In 1550, Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, by his order, established a new structure - the streltsy army. For the first time in Russian history, a regular army was created instead of militia-squeakers, called upon to fight with cold weapons and firearms. For the next century and a half, the archers became the most important component of the army. To solve combat missions, the archers relied on a developed weapon system, which was improved as the service continued.
Fiery fight
The main task of the archers, like their predecessors, the beepers, was to fire at enemy troops. To solve such a problem, at different times, muskets of different classes and types were armed with the rifle troops. According to the available historical sources and archaeological finds, one can observe the processes of the development of small arms of the troops.
The archers received hand squeaks from their predecessors. It was a smooth-bore muzzle-loading weapon with a wick lock or with a heat. The early squeaks of Russian archers were similar in design to the European arquebuses of their time. It was the squeak that was the main weapon of the archer. During the battle, the warriors were supposed to hit the enemy with massive fire. Other weapons were considered as auxiliary.
The squeak was accompanied by elements of equipment necessary for transporting ammunition. The archer wore a berendeyk sling over his left shoulder, on which there were nests for gunpowder and bullets, as well as a powder flask. All these devices made it possible to obtain an acceptable rate of fire from not the most perfect muzzle-loading squeaks.
According to the regulations, the archers received gunpowder and bullets just before the campaign. The remaining ammunition after the return should have been surrendered, which allowed the state to save on the maintenance of the troops.
The wicks squeaked for a long time remained the main weapon of the archers. However, at the beginning of the 17th century. they have the first flintlock rifles. The massive introduction of such weapons was noticeably delayed. It is believed that this was due to the complexity and high cost of guns, as well as difficulties at the stage of launching their own production. As a result, in service there were both imported and domestic guns of different masters with different designs and characteristics.
Nevertheless, the rearmament was launched and carried out. Already by the middle of the 17th century. the documents record not only the need to purchase gunpowder and lead, but also the requirements for the supply of flints for guns. However, the decommissioning of obsolete wick squeaks was noticeably delayed. Such weapons remained with the archers almost until the end of the 17th century.
In the second half of the century, a new modernization of firearms began. Abroad and in our country, “screw squeaks” - rifled weapons - began to spread. Roughly in the seventies, such systems begin to enter the rifle army and gradually its share is growing. However, rifled systems were notable for their high complexity and cost, which is why the rate of rearmament was again low. For a long time, smoothbore guns remained the basis of the archers' complex of weapons.
It is curious that the replacement and modernization of the main weapon had almost no effect on the composition of the equipment. Berendeika with nests and a powder flask survived and continued to perform their functions. This was facilitated by the preservation of some of the basic principles of the work of standard weapons.
The introduction of rifled weapons was the last step in the modernization of the archers' "fire fighting" means. Such systems, together with auxiliary weapons, were used for several decades - until the disbandment of the rifle regiments. Then they went over to the new armed formations of the Russian army.
Cold and Pole
The main task of the archers was to defeat the enemy by fire. However, they kept cold and pole arms - mainly for self-defense in situations where the use of the squeak was impossible or difficult. In general, the edged weapons of the streltsy army repeated the complex of infantry weapons of that time.
On his left side, on his belt, the archer wore a scabbard with a saber or sword. The archers received the same bladed weapon as other Russian warriors. During the existence of the streltsy army, various designs of sabers and swords with certain features have been in service. In all cases, such a weapon was intended for combat with an approaching enemy. Due to the specifics of the combat work of the archers, it was often a question of self-defense.
From the infantry, the archers received a berdysh - a special type of battle ax with an elongated blade and a long shaft. Berdysh performed two main functions. In close combat, it should have been used in a regular way as a chopping weapon. When firing, he became a bipod for weapons: the box was squeaked on the butt, which simplified aiming and shooting.
During the XVII century. there was some change in the complex of weapons associated with the peculiarities of the work of archers of different specialties. So, the commanders eventually lost their firearms, the use of which could be difficult. Their weapons consisted only of a saber and a protazan - a long spear with a special tip. Standard-bearers and musicians had only sabers for self-defense.
At the beginning of the 17th century. the first pikemen units appear in the streltsy army. These fighters were armed with long pikes and swords. Their armament was intended to strengthen the defense of the rifle unit and to effectively defend against the typical threats of that time.
Explosive innovation
At the beginning of the 17th century. For the first time, the records contain a fundamentally new weapon for archers - hand grenade balls. These were compact and relatively light cast ammunition with gunpowder filling and the simplest fuse fuse. They had to be thrown in the direction of the enemy manually, which limited the range of use. However, the damaging effect compensated for all the shortcomings.
Hand grenade balls received limited distribution, but were still produced and distributed among the riflemen's orders. At different times and in different shelves, there were hundreds of units of such weapons in storage, and, if necessary, they were used.
Weapon evolution
The rifle army was formed in the middle of the 16th century. and existed until the beginning of the 18th century. For more than a century and a half, this component of the army has come a long way and has changed noticeably. First of all, weapons were developed that were directly used for solving combat missions.
It is easy to see that the evolution of archers' weapons was based on the most modern ideas and solutions. It was far from always possible to introduce modern samples on time and in the desired quantity, but the tendency towards the development of the army can be traced quite clearly. In the matter of updating the material part, the streltsy army actively used both domestic and foreign ideas and samples.
This approach made it possible to maintain a high combat capability of the troops, but had characteristic drawbacks. First of all, there was no unification of weapons and ammunition, which led to certain problems. The first measures aimed at establishing uniformity date back only to the second half of the 17th century, but the real effect in this direction was obtained even later.
At the beginning of the 18th century. the streltsy army was liquidated and new types of regiments came to replace it. However, the archers' armament complex and part of their equipment remained in service. With these or those changes, guns and muskets, berdysh and sabers became part of the armament of the modernized troops, where they were soon supplemented by completely new models.
