Legion of the Vistula

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Legion of the Vistula

Infantrymen of the Legion of the Vistula

Active| 1807–1814
Country| French First Empire
Branch| French Imperial Army
Engagements|

* Napoleonic Wars
* Peninsular War
* Siege of Zaragoza (1808)
* Siege of Zaragoza (1809)
* Battle of Los Yébenes
* French invasion of Russia
* Battle of Smolensk (1812)
* Battle of Borodino
* War of the Sixth Coalition
* Battle of Leipzig

Military unit

The Legion of the Vistula (Polish: Legia Nadwiślańska) was a combined arms legion of the French Imperial Army which served in the Napoleonic Wars. Raised in 1807, the legion served in the Peninsular War, French invasion of Russia and War of the Sixth Coalition before being disbanded in 1814. It was one of the largest Polish Legions of the Napoleonic era.

## Creation of the Legion

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The Legion was formed in Breslau, Neustadt, Brieg, Neisse and Friedland,[1] in the region of Silesia 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 regiments 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-Prussian and ex-Austrian territories, particularly Poznań and Galicia.

The Polish-Italian Legion fought its first engagement at the Siege of Kłodzko 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 11 November 1807.

Napoleon directed that the Legion be transferred to French service on 21 February 1808. The Legion was transferred to Poitiers, France and was officially renamed the Vistula Legion on 31 March 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 18 February 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 Fourier's, 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 24 March 1809 at the Battle of Los Yébenes, 600 of Polish lancers of the Legion of the Vistula lost all their squadron banners (which had not been defended because nobody knew they were hidden in the carriage) when they had cut through an ambush set by 5,000 Spaniards. The regiment was renamed in 1811 into the 7th Regiment of Chevau-légers Lancers Regiment.

Napoleon 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.

## Service in Spain

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Lancers of the Vistula Legion on patrol in Spain during the Peninsular War by Juliusz Kossak, 1875

On 7 February 1811 a second lancer regiment was raised, and on June 18 of that year, the two lancer regiments were removed from the legion and redesignated as the 7th and 8th Chevauleger-lancier regiments of the French line, with six converted French dragoon regiments being numbered 1 to 6.

On 16 May 1811 the 1st Vistula Lancer Regiment at the Battle of Albuera struck three of the four exposed British foot regiments of Colborne's Brigade, causing heavy casualties.

## Service in Russia

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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 Michel Claparède. The new third battalions of the regiments did not join their parent units until the retreat from Moscow was well underway. Of the approximately 7,000 members of the Legion who entered Russia, only about 1,500 returned.

## Service in Germany 1813

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On 18 June 1813 the survivors of the legion were reorganized into the single Vistula Regiment of two battalions.

## Service in France 1814

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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 partitioned Poland.

## Waterloo

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"In May 1815 (Hundred Days) the 7th Lancers was formed again. However they had only 13 horses for 350 men. In July they fought on foot near Paris, and were highly praised by Marshal Davout. When the war was over, the 7th Lancers was one of few Polish units that refused to serve under the Tsar of Russia and was disbanded in France."[2]

## See also

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* Polish Legions in Italy
* 1st Polish Light Cavalry Regiment of the Imperial Guard
* Army of the Duchy of Warsaw
* Duchy of Warsaw

## References

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1. ^ Dobiecki, Wojciech (1862). Wspomnienia wojskowe Wojciecha Dobieckiego (in Polish).
2. ^ "Polish Vistula Lancers (Uhlans) : Picadors of the Hell : Napoleonic Wars".

## External links

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* Napoleon.gery.pl

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Foreign regiments of the French Imperial Army (1803–1815)

Swiss units|

* Helvétique Chasseurs à Cheval
* Swiss Legion
* Swiss Demi-Brigades
* 1st Swiss Regiment
* 2nd Swiss Regiment
* 3rd Swiss Regiment
* 4th Swiss Regiment
* Bataillon du Prince de Neuchâtel
* Bataillon Valaisan
* Artillerie Suisse

German (and Austrian) units|

* Franco-Hessian Legion
* Prussian Gendarmes
* Prussian Regiment
* Westphalian Regiment
* Régiment d'Isembourg
* Bataillon Allemand
* White Pioneers

| Hanoverian Legion|

* Cavalry of the Hanoverian Legion
* Infantry of the Hanoverian Legion

|

Polish/Lithuanian units|

* 1st Polish Light Cavalry Regiment of the Imperial Guard (lancers from 1809)
* 3rd Light Cavalry Lancers of the Imperial Guard
* Lithuanian Tatars of the Imperial Guard
* Polish Honour Guards
* Polish Cossacks Regiment
* Legion of the Danube
* Legion of the North
* Bataillon Polonais

| Polish Demi-Brigades|

* 1st Polish Demi-Brigade
* 2nd Polish Demi-Brigade
* 3rd Polish Demi-Brigade

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Legion of the Vistula|

* 1st Lancers of the Vistula Legion
* 2nd Lancers of the Vistula Legion
* Lancers of the Vistula Legion
* 1st Regiment of the Vistula Legion
* 2nd Regiment of the Vistula Legion
* 3rd Regiment of the Vistula Legion
* 4th Regiment of the Vistula Legion
* Vistula Legion Combined Regiment

Mediterranean units|

* Maltese Legion
* Greek Legion
* Albanian Regiment
* Septinsular Battalion
* Ionian Chasseurs
* Ionian Sappers

Italian units|

* Turin and Florence Honour Guards
* Legion of the South
* Italian Legion
* Vélites of Turin and Florence
* Free Battalions of Elba
* Ligurian Battalions
* Tirailleurs du Po

Iberian units (Spain/Portugal)|

* Aragon Chasseurs à Cheval
* Portuguese Legion
* Aragon Gendarmes
* Catalonian Gendarmes
* Catalan Guides
* Régiment Joseph Napoléon
* Catalonian Regiment
* Aragon Fusiliers
* L'Ampurdan Chasseurs
* Catalonian Miquelets
* Cantabrian Volunteer Companies
* Spanish Sappers
* Spanish Pioneers

Illyria/Croatia|

* Croatian Hussars
* Illyrian Regiment
* 1st Provisional Croatian Regiment
* 2nd Provisional Croatian Regiment
* 3rd Provisional Croatian Regiment
* 4th Provisional Croatian Regiment
* 1st Illyrian Chasseurs
* 2nd Illyrian Chasseurs
* 3rd Illyrian Chasseurs
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* 5th Illyrian Chasseurs
* 6th Illyrian Chasseurs
* Dalmatian Pandours
* Serezaners

Dutch/Belgian|

* Duke of Arenberg's Belgian Light Cavalry
* 3rd Foot Grenadier Regiment of the Imperial Guard

Middle Eastern/Asian|

* Omar Guides
* Coptic Legion
* Syrian Legion
* French Janissaries
* French Syrian Janissaries
* Middle Eastern Chasseurs

Misc units|

* Mamelukes of the Imperial Guard
* Polish-Italian Legion
* Polish Legion of Italy
* Volunteer Legions of the North
* Irish Legion, 3rd Foreign Regiment
* 1st Foreign Regiment (France)
* 2nd Foreign Regiment (France)
* 4th Foreign Regiment (France)
* Deserter Battalion
* 1st Colonial Battalion
* 2nd Colonial Battalion
* Foreign Deserter Companies
* Foreign Pioneers
* Black Pioneers
* Foreign Volunteer Pioneers
* Régiment de la Tour d'Auvergne – a French royalist unit with many foreign members

Authority control databases |

* VIAF

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