Ion Dragalina
Encyclopedia
Ion Dragalina was a Romanian general, who died during the First World War in the battle of the Jiu valley. Dragalina was born in the city of Caransebeş
, which at the time was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Ioan Dragalina was a descendant of a military family. His father, Alexandru Dragalina, served as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army until his resignation in 1859. His parents moved to Romania, where his father was appointed administrator of the border region. However, Marta Lazaroni, his mother, wanted to give birth in her ancestral home and thus the family returned to Caransebeş, where in 1860 Ioan, the first of their four sons, was born.
. He continued his studies at the Military Academy in Vienna (1884) and joined the Austro-Hungarian army. While at the Military Academy, he enrolled and graduated from the School of Geodetic Engineering. In 1886 he married Elena Giurginca. They had six children: two sons (Corneliu – born in 1887, and Virgiliu – born in 1890) and four daughters (Aurora, Elena, Cornelia and Viorica).
and moved to Romania where he joined the Romanian Army as a second lieutenant. He advanced through the ranks becoming captain in 1892, major in 1899 and lieutenant-colonel in 1908. Between 1908 and 1911, lieutenant-colonel Dragalina was the commander of the Military Infantry School in Bucharest. For his work in developing the scientific curriculum and for the order and discipline instilled in the military education system, Ioan Dragalina was made a member of the Order of the Star of Romania
, First class.
In April 1911, colonel Ioan Dragalina took over the command of the 34th Regiment in Constanţa
. During this time, he was made a member of the Order of the Crown
, Fourth Class. In 1915 he was promoted to Brigadier General and had under his command the Third Territorial Commandment.
During the years of Romania's neutrality, Dragalina worked on fortifications in the Prahova Valley.
to the city of Calafat
. In August 1916, his division fought at Orşova and on the Cerna Valley. After attacking on the morning of August 15, 1916 at Porţile de Fier (Iron Gates
) the troops under Dragalina occupied the mountain peaks of Alion, Ozoina and Drănic, and liberated the city of Orşova
. The First Division maintained its positions until October, successfully stopping the German-Austro-Hungarian advance.
In October, a massive German and Austro-Hungarian offensive was launched in the Jiu Valley
under the command of General Paul von Kneussl. On the 11th of October 1916, General Dragalina was summoned to Craiova and ordered to take over the command of the First Army. He decided to fight Kneussl in the mountains and called upon his Romanian soldiers:
"Officers and soldiers of the First Romanian Army, from this moment on I am at the helm of the army and demand from all of you, from General to the last soldier: first that you defend with your life the sacred ground of our fatherland, our ancestral home, our land and the honor of the Romanian name. I demand from all of you total discipline and the strictest execution of orders. The troop which cannot advance should die fighting."
Early on the morning of October 12, 1916, General Dragalina left by car for the Jiu Vally, accompanied by two officers – Colonel Toma Dumitrescu and Major Constantin Militiade. He wanted personally to asses the situation on the front and reconnect with his military leaders, since phone lines were out of order. He reached the outposts of the first line of defense close to the Lainici Monastery
. He stopped there to confess and take communion. While crossing a narrow bridge on his way back, the car was caught in machine gun cross fire. Speeding under a hail of bullets, his driver managed to cross the bridge. But the General was hit in his left upper arm and scapula.
Dragalina was urgently transported to the medical outpost at Gura Sadului, where the wound was disinfected and his arm was bandaged. From Gura Sadului he was transported to Târgu Jiu and that very same day to Craiova, where doctors recommended amputation. However, a telegram from Military Headquarters in Bucharest ordered his urgent transfer by train to the Military Hospital at the Royal Palace in Bucharest. The tedious and long trip delayed his arrival (the train arrived in Bucharest on the evening of October 13) and his wound became infected. In Bucharest, doctors disinfected the wound, extracted the bullet from his scapula, and set his arm in a cast. On his hospital bed, King Ferdinand I of Romania
conferred upon him the Order of Michael the Brave
. On October 16, 1916 his left arm was amputated. His condition began to ameliorate, but then sepsis set in. He died on the evening of November 9, 1916.
Memorial services were held at Biserica Albă in Bucharest. In attendance were King Ferdinand and Prince Carol
(the future King Carol II) as well as many political personalities: Ion I.C. Brătianu (Prime-Minister of Romania), Vintilă Brătianu
(War Minister), the writer Barbu Ştefănescu-Delavrancea, Mihai Cantacuzino (Justice Minister), Take Ionescu
(Minister of Foreign Affairs), Henry Catargi (Marshal of the Royal Palace), generals and foreign military attachés in Romania. He was laid to rest in the Heroes' Cemetery (Bellu Military Cemetery) in Bucharest.
(1887–1949) also born in Caransebeş, and of the Navy commander Virgil-Alexandru Dragalina.
As a tribute to his heroism, several monuments were erected. Among these:
A commemorative plaque was placed on the wall of the house of General Dragalina in Caransebeş (Ardealului Street, No. 6). Many streets, schools, and geographical places were also named after him.
To honor his memory, a village in the Călăraşi County
was named Dragalina
in 1924.
