The previous article "Cossacks before the World War" showed how this greatest meat grinder in the history of mankind was born and matured in the depths of world politics. The ensuing war was very different in character from the previous and subsequent ones. The decades preceding the war in military affairs were characterized, first of all, by the fact that in their development the weapons of defense went sharply forward in comparison with the weapons of the offensive. The rapid-firing magazine rifle, the rapid-firing rifled breech-loading cannon and, of course, the machine gun began to dominate the battlefield. All these weapons were well combined with powerful engineering preparation of defensive positions: continuous trenches with communication trenches, thousands of kilometers of barbed wire, minefields, strongholds with dugouts, bunkers, bunkers, forts, fortified areas, rocky roads, etc. Under these conditions, any attempt by the troops to advance turned into a merciless meat grinder, as at Verdun, or ended in a catastrophe such as the defeat of the Russian army at the Masurian Lakes. The nature of the war changed dramatically, and for many years it became difficult to maneuver, entrenchment, positional. With the increase in firepower and the damaging factors of new types of weapons, the centuries-old glorious combat fate of the cavalry, including the Cossack cavalry, whose element was a raid, raid, bypass, coverage, breakthrough, offensive, came to an end. The last nail in the cavalry's coffin was hammered by 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 the presence of machine guns in battle formations. And the marching, marching and transport convoys were accompanied by machine guns with ammunition on special wagons or transport carts. This use of machine guns put an end to saber attacks, rounds, sweeps and cavalry raids.
Rice. 1 On the march, a Russian machine-gun cart - the grandmother of the legendary cart
This war turned into a war of attrition and survival, led to the economic and social undermining of all the belligerent countries and peoples, claimed millions of lives, led to global political upheavals and completely changed the map of Europe and the world. Hitherto unprecedented human losses and several years of great trench sitting also led to demoralization and decomposition of the active armies, then led to mass desertion, surrender, fraternization, riots and revolutions, and ultimately it all ended with the collapse of 4 mighty Empires: Russian, Austro-Hungarian, Germanic and Ottoman. And, despite the victory, besides them, two more powerful colonial empires broke down and began to fall: the British and the French.
And the real winner in this war was the United States of America. In addition to weakening and mutually destroying the main geopolitical rivals, they profited inexpressibly from military supplies, not only swept away all the gold and foreign exchange reserves and budgets of the Entente powers, but also imposed enslaving debts on them. Having entered the war at the final stage, the United States grabbed for itself not only a solid share of the winners' laurels, but also a fat piece of reparations and indemnities from the vanquished. It was America's finest hour. Less than a century ago, US President Monroe proclaimed the doctrine "America for Americans" and the United States entered into a stubborn and merciless struggle to oust the European colonial powers from the American continent. But after the Versailles Peace, no power could do anything in the Western Hemisphere without the permission of the United States. It was a triumph of forward-looking strategy and a decisive step towards world domination. In this war, a number of regional powers made good money and got stronger, although their further fate turned out to be very different. This was described in more detail in the article "On the next anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War."
The perpetrators of the war, as a rule, remain defeated. Germany and Austria-Hungary became such, and all the costs of restoring military destruction were assigned to them. Under the terms of the Versailles Peace, Germany had to pay 360 billion francs to the allies and restore all the provinces of France destroyed by the war. A heavy indemnity was imposed on the German allies, Bulgaria and Turkey. Austria-Hungary was divided into small national states, part of its territory was annexed to Serbia and Poland. The instigator of the war, Serbia, was also among the hardest hit. Its losses amounted to 1,264,000 people (28% of the population). In addition, 58% of the country's male population remained disabled. Russia also actively condoned the warmongers (both internal and external), but could not stand the prolonged military tension and, on the eve of the end of the war, because of the revolution, withdrew from this international conflict. But because of the ensuing anarchy and turmoil, she plunged herself into a much more destructive civil war and was deprived of the opportunity to attend the peace convention in Versailles. The revolution and the civil war were God's punishment for that great bedlam, which long before the war had firmly settled in the heads of the educated and ruling classes of the empire, which Dostoevsky called "devilry", and the current classics are politically correctly called "sunstroke". France got back Alsace and Lorraine, England, destroying the German fleet, retained dominance in the seas and in colonial politics. The secondary consequence of the First World War was an even more destructive, sacrificial and prolonged Second World War, some historians and politicians do not even divide these wars. So back in 1919, the French Marshal Foch said: “This is not peace. This is a truce for 20 years,”and he was mistaken … only for a few months. Here is a short summary of this Great War, that is, what is left in the bottom line. However, first things first.
