Cavalry of the Russian Army 1914-1917 H. 1

As you know, cavalry (cavalry) (from the Latin. Caballus - horse) - this kind weapons (type of troops) in which a horse was used for combat or movement. It seems to us very interesting to prepare several brief informative articles showing the specifics of the development of the Russian cavalry during the First World War. The abbreviations in the text, we hope, are clear to the reader. At the end of the cycle, a bibliography on the topic will be given.

In the summer of 1914, before the start of the First World War, the cavalry of the Russian army consisted of 123 cavalry, Cossack and cavalry-alien regiments and 3-x divisions. These regiments and one division were combined into 24 divisions (1-I and 2-I guards. Xav. 1-I-15-I and Cav. Kav., 1-I Don, 2-I consolidated, 1-I - 3-I and 1-I Turkestan kaz.) And 8 dep. brigades (Gu. Kav., 1-I - 3-I Kav., Ussurian con., Trans-Caspian, Siberian and Trans-Baikal Kazakh.). These divisions and brigades included 116 regiments (13 Guards, 19 Dragoons, 17 Uhlan, 18 Hussars, 48 Cossack, 1 equestrian and non-ethnic division. Seven regiments (one dragoon, two horse-riding and four Cossack) and two Cossack divisions were not part of the divisions and brigades.

In the 24 divisions and 8 division. Cavalry brigades had 674 squadrons and hundreds. Most kav. and kaz. The divisions consisted of 24 squadrons and hundreds (4 regiment 6 squadrons or hundreds). The exceptions were the 4 divisions: 1-i Guards. kav - 28 squadrons and hundreds (7 regiments of 4 squadrons or hundreds). In wartime, all the regiments, with the exception of the lggs. Consolidated Cossack, it was supposed to bring to 6 squadrons or hundreds; 12-I kav. - 22 squadron and hundreds (the 3 th Ufa-Samara regiment of the Orenburg Cossack army consisted of hundreds 4, in wartime it was supposed to bring hundreds to 6); 3-I Kavk. kaz - 18 hundreds (Dagestan reg. Regiment - hundreds of 4, Ossetian division. Division - hundreds of 2); 1-I Turkestan kaz. division - 20 hundreds (5 regiments on hundreds 4).

Fire support in the divisions was art. division (two konn. or kaz. batteries of six-speed 3-x-inch guns model 1900 g.). In kav. divisions it was equestrian., and in kaz. divisions - kaz. art. divisions. In 10 th and 12 th Kav. divisions it was kaz. art. divisions, and in 8-th kav. divisions - division of mixed composition: one battery horse, the second battery Cossack. 13-I kav. the division did not have its own artillery - in the event of war 12-th equestrian art. division that was part of 14-th Kav. division, divided between these two divisions, 1-I Turkestan kaz. the division had only one kaz. battery, and kavk. kav Division - Kavk. horse and mountain art. division. In Guards. cavalry fire support was entrusted to the lggs. Horse artillery - two-division brigade. Three-battery divisions l.-gv. Horse artillery were given guards. kav divisions, while one of the batteries of the 2 th division was seconded to Sep. Guards kav brigade. Thus, as in the army (Cossack) cavalry, one Guards. art. The battery accounted for the brigade Guards. cavalry 8 sept. 1913 CAV. and kaz. divisions and dep. brigades were supplemented by horse-rifle teams (eight Maxim machine-guns on packs), and 12 June 1914 equestrian teams, which were intended to install and maintain communications, produce destructions (mainly railways) and minor repairs of roads and bridges. Entering one of the regiments, the horse-drawn machine-gun and horse-drawn engineer teams provided the division or division. brigade entirely.

In military districts, the cavalry was distributed as follows:

St. Petersburg Military. District - in Guv. 1-1 (housing in St. Petersburg, Gatchina, Pavlovsk, Tsarskoe Selo) and 2-1 (accommodated in St. Petersburg, New Peterhof, Old Peterhof, Tsarskoe Selo) guards. kav divisions, in 18-m arm. Corps 20 th Dragoon Finnish Regiment (stationed in the town of Vilmondstrand) and in 22 th arm. housing Orenburg Kaz. division (stationed in Helsingfors) - total 12,5 regiments: 11 guards. kav (including guards. Kaz.) regiments, 1 Kav. the regiment, half kaz. shelf, and 5 conne. batteries (30 guns);

