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Ioan Mihail Racoviță
Ioan Mihail Racoviță
	General Ioan Mihail Racoviță
Born	March 7, 1889; Bucharest, Kingdom of Romania
Died	June 28, 1954 (aged 65); Sighet Prison, Romanian People's Republic
Allegiance	Romanian Army
Service/branch	Infantry
Rank	General
Commands	4th Army; 1st Army
Battles/wars	Second Balkan War; World War I; World War II Eastern Front Operation München; Battle of the Sea of Azov; Battle of the Caucasus; First Jassy-Kishinev Offensive; First Battle of Târgu Frumos; Second Battle of Târgu Frumos; Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive; ; ;
Awards	Order of the Crown of Romania Commander Class; Order of Michael the Brave, 3rd Class; Iron Cross, 2nd and 1st Class; Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Alma mater	Higher War School
65th Minister of Defense
	In office; 23 August 1944 – 5 November 1944
Prime Minister	Constantin Sănătescu
Preceded by	Constantin Pantazi [ro]
Succeeded by	Constantin Sănătescu

Ioan Mihail Racoviță (7 March 1889, Bucharest – 28 June 1954, Sighet Prison) was a Romanian general during World War II, and Minister of Defense in the aftermath of King Michael's Coup of August 1944.

Biography

In 1906 he was admitted to the Infantry and Cavalry Officers' School. After one year he was sent to pursue his training at the Military School in Hannover, Germany, from where he graduated in 1909. Upon returning to Romania, he was assigned with the rank of second lieutenant to the 2nd Roșiori Regiment from Bârlad. He went back to Germany in 1910 to attend the Officers Riding School at Paderborn, which he completed in 1911. Promoted to lieutenant, he served with the 2nd Regiment in the Second Balkan War of 1913. He fought during the Romanian Campaign of World War I, being promoted to captain in 1916, and to major in 1917.

After the war, Racoviță was admitted to the Higher War School, graduating in 1921. In 1923 he became a lieutenant colonel, and in 1928 a colonel. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in May 1936, and to major general in June 1940.

He commanded the Romanian Cavalry Corps during the initial phase of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. With his corps he advanced from Romania to the Caucasus. He participated in Operation München, the Battle of the Sea of Azov and the Battle of the Caucasus. In May 1942 he was promoted to lieutenant general. He was replaced on 1 January 1943 and called back to Romania.

Racoviță was recalled into active service on 25 January 1944 and took over the command of the 4th Army, which had to be completely rebuilt after the Battle of Stalingrad. He led the army in spring and summer of 1944, in defensive battles in Northern Romania against the advancing Red Army. Together with the Wehrmacht, the 4th Army repulsed several Soviet attacks in the First Jassy-Kishinev Offensive, First Battle of Târgu Frumos and Second Battle of Târgu Frumos. In July 1944 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.

At the start of Second Jassy–Kishinev offensive on 20 August 1944, he was in command of the 4th Army (part of the Army Group Wöhler), facing Rodion Malinovsky's 2nd Ukrainian Front west of Iași.^[1]^[2] Racoviță's forces fell back towards Bacău, and he was replaced three days later by general Ilie Șteflea. During the 23 August coup d'état he played an important role, alongside the communist activist Emil Bodnăraș and generals Dumitru Dămăceanu and Aurel Aldea.^[1] That same day, he was appointed Minister of Defense in the new pro-Allied government of General Constantin Sănătescu. He remained in this position until 5 November 1944, when he was named General Inspector of the Cavalry.

Between 20 May 1945 and 20 May 1946 Racoviță was the Commandant of 3rd Inspectorate-General. He was then promoted to the rank of general and given the command of the 1st Army until 30 June 1947. On 1 September 1947 he was retired.

In June 1950, he was arrested and imprisoned at Sighet Prison, where he died on 28 June 1954.^[3]^[4]

Awards

Order of the Crown of Romania, Commander Class (8 June 1940)^[5]
Order of Michael the Brave, 3rd Class (17 October 1941)^[6]
Iron Cross (1941), 2nd and 1st Class
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (7 July 1944)^[7]^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b "23 August 1944 – Salvarea României sau trădare națională?". Historia (in Romanian). Retrieved 1 June 2020.
^ Sfetcu, Nicolae (April 2, 2022), Rolul armatei române în actul de la 23 August 1944 (in Romanian), MultiMedia Publishing, p. 11, retrieved July 11, 2024
^ Ionițoiu, Cicerone (2000), Victimele terorii comuniste. Arestați, torturați, întemnițați, uciși. Dicționar (in Romanian), Bucharest: Editura Mațina de scris, ISBN 973-99994-2-5, retrieved July 10, 2024
^ "Săndel Dumitru – un istoric cu abilități narative (Corespondență de la profesorul, scriitorul, criticul literar și filosoful Ionel Necula – Tecuci)". www.jurnalul-bucurestiului.ro (in Romanian). July 3, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
^ Decretul Regal nr. 1.906 din 8 iunie 1940 pentru numiri de membri ai ordinului "Coroana României", vol. CVIII, Monitorul Oficial, 8 June 1940, p. 2.789
^ Decretul Regal nr. 2.886 din 17 octombrie 1941 pentru conferiri de ordine, vol. CIX, Monitorul Oficial, 18 October 1941, p. 6.394
^ 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.
^ Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.