Romanian "Mountain Hunters"

In my search for info on the Romanian Airborne forces I found this on the Romanian "Mountain Hunters" . Very interesting. Seems a little biased and hostile towards the Soviets LOL.

Vanatori de Munte - History​

In the 3rd of November, 1916, the 1st Mountain Corps was established, opening a very important chapter in the history of this elite branch.
This event was remembered in the 3rd of november 2001, when the Mountain Hunters celebrated 85 years of existence.
The elite branch of the infantry existed in the past as well, however it was in 1916 when they started to be called "Vanatori de Munte" (Mountain Hunters) and when their main purpose was set to be fighting in mountainous regions.
The Mountain Hunters represent perhaps the toughest and the most experienced of the branches, their instruction being tough, their lives being rough, and their mission complex.
During World War II, the 4th Mountain Corps, commanded by general Paul Dumitrescu, was at the spearhead of the German-led invasion of the Soviet Union, and took part in all the major operations there. The Germans have always used the Romanians as cannon-meat, putting them in front of their armies, to sustain the toughest battles, while it was always the Germans who then occupied the conquered cities or signed the surrender documents, making it look as it was them who had obtained those victories.
The 4th Mountain Corps had an astonishing 'adventure' in the Soviet Union, which started with the liberation of Basarabia and Bucovina, two Romanian provinces in the North and East of Romania, that were anexed by the Soviet Union in 1939. The Romanian military and also Marshall Ion Antonescu then told the Germans that this is as far as the Romanian Army will go. However Hitler needed the Romanians badly, and general von Manstein, the commander of Army Group South, convinced general Paul Dumitrescu of the Romanian 4th Mt Corps to participate with his mountain hunters in the siege of Ukraine. The 4th Mt Corps was therefore present in the battle of Odessa.
After Odessa and the conquest of the Ukraine, the German Wehrmacht started to be over-stretched over its newly conquered land, and could no longer be an effective fighting machine. As such, general Dumitrescu's Mountain Hunters were put in the frontline of a war that was not theirs, and got as far as Stalingrad and Moscow. In fact, when in october 2003, German historians digged up mass graves near Stalingrad, looking for dead German soldiers in WWII, all they found were Romanians. About 3,500 of them. However there were tens of thousands of Romanians who died in the Soviet Union.
Later on in the war, when Romania switched sides to fight among the Allies, the Soviet Army, a bunch of barbaric peasants, treated Romania and its territory as a test-ground for atrocities. Robbery, murder and rape were their speciality. Romania, as now an ally of Stalin's Soviet Union, wanted to fight until the defeat of Germany and thus the end of World War Two.
It therefore comes at no surprize that it was the Mountain Hunters again, that lead the way. The Soviets treated the Romanians exactly the same way as the Germans did, as cannon-meat.

Romanian soldiers (Vanatori de Munte) entering Northern Transylvania after they have defeated the German-Hungarian armies It was the Romanian soldiers who, one by one, had liberated Transylvania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Austria and got as far West as Berlin itself.
In one of history's most disgusting lies and propaganda war, the Soviets took credit for each and every one of these victories. In the summer of 2003, several World War II veterans, some of them from the Mountain Hunters formations, visited Hungary for a ceremonial together with the Hungarian Army (HDF). Throughout their bus-drive from Oradea (in western Romania) to Budapest, in the North-East of Hungary, they passed thru village after village that were liberated by them, more than 60 years ago. The horrible "surprize" that was waiting for them was that at the entry in each village, a big display panel at the side of the highway stated "village liberated by the Soviet Army".
Propaganda, deception and lying are a diplomat's special toolkit, I guess...
Not even today, the Russians, the Germans nor pretty much anyone else admits the fact that it was Romanian soldiers who lead the way in the liberation of Europe. All the foreign "specialists", "historians" and so-called "experts" do not even know their own trade, when they write elaborate speeches about the Soviet army and then read them in Moscow, in order to make political impression.
The end of the Cold War did not meant by any chance the end of hipocrisy and lies, things that are deeply rooted into a foreign diplomat's smile.