From the very first days of the war, the forms of warfare showed the powerlessness of the cavalry in overcoming fire weapons and artificial defensive barriers in horse formation. In addition, the evidence showed that in the presence of modern massive armed forces and continuous front lines, the cavalry was deprived of free spaces necessary for maneuvers and the ability to reach more vulnerable places of the enemy, his flanks and rear. This general position inevitably had to be reflected in the tactics of the Cossack cavalry, despite its advantage over the regular cavalry and the ability to act not only in closed equestrian formations, but also in more flexible formations and taking into account the better use of the character of the local sti. The Cossacks had their own system, called the Tatar word "lava", which has terrified the enemy since the time of Genghis Khan. Donskoy writer I. A. Rodionov, in his book “Quiet Don”, published in Rostov-on-Don in 1902, describes it as follows: “Lava is not a formation in the sense that regular troops of all countries understand it. It is something flexible, serpentine, infinitely agile, wriggling. This is a complete impromptu improvisation. The commander controls the lava in silence, the movement of a checker raised above his head. But at the same time, the heads of individual groups were given broad personal initiative. " In the conditions of modern combat, the cavalry on the eastern Russian-Austro-German front was in somewhat better conditions than the cavalry of the western Franco-German front. Due to the large length and lower troop saturation, in many places there was no continuous front line, and the Russian cavalry had more opportunities to use their mobility, make maneuvers and penetrate into the enemy's rear. But these possibilities were nevertheless an exception, and the Russian cavalry experienced their impotence in front of fire weapons in the same way as its comrades in the weapons of the western front. The Cossack cavalry was also experiencing the same crisis of impotence, quickly leaving the historical war scene.
It should be said that in preparation for World War II, the armies of all European countries had a large number of cavalry. 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 their country from enemy invasion during the mobilization of troops. Then she had to break through the enemy's border military curtain, penetrate deep into the enemy country, disrupt communications and communications. Also, by all means, it had to disrupt the order of mobilization and transfer of enemy troops in the process of concentrating and deploying them to start hostilities. To carry out these tasks, units of the light Cossack cavalry, as well as the hussar, uhlan and dragoon regiments of the regular cavalry of all armies, could meet in the best way. Military history has captured many feats of the Cossacks in order to achieve their cavalry dream: "to break through and go into a deep raid." However, the military plans of all countries, based on the experiences of the past, were violated by the new conditions of war and radically changed the view of the military value of the cavalry. Despite the heroic impulses of the cavalry spirit, brought up on the heroic horse attacks of the past, the cavalry had to come to terms with the fact that only the same firepower could be opposed to firepower. Therefore, the cavalry, already in the first period of the war, actually began to turn into dragoons, i.e. infantry mounted on horses (or cavalry capable of fighting on foot). In the course of the war, this use of cavalry became more and more widespread, and then predominant. Numerous Cossack cavalry throughout the war did not constitute an exception to the general rule and, despite the urges of many commanders to use cavalry breakthroughs, did not make significant changes in the general situation.
