Ioan Mihail Racoviță

For the Prince of Moldavia, see Mihai Racoviță.

Ioan Mihail Racoviță

Ioan Mihail Racoviță (7 March 1889, Bucharest - 28 June 1954, Sighet) was a Romanian Major General during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

He commanded the Romanian Cavalry Corps during the initial phase of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 and may have commanded the First Army (Romania) from May 1946 to December 1947. (Ro-wiki)

Awards

• Order of Michael the Brave
  • 3rd Class (17 October 1941)
• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (7 July 1944)

Reference in the Wehrmachtbericht

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
8 June 1944	Bei den Kämpfen im Raum von Jassy haben deutsch-rumänische Truppen unter dem Befehl des rumänischen Generals der Kavallerie Racovita, des Generals der Panzertruppen von Knobelsdorff sowie des Generals der Infanterie Mieth, hervorragend unterstützt durch starke deutsch-rumänische Kampf- und Schlachtfliegerverbände, in harten Kämpfen die Bolschewisten aus tief gegliederten, zäh verteidigten Stellungen geworfen und die eigenen Stellungen dadurch bedeutend verbessert.	In the battles in the area of Jassy, German and Romanian troops under the command of the Romanian Cavalry General Racoviță, General of Panzer troops von Knobelsdorff and the General of the Infantry Mieth, superbly supported by strong German-Romanian bomber and ground-attack aircraft units, have thrown in fierce combat out of their deeply structured, tough defending, positions, the Bolsheviks, and improved our positions significantly.