Romania's commander on the Eastern Front
Before the flank northwest of Stalingrad collapsed, Dumitrescu requested German reinforcements.
Petre Dumitrescu was a career officer of the Kingdom of Romania who commanded the Romanian Third Army on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. Alongside German forces, he led Romanian operations in Bukovina, Ukraine, Crimea, and the Caucasus as Romania pursued the war against the Soviet Union. In November 1942, the Third Army's exposed flank northwest of Stalingrad came under the Soviet Uranus offensive; Dumitrescu requested support, but his formation suffered catastrophic losses and retreated. Charged with war crimes after the war, he was acquitted in 1946 for lack of sufficient evidence.
Also known as: Petre I. Dumitrescu
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1901–1903Studied at the School of Artillery and Engineers; commissioned as a second lieutenant
- 1911–1913Studied at the Superior War School
- 1930–1932Military attaché to France
- 1935–1937Vice Chief of the General Staff
- 1940–1941Commander of the Romanian First Army
- 1941–1944Commander of the Romanian Third Army
- 1942Commanded the Third Army during the Battle of Stalingrad
- 1944Retired and investigated for alleged war crimes
Related historical events
- 1941–1945The Great Patriotic WarRomanian commander on the Axis sideAlongside German forces, he led Romanian operations against the Soviet Union.
- 1942–1943Battle of StalingradRomanian Third Army commanderHe reported the vulnerability of the German flank and requested support just before the Soviet breakthrough.
Eastern Front command and Romania’s 1944 change of sides
Dumitrescu was appointed commander of the Romanian Third Army in March 1941 and held the post for the rest of the war. In July 1941, the Third Army advanced into northern Bukovina, taking Cernăuți (now Chernivtsi), then crossed the Prut into northern Bessarabia. After Antonescu decided to continue the war beyond Romania’s pre-1940 borders, Dumitrescu also took part in the advance into Crimea and the Battle of the Sea of Azov. Romanian operations thus formed part of an Axis war effort that extended beyond the recovery of territory lost before 1940.
When the Soviet offensive broke through the Third Army’s line in November 1942, Dumitrescu led its retreat; in December, a strategic withdrawal west was ordered. From March to August 1944, he commanded an army group comprising the German Sixth Army and the Romanian Third Army. After Romania turned against Germany in August 1944, Soviet forces had captured more than 130,000 Romanian soldiers by the time the remnants of the Third Army reached Bucharest. Dumitrescu retired in early September.