Caransebes
Caransebeş is a city in Caraş-Severin County, part of the Banat region in southwestern Romania. It is located at the confluence of the river Timiş with the river Sebeş, the latter coming from the Ţarcu Mountains. To the west, it is in direct contact with the Banat hills...
, which at the time was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Ioan Dragalina was a descendant of a military family. His father, Alexandru Dragalina, served as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army until his resignation in 1859. His parents moved to Romania, where his father was appointed administrator of the border region. However, Marta Lazaroni, his mother, wanted to give birth in her ancestral home and thus the family returned to Caransebeş, where in 1860 Ioan, the first of their four sons, was born.
Education and early life
Ioan Dragalina went to primary school in Caransebeş and then to military school in TimişoaraTimisoara
Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...
. He continued his studies at the Military Academy in Vienna (1884) and joined the Austro-Hungarian army. While at the Military Academy, he enrolled and graduated from the School of Geodetic Engineering. In 1886 he married Elena Giurginca. They had six children: two sons (Corneliu – born in 1887, and Virgiliu – born in 1890) and four daughters (Aurora, Elena, Cornelia and Viorica).
Career in the Romanian Army
In 1887, Ioan Dragalina resigned from the Austro-Hungarian ArmyAustro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
and moved to Romania where he joined the Romanian Army as a second lieutenant. He advanced through the ranks becoming captain in 1892, major in 1899 and lieutenant-colonel in 1908. Between 1908 and 1911, lieutenant-colonel Dragalina was the commander of the Military Infantry School in Bucharest. For his work in developing the scientific curriculum and for the order and discipline instilled in the military education system, Ioan Dragalina was made a member of the Order of the Star of Romania
Order of the Star of Romania
The Order of the Star of Romania is Romania's highest civil order. It is awarded by the President of Romania...
, First class.
In April 1911, colonel Ioan Dragalina took over the command of the 34th Regiment in Constanţa
Constanta
Constanța is the oldest extant city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of Constanța County and the largest city in the region....
. During this time, he was made a member of the Order of the Crown
Order of the Crown (Romania)
The Order of the Crown is a chivalric order set up on 14 March 1881 by King Carol I of Romania to commemorate the establishment of the Kingdom of Romania...
, Fourth Class. In 1915 he was promoted to Brigadier General and had under his command the Third Territorial Commandment.
During the years of Romania's neutrality, Dragalina worked on fortifications in the Prahova Valley.
WWI
In 1916, prior to Romania entering the First world war on the side of the Allied Forces, Dragalina was named commander of the First Infantry Division, stationed at Drobeta-Turnu Severin. His troops patrolled a very large area on the western border, extending from the sources of the Argeş RiverArges River
Argeș is a river of Southern Romania. It starts at the junction of headwaters Buda and Capra in the Făgăraș Mountains, in the Southern Carpathians and flows into the Danube at Oltenița.The main city on the Argeş is Piteşti...
to the city of Calafat
Calafat
Calafat is a city in Dolj County, Romania, on the river Danube, opposite the Bulgarian city of Vidin, to which it is linked by ferryboat. The construction of the Calafat-Vidin Bridge is planned between the two cities....
. In August 1916, his division fought at Orşova and on the Cerna Valley. After attacking on the morning of August 15, 1916 at Porţile de Fier (Iron Gates
Iron Gate (Danube)
The Iron Gates The gorge lies between Romania in the north and Serbia in the south. At this point, the river separates the southern Carpathian Mountains from the northwestern foothills of the Balkan Mountains. The Romanian, Hungarian, Slovakian, Turkish, German and Bulgarian names literally mean...
) the troops under Dragalina occupied the mountain peaks of Alion, Ozoina and Drănic, and liberated the city of Orşova
Orsova
Orșova is a port city on the Danube river in southwestern Romania's Mehedinți County. It is one of four localities in the county located in the Banat historical region. It is situated just above the Iron Gates, on the spot where the Cerna River meets the Danube.- History :The first documented...
. The First Division maintained its positions until October, successfully stopping the German-Austro-Hungarian advance.
In October, a massive German and Austro-Hungarian offensive was launched in the Jiu Valley
Jiu Valley
The Jiu Valley is a region in southwestern Romania, in Hunedoara county, situated in a valley of the Jiu River between the Retezat Mountains and the Parâng Mountains...
under the command of General Paul von Kneussl. On the 11th of October 1916, General Dragalina was summoned to Craiova and ordered to take over the command of the First Army. He decided to fight Kneussl in the mountains and called upon his Romanian soldiers:
"Officers and soldiers of the First Romanian Army, from this moment on I am at the helm of the army and demand from all of you, from General to the last soldier: first that you defend with your life the sacred ground of our fatherland, our ancestral home, our land and the honor of the Romanian name. I demand from all of you total discipline and the strictest execution of orders. The troop which cannot advance should die fighting."
