In 1913 he went to study at the Artillery Officer School in Bucharest; soon after, he was sent to fight in Southern Dobruja, during the Second Balkan War. He graduated in 1916 with the rank of second lieutenant, and starting in July he served with the heavy artillery 1st Regiment–Dolj. He fought during the Romanian Campaign of World War I, notably at the Battle of Mărășești, when he was gravely wounded in his left arm at Muncelu, on 6 August 1917. While recovering in a hospital, he was promoted to lieutenant. In 1919 he participated in the Hungarian–Romanian War, commanding his platoon all the way to Budapest.