Romania in Fire in the East

Draft by Jason Long

Rules

No ground unit, German or Romanian, may attack or move into any hex of the Soviet Union from Romanian territory until the Jul I 41 turn. Neither may Soviet ground units attack or move into any hex of Romania. Air units of both sides may freely conduct operations over the territory of the other side.

Units may freely move within Romania at all times, to include deploying out of sector. Units in Romania, Garrison may not attack or move outside Romania proper.

All units replaced from the replacement pool are placed in Romania, Garrison.

Romanian supply lines should be very short. Even reaching as far as the Dneister strained their logistics system and they had continual problems at Odessa.

Initial Forces

3rd Army
Deploy as per FitE.
2x 4-8 Mtn XX1, 2
1x 3-8 Mtn XX4
1x 4-5-6 Inf XX6
3x 3-5-6 Inf XX7, 8, 14
3x 2-8* Cav X5, 6, 8
1x 1-2-6 MG X4 C
1x 3-2-8 Arm III1
1x 1-2-8 Mot Inf3 V
1x 1-8* Lt Inf III3 Gr
1x 2-1-8 Mot Art III1
1x 3-8 Art III3 A
2x 2-1-8 Art III4, Mun
1x 3-2-8 Art III2 A
1x 1-8 Art IIICav
1x 1-2-8 AT III3 A
1x 1-6 Eng III3 A
4th Army
Deploy as per FitE.
1x 5-8 Lt Inf XX1 Gr
3x 4-5-6 Inf XXGda, 5, 13
5x 3-5-6 Inf XX9, 10, 11, 15, 21
1x 2-5* Reserve XX35
1x 2-1-8* Cav X7
2x 1-2-4* Frt X1, 2
3x 1-2-6 MG X2 C, 3 C, 5 C
1x 2-1-6 Arm III2
1x 1-8 Mot Inf III4 V
1x 1-8* Lt Inf III4 Gr
1x 1-5* Nvl Trps III1 DMar
1x 4-6 Art III4 A
1x 2-8 Art III11 C
2x 2-1-8 Art III3, 5
1x 1-2-8 AT III4 A
1x 1-2-6 Eng III4 A
Romania, Garrison
1x 4-8 Mtn XX3
7x 3-5-6 Inf XX1, 2, 3, 4, 18, 19, 20
5x 2-5* Reserve XX25, 27, 30, 31, 32
2x 2-1-8* Cav X1, 9
3x 1-2-6 MG X1 C, 6 C, 7 C
1x 1-8 Ski III10 Mun
3x 1-8* Lt Inf III6 Gr, 7 Gr, 8 Gr
1x 4-3-6 Art III1 A
4x 2-1-8 Art III1, 6, 7, 8
1x 1-2-6 Eng III1 A
1x 2-1-5 Siege Art IIGC
Bucharesti:
1x 1-8 Cav III GCal
1x 1-8 Mot Inf II Cond
Bucharesti, Forming:
1x 1-5 Para II 4
Constanta:
1x 1-2-4* Inf X 23 Cst
Ploesti:
1x 1-4 Inf X 18 Sec

Reinforcements

Aug I 41

Release from Garrison:
1x 3-5-6 Inf XX3
2x 2-1-8* Cav X1, 9
1x 1-2-6 MG X1 C
1x 2-1-8 Art III1
Transfer from East to Romania, Garrison:
1x 3-5-6 Inf XX9

Sep I 41

Release from Garrison:
1x 1-2-6 MG X6 C
1x 2-1-8 Art III6
1x 1-2-6 Eng III1 A
1x 2-1-5 Siege Art IIGC

Oct I 41

Release from Garrison:
3x 3-5-6 Inf XX1, 2, 4

Jan I 42

Convert: 6x 2-5* Reserve XX 25, 27, 30, 31, 32, 35 to:
2x 1-2-4* Sec XX 1, 2 and 9 Inf RPs
Convert:
1x 1-2-4* Fort X 1 to:
1x 2-3-4 Fort XX 1
Convert:
1x 1-2-4* Fort X 2 to:
1x 2-3-4 Sec XX 2

Jan II 42

Release from Garrison:
3x 3-5-6 Inf XX1, 2, 18

Conditional Withdrawals:

Conquest of Odessa: At the beginning of the second Axis player turn following the Axis occupation of Odessa the Axis player must withdraw all forces of the 4th Army, all air and c/m units, and all forces released from reserve in 1941 to Romania, Garrison with the exception of 2x 1-2-4* Fort X 1, 2.