Rice. 2 Cossacks of the First World War on the attack
To better understand the origins of this military-tactical fiasco of the outbreak of world war, it is necessary to briefly recall the key moments of the previous European military-political history. At the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries, due to the rapid development of capitalism, Europe was actively looking for new markets and intensified its colonial policy. But on the routes to Asia and Africa were Russia and then still strong Turkey, which controlled the Balkans, Asia Minor, the Middle East and North Africa, i.e. almost all of the Mediterranean. A key aspect of all European politics in the post-Spanish period was the fierce Anglo-French rivalry. In an effort to inflict a fatal blow on the power of the British Empire, Napoleon maniacally rushed to India. The laurels of Alexander the Great did not give him rest. On the way to India, Bonaparte, back in 1798, made an attempt to forcefully wrest Egypt from the Ottoman Empire and break through to the Red Sea, but unsuccessfully. In 1801, in alliance with the Russian emperor Paul I, Napoleon made a second attempt at a land breakthrough to India through Astrakhan, Central Asia and Afghanistan. But this crazy plan was not destined to come true and it fell through at the very beginning. In 1812, Napoleon, already at the head of a united Europe, undertook a third attempt at a land breakthrough to India through Russia, by forcing it to conscientiously fulfill the conditions of the Peace of Tilsit and the obligations of the continental alliance against the British Empire. But Russia withstood this blow of colossal force with dignity, and Napoleon's empire was defeated. These epoch-making events and the participation of the Cossacks in them were described in more detail in the articles “Cossacks in the Patriotic War of 1812. Part I, II, III . After the defeat of France, the main vector of European policy was again directed against Turkey. In 1827, the combined fleet of England, France and Russia in the port of the Ionian Islands of Navarin destroyed the Turkish fleet. The vast Mediterranean coast of Turkey was placed in a defenseless position, which opened the way for European colonialists to Africa and the East.
Rice. 3 Decrease in Ottoman possessions in the 19th century
On land, Russia also inflicted a crushing defeat on Turkey in 1827-1828, after which the latter was no longer able to recover and, according to the general opinion, was a corpse, for the inheritance of which the dispute of the heirs inevitably arose. Having crushed the Turkish fleet, England and France began to race to divide Asia and Africa, which they were busy with almost until the end of the 19th century. This direction of colonization was also facilitated by the fact that the United States was not yet very strong at that time, nevertheless, by all means available to them, actively, energetically and daringly squeezed the European colonialists out of America. The first and undisputed claimant to the inheritance of the north of Ottomania (former Byzantium) was Russia, with a claim to possession of the straits and Constantine ¬ field. But England and France, Russia's former allies against Turkey, preferred that the key to the Black Sea straits be in the hands of a weak Turkey, rather than a strong Russia. When the Black Sea finally opened up for Russia, its fleet competed with Western countries. This rivalry eventually led Russia to war against England, France and Turkey in 1854-1856. As a result of this war, the Black Sea turned out to be closed for Russia again. England finally took a dominant position on the seas, and France was transformed under the rule of Napoleon III into a strong power in the motherland. Throughout the 19th century, countless colonial wars flared up in the world. Light colonial military successes against the Asian and African peoples turned the heads of the European militarists and were thoughtlessly transferred by them to the relations between European peoples. The thought that with modern destructive means, not to mention human sacrifices, no conquests can reimburse the costs of waging war and covering its destructive consequences, did not even penetrate the minds of the ruling elite of any European people. On the contrary, all countries were convinced that the war was profitable, and between coalitions it would be lightning fast and could not last more than three, and most likely six months, after which the enemy exhausted in means would be forced to accept all the conditions of the winner. It was impunity, permissiveness and success in carrying out any colonial adventures that unlocked all the brake systems in the brains of the European aristocracy and became the main epistemological cause of the pan-European war, which later became a world war. A vivid confirmation of this thesis is the post-war interview with the German Kaiser Wilhelm. To the question: "How did it happen that you started this grandiose war, and nothing could stop you?" he could not clearly answer anything, shrugged his shoulders and said: "Yes, somehow it happened like this." A century later, the policai-presidium ruling the world, represented by the US, EU and NATO, has also actually gone crazy with impunity and permissiveness in carrying out any adventures in the world and has no brakes. He actually rules the world under the slogans: "Brakes were invented by cowards" and "There is no reception against scrap." But this is not so, because the ability to slow down or stop in time is the basis of any traffic safety system, and there is a trick against scrap, this is the same scrap. However, brakes in this world are useful not only for cops, but also for those who decide to compete with them. In a fight in someone else's weight category, you should always remember that you can only count on victory if the opponent is so weak that he himself will fly into a sweep or put himself under attack in a puff or in a hole. Otherwise, it is more useful to step aside, and even better to direct the flock of greyhounds on the wrong track. Otherwise, they will be driven or killed. And if we evaluate the behavior of the inhabitants of our common chamber, called the Earth, from the standpoint of analogy and extrapolation, then the third world meat grinder is just around the corner. However, there is still an opportunity to hit the brakes.
