Romanian Forces

General Corneliu Dragalina. South of Kharkov 1942.

In May 1942, general Corneliu Dragalina led his troops very well during the second battle for Kharkov. The Romanian troops took no less than 26,432 POWs, as well as a large number of T-60 light tanks, but also the first T-34 and KV-1 tanks captured intact by the Romanian Army. The 6th Corps lost 2,983 men during these operations. For the German summer offensive, general Dragalina was subordinated to the 1st Panzer Army. The 6th Corps had to keep up with the advance of the German motorized units. On 22 June it forced the river Donetsk and continued the offensive towards the Don. It marched and fought over 450 km in 20 days, a real performance for an infantry unit. From 19 July on, the 6th Corps was subordinated to the 4th Panzer Army, which it helped to force the river Don. At the beginning of September, general Dragalina and his troops were in positions south of Stalingrad. He received the Ritterkreuz and the Mihai Viteazul Order 2nd class for his corps' actions. He was also promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.