Romanian soldiers (Vanatori de Munte) giving hot meals to the local population.
Budapest, Hungary, 1945
Romanian gunners from Vanatori de Munte in the mountains of Czechoslovakia, 1945 After World War II, Romania was given away by its western "allies" to the Soviet Union. Out of all the countries in Eastern Europe, Romania had the highest Soviet influence. 90% Eastern, and 10% Western. Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill have traded Romania as if it was their own pocket watches or pocket-money.
The first things the Soviets did were to disband the Mountain Hunters that have crippled their primitive army and to also disband the Paratroopers that have raged fear among its manipulated recruits.
In April 1946, the 2nd Mountain Hunters Brigade, the last sizeable Mt Hunter unit remaining after the end of World War II, was disbanded.
The two Romanian provinces, where Romanians have lived since the start of recorded history (mentioned by Herodot in 800 BC), and where even in the late 40's the population was 93% Romanians, were again, anexed by the Soviet Union. Without Basarabia and Bucovina, Romania became smaller and more helpless than ever before. Betrayed by its allies, with a third of its territory stripped away, Romania was forced to pay a huge ammount of hard-currency (US$) as "war payment" to the same, Soviet Union. Soviet troops stayed in Romania until 1953, which was also the year when Stalin, the most evil man in history who killed more than 30 million people, finally died. A small aviation unit however remained in Romania on Otopeni international airport until 1964.
In that same year the 2nd Mountain Hunters Brigade is re-established, this time with the headquarters at Baia Mare (N-W of the country). Soon after, in the 12th of november 1964, Brigada 2 Vanatori de Munte (2nd Mountain Hunters Brigade) is established as an independent unit with the headquarters this time in Brasov (central Romania).

Romanian soldiers from a tank regiment that have liberated Vienna, 1945In 1974, the "Sarmizegetusa" indicative was given to the 2nd VM(Mountain Hunters) Brigade. Sarmizegetusa was the regional capital of the part of Dacia, the ancient state of Eastern Europe, that was conquered by the Romans after four bloody wars in 101, 102, 105 and 106 AD.
The 2nd VM brigade saw action for the first time after world war two during the 1989 Romanian Revolution, when they fought unidentified terrorist elements in the central counties of Harghita and Covasna.
Several VM (Mountain Hunters) died in those operations.
There is no recognition of any kind and usually even no mention of the Mountain Hunters when talking about Odessa, Stalingrad, Moscow, Transylvania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Austria and Germany in all the documentaries, books, films, manuals and materials about World War II available in the West.
The only mentioning of the "Romanian Mountain Corps" in the entire World War II was a single line in a Discovery Channel documentary about the battle of Odessa. There, in a one-hour long film, a single line ever remembers them: "The Romanians were pushed back by Soviet tanks whom their anti-tank weapons could not penetrate".
A single line, tens of thousands of deaths. Perhaps you should remember the Romanian Mountain Hunters next time you thank your God for the freedom you enjoy.

Romanian Special Forces - Vanatorii de Munte

 

That has to be the most biased historical article I've ever read. The author ruins his own credibility...

 

A little less biased LOL.

