- Vânători de Munte
The "Vânători de Munte" (IPA2|vɨ.nə'torʲ de 'mun.te, English translation: Mountain Rifles, lit. Mountain Hunters/Rangers) are the elite mountain troops of the
Romanian Land Forces . They were first established as an independentArmy Corps in 1916 duringWorld War I , and became operational in 1917 under "Corpul de Munte" designation.Thought as of being elite troops, the Romanian "Vânători de Munte" saw action in
World War II on the Eastern Front in some of the harshest battles - including the battles of Sevastopol and Stalingrad - where their performance lived up to their reputation: virtually all their commanders from brigade level and up received theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross , with generalMihail Lascăr being the first foreigner to receive "Oak Leaves" on 22 November 1942 (seeList of foreign recipients of the Knight's Cross ). After 23 August 1944, they also fought on the Allies' side, notably inTatra Mountains .After the end of the war, one of the first measures taken by the
Soviet s in occupied Romania was to disband the mountain troops. Shortly after the Soviet occupation troops left Romania in 1958, the "Vânători de Munte" were re-established again as a distinct branch of theRomanian Land Forces .There are currently two brigades operational, one subordinated to the
1st Territorial Army Corps (the2nd Mountain Troops Brigade ), and another one subordinated to the4th Territorial Army Corps (61st Mountain Troops Brigade ). Often, mountain troops units are participating inpeacekeeping missions inIraq andAfghanistan .ee also
*
Mountain warfare
*Ski warfare
* French Chasseurs Alpins
* German Gebirgsjäger
* Italian Alpini
* Polish Podhale riflesExternal links
*ro icon [http://www.forter.ro/index.php?leg=istoric_vm Presentation of the "Vânători de Munte" on the Land Forces' website]
*en icon [http://www.geocities.com/romanianspecialforces/vanatoridemunte.html Unofficial page]
*en icon [http://www.worldwar2.ro/organizare/?language=en&article=29 Brief history of the "Vânători de Munte" during the World War II]
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