Romanian Land Forces

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Romanian Land Forces
Military manpower
Military age	All military inductees (including women) are volunteers who contract for an initial five-year term of service; subsequent voluntary service contracts are for successive three-year terms until the age of 36; minimum age for voluntary military service is 18 (2006)
Availability	males age 15–49: 5,061,984 females age 20–49: 4,975,427 (2005 est.)
Fit for military service	males age 15–49: 3,932,579 females age 20–49: 4,076,288 (2005 est.)
Reaching military age annually	males: 172,093 females: 165,547 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures
Amount	€ 2.21 billion (2007)[1]
Percent of GDP	2.05% (2007)

The Romanian Land Forces have completely overhauled their equipment and today they are one of the most modern armies in Eastern Europe^{[citation needed]}. The modernized battle tank TR-85 M1 is the main pride of the Romanian army, alongside its new Gepard anti-aircraft system; however, the full modernization will not be over until 2007.

Contents 1 Current state 1.1 Manpower 1.2 Modernization 2 History 2.1 During World War I 2.2 Post World War I 2.3 During World War II 3 Present organization 4 International missions 5 Ranks and insignia 5.1 Flag Officers (OF 10 - 6) and Officers (5 - 1) 5.2 Warrant officers (WO 5 - 1) 5.3 Other/Enlisted ranks (OR 1 - 9) 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Current state

[edit] Manpower

As of 2005, eight combat brigades, 4 combat support and 2 logistic brigades comprise the military of Romania, while ten combat, five combat support and two logistic brigades can be further mobilized in case of crisis.

About 75,000 of the military personnel and 15,000 of the civilians comprise the army, for a total of 90,000 men and women. Out of these 75,000, about. 45,800 are in the Land Forces. Conscription was abolished in January 2007.

[edit] Modernization

The Romanian Military has essentially undergone a three-stage restructuring. As of 2005, the first short-term stage has been completed. The year 2015 marks the end of the second stage, while 2025 is the date when the long-term stage is to be completed. The stages aim at modernizing the structure of the armed forces, reducing the personnel as well as acquiring newer and improved technology that is compatible with NATO standards.

[edit] History

[edit] During World War I

On August 27, 1916, Romania declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary, following the initial success of the Brusilov Offensive. The Romanian Army entered Transylvania, a territory it coveted, together with a Russian force. However, a mainly German force repulsed the attack and drove back the Romanians. The Germans drove deep into Romania and conquered the south of the country (Wallachia, including Bucharest) by the end of 1916. The Romanian Army, led by Marshal Constantin Prezan, retreated into the north-east part of Romania (Moldavia). In July and August of 1917, Prezan, aided by the future Marshal General Ion Antonescu, successfully stopped the German invasion led by Field Marshal August von Mackensen. General Alexandru Averescu led the Second Army in the victories of the Battle of Mărăşti (July 22 to August 1, 1917) and the Battle of Mărăşeşti (August 6 to September 8, 1917). The Romanian Army emerged victorious in 1918 with the defeat of the Central Powers.

[edit] Post World War I

Before Antonescu took power, Jews were allowed to serve in the army, as both officers and soldiers, in all branches of the military.

[edit] During World War II

After General (later Marshal) Ion Antonescu took power in September 1940, Romania signed the Tripartite Pact and also took part in Operation Barbarossa of 1941. An expeditionary force composed of the Third and Fourth Armies (later downsized to form the Fourth Army Corps) was sent in action in Bessarabia and southern Ukraine, where they fought in many battles, notably at Odessa and Sevastopol. From 1941 to 1944 the Romanian Army saw lots of action on the Eastern Front along with the German Army and other Axis forces.

The greatest disaster for the Romanian expeditionary force on the Eastern Front came at Stalingrad, where, during the Soviet counter-offensive of November 1942, the thinly spread forces of the Third Army (deployed north of the city proper) and of the Fourth Army (deployed south of the city proper) were attacked by vastly superior Soviet forces and suffered combined losses of some 100,000 personnel. It is estimated by some historians that the total Romanian casualties (killed in action, wounded, missing in action, and POWs) suffered during the entire Stalingrad operation, between September 1942 and February 1943, could run in excess of 200,000.

In late August 1944, the Red Army entered Romania, and an anti-fascist coup deposed Antonescu and set up a pro-Soviet government. Romania soon declared war on Nazi Germany, and the First and Second Armies were pressed into action. The Romanian Army took part in the campaign against Hungary and Germany. The First and Fourth Armies took part in the Prague Offensive of May 1945.

