Belgian Expeditionary Corps in Russia
| Belgian Expeditionary Corps in Russia | |
|---|---|
|
Mors armoured car of the Belgian Expeditionary Corps in Russia, c. January 1916 | |
| Active | 1915–1918 |
| Country |
.svg.png){kind=small} Belgium |
| Allegiance |
_3.svg.png){kind=small} Russian Empire (1915–17) Russian Provisional Government (1917) |
| Branch | Imperial Russian Army |
| Type | Mechanised |
| Role | Mobile reconnaissance |
| Size | 444 men (total)[1] |
| Garrison/HQ | Peterhof, Saint Petersburg (1915) |
| Equipment | Minerva and Lanchester armoured cars |
| Engagements | Galicia, Eastern Front. |
| Disbanded | July 1918[1] |
The Belgian Expeditionary Corps of Armoured Cars in Russia (French: Corps Expeditionnaire des Autos-Canons-Mitrailleuses Belges en Russie) was a Belgian military formation during the First World War which was sent to Russia to fight the German Army on the Eastern Front. Between late 1915 and 1918, 444 Belgian soldiers served with the unit of whom 16 were killed in action.[1]
History
As the front line in the west stabilized following the Battle of the Yser, the Belgian army was left with a number of armoured cars produced by Minerva, a motor company based in Antwerp, which could not be used in the static trench warfare which had emerged along the Belgian-held Yser Front. In early 1915, Tsar Nicholas II formally requested military support from King Albert I and the redundant armoured cars were deployed as superfluous to Belgium's own requirements. As Belgium was not an officially an ally of the Russian Empire but a neutral power, the Belgian soldiers in the unit were officially considered as volunteers in the Imperial Russian Army itself.
A British armoured car unit of a similar size, known as the British Armoured Car Expeditionary Force (or ACEF) also served in Russia.[2]
The first contingent of the Belgian Expeditionary Corps (333 volunteers equipped with Minerva Armoured Cars) arrived in Archangel in October 1915.[1] The unit fought with distinction in Galicia and was mentioned in the Order of the Day five times.[3]
After the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, the Belgian force remained in Russia until the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk withdrew Russia from the war. After the ceasefire, the unit found itself in hostile territory. As the route north to Murmansk was blocked, the soldiers destroyed their armoured cars to prevent their capture by Bolshevik forces.[3] The unit finally reached the United States through China and the Trans-Siberian railway in June 1918.[1]
Members
The unit was never particularly numerous, but included some notable personnel:
- Marcel Thiry, well-known Wallonian poet and his brother, Oscar.
- Julien Lahaut, politician and chief of the Communist Party of Belgium who was assassinated in 1950.
- Théo Halleux, well known construction contractor who built the first high multistory buildings in Liège.
Commemoration
From 1931, soldiers who had served with the unit were awarded the 1914–1918 Commemorative War Medal with a bar (reading 1916-R-1917) denoting service in Russia.[4] The last veteran of the unit died in 1992.[1]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Belgian Armoured Cars in Russia". www.greatwardifferent.com. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
- ↑ "Foreign Armoured Units in Russia during WWI". www.wio.ru. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "WWI – Belgium Armoured Car Division in Russia". www.philatelicdatabase.com. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
- ↑ "The Russia-bar "1916-R-1917"". Retrieved 21 December 2012.
External links
- "WWI – Belgium Armoured Car Division in Russia". www.philatelicdatabase.com. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
- "'Opérations des Auto-canons-mitrailleuses Belges en Russie" (in French). Touring Club de Belgique (1918).