Polish Legions ( Napoleonic period ) The Polish Legions ( also known as the Dąbrowski Legions ) in the Napoleonic period , were several Polish military units that served with the French Army , mainly from 1797 to 1803 , although some units continued to serve until 1815 . After the Third Partition of Poland in 1795 , many Poles believed that Revolutionary France and her allies would come to Poland ' s aid . France ' s enemies included Poland ' s partitioners , Prussia , Austria and Imperial Russia . Many Polish soldiers , officers and volunteers therefore emigrated , especially to Italy ( leading to the expression , " the Polish Legions in Italy " ) and to France , where they joined forces with the local military . The number of Polish recruits soon reached many thousands . With support from Napoleon Bonaparte , Polish military units were formed , bearing Polish military rank s and commanded by Polish officers . They became known as the " Polish Legions " ; a Polish army in exile , under French command . Their best known Polish commanders included Jan Henryk Dąbrowski , Karol Kniaziewicz and Józef Wybicki . The Polish Legions serving alongside the French Army during the Napoleonic Wars saw combat in most of Napoleon ' s campaigns , from the West Indies , through Italy and Egypt . When the Duchy of Warsaw was created in 1807 , many of the veterans of the Legions formed a core around which the Duchy ' s army was raised under Józef Poniatowski . This force fought a victorious war against Austria in 1809 and would go on to fight alongside the French army in numerous campaigns , culminating in the disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812 , which marked the end of the Napoleonic empire , including the Legions , and allied states like the Duchy of Warsaw . Timeframe and numbers . Among historians there is a degree of uncertainty about the period in which the Legions existed . Magocsi et al . notes that " the heyday of their activity " falls in the years 1797 – 1801 , while Lerski defines the Legions as units that operated between 1797 and 1803 . Similarly , Davies defines the time of their existence as five to six years . The Polish PWN Encyklopedia defines them as units operating in the period of 1797 – 1801 ( in 1801 the Legions were reorganized into demi - brigade s ) . The Polish WIEM Encyklopedia notes that the Legions ended with the death of most of their personnel in the Haitian campaign , which concluded in 1803 . When recounting the history of the Polish Legions , some works also describe the operations of Polish units under the French in the period after 1803 ; several smaller formations existed in that time , the most notable of which was the Vistula Legion , which existed between 1808 and 1813 . Estimates of the strength of the Polish Legions also vary and it is believed that between 20 , 000 to 30 , 000 men served in the Legions ' ranks at any one time over the course of their existence . The WIEM Encyklopedia estimate is 21 , 000 for the period up to 1803 . Davies suggests 25 , 000 for the period of up to 1802 – 1803 , as does Magosci et al . Bideleux and Jeffries offer an estimate of up to 30 , 000 for the period up to 1801 . Most of the soldiers came from the ranks of the peasantry , with only about 10 percent being drawn from the nobility . Origins . After the Third Partition of Poland ( 1795 ) , many Poles believed that revolutionary France , whose public opinion was very sympathetic to the ideals of the Polish Constitution of 3 May 1791 , would come to Poland ' s aid . France ' s enemies included Poland ' s partitioners , Prussia , Austria and Imperial Russia . Paris was the seat of two Polish organizations laying the claim to be the Polish government - in - exile , the Deputation ( " Deputacja " ) of Franciszek Ksawery Dmochowski and the Agency ( " Agencja " ) of Józef Wybicki . Many Polish soldiers , officers and volunteers therefore emigrated , especially to Italy and to France . Eventually , the Agency was successful in convincing the French government ( the Directory ) to organize a Polish military unit . As the French Constitution did not allow for the employment of foreign troops on French soil , the French decided to use the Poles to bolster their allies in Italy , the Cisalpine Republic . 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 . At that time he went to Paris , and later , Milan , where his idea received support from Napoleon Bonaparte , who saw the Poles as a promising source of new recruits , and who superficially appeared receptive to the idea of liberating Poland . Dąbrowski was soon authorized by the French - allied Cisalpine Republic to create the Polish Legions , which would be part of the army of the newly created Republic of Lombardy . This agreement , drafted by Napoleon , was signed on 9 January 1797 , and marked the formal creation of the Legions . Operational history . War of the First Coalition : Polish Legions in Italy . The Polish soldiers serving in the Dąbrowski Legion were granted Lombardian citizenship and were paid the same wage as other troops . They were allowed to use their own unique Polish - style uniforms , with some French and Lombardian symbols , and were commanded by other