The Georgian Legion of World War I

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Georgian Legion of World War I represented one of the most peculiar and informative implementations of Germany’s grand scheme to win the war by revolution and, eventually, to replace enemy imperial rule. While the topic is only scarcely known in research, abundant sources exist to tell the unfortunate story of hundreds of refugees turned into soldiers by Georgian nationalists and German officers. The endeavour was later assessed as widely unsuccessful by its participants and by historians, but its true value can only be uncovered by embedding the legion into its wider context, as an integral component of Germany’s “programme for revolution”, as well as by drawing parallels to similar undertakings. This article furthermore aims to discuss the origins of the idea for the initiative and to draw conclusions about its seeming failure, while providing an alternative perspective on the project. By discussing its implementation and motives, the analysis of the legion can deliver insight on the underlying motives of German wartime foreign policy and on the collaboration of nationalist actors as agents of German imperialism, while being simultaneous promoters of their genuine revolutionary cause.