Polacy w Régiment de la Tour d’Auvergne (1 Pułku Cudzoziemskim) armii napoleońskiej w latach 1806-1815

Abstract

The military efforts of Poles during the Napoleonic era have been a favorite subject of scientific research and numerous studies. Units in which Poles constituted the majority, such as the Vistula Legion or the national formations of the Duchy of Warsaw even have their own monographs. However, there is little information and studies about Poles who participated in the Napoleonic wars but served under banners other than their own national ones, fighting in the ranks of the Napoleonic army. Scattered across many regiments or battalions, often of a foreign nature, there were at least hundreds of them. Only a few officers are occasionally mentioned in various studies, for example those related to prisoners of war. Thanks to a preliminary inquiry into French materials, it has been found that many citizens from the territories of the prepartitioned Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth joined the ranks of the French army without serving in the Duchy of Warsaw or units consisting of Poles. They were mainly volunteers – prisoners of war or deserters from occupying armies who, by joining French formations, primarily sought to alleviate their plight as prisoners. However, one cannot exclude, at least in a small percentage of them, patriotic motivations.