Alexandru Averescu
People's Party | |
---|---|
In office 3 April 1918 – March 1938 | |
Succeeded by | Petre P. Negulescu |
Personal details | |
Born | Babele, People's Party | March 9, 1859
Spouse | Clotilda Averescu |
Profession | Officer |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Romania |
Branch/service | Romanian Land Forces |
Rank | Marshal of Romania |
Commands | First Infantry Division Second Army Corps Second Army Third Army |
Battles/wars | |
Alexandru Averescu (Romanian pronunciation:
His controversial first mandate, marked by a political crisis and oscillating support from the PNL's leader
Averescu, who authored over 12 works on various military topics (including his memoirs from the frontline),
Early life and career
Averescu was born in Babele,
Seeing action as a cavalry sergeant with the Romanian troops engaged in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, he was decorated on several occasions, but was later moved to reserve (after failing his medical examination due to the effects of frostbite).[2] He was, however, reinstated later in 1878, and subsequently received a military education in Romania, at the military school of Târgoviște (Dealu Monastery), and in Italy, at the Military Academy of Turin.[1][2][3][4] Averescu married an Italian opera singer, Clotilda Caligaris, who had been the prima donna of La Scala.[1][2][3] His future collaborator and rival Constantin Argetoianu stated that Averescu "chose Mrs. Clotilda at random".[3]
Upon his return, Averescu steadily climbed through the ranks. He was head of the Bucharest Military Academy (1894–1895), and, in 1895–1898, Romania's military attaché in the German Empire; a colonel in 1901, he was advanced to the rank of brigadier general and became head of the Tecuci regional Army Command Center in 1906.[1][2]
Before the World War, he led the troops in crushing the
Subsequently, he was commander of the First Infantry Division (stationed in
World War and first cabinet
During the World War (which Romania entered in 1916), General Alexandru Averescu led the Second Romanian Army in the successful defense of the Predeal Pass, and was then moved to the head of the Third Army (following the latter's defeat in the Battle of Turtucaia).[1] He commanded Army Group South in the Flămânda operation against the Third Bulgarian Army and other forces of the Central Powers, ultimately stopped by the German offensive (Averescu's forces did not register important losses, and orderly retreated to Moldavia, where Romanian authorities had taken refuge from the successful German operations).[1]
Averescu again led the Second Army to victory in the
"The strictness of General Averescu is well known in his army... There is no pardon for a coward, whoever he may be. I was present a few days ago at the execution of a wealthy young cavalry reserve officer. He retired his detachment from a position without reason or order; he was tried and shot four days later. If General Averescu is strict with delinquents, the brave know that they will find in him their best friend and protector. His contact with the army under him is so close that he gets to know of the smallest act of bravery, and rewards, as far as possible personally, the man who has done it."
Averescu was widely seen as the person behind a relatively successful resistance to further offensives on
During the period, he also faced a
People's Party
Character
Averescu quit the army in the spring of 1918, aiming for a career in politics — initially, with a message that was hostile to the National Liberal Party (PNL) and its leader Ion I. C. Brătianu.
He presided over the
"[The] so very harsh losses [during the war], the defeats suffered by the
made the union happen, all of these have created a sort of insecurity within the borders of [Greater Romania]."[6]
As the movement initially tended to describe itself as a social trend rather than a
The grouping also established close links with Garda Conștiinței Naționale (GCN, "The National Awareness Guard"), a
Impact
According to Eliza Brătianu (who was comparing Averescu with the
Aiming to answer most of Romania's social and political issues, the League's founding document called for:
"A land reform, with the passage of the land which is at the moment
ethnic minorities, since the latter would not hinder the free manifestation of political individualities; administrative decentralization."[14]
According to Argetoianu,
