Ion Dragalina Ion Dragalina ( December 16 , 1860 – November 9 , 1916 ) 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 Caransebeș , where in 1860 Ioan , the first of their four sons , was born . Education and early life . Ioan Dragalina went to primary school in Caransebeș and then to military school in Timişoara . 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 Army 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 . World War I . 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 River to the city of Calafat . In August 1916 , his division fought at Orșova and on the Cerna Valley . After attacking on the morning of August 15 , 1916 at " Porțile 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 . Legacy . General Ioan Dragalina is the father of the future Romanian general Corneliu Dragalina ( 1887 – 1949 ) also born in Caransebeș , and of the Navy Commodore 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 Caransebeș ( 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 .