Vilna military. District - in 2 arm. 2-kav. division (stationed in the cities of Suwalki, Augustow, Calvary), in 3. 3-kav. division (stationed in the cities of Kovno, Vilna, Volkovyshki, Mariampol) and in 20. 1-I Dep. kav brigade (stationed in Riga, Mitawa) - total 10 regiments: 8 Cav. regiments and 2 Kaz. shelf, and 4 conne. batteries (24 guns);

Warsaw Military district - in the submission of commands. military troops County Od. Guards kav Brigade and Kuban Kaz. division (quartered in Warsaw), in 6-m arm. 4-kav. division (stationed in the cities of Belostok, Schuchin and in the village of Graev), in 15. Corps 6-I (quartered in the cities of Tsekhanov, Mlawa, Ostroleka, Prasnysh) and 15-I (accommodated in the cities of Plotsk, Wroclawsk) Cav. divisions, in 14-m arm. 13-th corps (housed in Warsaw, Garwolin, Novo-Minsk, Sedletsk) and 14-th (housed in Częstochowa, Bendin, Kalisz, Pinchov) q. divisions, in 19-m arm. 7-kav. (accommodated in the cities of Kovel, Vladimir-Volynsky, Grubeshchev) and 1-i Don kaz. (deployed in Zamost, Krasnik) divisions - total 30,5 regiments: 2 guards. kav shelf, 18 cav. and 10,5 Kaz. regiments, and 13 conne. and kaz. batteries (78 guns);

Kiev military District - in 9 arm. 9-kav. division (stationed in Kiev, Belaya Tserkov, Cornflowers, Zhytomyr), in 10. 10-kav. division (stationed in Kharkov, Akhtyrka, Sumy, Chuguev), in 11. 11-kav. division (stationed in the cities of Dubno, Kremenets, Lutsk, Radzivilov), in 12. 12-kav. (housed in the city of Proskuro, Volchysk, Mezhebuzhie) and 2-I Summary Kaz. (stationed in Kamyanets-Podilsky) divisions - total 20 regiments: 12 Cav. and 8 Kaz. regiments, and 10 conne. and kaz. batteries (60 guns);

Odessa military district - in the submission of commands. military troops District 7 th Don Kaz. regiment (stationed in Nikolaev), in 8-m arm. 8-kav. division (stationed in the city of Kishinev, Balti, Bender, Odessa, Tiraspol), in 7. case Crimean Konn. regiment (stationed in Simferopol) - total 6 regiments: 3 cav. shelf, 2 Kaz. regiment and 1 equestrian regiment, equ. and kaz. batteries (12 guns);

Moscow military District - in Grenad. 1-kav. division (stationed in Moscow, Rzhev, Tver), in 5 arm. 2-th corps (stationed in the city of Orel, Yelets) and 3-th (stationed in the cities of Voronezh, Novokhopyorsk) dep. kav brigade - total 8 regiments: 7 Kav. regiments and 1 Kaz. regiment, and 2 conne. batteries (12 guns);

Kazan military District - in 16 arm. 5-kav. Division (stationed in Samara, Kazan, Simbirsk) and 1-th Astrakhan Kaz. regiment (stationed in Saratov) - total 5 regiments: 3 cav. and 2 Kaz. shelf, and 2 conne. batteries (12 guns);

Kavk. military District - in 1-m Kavk. arm. The 1-i Cav. kaz division (stationed in Kars, Kalizman, Karakut, Olta, Akhalkalaki village and Sarakamysh fortress), in 2-th Kavk. arm. The 2-i Cav. kaz (quartered in the cities of Erivan, Jelal-Ogly, Kutais, Erivan province and the Khan-Kenda tract) and Kavk. kav (housed in the cities of Tiflis, Alexandropol, Elendorf, Tsarskie Kolodtsy) divisions and in 3-th Cavk. arm. The 3-i Cav. kaz division (stationed in Vladikavkaz, Grozny, Ekaterinodar, Maikop, Mozdok, Stavropol, Temir-Khan-Shura) - total 15,5 regiments: 3 Cav. shelf, 11 Kaz. regiments and 1,5 equestrian regiment, and 8 equestrian and kaz. batteries (48 guns);

Turkestan military district - in the submission of commands. military troops District Siberian Kaz. brigade (stationed in the cities of Dzharkent, Verny, Koldzhat tract, Khoros township and Naryn and Bakhty fortifications) and the Turkmen con. regiment (stationed in the city of Kashi), in the 1-m Turkestan army. 1-i Turkestan kaz. division (stationed in the cities of Samarkand, Kerki, Skobelev), in 2-th Turkestan army. case Transcaspian Kaz. brigade (stationed in the cities of Merv, Kashi, p. Kaaiha) - total 10 regiments: 9 Kaz. regiments and 1 equestrian regiment, and 2 Kaz. batteries (12 guns);