Meanwhile, a new force appeared in Europe at that time - Germany, which arose through the unification of the heterogeneous Germanic principalities around Prussia. Skillfully maneuvering between the European powers, Prussia very successfully used their regional rivalry to unify Germany. Possessing notoriously smaller military, industrial and human resources, Prussia concentrated its efforts on better equipment, training, organization, tactics and strategy for the use of armed and diplomatic forces. In politics and diplomacy, the Bismarck phenomenon prevailed; on the battlefield, the Moltke phenomenon (ordnung). A series of successful, comprehensively well-prepared and well-developed, victorious wars of Prussia against Denmark, Austria and France only strengthened the illusion of a lightning war. To neutralize these dangerous illusions and aggressive inclinations of German militarism, Tsar-peacemaker Alexander III invented a very effective sedative mixture, the Franco-Russian alliance. The presence of this alliance obliged Germany to wage a war on two fronts, which, according to the then and current theoretical and practical concepts, inevitably leads to defeat. Aggressiveness has decreased significantly, but the illusions remain. These illusions were weakly shaken by the Russo-Japanese war, which was protracted, bloody, entrenching, unsuccessful for both sides and ended in great social upheavals. The minds of the world then (as, indeed, now) were ruled by the liberal intelligentsia, and with its characteristic primitivism and lightness of judgments, all the failures were easily attributed only to the mediocrity and inertia of the tsarist government. The military specialists, who did not see alarming symptoms of a future military-political catastrophe in the lessons of the Russian-Japanese war, were not up to the mark either.
Germany's geopolitical position, which had developed by the 20th century, forced it to wage a war on two fronts. The Franco-Russian alliance demanded strategic decisions from the German General Staff for a successful war against Russia and France at the same time. The development of the war plan was carried out by the large General Staff of the German army, and the main creators of the development of the war plan were Generals von Schlieffen, and then von Moltke (junior). The central geographical position of Germany in relation to opponents and a highly developed network of railways made it possible to quickly mobilize at the beginning of the war and quickly transfer troops in any direction. Therefore, it was planned to inflict at first a decisive blow towards one enemy, to withdraw him from the war, and then to direct all the vultures against the other. For a quick and decisive first strike, France seemed preferable with its limited territory. A decisive defeat in the front line and the possible capture of Paris, with the fall of which the country's defense was violated, was tantamount to the end of the war. Due to the vastness of the territory, Russia was late from the transfer of troops to the theater of war for mobilization and at the beginning of the first weeks of the war was a highly vulnerable target. But the first possible failures of it were softened by the depth of the front, where the armies, in case of failure, could retreat, at the same time, receiving suitable reinforcements. Therefore, the German General Staff adopted, as the main, the following decision: with the beginning of the war, the main forces should be directed against France, leaving a defensive barrier and the forces of Austria-Hungary against Russia. According to the adopted plan, at the beginning of the war against France, Germany deployed 6 armies - consisting of 22 army and 7 reserve corps and 10 cavalry divisions. Against Russia, on the Eastern Front, Germany fielded 10 army and 11 reserve corps and one cavalry division. France deployed 5 armies against Germany - 19 army corps, 10 reserve and 9 cavalry divisions. Austria, which did not have a common border with France, deployed 47 infantry and 11 cavalry divisions against Russia. Russia deployed the 1st and 2nd armies on the East Prussian front. The 1st consisted of 6, 5 infantry and 5 cavalry divisions and a separate cavalry brigade with 492 guns, the 2nd of 12, 5 infantry and 3 cavalry divisions with 720 guns. In total, the armies of the North-Western Front numbered about 250 thousand people. The 1st and 2nd Russian armies were opposed by the German 8th Army under the command of Colonel-General von Pritwitz. The German army had 14, 5 infantry and 1 cavalry divisions, about 1000 guns. In total, the German troops numbered about 173 thousand people. Against Austria-Hungary, on the South-Western Front, the Russians deployed 4 armies in the amount of 14 army corps and 8 cavalry divisions. The deployment and delivery of units to the front from separate districts of the Russian army were to be completed by the 40th day of mobilization. With the outbreak of hostilities, the Russian command had to take measures to cover the borders and ensure the concentration and deployment of the army. This task was assigned to the cavalry. Eleven cavalry divisions, located in the border zone, had to carry out this work. Therefore, with the declaration of war, these cavalry divisions moved forward and formed a curtain along the border. By the beginning of the war, Russia possessed the most numerous cavalry in the world. In wartime, she could deploy up to 1,500 squadrons and hundreds. Cossack cavalry accounted for more than 2/3 of the total Russian cavalry. In 1914, the total number of the Cossack class was already 4, 4 million people, brought together in eleven Cossack troops.
