Russian Expeditionary Force in France

Russian Expeditionary Force in France
Corps Expéditionnaire Russe en France
Active 1916–1918
Country
 Russian Empire
 Russian republic
Branch Imperial Russian Army
Русская императорская армия
Type Expeditionary Combat Force
Role Infantry
Mascot(s)
Engagements

World War I

Macedonia

Légion d’Honneur Russe

Insignia
Identification
symbol		 Corps Expéditionnaire Russe en France
Identification
symbol		 Légion d’Honneur Russe
Monument to the Russian Expeditionary Force in Paris.

The Russian Expeditionary Force (French: Corps Expéditionnaire Russe en France) was a World War I military force sent to France by the Russian Empire. In 1915 the French requested that Russian troops be sent to fight alongside their own army on the Western Front. Initially they asked for 300,000 men, an unrealistically high figure, probably based on assumptions about Russia's 'unlimited' reserves. General Mikhail Alekseev, the Imperial Chief of Staff, was opposed to sending any Russian troops, although Nicholas II finally agreed to send a unit of brigade strength. The First Russian Special Brigade finally landed at Marseille in April 1916. A Second Special Brigade was also sent to serve alongside other Allied formations on the Salonika Front in northern Greece. In France, the First Brigade participated in the Nivelle Offensive, however with news of the Russian Revolution of 1917 impacting on the demoralisation within the French Army following the failure of that offensive, the 1st and 3rd Brigades participated in the wave of mutinies spreading across France. The First Brigade was finally disbanded before the end of the year. However, some elements formed the Légion Russe (French for Russian Legion), and continued to maintain a Russian presence in the west and, indeed in the First World War itself, until the Armistice of 11 November 1918.

Before March 1917

Travel of the Russian Expeditionary Force to the Western Front
Russian troops arriving in Marseille with the Himalaya steamship
General N.Lokhvitskiy inspecting positions accompanied by Russian and French Officers in the summer of 1916 in Champagne.
Russian troops parading in front of général Henri Gouraud and général Nikolaï Lokhvitski at camp de Mailly in October 1916.

In December 1915 the French politician, Paul Doumer while on a visit to Russia, proposed that 300,000 Russian troops be sent to fight in France in exchange for French munitions. While the Russian High Command showed little enthusiasm for this proposal, Tsar Nicholas II supported it. General Alexeyev, the Russian chief of staff from August 1915, made an offer to send Russian troops to France, as long as they remained under Russian officers (while operating under the French High Command). Another requirement was that the French Navy transport them.[1]

The 1st Russian Special Brigade formed in January, 1916 under the command of General Nikolai Aleksandrovich Lokhvitsky. It did not consist of regiments already in existence but was made up mostly of drafts from various reserve units incorporated into the newly formed 1st and 2nd Regiments, from Moscow and Samara respectively. The 1st Regiment's troops were mainly conscripted factory workers while the 2nd's were generally drawn from rural areas. The 1st Special Brigade totaled 8,942 men. It left Moscow on February 3, 1916 and arrived in Marseille on April 16 of the same year.[1]

The regiments were divided into three battalions of four companies each. Each regiment also had a liaison and a service section. The reserve battalion had six companies. The First Brigade was commanded by General Lokhvitsky, and was composed of 180 officers and 8762 enlisted men. Each brigade had a double supply of clothing and a kitchen on wheels. The French Navy and Army undertook to provide shipping, supplies, and equipment.

The 3rd, 4th and 5th Brigades soon followed. The 2nd and 4th Brigades arrived on the Salonika front in August and November 1916. The 3rd Brigade comprised serving soldiers plus reserve units formed in Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk under the command of Fyodor Fyodorovich Palitzin; it left for France in August 1916.[1]

General Aleksei Brusilov, commander of the Russian Southwest Front from March 1916 was responsible for the four Special Brigades, which contributed a total of 44,319 men to the Entente effort in western and southern Europe. The 6th, 7th and 8th Brigades were never formed due to the outbreak of the Russian Revolution.[1]

Approximately 450 Estonian troops also served with the REF, mostly in the 1st and 3rd Brigades. After February 1917 these troops wore small Estonian flags to distinguish themselves from their Russian allies.[2]

The Russians in action

Russian Imperial Constitution

In January 1916, the 1st Special Infantry Brigade (French: 1re Brigade Spéciale d’Infanterie) was formed and included two regiments[3] (each strong with 3 of battalions), under the command of général-major Nikolaï Alexandrovitch Lokhvitski. By land, 8942 men joined Dalian, on the Korea Bay of the Peninsula and embarked on French Naval Ships (out of which French cruiser Latouche-Tréville, l'Himalaya...) which sailed them to Marseille which they reached on April 16, 1916.

