The unit was formed in August 1914 on the initiative of the Supreme Ukrainian Council. It was composed of members of different Ukrainian paramilitary organizations in Galicia, led by Frank Schott, and participated in hostilities on the Russian front. After World War I, with Austria's disintegration, the unit became the regular military unit of the West Ukrainian People's Republic. During German and Austrian occupation of Ukraine in 1918 the unit was stationed in southern Ukraine. Former unit soldiers participated in the formation of Sich Riflemen, a military unit of the Ukrainian People's Republic. In 1919 the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen expanded into the Ukrainian Galician Army (). They participated in the Polish–Ukrainian War around Lviv and suffered heavy losses. On May 2, 1920, the unit was disbanded.