PropertyValue
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rdfs:label
  • Romanian Volunteer Corps in Russia
rdfs:comment
  • The Romanian Volunteer Corps in Russia (), or Volunteer Corps of Transylvanians-Bukovinans (Corpul Voluntarilor ardeleni-bucovineni, Corpul Voluntarilor transilvăneni şi bucovineni), was a military formation of World War I, created from ethnic Romanian prisoners of war held by Russia. Officially established in February 1917, it comprised abjurers of the Austro-Hungarian Army, mainly contingents from Transylvania and Bukovina. These had been obliged to fight against Romania, and, once in Russian custody, volunteered for service against the Central Powers. As campaigners for self-determination and union with Romania, they passed political resolutions which, in both tone and scope, announced those adopted on Union Day 1918.
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Garrison
command structure
  • 11
  • Volunteer Corps' Command
Country
  • Romania
Caption
  • The Volunteer Corps colors, or "Darniţa Flag"
Dates
  • --03-08
Unit Name
  • Romanian Volunteer Corps in Russia
notable commanders
Allegiance
  • 23
Battles
Size
abstract
  • The Romanian Volunteer Corps in Russia (), or Volunteer Corps of Transylvanians-Bukovinans (Corpul Voluntarilor ardeleni-bucovineni, Corpul Voluntarilor transilvăneni şi bucovineni), was a military formation of World War I, created from ethnic Romanian prisoners of war held by Russia. Officially established in February 1917, it comprised abjurers of the Austro-Hungarian Army, mainly contingents from Transylvania and Bukovina. These had been obliged to fight against Romania, and, once in Russian custody, volunteered for service against the Central Powers. As campaigners for self-determination and union with Romania, they passed political resolutions which, in both tone and scope, announced those adopted on Union Day 1918. The Corps was effectively an active military reserve of the Romanian Land Forces, and regularly dispatched new units to the Romanian front after June 1917. It helped defend the last stretches of Romania against the Central Powers' unified offensive, and met success in the Battle of Mărăşeşti, but it still lacked a unitary command structure. When the October Revolution in Russia and the Romanian armistice took Romania out of the Entente camp, the Corps was left without backing and purpose. However, it inspired the creation of similar units in Entente countries, most successfully the Romanian Legion of Italy. Mobilized volunteers or prisoners symbolically tied to the Corps were left behind in Russia after the Russian Civil War was ignited. Various such individuals formed the Romanian Legion of Siberia, which resisted the Bolsheviks in cooperation with the Czechoslovak Legions and the White movement. These units were ultimately repatriated to Greater Romania in 1920.