Romainian Motorized unit with 11 Army Oct/Nov 1941

[oquaig]

Hi everyone,

Looking at the Lage Ost maps for 19 and 24 October 1941 I see a Romanian unit described as "Mot. Regt." following LIV Korps into the Crimea. Could this unit be 3/4th Motorized Vanatori Regiment from the Romanian 1st Armored Division or some other unknown Motorized unit ? It is not the Slovak Mot. Div. because they are in the Donbass with 1st Panzer Armee.

Thanks in advance
oquaig

[steppewolf]

It is probably Mechanized Detachment "Colonel Radu Korne".

At the request of gen. Erich von Manstein, the CO of the German 11th Army, the Mechanized Detachment "Col. Radu Korne" (6th and 10th Motorized Rosiori Regiments, an AT battalion, the 54th Motorized Heavy Artillery Battalion and a motorcycle company) was assigned to his command. A short time after that, the Mountain Corps (1st Mountain Brigade, 8th Cavalry Brigade and 19th Artillery Regiment) was joined it.

From here:
http://worldwar2.ro/operatii/?article=6

Organization of motorized cavalry regiments here:
http://worldwar2.ro/organizare/?article=35

a thread about this unit here as it continued to operate in 1942 as well.
https://www.worldwar2.ro/forum/index.ph ... detachment

[oquaig]

Thanks,
So this was an Ad Hoc unit formed from the Romanian Cavalry Corps motorized units in June-July 1941? Seems to be a brigade size unit (6th and 10th Motorized Rosiori Regiments) although the Lag Ost identifies it as a "Mot. Regt." Then again the "Pz.Brig." seen on the Lag Ost maps for July 2 thru 10 1941 is really the Romanian Armored Division minus one of its two tank regiments. So Mechanized Detachment "Col. Radu Korne" is the unit that evolved into the "Groddeck Brigade" of 1942 (which was a mixed German and Romanian motorized Brigade).

[steppewolf]

That's correct.

2nd Tank Regiment was equipped with R-35 and this tank, a light infantry tank, couldn't keep up with Skoda LT-35 (Romanian R-2 designation) which formed 1st Tank Regiment. Therefore this unit used for close support for infantry.