The Don Cossack army was the largest, the year of seniority was 1570, the center was Novocherkassk. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were about 1.5 million people of both sexes. Administratively, the Don region was divided into 7 military districts: Cherkassky, 1st Donskoy, 2nd Donskoy, Donetsk, Salsky, Ust-Medveditsky and Khopersky. There were also two civil districts: Rostov and Taganrog. Now these are Rostov, Volgograd regions, the Republic of Kalmykia in Russia, Lugansk, Donetsk regions in Ukraine. During the World War, the Don Cossack army deployed 60 cavalry regiments, 136 individual hundreds and fifty, 6 foot battalions, 33 batteries and 5 reserve regiments, over 110 thousand Cossacks in total, who received more than 40 thousand orders and medals for military service in the war.
The Kuban Cossack army, was the second in terms of population, had 1, 3 million people, the year of seniority - 1696, the center of Yekaterinodar. Administratively, the Kuban region was divided into 7 military departments: Yekaterinodar, Maikop, Yeisk, Taman, Caucasian, Labinsky, Batalpashinsky. Nowadays these are Krasnodar, Stavropol Territories, the Republic of Adygea, Karachay-Cherkessia. In the First World War, 37 cavalry regiments, 2 hundreds of guards, 1 separate Cossack division, 24 Plastun battalions, 51 cavalry hundreds, 6 batteries, 12 teams, a total of 89 thousand people took part.
The Orenburg Cossack army was rightfully considered the third, the year of seniority - 1574, the center of Orenburg. It occupied 71,106 sq. versts, or 44% of the territory of the Orenburg province (165,712 sq. versts), there were 536 thousand people in it. In total, the OKW had 61 villages, 466 settlements, 533 farms and 71 settlements. The population of the army consisted of 87% of Russians and Ukrainians, 6, 8% of Tatars, 3% of Nagaybaks, 1% of Bashkirs, 0.5% of Kalmyks, a little stayed in the army of the Chuvash, Poles, Germans and French. There were 4 military districts: Orenburg, Verkhneuralsky, Troitsky and Chelyabinsk. Nowadays these are Orenburg, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan regions in Russia, Kustanai in Kazakhstan. In the First World War, 16 regiments, a hundred of guards, 2 separate hundreds, 33 special cavalry hundreds, 7 artillery batteries, three foot local teams, a total of 27 thousand Cossacks were called up.
Ural Cossack army, year of seniority - 1591, center of Uralsk. The Ural army had 30 villages, 450 villages and farms, 166 thousand people of both sexes lived in them. Now it is the Ural, Guryev (Atyrau) regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Orenburg region of Russia. In wartime, the army exhibited 9 cavalry regiments, 3 spare and 1 guards cavalry hundreds, in total about 12 thousand Cossacks. Unlike others, service in the army lasted 22 years: upon reaching 18 years of age, the Cossacks were assigned to a two-year internal service, then 15 years of field service and 5 years of internal service again. Only after that the Urals were sent off to the militia.
Terek Cossack army, seniority year - 1577, center of Vladikavkaz. The Terek army numbered 255 thousand people of both sexes. Administratively, the Terek region was divided into 4 departments: Pyatigorsk, Mozdok, Kizlyar and Sunzhensky. There were also 6 non-military districts in the region. Nowadays it is the Stavropol Territory, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Chechnya, Dagestan. In the WWI, 12 cavalry regiments, 2 Plastun regiments, 2 batteries, 2 guards hundreds, 5 spare hundreds, 15 teams, and only 18 thousand Cossacks, half became Georgievsky cavaliers, and officers - all took part.
