On 1 July 1923, the 2nd Mountain Troops Division (
Divizia 2 Vânători de Munte) was formed in
Bistrița. In 1937, the two existing Mountain Divisions were converted to the 1st and 2nd Mountain Brigades. The same year, the 2nd Brigade was renamed to the 2nd Mixed Mountain Brigade and until 1940, it guarded the northern border of the country.
World War II of the 2nd Mixed Mountain Brigade After Romania
entered the war in 1941, the 2nd Mixed Mountain Brigade under the command of General
Ioan Dumitrache and assigned to the Mountain Corps joined the
offensive in Bessarabia on the
Mihăileni–
Hotin direction and participated in the crossing of the
Dniester,
Bug, and
Dnieper rivers. By autumn, the brigade reached the
Sea of Azov where it managed to resist the counter-offensive of the Soviet
9th and
18th Armies. Although the Soviets eventually broke through the front in several places, the brigade rearranged itself on new defensive positions and held out against further attacks. Until 5 November, the brigade cleared other
Red Army forces in the
Berdiansk sector in the aftermath of the
Battle of the Sea of Azov. On 7 December the 2nd Brigade was recalled to the country to recover from the losses it suffered. • 4th Mountain Group • 7th Mountain Battalion "
Ioan Buteanu" • 8th Mountain Battalion • 15th Mountain Battalion • 5th Mountain Group • 9th Mountain Battalion • 10th Mountain Battalion • 16th Mountain Battalion • 2nd Mountain Artillery Group • 2nd Mountain Howitzer Battalion • 4th Mountain Gun Battalion • 5th Mountain Gun Battalion in November 1942 The division was sent to the
Caucasus front in July 1942. Under the
1st Panzer Army, the 2nd Mountain Division forced the crossing of the
Baksan River and established a bridgehead near the village of
Kysburun. In October, the division launched an offensive towards
Nalchik and after heavy fighting, the division broke through the Soviet lines and reached its objective on 28 October. Suffering only 820 casualties, the
Vânători de Munte inflicted heavy losses on the enemy and took 3,079
prisoners. Supplied with new types of
American weaponry and equipment, the Soviet armies encircled the German
13th Panzer Division south of the village of , but the soldiers of the 4th Mountain Group managed to secure the
Alagir-
Ordzhonikidze road which allowed the German tanks to retreat. On 28 January 1943, the 2nd Mountain Division crossed the
Kuban bridgehead and, while subordinated to the
17th German Army, it continued fighting until March. On 28 March, the division was moved to
Crimea for recovery. Retreating to Romania, the division was placed on the flank of the
Romanian 1st Army in August 1944. After the
23 August coup, the division fought against
German units in
Transylvania and in September participated in the liberation of
Cluj. Units from the brigade were often deployed to
peacekeeping missions as part of
KFOR in
Kosovo,
UNAMI in
Iraq, and ISAF in Afghanistan. Until 2015, the 2nd Mountain Troops Brigade was subordinated to the
1st Infantry Division when the division was reorganized as the
Multinational Division Southeast. On 30 June 2023, festivities were held in
Brașov's
Piața Sfatului to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the brigade. == Organization ==