On July 1916, the 2nd Special Infantry Brigade (French: 2e Brigade Spéciale d’Infanterie), commanded by général Mikhail Dieterichs, was sent via France to the front de Thessalonique.

The 3rd Special Infantry Brigade (French: 3e Brigade Spéciale d’Infanterie)[4] was formed on June 1916, and was sent to France in August via Arkhangelsk. This brigade was commanded by général Vladimir Marouchevski.

The 4th Special Infantry Brigade (French: 4e Brigade Spéciale d’Infanterie) commanded by général-major Maxime Leontiev was sent part of the Expédition de Salonique, relaying first at Brest aboard La Lorraine (paquebot) and finally arrived at Thessaloniki on October 1916.

Formations

Readying and equipping was done with the French in Camp de Mailly of France. However, the Russian Brigades found themselvese also engaged in combat in regions where British, French, Italians, but also Albanians, Greek, Portuguese and Macedonians were found collaborating.

Battle fronts

In France: the Russian brigade prepared in camp de Mailly, in Champagne, and was sent between Suippes and Aubérive on the Western Front. Russian units held the front of Champagne while French units were battling at Verdun. Russians occupied the Fort de la Pompelle near Reims.

Following heavy losses during the offensive of April 1917 (bataille du Chemin des Dames) for the taking of Courcy and the Fort of Brimot, the 1st and 3rd Russian Brigades which had been placed under the French 7th Army Corps of general de Bazelaire,[5] were both cited at the orders of armed forces, and paused at camp de La Courtine. Accordingly, both Russian special infantry brigades became the Russian Special Division commanded by Lokhvitski.

In Macedonia: Russian troops participated to the reapprehending of the Serbian territory during the two battles, the Battle of Monastir (1916) and the Battle of Monastir of 1917 respectively.

Area of battlefield showing Courcy, taken by the 1st Brigade
1st Special Infantry Brigade
On 11 March the 1st Russian Brigade relieved the 152nd French brigade in the Courcy sector, just to the north of Reims[6] They were part of Mazel's Fifth Army and took their place in the frontline, where they suffered casualties in the run up to the Nivelle Offensive.
On 15 April, on the eve of the Second Battle of the Aisne, the Russian soldiers received news of the February Revolution in Russia. They formed a soviet and debated whether to participate in the battle the next day, agreeing to do so by a small majority. Thus the next day, 16 April 1917, the 1st Brigade took part in the battle and took Courcy, just to the north of Rheims.[6]
3rd Special Infantry Brigade
The 3rd Bridgade was also involved in the Second Battle of the Aisne and took Mount Spin.

The casualties for the two brigades amounted to 4,542 men killed, wounded or missing in action.[1]

On 23 April the 1st Special Infantry Brigade transferred to the Châlons-sur-Marne area, overseen by général Henri Gouraud of the French Fourth Army. French President Raymond Poincaré, impressed by the state of the Russian camp, awarded General Lokhvitsky the Commander of the Legion of Honor. The 1st Brigade was then re-deployed further east up the Marne valley between Suippes and Auberive at the end of June 1916.[1]

The Cimitière Militaire Russe de Saint-Hilaire le Grand at Mourmelon-le-Grand in the Marne Department contains the graves of 1,000 Russian officers and men. In 1937 a chapel was built here to commemorate all of the Russians who died on the Western Front. There are also two Imperial Russian war graves in the Gouzeaucourt New British Cemetery, near Cambrai.