Omsk military District - in 2-th Turkestan. 3 th Siberian Kaz. regiment (stationed in Zaisan);

Irkutsk military District - in 2-m Siberian Army. case Transbaikalian Kaz. the brigade (stationed in the cities of Chita, Troitskosavsk, the village of Dauria and at the station Dno) - total 3 Kaz. shelf, and 2 Kaz. batteries (12 guns);

Amur military. District - in 1-m Siberian Army. case of the Ussuri conc. brigade (housed in Nikolsk-Ussuriysky, Khabarovsk, Vladimir-Aleksandrovskoye villages, Zaisanovka, Promyslovka, Razdolnoye, Shkotovo) and in the 4-m Siberian army. case Amur kaz. regiment (stationed in Blagoveshchensk) - total 4 regiment: 1 cav. and 3 Kaz. regiment, and 2 horse-mount battery (12 guns);

Zaamur district Dep. corps fenced. guards - in the 1-th detachment 1-th (stationed at the stations of Hailar and Buhedu) and 2-th (housed at the station Fulaerdi) Zaamurskie frontier. regimental shelves, in 2, detachment 3 (stationed in Harbin) and 4 (stationed at Loushagou junction and Kuanachenji station) Zaamurskie frontier. Conn. regiments, in the 3 squadron 5 (stationed at the Echo junction and Imianpo station) and 6 (stationed at the Moulin station) Zaamurskie border guards. Conn. regiments - total 6 regiments.

From 24 kav. and kaz. There is only one division (2-I Consolidated Kaz.) was compactly housed, when the division management and all four regiments were located in one locality. In the six divisions (1 and 2, guards, 1, 2, and 15, and 1 of the Don Kaz.), One of the brigades (1, Guards) Kav. - three-brigade - two). The regiments of the other brigade were located in two independent settlements (one of the regiments of the second brigade was deployed along with the command and the first brigade of the 2 Cav. And the 1 C of the Don Kazakh divisions). In eleven divisions - 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and Kavk. kav divisions, as well as 1-th Kavk. and 1 th Turkestan Kazakh. divisions - division management was located in one locality along with one of the regiments. At the same time in the three divisions it was the first regiment, in five divisions - the second, in three divisions - the third and in the third - the fourth. The three remaining regiments of each division were stationed in independent settlements. The three divisions (6-th Qav., 2-th and 3-th Kavk. Kaz.) Management and all the regiments were stationed in different settlements - each in its own. Of the eight dep. brigades only in two brigades (Gu. Kav. and Siberian Kaz.) management and regiments were located together. In the five brigades, the management was located with one of the regiments, and in the Ussuri Command. brigade - management and all three regiments were stationed in independent settlements.

Regular cavalry had no reserve units, as it was kept in full strength in peacetime. Education and training of horse-drawn personnel for the replacement of the dead or retired due to other reasons were conducted in the Kav brigades. stock of three zap. kav each shelf and Kavk. zap kav Division (for army cavalry) and in Guards. zap kav regiment (for the guards. cavalry). On 52 kaz. the regiment in service (regiments of the 1-th queue) in reserve consisted of 99 regiments (51 regiment of the 2-th queue and 48 of the regiments of the 3-th queue). Of these, 40 secondary regiments were included in 10 reserve discount kaz. divisions that were stationed: in the area of ​​the Don Army - 3-I (division headquarters and two regiments in the Khopyorsk district and one regiment in Ust-Medveditsk and Donetsk districts), 4-I (division headquarters and one regiment in the Cherkassky district and three regiments in the 1-th Don district) and 5-I (division headquarters and three regiments in the Donetsk district and one regiment in Cherkassy district) Don Kaz. divisions; in the Kuban region - 1-I (division headquarters in the Yekaterinodar department and two regiments in the Yeisk and Taman departments) and 2-I (division headquarters and two regiments in the Labinsky department and one regiment in the Caucasus and Batalpashinsky departments) Kuban kaz. divisions and staffs of 3 (Caucasus Division) and 4 (Yeisk Division) of the Kuban Kaz. divisions; in Terek region - 1-I Terek Kaz. division (division headquarters in Vladikavkaz, regiments in Pyatigorsk, Mozdok, Kizlyar and Sunzhensky districts); in the Ural region - Ural Kaz. division (division headquarters and regiment in the 1 military department, two regiments in the 2 military department and one regiment in the 3 military department); in the Orenburg region - Orenburg kaz. division (division headquarters in the 1-m (Orenburg) military department and two regiments in the 2-m (Upper Ural) and 3-m (Troitsky) military departments); in the Siberian region - Siberian Kaz. division (division headquarters, 2 brigade headquarters and two regiments in the 2 military department, 1 brigade headquarters and two regiments in the 1 military department); in the Trans-Baikal region - Trans-Baikal Kaz. division (division headquarters and regiment in the 1-m military department, and three regiments in the 2-m, in the 3-m and 4-m military departments).

