Victor Popescu

In order to mislead the enemy, during incursions made in the villages of Gorj and Mehedinți counties, Popescu's group of partisans left leaflets addressed to the occupation forces, with the following content: "Today I passed through your village, I saw the miseries that you do to our brethren, we will soon pay you miserable what you are." Tickets were signed with the names of senior Romanian officers, including General Alexandru Averescu, to suggest to the Germans that they are confronted with a large and well-organized Romanian force.

The actions of the guerrilla group were diverse, ranging from assault with firearms to spreading manifestations that would mislead the opponents or intimidate them. On several occasions, in the villages of Corcova and Meriș, Popescu, disguised as a monk, spoke to the German patrols, got them drunk, and took their weapons and ammunition while they were unconscious of had too much to drink. Besides, the Romanian sub-lieutenant walked through villages disguised in various forms: priest, carriage, pot-seller and others.

In May 1917, Popescu launched a Proclamation addressed to Romanians, village mayors, and Romanian soldiers remaining behind the enemy front, urging them to fight with their guns and warning the Romanian traitors that they would be punished if they would give information to the enemy.

The Central Powers' occupation forces organized guerrilla arrests, mostly based on information provided by Romanian traitors. A reward was placed on Popescu's head, amounting to 5,000 to 30,000 lei, depending on the value of the information that will lead to his capture. The enemy's injuries were mostly with no results, he suffered losses as a result of clashes with Romanian partisans.^{[clarification needed]} In some of these raids, the German patrols were able to capture the two former Italian prisoners who fought alongside Popescu, Pellegrini and Prade. In others, they succeeded in killing some Romanian fighters, such as Ionel Prunescu and Gheorghe Ioana. Popescu himself would be hurt in one of these struggles, but he was able to save himself without being captured.

Among those who betrayed the group of Romanian partisans were Gheorghe Schînteie, mayor of Drăgotești commune, Gheorghe Roșoga, priest in the village of Peșteana de Jos and Aftanghel Toma, monk. Schînteie would be shot dead by Popescu as he led a Hungarian patrol to catch him. Toma betrayed Ionel Popescu, a member of the group of partisans, who was captured by Austro-Hungarian troops close to the Raci village. Victor Popescu attacked the command and freed Ionel. A commando made up of partisans abducted the monk on the night of May 30/31, 1917 and after an interrogation he was executed by shooting, leaving a note near his dead body with the text: "so will all who betray their brethren and stand in the service of the enemy."

Other actions of the partisans included attacking enemy ammunition depots, blowing up a train loaded with ammunition, and attacks on the Central Powers' troops, including those stationed the city of Târgu Jiu.

Because they were not able to catch them even by betrayal, the military authorities of the occupation forces resorted to reprisals on the families of the guerrilla warriors. Victor Popescu's father, wife, sister, and father-in-law were arrested, sentenced to death, and some of them executed by the enemy. Popescu's house, in the village of Valea cu Apă, was spoiled and burnt on 24 June 1917, on the order of General von Knalzer. The house of Popescu's father-in-law, N.D. Pleșan from the village of Șișești, Mehedinți, was also robbed and burnt.

From the villages of Valea cu Apă, Negomir, Grozești, Covrigi, Peștera de Sus, Bolboși, Slivilești, Stejerei, Rovinari, Horăști, Samarinești, Trestioara, and others, hundreds of people were suspected of helping the partisans. They were locked at Turnu-Severin, and ten of them were sentenced to death. Learning about the death sentences for the people who had helped him, Popescu decided to attack the Turnu Severin Prison [ro] to release the detainees who supported him. The partisan group attacked the prison on the night of July 6/7, 1917 and managed to break into its walls, whereby some of the prisoners managed to flee. Those sentenced to death, however, did not escape, and the attack on the prison hastened their execution by the Germans. On July 10, 1917, ten supporters of Victor Popescu were executed by firing squad after being forced to dig their own graves. These were Nicolae Marcu from Drăgotești, Nicolae Popescu, teacher from Covrigi, brother of Victor and father of Ionel Popescu, Constantin Cojocaru, notary in Negomir commune, Ion Norocea from Bolboși, Petre Vâlceanu and Ion Brăiescu, mayor and notary of Bolboși commune, Stancu Croitoru, Tudor Ungureanu, Ilie Giumanca, all from Grozești, and Mihai Cernăianu from Horăști.

Another eight people, both men and women, were sentenced to imprisonment, with penalties ranging from one to fifteen years. Several other dozens of people were imprisoned at the Tismana Monastery [ro], and ten were deported to Bulgaria. Either in prison or shortly after being released from detention, some died due to ill-treatment. Among them are the father of Victor Popescu, Dumitru, and the sister-in-law, Domnica, the wife of Nicolae Popescu, executed by the Germans on July 10, 1917.

In August 1917, the group of partisans dissolved, and most returned to their homes. Victor Popescu moved to the counties of Olt and Vâlcea, gathered a new group of five or six people, who went to Moldavia. In February 1918 Popescu joined his regiment stationed there.

At the end of 1918, when the war ended, he returned to his native village where he resumed his teaching career. In 1941 he was decorated with the "Reward of Labor" medal for outstanding merits as a teacher, reviewer and school inspector. He retired in 1943.

In 1948 he was fined for "propaganda against the regime" by the newly established communist authorities. The one who denounced him to the authorities was the same priest, Gheorghe Roșoga, who in 1917 sold him to the Germans. In 1952, Popescu was arrested by the Securitate and was detained for one year at the Ghencea camp in Bucharest. The communist authorities annulled his pension entitlement for the period 1948-1956, on the grounds that he had been punished under Decree 102 of 1948. His pension was reinstated in 1956. He died in 1970 at the age of 84, being buried in the cemetery of native village.

The 1986 historical film Bătălia din umbră [ro], directed by Andrei Blaier, with Dan Condurache in the leading role was based on Popescu's guerrilla actions during the First World War. In 1996, the school in Valea cu Apă was named "Victor Popescu" in his memory.