"in the autumn of 1919, [Averescu's] popularity had reached its peak. In the villages, people would dream of him, some swore that they had seen him descending from an airplane into their midst, others, who had fought in the war, told that they had lived by his side in the trenches, it was through him that hopes were solidified, and he was expected of to provide a miracle for people to live a carefree and fulfilling life. His popularity was something mystical, something supernatural, and all sorts of legends had begun to surround this Messiah of the Romanian people."[15]
Although he was also
Second cabinet
Establishment
Initially, Brătianu approached Averescu using their shared displeasure over the Alexandru Vaida-Voevod Romanian National Party (PNR)-Peasants' Party (PȚ) cabinet; the National Liberals managed to obtain the general's renunciation of his goal to prosecute their party for alleged mis-management of Romania before and during the war, as well as his promise to respect the 1866 Constitution of Romania when carrying out the planned land reform. At the same time, Brătianu kept a tight relationship with King Ferdinand.[5][15]
On March 13, 1920, he gave news of the Vaida-Voevod cabinet's dissolution, and was widely expected to call for early elections as soon as this had happened. Instead, he read a document convened with King Ferdinand, which suspended
As agreements between the PNR and PȚ broke down (with the PNR awaiting for new developments), the PȚ joined Iorga's party, the Democratic Nationalists, in creating the Federation of National-Social Democracy (which also drew support from the group around Nicolae L. Lupu).[17]
Policies
His mandate was marked by the signing of the
The regions coming under Romania's administration at the end of the war still maintained their ad hoc administrative structures, including the Transylvanian Directory Council, set up and dominated by the PNR; Averescu ordered these dissolved in April, facing protest from local notabilities.[20] At the same time, he ordered all troops to be demobilized.[3] He unified currency around the Romanian leu, and imposed a land reform in the form in which it was to be carried out by the new Brătianu executive.[3][20] In fact, the latter measure had been imposed by the outgoing PNL cabinet through the order of Ion G. Duca, in a manner which Argetoianu described as "destructive".[3] As an initial step, Averescu's government appointed the noted activist Vasile Kogălniceanu, a deputy for Ilfov County, as rapporteur; Kogălniceanu used this position to give an account of the agrarian situation in Romania, stressing the role played by his ancestor, Constantin, in abolishing Moldavian serfdom, as well as that of his father, Mihail Kogălniceanu, in eliminating corvées throughout Romania.[21]
The People's Party found itself hard pressed to limit the effects of the reform as promised by Duca — reason why Constantin Garoflid, seen by Argetoianu as "the Conservative and theorist of large-scale landed property", was promoted as Minister of Agriculture.[3] Argetoianu also accused the Premier of endorsing reform in an even more radical shape,[3] and contended that:
"[...] peasants blessed «father Averescu», who gave them land, and rallied around him even tighter. Brătianu, Duca, they were nowhere mentioned except in curses. O, human gratitude!"[3]
In October 1920, Averescu reached an agreement with the Allied Powers, recognizing Bessarabia's union with Romania — expressing a hope for the Bolshevik government to be overthrown, it also imposed the region's cession on a projected democratic government in Russia (while calling for further negotiations between it and Romania); throughout the interwar period, the Soviet Union refused to bind itself to the provisions of the agreement.[5] Italy also refused to ratify the document, citing, alongside various foreign interests (including its friendship with the Soviet Union),[22][23] the 250 million Italian lire owed to Italian investors in Romanian state bonds.[23]
Scandals and fall
In March 1921, Argetoianu became implicated in a scandal involving the actions of his associate Aron Schuller, who had attempted to contract a 20 million lire loan with a bank in Italy, using as collateral Romanian war bonds that he had illegally obtained from the Finance Ministry reserve.[24]
With
Ferdinand then attempted to facilitate a fusion between the
Shows of popular support in Bucharest were called of by Averescu himself, after he had negotiated with Brătianu for a People's Party cabinet to be formed "at a proper time".[15] Ionescu took over as premier until late January 1922, when he was replaced by Brătianu.[25]
Third cabinet
New political alliances
In early 1926, the general was again named Premier, and approached the PNR and its close ally, the Peasants' Party, proposing a merger around his leadership. This met with a stiff refusal, as it seemed that the two were about to win the elections with additional support, but the king, suspicious of the