Polish speakers . By early February 1797 the Legion was 1 , 200 strong , having been bolstered by the arrival of many new recruits who had deserted from the Austrian army . The Dąbrowski Legion was first used against Austrians and their allies in Italy . In March 1797 it garrisoned Mantua , and by the end of the month it took part in its first combat during the Ten Days of Brescia . By the end of April the ranks of the Legion had swelled to 5 , 000 . Dąbrowski lobbied for a plan to push through to the Polish territories in Galicia , but that was blocked by Napoleon . In April , the Legion took part in quelling the uprising in Verona , known as Veronese Easters . The Treaty of Leoben signed that month , which promised peace between Austrians and French , was a blow to Polish morale , but Dąbrowski correctly assumed that it would not last . Sources vary with regards to when the singular Dąbrowski Legion was expanded into multiple Legions . Pivka and Roffe note that in May 1797 the Legion was reorganized into two formations , the first being commanded by Karol Kniaziewicz and the second by Józef Wielhorski , each numbering about 3 , 750 infantry , not counting artillery support . Davies , however , states that the Second Legion was formed in 1798 under Józef Zajączek . In July 1797 the Legions suppressed another insurrection , this time in Reggio Emilia . The Treaty of Campo Formio , signed on 18 October 1797 , resulted in another short period of relative peace . The Legions , hopeful for a renewal of the war , were seen as the most pro - French foreign forces in the Cisapline . In May 1798 the Poles helped the French to secure the Papal States , putting down some peasant revolts , and garrisoned Rome , which they entered on 3 May . Dąbrowski obtained a number of trophies from a Roman representative , that the Polish king , Jan III Sobieski , had sent there after his victory over the Ottoman Empire at the siege of Vienna in 1683 ; amongst these was an Ottoman standard which subsequently became part of the Legions ' colors , accompanying them from then on . By the end of 1798 the Legions under Kniaziewicz were fighting against the anti - French forces from the Kingdom of Naples , defeating them at the Battle of Civita Castellana on 4 December . Soon afterward , supplies from the captured Gaeta fortress allowed the creation of a Legion cavalry unit under Andrzej Karwowski . The Poles then fought at Magliano , Falari , Calvi and Capua before Naples capitulated on 23 January . War of the Second Coalition : Italian front . The end of the 1798 and the beginning of 1799 marked the beginning of the War of the Second Coalition . Within about a year of its formation , the Legion had become about 10 , 000 . However , the new series of struggles proved to be much more difficult , as the anti - French coalition advanced upon Italy , now bereft of elite French units which were with Napoleon in Egypt . Overall , 1799 saw the Legions take significant casualties . In mid - 1799 , the First Legion under General Dąbrowski fought against the Russians at Trebbia ( 17 – 19 June 1799 ) , where it suffered heavy casualties ( only two of the five battalions survived the battle , and Dąbrowski was wounded ) . Polish legionaries also fought at the Battle of Novi ( 15 July 1799 ) , and the Second Battle of Zurich ( 26 September ) . The Second Legion also suffered heavily ; particularly in the first battles on the Adige ( 26 March – 5 April 1799 ) where it is estimated that it lost about half to two thirds of its complement of 4 , 000 men . Its commander , General Franciszek Rymkiewicz , was killed at the Battle of Magnano on 5 April . The remainder of the Second Legion became part of the garrison at Mantua , which was soon placed under siege by the Austrians . Finally , at the end of the Siege of Mantua ( April – July ) , the French commander François - Philippe de Foissac - Latour decided to release Polish soldiers – then under Wielhorski – into Austrian custody as the Austrians claimed them to be deserters . This marked the end of the Second Legion , as only a small number of Poles were able to evade capture ( the French were allowed to withdraw most of their forces under the condition that they would remain neutral ) . War of the Second Coalition : German front . With the end of the Cisalpine Republic , the Legions were reorganized in France , as Napoleon ascended to power as the First Consul and decreed that foreign troops could now serve in the French Army . On 10 February the remnants of the Italian Legions were reorganized near Marseilles into the Italian Legion ( " La Legion Italique " ) as a 9 , 000 - strong unit ( although soon reduced to 5 , 000 ) that would become part of the Army of Italy . The Legion fought at the Peschiera and Mantua . In 1800 or 1799 ( sources vary ) , Karol Kniaziewicz organized the 6 , 000 - strong Third Legion ( the Danube Legion , or the " Legion du Rhine " ) to fight against the Austrians in Bavaria . The Danube Legion , bolstered by Karwowski ' s cavalry unit , fought as part of the Army of the Rhine at Berg , Bernheim and Offenburg , garrisoning the fortress of Philippsbourg after the armistice of Parsdorf ( 15 July ) . Polish forces also