The Mountain TroopsThe vanatori de munte (mountain hunters) units were created in November 1916 and represented the elite troops of the Romanian infantry. On 22 June 1941, the Mountain Corps consisted of 4 brigades (1st-4th) made up of 12 groups (1st-12th) each with 2 battalions. There were 24 battalions (1st-24th) out of which the first 16 were active units, very well trained and armed, and the rest (17th-24th) were formed after the general mobilization and were of lower quality. That is why the 4th Mountain Brigade (created in 1939) was never able to match the other brigades.
A mountain brigade had the following structure: 6 battalions, one mountain artillery group (1 or 2 battalions of 75 mm or 76.2 mm mountain guns and one battalion of 100 mm mountain howitzers) and one mountain pioneer battalion.
The battalion had 3 rifle companies, each company 3 platoons and each platoon 3 sections. It also had a heavy weapons company made up from 3 machine-gun platoons (4 Schwarzlose/ZB-53 each) and one mortar platoon (4xBrandt 81.4 mm). The rifle platoon had one 60 mm Stokes Brandt mortar and 3xZB light machine-guns, one for each section.
Like the cavalry, the mountain troops had higher training and professionalism than the regular infantry. The initiative at battalion level was more developed. They were proper suited for fighting on difficult terrain, but their lack of artillery made them vulnerable in open field. The Mountain Corps also had a mounted battalion, a mountain train battalion and a hospital company.
At the beginning of the war the Mountain Corps was made up of the 1st, 2nd and 4th Mountain Brigade. The 3rd Mountain Brigade was stationed on the frontier with Hungary. At the end of the 1941 campaign, the 2nd Mountain Brigade was brought back to Romania and the 1st and 4th Mountain Brigade remained in Crimea. During the winter, an Expeditionary Skier Group was formed from some of the troops of the 3rd Mountain Brigade. The 5th and 6th Mountain Battalions became the 25th and 26th Skier Battalions. The Group also had a communications platoon, a pioneer platoon, an AA gun platoon (4x20 mm), an AT gun company (6x47 mm) and a 75 mm mountain howitzer battalion. For transportation the Group had 60 donkeys, 60 sleds and 6 trucks. In January 1942, the Skier Group was sent to Crimea and subordinated to the 1st Mountain Brigade. But soon it was put under the direct command of the 11th German Army and used in the fights around Izyum.
During the same winter, the 2nd and 3rd Mountain Brigade were completely rearmed. The old WWI artillery pieces were replaced with modern German guns. The 1st and 4th Mountain Brigades, which were on the front, received field guns instead of mountain guns. Because they were involved in the first siege of Sevastopol, they were strengthened with two 100 mm howitzer battalions.
On 15 March 1942, the mountain and cavalry brigades became divisions. This was a political, but just decision. The Italian and Hungarian divisions had 6 battalions like the Romanian brigades. This measure was taken in order to show the real size of the Romanian contribution to the war effort against the USSR.
In July 1942, the 2nd and 3rd Mountain Divisions were sent on the front and took part in the campaigns in the Caucasus and the Kuban.
During the winter of 1942/1943, the 1st Mountain Division was also modernized. The 4th Mountain Division never got to replace its old guns, because it was disbanded in November 1944. After the battle of Stalingrad, the 18th Infantry Division was transformed into the 18th Mountain Division. Its regiments were renamed mountain groups (18th, 90th and 92nd) and the battalions received new numbers (27th-35th). The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Mountain Divisions were retreated in Crimea and the 4th Mountain Division was joined with the 24th Infantry Division to form the 4/24th Infantry Division.
In May 1944, only 60% of the mountain troops in Crimea were evacuated. From these there were formed the 101st, 102nd, 103rd and 104th Mountain Brigades. Each one had 4 battalions, one 120 mm mortar company, 2 mountain gun battalions (the first one had 8x75 mm mountain howitzers and 2x20 mm AA machine-guns and the second had 4x100 mm mountain howitzers) and a work platoon. It was about one fourth of a regular mountain division.
On the 1st June the 4/24th Infantry Division was transformed into the 4th Mountain Division. The 1st and 3rd Mountain Divisions were deployed on the frontier with Hungary. The lack of a reserve of the mountain troops (the infantry and the cavalry had the training divisions) meant that all the replacements came from the frontier-guards or from the gendarmerie. Thus the quality of the mountain troops decreased, but they still were above the infantry.
After 23 August 1944, the 101st and 102nd Mountain Brigades and the 4th Mountain Division managed to escape capture by the Soviets. The 103rd and 104th Mountain Brigades were not so lucky. The 103rd Mountain Brigade was transformed by the Soviets into an ad hoc unit: the 103rd Mountain Division (the 17th Infantry Regiment, the 8th Frontier-guard Regiment, the 11th and the 16th Artillery Regiments). It was subordinated directly to them and was disbanded in October 1944.
The 2nd and 3rd Mountain Divisions participated in the battles in Transylvania and then in Hungary.
At the beginning of November, according to the armistice protocol, the 1st and 4th Mountain Divisions were disbanded, as well as the 4 mountain brigades and the 18th Mountain Division was once again transformed into the 18th Infantry Division. The structure and equipment (there were fewer mountain guns compared to field guns) of the mountain divisions that survived the process was very close to the one of the infantry divisions.
Sources:
Scafes C., Serbanescu H., Scafes I., Andonie C., Danila I., Avram R. Armata romana 1941-1945, Editura R.A.I., 1996

