To begin with, let's immediately omit the usual reasoning that a machine gun and a magazine rifle have reduced the role of cavalry to a kind of auxiliary service. During World War I, especially on the Eastern Front, cavalry was still a mobile strike force capable of having a significant impact on the course of battle. The question was mainly about the ability to apply it.
The traditional role of cavalry in battle is an open attack, which has been called "horse shock". That is, a blow with melee weapons at the enemy forced to defend himself, his overturning in a short-term violent attack and subsequent destruction. Or a counter battle of the cavalry of the two sides.
Yes, the machine gun significantly complicated the actions of the cavalrymen in terms of performing the task of an open strike. But in the course of the war, the tactics of using the cavalry gradually changed, adapting to existing conditions.
Especially on the Eastern Front, which was characterized by large spaces and a low level of firepower per unit area. The cavalry was used more actively there.
The cavalry was used for reconnaissance, in pursuit of a retreating enemy, roundabout maneuvers and close combat. In addition, horses at that time were still the only means of rapid deployment of troops in the absence of roads.
On the Eastern Front, in contrast to the Western, the importance of cavalry in battle remained high. Examples include Russian strikes in East Prussia, Galicia, Poland, and German strikes in Lithuania and Romania.
At the beginning of the war, the Russian army received 124 army cavalry regiments, and by the end of 1917 it had up to two and a half hundred cavalry regiments (mostly Cossack, but the Cossacks are worthy of a separate topic).
The cavalry of the Russian Imperial Army was the most numerous and trained not only in Europe, but also in the world. This is the opinion of many experts, including foreign ones.
If the Russian cavalry did not fulfill all the tasks that were set before it, then this is not the fault of the reduction in the number of cavalry or its backwardness, but in many respects the failure of the equestrian command.
Intelligence was considered one of the most important tasks of cavalry before the war. Moreover, not only the near, in front of the front of their combined-arms formations, but also the far - in the rear of the enemy. This refers to the intelligence that provides the command with valuable information of an operational-tactical nature.
The development of aviation actually deprived the cavalry of this type of action. The progress of technology (cameras, airships, airplanes) turned the tide with obtaining intelligence in favor of technical means. Aviation almost completely supplanted cavalry as a means of long-range reconnaissance.
Nevertheless, the Russian cavalry continued to be the main branch of the army. At least in the last place in the triad after the infantry and artillery.
Since 1882, the Officer's Cavalry School has become the forge of cavalry personnel. Initially, this training was limited to the usual set - the theory of tactics and the practice of equestrian riding. Gradually, the matter was pulled up to training cavalry officers to act in war.
With the appointment of A. A. Brusilov (1902 - 1906) to the post of head of the school, the case was finally placed on the basis of training a cavalryman for war. General Brusilov, the school, and then all the cavalry, were obliged to introduce a new horse dressage system (Phyllis system), which at first had many ill-wishers, new tactics. The energy of Brusilov aroused envy, and the general acquired a reputation as an unprincipled careerist and intriguer.
The last remark refers to the widespread opinion that it was A. A. Brusilov who removed his predecessor from his post. But, as practice has shown, intrigues are often of great benefit.
The Cavalry Manual of 1912 stated that a cavalry unit is considered prepared if it is able to carry out all the tasks ahead of it in wartime. Among these tasks, the following skills stood out:
to attack all types of enemy troops in horse formation;
prepare for the success of the mounted attack by fire;
freely maneuver on any terrain, without disturbing the order of movement, overcoming obstacles and applying to the terrain;
act in haste, offensive and defensive;
make marching movements both day and night;
carry out security and reconnaissance service both on the campaign and on the bivouac.
Before the war, the Russian army had twenty-one dragoon regiments, seventeen lancers 'regiments, eighteen hussars' regiments.
But there was no particular difference in the types of cavalry, with the exception of the ceremonial uniform, by the beginning of the 20th century. All the cavalry of the RIA essentially turned into dragoons - horsemen, in appearance similar to the infantry, armed with a rifle, pistol, saber and pike.
The exception was the Cossacks. But I will repeat about them, we will talk separately.
Each cavalry regiment consisted of six squadrons (hundreds). The squadron in the state consisted of five officers, twelve non-commissioned officers, three trumpeters and one hundred twenty-eight privates of lower ranks.
According to the states, each division had a horse-sapper team, which was supposed to have eight motorcycles and one passenger car.
