Nicolae Ciupercă

Nicolae Ciupercă (20 April 1882 – 25 May 1950) was a Romanian general, born in Râmnicu Sărat. He served during World War I and World War II under the Command of Alexandru Averescu and then Ion Antonescu, but would retire from a military life in 1941 over strategy disagreements with Antonescu. He also served as Minister of National Defense in 1938–1939.

Nicolae Ciupercă
Nicolae Ciupercă
Born(1882-04-20)20 April 1882
Râmnicu Sărat, Buzău County, Kingdom of Romania
Died25 May 1950(1950-05-25) (aged 68)
Văcărești, Bucharest, Romanian People's Republic
Allegiance Kingdom of Romania
Service/branchArmy
Years of service1902-1941
RankSublocotenent (1902)
Prim Locotenent (1907)
Căpitan (1911)
Major (1916)
Locotenent Colonel (1920)
General de Brigadă (1930)
General de Divizie (1936)
General de Corp de Armată (1940)
Commands heldSecond Army
Fourth Army
Battles/warsWorld War I
Hungarian–Romanian War
World War II
AwardsOrder of Michael the Brave, 3rd Class
Order of the Crown (Romania), Grand Cross Class
59th Minister of Defense
In office
14 October 1938 – 31 January 1939
Prime MinisterMiron Cristea
Preceded byGheorghe Argeșanu
Succeeded byArmand Călinescu

Early life

Ciupercă was born in Râmnicu Sărat, Buzău County, located in the northeastern part of the historical region of Muntenia in April 1882. He attended the Infantry and Cavalry Officer School in Bucharest. He graduated in 1902 with the rank of second lieutenant, and served in the World War I. In 1916 he was promoted to the rank of major. For his actions during the Hungarian–Romanian War he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1920. In 1930 he was promoted to brigadier general. He held multiple commands during this time, until in 1940 he was put in command of the Romanian Fourth Army.

Political Life

Ciupercă served as the Romanian Minister of Defense from 1938 to 1939 under the Second Cristea cabinet. He was a devout anti-communist and would be known for harsh purges of suspected communists within the Romanian Army. He would resign from the position after coming into conflict with king Carol II due to a proposal to decrease the budget of the Romanian Military. He would later go on to claim this to be an action of corruption by Carol, as the king refused to explain to the general where the missing funds would go. Despite his claims, it was impossible to ratify the claim, and it was passed off as rumor.

Ciupercă during the Second Cristea cabinet

Soviet Occupation of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina

On June 26, 1940, the Soviet Union demanded that the regions of northern Bukovina and Bessarabia be evacuated of all Romanian military personnel and civilian administration, and that the territories be ceded to the USSR. Due to overwhelming international pressure, the Romanian government was forced to accept the ultimatum,[1] and the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina commenced on June 28.

The Fourth Army under General Ciupercă was stationed along the Soviet border with Romania, and thus he was placed in charge of the evacuation of military and civilian assets in the region. Despite the withdrawal of Romanian troops, there were a number of skirmishes in the region which the general tried to avoid at all costs. Due to this choice, not all military assets could be evacuated in time and the Soviet troops seized large numbers of weapons from the Romanian Military.[2] The Soviet troops also seized the Herța region, which had not been agreed to by the Romanian government. A number of clashes broke out in the region between the Soviet and Romanian troops, however General Ciupercă was able to evacuate all military assets from the area with little loss of life.[2]

Operation München

General Ciupercă was still under command of the 4th Army when Romania joined Operation Barbarossa in 1941 in order to reclaim the lost territories of Bessarabia and Bukovina. Operation München was the codename used for a joint Romanian-German invasion of the Soviet Union through Romanian territory. General Ciupercă and the Fourth Army were tasked with reclaiming the town of Țiganca in Southern Bessarabia.[3] Due to heavy Soviet counterattacks, the 4th Army's 3rd Corps was repulsed from the bridgehead that they had attempted to form across the Prut River. The 4th Army's 4th Corps was able to create a bridgehead north of the town however, and relieved the pressure on the 3rd Corps. General Ciupercă managed to secure the bridgehead, and the town itself hours after. The 4th Army would follow the retreating Soviet forces to the Dniester River, only fighting in minor engagements along the way.[2]

The Siege of Odessa

When Adolf Hitler convinced Romanian Conducător Ion Antonescu to cross the Dniester River, Ciupercă was still in command of the 4th Army. The Romanian 4th Army advanced along the coast of the Black Sea until it reached the outskirts of the Soviet city of Odessa. The city was encircled by elements of a mixed Romanian and German army, and due to heavy resistance from Soviet forces trapped inside of the city, the Romanian and German armies decided to lay siege to Odessa.[4] Ciupercă was charged with the defense of the outskirts of the city, while the main army under generals Antonescu, Iosif Iacobici, and Alexandru Ioaniţiu † pushed deeper into the city. During a staff meeting with the command, Ciupercă got into an dispute with general Antonescu and the General Staff over the tactics which would be used in the assault on the city. Antonescu and the General Staff favored an attack from multiple directions, and a general advance of troops on the front.[4] Ciupercă favored a spearhead movement however, an attempt to shatter Soviet lines before they'd have a chance to organize a serious resistance. This dispute would lead to Antonescu dismissing Ciupercă from his position, and for him to be replaced by general Ioan Glogojeanu and general Iacobici. Ciupercă retired on 13 October, moving back to his hometown of Râmnicu Sărat.[2][5]

Post-War Trial and Conviction

In 1946, Ciupercă joined the anti-communist Graiul Sângelui organization.[2] Due to this and to his association with the Romanian invasion of the Soviet Union, on 12 September, 1948, the retired general was arrested and tried by the Romanian People's Tribunals; he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for conspiring against the Romanian People's Republic and conspiring against the social order. He was sent to Jilava prison, before being transferred to Văcărești prison in the southern outskirts of Bucharest. Due to failing health, Ciupercă was admitted to the medical wing of the prison, where he died on 25 May, 1950, being ill with cerebral atherosclerosis, Parkinson's disease, myocarditis, and azotemia.

In 2019, a street in Buzău was named after him.[6]

Awards

References
  1. Victor, Eric. "The Soviet Occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina". Historia.
  2. "Lt. general Nicolae Ciupercă". www.worldwar2.ro.
  3. "Operation München - retaking Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina - 1941". www.worldwar2.ro.
  4. "The Battle of Odessa - 1941". www.worldwar2.ro.
  5. "Siege of Odessa, 8 Aug 1941–16 Oct 1941". ww2db.com.
  6. Bunila, Iulian (18 March 2019). "Trei străzi din orașul Buzău, a doua garnizoană ca mărime din țară, vor primi numele unor generali ai Armatei Române". Adevărul (in Romanian). Retrieved 16 October 2020.
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