Romanian Land Forces The Romanian Land Forces ( ) is the army of Romania , and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces . In recent years , full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the force . The Romanian Land Forces were founded on . They participated in World War I , together with the Russian Empire forces in actions against the Central Powers and , despite initial setbacks , won the decisive battles of Mărăşti and Mărăşeşti . During most of World War II ( until August 23 , 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 1989 revolution , 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 is growing greatly ; 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 . History . The first attempt to create an independent Romanian army was made by Gheorghe Magheru during the 1848 Wallachian Revolution , and it was based at Râureni ( now part of Râmnicu Vâlcea ) . However , Magheru rapidly ordered his troops to disband when the Ottoman forces swept into Bucharest to stop the revolution . Romanian War of Independence . The current Romanian Land Forces were formed in 1859 , immediately after the unification of Wallachia with Moldavia , and were commanded by Alexandru Ioan Cuza , " Domnitor " of Romania until his abdication in 1866 . In 1877 , at the request of Nikolai Konstantinovich , Grand Duke of Russia the Romanian army fused with the Russian forces , and led by King Carol I , fought in what was to become the Romanian War of Independence . They participated in the Siege of Plevna and several other battles . The Romanians won the war , but suffered about 27 , 000 casualties . Until World War I , the Romanian army didn ' t face any other serious actions . Second Balkan War . The Romanian Army entered the Second Balkan War against Bulgaria , allowing Romania to annex Southern Dobruja ( also known as the Cadrilater ) . Although some 330 , 000 troops were mobilised , the Romanians met little resistance in Bulgaria and as such this is not considered a major conflict in Romanian history . World War I . On August 27 , 1916 , Romania declared war on Germany and Austria - Hungary , following the initial success of the Brusilov Offensive ( a major Russian offensive against the armies of the Central Powers on the Eastern Front ) . The Romanian armies entered Transylvania ( then part of the Austro - Hungarian Empire ) , together with Russian forces . However , German forces under the command of General Erich von Falkenhayn stalled the attack in November , 1916 , and drove back the Romanians . At the same time , Bulgarian and Turkish troops invaded southern Romania , forcing the country into a two - front war . The Central Powers drove deep into Romania and conquered the south of the country ( Wallachia , including Bucharest ) by the end of 1916 . The Romanian forces , led by Marshal Constantin Prezan , retreated into the north - east part of Romania ( Moldavia ) . In the summer of 1917 however , Prezan , aided by the future Marshal , General Ion Antonescu , successfully defended the remaining unoccupied territories against German and Austro - Hungarian forces led by Field Marshal August von Mackensen . General Alexandru Averescu led the Second Army in the victories of the Battle of Mărăşti ( July 22 to August 1 , 1917 ) and the Battle of Mărăşeşti ( August 6 to September 8 , 1917 ) . As a result of the Russian Revolution , Romania was left isolated and unable to continue the war , and was forced to sign the Treaty of Bucharest with the Central Powers . Later on , in 1919 , Germany agreed , in the Treaty of Versailles Article 259 , to renounce all the benefits provided to it by the Treaty of Bucharest in 1918 . After the successful offensive on the Thessaloniki front , which put Bulgaria out of the war , Romania re - entered the war on November 10 , 1918 , a day before its end in the West . Hungarian - Romanian War of 1919 . After World War I , Transylvania proclaimed union with the Kingdom of Romania . As a result , in April 1919 , the newly established Hungarian Soviet Republic vowed to retake the region by force , and Hungarian troops attacked Romanian formations in Transylvania . The Romanian Army defeated the Hungarians and conquered Budapest in August 1919 . From 1921 to 1939 in Transylvania Inspectorate General of Army no . 3 had subordinate the 6th and 7th Army Corps . By 1 April 1921 , when he disbanded Forces Western Command , to order 6th Army Corps ( and earlier structures ) have been generals Prezan Constantin , Constantin Christescu Traian Mosoiu , Mardarescu George , Nicholas and Arthur Văitoianu petal . After 1 April 1921 to 23 March 1939 , C . 6 A . was commissioned by General Nicholas Petal , Danila Pop Hanzu Alexander , John Prodan , Motas Dumitru Gheorghe Florescu and Christie Doe , prominent military leaders , whom Octavian Goga wrote that " in the interwar period , in Cluj in Transylvania , commanders have made a large - scale opera and unanimous praise . " Three divisions were part of 6th Army Corps : 16th ( Dej ) , 17th ( Oradea ) and 20th Infantry Divisions ( Targu - Mureş ) . With rapid and marked worsening international situation , especially in neighboring Romania , on 22 September 1939 , the 4th Army , recently founded , became Army Group Command no . 