Legion of the Vistula
Encyclopedia
The Legion of the Vistula was a unit of Poles in the service of Napoleonic France
, one of the larger Polish Legions of Napoleonic Period.
in February 1807 from an infantry regiment and cavalry regiment in the service of the Kingdom of Naples
that were descended from Jan Henryk Dąbrowski
's Dąbrowski's Legions and Karol Kniaziewicz
's Danube Legion
originally raised in the 1790s. The new formation was expanded from the Neapolitan cadre into a formation of three infantry
regiment and one cavalry
regiment, initially named the Polish-Italian Legion as it had been organized around the Poles formerly in Italian service. Most of the recruits came from ex-Prussia
n and ex-Austria
n territories, particularly Poznań
and Pomerania
.
The Polish-Italian Legion fought its first engagement at the siege of Klodzko
and then was transferred to Kingdom of Westphalia
in October 1807 and was placed in garrison in the capital, Kassel
where it was recruited to full authorized strength from Poles in French occupied territory. The newly expanded cavalry regiment arrived in Kassel on November 11, 1807.
Napoleon I directed that the Legion be transferred to French service on February 21, 1808. The Legion was transferred to Poitiers
, France
and was officially renamed the Vistula Legion on March 31, 1808 with the equivalent status of French line units. The infantry was reorganized to the 1808 pattern of six company battalions in April of that year in conformance with the new French organization decreed on February 18, 1808. The Legion's depot was at Sedan
. All of the personnel of the Legion were to be of Polish ethnicity except for the company clerks, the fourriers, battalion adjutant non-commissioned officers, and paymasters. who were to be French. The strength of the Legion was set at 5,959 men in June 1808. The 2nd and 3rd infantry regiments of the Vistula Legion in June 1808 and participated in Napoleon's invasion of Spain
(the Peninsular War
). On March 24, 1809 at the Battle of Yevenes
, Polish lancers of the Legion of the Vistula lost all their banners, which caused the dissolution of the regiment.
Napoleon I ordered a Second Vistula Legion formed from prisoners taken after his defeat of the Austrians at the Battle of Wagram
in July 1809. Recruiting was slow and only two battalions were raised and were sent to Sedan in October 1809. Unlike the original legion, ethnic Germans were accepted into the new formation. The Second Vistula Legion was unable to recruit up to strength and was disbanded in February 1810 with its personnel being amalgamated with the original Legion as its 4th Regiment.
On February 7, 1811, a second lancer regiment was raised, and on June 18 of that year, the two lancers regiments were removed from the legion and redesignated as 7th and 8th Chevauleger-lanciers Regiment of the French line, with six converted French dragoon
regiments being numbered 1 through 6.
was well underway. Of the approximately 7,000 members of the Legion who entered Russia, only about 1,500 returned.
After Napoleon's abdication, the survivors of the Legion returned to Poland
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, one of the larger Polish Legions of Napoleonic Period.
Creation of the Legion
The Legion was formed in Breslau, SilesiaSilesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
in February 1807 from an infantry regiment and cavalry regiment in the service of the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
that were descended from Jan Henryk Dąbrowski
Jan Henryk Dabrowski
-Biography:Dąbrowski was born to Jan Michal Dąbrowski and Sophie née von Lettow in Pierzchów, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth He grew up in Hoyerswerda, Electorate of Saxony, where his father served as a Colonel in the Saxon army...
's Dąbrowski's Legions and Karol Kniaziewicz
Karol Kniaziewicz
Baron Karol Otto Kniaziewicz was a Polish general and political activist....
's Danube Legion
Danube Legion
The Danube Legion was a unit of Poles in the service of Napoleonic France, one of the larger Polish Legions of Napoleonic Period.It was formed on 8 September 1799 in the Batavian Republic from Polish volunteers, mostly French prisoners of war from the Austrian Army...
originally raised in the 1790s. The new formation was expanded from the Neapolitan cadre into a formation of three infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment and one cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
regiment, initially named the Polish-Italian Legion as it had been organized around the Poles formerly in Italian service. Most of the recruits came from ex-Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n and ex-Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n territories, particularly Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
and Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
.