Early on the morning of October 12, 1916, General Dragalina left by car for the Jiu Vally, accompanied by two officers – Colonel Toma Dumitrescu and Major Constantin Militiade. He wanted personally to asses the situation on the front and reconnect with his military leaders, since phone lines were out of order. He reached the outposts of the first line of defense close to the Lainici Monastery
Lainici Monastery
The Lainici Monastery is a Romanian Orthodox monastery located 32 km from Târgu Jiu.-History:First mention of this monastery was in 14th siecle. The monastery was constructed during the reign of John Caradja Voivode between 1812 and 1817.-References:...
. He stopped there to confess and take communion. While crossing a narrow bridge on his way back, the car was caught in machine gun cross fire. Speeding under a hail of bullets, his driver managed to cross the bridge. But the General was hit in his left upper arm and scapula.
Dragalina was urgently transported to the medical outpost at Gura Sadului, where the wound was disinfected and his arm was bandaged. From Gura Sadului he was transported to Târgu Jiu and that very same day to Craiova, where doctors recommended amputation. However, a telegram from Military Headquarters in Bucharest ordered his urgent transfer by train to the Military Hospital at the Royal Palace in Bucharest. The tedious and long trip delayed his arrival (the train arrived in Bucharest on the evening of October 13) and his wound became infected. In Bucharest, doctors disinfected the wound, extracted the bullet from his scapula, and set his arm in a cast. On his hospital bed, King Ferdinand I of Romania
Ferdinand I of Romania
Ferdinand was the King of Romania from 10 October 1914 until his death.-Early life:Born in Sigmaringen in southwestern Germany, the Roman Catholic Prince Ferdinand Viktor Albert Meinrad of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, later simply of Hohenzollern, was a son of Leopold, Prince of...
conferred upon him the Order of Michael the Brave
Order of Michael the Brave
The Order of Michael the Brave is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign of World War I, and was again awarded in World War II...
. On October 16, 1916 his left arm was amputated. His condition began to ameliorate, but then sepsis set in. He died on the evening of November 9, 1916.
Memorial services were held at Biserica Albă in Bucharest. In attendance were King Ferdinand and Prince Carol
Carol II of Romania
Carol II reigned as King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until 6 September 1940. Eldest son of Ferdinand, King of Romania, and his wife, Queen Marie, a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria...
(the future King Carol II) as well as many political personalities: Ion I.C. Brătianu (Prime-Minister of Romania), Vintilă Brătianu
Vintila Bratianu
Vintilă Brătianu was a Romanian politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania between 24 November 1927 and 2 November 1928.Vintilă and his brothers Ion and Dinu were the leaders of the National Liberal Party of Romania...
(War Minister), the writer Barbu Ştefănescu-Delavrancea, Mihai Cantacuzino (Justice Minister), Take Ionescu
Take Ionescu
Take or Tache Ionescu was a Romanian centrist politician, journalist, lawyer and diplomat, who also enjoyed reputation as a short story author. Starting his political career as a radical member of the National Liberal Party , he joined the Conservative Party in 1891, and became noted as a social...
(Minister of Foreign Affairs), Henry Catargi (Marshal of the Royal Palace), generals and foreign military attachés in Romania. He was laid to rest in the Heroes' Cemetery (Bellu Military Cemetery) in Bucharest.
Legacy
General Ioan Dragalina is the father of the future Romanian general Corneliu DragalinaCorneliu Dragalina
Corneliu Dragalina was a Romanian General during World War II, the son of the World War I-general Ion Dragalina. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...
(1887–1949) also born in Caransebeş, and of the Navy commander Virgil-Alexandru Dragalina.
As a tribute to his heroism, several monuments were erected. Among these:
- A cross in the Jiu Valley on the spot where General Dragalina was wounded, erected on October 12, 1927
- A bronze statue was placed in front of the military barracks, in the Park General Ioan Dragalina in Caransebeş. The statue is the work of Mihai Onofrei and was unveiled on June 3, 1943. (It is included on the List of Historical Monuments of the Caraş-Severin County, code CS-III-m-B-11239)
- A bronze bust in the city of Lugoj by Spiridon Georgescu (also included in the List of Historical Monuments, Timiş County, cod TM-III-m-B-06322)
- A bronze bust on a marble pedestal in front of the Mausoleum of MărăşeştiMausoleum of MărăşeştiThe Mausoleum of Mărăşeşti is a memorial site in Romania containing remains of 5,073 Romanian soldiers and officers killed in the First World War and dedicated to the commemoration of the Battle of Mărăşeşti and Romanian Army members who were killed during World War I.The memorial took architects...
by Iulian Coruţ in 1993
A commemorative plaque was placed on the wall of the house of General Dragalina in Caransebeş (Ardealului Street, No. 6). Many streets, schools, and geographical places were also named after him.
To honor his memory, a village in the Călăraşi County
Calarasi County
Călărași is a county of Romania, in Muntenia, with the county seat at Călărași.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 324,617 and a population density of 64/km².*Romanians – 95%*Roma and others.-List of cities by population:...
was named Dragalina
Dragalina, Calarasi
Dragalina is a commune in Călăraşi County, Romania, named after the Romanian general Ion Dragalina. It is composed of three villages: Constantin Brâncoveanu, Dragalina and Drajna Nouă.As of 2007 the population of Dragalina is 8,575....
in 1924.