Free crowd

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A Freischar describes a military volunteer association that, unlike regular armed forces, takes part in a war without the formal authorization of a warring party, but rather at the instigation of a political party or a specific person. A freelance group deployed against a foreign intruder was often called a Freikorps . The term Freischar has been in use since 1848. The members of a free group are referred to as free group members. As early as 1785, Johann von Ewald published his treatise on the Little War in Kassel , which was based on his experiences with the rebels in the American War of Independence .

Legal status

The Hague Land Warfare Act of 1907 made a strict distinction between vendors and members of the regular armed forces. According to the legal opinion prevailing at the time, irregulars did not even have to be brought to court. They could be tried and shot in a court martial . A historical example is the execution of the officers of Ferdinand von Schill's Freischar in 1809.

This assessment changed with the Geneva Conventions . Defenders receive combatant status if they have an organizational structure, wear a sign that can be recognized from afar, carry weapons visibly with them and adhere to the laws and customs of war during the fighting. You are also entitled to humane treatment and due process.

Historical examples

Free troops campaigned

Mostly used in a hostile and disparaging way by conservative forces, the term gained great popularity, especially in 1848. There was a cultural magazine called Der Freischärler .

Republican troops in the March Revolution of 1848/49

Troop formations of the republican free troops in the Baden April Uprising of 1848:

  • Hecker train : set up on April 12, 1848 in Constance under the command of Friedrich Hecker; initially only 53 men, but after joining forces with other rioters from Donaueschingen, the Hecker train grew to 1,000 men. He was defeated on April 20, 1848 in a battle on the Scheideck .
  • Sigel column ; set up on April 15, 1848 in Constance under the command of Franz Sigels from members of the Constance militia ; 3,000 men.
  • High Rhine Column ; set up until April 17, 1848 in Lottstetten, among others, under the leadership of Gustav Struves and Joseph Weißhaars ; 3,000 men.
  • German Democratic Legion : in Alsace and Paris set up free militants under the command of the poet Georg Herwegh ; consisting primarily of German labor migrants and republican exiles; Rhine crossing on April 24, 1848; struck April 27, 1848; around 800 men.

See also

Web links

Wiktionary: Freischar  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations