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72-520: By December 1942 it was blatantly obvious that Romania had nothing capable of defeating the modern Soviet medium and heavy tanks and was not likely to get anything capable of doing so from the Germans anytime soon. Romania had a number of captured modern Soviet tanks and field guns and it was decided to convert them to tank destroyers on the model of the German Marder II . The T-60 light tank

144-516: A captured 76.2-mm field gun, creating the TACAM T-60, the Romanians more than made up for their inability to keep the 16 heavily-armed captured Allied tanks and assault guns operational. The TACAM T-60 had a M-1936 F-22 field gun mounted on a T-60 light tank chassis. The gun was removed from its carriage and mounted on a new pedestal that mated to the chassis. The gun-laying mechanism

216-502: A coherent fighting force, and the German 6th Army had been encircled to a depth of 100 km (62 mi). The Red Army mobile group managed to cut off the retreat of the German formations into Hungary . Isolated pockets of German units tried to fight their way through, but only small remnants managed to escape the encirclement. The main effort of the front was in the sector of the 37th Army , commanded by Lieutenant General Sharokhin, by

288-680: A decisive role in Romania's switch of allegiance, while external factors only gave support; this version is markedly different from the Soviet position on the events, which holds that the offensive resulted in the Romanian coup and "liberated Romania with the help of local insurgents". The German formations suffered significant irrecoverable losses, with over 115,000 prisoners taken, while Soviet casualties were unusually low for an operation of this size. The Red Army advanced into Yugoslavia and forced

360-459: A ditch 1.3 metres (4.3 ft) wide, climb an obstacle .5 metres (1.6 ft) high and ford a stream .6 metres (2.0 ft) deep. The new vehicle weighed 9 tons fully loaded and required a crew of 3 to operate. It measured 4.24 meters in length (5.51 meters including the gun), 2.35 meters in width and 1.75 meters in height, with a ground clearance of 0.33 meters. Its 6-cylinder, water-cooled GAZ 202 engine generated an output of 80 hp which provided

432-609: A lack of the 75mm pak 40. A diffrent superstructure was also made to accommodate the new gun, this resulting in a new version called the 5 cm pak 38 auf p.z kpfw Marder II. The various Marder IIs produced fought on all European fronts of the war, however, there was a large concentration of these on the Eastern Front . The Marder IIs were used by the Panzerjäger Abteilungen of the Panzer divisions of both

504-537: A line on the lower Dniester River after the conclusion of the Soviet Odessa Offensive . The line, however, was breached in two places, with the Red Army holding bridgeheads . After June, calm returned to the sector, allowing the rebuilding of the German formations. Heeresgruppe Südukraine had been, until June 1944, one of the most powerful German formations in terms of armour. However, during

576-771: A mobile and powerful enough anti-tank weapon than the existing towed anti-tank guns or tank destroyers like the Panzerjäger I . Among a series of solutions, it was decided to use surplus light tanks, like the Panzer II, and captured vehicles, like the Lorraine Schlepper , as the basis for makeshift tank destroyers. The result was the Marder series, which were armed with either the new 7.5 cm Pak 40 anti-tank guns or captured Soviet 7.62 cm F-22 Model 1936 field guns, large numbers of which had been acquired early in

648-411: A powerful 75 mm anti-tank gun mounted on top. This would be referred to as the ' Toldi páncélvadász ' ('Toldi tank destroyer '). The Marder II came in two major versions. The first version (Sd.Kfz. 132) was based on the light Panzer II Ausf . D/E and Flammpanzer II chassis with a new torsion bar suspension featuring four large road wheels and a "slack track" with no track return rollers. It

720-635: A result of the Second Vienna Award . Romania's defection meant the loss of a vital source of oil for Germany, leading to serious fuel shortages in the Wehrmacht by the end of 1944 and prompting Hitler's first admission that the war was lost. Following the success of the operation, Soviet control over Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina , which had been occupied by the USSR in 1940 , was re-established. Soviet forces proceeded to collect and expel