The horse artillery division attached to the cavalry division had two batteries of six light guns (76 mm) each. Each battery had a thousand rounds of ammunition, including 144 grenades, and the rest was shrapnel. By the beginning of the war, the Russian cavalry numbered sixty-five horse batteries of six guns each. In 1914 - 1917. Forty-two more horse batteries were formed, mostly Cossack ones.
76.2mm field gun
In addition, the cavalry division had a divisional machine-gun command of eight machine guns. The use of machine guns for mounted units was recognized already during the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905. Initially armed were Madsen machine guns, which were later replaced by Maxim machine guns.
In addition to the divisional machine gun team, there were also regimental machine gun teams, created on the model of infantry and armed with Maxim machine guns. In 1912, the cavalry division had twelve Maxim machine guns. These were the pack machine guns of the Maxim system. Both the machine gun itself and the machine gun of Colonel Sokolov's system, who specially developed it for the cavalry in 1910, were transported in the packs.
Pack version of the Maxim machine gun on the Sokolov machine
Opponents, the Germans, also attached great importance to machine guns and gave each cavalry division a separate machine gun battery of eight machine guns. In addition, a jaeger battalion, along with its own machine-gun company (six more machine guns), entered the composition of each cavalry division.
The cavalry of Austria-Hungary at the beginning of the war had no machine guns at all.
The Russian cavalry were armed with checkers and three-line rifles with a bayonet (the Cossacks had rifles without a bayonet until 1915).
Shortly before the war, the regular cavalry, like the Cossacks, received pikes. At first, this innovation caused a lot of criticism and discontent, since the peaks turned out to be an extremely inconvenient thing on the hike. However, with the opening of hostilities, the troops were convinced that in equestrian combat the pike turned out to be simply irreplaceable, being a much better weapon than a saber. The same famous Cossack K. Kryuchkov also accomplished his feat, acting with a lance, not a saber. So pretty soon the non-commissioned officers were armed with a lance, and even some of the young officers who were directly involved in equestrian skirmishes.
Under Emperor Alexander II, the cavalry division consisted of three brigades - dragoon, uhlan and hussar. In the era of Emperor Alexander III, in connection with the general unification of the Cossack cavalry, it was decided to unite with the regular cavalry. Under the last emperor Nicholas II, the last organization survived.
At the same time, it was believed that the Cossack hundreds did not have the striking force that is characteristic of close, slender squadrons of regular cavalry. On this basis, it was recognized as a blessing that the cavalry divisions be composed of four regiments of six-squadron composition: dragoon, uhlan, hussar and cossack regiments. Such an organization was supposed to lead to the fact that, from close unity with the Cossacks, the regular regiments were improved in the guard, intelligence service, partisan actions and, in general, the enterprises of the so-called small war. On the other hand, it was expected that the Cossacks would acquire the skill of close attacks, developing for this the proper punching force required when meeting the slender enemy attacks.
I would like to say a few more words about horses.
For the Eastern Front, the horse was the only vehicle available and the only possible vehicle at the beginning of the twentieth century. Neither the railway, nor even the car in 1914-1917. could not replace the usual horse in the struggle in the East. At the same time, the longer the war dragged on, the more, due to the deterioration of the carriage and locomotive fleet, the role of the horse increased.
The total number of horses in 1914 appears in the following approximate figures: Russia - almost 35,000,000, USA - 25,000,000, Germany - 6,500,000, Austria-Hungary - 4,000,000, France - more than 4,000,000, Great Britain - 2 000 000.
As you can see, the number of horses in Russia exceeded their number in all the great powers of Europe taken together. And the comparison of the number of horses per capita in Europe is especially characteristic. In Russia, there was one workhorse for seven people, in Germany - for fifteen, in France - for twelve, in Austria-Hungary - for twenty-nine people.
And there is no need to tell tales about high mechanization in these countries. Peasants did not plow on tractors in Europe.
With regards to equipping cavalry.
Horses in the active army were divided into several categories, being designed for different functions. The horses supplied to the troops, depending on their qualities, went to the cavalry, artillery (including machine-gun teams here) and carts.
Accordingly, the prices for horses of different categories were also different: the prices for riding and artillery horses were one and a half times higher than the prices for transport horses of the 2nd category. At the same time, the prices of the military department at which the horses were taken to the troops could differ significantly from the market prices for a horse. For example, a riding horse cost 355 rubles, an artillery horse - 355, a first-class carriage - 270, a second-class carriage - 195 rubles per head.