The ending should ...

Comments

[Olgovich]

8th cav. division (stationed in g.. Kishinev, Balti

In Chisinau, the cemetery of the soldiers of the Russian Army who died at WWII and was created during WWI has been preserved and is being preserved.
In Russia, as far as I know, all such cemeteries were demolished.

[saygon66]

- In our region, several memorials from the times of the First World War were preserved or were restored ... to the dead of both warring parties.

[Olgovich]

Quote: saygon66

In our region, several memorials from the First World War were preserved or restored ... to the victims of both warring parties.

Dear Konstantin, do not tell me the area?
And is it just preserved cemeteries or only memorials to the fallen?

ps I was previously interested in this issue and did not find any surviving in the Russian Federation. Now, of course, the monuments to Moscow and St. Petersburg have been restored, although the graves themselves have been lost. There are in the Kaliningrad region, there the Germans themselves saved. I did not find more ...

[Olgovich]

Quote: saygon66

dead to both warring parties.

Although if "on both sides", it is only the Kaliningrad region that could be ...

[saygon66]

- In theory, such memorials can be in all areas of the bygone Russian Empire, where the battles of the First World War took place ... in Belarus and Moldova, the Baltic States ....

[Flooding]

Quote: Olgovich

In Chisinau, the cemetery of the soldiers of the Russian Army who died at WWII and was created during WWI

Interesting. What did you mean? About the former military cemetery?

[Albatroz]

Neither the enemy nor the allies had anything similar in quality and quantity.
As correctly noted "one of a kind"

[podymych]

There are no principal objections to this kind of reference. But what will happen next? Also listing what where when? Any analysis will be?
After all, in the autumn of 14, there were quite good chances to turn something like raids across Western Poland into the rear of the Kaiser half-way to send - oh-oh-oh. I would be glad to read something other than Shaposhnikov on this topic ...

[The centurion]

Quote: podymych

After all, in the autumn of 14, there were good chances of something like raids

From the very first days of the war, forms of warfare showed the impotence of cavalry to overcome in the equestrian ranks of fire weapons and artificial defensive barriers. In addition, evidence showed that with the presence of modern mass armed forces and solid front lines, the cavalry was deprived of the free spaces needed for maneuvers and the possibility of reaching the enemy’s more vulnerable spots, his flanks and rears. This general situation inevitably had to reflect on the tactics of the Cossack cavalry, despite its advantage over regular cavalry and the ability to act not only in closed cavalry, but also in more flexible structures and taking into account the best use of the terrain. The Cossacks had their own system, called the Tatar word "lava", which terrified the enemy from the time of Genghis Khan. Don writer I.A. Rodionov in his book “The Quiet Don”, published in Rostov-on-Don in 1902, describes it in such a way: “Lava is not a system in the sense that it is understood by the regular troops of all countries. This is something flexible, serpentine, infinitely agile, wriggling. This is a solid improvised improvisation. The commander controls the lava silently, the movement raised above his head checkers. But at the same time, the leaders of certain groups were given a wide personal initiative. ” Under the conditions of modern combat, the cavalry on the eastern Russian-Austro-German front turned out to be somewhat in better conditions than the cavalry of the western Franco-German front. Due to the great length and lesser troop saturation in many places there was no solid front line, and the Russian cavalry had more opportunities to use its mobility, perform maneuvers and penetrate the enemy’s rear. But these opportunities were still an exception, and the Russian cavalry experienced its powerlessness in front of the firearms just like its comrades in arms on the western front. The Cossack cavalry experienced the same crisis of powerlessness, moving quickly from the historical military scene.
It should be said that in preparation for a world war there was a large number of cavalry in the composition of the armies of all European countries. With the beginning of the war great tasks and hopes were placed on the activities of the cavalry. The cavalry was supposed to protect the borders of his country from invading the enemy during the mobilization of troops. Then she had to break through the enemy’s borderline military veil, penetrate deep into the enemy’s country, break communications and communications. Also, by all means, it was necessary to violate the order of mobilization and transfer of enemy troops in the process of concentrating and deploying them for the start of hostilities. To accomplish these tasks, parts of the easy Cossack cavalry, as well as hussar, lancer and dragoon regiments of the regular cavalry of all armies, could respond in the best way. The military history of the past captured the many exploits of the Cossacks in order to achieve their cavalry dream: "to break through and go into a deep foray." However, the military plans of all countries, built on the experiences of the past, were violated by the new conditions of war and radically changed the view on the military significance of cavalry. Despite the heroic impulses of cavalry spirit, brought up on the heroic equestrian attacks of the past, the cavalry had to be reconciled with the fact that only the same fire weapons could be opposed to the firepower. Therefore, the cavalry in the first period of the war actually began to turn into a dragoon, i.e. infantry, mounted on horses (or cavalry capable of fighting on foot). In the course of the war, the use of cavalry became increasingly common, and then dominant. The numerous Cossack cavalry throughout the war did not make an exception to the general rule and, despite the promptings of many military commanders to use cavalry breakthroughs, did not make significant changes to the general situation.
https://topwar.ru/63616-kazaki-i-pervaya-mirovaya
-voyna-chast-i-dovoennaya.html

