]

I have been unable to find this book. Does anyone know if this book is available?

[deadmanwalking]

My school's library has it... and I live in Canada.

[contras]

I've got the French edition. Really impressive. Does anyone know if he has any relatives? Ion V. Emilian died in 1985.

[contras]

It was publicated here:

https://marist.ro/shop/cavalerii-apocalipsei/