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Nicolae Tătăranu

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Nicolae Tătăranu
Born(1890-10-03)October 3, 1890
Măicănești, Kingdom of Romania
Died13 May 1953(1953-05-13) (aged 62)
Bucharest, Romanian People's Republic
Allegiance Kingdom of Romania
Service / branch Royal Romanian Army
Years of service1908–1945
RankMajor General
Commands20th Infantry Division
XI Army Corps
Battles / wars
AwardsOrder of the Star of Romania
Order of Michael the Brave
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Alma materHigher War School

Nicolae Tătăranu (3 October 1890 – 13 May 1953) was a Romanian Major General during World War II.[1] He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.[2]

Tătăranu was born in Măicănești, a village în Râmnicu Sărat County, now in Vrancea County. In 1908 he enrolled in the School for Infantry Officers in Bucharest, graduating in 1910 with the rank of second lieutenant. After Romania entered World War I on the side of the Allies in August 1916, Tătăranu fought with the 2nd Battalion Vânători de munte, first as lieutenant, and then as captain. Wounded in his leg during fighting at Izvoru in November 1916, he was evacuated to the Școala Centrală's hospital in Bucharest, where he was operated on by Doctor Marius Nasta.[3]: 69  After the city was occupied by German troops, he escaped but was caught in Ploiești and sent to jail.[3]: 85  In May 1917, while on a train en route to an internment camp in Germany, he escaped again, together with two other fellow soldiers, and after a 210 km (130 mi) trek, mostly through the mountains, the three managed to cross the front line and rejoin the Romanian Army.[3]: 140 

Following the end of World War One, Tătăranu attended the Higher War School (1921–1923). He served as military attaché in Paris from 1928 to 1931 as well as in Brussels (1929–1931) and Madrid (1930–1931). In 1935 he was promoted to colonel and in 1939 to brigadier general.[1][4] In 1940 he published his World War I memoirs.[3]

During World War II, Tătăranu took part in Operation Barbarossa. On 30 August 1941, Tătăranu signed in Tighina the Agreement Concerning Security, Administration and Economic Exploitation of the Territories between the Transnistria and Buh–Dnieper Region with General Major Arthur Hauffe.[5][6] In late October 1941 while serving as deputy commander of the Romanian 10th Infantry Division, troops under his command took part in the Odessa massacre.[7]

During the Battle of Stalingrad, Tătăranu served as commander of the Romanian 20th Infantry Division,[8] which was part of the Romanian 6th Corps under the command of General Corneliu Dragalina. The 6th Corps troops received the brunt of the Soviet offensive (Operation Uranus) south of Stalingrad and suffered catastrophic losses. On orders from General Friedrich Paulus, Tătăranu flew out of the Stalingrad pocket on 13 January 1943, to report to Marshal Ion Antonescu on the dire situation of the Romanian troops trapped there.[9]

On 28 March 1945, Tătăranu was put into retirement by the Petru Groza government.[10]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Generals from Romania – Tătăranu, Nicolae". Generals.dk. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  2. ^ a b Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  3. ^ a b c d Tătăranu, Nicolae (1940). Acum un sfert de veac – Amintiri din războiu (in Romanian). București: Editura Cartea Românească. OCLC 249834285.
  4. ^ Nicolescu, Andrei (2013). "Contribuții ale atașaților militari români la dezvoltarea relațiilor româno-franceze (1930–1936)" (PDF). Universitatea Pedagogică de Stat "Ion Creangă" din Chișinău. 4: 80. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  5. ^ Solonari, Vladimir (2019). A Satellite Empire Romanian Rule in Southwestern Ukraine, 1941–1944. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. p. 35. ISBN 9781501743191.
  6. ^ Clej, Petru (August 27, 2021). "30 august 1941, Convenția de la Tighina: Documentul româno-german care a pus bazele ocupației și jafului Transnistriei și a "evacuării" evreilor". RFI România (in Romanian). Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  7. ^ Hayes, Peter (2015). How Was It Possible? - A Holocaust Reader. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. p. 556. ISBN 9780803274693.
  8. ^ Joly, Anton (2014). Stalingrad Battle Atlas: Volume III. Salamandre. p. 50. ISBN 9791093222066.
  9. ^ Dutu, Alexandru (October 17, 2015). "Onoare pierdută. Generalul Nicolae Tătăranu (ianuarie 1943)" (in Romanian). Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  10. ^ Iancu, Mariana (August 8, 2019). "Cum și-a bătut joc România de generalii care au luptat eroic în război: peste 100 au fost întemnițați, iar jumătate dintre ei au murit în închisorile comuniste". Adevărul (in Romanian). Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  11. ^ Decretul Regal nr. 1.905 din 8 iunie 1940 pentru numiri de membri ai ordinului "Steaua României", publicat în Monitorul Oficial, anul CVIII, nr. 131 din 8 iunie 1940, partea I-a, p. 2.783.
  12. ^ Decretul Regal nr. 3.202 din 14 noiembrie 1941 pentru conferiri de Ordine Militare, publicat în Monitorul Oficial, anul CIX, nr. 277 din 21 noiembrie 1941, partea I-a, p. 7.252.
  13. ^ Bruja, Radu F. (2016). "Romanian-Slovakian Military Relations in 1942" (PDF). International Studies. 22 (2): 255. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
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