Averescu's party was instead joined by PNR dissidents,
Italian-Romanian Treaty
Although not
The loan convened by Manoilescu and Mussolini made important concessions to Italy in return for a clarification of Romania's debt status; it also led to the signing of a five-year Friendship Treaty (September 16), widely condemned by Romanian public opinion for not having called on Italy to state its support for Romanian rule in
also criticized the vague terms in which the sections of the document dealing with mutual defense had been drafted:"What have we gained from Italy through this pact? Nothing. In truth, article 3 — which does not [even] refer to Bessarabia — makes provisions for the eventuality of a violent incursion and organizes a mutual assistance system [that is] original through its Platonic love-like character."[28]: 108 [29]
The treaty expired in 1932, and, after being prolonged by six months, it was not renewed.[23] Overall, the political impact of contacts was minor, given that the Italians mistrusted the Romanian movement for its traditional role as instrument for Brătianu.[13] Referring to the parallel project to marry Princess Ileana to Prince Umberto of Italy,[30] Averescu himself allegedly stated: "I didn't get much from Italy except a throne for a Princess of Rumania".[30]
Averescu's controversial projects
Averescu continued to offer his support to
The cabinet clashed with Brătianu when it was discovered that it had been negotiating in secret with the disinherited
Late 1920s politics
The People's Party involved itself in solving the dynastic crisis after Ferdinand's death in July 1927, again approaching Carol to replace the child-king Michael and Prince Nicholas' regency. In November 1927, Averescu took the stand in the trial of his supporter Mihail Manoilescu, who was arrested after having incited pro-Carol sentiment; in his testimony, he backed the notion that, despite his initial anger, Ferdinand had ultimately planned to have Carol return to the throne.[31]
His grouping lost much of its supporters to the newly formed
In November 1930, he filed a complaint against the poet and journalist
Averescu was promoted to Marshal of Romania in the same year,[2][35] during the time when Carol returned to rule as King — the appointment was attributed by Time to his political support for the latter's return.[35][36] According to the same source, by the end of 1930, Averescu was again at the center of Romanian politics, owing to Carol's favor, to the deaths of Ion I. C. and Vintilă Brătianu, and to the unexpected support he gained from the PNL dissident Gheorghe I. Brătianu.[36]
Final years
He ultimately showed himself hostile to Carol's inner circle, and especially to the king's lover
Around 1934, as the Guard proclaimed its allegiance to
In 1937, despite his ongoing feud with Carol, Averescu was appointed a member of the Crown Council. Argetoianu recalled that he and the Marshal had reconciled — at a time when Argetoianu pondered rallying all opposition forces, including the National Peasants' Party, the National Liberal Party-Brătianu, and the Iron Guard, in a single electoral bloc
The following year, he was briefly
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Petre Otu, "Mareșalul Alexandru Averescu (1859–1938)" ("Marshal Alexandru Averescu"), in Dosarele Istoriei, 2(30)/1999, p.22-23
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q (in Romanian) Ioan Parean, Mareșalul Averescu, conducător militar de excepție ("Marshal Averescu, Outstanding Military Leader") Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine at the Sibiu Land Forces Academy; retrieved October 16, 2007
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Constantin Argetoianu, "Memorii" ("Memoirs"; fragment), in Magazin Istoric, March 1968, p.71-76, 79-81
- ^ a b (in Romanian) Ion Bulei, "Suntem cu toții cuprinși de grija cea mare" ("We Are All Overwhelmed by the Greatest of Concerns") Archived 2007-02-24 at the Wayback Machine, in Magazin Istoric, October 1997; retrieved October 16, 2007
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Keith Hitchins, România, 1866–1947, Humanitas, Bucharest, 1998 (translation of the English-language edition Rumania, 1866–1947, Oxford University Press, USA, 1994), p.184-185, 270, 290-291, 389, 392, 402-403, 406-407
- ^ Eliza Brătianu, Averescu - 1918 at the Memoria Virtual Library; retrieved October 16, 2007
- ^ Vincent J. Esposito, The West Point Atlas of American Wars: 1900-1918, United States Military Academy Dept. of Military Art and Engineering, text for map 40
- )
- ^ ISBN 963-9116-97-1, p.210-211
