The Minister of National Defense, Mr. Adrian Țuțuianu, the president of the Vrancea County Council, Mr. Marian Oprișan, the secretary of state and head of the Department for Defense Policy and Planning, Mr. Mircea Dușa, H.E. the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Romania, Valery Kuzmin, His Eminence Ciprian, the Archbishop of Buzău and Vrancea, minister counselor Valeriu Turea, representative of the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in Romania, the vice-presidents of the Vrancea County Council, Mr. Ionel Cel Mare and Mr. Dănuț Cristian, the prefect of Vrancea County, Mr. Sorin Hornea, the mayor of Răcoasa commune, Mr. Vladimir Păun, the mayor of Focșani municipality, Mr. Cristi-Valentin Misăilă, the leadership of the Focșani Garrison, county councilors, mayors from neighboring communes and hundreds of Vrancea residents took part, on July 20, 2017, in the commemoration of the heroes at the Mărăști Mausoleum within the ceremonies organized on the occasion of marking the Centenary of the Great War, Heroic Vrancea 1917-2017.
The events debuted around 17:00 with soldierly songs, performed by the Țara Vrancei Ensemble, but also with a mini-recital held by the Pastorala Choir. After the memorial service for the heroes, the Archbishop of Buzău and Vrancea emphasized that through the festive and commemorative events organized in this period, a homage is paid to the thousands of Romanian heroes from the First World War who gave their lives for a holy goal, to defend their homeland, faith, needs and nation.
“The fate of the Romanian people depended on the sacrifices of the thousands of Romanians from 1917. Without those victories during the First World War, the great Union of December 1, 1918 would not have been possible… That is why we must understand the importance of these festive commemorative moments in the center of which the prayer to God for the heroes, soldiers and fighters of the nation is essential. All the other events are very important, but our prayer and thoughts of gratitude help very much those who have remained in the consciousness of the Romanian people as heroes of the nation. And the gratitude of those of today is proven by the fact that we reflect on their deeds of bravery, but especially we show our gratitude by following in their footsteps. I refer to the duty towards them, to keep unaltered the ancestral faith but also the holy land of the homeland which was watered with the blood of the hero martyrs. Only in this way can we show that we are in communion with our ancestors, with those who bravely faced death and placed the simple ideals of preserving the national identity and the unity of the Romanian people above their lives,” said His Eminence Ciprian.
“The victory at Mărăști prepared other triumphs, at Mărășești, Soveja and Focșani”
The Minister of National Defense, Adrian Țuțuianu, stated that after the shock of the defeats suffered on the battlefield in 1916, in which tens of thousands of soldiers fell, with the pressure of the fact that over half of the country had fallen under foreign military occupation, the Romanian Army, rebuilt, reorganized and strengthened, having soldiers with high morale and highly motivated, would open here, at Mărăști, the path of a veritable national rebirth. “On July 19, 1917, our soldiers wrote the first page of one of the brightest chapters of Romania’s national history. Under the direct supervision of General Alexandru Averescu, later elevated to the rank of marshal, the Romanian 2nd Army attacked the German positions, after a very well executed artillery bombardment. On Mănăstioara Hill, at Zboina Neagră, at Măgura Cașinului or at Valea Sării, the strongest battles on the Mărăști front were recorded, which reminded the combatants of the bayonet attacks carried out by their predecessors at Grivița and Plevna, in 1877. The press of the time welcomed the victory at Mărăști, mentioning that the Romanian army “has won a title of glory”, and the battle “will pass into our history as a superior work of military art (…) The last soldier knew where to go and did his duty. The artillery proved a terrifying precision”. The victory at Mărăști prepared other triumphs, at Mărășești, Soveja and Focșani and in other legendary places, which consecrated the bravery and spirit of sacrifice of the Romanian soldiers,” said the Minister of Defense. Adrian Țuțuianu reminded that over 1,400 Romanian military personnel gave their last assault at Mărăști, and rest in this place. “The Romanian people have the tradition of respecting the sacrifice of fallen heroes, therefore, in the mausoleum where we recollected ourselves today, 5,396 military personnel found their rest, not only Romanians, but also Russians and Germans,” showed the Minister of Defense.
“We will go to the places of the battles from 100 years ago, to bring light”
Adrian Țuțuianu specified that the epic bathed in the sacred blood of the heroes started here, under the legendary motto “They shall not pass!” born in the trenches of Mărăști, Mărășești and Oituz, would be crowned, at the cessation of hostilities, with the Great Union of 1918, whose centenary we are preparing to celebrate next year. “The fulfillment of our nation’s dream was made with a huge price paid by the Romanian Army, over 200,000 military personnel died in battle, and another 130,000 died in German, Turkish, Bulgarian, Austrian and Hungarian camps. Approximately 76,000 Romanian soldiers remained invalids. To these are added the victims among the civilian population, struck down by diseases, famine or executed by the occupation troops. In memory and to honor these sacrifices, the Romanian Government declared the year 2017 as the “Year of Mărăști, Mărășești, Oituz-100”. In this framework, the Ministry of National Defense organizes throughout the year cultural, artistic events, with a symbolic character, as well as other actions with specific themes, like the one today. We will go to the places of the battles from 100 years ago, to bring light to the bedside of the heroes, to lay a flower and to raise a prayer for their rest,” specified Adrian Țuțuianu.
The Minister of National Defense wanted to remind that on July 20, along with the celebration of the Holy Great Prophet Elijah the Tishbite, the spiritual protector of the daredevils of flight, it is also the Day of the Romanian Aviation and Air Forces. “In the battles of a century ago, the Romanian aviators supported, through courageous and efficient actions, the fight of their comrades. Aviation was then in its beginnings, but the reconnaissance, observation and even bombing and hunting missions executed by the aviators contributed significantly to the successes obtained. The Romanian Air Forces are today a homogeneous and dynamic structure, a modern, consistent, high-performing component from a tactical, operational and strategic point of view of the national defense system,” also said the Minister of National Defense Adrian Țuțuianu.
Marian Oprișan: The Battle of Mărăști, a proof of the fact that hatred and division can generate atrocities
The president of the Vrancea County Council, Marian Oprișan, shows in his message that at Mărăști was fought the battle that would lead to the success of the Romanian Army also in the fiercest fights of those times – the Battle of Mărășești: “Here, at the Mărăști Mausoleum, 5,432 Romanian, Russian and German soldiers sleep their eternal sleep. A proof of the fact that hatred and division can generate such atrocities. We, as European citizens, are not allowed to forget them or ever repeat them. This is why Mărăști represents a special place on the map of the great battles of the First World War fought by the Romanian Army. Mărăști is, however, more than that. It is the locality that was rebuilt from the foundations by the “Mărăști” Society. A locality reborn from its own ruins through the will of the political-military class of that time. Today, when we mark at Mărăști the Centenary of the Great War from Heroic Vrancea, I express my confidence that the sacrifice of the Romanian soldiers was not in vain and that Romania is on the path of prosperity, but also on the path of consensus. It is our duty never to forget the sufferings and sacrifices of those who found their eternal peace on the Mărăști-Mărășești-Oituz Battlefield.”
After the speeches of the officials, wreath layings followed, among the institutions that laid wreaths being the Romanian Government, the Ministry of National Defense, the Vrancea County Council, the Răcoasa Town Hall, the Prefect’s Institution, the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Romania, the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in Bucharest. Subsequently, the present officials visited the Mărăști Mausoleum. The events ended with a mini recital held by the Finalis Quartet.
