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Polish Legions in Italy is the name applied to the several different Polish units serving in the French Army from the 1790s to 1810s . After the Third Partition Of Poland in 1795 many Poles believed that the Revolutionary France and its allies would come to aid of Poland, as France enemies included the partitioners of Poland ( Prussia , Austria and Imperial Russia ). Therefore many Polish soldiers, officers and volunteers Emigrated from Poland to other countries, especially Italy and France , were they joined local military forces. The number of Polish recruits soon reached many thousands, and so with support from Napoleon Bonaparte special Polish military units, commanded by Polish officers and with Polish Military Rank s were created. They became known as the Polish Legions and were considered to be a Polish Army 'in exile' under command of France . Those units were commanded, among others, by Jan Henryk Dąbrowski , Karol Kniaziewicz and Józef Wybicki . Polish Legions serving alongside the French Army during the Napoleonic Wars saw combat in most of Napoleon's campaigns, from West Indies , through Italy and Egypt , to Russia . Although Polish support for Napoleon eventually resulted in the creation of the small Polish state (. Rather he gave Poles vague promises in order to ensure the flow of Polish volunteers to his troops. He skilfully manipulated all sides and capitalized upon the anxieties of Russia, Prussia and Austria, with the intimidating threats of French-Polish alliance and the recreation of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (the largest state in Europe before the first mid-18th century partitions). Nonetheless Polish volunteers flocked under Napoleon's banner and to the Polish Legions throughout the entire period of the Napoleon's career and even today the memory of Polish Legions of Napoleon is strong, with Napoleon himself commonly regarded in Poland as a hero and liberator. HISTORY OF THE LEGIONS Jan Henryk Dąbrowski, a former high-ranking officer in the army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth , began his work in 1796 - a year after the Total Destruction Of The Commonwealth - when he was summoned to Paris by Napoleon Bonaparte . He was soon authorised by the French-allied Cisalpine Republic to create Polish legions, which would be part of the army of the newly created Republic Of Lombardy . He was also authorised to sign an agreement with the new government of Republic of Lombardy, where the Republic agreed to create a second legion. Dąbrowski's Legions were first used against Austrians in Italy, were Poles who had a natural sympathy for people fighting for their own independence saw the Italian cause for independence as similar to that of their own. Early on, the Legions proved to be a valuable military asset and in 1798 the Poles helped the French to capture Rome. It was also then that the future Polish National Anthem , Mazurek Dąbrowskiego , was created by Józef Wybicki, with words promising 'the return of Polish army from Italy to Poland'. In 1799 Karol Kniaziewicz organised the Polish Danube Legion to fight against the Germans in the Balkans . However the Poles could not chose all their fights, and their Morale became weaker when instead of being sent against partitioners of Poland they were used by French to put down uprisings (like that in the Papal States ). Eventually in 1802 the legions (5,280 strong) were sent to Haiti to put down the Haitian Revolution (on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola , known then as French West Indies or Santo Domingo). Napoleon wanted to regain the Colony of Saint Domingue, but had no wishing to deplete his main French army any more than he had to. Polish legions were accompanied by the contingents of Germans and Swiss French allies, as well as by the less favoured units of Napoleon's French army. Many Polish soldiers became sympathetic to The Natives cause and in Haiti it was (and still is) widely believed that Poles supported Jean-Jacques Dessalines in significant numbers, with entire units changing sides. The actual desertion rate was much lower (about 150 Polish soldiers joined the Haitian rebels). Eventually combat casualties and Tropical Diseases (like the Yellow Fever ) reduced the 5,280 strong Legion to few hundred survivors in the space of less than two years. By the time French forces retreated from the island in 1803 about 4,000 Poles were dead (either from diseases or combat), about 400 remained on island, few dozen dispersed to the nearby islands or United States and about 700 returned to France. Loss of that many patriotic army personnel was a serious blow to Polish aspirations for regaining independence and the Haitian experience undermined belief among Poles in France's good intentions toward Poland. In 1806, what was left of the old Dabowski and Kniaziewicz's Danube Legion was one infantry regiment and one cavalry regiment in the service of Kingdom Of Naples . French armies, including the Legion units, defeated the Prussians in Silesia at the Battle Of Jena and Poles under Dabrowski entered former Polish territories (near the city of Poznań ), which resulted in the influx of recruits for the legion. A year later Napoleon having defeated the Russian armies met with the Russian Tsar Alexander I at Tilsit and in the ensuing negotiations they agreed that a new, small Polish state under French control would be created. This state was known as the Duchy Of Warsaw and although it was much smaller than the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth , made up only of some of the lands the defeated Prussians had taken in partitions of Poland (it would be expanded in 1809 with former Austrian territories), it's creation brought hope to many Poles - and Polish volunteers flocking under French banners. Despite Polish support and his own promises, Napoleon did not hurry with recreation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The duchy was ruled by a French-allied King Frederick Augustus I Of Saxony and was never allowed to develop as a truly independent state; Frederick Augustus' rule was subordinated to the requirements of the French '' Raison D'état '', who largely treated the state as a source of resources. The most important person in the duchy was in fact the French Ambassador , based in the duchy's capital, Warsaw . During the . Their valour in that conflict inspired the British to create the English Lancers equipped with Polish-style uniforms and weapons. In 1812 Napoleon called upon the Lithuanians to rebel as an excuse To Attack Russia . The Poles and Lithuanians, flocking to his standard in the hope of resurrecting the Commonwealth, formed the largest non-French contingent, 98,000 strong (the entire French Grande Armee was about 500,000 strong). Polish Lancers of the Vistula Legion were the first to cross the Niemen river into Russia, the first to enter Moscow , played a crucial part in the Battle Of Borodino and, under prince Józef Poniatowski (who personally saved Napoleon's life), covered the disastrous French retreat, being the last out of Russia; 26,000 of the original 98,000 returned The elite Vistula Legion entering Russia was about 7,000 strong; it's strength at the end of the campaign was 1,500[http://www.magweb.com/sample/snap/s1vist.htm . The end of the Polish Legions was tied to the end of the Napoleon's career and the existence of the Duchy of Warsaw. The Duchy was occupied by Prussian and Russian troops following Napoleon's retreat from Russian. When Napoleon went into exile on Elba the only guards he was allowed were the Polish Lancers . During the 1815 Campaign (Napoleon's ''Hundred Days'') 325 men under a Colonel Golaszewski appear to have been the last of the famous Vistula Legion to serve under Napoleon. Poles remained loyal to him until the bitter end, with Polish units holding their ground at his last battles ( Battle Of Leipzig and Battle Of Waterloo ). In 1815 , when it was formally partitioned between the two countries at the Congress Of Vienna , and Napoleon relieved of his honor guard, the Legions ceased to exist. Yet even today the memory of Polish Legions of Napoleon is strong, and Napoleon himself, despite the cynical way that Napoleon treated the Poles, is commonly regarded in Poland as a hero and liberator. QUOTES Napoleon is quoted to have said that 800 Poles would equal 8000 enemy soldiers. {Link without Title} SEE ALSO REFERENCES
FURTHER READING ''List based on the compilation of Polish Genealogical Society Of America {Link without Title} ''
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