792-624: A tactical unit on the third day of the Soviet offensive: 'The enemy was everywhere.' In Mazulenko, results of the operations of the 66th Rifle Corps were described: "Because of the reinforcement of the Corps and the deep battle arrangements of troops and units the enemy defenses were broken through at high speed." German survivors of the initial attack stated "By the end of the barrage, Russian [Soviet] tanks were deep into our position." (Hoffman). A German battalion commander, Hauptmann Hans Diebisch, Commander II./IR579, 306.ID, commented "The fire assets of

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864-533: A time when the Soviet Army had already moved deep inside Romania, and the German 6th Army had been cut off from the rest of the Wehrmacht in Romania. The opening of hostilities between the Wehrmacht and the Romanian Army commenced after a failed coup d'état by the German ambassador. Simultaneously, a coup d'état led by King Michael of Romania on 23 August deposed Antonescu and withdrew Romania from

936-518: Is a public holiday , and is known officially as Liberation Day . King Michael's coup on August 23 was also celebrated in neighboring Romania as Liberation from Fascist Occupation Day until 1990. In 1970, a street in Botanica was named in honor of Aleksei Belsky, a Hero of the Soviet Union and a participant in the second Jassy–Kishinev offensive. After the collapse of the USSR , the street

1008-471: Is no manpower information on the divisions, but they probably had between 7,000 and 7,500 men each, with the 61st Guards Rifle Division perhaps mustering 8,000–9,000. The soldiers were prepared over the course of August by exercising in areas similar to those they were to attack, with emphasis on special tactics needed to overcome the enemy in their sector. Troops density in the 61st Guards Rifle Division's sector per kilometer of frontage was: Troops density in

1080-655: The 3rd and 4th Armies and an encirclement of the German 6th Army . Such concerns were dismissed by the German command as "alarmist". Marshal Ion Antonescu suggested a withdrawal of Axis forces to the fortified Carpathian –FNB ( Focșani – Nămoloasa – Brăila )– Danube line, but Friessner, the commander of Army Group South Ukraine, was unwilling to consider such a move, having already been dismissed by Hitler from Army Group North for requesting permission to retreat. Army Group South Ukraine – Generaloberst Johannes Friessner The 1st Romanian Armored Division did not have all of its units immediately available for opposing

1152-484: The 62nd Tacam Company and assigned to the 2nd Armored Regiment. Despite these nominal assignments the TACAM T-60 s were assigned as needed. The ad hoc Cantemir Armored Group was formed on 24 February 1944 to reinforce the defenses of Northern Transnistria from elements of the 1st Armored Division and included fourteen TACAM T-60 s in two batteries. This was later returned to its parent 1st Armored Division and

1224-466: The Eighth Army . The German–Romanian front line collapsed within two days of the start of the offensive, and 6th Guards Mechanized Corps was inserted as the main mobile group of the offensive. The initial breakthrough in the 6th Army's sector was 40 km (25 mi) deep, and destroyed rear-area supply installations by the evening of 21 August. By 23 August, the 13th Panzer Division was no longer

1296-538: The Heer and the Waffen SS , as well as several Luftwaffe units. The Marder' s weaknesses were mainly related to survivability. The combination of a high silhouette and open-top fighting compartment made them vulnerable to indirect artillery fire, aircraft strafing, and grenades. The armor was also quite thin, making them vulnerable to enemy tanks or infantry. The Marders were not assault vehicles or tank substitutes;

1368-746: The Prut River crossings before withdrawing German units of the 6th Army could reach it. It was then to unleash the 6th Tank Army to seize the Siret River crossings and the Focșani Gate , a fortified line between the Siret River and the Danube. The 3rd Ukrainian Front was to attack out of its bridgehead across the Dniester near Tiraspol , and then release mobile formations to head north and meet

1440-673: The T-60 , but also on the chassis of the T-60A, a T-60 version with thicker frontal armor and disc road wheels. This version was called TACAM T-60A . Not much is known about these vehicles or about their action on the front. Because the T-60 was the sole captured Allied tank which the Romanian industry could maintain, it served as a platform for further Romanian tank destroyer projects. Two T-60s were each fitted with one captured Soviet 122 mm M1910/30 howitzer and one 7.92 mm ZB-53 machine gun to serve as