Fortele Aerienne Regale ale Romaniei


InitialReinforcements


1941


1942
AircraftRatingJun IIJulSepNovJanMar
He 111H44B4 2-7/221-----
He 112B5F4 1/81-----
IAR 804F5 0/71--1---
IAR 80A5F5 1/7--1--1
Ju 521T2 0/20-----1
Me 109E7F5 1/71-----
P.11c3F3 0/81-----1
P.11f3F3 0/71-----1
SM.79B3B3 2-6/191-----
Air Replacements-11111
East, Deployable2x B, 2x F


Abbreviations:


RomanianEnglish
AArmataArmy
CCorpulCorps
CavCavalarieCavalry
CondConducatorAntonescu's title
Cst
Coastal
DMarDt. MaritimMaritime Detachment
GCGeneral CartiereGeneral Headquarters
GCalGarda CalarasiGuards Cavalry
GdaGardaGuards
GrGrancieriBorder Guards
MunMunteMountain
Sec
Security
VVanatoriMounted Rifle

Order of Battle Notes:

There's a lot more material on the Romanians than there used to be, and much of it is even in English! Thus the much more reliable material presented above. However, even though I have orders of battle that include independent battalions and companies, they are generally just in tabular form without any identification. Thus the numerous units tagged with IDs that end in C or A.

Infantry: Rather like the Italians the best Romanian infantry were the mountain troops followed by the Grancieri or border troops. 4th Mountain Division was only raised in 1940 and was still green in comparison to the first three.

I rated the grancieri as light infantry since they spent much of their time securing the difficult terrain of Romania's borders. They weren't the second or third-rate infantry that was the case in the German or Italian Armies, but rather the best line infantry Romania had. Both of these types emphasized small unit operations and leadership as they frequently operated in terrain unsuitable for massed formations. This was in stark contrast to the ordinary line infantry.

The Guards Division was made of conscripts like every other infantry division, but I increased their attack strength because they were considered somewhat of an elite anyways. The 5th, 6th and 13th Infantry Divisions were trained by the Germans and could arguably be rated at 5-6 rather than the 4-5-6 that I gave them. I specified the units released from reserve to keep the Axis player from using units that never saw action in 1941 due to logistics problems or a forming status. This is tied into the later situation where a number of good units are not released from the garrison after being shattered at Odessa until 1944 as it could take a very long time to rebuild certain units since each division could only recruit from a certain area. Also the domestic situation played a role in that the Grancieri Division never left Romania again until Hungary could be attacked after Romania switched sides. Keeping it along the Hungarian border was an easy way for Antonescu to appease the strong anti-Hungarian elements in his own Army and government.

In Europa terms think of a good Italian unit with an extra regiment of infantry to get a feel for the fighting qualities of the Romanians. Most attacks by line infantry were costly frontal assaults, but they proved to be very stubborn in the defense as Stalingrad showed.

Artillery: Each corps had a two battalion artillery regiment assigned to it that shared the designation of that corps. One battalion was of 150mm Czech howitzers and the other was of 105mm French Schneider cannon. Both were truck drawn. The only exception was the artillery of the Cavalry Corps. I've rated the ordinary corps artillery as a 2-1-8 though a 2-8 rating might be appropriate. The 7 batteries of 75mm guns and 1 of 105mm howitzers are only worth a 1-8 for the Cavalry Corps.

All other artillery was organized into independent battalions that I've amalgamated by area of deployment using whatever higher headquarters I've been able find. Those are the 4 Army HQs and that of 11th Corps.

I assigned all the artillery that wasn't committed to the initial attack to 1st Army. That consisted of 2 battalions of 150mm howitzers, 2 battalions of 105mm cannon, all horse-drawn and one battalion of truck-drawn 105mm cannon. Some of these may have been used for the siege of Odessa, but I ignored this as there are reports that some heavy artillery was returned to Romania as ammo was exhausted during the siege. Rated as 4-3-6.

The 2nd Army ID was arbitrarily used for some of the artillery in 3rd Army's sector. It consisted of 2 battalions of 150mm howitzers and a battalion of 105mm cannon, all truck-drawn. Rated as 3-2-8.

Third Army's artillery included 2 battalions of 150mm howitzers and 2 battalions of 105mm cannon, all truck-drawn. Rated as 3-8.

