Irregular troops in the Russian Empire

Irregular troops ( irregular from Late Latin irregularis ) ^[7] , unlike regular troops — troops that do not have a firm and permanent organization or are significantly different from regular troops in their military service, training, education, uniforms and uniforms , equipped, armed and provided horses. Earlier in Russia, troops consisted of Cossacks and foreign units ^[4] .

Irregular formations, as highly maneuverable, but weakly armed and not sufficiently trained for action in the ranks (see Linear tactics ) were assigned to units and formations of the regular Russian army to carry out specific activities for this type of light cavalry, reconnaissance and observation, patrols , outposts , ambushes , raids and raids on the rear and the pursuit of a defeated running enemy.

"Of which the first ^[8] ... constituted the main mass, the second ^[9] , although they were inferior to the first in their combat unit, but for some military branches were more useful than regular ones"

- General from Infantry A.F. Rediger ^[10]

Cossack troops settled in the Ukraine of the Russian state, for protection and short-term defense ^[11] , for their service, from time immemorial, enjoyed extensive benefits in comparison with other classes of Russia .

Sources in the late 16th century report on the Ukrainian service of Moscow servicemen : “The Tsar ordered the Ukrainian voivods to all in all Ukrainian towns and cities to stand in their place according to the old painting and to be in the gathering according to the old painting in the regiment ; and how will the arrival of military people come to the sovereigns of Ukraine, and the sovereign ordered them to be in the front line in the Ukrainian regiment . ”

All Cossack troops of Russia and the foreign population of the Caucasus and Orenburg Territories served:

• internal - within the limits of its army and settlements;
• Line or cordon service - to protect the borders of Russia;
• external service - outside the borders of his army, together with the RIA.

For 1853, the Cossack troops were in charge of the Ministry of War of the Russian Empire, which had a hundred-regimental device:

• Donskoye ;
• Black Sea ;
• Caucasian linear ;
• Ural
• Astrakhan ;
• Danube
• Orenburg
• Azov ;
• Siberian linear ;
• Transbaikal ;
• Bashkir-Meshchersky .

On January 1, 1856, according to the lists, it was listed in the Russian Armed Forces:

• regular - 32,530 officers and 1,742,342 lower ranks;
• irregular - 3,640 officers and 168,691 lower ranks;
• the state militia has 5,647 officers and 364,421 lower ranks.

In total: 41,817 officers and 2,274,544 lower ranks.

Since the middle of the XVII century, the Kalmyk cavalry , later ranked as Cossack troops, was constantly represented in the campaigns of the Russian army (RIA). After the creation of regular armed forces (at the beginning of the 18th century ), irregular troops existed in the form of units of light cavalry (in the 18th century) and Cossack troops - the Don, Black Sea, Astrakhan and others.

“Commanding only Cossacks. We were buzzing around the enemy convoys that were being replaced, from which the lagging carts and guns were beaten off, sometimes platoons scattered or stretched out along the road, but the columns remained unharmed ... The columns fell one after the other, driving us off with gun shots, and laughed at our unsuccessful knighthood around them ”

- The commander of the partisan detachment Denis Davydov .

Foreign irregular troops included the Life Guards of the Crimean Tatar Squadron , managed by the Novorossiysk Governor General, the Transcaucasian Horse-Muslim Regiment , which was part of the army, the Dagestan Horse-Irregular Regiment, and the Balaklava Greek battalion , which served in the service some other formations.

At the beginning of the 20th century , they also included the Dagestan and Kuban militias , the Dagestan horse regiment ^[12] and the Turkestan horse division . These formations carried mainly local service and did not have a constant and uniform organization. The main difference between the militia and the Cossack troops was that they were staffed by persons not required by military service, but entered it voluntarily.

After the First World War of 1914 - 1918, irregular troops were abolished in all the leading states of the world. Prior to that, they were in Austria-Hungary ( Croats , Pandurs ), in Turkey (Bashibuzuki, Circassians, Kurds), and at the beginning of the 20th century they appeared in England and France in their colonies - native troops .

The irregular forces of the Russian Empire included:

• IW controls
• Cossack troops
• Militia
• State Militia ^[13]

In the Russian Kingdom, the central body of the military command of the troops was first the Streletsky Prikaz , and then the Rank Order and the Cossack order . In Siberia, the Siberian Prikaz was in charge, the Little Russian Prikaz in Ukraine, the Meshchersky Cossacks — the Meshchersky Prikaz, and the Smolensk unpaved Cossacks — the Smolensk Order.