1 of Transylvania . World War II . After General ( later Marshal ) Ion Antonescu took power in September 1940 , Romania signed the Tripartite Pact with the Axis Powers and subsequently took part in Operation Barbarossa in 1941 . An expeditionary force invaded the Soviet Union in Bessarabia and southern Ukraine , alongside the German Wehrmacht . The expeditionary force , ' Army Group Antonescu , ' was composed on 22 June 1941 of the 3rd Army , the 4th Army , the 2nd Army Corps , and the 11th Infantry Division . The 3rd Army comprised the 4th Army Corps ( 6th and 7th Infantry Divisions ) , the Cavalry Corps , the Mountain Corps , two separate artillery battalion , a TA unit , and the Air Force ' s 3rd Army Cooperation Command . The 4th Army consisted of the 3rd Army Corps , the 5th Army Corps , the 11th Army Corps ( two fortress brigades ) , and the 4th Army Cooperation Command . The army group - level 2nd Army Corps , under Major General N . Macici , controlled the 9th and 10th Infantry Divisions and the 7th Cavalry Brigade . Additionally the 1st Armoured Division was formed for service on the Eastern Front . The Army Group ' s first offensive , in conjunction with the Eleventh Army , Operation Munchen , enabled Romania to retake the territory immediately east of the Dnister , former part of Moldavia . The Romanian Armies saw their first major battles at Odessa and Sevastopol , and in 1942 advanced with other Axis forces deeper into Soviet territory during Operation Blue . The greatest disaster for the Romanian expeditionary force on the Eastern Front came at Stalingrad , where , during the Soviet counter - offensive of November 1942 , the thinly spread forces of the Third Army ( deployed north of Stalingrad ) and of the Fourth Army ( deployed south of Stalingrad ) were attacked by vastly superior Soviet forces and suffered combined losses of some 158 , 000 personnel . During April – May 1944 the Romanian forces led by General Mihai Racoviţǎ , together with elements of the German Eighth Army were responsible for defending Northern Romania during the Soviet First Jassy - Kishinev Offensive , and took part in the Battles of Târgu Frumos . In late August 1944 , the Red Army entered eastern Romania . On August 23 , 1944 , a coup led by King Michael I of Romania deposed Marshal Antonescu and set up a pro - Soviet government . It has been estimated that the royal coup shortened the war for Romania by six months . Romania soon declared war on Nazi Germany , and the First and Fourth Armies were pressed into action . After the expelling of the last Wehrmacht remnants from Romania , the Romanian Armies took part in the Siege of Budapest and the Prague Offensive of May 1945 . Cold War . The Soviet occupation of Romania led to a complete reorganisation of the Romanian Land Forces under the supervision of the Red Army . At the onset , pro - German elements were purged from the Romanian armed forces . In 1944 – 45 , two divisions were formed out of Romanian volunteers — ex - prisoners of war , trained and indoctrinated in the Soviet Union during the war , but also of many Communist activists . One was the Tudor Vladimirescu First Volunteer Division , under the command of Colonel Nicolae Cambrea , and the other the Horia , Cloşca şi Crişan Division , under the command of General Mihail Lascăr ( who later served as Minister of Defence from 1946 to 1947 ) . These two units formed the nucleus of the new Romanian Land Forces under Soviet control . The postwar reorganisation of the Land Forces included cavalry but the arm disappeared from the force with the disbandment in November 1954 of the 59th Cavalry Division at Oradea . After the Romanian Communist Party seized political power , the sovietization of the army commenced , under the supervision of the new Minister of Defence , Emil Bodnăraş . Thirty per cent of the officers and noncommissioned officers ( mostly experienced soldiers , and a potential source of opposition ) were purged from the military . This involved copying the Soviet model of military and political organisation , and changing the military doctrine of combat and defence , also in the context of Romania ' s integration in the strategic system of the Soviets , at the beginning of the Cold War . In the early 1950s the RLF reached a level of 12 rifle , one mechanised , and one tank division . Between 1960 and 1964 the rifle and mechanised divisions were converted to motor rifle divisions , and reductions in strength began ; force size dropped to six motor rifle and two tank divisions by 1970 . From 1970 to 1976 , three more motor rifle divisions were formed , but one was deactivated in 1977 , and the eight motor rifle and three tank division figure remained that way for the rest of the Cold War . From 1947 to 1960 the country seems to have been divided into three major military regions : Cluj , Bacău , and Bucharest in the west , east , and south , respectively . In wartime the land forces in each military region would become an army corps with their headquarters in Cluj - Napoca , Iaşi , and Bucharest . Armies seem to have succeeded military regions in 1960 , and three armies seem to have become four in 1980 . What is known is that on 01 . 07 . 