Astrakhan Cossack army, center of Astrakhan, now the Astrakhan region, Republic of Kalmykia. The army included 37 thousand people of both sexes. Seniority has been established since 1750, but the history of the army goes back centuries to the times of the Golden Horde. This city (Astra Khan - Star of Khan) was founded as a port and resort in those ancient times and was of great importance. The army put up 3 cavalry regiments and a hundred cavalry.
The Siberian Cossack army, the year of seniority - 1582, the center of Omsk, in its composition had 172 thousand people. The Siberian line of fortresses continued the largest Orenburg defensive line along the Tobol, Irtysh and other Siberian rivers. In total, the army consisted of 53 villages, 188 settlements, 437 farmsteads and 14 settlements. Nowadays these are Omsk, Kurgan regions, Altai Territory in Russia, North Kazakhstan, Akmola, Kokchetav, Pavlodar, Semipalatinsk, East Kazakhstan regions in Kazakhstan. During the First World War, 11, 5 thousand Cossack troops took part in the battles, comprising 9 cavalry regiments, a fifty guards, four hundreds of cavalry in a foot battalion and three batteries.
Semirechye Cossack army, center Verny, the army consisted of 49 thousand people. Like the Siberians, the Sevens were the descendants of the pioneers and conquerors of Siberia and have been leading their seniority since 1582. Cossacks lived in 19 villages and in 15 settlements. Nowadays it is Almaatinskaya and Chui oblasts of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In WWI, 4, 5 thousand Cossacks participated: 3 cavalry regiments, 11 separate hundreds.
Transbaikal Cossack army, year of seniority - 1655, center of Chita, 265 thousand people of both sexes lived in the army. Nowadays it is the Trans-Baikal Territory, the Republic of Buryatia. More than 13 thousand people took part in WWI: fifty horse guards, 9 cavalry regiments, 5 horse artillery batteries, 3 spare hundreds.
Small troops of the Amur and Ussuriysk carried the border service with such a large state as China, and this was their main occupation. The Amur Cossack Host, the center of Blagoveshchensk, (now the Amur Region, Khabarovsk Territory), was formed in 1858 from the Trans-Baikal Cossacks resettled here. Later, some of the Amur Cossacks were moved to Ussuri, where in 1889 the new Cossack community was organizationally formed as the Ussuri Cossack army, the center of Iman (now Primorsky, Khabarovsk Territory). Therefore, both troops have been leading their seniority since 1655, like the Transbaikal. The Amur army numbered about 50 thousand people of both sexes, in the Ussuriysk one 34 thousand. In WWI, the Amurians put up 1 cavalry regiment and 3 hundred, the Ussurians - a three-hundredth cavalry division. In addition, the Yenisei and Irkutsk troops were formed and they put up 1 cavalry regiment each. There was also a separate Yakut Cossack regiment. Already during the war, at the beginning of 1917, the Euphrates Cossack army began to form, mainly from the Armenians, but the formation of this army was interrupted by the February Revolution. All the Cossack troops in the east, with the exception of the Ural Host, were formed by the decision of the Russian government. The border line of the Cossack regions stretched from the Don to the Ussuri River. Even after the entry of Central Asia and Transcaucasia into Russia, the Cossack settlements remained in the occupied territories, retained a special internal structure, made up a special category of irregular troops and in peacetime sent a certain number of troops to serve. Cossack troops entered the war according to the established order of mobilization. With the declaration of war, all the Cossack units grew in regiments of the second and third stages, and the number of Cossack troops tripled. In total, during the First World War, the Cossacks deployed 164 regiments, 177 separate and special hundreds, 27 horse-artillery battalions (63 batteries), 15 separate horse-artillery batteries, 30 Plastun battalions, spare parts, local teams. In total, the Cossacks fielded over 368 thousand people during the war years: 8 thousand officers and 360 thousand lower ranks. Cossack regiments and hundreds were distributed between army formations or formed separate Cossack divisions. Along with separate Cossack divisions that existed in peacetime, 8 separate Cossack divisions and several separate brigades were created in wartime. Officers for the Cossack troops, in addition to general military schools, were trained in the Novocherkassk, Orenburg, Irkutsk and Stavropol Cossack military schools. The commanding staff up to and including regimental commanders was of Cossack origin, the command of the formations was appointed in the general army order.