WorldWar2.ro - The Mountain Troops

 

Some hilarity from that article, even more so due to the fact that history has painted Romanian military formations as third-rate while over here they are "superhuman".:

1. During World War II, the 4th Mountain Corps, commanded by general Paul Dumitrescu, was at the spearhead of the German-led invasion of the Soviet Union, and took part in all the major operations there.

2. The Germans have always used the Romanians as cannon-meat, putting them in front of their armies, to sustain the toughest battles, while it was always the Germans who then occupied the conquered cities or signed the surrender documents, making it look as it was them who had obtained those victories.

3. However Hitler needed the Romanians badly
After Odessa and the conquest of the Ukraine, the German Wehrmacht started to be over-stretched over its newly conquered land, and could no longer be an effective fighting machine. As such, general Dumitrescu's Mountain Hunters were put in the frontline of a war that was not theirs, and got as far as Stalingrad and Moscow. In fact, when in october 2003, German historians digged up mass graves near Stalingrad, looking for dead German soldiers in WWII, all they found were Romanians.

4.Later on in the war, when Romania switched sides to fight among the Allies, the Soviet Army, a bunch of barbaric peasants, treated Romania and its territory as a test-ground for atrocities. Robbery, murder and rape were their speciality. The Soviets treated the Romanians exactly the same way as the Germans did, as cannon-meat.

5. In one of history's most disgusting lies and propaganda war, the Soviets took credit for each and every one of these victories.

6. Propaganda, deception and lying are a diplomat's special toolkit, I guess...Not even today, the Russians, the Germans nor pretty much anyone else admits the fact that it was Romanian soldiers who lead the way in the liberation of Europe. All the foreign "specialists", "historians" and so-called "experts" do not even know their own trade, when they write elaborate speeches about the Soviet army and then read them in Moscow, in order to make political impression.The end of the Cold War did not meant by any chance the end of hipocrisy and lies, things that are deeply rooted into a foreign diplomat's smile.

7. Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill have traded Romania as if it was their own pocket watches or pocket-money.

8. The first things the Soviets did were to disband the Mountain Hunters that have crippled their primitive army and to also disband the Paratroopers that have raged fear among its manipulated recruits.

9. Betrayed by its allies, with a third of its territory stripped away, Romania was forced to pay a huge ammount of hard-currency (US$) as "war payment" to the same, Soviet Union. Soviet troops stayed in Romania until 1953, which was also the year when Stalin, the most evil man in history who killed more than 30 million people, finally died.

10. Perhaps you should remember the Romanian Mountain Hunters next time you thank your God for the freedom you enjoy.

 

The only useful thing I know about the Romanian Armies the one pic I have of them taken by a Heinrich Hoffmann PK photog-and shows several being awarded the EK2 by a German awards Offz. Oh and these guys were wearing what looks like overly large Berets.

