Russian Army Expeditionary Force in France

The Russian Expeditionary Force in France (Экспедиционный корпус Российской армии во Франции) was from the Russian Empire in the First World War seconded to France contingent of the Russian army .

In 1915 France asked for Russian troops to be sent to join the Entente on the front against Germany . Originally the request was made for 300,000 men, a very high number, which was probably based on the assumption that Russia had almost inexhaustible human reserves. The Russian commander, General Michail Wassiljewitsch Alexejew, was against sending troops. Tsar Nicholas II finally agreed to send a unit of brigade strength . The first Russian special brigade finally landed in Marseille in April 1916 . The other part of the contingent was also sent to the Macedonian Front in Greece to support Western Allied forces . The First Brigade in France fought hard until the February Revolution of 1917 . The morale of the expeditionary force also fell victim to the political unrest at home. The expeditionary force in France was disbanded before the end of the year. However, some of the tenderly loyal soldiers founded the Legion Russe (French for Russian Legion ). In doing so, they continued the Russian presence on the Western Front and thus the participation of Russian forces in the First World War until the Compiègne armistice in November 1918.

Dispatch of the expeditionary force and use on the western front

Routes for the relocation of Russian troops to the Western Front

Paul Doumer suggested sending 300,000 soldiers in exchange for ammunition during a visit to Russia in 1915. In contrast to Tsar Nicholas II, the Russian High Command was not very enthusiastic about this proposal. General Mikhail Alexeyev offered to send Russian troops on the condition that they were under the supervision of Russian officers. These in turn were to operate under French command. In addition, the French navy should take over equipment and transport of the troops.

The 1st Russian Special Brigade was set up in January 1916 under the direction of General Lochwitzki . It was composed of the 1st and 2nd regiments from Moscow and Samara , respectively . It consisted mainly of reserve forces, with the 1st regiment consisting mainly of factory workers and the 2nd mainly of farmers. The brigade had a total of 8,942 men. She left Moscow on February 3 and reached Marseille on April 16, 1916 after an approach of around 30,000 km (via the Trans-Siberian Railway and sea transport from Port Arthur ).

The 3rd, 4th and 5th Brigades soon followed. The second and fourth brigades reached the Macedonian front in Greece in August and November 1916. The third brigade, consisting mainly of professional soldiers and reservists, was set up in Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk and sent to France in August 1916 via Arkhangelsk .

General Alexei Alexejewitsch Brusilov was responsible for the special brigades operating in France with a total of 44,319 soldiers. Because of the Russian Revolution, the planned further brigades (6th, 7th and 8th) could no longer be set up.

Russian troops are inspected by General Gouraud

On April 23, 1916, the 1st Special Brigade was transferred to the large military training areas near Châlons-sur-Marne and placed under the supervision of General Henri Gouraud by the French 4th Army . The French president was impressed by the Russian camp and awarded General Lochwitzki the order of "Commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur" of the French Legion of Honor . The 1st Brigade arrived at the end of June 1916 on the front line in the area between Suippes and Aubérive, east of Châlons, which had been frozen in position .

About 450 Estonians served in the Russian Expeditionary Force, mostly in the 1st and 3rd Brigade. After February 1917, these soldiers wore small Estonian flags to differentiate themselves from their Russian comrades.

By March 1917, the special brigades were in the region around Fort Pompelle . From April 16, 1917, the Russian Expeditionary Force took part in the French Nivelle offensive . The 1st Brigade took Coucy and the 3rd Brigade Mont Spin , with 4,542 men reported as casualties.

The graves of 1,000 Russian soldiers are located in the Russian military cemetery "Cimitière Militaire Russe de Saint-Hilaire le Grand" near Mourmelon-le-Grand in the Marne department . In 1937 a chapel was built there in memory of the Russian soldiers killed on the Western Front. There are two more Russian war cemeteries at Cambrai in the "Gouzeaucourt New British Cemetery".

mutiny

After the heavy losses in the Battle of the Aisne, the Russian troop contingent was relocated to the La Courtine military training area ( Département Creuse ) for restoration and re-training . The 1st and 2nd Brigades were housed separately in the camp. In one of the camps the soldiers questioned their fight for the French in June 1917 and began to mutiny , as did French units . The other camp was still under the direction of Russian officers, including Colonel Gotua, and was used to keep the rebel camp in check. Eventually, with the support of a newly arrived Russian artillery unit, the French shelled the rebel camp, killing 10 soldiers and wounding 44. There were also unknown numbers of dead and wounded in Colonel Gotua's camp. When the uprising was finally suppressed in September 1917, the survivors were first taken to prison camps in North Africa and France. After the October Revolution and the subsequent withdrawal of the Russians from the Allies, the Russian troops were viewed with suspicion and were transferred to workers' companies and internment camps in the French hinterland, for example in the Bordeaux area. After a few months they were finally sent back to Russia, but not a small number remained in France and integrated into the local population.

Légion Russian

The loyal soldiers under Colonel Gothoua asked that they be allowed to continue fighting on the Allied side. Then the Légion Russe ("Russian Legion") was founded, which was also joined by Russian exiles who were in Western Europe. The Legion was assigned to the 1st Moroccan Infantry Division on December 13, 1917. This combined unit entered battle in March 1918 around Amiens to repel the German spring offensive and suffered heavy losses.

In May 1918 the Moroccan Division took part in the heavy fighting on the road from Soissons to Paris . Colonel Lagarde dispatched the Russian Legion as an urgently needed reinforcement for the Moroccan Division. The Russian Legion suffered losses of almost 85%.

In July, the Legion received reinforcements, which consisted mainly of volunteers from the former regiments of the expeditionary force. She now formed the 1st brigade of the Moroccan Division. Further reinforcements in August brought the total strength to 2 ½ infantry companies and a mortar unit, after which the brigade was now referred to as a regiment. The regiment was then transferred to Laffaux ( Département Aisne ).

After the Russian regiment managed to break through the German defense on September 12, to break through three fortified lines, to make prisoners of war despite heavy losses and to loot war material, Marshal Ferdinand Foch , the Allied commander in chief, awarded him a special, own flag. This attracted more volunteers, so that the regiment consisted of 564 men on November 1st. This battalion was then divided into 3 infantry companies and a machine gun company.

After the Germans withdrew to the border, the Moroccan Division including the Russian regiment advanced in the direction of Moyeuvre . With the signing of the armistice on November 11th, the operation was stopped. Towards the end of 1918 the entire Russian regiment was recalled and demobilized. Some Russians stayed in France afterwards, while others returned to revolutionary Russia. Among them was Rodion Jakowlewitsch Malinowski , who later rose to the position of Defense Minister of the Soviet Union .

literature

• Cockfield, Jamie H. With Snow on Their Boots: The Tragic Odyssey of the Russian Expeditionary Force in France During World War I . ISBN 0-312-17356-3 .

Web links

Commons : Russian Army Expeditionary Force in France  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

1. ↑ CRW flags. History of the Estonian flag .
2. ↑ The rebellion of the Russian troops on the Western Front near Courtine in the First World War .