1947 Fourth Army became 3rd Military Region , based in Cluj . The 3rd Military Region became the 3rd Army on 30 April 1960 , and the 4th Army on 5 April 1980 . During the 1980s , the land forces numbered 140 , 000 personnel , of whom two thirds were conscripts . In 1989 four armies appeared to exist : the First Army at Bucharest , Second Army at Buzau , Third Army at Craiova , and Fourth Army at Napoca . In 1989 the land forces consisted of eight mechanised ( infantry ) divisions ( 1st , Bucharest , 2nd , Craiova , 9th , Constanta , 10th , Iași , 11th , Oradea , 18th , Timişoara , 67th , and 81st , Tirgu Mureş ) two tank divisions ( the 57th Tank Division at Bucharest and the 6th Tank Division at Tirgu Mureş ) , four mountain infantry brigades , and three airborne brigades . According to the 165 - year ' History of Modern Romanian Artillery , ' in 1989 the 1st Army consisted of the 1st Mech Div , 57th Tank Div . , and the 2nd Mountain Brigade ; the 2nd Army of the 9th Mech Div , 10th Mech Div , 67th Mech Div , and 32nd TActical Rocket Bde ; the 3rd Army of the 2nd Mech Div , 18th Mech Div , and the 4th Mountain Bde ; and the 4th Army of the 11th Mech Div , 81st Mech Div , 6th Tank Div . , 1st Mountain Bde , 5th Mountain Bde , and 37th Tactical Missile Brigade . Motorised rifle divisions were organized along the Soviet model with three motorised rifle regiments , one tank regiment , and a full complement of 12 , 000 infantry soldiers . The artillery , antitank , and air defence regiments of divisions provided specialised fire support that enabled motorised rifle and tank regiments to maneuver . The air defense regiments consisted of two anti - aircraft artillery battalions and one surface - to - air missile ( SAM ) battalion , each composed of several batteries . In late 1980s the artillery regiments of motorised rifle and tank divisions included two artillery battalions , one multiple rocket launcher battalion , and one surface - to - surface missile battalion . Surface - to - surface missile battalions were divided into three or four batteries , each equipped with one missile launcher . They operated thirty FROG - 3 and eighteen SCUD missile launchers . The FROG - 3 , a tactical missile first introduced in 1960 , was being replaced in other non - Soviet Warsaw Pact armies . Proven to be fairly inaccurate in combat , FROG and SCUD missiles would be ineffective weapons carrying conventional high - explosive warheads . Tipped with nuclear or chemical warheads , however , they could be devastating . According to one former Romanian official writing in 1988 , Romania produced chemical agents that could be delivered by battlefield missiles . Post - communist era . During the early 1990s , some major units were disbanded and a lot of equipment was phased out or scrapped due to a severe shortage of funds . The whole land forces structure was reorganized from armies into territorial corps , and from regiment s into battalion s . In mid - 1990s , the situation of the land forces was critical : the military budget was three times lower than in 1989 ( 636 million dollars ) , 50 % of the equipment was older than 30 years , and 60 % of the armoured vehicles and 85 % of the missile units were non - operational . Due to lack of fuel and training , the level of combat readiness and military capability was extremely low ( only about 30 % of the entire land forces were operational ) . However , after 1996 the government took serious action ; the military budget was increased greatly , and modernisation of equipment commenced . Present organisation . Manpower . In 2005 , the army comprised eight combat , four combat support and two logistic brigade s , while ten combat , five combat support and two logistic brigades could be further mobilised in case of crisis . Many of these units have been restructured , however , as part of the " 2007 Force Plan " . Currently , about 75 , 000 military personnel and 15 , 000 civilians comprise the armed forces , for a total of 90 , 000 men and women . Out of these 75 , 000 , cca . 43 , 000 are in the Land Forces . Modernisation . The Romanian military is undergoing a three - stage restructuring . As of 2007 , the first short - term stage was completed ( reorganisation of the command system , implementation of the voluntary military service ) . The year 2015 marks the end of the second stage ( operational integration in NATO and EU ) , while 2025 is the date when the long - term stage is to be completed ( full technical integration in NATO and EU ) . The stages aim at modernising the structure of the armed forces , reducing the personnel as well as acquiring newer and improved technology that is compatible with NATO standards . Romania abolished compulsory military service on October 23 , 2006 . This came about due to a 2003 constitutional amendment which allowed the parliament to make military service optional . The Romanian Parliament voted to abolish conscription in October 2005 , with the vote formalising one of many military modernisation and reform programmes that Romania agreed to when it joined NATO in March 2004 . Structure . The current Romanian Land Forces are organized into three Divisions , the Bucharest Garrison , the Honor Regiment , and a few independent supporting battalions as well as a series of instruction centers . In peacetime , the commander of the land forces is the minister of defense , while in wartime , the President of Romania