Constantin Brătescu

Constantin Brătescu (March 8, 1892 – April 13, 1971) was a Romanian major-general during World War II.

Constantin Brătescu
Born	(1892-03-08)8 March 1892 unknown
Died	13 April 1971(1971-04-13) (aged 79) unknown
Allegiance	Romania (unknown–1948); Nazi Germany (1941–1942)
Service/branch	Romanian Army
Years of service	sometime during the 1910s – 1948
Rank	Major General
Battles/wars	Eastern Front of the Second World War, including Operation Barbarossa and the Battle of Stalingrad
Awards	Order of the Star of Romania, Officer class

He was awarded the Order of the Star of Romania, Officer class, on June 8, 1940. In 1941, he served first as Chief Propaganda Section General Staff (Romania's Propaganda Minister) and then as a Romanian liaison officer to the German Military Mission, meaning that he served as a German military officer during Operation Barbarossa and the Axis Invasion of the Soviet Union.[1] Starting in 1942 Brătescu was a Romanian General Officer (at the rank of Major-General) and commanded the 1st Cavalry Division throughout the campaign against the Soviets, fighting in such engagements as Operation Barbarossa, Case Blue, and the Battle of Stalingrad.[2] At Stalingrad, Brătescu's 1st Cavalry Division was subordinated to the 4th Army Corps, under the command of General Constantin Sănătescu, which in turn was part of the Romanian 3rd Army, under the command of General Petre Dumitrescu.[3] Following the surrender of Friedrich Paulus' 6th Army at the Battle of Stalingrad, Brătescu became a prisoner of war and was held captive in the Soviet Union from 1943 to 1948.[1]

During a visit to Moscow in April 1946, the composer George Enescu and his wife, Princess Maruca Cantacuzino, asked the Soviet authorities to free Brătescu and a fellow prisoner, General Nicolae Mazarini.[4] Brătescu was released in 1948, after five years of imprisonment, and subsequently retired from active service. He died in 1971, at the age of seventy-nine.[1]