[XII legion]

Except Shaposhnikov?
Read for example Valya - "Cavalry rounds of General Kaledin."
There is also a series of works on operations by F.A. Keller's

[Royalist]

Needless to say, on the European theater of operations, Russian cavalry was the best. Why the Russian cavalry was the best is a separate issue. But comrade podymych is right: the cavalry was used more like infantry, but where are the cavalry raids? And cavalry with skillful use could have done Belov.
By and large, the cavalry has outlived itself in 1915-1916.

[Nagaibak]

Royalist "By and large, the cavalry has outlived itself in 1915-1916."
Well, yes, and in the Great Patriotic War the outdated cavalry did not show themselves?))))

[The centurion]

Quote: Royalist

By and large, the cavalry itself outlived

The ensuing war was very different in character from previous and subsequent wars. The previous decades before the war in military affairs were characterized primarily by the fact that in their development the defense weapon sharply advanced compared with the offensive weapon. On the battlefield, a rapid-fire magazine rifle, a rapid-fire rifled breech-loading gun, and of course a machine gun began to dominate. All of these weapons were well combined with powerful engineering preparation of defensive positions: solid trenches with communications, thousands of kilometers of barbed wire, minefields, strong points with dugouts, pillboxes, bunks, forts, fortified areas, roadways, etc. The First World War was the last war between the states of the Old World, which was fought by traditional branches of the military. The origin and development of aviation transferred the struggle into the airspace. The appearance on the battlefields of tanks radically changed in future wars the ratio of offensive and defense in operational art. Even at sea, the construction of submarines and aircraft carriers already carried the germ of leaving the gun fleet from the scene.
Under these conditions, any attempt by the troops to attack turned into a merciless meat grinder, as under Verdun, or ended in a catastrophe, as during the defeat of the 2 of the Russian army near the Masurian Lakes. The nature of the war has changed dramatically, and for many years it became less manoeuvrable, trench, positional. With the increase in firepower and damaging factors of new types of weapons, the centuries-old glorious military fate of cavalry, including Cossack elements, whose element was a raid, raid, bypass, reach, breakthrough, came to an end. The last nail in the coffin of the cavalry scored a machine gun. Even taking into account the solid weight of the first machine guns (the Russian Maxim with the Sokolov machine weighed 65 kg without ammunition), their use from the very beginning provided for finding the machine guns in combat formations. And marching, marching and carts columns of machine guns with ammunition accompanied by special gigs, wagons or carts carts. Such use of machine guns put an end to saber attacks, rounds, reach and raid cavalry.


Russian machine gun gig - grandmother of the legendary cart

[XII legion]

This is serious work, such informatively rich texts.
The main thing is factology.
On the combat use of the Russian cavalry, its analysis, on the most brilliant equestrian attacks, on the operational and strategic importance of the actions of the Russian cavalry in the WWI - proving that it played a crucial role, acting just like cavalry, and not infantry, the author has a whole series interesting articles - in.
Thank you, we are waiting for the continuation!

[Appiann]

You and I will travel through such an empire every 70+ - 10 years !?