Rice. 4 Seeing the Cossack to the front
The economic situation in the Cossack regions on the eve of the war was very decent. The Cossacks had about 65 million acres of land, of which 5, 2% were in the possession of owners, landowners and senior officers, 67% in the communal ownership of the villages and 27, 8% of the military reserve land for growing Cossacks and common land (water resources, minerals, forests and pastures). At the beginning of the XX century, on average, 1 Cossack stood out: in the Don army - 14, 2; in the Kubansky - 9, 7; in Orenburg - 25, 5; in Terskiy - 15, 6; in Astrakhan - 36, 1; in the Ural region - 89, 7; in Siberian - 39, 5; in Semirechensky - 30, 5; in Transbaikal - 52, 4; in Amur - 40, 3; in Ussuriysk - 40, 3 tithes of land. Among the Cossacks, there was inequality: 35% of the Cossack farms of all troops were considered poor, 40% were middle and about 25% were rich. However, the numbers were different for different troops. So in OKW, poor households accounted for 52%, middle peasants - 26%, rich - 22%, and farms sowing up to 5 dessiatines were 33.4%, up to 15 dessiatines - 43.8%, over 15 dessiatines - 22.8% of farms. but they sowed 56.3% of the total sowing wedge. Despite the stratification, in general, the Cossack farms compared to the peasants were more prosperous, full-blooded and multi-land. At the same time, the conscription of the Cossacks exceeded the conscription falling on the rest of the population of Russia by about 3 times: 74.5% of the Cossacks of draft age were recruited, against 29.1% among non-Cossacks. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Cossacks developed a rapid development among the Cossacks, neighboring, related, marketing, industrial cooperation, when equipment and mechanisms were bought and used "in a pool", and the work was carried out collectively, "to help".
Rice. 5 Cossacks at the mow
In the framework of neighboring and related cooperation in 1913, for every 2-3 Cossack farms in the Orenburg region, there was 1 harvester. In addition, OKW had 1702 seeders and 4008 winnowing machines. Wealthy farms used steam boilers, locomotives, winches and conveyors. To facilitate the conditions for the acquisition of machines and mechanisms, the military economic directorates began to purchase them at the expense of military capital and allocate them to Cossack farms on the basis of a preferential loan. During the first decade of the twentieth century, only in OKV, the Cossacks were given credit: 489 one-and-tenth and 106 two-legged plows, 3296 hay-mowers, 3212 horse rakes, 859 reapers, 144 hay-throwers, 70 threshers and many other equipment and spare parts. The quality of tillage has improved and labor productivity has increased. The horse seeder reduced the consumption of seeds from 8 to 6 poods per tithe, increased the yield from 80 to 100 poods per tithe, one of which replaced 10 sowers with a basket. An ordinary reaper for a working day harvested grain on an area of 5-6 acres and replaced the labor of 20 mowers. The yield has increased. In 1908, 22 million poods of grain were harvested in the Chelyabinsk and Troitsk districts, incl. 14 million poods of high quality durum (pasta) wheat. The yield was more than 80 poods per tithe, which was enough to feed families and livestock, and some of it was exported to the market. Livestock breeding played a huge role in the Cossack farms. Particularly favorable conditions for this were in the North Caucasus and the Urals, where horse breeding, dairy and beef cattle breeding and sheep breeding developed well. On the basis of cooperation in the Urals and Siberia, the butter industry has developed rapidly. If in 1894 there were only 3 creameries, then in 1900 there were already 1000, in 1906 about 2000, in 1913 - 4229, a significant part of them were in Cossack villages. This led to the rapid development of dairy farming, a sharp improvement in the breed of the herd and an increase in its productivity. Along with dairy farming, horse breeding was developed. The main driving force in the Cossack farms was horses and bulls, so these industries developed especially. Each farm had 3-4 working horses, 1-2 combat horses, and by 1917, on average, there were about 5 horses per yard. In the OKW, 8% of farms were without working horses, 40% of farms had 1-2 heads and 22% of farms had 5 or more heads, on average, there were 197 horses for every 100 Cossacks. The number of these horses did not include combat horses; they were forbidden to be used in agricultural work. In the Urals and Siberia, fighting horses of the Bashkir and Kirghiz breeds predominated in herds, in the Don horses of the Orlov and Don breeds, in the Kuban, in addition, horses of the Caucasian breeds were widely used. Every self-respecting Cossack had to have at least one specially trained and trained combat horse.
