Georgian Legion (1915–1918) on:
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The World War I-era Georgian Legion was formed in 1915 by Count
The World War I-era Georgian Legion was formed in 1915 by Count Friedrich Werner von der Schulenburg
Friedrich-Werner Erdmann Matthias Johann Bernhard Erich Graf von der Schulenburg (20 November 1875 – 10 November 1944) was a German diplomat who served as the last German ambassador to the Soviet Union before Operation Barbarossa, the German ...
, a former German vice-consul in Tiflis
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...
, who then served as a German liaison officer with the Ottoman 3rd Army. He was supported by the German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
-based Committee of Independent Georgia
The Committee of Independent Georgia ( ka, დამოუკიდებელი საქართველოს კომიტეტი), also known as the Georgian Committee, was a political organization formed in 1914 by Georgian émigrés ...
. The reinforcements were raised largely from refugees from the Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
Georgian areas and Lazistan
Lazistan ( lzz, ლაზონა, Lazona; ka, ლაზეთი, Lazeti, or ჭანეთი ''Ç'aneti''; ota, لازستان, Lazistān) is a historical and cultural region of the Caucasus and Anatolia, traditionally inhabited by the Laz ...
, as well as from Prisoners of War.
Approximately 1500 soldiers strong, the Legion was first commanded by Lieutenant Horst Schliephack. The highest-ranking Georgian officer of the Legion was Leo Kereselidze
Leo Kereselidze ( ka, ლეო კერესელიძე) (1885 – 1944) was a Georgian military figure, politician and journalist involved in the Georgian national movement against the Russian and later Soviet domination.
Early in his twen ...
. The actual number of soldiers heavily fluctuated, but never exceeded 2000.
The Georgian Legion joined the German Caucasus Expedition. During the Russo-Turkish campaign of 1916–7, the Georgian Legion was stationed in the mountains east of Tirebolu
Tirebolu (from the Greek word《Τρίπολις》meaning "three cities", named as such by its ancient Greek founders), is a town and district of Giresun Province, Turkey.
Geography
Tirebolu is a small town of 14,303 people located on a hill nam ...
, on the banks of the Harşit River
The Harşit River (''Turkish: Harşit Çayı'', ''Philabonites'' or ''Χαρσιώτης'' River) is a river in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It flows through the Gümüşhane and Giresun Provinces before its terminus in the Black Sea at Tirebo ...
not far from the Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
coast. The Legion was originally intended to promote a revolt in Russian-held Georgia, and remained under German control, while the Ottomans sought to use it as a normal unit within their army.
Late in 1915, the Order of Queen Tamar was introduced for issue to the soldiers and officers of the Georgian Legion.
In the end it took very little part in the fighting, being stationed on the Black Sea coast at Giresun
Giresun (), formerly Cerasus (Ancient Greek: Κερασοῦς, Greek: Κερασούντα), is the provincial capital of Giresun Province in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon.
Etymology
Giresun wa ...
until disbanded in January 1917, after the relations between the German-backed Georgian Committee and the Ottoman government had become strained. The former Georgian volunteer officers later joined the National Army of the Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG; ka, საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა ') was the first modern establishment of a republic of Georgia, which existed from May 1918 to ...
in 1918. The Georgian Legion further acted as one of many components directed to destabilise Russian imperial rule in general and was a part of Germany's comprehensive approach on subversive foreign policy.Fritschen, Jeannot (2021), "The Georgian Legion of World War I". ''Caucasus Survey'' Volume 9 Issue 1, p. 21-41.
References