Editing Freikorps (section)

== Origins ==
[[File:Serbian, Wurmser, Odonel and Mahony Free Corps in 1798.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Serbian, Wurmser, Odonel and Mahony Free Corps in 1798]]

The first {{lang|de|Freikorps}} appeared during the [[War of the Austrian Succession]] and especially during the Seven Years' War, when France, Prussia, and the [[Habsburg monarchy]] embarked on an escalation of [[petty warfare]] while conserving their regular regiments. Even during the last [[Kabinettskriege|Kabinettskrieg]], the [[War of the Bavarian Succession]], {{lang|de|Freikorp}} formations were formed in 1778. Germans, Hungarians, Poles, Lithuanians, and [[South Slavs]], as well as Turks, [[Tatars]] and [[Cossacks]], were believed by all warring parties to be inherently good fighters. The nationality of many soldiers can no longer be ascertained as the ethnic origin was often described imprecisely in the regimental lists. Slavs (Croats, Serbs) were often referred to as "Hungarians" or just "Croats", and Muslim recruits (Albanians, Bosnians, Tatars) as "Turks".

Inspired by the Slavic troops in Austrian service, France, the Dutch Republic and other nations began employing "Free Troops", usually consisting of infantry and cavalry units. The Dutch Republic employed a number of "Vrij compagnieën"(Free Companies), raised between 1745 and 1747 and made up of volunteers and French deserters, such as the Walloon Grenadier Company. Although mostly used for reconnaissance and harassing enemy columns, the companies were organised into a battalion and engaged at the engagement at Wouw and the [[Battle of Lauffelt]].<ref>Marc Geerdink-Schaftenaar, "For Orange and the States, part 1: Infantry", Helion & Company Ltd 2018, ISBN 978-1-911512-15-8</ref> Some companies were accompanied by a company of Dragons or Hussars, such as Roodt's Company and Cornabé's Legion. And in late 1747, a French company of Miners was captured and taken into service of the Republic.<ref>Marc Geerdink-Schaftenaar, "For Orange and the States, part 2: Cavalry and Specialist Troops", Helion & Company Ltd 2019, ISBN 978-1-911628-13-2</ref> 

France also made extensive use of Free Companies and Legions. At the [[Battle of Fontenoy]], deployment of the British attack column was hampered by the French 'Harquebusiers de Grassins'. After the Battle of Lauffelt, French light troops pursued the retreating allies, but were engaged in a bloody guerilla war with Austrian and Dutch light troops and Free Companies for the remainder of the campaign.<ref>Marc Geerdink-Schaftenaar, "For Orange and the States, part 2: Cavalry and Specialist Troops", Helion & Company Ltd 2019, ISBN 978-1-911628-13-2</ref><ref>Dr. Olaf van Nimwegen, "De Republiek der Verenigde Nederlanden als Grote Mogendheid –
Buitenlandse politiek en oorlogvoering in de eerste helft van de achttiende eeuw en in het bijzonder tijdens de Oostenrijkse Successieoorlog (1740 – 1748) (Amsterdam: De Bataafsche Leeuw, 2002)</ref> 

For Prussia, the [[Pandur]]s, who were made up of [[Croats]] and [[Serbs]], were a clear model for the organization of such "free" troops. On 15 July 1759,  [[Frederick the Great]] ordered the creation of a squadron of volunteer [[hussar]]s to be attached to the 1st Hussar Regiment (von Kleist's Own). He entrusted the creation and command of this new unit to Colonel Friedrich Wilhelm von Kleist. This first squadron (80 men) was raised in [[Dresden]] and consisted mainly of [[Hungarians|Hungarian]] deserters. This squadron was placed under the command of Lieutenant Johann Michael von Kovacs. At the end of 1759, the first four squadrons of [[dragoon]]s (also called horse grenadiers) of the {{lang|de|Freikorps}} were organised. They initially consisted of Prussian volunteers from Berlin, Magdeburg, Mecklenburg and Leipzig, but later recruited deserters. The {{lang|de|Freikorps}} were regarded as unreliable by regular armies, so they were used mainly as sentries and for minor duties.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} During the war, 14 "[[free infantry]]" ({{lang|de|Frei-Infanterie}}) units were created, mainly between 1756 and 1758, which were intended to be attractive to those soldiers who wanted military "adventure", but did not want to have to do military drill. A distinction should be made between the {{lang|de|Freikorps}} formed up to 1759 for the final years of the war, which operated independently and disrupted the enemy with surprise attacks, and the free infantry which consisted of various military branches (such as infantry, hussars, dragoons, ''jäger'') and were used in combination. They were often used to ward off [[Maria Theresa]]'s Pandurs. In the era of [[linear tactics]], light troops had been seen necessary for outpost, reinforcement and [[Reconnaissance|reconnaissance duties]]. During the war, eight such volunteer corps were set up:
* [[Friedrich Adolf Rudolf von Trümbach|Trümbach]]'s {{lang|de|Freikorps}} (Voluntaires de Prusse) (FI)
* [[Friedrich Wilhelm Gottfried Arnd von Kleist|Kleist]]'s {{lang|de|Freikorps}} (FII)
* [[Joachim Reinhold von Glasenapp|Glasenapp]]'s Free Dragoons (F III)
* Schony's {{lang|de|Freikorps}} (F IV)
* Gschray's {{lang|de|Freikorps}} (F V)
* [[Friedrich Wilhelm Bauer|Bauer]]'s Free Hussars (F VI)
* [[Légion Britannique]] (FV – of the [[Electorate of Hanover]])
* Volontaires Auxiliaires (F VI).<ref>Background, formation and numbering according to Bleckwenn (1986) Vol. IV, pp. 82ff</ref>

Because, some exceptions, they were seen as undisciplined and less battleworthy, they were used for less onerous guard and [[garrison]] duties. In the so-called "petty wars", the {{lang|de|Freikorps}} interdicted enemy supply lines with [[guerrilla warfare]]. In the case of capture, their members were at risk of being executed as irregular fighters. In Prussia the {{lang|de|Freikorps}}, which Frederick the Great had despised as "vermin", were disbanded. Their soldiers were given no entitlement to pensions or invalidity payments.

In France, many corps continued to exist until 1776. They were attached to regular dragoon regiments as ''jäger'' [[squadron (army)|squadron]]s. During the [[Napoleonic Wars]], Austria recruited various {{lang|de|Freikorps}} of Slavic origin. The [[Slavonia|Slavonic]] Wurmser {{lang|de|Freikorps}} fought in [[Alsace]]. The combat effectiveness of the six [[Vienna|Viennese]] {{lang|de|Freikorps}} (37,000 infantrymen and cavalrymen), however, was low. An exception were the border regiments of Croats and Serbs who served permanently on the Austro-[[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] border.