becomes the supreme commander of the armed forces . The main three Romanian formations are the 1st Infantry Division " Dacica " , the 2nd Infantry Division " Getica " , and the 4th Infantry Division " Gemina " . Before June 2008 , these units were known as the 1st Territorial Army Corps and the 4th Territorial Army Corps and in turn they used to be called the " 1st Army " and " 4th Army " prior to the year 2000 . However , due to restructuring , their personnel have been reduced considerably in order to reach compatibility with NATO standards . Among the structural changes was the disbandment in 2005 of the 2nd Paratroop Brigade ( HQ Clinceni ) . As of 2010 , the Joint HQ command was renamed the 2nd Infantry Division . The new division was formed from units previously belonging to the 1st and the 4th Infantry divisions . Currently , the Land Forces comprise a total of 3 Infantry Divisions . The current chief of the Romanian Land Forces Staff is Lieutenant General Sorin Ioan , succeeding Major General Ariton Ioniţă on 17 July 2012 . The Land Forces official day is celebrated each year , on April 23 . The structure as of 2012 is as follows : Equipment . The Romanian Land Forces has completely overhauled its equipment in the past few years replacing it with a more modern one . The TR - 85 M1 main battle tank and the MLI - 84 " Jder " infantry fighting vehicle , comprises the most modern native made equipment of the Romanian Land Forces . Also 43 ex - German Gepard anti - aircraft systems were commissioned in late - 2004 . The Land Forces ordered about 100 US Army Humvees ; the first eight were delivered to the military police in December 2006 . 31 Piranha III armoured vehicles ( LAV III variant ) and 60 URO VAMTAC high mobility vehicles were also ordered in 2007 for deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan . Equipment Summary : Special Forces . The evolution of the special forces within the Romanian Land Forces led to the establishment of the 1st Special Operations Regiment on 1 August 2009 , headquartered at Târgu Mureş . It later became the 6th Special Operations Brigade on 25 October 2011 , composed of a special operations battalion , two paratrooper battalions and a logistic battalion . The most famous and well trained unit is the 1st Special Operations Battalion " " Vulturii " " , which was legally created in late 2005 , after several batches of graduates had already been selected . Members of the special forces battalion have benefitted from courses abroad , such as the US Army Special Forces ( Green Berets ) course , the United States Marine Corps Force Recon course , as well as other courses . The Special Forces battalion became fully operational during 2007 , after a company had already been commissioned in early - 2006 . The current Romanian reconnaissance battalions ( the 313th , the 317th and the 528th ) are also considered special forces units , and were formed in the 1960s during the . After the revolution , the units suffered from a lack of funds which resulted in the temporary disbandment of the 313th Battalion . However , their equipment was completely overhauled in the past few years and the combat readiness and capabilities have regained full strength . DIR , Rapid Intervention Squad of the Romanian Ministry of Defense is an elite special operations unit currently belonging to the Romanian Military Police . It is a special unit inside the military , formed of highly - skilled individuals , a very large percentage of its members being champions in martial arts , kickboxing , athletic disciplines and so on . DIR was , until December 2003 , top secret . International missions . The following troops are deployed abroad : Training . After the Revolution , many firing ranges and training areas were closed and abandoned due to lack of funds . Currently , the military schools and training units of the Romanian Land Forces are directly subordinated to the central headquarters . There are 3 military high schools ( Câmpulung Moldovenesc , Alba Iulia and Breaza ) , one military academy ( Sibiu ) , one officers school ( Piteşti ) , 3 training schools ( Sibiu , Piteşti , Buzău ) and 9 training battalions . In the past few years , lots of training exercises took place in Romania with other Balkan or Allied countries . Most of these exercises took place at Babadag , which is one of the largest and most modern training firing range s and military facilities in Europe , with a total surface area of 270 square kilometres . It was announced on December 6 , 2006 that 1 , 500 U . S . troops stationed at Mihail Kogălniceanu , which in time will form Joint Task Force East , will be using Babadag as a training base . Ranks and insignia . The Romanian Land Forces distinguishes three career paths : officers ( " Ofiţeri " ) , warrant officers ( " Maiştrii militari " ) , NCO ' s ( " Subofiţeri " ) and enlisted men ( " Soldaţi şi gradaţi voluntari " ) . The Marshal rank can be given only in wartime by the President of Romania ; in fact , Romania had only three marshals coming from the officers ` rank in its history : Ion Antonescu , Alexandru Averescu and Constantin Prezan . Kings Ferdinand I , Carol II and Mihai I also held the rank of Marshal of Romania . King Carol I held simultaneous ranks as Russian Marshal and German Field - marshal .