The genesis of a volunteer German corps dated back to 1808 when a number of regular troops and Freikorps inspired by Austria were employed deep into French territory to disrupt lines of communication, cooperate with British landings on the German coast and stimulate popular uprising. The most prominent were Frederich Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick and Oels who marched from Bohemia across Germany in an attempt to overthrow King Jerome in Westphalia, and the insurrection of the Prussian major Ferdinand von Schill and his Brandenburg Hussar Regiment in former Prussian territories. These and other insurrections failed because the civilian population refused to take p arms due to swift action by the French allies.
In early 1811, with the deterioration in Russo-French relations, Tsar Alexander asked his brother in law Duke George of Oldenburg, then living in St. Petersburg since France's annexation of his duchy in 1810, to write a memorandum concerning the formation of a German Legion. He was supported by General of Infantry Andrey Fensh. In June 1811, Colonel Alexander Chernyshyov (military attaché to Paris) also sent the Tsar a detailed proposal for forming a German Foreign Legion. In December 1811, Colonel Wilhelm Daniel von Arentschildt of Oldenburg with the blessing of the Prussian general August Neidhardt von Gneisenau traveled to Berlin to encourage Prussian officers to enlist. Only a few officers came to Russia, but it was a start. Arentschildt later commanded the infantry of the Legion from August 1813. The Franco-Prussian Treaty (5 May 1812) to supply a 20000-man strong auxiliary corps for the invasion of Russia shocked many Prussian officers who had expected that Prussia would side with Russia and avenge their defeat of 1806. Many officers resigned their commissions to leave for Britain, Austria or Russia.
In June 1812, the Tsar invited Heinrich vom und zum Stein to discuss the creation of a German Corps. Stein had assimilated the ideas of Gneisenau and Justus von Gruner (Prussian Chief of Police). With the Tsar's consent, the "Committee for German Matters" was formed by the Peter of Oldenburg, his son George, Stein, General Graf Lieven, General-Major Ivan Gogel, Victor Kochubey (former Minister of the Interior) and Gneisenau. Over 10,000 handbills of the proclamation written by Stein to Germans serving in the Grand Armée entitled "Why do you fight your brother Russians?" were distributed, which explained that a Russo-German Legion existed, Russia represented German nationalist interests, and that they were fighting for an unjust cause. [I can quote at least the opening paragraph: "Germanen! Wofür kämpft ihr gegen Russland, wofür überschreitet ihr seine Grenzen und überfällt Völker mit bewaffneter Hand, die im Laufe mehrerer Jahrhunderte mit euch freundschaftliche Beziehungen gepflegt, Tausende eurer Landsleute bei sich aufgenommen, deren Talente belohnt und ihrem Arbeitsfleiß entsprechende Betätigungsfelder geboten haben?"] The founder and provisional commander of the Legion (the duke of Oldenburg) soon relinquished his command after a clash with Stein over his views and methods. By July 1812, the 65 officers in the Russo-German Legion were from Austria (6), Brunswick (1), Denmark (1), Oldenburg (2), Prussia (31), Russia (22 including 6 officers transferred from the Estonian, Livonian and Courland Opolchenie [Baltic Germans?]), Saxony (1) and Sweden (1).
The infantry battalions were established as four companies each, totally 898 men, and had a reserve of 174 men each. The Hussar regiment had a prescribed establishment of four squadrons of 158 troopers. It was decreed that members of the Russo-German Legion would not be forced in the future to fight against their original sovereign and the Tsar would attempt to persuade the King of Prussia to welcome the Prussian officers again. Later the infantry battalion would be changed to match the Russian standard infantry battalion of 738 officers and men in four companies, each of two platoons. The first company was designed the grenadier company and had a heavy platoon of grenadiers and a light platoon of skirmishers. The heavy platoon would take the rightmost position in the line and the light platoon the leftmost.
By the first month of the war, only 600 soldiers had joined the Russo-German Legion. A contingent of 50 Prussian infantrymen and 40 Hussars was captured near Riga during outpost encounters with Marshal MacDonald's Corps and joined the Legion. In July 1812, 30 Dutch Guard Lancers became the first prisoners of non-German descent [presuming the narrow definition of "German"] to be recruited into the Legion. After Dahlenkirchen (22 August 1812), a further 664 Prussians were added and most of the 3rd Company of the East Prussian Jäger Battalion defected, forming the Russo-German Legion's Jäger Company.
In August, recruiting from prisoners was carried out but this was a slow process due to their poor treatment, and poor health, and mistrust. During a transport of 4200 prisoners, only 381 were fit for service. The remainder were unfit due to typhus or frostbite. In addition, 271 colonists from Saratov on the Volga [Wolgadeutsche] joined this formation. The Russo-German Legion would later contain Poles, French, Swiss, Croatians, and Italians. Speaking in French was forbidden.
On 6 September 1812, the 1st Battalion, 1st Hussar Regiment, 1st Horse Battery and the Jäger Company were formed in Reval (Tallinn). The battles along the upper Düna brought an influx of Bavarians and Dutch that with a draft of Prussians formed the 2nd Battalion. The supply of equipment was a problem. Most troops had to wear their original uniforms due to shortages of the Russian arsenals. Most of the men of the 1st Brigade were not fully equipped and did not even have muskets when they marched westwards. The Russian government had only delivered 1500 muskets in poor condition from the St. Petersburg Arsenal for nearly 4500 men.
In June 1813, the Tsar chose Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn to assume command at the suggestion of Britain whom had been approached to finance the Russo-German Legion. After the defeat of Austria in 1809, Wallmoden-Gimborn resigned his commission and joined the King's German Legion in England. On 6 July 1813, Britain signed the Treaty of Peterswald and agreed to finance the Russian Legion to a maximum of 10,000 men provided it operated according to British interests. The Legion received a fresh stock of British muskets and rifles to exchange their Russian and scavenged Grand Armée armament. |  A Jäger (Private) of the Jäger Company. |