1512-511: The 13th Panzer Division were counterattacking. The German–Romanian opposition was XXX. and XXIX. AK, with the 15th and 306th German Infantry Divisions, the 4th Romanian Mountain Division, and the 21st Romanian Infantry Division. The 13th Panzer Division was in reserve. At the end of the first day, the 4th Romanian Mountain ( General de divizie , (Major General) Gheorghe Manoliu ), and 21st Romanian Divisions were almost completely destroyed, while

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1584-523: The 333rd Rifle Division's sector per kilometer of frontage was: The 333rd Rifle Division put three regiments in the first echelon and had none in reserve. The 61st Guards Rifle Division attacked in a standard formation, with two regiments in the first echelon and one in reserve. This proved to be fortunate, because the right wing of the 188th Guards Rifle Regiment was unable to advance past the Plopschtubej strongpoint. The 189th Guards Rifle Regiment on

1656-550: The 5th Territorial Corps, now numbering over 40,000 men, reduced the Germans to a pocket around the village of Păulești , roughly 10 km (6.2 mi) north of Ploiești. They surrendered the following day after a failed breakout attempt. About 2,000 Germans were able to escape to the Hungarian lines across the Carpathians. Other major cities and industrial centers, such as Constanța , Reșița , and Sibiu were secured by

1728-478: The 66th and 6th Guards Rifle Corps. The 37th Army had a 4 km (2.5 mi)-wide breakthrough frontage assigned to it. It was divided in two groupings, two corps in the first echelon, and one in reserve. According to the plan, it was to break through the German–Romanian defence lines in seven days, to a distance of 110–120 km (68–75 mi), with the goal of covering 15 km (9.3 mi) per day during

1800-561: The Axis forces in the region, opening the way into Romania and the Balkans . The offensive resulted in the encirclement and destruction of the German forces, allowing the Soviet Army to resume its strategic advance further into Eastern Europe . It also pressured Romania to switch allegiance from the Axis powers to the Allies. For the Germans, this was a massive defeat, which can be compared to

1872-521: The Axis. By this time, the bulk of the German and Romanian armies had either been destroyed or cut off by the Soviet offensive, with only residual and rear-echelon forces present in the Romanian interior. Hitler immediately ordered special forces under the command of Otto Skorzeny and Arthur Phleps , stationed in nearby Yugoslavia, to intervene in support of the remaining German troops, which were mostly concentrated around Bucharest, Ploiești, Brașov , and Giurgiu . General Alfred Gerstenberg , commander of

1944-404: The German 15th and 306th Infantry Divisions suffered heavy losses (according to a German source, the 306th Infantry lost 50% in the barrage, and was destroyed apart from local strong-points by evening). Almost no artillery survived the fire preparation. The 13th Panzer Division counterattacked the 66th Rifle Corps on the first day, and tried to stop its progress the next day to no avail. A study on

2016-466: The German defense were literally destroyed by the Soviet fighter bombers attacking the main line of resistance and the rear positions. When the Russian infantry suddenly appeared inside the positions of the battalion and it tried to retreat, the Russian air force made this impossible. The battalion was dispersed and partly destroyed by air attacks and mortar and machine gun fire." It is often alleged that

2088-518: The Luftwaffe defenses around the oilfields at Ploiești, had already ordered a column of motorized troops to attack Bucharest on the evening of 23 August. Open hostilities between German and Romanian forces began the following morning on the city's northern outskirts. After capturing the airfield at Otopeni , the attack stalled, and by 28 August Gerstenberg and the remaining German forces in the vicinity of Bucharest surrendered. The fighting here featured

2160-493: The Romanian 1st Mountain Division by 25 August, thus cutting off the most direct route of reinforcement or retreat for the remaining Wehrmacht formations to the south. The following day, the Romanian 2nd Territorial Corps captured Giurgiu and neutralized the German AA units there, taking 9,000 prisoners in the process. The 25,000-strong German presence around Ploiești, consisting mostly of flak troops and their security companies,

2232-464: The Romanian aircraft there, but they were overpowered by Romanian paratroopers and security companies before they could achieve their objectives. A proposed operation to rescue Antonescu, led by Skorzeny and inspired by the Gran Sasso raid which liberated Benito Mussolini in 1943, could not materialize as Antonescu's whereabouts were unknown even to the Romanian government until 30 August, when he

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2304-413: The Romanians with relative ease. By 31 August, all German resistance in Romania had been cleared. During the fighting between 23 and 31 August, the Romanian Army captured 56,000 German prisoners, who were later surrendered to the Soviet Army. A further 5,000 Germans were killed in action, while Romanian casualties amounted to 8,600 killed and wounded. Romanian sources claim that internal factors played

2376-508: The Soviet offensive. Some of its units were still in the interior as of 20 August. Therefore, an ad hoc organization of the Division's units which were actually available for opposing the Soviet offensive lists the Division's 80 front line tanks as follows (not including the Division's 12 armored cars): The Division also had a dedicated anti-tank battalion. Its main weapons were entirely of Romanian origin: 10 TACAM T-60 tank destroyers and 24 75 mm Reșița field/anti-tank guns. The 24 guns were

2448-657: The Soviets made an unsuccessful attack in the same sector in an operation he refers to as the first Jassy–Kishinev offensive , from 8 April to 6 June 1944. In 1944, the Wehrmacht had been pressed back along its entire front line in the East. By May 1944, the South Ukraine Army Group ( Heeresgruppe Südukraine ) was pushed back towards the prewar Romanian frontier, with the German 6th Army managing to establish

2520-406: The attack worked well. The German command staff believed that the movement of Soviet forces along the front line was a result of a troop transfer to the north. Exact positions of Soviet formations were also not known until the final hours before the operation. By contrast, the Romanians were aware of the imminent Soviet offensive and anticipated a rerun of Stalingrad , with major attacks against

2592-418: The battle in his book. According to Dumitru, fighting took place near the village of Scobâlțeni in the vicinity of a town called Podu Iloaiei on 20 August. The Romanian division destroyed 60 Soviet tanks and lost 30 tanks. At the end of the day, Romanians decided to retreat to the south after an analysis of the military results of the day. The complete collapse of the German 6th Army and the Romanian 4th Army

2664-466: The concept and even put it into serial (albeit limited) production. Romanian industry was unable to maintain 16 Allied tanks and assault guns mounting guns of 75 mm or larger — six T-34s , two KV-1s , two T-28s , one IS-2 , one ISU-152 , and four M3 Lees — which Romania captured, relegating them to use only for anti-tank training. By converting 34 captured T-60 light tanks — the only captured enemy tanks Romanian industry could maintain — to carry

2736-653: The defeat at Stalingrad . The Red Army had advanced past Romania's pre-war borders in the Uman–Botoșani offensive in early April. By late April, the German-Romanian allies managed to stabilize the frontline on the Carpathians- Târgu Frumos -lower Dniester alignment, and on May 6 the Stavka ordered the Soviet troops to switch to a defensive posture. Historian David Glantz however claims

2808-409: The division's history says 'The Russians [Soviets] dictated the course of events.' The 13th Panzer Division at the time was a materially underequiped, but high manpower unit, with a high proportion of recent reinforcements. It only had Panzer IVs , StuG IIIs and self-propelled anti-tank guns. By the end of the second day, the division was incapable of attacking or putting up meaningful resistance. At

2880-490: The end of the second day, the 3rd Ukrainian Front stood deep in the rear of the German 6th Army. No more organised re-supply of forces would be forthcoming, and the 6th Army was doomed to be encircled and destroyed again. Franz-Josef Strauss , who was to become an important German politician after the war, served with the Panzer Regiment of the 13th Panzer Division. He comments that the division had ceased to exist as

2952-523: The first days of Operation Barbarossa , the invasion of the Soviet Union , the Germans came unprepared to encounter Soviet T-34 medium tanks and KV heavy tanks. Although the Wehrmacht succeeded in most operations due to superior tactics, air support and supply, the lack of anti-tank weapons capable of successfully engaging these vehicles at range was becoming evident. An urgent need arose for

