Romanian Land Forces

Romanian Land Forces
Forțele Terestre Române
The coat of arms
Founded24 November [O.S. 12 November] 1859
CountryRomania
TypeArmy
RoleInfantry, mountain troops, artillery, Armoured fighting vehicles, paratroopers, CBRN
Size35,500[1]
Part ofRomanian Armed Forces
Command HQBucharest
Motto(s)Statul Major al Forțelor Terestre
Anniversaries23 April
Commanders
Chief of the Land Forces StaffMajor General Ciprian Marin[2]
Notable
commanders
Marshal Constantin Prezan
Marshal Alexandru Averescu
Marshal Ion Antonescu
Insignia
Roundel
Military colors
Identification flag (obverse)

The Romanian Land Forces (Romanian: Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces.[3]

The Romanian Land Forces was founded on 24 November [O.S. 12 November] 1859.[4][5] It participated in the Romanian War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire, the Second Balkan War against Bulgaria, World War I against the Central Powers (in which it won the decisive battles of Mărăști and Mărășești), and the Hungarian–Romanian War. During most of World War II (until 1944), Romanian forces supported the Axis powers, fighting against the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front. From August 1944 until the end of the war, Romania fought against Germany under the control of the Soviet Union. When the communists seized power after the Second World War, the army underwent reorganisation and sovietization.

Following the Romanian Revolution of 1989, due to shortage of funds, many units were disbanded and much equipment was phased out. Likewise, Romanian military capability declined because of a lack of fuel as well as training. However, since the late 1990s, a number of positive changes have come about and the level of combat readiness has been growing steadily; since 1996, the military budget has grown more than four times, rising from 636 million dollars to 2.8 billion dollars in 2007. Conscription has been abolished and professionalisation has been completed.

  1. ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies (15 February 2023). The Military Balance 2023. London: Routledge. pp. 125–127. ISBN 9781032508955.
  2. ^ "Șeful Statului Major al Forțelor Terestre". forter.ro (in Romanian).
  3. ^ "Strategia de transformare a Armatei României" [Strategy for the transformation of the Romanian Army], Ministry of National Defense (in Romanian), 2005, archived from the original (DOC) on 5 July 2007
  4. ^ (in English)"General Staff – HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF THE GENERAL STAFF". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  5. ^ "Armata Română – Enciclopedia României – prima enciclopedie online despre România". enciclopediaromaniei.ro. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012.

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