 

This says something for the Romanian Military when properly lead and motivated.

http://www.ww2f.com/wwii-general/21738-rumainian-operation-60-000-1944-a.html

 

Um, seriously, you're referencing a Geocities website? Thats worse then Wikipedia! I could create a website - for free - using Geocities and post whatever I like on there. *shakes head* What is this world coming to?

 

LOL There are actually some really good Geocities websites out there. But I had to put the first one up just for the hilarity of its bias LOL. I thought some would get a laugh out of it .

 

Something like this Carl?

The renowed patrol from the 10th Mountain Batallion (of the Gen..Dumitrache) ​

.

 

Hi JC, exactly ;-)) And you know what,a fewof those guys strangely look alot alike a few of the guys in my HH PK pic. I have that pic on the first photo CD-and when I get the rest of the pics in that im expecting from Germany, Russia, and Florida--i'll be doing that 2nd CD and will send you both.

Im also possibly getting at least two g reat Tiger Tank pics as well as 1-2 more Combat photos-one of which I just discovered was of a Waffen SS unit. Oh and possibly a few more awards in the field-kinda pics. You will love these-especially the Tiger pics-the W-SS pic-oh and I am trying to get a pic taken of several men from the GD Div-who wee just awarded various awards including the DKiG.

 

"Superhumans on Skis"

 

Mountain troops using a machine gun (Z.B. 07, 92 mm) on the Eastern Front​

 

If anyone is interested, im going to possibly within the next 2 months-order the book that compltely covers the Rumainian WWII Order of Battle. If interested in it? let me know and after I get the book in-I will post a thumbnail version of it. I think the OrBat also includes the Commanders names.

Also, sometime in the near future-I will be posting the names of every Knights Cross Recipients who were also awarded the German Cross in Gold-as well as the Close Combat Clasp in Gold. 98 RKTs recieved that 2nd award.

 

I would definately be interested Carl .

 

Sounds good to me-but it'll be a relative short while before I get me mitts on that info-but I am told the info will be worth the wait. The reason why there will be a wait is because im about to gget a series of excellent books printed in German that will have the names of some 27,000 DKiG recipients, as well as a book devoted to the men who were awarded the Close Combat Clasp in Gold, and another book that is supposed to blow-away Klaus Patzwalls two books on the DKiG guys. This schtuff is going to set me back a few C-Notes.

Right now I do have a list of names of the 98 RKTs who also got the CCC in Gold.

Oh and, I almost forgot, I might add to the OrBats list-an orbat for the Hungarians, and possibly one for the Croatians and Bulgarians. I haven't found one on the Italians yet-and I THINK there is a good one on the Finnish forces.

Does anyone here have about $5,000 that I could borrow? If so? I would use it all to buy said titles and about 30 more dealing with the Eastern Front.

 

No Prob .





A skier patrol from the 25th Mountain Battalion during the winter of 1941/42
Source: "Armata Romana 1941-1945", RAI, 1996

 

"The Romanian mountain troops used during the Second World War a variety of advanced weapons, adapted to the combat against infantry or tanks, beginning with the machine guns to anti-tank guns. The mountain troops were tasked with the most difficult missions because of their particular training (Special Forces). They could appear suddenly in the middle of the night, passing easily the natural obstacles like mountains or the defense works and attacking behind the enemy lines. During the winter, because of their white camouflage wear, they were almost "invisible" for the enemy. That is why the mountain troops from the Romanian Mountain Corps were surnamed "the white phantoms" both by the Axis and Soviet armies.

As far as I know, the troops of the Captain Aurelian Lupescu (the commander of the prestigious 21st Mountain Battalion) used the light machine gun 7.92 mm ZB (1500m range at 828m/s muzzle velocity) produced in Czechoslovakia and the German 7.92mm Maschinengewehr (2000m at 755m/s).

I have two photos with the mountain troops using these weapons on the battlefields.



