Eremia Grigorescu

Eremia Teofil Grigorescu (28 November 1863 – 21 July 1919) was a Romanian general who served as the commander of the 1st Romanian Army during the First World War. He also served as Minister of War in the Constantin Coandă cabinet.

Born in 1863 in the village Golășei (Bujor Sat), actually part of Târgu Bujor, in Covurlui County, now Galați County, in the family of the teacher Grigore Grigorescu and Maria (née Cazacu) Grigorescu; he was the youngest child of the family, after Dumitru, Constantin and Sevastia. He attended primary school in Galați (1870–1874), in the class of teacher Rășcanu, "a well-known figure in the cultural world of Galați", secondary school at Vasile Alecsandri High School in Galați (1874–1878), and then the Academia Mihăileană in Iași (1878–1881). After graduation, he attended for a year the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Iași, before transferring to the Officers' School, Artillery section (1882–1884), later attending the School of Applications of Artillery and Engineering (1884–1886), both in Bucharest. In 1887 he was sent as a military attache to the French Artillery Committee "St. Thomas d'Aquin" in Paris (the name of the French Artillery Training Center at that time); here, in addition to his military duties, he studied mathematics for two years at Sorbonne (1877–1878).

While studying in Iași in 1881, he met Eleonora Arapu, a Mathematics student who later became the first female graduate of the University of Iași, and pursued a teaching career. The two married on 15 November 1886, and had five children: Traian (1887–1969, who continued in his footsteps and became a general), Romulus, Aurelian, Lucreția, and Margareta. While stationed in Oituz during the war, he met Elena Negropontes, whom he married in 1918 after divorcing his first wife; their son, Dan Ulise Grigorescu [fr] (1917–1990), became a noted artist and photographer.

The activity carried out in the service of the army was complemented by the activity of a military writer, consisting of memos on various technical matters, reports and miscellaneous memos, as well as two original works: the first - "Calculation of probabilities with application to artillery fire"; conceived in Paris while he was studying mathematics at the Sorbonne and published as soon as he returned to Romania, it was a first, because it was the first time that a Romanian officer addressed a very important problem for artillery; subsequently, the work was submitted to the investigation and approval of the artillery committee and imposed for consultation by all officers and corps; the second - "Ballistic study of the Mannlicher rifle, model 1893", written when he was the Director of the Army Gunpowder Warehouse in Dudești, became a useful tool for infantry and cavalry officers through the useful notions of ballistics and the data related to the characteristics of the respective weapon.

While he was director of the Army Gunpowder Warehouse, he repeatedly refused to accept an order for guncotton (a type of explosive), purchased from the Viennese company "Blumau", because it did not correspond to the specifications. For this reason, he was changed, by order of the Minister of War, Dimitrie Sturdza, from the position of director of the warehouse.

In 1903 he was appointed director of the Artillery section at the War Ministry, and from 1907 to 1910 commander of the Artillery Officer School.

When Romania entered the war (27 August 1916), brigadier general Grigorescu was in command of the 15th Infantry Division, in Dobrogea. The unit received the baptism of fire at Tutucaia where it suffered heavy losses; later in Dobrogea, this great unit stood out in the battles fought in the Arabagi-Mulciova area, restoring for 30 days the front that seemed to have been overtaken. Archive documents (diary of combat actions, orders given, plans drawn up, etc.) prove by their content, the clarity of the commander's vision of the situation and the fair way in which he made decisions. For fulfilling the mission in Dobrogea, he was the first general decorated with the Order of Michael the Brave 3rd class.

On October 1/14, 1916, the 15th Infantry Division was relocated to the mountainous front of the Northern Army, under which it was assigned. Here was the meeting with General Constantin Prezan, commander of the Northern Army, on which occasion, after receiving the mission, the commander of the 15th Infantry Division bluntly stated: "I know the situation, general. The enemy will not pass through here!" General Grigorescu's natural remark "Pe aici nu se trece!" ("You cannot pass through here!" or "No way on this way!") it became the motto of the entire group of forces that successfully defended the Oituz Valley, and the great unit earned its nickname of the "Iron Division."