It was composed of members of different Ukrainian paramilitary organizations in Galicia, led by Frank Schott, and participated in hostilities on the Russian front.

Although initially Chmola chose the name "Plast" for this formation, this group represented only one isolated attempt to organize the Ukrainian youth into a legitimate scouting movement under this name.

In June 1912, Dr. Oleksandr Tysovs'kyi, a teacher at the Academic Gymnasium in Lviv, administered a ceremony, at which a group of young students under his tutelage took a scout's oath.

Explicitly paramilitary elements were expressly excluded by the organization's constitution, written by Dr. Tysovs'kyi, because he desired to focus its efforts primarily on fostering the ideological aspect of national patriotism, as well as, of course, on advancing the standard scouting curriculum.

Possessing greater authority and commanding respect in the Lviv civil society, Dr. Tysovs'kyi won the upper hand, and Ivan Chmola eventually joined efforts with him.

Finally, Kyrylo Tryliovs'kyi translated a similar statute of a Polish paramilitary organization and submitted it to the Austrian authorities for approval.

This time, the officials had no choice but to grant approval, and a society of "Sich Riflemen" (Sichovi Stril'tsi) was finally legalized in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria on 18 March 1913.

In 1914, a statute of USS was published, which established the order of service and the uniforms, provided military terminology and commands in the Ukrainian language.

That same day, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serbian nationalist, precipitating the chain of events that led to World War I.

The Austrian war ministry was not prepared for this initiative of the General Ukrainian Council and allowed creation of a unit with only 2,500 men.

However, the initial mistrust of the army leadership turned out to be unfounded, and the officers and enlisted men were officially given the "best report card."

[5] On July 1, 1917, at the beginning of the Kerensky Offensive, part of the Legion in action was once again trapped by a Russian attack near Berezhany.

[8] The unit is commemorated in the 1914 song "Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow" (Ukrainian: Ой у лузі червона калина)