Maschinengewehr 7,92mm used by a mountain troops ranger of the 21 Battalion






ZB 7,92mm light machine gun operated by two mountain troops in the Battle for Oradea

photo: GeneralMociulschi.ro


Concerning the artillery, the mountain troops used field guns but also howitzers (because of their projectiles trajectories with a steep angle of descent in the mountainous terrain). The Skoda howitzer 150mm had 15km range at a 570m/s muzzle velocity of the shell (42kg). The vertical field of fire was between -5 to +70 degrees. The presence of such weapons inside the arsenal of the mountain troops provided a certain autonomy in the organizing of the artillery fire against enemy positions. The barrages could be light or moderate. A light barrage amounted to seven or eight shells every ten minutes and a moderate one was fourty shells a minute. For the close combats the mountain troops used 81,4 mm Brandt mortars, too.



Field howitzer model 1934


photo: courtesy of col. (R) Gh.Suman



The mountain troops used perhaps in certain operations some special vehicles like this Panzerkampfwagen 38 I could saw recently on a photo. Capable to develop a speed up to 42km/h this German light tank produced in Czechoslovakia (with 8-25mm armor) had a range about 230km. In the pages of the Battle for Oradea there is mentioned by the general Mociulschi how his deputy commander, the colonel Constantinescu, reached the first line by such a vehicle with mountain troops crew. I mention that such missions were rather occasionally. In the picture below you can observe the Romanian cross emblem on the turret of the tank.



Romanian mountain troops on a Panzerkampfwagen 38 light tank

photo: WorldWar2.ro



Not only such means of transportation were used by the Romanian mountain troops. The ski was another way to reach quickly a target and to accomplish any mission on the landscapes covered with snow.


Mountain troops of the 10th Battalion ready for a combat skiing trial

photo: GeneralMociulschi.ro



Because of the lack of communication lines in the mountainous areas, the mortars and the supplies could be transported using the horses.



Mortars and ammunition on the mountain troops' horses

photo: GeneralDumitrache.ro



The vital orders could be delivered in time because of the cooperation with the Romanian Royal Air Forces. In the image below there is a fighter produced in Romania (IAR80). Its speed was more than 500 km/h and the maximum operational ceiling 11000m for a range about 700km. You can observe the cross emblem of the Romanian Army, on the fuselage of the plane.


Romanian IAR80 fighter landed near the mountain troops positions "

STIWOT Forum :: Bekijk onderwerp - Inside the WWII arsenal of the mountain troops

 

Gents, I'm a Romanian. I've been impressed by the first writer......nice words! Are you from Romania?

 

I'm Romanian too.

It is an interesting subject our war with Russia, many people here say it was a just war. They took our province Bassarabia and North Bukovina in 1940, so we took them back. But then we didn't stop there, we went all the way east with the Germans.

A similiar case was Finland, they too allied with the Germans to get Karelia that was taked away from them. But they had the wisdom to stop there, and they didn't participate in the siege of Leningrad.

 

Hi Danny, Player, nice to have you two Romainians here. Since my posting about the PK pic-I was able to get two more of Romanian Soldiers in WWII. These will all be posted at somepoint in the next 3 or so weeks if everything goes well? ANyway, since then, I managed to get two more photos which are snapshot in size-that have Romanina Soldiers in them. One picture shows the I guess? he is the commanding General of Romanian Mountain Troops who happen to be visiting a German Gebirgsjager General whom I THINK is /was in command of the 1st G.J. Division??/ Anyway, these photos were taken by the Staff Photographer of the 79th Gebirgsjager Artillery Regiment. If y'all stick around here? please keep watch on this sites Militaria section because these photots will get posted by Moderator Skipper-who will be kindly posting approx some 350 photos from my collection.

If you Gents stay around here? I would like to see if you could please give me the name of that Romanian Mountain Troops General? Also, The other Romanian pic I have is of some other kind of Romanian unit-and I think it might be either a Cavalry unit???
PS, sadly, JC has left the forums-for good? I don't know? He lives in the State of Oregon here in the USA and nope-he's not Romanian ;-))