Fourth Army's artillery includes all the independent horse-drawn units in the Army. These number 5 battalions of 105mm cannon, 1 battalion of 105mm howitzers, and 1 battalion of 150mm howitzers. Rated as 4-3-6.

11th Corps's HQ was used to amalgamated all the truck-drawn artillery in 4th Army's sector. These included 2 battalions of 105mm cannon and 1 battalion of 150mm howitzers. Rated as a 2-8, though 3-2-8 isn't out of the question.

The sole motorized artillery counter is that of the 1st Armored Division which wasn't deployed as a division. It consisted of battalions of 75mm field guns, 100mm howitzers and 105mm cannon. Rated as 2-1-8.

One source indicates that the Romanians had a number of old Austro-Hungarian siege artillery captured during the suppression of the Communist Hungarian government after the end of WW One. These numbered up to four 38cm and one 42cm howitzers, with a minimum of one each as they are currently on display in Bucharest. These might have been the guns that ran out of ammo as Romania didn't produce it domestically. Rated as 2-1-5 Siege Artillery.

Each Army had 6 companies of anti-tank guns, generally 47mm guns of Italian and French origin, that I've amalgamated into ad-hoc regiments.

Armor: The 1st Armored Division wasn't yet ready for combat when the Germans attacked. It was deployed without one of its motorized infantry regiments and a number of support units. This has been shown as two armored regiments, the first with 126 Czech LT vz. 35 tanks that saw German service as the Pz 35(t) and the second of 75 Renault R-35 tanks, the 3rd Vanatori motorized infantry regiment and the motorized artillery regiment. There was also about a battalion's worth of WW One-era Renault FT-17 tanks that were scattered about the country. I've ignored them as part of the training establishment though that wasn't all they were used for.

Cavalry: The three cavalry brigades that included a mechanized cavalry regiment have been rated as 2-8*. The brigades that were strictly horses were rated identically to their Soviet counterparts as they also were very lightly equipped. The corps-level reconnaissance squadrons have been factored into the cavalry brigades.

Engineers: The non-divisional engineer battalions have been amalgamated by deployments. The two battalions in 3rd Army have been rated as a 1-6. The four in 4th Army have been rated as a 2-6. And the three left at home were rated as a 1-2-6.

Machine-guns: As best I can figure each corps deployed one heavy machine-gun battalion with a number of others deployed at army level. There are enough that I've consolidated them under each corps at three battalions per for a 1-2-6. It appears that these may have been disbanded after Odessa to provide replacements, but I have no hard information and have ignored it considering the short duration of the game.

Reinforcements: Only the divisions are reliable; I released the units assigned to a corps when I noted that that corps had arrived at the front. The 1st Army engineers are strictly a guess on my part. Their utility at Odessa seems undeniable.


Aircraft: I've waffled back and forth on the Romanian Air Force for quite a while. Similarly, even though we now have a most excellent account of its operations during the war two different names are given for it! The Romanians actually committed about 2 and a half counters worth of fighters to Barbarossa and I initially decided to round them up to three counters, but I've reconsidered and rounded down since some of the fighters on the bubble never left Romania and only conducted operations over the Black Sea.

As was common practice among the minor European states Romania procured its aircraft from a variety of sources. This was compounded by attempts by both the Germans and the Allies to influence the Romanians through gifts of aircraft. To add further to the hodgepodge many ex-Polish aircraft took refuge in Romania in 1939. Romania placed them into service though spares shortages compromised the long-term usefulness of the best of these, the PZL P.37B.

Consequently most of the counters given above are amalgamations of various aircraft. The P-11s and the Me 109E are the only exceptions. The He 111 counter is a combination of 30 He 111s and 16 P.37s; the SM.79B, a twin-engined variant of the SM.79, an amalgamation of 22 SM.79s, 10 MB.210s, 18 Po.63, and 10 P.23 bombers. The He 112 counter combines 27 He 112s, 13 Hurricanes, and 10 or so P.24E fighters.

Replacements for the Romanian Air Force were few and far between. The Germans delivered 3 each ex-Yugoslav Blenheims and Hurricanes and started delivery of Ju 52s late in the year. A dozen He 111H6s were delivered in early 1942 and the Italians delivered 8 SM.79JRs in the fall/winter. Indigenous Romanian production was limited to the approximately 100 IAR 80 variants and twenty-odd JRS 79 bombers, the indigenous version of the SM.79JR.


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