Jewish light cavalry regiment

The regiment was created by Berek Yoselevich and his companion Yosef Aronovich with the permission of Tadeusz Kosciuszko , received on September 17, 1794.

Initially, Yoselevich turned to the commandant of Warsaw , General Stanislav Mokronovsky , with a request to allow the creation of a detachment of 100 Jews to act as reconnaissance ^[2] .

On April 23, they appealed to the Warsaw Voivodeship Commission with a petition for conscription among Jewish residents. In this request there was a proposal to create from the Jews a regiment of light cavalry, to which Kosciuszko gave his permission on September 17 ^[3] . Berek was appointed commander of the future regiment, made by Kosciuszko as colonel, who on October 1 issued a famous appeal to the Jews ^[4] , editing the appeal is attributed to Nemtsevich ^[5] :

Listen to the sons of the tribe of Israel! Who cut out the Eternal and Almighty in his heart, and who wants to fight for his Motherland, that we all must, and now that time, our strength to put it on it .... In addition, now it is possible when our leader, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, in fact, the main messenger of the Almighty Eternal, gave us the opportunity to make every effort to create a Jewish regiment .... Faithful brothers! We will fight for our country, while we will have at least a drop of blood in us. If we do not live to see it, then our children will live safely and freely and will not be chased like wild animals. Dear brothers! Be like lions and leopards! ... Berek Yoselevich. Colonel

Original text (Polish)

Słuchajcie dzieci plemienia Izrealitów! Kto Wiecznego i Wszechmocnego na sercu swojem wyrył i chce pomódz walczyć za ojczyznę, co my wszyscy ludzie powinni, to teraz przyszedł czas, siły nasze to łożyć ... ó raz pr pr pr pr pr pr Kościuszko zaiste posłańcem Wiecznego Wszechmocnego będący, przedsięwziął na to wszystkie łożyć starania, aby wystawić regiment żydowski .... Wierni bracia! Walczymy za ojczyznę, póki w sobie mieć będziemy kroplę krwi. Gdyby i my się nie doczekali tego, to dziatki nasze przecież mieszkać będą bezpiecznie i swobodnie i nie będą sie tułały jak dzikie zwierzęta. Kochani bracia! Obudźcie się jak lwy i lamparty ... Berek Joselewicz. pułkownik

- Wierni Bracia! Walczmy za ojczyznę! ...

From the national treasury 3,000 zlotys were issued for the needs of the regiment, most of them contributed by wealthy Jewish merchants ^[6] . Approximately 500 Jews responded to Berek’s call. Of these, a regiment of light cavalry was composed. From Ko Костciuszko permission was obtained to supply a regiment of kosher food, to wear traditional Jewish beards and to observe Shabbat . The regiment was dressed in black uniforms with blue lapels ^[7] . In addition to the Yoselevich Regiment in Warsaw, where 5,000 of the 7,000 inhabitants were Jews, Jewish police units were formed ^[8] .

There was no time for training soldiers. In November 1794, the powerful and strong army of General Suvorov launched an attack on Warsaw. Despite the lack of training, the Jewish regiment showed itself well in battle. During the defense of Prague (a suburb, now part of Warsaw), almost all Jewish cavalry volunteers died ^[9] .

The names of several officers of the regiment are known: Gershik Levkovich, Yakub Epstein , Marek Yakubovich, Mayer Gershkovich, Haim Yudkevich, Mordko Volfovich, Yosel Abragamovich ^[10] .

The regiment commander, Colonel Berek Yoselevich , was captured by the wounded. Later he fled and settled in Lviv . He fought in the Polish legions in Italy. Colonel of the Army of the Duchy of Warsaw . He died in a battle with the Austrians near Kotsk in 1809.

Contemporaries praised the morale and fighting qualities of this unit.

Henryk Dembinsky wrote in his memoirs: “The Jewish army, under the command of Colonel Berko, served wherever required ... even the Sabbath was not observed during the defense ” ^[11] .

Tadeusz Chatsky , one of the authors of the Constitution on May 3 , wrote: “ Without fear of death, they showed that it was not danger that frightened them, but the fate of their beloved Fatherland ” ^[12] .

The famous poet Franciszek Karpinsky recalled: “ Only the Jewish regiment never retreated from its trenches and fully complied with the orders received ” ^[13] .

According to General Orlov , during the assault on Prague on November 4, the convoy of General Buksgevden received the strongest rebuff from a regiment of 500 Jews ^{[14] [15]} .

• Żyd, mason, bohater
• Żydowscy żołnierze Wojska Polskiego (link not available)
• Starozakonny Berek Joselewicz- pułkownik wojska polskiego, oficer Legionów