Rice. 6, 7, 8 Training of Cossack battle horses
In the stanitsas, herds of horses were kept private, public and military. The horses were raised mainly from local breeds, but some enthusiasts bred and raised Tekin, Arab and English horses. Excellent riding horses were obtained from crossing an English horse with an Arab - Anglo-Arabs. Our steppe horses, improved with English blood, also produced excellent mongrels. By 1914, the number of stud farms increased to 8,714. They numbered 22,300 thoroughbred stallions and 213,208 queens. Despite such an enviable economic situation, the collection of the Cossacks for service was accompanied by large economic costs, more than half of the family's income was spent on the purchase of a horse and justice. To partially compensate for these expenses, 100 rubles were allocated from the treasury for each recruit. Allowances were not given to the Cossacks, but were given to the stanitsas, which acquired a horse and equipment. Numerous flocks of sheep and goats also grazed in the fields. At the beginning of the twentieth century, not only wind and water mills, but also steam mills, were already operating in the villages. Crafts were of great importance in the Cossack farms, where they flourished, the stanitsa were the richest. Viticulture and winemaking flourished on the Terek, Kuban and Don, and traditional Cossack trades were well developed in all the troops: beekeeping, fishing, hunting and hunting. Mining industries were especially developed in the Urals. For example, 3,500 people worked at the Kochkar mine of the Anonymous Gold Mining Society (the village of Koelskaya OKV). The richest was the village of Magnitnaya (now Magnitogorsk), whose Cossacks from time immemorial were engaged in the extraction and transportation of iron ore to the Beloretsk factories. The Orenburg Cossacks achieved great success in such a skillful craft as knitting down shawls, scarves, veils, sweaters and gloves. Down knitting flourished in all divisions of the army; to obtain down, special breeds of "down goats" were bred. Bazaars were regularly held in the villages on Thursdays and Saturdays, and fairs were held twice a year, in January and June. Some fairs, for example Troitskaya, were of All-Russian significance. But all this peaceful prosperity, with the outbreak of the war, remained in the past. The war distracted the healthiest and most efficient part of the Cossacks from the economy for a long time. Having sent several young and strong Cossacks to the front, the Cossack farms wore down and fell into decay, and some even went bankrupt. To support the families of the mobilized Cossacks, they began to be given state allowances and were allowed to use the labor of prisoners of war. From an economic point of view, this had a certain positive significance, but at the same time, in conditions of a shortage of young healthy men in the villages, it created difficult moral problems. However, Russia knew in its history much more severe and tragic military-economic tests and came out of them with dignity if it was headed by a strong-willed and purposeful leader who knew how to unite the people and the elite around him. But that was not the case.
On July 19, according to the old style, early in the morning in all parts of the Russian army, a telegram was received with a declaration of war by Germany, which served as the beginning of hostilities. It should be said that the hopes of the tsar and the government for the awakening of patriotic and national feelings were at first fully justified. Riots and strikes ceased at once, patriotic upsurge unfeignedly engulfed the masses, loyal demonstrations were everywhere. The explosion of patriotism at the start of the War was incredible. The boys fled to the front in thousands. At the Pskov station alone, more than 100 teenagers were removed from military echelons in a month. Three future marshals of the USSR, then not subject to conscription, fled from home and took part in battles. Alexander Vasilevsky for the sake of the front left the theological seminary, Rodion Malinovsky in Odessa hid in a military train and left for the front, Konstantin Rokossovsky appeared to the commander of the unit that entered Poland, and after a few days became a knight of St. George.
Rice. 9, 10 Young Cossack Heroes of the Great War
Order and organization in the mobilization (more than 96% of those to be conscripted came to the mobilization points), the clear work of the rear and the railways, once again revived the coveted faith in the unity of the people in the ruling elite. The Russian, like three other powerful empires, boldly and decisively walked into the traps set for them, while being seized by general euphoria. But that's a completely different story.
Rice. 11 Mobilization of reservists in St. Petersburg, 1914
