Czar Alexander II (1855-1881) is responsible for the exodus of the Volga Germans to other countries when he reformed the military in Jan 1874 by lifting Catharine the Greats manifesto promise never to require a Volga German to serve in the military. I read this somewhere a long time ago and my findings are that the Germans started to leave shortly after that. From my village the first that has been found is Oct 1876. Last time I was in Saratov I read a couple military records on my grandfather and his brother and a few other ancestors, excellent documentation I must say. However all the records I read,I found the Germans were not given any fighting positions, all were behind lines with most not even leaving Saratov. All the records I have seen of my ancestors were all training then sent to the reserves. I was told by the Director that the Germans were like a support group. Kenny Stugart