 Approximately 450 Estonian troops also served with the REF, mostly in the 1st and 3rd Brigades.After February 1917 these troops wore small Estonian flags to distinguish themselves from their Russian counterparts.In January 1916, the 1st Special Infantry Brigade () was formed and included two regiments (each of 3 battalions in strength), under the command of Major-General Nikolai Aleksandrovich Lokhvitsky ().