fought in the Battle of Hohenlinden on 3 December 1800 . According to Davies , the Danube Legion would suffer significant casualties in the short period after the battle and the end of the campaign on 25 December that year . The size of the Legions decreased after the Treaty of Luneville ( 9 February 1801 ) , which to the disappointment of the legionnaires made no mention of Poland . The Legions was transferred to police duties in the Kingdom of Etruria . The Legions ' morale weakened as Poles were not used in any fights that seemed to directly affect the chance of Poland regaining independence . Many legionnaires , including General Kniaziewicz , felt that they had been used by the French and resigned . Dąbrowski remained in command , and reorganized both Legions at Milan into two 6 , 000 - strong units in March 1801 . On 21 December 1801 the Legions were reorganized by the French government into three demi - brigade s , with the Italian ( First ) Legion forming the core of the First and Second Foreign Demi - Brigades ( " 1er " and " 2e Demi - Brigade Étrangère " ) , and the Danube ( Second ) Legion , the Third Foreign Demi - Brigade ( " 3e Demi - Brigade Étrangère " ) . The disastrous Haitian campaign . In 1802 , France sent most of the disgruntled legionnaires ( two demi - brigades , 5 , 280 strong ) to Haiti to put down the Haitian Revolution ( on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola , known then as the French West Indies or St . Domingue ) . Napoleon wanted to regain the colony of Saint Domingue , but preferred to save his main French army for more important matters , closer to home . The now inconvenient Polish units were accompanied by contingents of Germans and Swiss French allies , as well as by French units that had fallen out of favour with Napoleon and the French high command . The Haitian campaign proved disastrous for the legionnaires . Combat casualties and tropical diseases , including the yellow fever , reduced the 5 , 280 - strong Polish contingent to a few hundred survivors in the space of less than two years . By the time the French forces retreated from the island in 1803 , about 4 , 000 Poles had died ( either from disease or combat ) . Of the survivors , about 400 remained on the island , a few dozen were dispersed to the nearby islands or to the United States , and about 700 returned to France ( Urbankowski claims 6 , 000 sent and 330 returned ) . The Poles had little interest or desire to support the French cause in the distant colonies , once again fighting against people who only desired their own independence . In Haiti there still is a popular myth that many Polish soldiers became sympathetic to the former slaves ' cause and deserted the French , supporting Jean - Jacques Dessalines in significant numbers , with entire units changing sides . In fact , the actual desertion rate was much lower ; nonetheless about 150 Polish soldiers joined the Haitian rebels . The loss of that many patriotic military personnel in the Caribbean was a serious blow to the Polish aspirations for regaining independence . The Haitian experience cast further doubts among Poles about France ' s and Napoleon ' s good intentions toward Poland . Wars of the Third and Fourth Coalition . By 1805 , during the War of the Third Coalition , the Polish troops in Italy had been renamed the 1st Polish Legion ( 1e Legion Polonaise ) and attached to the Kingdom of Italy . In 1806 , all that was left of the old Dąbrowski and Kniaziewicz ' s Legions was one demi - brigade , consisting of one infantry regiment and one cavalry regiment , now in the service of the Kingdom of Naples . It fought at Castel Franco , turning the Austrian attack on 24 November 1805 , but on 3 July 1806 it suffered a severe defeat at Sant ' Eufemia a Maiella . Many Polish officers served in French army or allied formations . During the War of the Fourth Coalition , Napoleon decided to encourage Polish defections from the Prussian army , and on 20 September 1806 decreed the creation of a " Northern Legion " under General Zajączek . As the Napoleon did not want to commit himself to the Polish cause , the Legion was however not explicitly Polish , and was , in Napoleon ' s words , a gathering of " children of the North " . French armies , including the Legion units , defeated the Prussians in Saxony at the battle of Jena and Poles under Dąbrowski 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 ( the Duchy of Warsaw ) would be created . After the creation of the Duchy of Warsaw : the Vistula Legion . The main period that the Legions were active was between 1797 and 1803 . Although some chose to remain with the French forces , and fought in Italy under the Kingdom of Naples , in 1807 many veteran legionnaires formed a cadre for the new Army of the Duchy of Warsaw . In February 1807 , the remaining infantry and cavalry regiments who had continued in French service in Italy were reorganized in Silesia , near Breslau , into a Polish - Italian Legion ( " PolaccoItalienne " ) , with two new infantry regiments added from the newly liberated Polish lands . On 21 February 1808 , the Legion was relocated to France , reinforced with Poles from other French formations , and incorporated