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3024-800: The first four days. The 66th Rifle Corps, under Major General Kupriyanov, consisted of the 61st Guards Rifle and 333rd Rifle Divisions in the first echelon and the 244th Rifle Division in reserve. Attached were the 46th Gun Artillery Brigade, 152nd Howitzer Artillery Regiment, 184th and 1245th Tank Destroyer Regiment, 10th Mortar Regiment, 26th Light Artillery Brigade, 87th Recoilless Mortar Regiment, 92nd and 52nd Tank Regiment, 398th Assault Gun Regiment, two pioneer assault battalions, and two light flamethrower companies. Corps frontage: 4 km (2.5 mi) Corps breakthrough frontage: 3.5 km (2.2 mi) (61st Rifle Division 1.5 km (0.93 mi), 333rd Rifle Division 2 km (1.2 mi)) Troop density per kilometer of frontage: Superiority: There

3096-424: The first ones produced of this model. The 1st Romanian Armored Division had lost 34 armored fighting vehicles by 23 August, but claimed 60 Soviet tanks on 20 August alone. Stavka 's plan for the operation was based on a double envelopment of German and Romanian armies by the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts. The 2nd Ukrainian Front was to break through north of Iași , and then commit mobile formations to seize

3168-505: The first two prototypes of the Mareșal tank destroyer . The two prototypes, M-00 and M-01, were however different. The first used a standard T-60 chassis and a Ford V8 85 hp engine, while the other used an enlarged and reinforced T-60 chassis with a Buick 120 hp engine. Both vehicles - fully enclosed in armor - weighed 6.7 tons. Marder II The Marder II ("marten" in English)

3240-435: The left wing made good progress though, as did 333rd Rifle Division on its left. The commander of the 61st Guards Rifle Division therefore inserted his reserve (the 187th Guards Rifle Regiment) behind the 189th Guards Rifle Regiment to exploit the breakthrough. When darkness came, the 244th Rifle Division was assigned to break through the second line of defense. It lost its way, and only arrived at 23:00, by which time elements of

3312-542: The mobile formations of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. This would lead to the encirclement of the German forces near Chișinău. Following the successful encirclement, the 6th Tank Army and the 4th Guards Mechanised Corps were to advance towards Bucharest and the Ploiești oil fields. Both the 2nd and the 3rd Ukrainian Fronts undertook a major effort, leading to a double envelopment of the German Sixth Army and parts of

3384-492: The only instance of cooperation between Romanian and Western Allied forces during the campaign, when Romanian ground troops requested a USAAF bombing raid on the Băneasa Forest . Poor coordination however led to friendly fire when American bombers accidentally hit a company of Romanian paratroopers. Meanwhile, Brandenburger special forces landed at Boteni and Țăndărei airfields on 24 August in an attempt to immobilize

3456-509: The open-top compartment meant operations in crowded areas such as urban environments or other close-combat situations were not an option. They were best employed in defensive or overwatch roles. Despite their weaknesses, they were more effective than the towed antitank guns that they replaced. Jassy%E2%80%93Kishinev Offensive (August 1944) Soviet victory Soviet Union : 13,197 irrecoverable losses 53,933 wounded or sick The second Jassy–Kishinev offensive , named after

3528-461: The postwar Communist government would have obviously used this act of "betrayal" for propaganda purposes. Also, there are no Soviet reports of collaboration before 24 August 1944. The Soviet rates of progress imply an ineffective defense of the Romanian troops, rather than active collaboration and en-masse surrender. Ion. S. Dumitru was a Romanian tank commander in the battle of the Romanian 1st Armoured Division against Soviet tanks and he described

3600-624: The rapid withdrawal of the German Army Groups E and F from Greece , Albania , and Yugoslavia to avoid being cut off. Together with Yugoslav partisans and Bulgaria, they liberated the capital city of Belgrade on 20 October. On the political level, the Soviet offensive triggered King Michael's coup d'état in Romania, and the switch of Romania from the Axis to the Allies. Almost immediately, border hostilities between Romania and Germany's ally Hungary erupted over territory that Romania had been forced to cede to Hungary in 1940 as

3672-500: The remaining Romanian troops. According to Anatol Petrencu , President of the Historians' Association of Moldova , over 170,000 Romanian soldiers were deported, 40,000 of which were incarcerated in a prisoner-of-war camp at Bălți , where many died of hunger, cold, disease, or execution. In Soviet propaganda, this offensive was listed as one of Stalin's ten blows . In Moldova and the breakaway state Transnistria , August 24