In the Russian Empire, the IW service was in charge (period):

• Military Collegium (1721 - 1802);
• Ministry of War (1802 - 1835);
• Department of Military Settlements of the Ministry of War (1835 - 1857);
• Office of irregular troops (1857 - 1867);
• General Directorate of Irregular Forces (1867 - 1879).

At the beginning of the 20th century, in Russia there were 11 Cossack troops numbering about three million people; the largest was the Don Cossacks . In peacetime, Cossacks fielded 17 regiments and 6 separate hundreds of the Don Cossack army, 11 regiments and 1 division of the Kuban army, 4 regiments and 4 local teams of the Tersky army, 6 regiments and 1 division and 2 hundreds of the Orenburg army, 3 regiments and 2 teams of the Ural army , 3 regiment of the Siberian army, 1 regiment of the Semirechensky army, 4 regiment of the Transbaikal army, 1 regiment of the Amur army, 1 division of the Ussuriysk army, 2 hundreds of Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk Cossacks.

In addition, the Cossacks fielded three guards regiments ( Cossack Life Guards Regiment , Ataman Life Guards Regiment and Consolidated Cossack Life Guards Regiment ), and His Imperial Majesty's Own Convoy of 4 hundred. In wartime, the Cossacks were required to exhibit up to 146 regiments, 41 hundred, 22 infantry battalions and 38 batteries of horse artillery, with a total staff of 178,000.

All male Cossacks were considered obligated to military service for a period of 20 years. Unlike the regular army, which was drafted due to a number of benefits and exemptions, the Cossacks were obliged to serve all the polls. Starting from the age of 18, the Cossack was listed in the preparatory category for three years. During this time, he was obliged to acquire a horse and uniform . Then the Cossack was enlisted in combat rank, and served in active service for four years, after which he was transferred “to a privilege”. Cossacks “on privilege” continued to be registered in “preferential” units, the first four years - in the second stage, then transferred from the front rank to the reserve, and in the third part, but in fact all Cossacks did not serve on the “benefit” anymore. At 33, the Cossack was transferred to the reserve, at 38, to the militia .

Thus, the organization of the Cossack units was different from that existing in the regular army — instead of the reserve battalions (existing in the regular army), up to two thirds of the Cossack units in peacetime were listed “on privilege,” that is, they practically did not exist. At the same time, a small cadre was appointed in the army reserve battalions in peacetime, which served as the organizational core for mobilization, usually consisting of one head officer , six chief officers and forty lower ranks . The wartime mobilization of the regular and irregular troops was different: in the regular troops the composition of the units increased, but not their number, in the Cossack troops the number of units also increased due to the mobilization of regiments that were “on privilege”.

• Dagestan cavalry regiment , participated in the Russo-Japanese War ^[14] .
• 2nd Dagestan Horse Regiment .
• Ingush equestrian regiment .
• Kabardian horse regiment .
• Tatar Horse Regiment .
• Circassian Horse Regiment .
• Chechen equestrian regiment .
• Kabardino-Gorsky Horse-Irregular Regiment .
• Kabardino-Kumyk Horse-Irregular Regiment .
• Chechen equestrian irregular regiment .
• Caucasian equestrian division .

Since 1709, the word landmilitia began to be mentioned in Russia (Land German: Land - country , state , police - from Latin. Militia - military service , army ). In 1713, the state settled Cossack ( Sloboda ) regiments on the Russian servant lines were reorganized and became known as the Landmilitia (Zemstvo militia, militia). Later, the term landmilitia, incomprehensible to the people, was replaced by the phrase zemstvo (people's) militia or militia meaning a voluntary squad , that is, militarized organizations, in accordance with laws , like the formations of the armed forces.

The first attempts to create legalized organizations of national self-defense from the enemy are mentioned above.

At the end of the 19th century, the militia among the Caucasian regiments included the Dagestan cavalry regiment, the Kuban, Terek, Dagestan, Kara and Batumi militias, and the Tekin equestrian regiment.

The collection of affluent people Peter I laid the foundation of the recruitment service introduced by him. Along with the demand of affluent people who were part of the army in the proper sense of the word, during the Moscow period, a militia was often convened, which was called the great; it was exhibited by landowners and communities and kept at their expense. Sometimes the government resorted to the general armament of the entire male population of a particular locality, at the expense of the land. The last example of such general armament was under Peter I, to protect the Novgorod and Pskov lands , in 1708 , in view of the anticipated invasion of Charles XII .

• At the end of the Patriotic War of 1812, the Don Cossacks, under the leadership of Ataman Matvey Platov, donated 40 pounds (640 kg) of silver from trophies taken during the Great Army persecution to the Kazan Cathedral of St. Petersburg, which “was used to depict the four evangelists and the decoration of the cathedral” ^[15] .

• Bashibuzuki
• Landver

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