into the French army . On 31 March of that year the legion was officially named the Vistula Legion ( " Légion de la Vistule , Legia Nadwiślańska " ) . By mid - 1808 the Vistula Legion had a strength of 6 , 000 . After the Battle of Wagram ( 5 – 6 July 1809 ) Napoleon attempted to form a second Polish Vistula Legion from Polish prisoners of war , but the new formation could not attract sufficient recruits , and in 1810 it was merged into the original Vistula Legion . During the Peninsular War ( 1809 – 1814 ) in Spain , the Vistula Legion gained fame at the Battle of Zaragoza . In the Battle of Fuengirola , a small Polish force managed to defeat an Anglo - Spanish expeditionary force outnumbering them 10 - 1 , capturing their commander in the process . Other troops served in Napoleon ' s Imperial Guard and the Polish Chevau - léger regiment distinguished itself at the Battle of Somosierra in 1808 . Another Polish cavalry regiment – the Vistula uhlans – also fought in Spain . They distinguished themselves many times there , including at the Battle of Albuhera in 1811 , where they destroyed a British infantry brigade . Their valour in that conflict inspired the British to create their own lancer units equipped with Polish - style uniforms and weapons . In 1812 , as Napoleon entered Russia , the Poles and Lithuanians rallied to Napoleon ' s Grande Armée in the hope of resurrecting the Commonwealth . The Vistula Legion , withdrawn from Spain in early 1812 and reorganized into a division ( with a planned strength of 10 , 500 that was never fully attained ) was part of Napoleon ' s invasion forces . Poles formed the largest foreign contingent , 98 , 000 - strong ( the entire French Grande Armée was about 600 , 000 strong ) . Polish Lancers of the Vistula Legion were the first unit to cross the Neman River when the Grand Armee entered Russia and , as part of the Imperial Guard , the first unit to enter Moscow . They distinguished themselves in the Battle of Borodino and , under Prince Józef Poniatowski ( who personally saved Napoleon ' s life ) , were one of the units that served as the rear guard during Napoleon ' s retreat . This later led to the claim that just as they had been the first to enter it , they were the last to leave Russia . They sustained heavy losses during the campaign : only 26 , 000 of the original 98 , 000 - strong contingent returned . The elite Vistula Legion entering Russia was about 7 , 000 strong ; its strength at the end of the campaign was just 1 , 500 . The definitive end of the Polish Legions came with the conclusion of Napoleon ' s career and the abolition of the Duchy of Warsaw . The Duchy was occupied by Prussian and Russian troops following Napoleon ' s retreat from Russia . The Polish troops remained loyal to him until the bitter end , with Polish units holding their ground at his last battles at Leipzig ( 15 – 19 October 1813 ) and Hanau ( 30 – 31 October 1813 ) , where they sustained major losses . The Legion was recreated at Sedan in early 1814 , and fought at Soissons , Reims , Arcis - sur - Aube and St - Dizier . After Napoleon ' s defeat in the War of the Sixth Coalition , when Napoleon was forced into exile on Elba , the only unit he was allowed to keep as guards were the Polish Lancers . While many Poles returned to the Polish territories , a unit of about 325 men under Colonel Golaszewski fought in Napoleon ' s final 1815 campaign , the " Hundred Days " , participating in the Battle of Waterloo . After Napoleon ' s second and final defeat , some are said to have accompanied him to his exile on Saint Helena . Assessment and remembrance . In analyzing the creation of the Polish Legions , many historians have argued that Napoleon used the Poles as a source of recruits and had little desire to invest in the re - creation of the Polish state . Among the most notable of Napoleon ' s contemporary Polish detractors was Kościuszko , who refused to join the Legions , arguing that Napoleon would not restore Poland in any durable form . In this regard , Kościuszko also stated that the Duchy of Warsaw was created in 1807 only because it was expedient , rather than because Napoleon supported Polish sovereignty . Nevertheless , the memory of Napoleon ' s Polish Legions is strong in Poland , and Napoleon himself is often regarded as a hero and liberator there . About the Polish Legion , Napoleon himself is reputed to have said that 800 Poles would equal 8 , 000 enemy soldiers . Despite their destruction , the Legions became legendary in Poland , helping to spread the civic and democratic ideals of the French Revolution throughout the country . The legionnaires formed a cadre for the Army of the Duchy of Warsaw and also later for the Army of the Congress Kingdom . The Legions are also notable as the source of one of the themes contained in the future Polish national anthem , " Mazurek Dąbrowskiego " ( " Poland Is Not Yet Lost " ) . Created by Józef Wybicki , the anthem includes words promising " the return of the Polish army from Italy to Poland " and states that " Poland is not lost as long as we live " in reference to the Polish Legions . Further reading . " List based on the compilation of Polish Genealogical Society of America "