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3744-645: The second Jassy–Kishinev offensive in the village of Chițcani was opened on 9 May 1972 and is currently the site of the monument is a mass grave, in which 1,495 soldiers who died during the operation are buried. The Capul de pod Șerpeni Memorial Complex was opened in 2004. Two years later, the Eternity Memorial Complex in Chișinău was opened on Liberation Day, acting as the Soviet war memorial in Moldova. In 2019, President Igor Dodon dedicated

3816-570: The speed and totality of the German collapse were caused by Romanian betrayal, for example, in Heinz Guderian 's 1952 autobiography Panzer Leader . The study of the combat operations by Mazulenko indicates that this is probably not correct. Romanian formations did resist the Soviet attack in many cases, but were ill-equipped to defend themselves effectively against a modern army due to a lack of modern anti-tank , artillery , and anti-air weapons. In contrast to German claims, for instance, in

3888-584: The summer most of its armoured units were transferred to the Northern and Central fronts to stem Red Army advances in the Baltic states , Belarus , northern Ukraine , and Poland . On the eve of the offensive, the only armoured formations left were the 1st Romanian Armored Division (with the Tiger I tank), and the German 13th Panzer and 10th Panzergrenadier Divisions. Soviet deception operations prior to

3960-412: The suspension was reinforced to handle its greater weight. Leonida finished the prototype on 19 January 1943. The Romanians had unknowingly carried through with an unsuccessful Soviet project. In 1942, the Soviets attempted more than once to mount the same 76.2 mm field gun to the T-60 chassis, but failed due to the latter's supposedly inadequate size. Yet, the Romanians managed to successfully materialize

4032-488: The symposium notes published by David Glantz , or in the history of the offensive published by Kissel, it appears that the Romanian 1st Armoured Division did offer resistance against the Soviet breakthrough. However, Mark Axworthy states in his book that the battered 1st Armoured Division maintained cohesion, experiencing some local, costly successes before being forced to cross the Moldova River . Axworthy claims that

4104-499: The tank destroyers fought with the division during the Soviet Jassy-Kishniev Offensive . Nothing is known about any action immediately after Romania's defection to the Allies in late August 1944 or in the defense of Romania during the following month, but it seems likely that all surviving vehicles were repossessed by the Soviets during October 1944. The vehicle was not only produced on the chassis of

4176-529: The two major cities, Jassy and Kishinev , in the staging area, was a Soviet offensive against Axis forces, which took place in Eastern Romania from 20 to 29 August 1944 during World War II . The 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts of the Red Army engaged Army Group South Ukraine , which consisted of combined German and Romanian formations, in an operation to reoccupy Bessarabia and destroy

4248-456: The vehicle with a top speed of 40 km/h on road and 20 km/h off road, as well as an operational range of 200 km on road and 150 km off road (fuel capacity was of 280 litres of petrol). A total of thirty-four were converted by Leonida in Bucharest by the end of 1943. Sixteen were assigned to the 61st Tacam Company which was assigned to the 1st Armored Regiment and eighteen were organized into

4320-596: The war. In 1942, at least 5 Marder IIs were supplied by the Germans to their ally, Hungary . The Hungarians used these successfully against Soviet tanks on the Eastern Front. In 1943, a surviving Marder II was taken back to Hungary to be studied. Soon, the Hungarians designed and built a similar vehicle using the Hungarian Toldi light tank 's chassis with a three-sided armoured superstructure housing

4392-508: The year to the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of Moldova, and ordered that a National Coordination Committee plan national events and celebrations throughout the country in honor of the anniversary. On the actual anniversary, celebrations were held, led by Dodon and attended by Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu at the request of Moldovan Defence Minister Pavel Voicu . A ceremony with Dodon, Shoigu and Voicu in attendance at

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4464-638: Was a German tank destroyer of World War II based on the Panzer II chassis. There were two versions, the first mounted a modified Soviet 7.62 cm gun firing German ammunition, while the other mounted the German 7.5 cm Pak 40 gun. Its high profile and thin open-topped armor provided minimal protection to the crew. Nevertheless, the Marder II (and similar Marder III ) provided a great increase in firepower over contemporary German tanks during 1942 and into 1943. Only four Marder IIs remain today. During