The Polish-Italian Legion fought its first engagement at the siege of Klodzko
Klodzko
Kłodzko is a town in south-western Poland, in the region of Lower Silesia. It is situated in the centre of the Kłodzko Valley, on the Nysa Kłodzka river....
and then was transferred to Kingdom of Westphalia
Kingdom of Westphalia
The Kingdom of Westphalia was a new country of 2.6 million Germans that existed from 1807-1813. It included of territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the First French Empire, ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte...
in October 1807 and was placed in garrison in the capital, Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
where it was recruited to full authorized strength from Poles in French occupied territory. The newly expanded cavalry regiment arrived in Kassel on November 11, 1807.
Napoleon I directed that the Legion be transferred to French service on February 21, 1808. The Legion was transferred to Poitiers
Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and of the Poitou-Charentes region. The centre is picturesque and its streets are interesting for predominant remains of historical architecture, especially from the Romanesque...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and was officially renamed the Vistula Legion on March 31, 1808 with the equivalent status of French line units. The infantry was reorganized to the 1808 pattern of six company battalions in April of that year in conformance with the new French organization decreed on February 18, 1808. The Legion's depot was at Sedan
Sedan, France
Sedan is a commune in France, a sub-prefecture of the Ardennes department in northern France.-Geography:The historic centre is built on a peninsula formed by an arc of the Meuse River. It is around from the Belgian border.-History:...
. All of the personnel of the Legion were to be of Polish ethnicity except for the company clerks, the fourriers, battalion adjutant non-commissioned officers, and paymasters. who were to be French. The strength of the Legion was set at 5,959 men in June 1808. The 2nd and 3rd infantry regiments of the Vistula Legion in June 1808 and participated in Napoleon's invasion of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
). On March 24, 1809 at the Battle of Yevenes
Battle of Yevenes
The Battle of Yevenes was the clash of the Regiment of Polish Lancers of the Legion of the Vistula with regiments of Spanish cavalry, near the Spanish village of Los Yébenes...
, Polish lancers of the Legion of the Vistula lost all their banners, which caused the dissolution of the regiment.
Napoleon I ordered a Second Vistula Legion formed from prisoners taken after his defeat of the Austrians at the Battle of Wagram
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram was the decisive military engagement of the War of the Fifth Coalition. It took place on the Marchfeld plain, on the north bank of the Danube. An important site of the battle was the village of Deutsch-Wagram, 10 kilometres northeast of Vienna, which would give its name to the...
in July 1809. Recruiting was slow and only two battalions were raised and were sent to Sedan in October 1809. Unlike the original legion, ethnic Germans were accepted into the new formation. The Second Vistula Legion was unable to recruit up to strength and was disbanded in February 1810 with its personnel being amalgamated with the original Legion as its 4th Regiment.
Service in Spain
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
regiments being numbered 1 through 6.
Service in Russia
The Legion was withdrawn from Spain early in 1812 preparatory to the Napoleon's invasion of Russia. In March 1812 Napoleon ordered the four regiments to recruit a third battalion, raising them to three battalions apiece, plus a small regimental battery of two 3-pdr guns to be attached to each regiment as per the standard French practice of the time. The whole would serve together as a single division attached to the Young Guard commanded by General of Division Claparede. The new third battalions of the regiments did not join their parent units until the retreat from MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
was well underway. Of the approximately 7,000 members of the Legion who entered Russia, only about 1,500 returned.
Service in Germany 1813
On June 18, 1813 the survivors of the legion were reorganized into the single Vistula Regiment of two battalions.Service in France 1814
The Vistula Regiment was again reformed early in 1814 at its depot at Sedan with all the remaining Polish infantrymen in French service being transferred to it.After Napoleon's abdication, the survivors of the Legion returned to Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.