The Legion of the Vistula ( pl, Legia Nadwiślańska) was a unit of Poles in the service of

Napoleonic France The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eur ...

, one of the larger Polish legions of the Napoleonic period.

Creation of the Legion

The Legion was formed in Breslau, Neustadt, Brieg,

Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (german: Lausitzer Neiße; pl, Nysa Łużycka; cs, Lužická Nisa; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.Friedland, in the region of

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

in February 1807 from an infantry regiment and cavalry regiment in the service of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

that were descended from

Jan Henryk Dąbrowski Jan Henryk Dąbrowski (; also known as Johann Heinrich Dąbrowski (Dombrowski) in German and Jean Henri Dombrowski in French; 2 August 1755 – 6 June 1818) was a Polish general and statesman, widely respected after his death for his patri ...

's Dąbrowski's Legions and

Karol Kniaziewicz Baron Karol Otto Kniaziewicz (4 May 1762 in Assiten, Courland (now Asīte, Latvia) – 9 May 1842 in Paris) was a Polish general and political activist. Karol attended the Knight School in Warsaw. He participated in the Polish-Russian war of ...

Danube Legion The Danube Legion ( pl, Legia Naddunajska; or the Rhine Legion - french: Legion du Rhine) was a unit of Poles in the service of Napoleonic France. It was also known as the 3rd Polish Legion. Origin It was formed on 8 September 1799 in the Batav ...

originally raised in the 1790s. The new formation was expanded from the Neapolitan cadre into a formation of three

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

s and one

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light 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 Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n and ex-

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n territories, particularly

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

and

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

. The Polish-Italian Legion fought its first engagement at the siege of Klodzko and then was transferred to

Kingdom of Westphalia The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the ...

in October 1807 and was placed in garrison in the capital,

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

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 I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

directed that the Legion be transferred to French service on 21 February 1808. The Legion was transferred to

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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 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 , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

(the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

). On 24 March 1809 at the

Battle of Yevenes A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, 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 the ambush set by 5,000 of Spaniards. The regiment was renamed in 1811 into the 7e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers.

ordered a Second Vistula Legion formed from prisoners taken after his defeat of the Austrians at the

Battle of Wagram The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles ...

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

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 Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...

regiments being numbered 1 to 6. On 16 May 1811 the 1st Vistula Lancer Regiment at the

Battle of Albuera The Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) was a battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi (Army of the South) at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about south ...

struck three of the four exposed British foot regiments of Colborne's Brigade, causing heavy casualties.

Service in Russia

The Legion was withdrawn from Spain early in 1812 preparatory to the

Napoleon's invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

. 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

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

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 18 June 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, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Waterloo

" In May 1815 (Waterloo Campaign) 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."

References

External links

Napoleon.gery.pl
{{Authority control Polish Legions (Napoleonic period) Military units and formations established in 1807 Military units and formations disestablished in 1814