- ^ a b Ion Constantinescu, "«Domnilor, vă stricați sănătatea degeaba...»" ("«Gentlemen, You're Ruining Your Health over Nothing...»"), in Magazin Istoric, July 1971, p.23, 26
- ^ a b (in Romanian) Stelian Tănase, "Cristian Racovski" (Part I) Archived 2007-09-26 at the Wayback Machine, in Magazin Istoric, April 2004; retrieved October 16, 2007
- ^ Editura Fundației Culturale Române, Bucharest, 1995, p.48, 243
- ^ ISBN 84-7488-497-7), p.46-47, 86, 89, 91-93, 98, 252-253, 247-248
- ^ (in Romanian) Actul de constituire a Ligii Poporului ("The Founding Act of the People's League") Archived 2006-09-08 at the Wayback Machine, April 16, 1918
- ^ a b c d e f g h i (in Romanian) Ioan Scurtu, "Mit și realitate. Alexandru Averescu" ("Myth and Reality. Alexandru Averescu") Archived 2007-07-15 at the Wayback Machine, in Magazin Istoric, May 1997; retrieved October 16, 2007
- ^ a b c d e f g h (in Romanian) Ioan Scurtu, "Prăbuşirea unui mit" ("A Myth's Crumbling") Archived 2007-10-10 at the Wayback Machine, in Magazin Istoric, March 2000; retrieved October 16, 2007
- ^ a b c Ion Constantinescu, "Dr. N. Lupu: «Dacă și d-ta ai fi fost bătut...»" ("Dr. N. Lupu: «If You Yourself Had Been Beaten...»"), in Magazin Istoric, August 1971, p.37-41
- ^ a b c Cristina Diac, "La «kilometrul 0» al comunismului românesc. «S-a terminat definitiv cu comunismul in România!»" ("At «Kilometer 0» in Romanian Communism. «Communism in Romania Is Definitely Over!»") Archived 2014-03-28 at the Wayback Machine, in Jurnalul Național, October 6, 2004; retrieved October 16, 2007
- ^ a b Cristian Troncotă, "Siguranța și spectrul revoluției comuniste" ("Siguranța and the Specter of Communist Revolution"), in Dosarele Istoriei, 4(44)/2000, p.18-19
- ^ ISBN 0-8014-8688-2, p.23-24
- ^ Ștefan Gorovei, "Kogălnicenii" ("The Kogălniceanu Family"), in Magazin Istoric, July 1977, p.10, 60
- ^ a b Charles Upson Clark, Bessarabia. Russia and Roumania on the Black Sea: Chapter XXVIII, "The Tatar-Bunar Episode", at the University of Washington; retrieved October 16, 2007
- ^ a b c d e f g h Dumitru Hîncu, "O acțiune politică contestată. Descoperiri în arhivele Ministerului de externe din Viena" ("A Controversial Political Action. Discoveries in the Vienna Foreign Ministry Archives"), in Magazin Istoric, November 1995, pp. 68–70
- ^ Ion Constantinescu, "Duiliu Zamfirescu: «Zero la purtare lui Ionel Brătianu!»" ("Duiliu Zamfirescu: «Grade Zero in Manners to Ionel Brătianu!»"), in Magazin Istoric, September 1971, p.68-70
- ^ a b c d e Joseph Slabey Rouček, Contemporary Roumania and Her Problems, Ayer Publishing, Manchester, New Hampshire, 1971, p.106, 111-113
- ^ a b c d e Ion Constantinescu, "V. Madgearu: «Rechinii așteaptă prada!»" ("V. Madgearu: «The Sharks Await Their Pray!»"), in Magazin Istoric, October 1971, p.81-82
- The Nation, Vol. 122, no. 3175, May 12, 1926
- ^ a b c Constantin Vișoianu (1926), "Cronica Externă. (Pactul Franco-Romîn.—Pactul Italo-Romîn)" [Foreign Column. (The Franco-Romanian Pact.—The Italo-Romanian Pact)], Viața Românească (in Romanian), vol. 18, no. 10, pp. 103–110
- ^ Slabey Roucek (Contemporary Roumania and Her Problems, p. 112) believed a protocol over Bessarabia to have been in fact concluded, probably based on the vague character of the text
- ^ a b "Dynastic Alliance?", in Time, December 20, 1926
- ^ a b "Manoilescu Trial", in Time, November 21, 1927
- ^ Slabey Roucek (Contemporary Roumania and Her Problems, p. 113) supports the version of events later dismissed by Averescu himself, according to which the general had opposed Carol's return
- ^ a b c P. Nicanor & Co., "Miscellanea. (O. Goga despre votul universal)" ("Miscellanea. (O. Goga on Universal Suffrage)"), in Viața Românească, 4-5/XXIII (April–May 1926), p.138-139
- ^ a b c Valentin Tașcu, "Mareșalul Averescu nu-și mai aduce aminte" ("Marshal Averescu No Longer Recalls"), in Magazin Istoric, March 1973, pp. 61–65
- ^ a b "King at Work", in Time, June 23, 1930
- ^ a b "End of a Dynasty?", in Time, January 5, 1931
- ^ (in Romanian) Victoria Gabriela Gruber, Partidul Național Liberal (Gheorghe Brătianu) (summary), Chapter V, at the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu; retrieved October 16, 2007
- ^ a b Constantin Argetoianu, "Memorii" ("Memoirs"; fragment), in Magazin Istoric, December 1967, p.80-82, 83-85
Bibliography
- Otu, Petre; Georgescu, Maria (2022). Durchleuchtung eines Verrats Der Fall des Oberst Alexandru D. Sturdza [Examination of a treason. The Case of Colonel Alexandru D. Sturdza] (in German). Hainburg: Lektor. OCLC 1335552122.
- Otu, Petre; Bucur, Viorel V. (2012). Alexandru Averescu Marschall, Politiker, Legende [Alexandru Averescu Marshal, Politician, Legend] (in German). Hainburg/Hessen: Lektor. OCLC 815951423.