Romanians on the Italian Front 1915-1918

Hello Carol,

Thank you Carol. I couldn't find any reference either, but just wanted to be sure since my Romanian is not as fluent as yours being the Romanian native speakers and so one.

No title? Nothing??? I have checked for both men in the online catalogue of the Romanian National Library and could not find any hits. I could only find a few works by Dominic Stanca, but they were about medicine, so I don't think they contained any recollections about his experiences as Austro-Hungarian military doctor in World War I. Stanca's recollections could be very interesting. He came to the Italian Front with his cavalry regiment in spring 1918 and took part in the Piave offensive on the Montello plateau.

Yes, I know. But I was hoping this is just excerpt from his memoires and he also described his service on other battlefields apart from Bukowina during WW1. That is if he was a soldier and not a civilian (native German from Bukowina), of course.

Any chance one of you could write to them and inquire what were their sources from which they received these accounts?

I have already written them in English, German and French and somehow I don't think they understood any of these languages as I haven't received any reply - A friend offered to write them in Hungarian, but something tells me that in this case they wouldn't reply back as well.

Nothing "amazing". All regiments from Bukowina were very mixed. Most of them were composed, especially during the later course of the war, with mixed personnel - there was a large percentage of Romanians, but also large percentage of Jewish, Germans, Hungarians, Ukrainians and Polish soldiers. So a common soldier or officer picked quite a lot of words from foreign vocabularies to adapt and understand his comrades in the regiment.

One of my relatives fought during the war in a Czech regiment and picked a lot of Czech words (especially for food), which he often used during the later course of his life much to the suprise and amusement of his wife and children.

He did not mean that his comrades were speaking poor Romanian, but that his fellow Romanian comrades were amazed at "the poor Romanian" spoken by the people in Italy.

Oh, you mean... Yes, yes, I understand now what you mean. I said the same when I first began learning Latin language. Those Italians have really butchered it from tip to toe.

Hi NCR,

The essence of the British 1918 handbook was probably largely gleaned from the Italians and Russians.

It is not a reflection on inherent charactertics of Romanians, but on their circumstances. They were presumably regarded as least reliable of Austro-Hungarian minorities on the basis of past Italian and Russian operational experience and because they had little political commitment to the dual monarchy. Their limited education probably reflects the fact that higher education was largely conducted in Hungarian.

Cheers,

Sid.

Hallo Sid,

"The essence of the British 1918 handbook was probably largely gleaned* from the Italians and Russians."


* Covers a multitude of sins then

Probably the biggest illiterate force of other-ranks in Europe, would have been the Russian peasents.

Kevin in Deva.

Hey NCR,

Any news about about Petresc & Lazarescu's book "REGIMENTULUI cezar si regesc Nr. 64 ORASTIE" (1860 - 1918)"? I am dying here to find out any details about this book. Pleeaezze.

Here are some of my questions (see post from 30th September 2006)

URL: http://www.worldwar2.ro/forum/index.php?showtopic=939&st=75#

Klemen, I've found a book that you might find interesting: Cpt. Constantin Gavanescul, "Zece luni in armata austro-ungara" (Ten months in the Austro-Hungarian army), Ed. Univ. Nationale de Aparare Carol I, Bucharest, 2006, ISBN (10) 973-663-434-5, ISBN (13) 978-973-663-434-5.

The author did not serve in the A-H army in WW1, he was one of the officers sent from Romania to train with the A-H army in 1907. The book was originally published in 1909.

Off-topic discussion moved here: http://www.worldwar2.ro/forum/index.php?showtopic=3668

Thanks, Victor. Good move.

Gen. Dénes

Thank you for this input, Dragos. Much appreciated. I have to admit that currently I am not that "much interested" in such pre-war books, but nevertheless I have put your book on my list. I am currently in a pursue for any books by Roman Transilyanians, Banater and Bucovinians about their WW1 experiences in the A-H Army during Great War 1914-1918.

But thanks again for thinking at me, but please continue to keep your eyes open in the future as well. One day any such memoir(s) will be published... I can feel it... Ha Ha!

This post has been edited by Klemen on November 10, 2006 09:05 pm

Such memoirs were surely published in the inter-war period. Unfortunately most of the hisory-related books of the inter-war era were destroyed in the communist period and are very hard to find. However, I'm sure that the Library of the Romanian Academy has copies of such books.

Be as it may be one is having not only a very difficult time to obtain these books, but also a VERY DIFFICULT TIME to find even the titles of such book.

If you find any such titles on the Online Catlogue of the Library of Romanian Academy, please let me know -> http://www.bar.acad.ro/

From what I can see they don't have Dumitru Ciumbrudean's book.

Here is one: Nicolae Avram - "War Journal".

It was not published but the original can be found at the State Archives in Sibiu, Acte Fasciculare, pachet O.II/ act nr. 7.

I don't know where he fought but he was conscripted since 1914.

Maybe you would also be interested in the memoirs of Romanian politician Petru Groza, "Adio lumii vechi" (Farewell, old world), Ed. Compania, Bucuresti. Groza was conscripted in the A-H army but as far as I know he wasn't sent to the front.

This is getting better every time. Dragos, you are becoming quite an expert on this, aren't you? You are lately discovering undiscoverable.

Thank you for this another excellent news. But may I ask how do you know that his war journal deals with his service in the Austro-Hungarian Army during Great War 1914-1918? How could one find more information about this war journal? Is there any contact point, where I might ask which cmapaigns did the author fight and whether it would be possible to get some photocopies or digital photographs from it?

Yes, I have been wondering about that too when I have stumbled upon his name during my research of prominent Transilyanian politicians and their memoires... I could not find any details from his life during WW1. In 1914 he was already well-educated and 32 years old. I reckon this would make him a fine officer candidate. Unless if he was exempted from the military service. But I can not loose a feeling that I have read somewhere that he, Iuliu Maniu and some other prominent Romanian politicians from Transilyania were interned in 1914-15.

Perhaps someone else can help us with this? Perhaps anyone has read his memoires?

Thank you again Dragos for this excellent reply. This thread has become like a phoenix from the ashes.

lp,

Klemen

I simply encountered a quote from Nicolae Avram's journal in a book I'm reading ("Ferdinand I vazut de contemporanii sai"). The quote is from 1914 and it is mentioned that Avram was conscripted in the Austrian army. You could try to contact the State Archives in Sibiu for more information.