Sgt._Johnson
The Four Armies
In the summer of 1940, Romania had just under 700,000 men serving in four armies:
1st Army "Wallachia"- headquartered in Bucharest
Tasked with guarding the nation's capital, 1st Army was always first to receive new equipment, such as the M1937 pattern uniforms or the TM-38 tank, both of which would eventually become standard issue for the whole army. Despite being the best prepared fighting force in the army, the majority of 1st Army was ordered to stay in Bucharest, paranoid of an attack from Bulgaria, with only its cavalry and tank detachments providing assistance to the war effort.
2nd Army "Transylvania"- headquartered in Cluj-Napoca
Commanded by an old-school cavalry officer from the Great War, 2nd Army received 8 of the country's 12 cavalry regiments on the eve of the war. Subsequently, their commander's belief that "the tank will never replace the horse," caused 2nd Army to also have the highest casualty rates throughout the Battle for Bessarabia.
3rd Army "Moldavia"- headquartered in Iași
To counteract 2nd Army's cavalry reinforcement, 3rd Army received the 1st Tank Division, which, in addition to its own 3rd Tank Division, made it the most highly mechanized force in the army at that time. In addition, its peacetime proximity to the Soviet border meant that it was placed in command of overseeing the fortification of Bessarabia once the Soviets had issued their ultimatum.
4th Army "Carpathians"- headquartered in Brașov
The 4th Army was something of a peculiarity. It contained the five elite mountain divisions, but the rest of its ranks were filled with some of the most poorly equipped troops in the army. It was the only army to not have its own tank division (just a single regiment of hand-me-down LT. vz. 35s). It was occasionally mockingly referred to as "the French Army," because its troops were frequently equipped with Lebel rifles and Adrian helmets (sold to Romania during and after the Great War), rather than their Romanian-made counter parts.
(Also, back to real life, Happy Unification Day, Romania!)
The Four Armies
In the summer of 1940, Romania had just under 700,000 men serving in four armies:
1st Army "Wallachia"- headquartered in Bucharest
Tasked with guarding the nation's capital, 1st Army was always first to receive new equipment, such as the M1937 pattern uniforms or the TM-38 tank, both of which would eventually become standard issue for the whole army. Despite being the best prepared fighting force in the army, the majority of 1st Army was ordered to stay in Bucharest, paranoid of an attack from Bulgaria, with only its cavalry and tank detachments providing assistance to the war effort.
2nd Army "Transylvania"- headquartered in Cluj-Napoca
Commanded by an old-school cavalry officer from the Great War, 2nd Army received 8 of the country's 12 cavalry regiments on the eve of the war. Subsequently, their commander's belief that "the tank will never replace the horse," caused 2nd Army to also have the highest casualty rates throughout the Battle for Bessarabia.
3rd Army "Moldavia"- headquartered in Iași
To counteract 2nd Army's cavalry reinforcement, 3rd Army received the 1st Tank Division, which, in addition to its own 3rd Tank Division, made it the most highly mechanized force in the army at that time. In addition, its peacetime proximity to the Soviet border meant that it was placed in command of overseeing the fortification of Bessarabia once the Soviets had issued their ultimatum.
4th Army "Carpathians"- headquartered in Brașov
The 4th Army was something of a peculiarity. It contained the five elite mountain divisions, but the rest of its ranks were filled with some of the most poorly equipped troops in the army. It was the only army to not have its own tank division (just a single regiment of hand-me-down LT. vz. 35s). It was occasionally mockingly referred to as "the French Army," because its troops were frequently equipped with Lebel rifles and Adrian helmets (sold to Romania during and after the Great War), rather than their Romanian-made counter parts.
(Also, back to real life, Happy Unification Day, Romania!)