[edit] Present organization

The current Romanian Land Forces are organized into two Territorial Army Corps, the Bucharest Garrison, the Honor Regiment, and a few independent supporting battalions as well as a series of instruction centers. In addition to this, Romania also has the Joint Task force Headquarters 2, a unit that is similar to the two corps but which is subordinated to the ministry of defense, not the land forces themselves. The two Romanian corps used to be called the 1st Army and 4th Army but due to restructuring their personnel have been reduced considerably. The current Romanian corps are smaller then the regular corps and are organized somewhat like divisions, save for the fact that they seem to be slightly larger. In some respects this organization is very similar to that of the modern structure of the French Army. The current chief of the Romanian Land Forces Staff is Lieutenant General Teodor Frunzeti.

Their structure is as follows:

• 1st Territorial Army Corps - HQ Bucharest
  • 2nd Infantry Operational Brigade - Craiova
  • 34th Infantry Territorial Brigade - Bucharest
  • 282 Mechanized Operational Brigade - Focşani
  • 2nd Mountain Troops Brigade "Sarmizegetusa" - Braşov
  • 10th Engineer Operational Brigade - Brăila
  • 8th Mixed Artillery Brigade - Focşani
  • 6th Artillery Operational Brigade - Brăila
  • 1st Logistics Brigade - Ploieşti
  • one NBC battalion, one paratrooper battalion and other supporting units

• 4th Territorial Army Corps - HQ Cluj-Napoca
  • 81st Mechanized Operational Brigade - Bistriţa
  • 15th Mechanized Territorial Brigade "Podu Înalt" - Iaşi
  • 61st Mountain Troops Territorial Brigade - Miercurea Ciuc
  • 69th Mixed Artillery Territorial Brigade - Şimleul Silvaniei
  • 4th Engineer Territorial Brigade - Deva
  • one NBC battalion, one paratrooper battalion and other supporting units

• The Bucharest Garrison - HQ Bucharest
  • the Military Police contingent
  • the Honor Guard Regiment

• Battle Support Battalions - HQ Bucharest

• Joint Op. HQ
  • not part of the Land Forces
  • in charge with Romanian operations overseas and joint missions

• Joint Logistics HQ
  • not part of the Land Forces
  • 122nd Logistics Brigade

[edit] International missions

The following troops have been deployed abroad^[2]:

• 45 personnel in Bosnia and Herzegovina (23 in Sarajevo and 22 in Banja Luka) - as part of EUFOR, since 2000
• 85 personnel in Peć, Kosovo - as part of KFOR
• 1 battalion in Zabul^[3] (479 personnel), 1 guard detachment in Kandahar (193 personnel), a reconnaissance squad in Mazari Sharif (6 personnel), Afghanistan - as part of ISAF; additionally, a special forces squad (39 personnel) and a training detachment (47 personnel) are deployed there
• 1 battalion in Nasiriyah (405 personnel) - as part of Operation Enduring Freedom - and 1 company (100 personnel) in Basra (working for the United Nations)

[edit] Ranks and insignia

[edit] Flag Officers (OF 10 - 6) and Officers (5 - 1)

NATO Code	OF-10	OF-9	OF-8	OF-7	OF-6	OF-5	OF-4	OF-3	OF-2	OF-1		OF-D-	Student Officer
Romania (Edit)												No Equivalent	No Equivalent
	Mareşal1	General	General-locotenent	General-maior	General de brigadă	Colonel	Locotenent-colonel	Maior	Căpitan	Locotenent	Sublocotenent

[edit] Warrant officers (WO 5 - 1)

NATO Rank	WO-5	WO-4	WO-3	WO-2	WO-1
Romania (Edit)
	Maistru Militar Principal	Maistru Militar clasa 1	Maistru Militar clasa 2	Maistru Militar clasa 3	Maistru Militar clasa 4

[edit] Other/Enlisted ranks (OR 1 - 9)

NATO Code	OR-9						OR-8		OR-7		OR-6						OR-5						OR-4		OR-3		OR-2						OR-1
Romania (Edit)																											No Equivalent
	Plutonier adjutant principal						Plutonier adjutant		Plutonier-major		Plutonier			Sergent-major			Sergent						Caporal		Fruntaş								Soldat

[edit] See also

• Romanian Army

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official site of the Romanian Land Forces
• Official site of the Romanian Ministry of National Defence (MoND).
• Official site of the 1st Land Corps.