Horia (Beiuş) volunteer Regiment, historical truth about name

[21 inf]

In WW1, romanian transylvanians raised a number of regiments, some of them being named identically, as "Horia" Volunteers Regiment.

One regiment named "Horia" was raised in Italy, one "Horia" regiment (or battalion) in Siberia and one in Transylvania in 1919. A confusion is made with a posible 4th "Horia" regiment, named also Odorhei, which is in fact the Horia regiment raised in Italy and garisoned after WW1 in Odorhei region.

One big and shamefull confusion is very often made by romanian military and civilian historians in connection with "Horia" Volunteer Regiment raised in 1919, eventually renamed "Beiuş". Today romanian historians consider that this regiment was raised by romanians from Bihor, which is 100% wrong. This regiment was raised in february 1919 from volunteers from Zarand and Ţara Moţilor in this manner: 1st Battalion was raised by romanian volunteers from Brad (Hunedoara), 2nd Battalion by those from Baia de Criş (Hunedoara), 3rd Battalion from Câmpeni and Abrud (Alba) and 4th Battalion from Hălmagiu (Arad). Brad, Baia de Criş and Hălmagiu are in Zarand and Câmpeni and Abrud are in Ţara Moţilor.

There was a extremelly small number of romanians from Bihor in the ranks of this regiment, as they were refugees, Bihor being in 1919 under hungarian authority. Their number doesnt entitle today historians to claim that the regiment was raised from Bihor, as their number was insignificant in the mass of thousands of romanians from Zarand and Ţara Moţilor.

The name of "Beiuş" given to this "Horia" Regiment was given after 19 april 1919, when Horia Regiment entered Beiuş town, Bihor county. For the recognition of this deed, "Horia" name of the regiment was changed into "Beiuş", a military tradition to give the name of a city were the unit fought hard or liberated it.

So, when one will read sometimes about Beiuş Regiment, he has to know that this regiment was not raised by "bihoreni", as unfortunatelly one can find written in a lot of romanian history books or articles.

[ANDREAS]

Hallo 21inf,
You gave us interesting and useful informations! About the composition of the regiment is also logical to be as you told us, since Bihor county was largely controlled by hungarian military and paramilitary forces starting with december 1918. Testify in this regard is the book "Agonia: file dintr-un jurnal posibil : Oradea, ianuarie-aprilie 1919" by Liviu Borcea.