4536-474: Was armed with captured Soviet 7.62 cm guns that were rebuilt to accept the larger German 7.5 cm Pak 40 propellant cartridge. This improved its penetrative capabilities and eliminated the need for captured ammunition. These early Marder IIs had a high silhouette (2.60 m (8 ft 6 in) high) and relatively thin armor compared to other armored vehicles; only 30 mm (1.2 in) (front) and 10 to 15 mm (0.39 to 0.59 in) (sides). There

4608-419: Was at first locked in a stalemate with the Romanian 5th Territorial Corps, which had a similar numerical strength. Over the following days however, the Germans were gradually confined to the city's immediate surroundings and became heavily outnumbered as Romanian reinforcements began arriving from Bucharest and also from the east, together with lead elements of a Soviet motorized brigade. On 30 August, an attack by

4680-445: Was chosen because Romanian industry could maintain it, not least because its engine was a license-built Dodge-DeSoto-Fargo F.H.2 for which spares were available in both Romania and Germany. A captured Soviet 76.2-millimetre (3 in) M-1936 F-22 field gun was removed from its carriage and a new mount was fabricated to fit the gun to a turretless T-60. A fighting compartment was built using armor salvaged from captured Soviet tanks and

4752-484: Was handed over to the Soviets and shipped to Moscow. Another group of Brandenburgers joined Gerstenberg's unsuccessful drive on Bucharest on 25 August and were captured three days later. Altogether, these events constituted one of the worst defeats suffered by the German special forces in the war. The German situation was further complicated by the loss of Brașov and the Predeal Pass , both of which were secured by

4824-484: Was lowered by about 40 cm to 2.20 m, but the armor was thin and the compartment was open to the top and rear, as in Sd. Kfz. 132. Famo (Breslau) , and FAMO-Ursus produced 531 Marder II (Sd.Kfz. 131) from July 1942 to June 1943. About 130 more were converted from mid 1943 to early 1944 when the last Panzer IIs were taken out of active service. There was also a version made with the 50 mm pak 38, these were made because of

4896-419: Was modified for its new role; a new engine cover was made to improve engine cooling and the interior was modified to add more ammunition storage. The extra weight of the gun required that the suspension be modified with stronger torsion bars and new road wheels. A brake to lock the wheels while firing was also added. The armor of the hull ranged from 15 to 35 millimetres (0.59 to 1.38 in) thick. It could cross

4968-525: Was modified to suit Romanian practices and a recoil guard was added to protect the gunner. The gun was protected by a three-sided, fixed gun shield with sides 15 millimetres (0.59 in) thick. The armor plate for the gun shield was salvaged from captured Soviet BT-7 cavalry tanks . The gun could traverse 32°, elevate 8° and depress 5°. A total of forty-four rounds were carried for the main gun. The tank destroyer's secondary armament consisted of one ZB-53 heavy machine gun and one submachine gun. The chassis

5040-434: Was more likely caused by the inability of the numerous horse-drawn infantry divisions to maintain cohesion while retreating and under attack of the Soviet mechanized troops. This claim is reinforced by the fact that the only Romanian division which retained its cohesion under the Soviet attack was the 1st Armoured Division, which had the mobility and the anti-tank weapons needed to do so. The surrender of Romania took place at

5112-473: Was no armour on the top or rear, leaving the crew with very little protection. Alkett built 150 Marder II (Sd. Kfz. 132) in April/May 1942 and Wegmann converted further 52 from mid 1942 to 1943. The second version (Sd.Kfz. 131) was based on new-built Panzer II Ausf. F hulls. This Marder II had a redesigned (widened) fighting compartment and used the German 75 mm Pak 40 anti-tank gun. The silhouette

5184-621: Was renamed to honor Alexandru Ioan Cuza . The village of Malinovscoe , in the Rîșcani District , named in honor of the Marshal Rodion Malinovsky was dedicated to the anniversary of the end of the operation. On 23 August 1969, during the 25th anniversary of the offensive, a liberation monument at the Academy of Sciences of Moldova was opened. It has been renovated three times, in 1975, 2014, and 2019. The monument to

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