Marching regiment
This creation of a provisional unit may be undertaken because of manpower shortages on mobilisation if new drafts of conscripts and volunteers had not yet arrived.
Such battalions were for war service only, having a temporary nature, like that of the fr:Bataillon de marche concept of the French Army.
It was in 1812, during the Russian Campaign (French: campagne de Russie), that the concept of marching regiments became general.
As examples: During the retreat from Moscow, marching regiments were constituted to bring back scattered detachments from fragmented corps to their respective units of origin.
However, Général Étienne Alexandre Bardin expressed the contrary view that "If in the course of a major war and during distant operations we are forced to resort to this method of reinforcing the army, the practice is administratively deplorable".
Expeditions undertaken in Algeria, Russia, Mexico and Italy during the Second French Empire made use of marching regiments.
The first Régiment de Marche d’Afrique was made up of two troop types of the Armée d'Afrique, its first two battalions formed of Zouaves and its third of Foreign Legionnaires.
[9][10] This Marching Regiment penetrated Germany through the woods of Warndt, then received an order to retreat following the capitulation of Poland.
In May 1945, the French Foreign Legion started the creation of a régiment de marche to be sent to re-occupy Indochina; their training and administrative base at Sidi-bel-Abbès, sixty miles south of Oran in northwest Algeria.
[11][12] In 1808 the Grand Duchy of Baden, created in 1806 under the impulsion of Napoleon I, contributed a combined infantry regiment for service alongside the French in the Peninsular War.
[13] During the Battle of Hohenlinden in December 1800 the Bavarian Corps, serving alongside the Austro-Hungarian Army against the French, had a Combined Light Horse Regiment consisting of six squadrons.
During World War II the Wehrmacht used the term Kampfgruppe for ad hoc formations; usually with combined arms and anywhere from companies to a full corps in size.
In October 1813, during the Battle of Leipzig, the Russian reserve Army of Poland commanded by Levin August von Bennigsen consisted of 2nd Combined Regiments of Uhlan comprising four squadrons.
In the years of 1830, the Imperial Russian Army had taken the habit of creating Combined Regiments, formed of various regular units, to participate to grand-maneuvers.
