15th Mechanized Brigade (Romania)

The 15th Mechanized Brigade is the successor of the 15th Dorobanți Regiment established on 1 January 1877.[2] It was headquartered at Piatra Neamț and had two battalions with four companies each. During the War of Independence, the regiment participated in the battles of Plevna, Rahova, and Vidin. On 15 July 1891, it received the name "Războieni" after the Battle of Războieni.[3]

2nd Battalion of the 15th Regiment in the barracks of Újpest in 1919

The 15th Războieni Regiment participated in the Second Balkan War, then in World War I. During the war, it the regiment acted in the Eastern Carpathians, at Miecurea-Ciuc, Odorhei, Poiana Uzului and in the Wallachian Plain as part of the 7th Infantry Division. A period of inactivity followed after the Armistice of Focșani, only for the regiment to take an active part in the campaign of 1918 and 1919. For its feats of arms during the campaigns, the battle flag of the 15th Regiment was decorated with the Order of the Star of Romania.[3][4]

In 1932, the regiment was transferred to the 6th Infantry Division. During the Second World War, the regiment fought on the Eastern Front. It fought in Bessarabia, then at Odessa. In 1942, the 1st Battalion of the regiment fought in the Battle of Stalingrad as part of the "General Lascăr" Group. Until 1944, the regiment was located in its garrison, being moved to the fortified line south of Pașcani in March.[4]

After the 1944 Romanian coup d'état, the 15th Infantry Training Regiment participated in further battles in Transylvania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia until the end of the war.[4] After the war, it was moved to the Bacău Garrison, being also merged with the 16th Dorobanți Regiment.[3][5] The 15th Regiment was itself disbanded in December 1951, and its soldiers moved to Buzău.[3][4]

The regiment was reactivated in 1959 in the Iași Garrison, converting to a mechanized regiment in 1961 and received the name "Războieni" again in 1969. In 1994, it was transformed into the 15th Mechanized Brigade and renamed to "Podu Înalt" in 1996, while the name "Războieni" was given to the 151st Infantry Battalion of the brigade.[4] The original barracks of the regiment in Piatra Neamț are currently occupied by the 634th Infantry Battalion.[3]

The 151st and 634th Infantry Battalions were deployed to Afghanistan several times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom starting from 2003. The 151st Battalion also participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2008. Other international deployments were to Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania.[4]