Ordinary peasant horses went to the carts. For artillery - peasant and steppe horses, more enduring in comparison with the bulk of horses.
The cavalry was to be completed exclusively with racehorses. At the beginning of the century, such race breeds were grown in Russia as Tekin (Akhal-Teke), Streletskaya, Orlov, Race, Don, Kabardian, Terskaya. The main suppliers of fighting horses are private Don steppe stud farms in Voronezh and Rostov provinces. Also riding horses were given by the Kherson, Yekaterinoslav, Tauride provinces.
The peacetime repair system consisted of the following process: the repair commission bought a horse that was 3.5 years old. This horse went to the reserve cavalry regiment, where it was brought up and trained for a year. In the fifth year of her life, she entered the regular regiment: "Only a five-year-old horse is folded enough to be put into work."
This is how the commission selection of horses took place.
A year later, the horse passed the exam, after which it was finally sent to the ranks. At the same time, in the year before the exam, it was impossible to put a horse in line and send it to training with gaits.
Of course, under wartime conditions, this provision was violated. But this does not give the "experts" and "historians" the right to talk about the Russian cavalry, which fought on tortured peasant horses. And it gives us every right to send such "experts" to hell.
As an example, I would suggest that readers familiarize themselves with the work of the famous Russian and Soviet reporter Gilyarovsky. In those years, he was just engaged in the selection and herding of horses for the army. Who cares - the book is called "My wanderings".
On the uniform of the RIA cavalrymen.
Speaking of the wartime uniform, naturally, we mean the marching / field uniform. The parade uniform of the cavalrymen, of course, differed, but here we are concerned only with the field uniform.
The field (marching) uniform for the cavalry was introduced on the eve of the First World War. For the cavalry, it included:
cap or hat (in winter);
a tunic (in summer) or a marching uniform (in winter) for officers and a tunic for lower ranks; wide trousers tucked into high boots with spurs;
shoulder straps (the lower ranks have marching shoulder straps);
camping equipment (officers) or belt (lower ranks);
brown gloves (officers);
a sword on a belt harness and a revolver with a traveling cord (officers) or
saber, steel pike without a weather vane, revolver, dragoon rifle and cartridge bag (lower ranks).
Protective cap in greenish-gray color, with a protective leather visor, cockade, chin strap.
The Dragoon, Uhlan and Hussar regiments actually did not differ in any way at the front in terms of form.
Dragoons.
The dragoons' uniforms resembled those of an infantry, only the uniforms differed in cuffs with toes. The shoulder straps were trimmed with a uniform-colored piping: black for the lower ranks and dark green for officers. Camping shoulder straps did not have edging, they had a number and next to it - a capital letter "D" in light blue or a regiment monogram for registered regiments.
The piping on the trousers was of a different color to match the color of the shelf.
Lancers.
Lancers wore uniforms similar to those of dragoons; shoulder straps were with dark blue piping for officers and without piping for lower ranks. On the pursuit were the number of the regiment in light blue and the letter "U" or a monogram for registered regiments.
Lancers wore gray and blue trousers with colored piping, also depending on the regiment number. The equipment did not differ from that of the dragoons, except that about a quarter of the personnel of each regiment were armed with pikes without flags.
Polish lancers wore breeches with scarlet stripes.
Hussars
With regard to the marching uniform, the hussars followed the style adopted by the dragoons, although officers often continued to wear red breeches (chakchirs) and shoulder straps with a zigzag braid.
The shoulder straps of the privates did not have a piping, they had the regiment number and the letter "G" in light blue color or monograms of registered regiments.
Summing up a certain intermediate result before thoroughly tackling the actions of the Russian army and its command, it is worth saying only that we are dealing with a global rewriting of history, unfortunately.
For so many years they had been hammered into our heads that the Russian Imperial Army was large, but weakly armed with all sorts of outdated rubbish, that it was impossible not to believe.
Yes, RIA was not technically advanced. But it was not a bunch of "cannon fodder" sent for slaughter either.
In principle, this entire cycle of "100 Years of Russian Glory" can be regarded as an apology and recognition to the soldiers, officers and everyone who stood behind their backs in Russia.
It was an army that can and should be proud of.