Mutiny

News of the February Revolution started to become available to the soldiers in April 1917. At first the news was kept secret by the officers but by 12 April the news became official.[7] Four days later the 2nd brigade lost over 4,000 casualties killed and wounded. Following the example of their comrades at home, soldiers of the Expeditionary Force based in the camp of La Courtine rejected their officers and elected soldier committees. At one meeting the committee representatives made an appeal to their fellow soldiers to refuse to drill, since they would not continue fighting.[8]

The rebellious units, considered a dangerous revolutionary influence, were ordered to Salonika. They refused, demanding to be sent to Russia. With this the military representatives of the Provisional Government on 25 June ordered loyal soldiers to vacate the camp of Courtine, leaving only those soldiers who said they would submit 'conditionally' to the Provisional Government, if allowed to return to Russia.

Within 24 hours the French and Russian commanders isolated the rebel camp, cutting off pay and rations, lining the surrounding roads with troops and guns. On September 1, 1917, the remaining revolutionary soldiers, numbering around 2,000 were ordered to lay down their arms by 10:00 September 3 or be destroyed.

The rebels refused and on 3 September, light and increasing artillery fire reduced their numbers. The majority of the soldiers surrendered and were arrested. By September 5, those remaining in the camp came under artillery fire, the Russian rebels opened fire on the French in response. By 09:00 on September 6 the Russian camp was completely occupied by French forces and the mutineers were disarmed.

The Russians were at first sent to prison camps in North Africa and France. After some months many were sent back to Russia, while others integrated into French society.[9]

In January 2014 the Association pour la mémoire de la mutinerie des soldats russes à La Courtine en 1917 (Association for the memory of the mutiny of Russian Soldiers at La Courtine 1917) was established.[10]

Légion d’Honneur Russe

Russian Legion

The loyal men under Colonel Gothoua demanded that they be allowed to fight and thus was formed the Russian Legion. It joined the French 1st Moroccan Infantry Division on December 13, 1917. The combined units fought around Amiens in March 1918 and on the road from Soissons to Paris in May 1918 with losses during this fighting accounted for nearly 85% of the Russian Legion's forces.[1]

In July and August Russian volunteers, mainly veterans of the Expeditionary Force, meant that the Legion became first a Brigade and then a Regiment with a total of 2 1⁄2 infantry companies as well as a mortar unit. They were sent towards Laffaux.[1] On September 12 the Regiment pierced three lines of fortifications despite heavy losses and were awarded a special flag by the Commander of the French Army, Marshal Ferdinand Foch as well as attracting more volunteers. By November 1, 1918 the Regiment had 564 men with a machine gun company and 3 infantry companies.[1]

After the German withdrawal to the border the Moroccan Division, including the Russian Regiment, advanced upon Moyeuvre. The operation was halted by the signing of the armistice treaty on November 11. Near the end of 1918 the entire Russian Regiment was recalled and demobilized.[1] Some Russians chose to remain in France, while others returned to revolutionary Russia. Among the latter was Rodion Malinovsky, the future Soviet Minister of Defence.

Battalion Regimental Commander

Notable members of the Russian Expeditionary Force in France

Decorations

Russian Expeditionary Force in France - Gallery

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 The Volunteers of the Russian Expeditionary Corps in the Moroccan Division during the Second Battle of Marne at the Wayback Machine (archived January 19, 2008), by Henri Maurel. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
  2. ↑ CRW Flags. History of the Flag of Estonia. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
  3. ↑ 1er régiment spécial aux ordres du colonel Mikhaïl Netchvolodov, 2e régiment - colonel Dyakonov.
  4. ↑ 5e régiment - colonel Narbout, 6e régiment - colonel Simonov.
  5. ↑ Jamie H. Cockfield - With snow on their boots: the tragic Odyssey of the Russian expeditionary force in France in World War I - St Martin Press - New York, 1999 - pages 96 and fol.
  6. 1 2 Clément, Robert. "La Brigade Russe a Courcy". Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  7. ↑ . Les Mutins de La Courtint http://mapage.noos.fr/giloux/fevrier.htm. Retrieved 31 August 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ Reed, John. Ten Days That Shook The World. Penguin Classics.
  9. ↑ WW1 rebellion of Russian troops on the Western Front at Courtine, France at the Wayback Machine (archived July 29, 2009). Retrieved on 4 July 2007.
  10. ↑ "Statuts de l'Association " La Courtine 1917 "". La Courtine. Association pour la mémoire de la mutinerie des soldats russes à La Courtine en 1917. Retrieved 31 August 2014.

Bibliographies

Further reading

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