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The Russian Army in 1854 - Part 1

© John Barham

When war broke out with Turkey in October 1853, the Russian Regular Army was nearly 700,000 strong. There were a further 200,000 or so in the Reserves, some 150,000 in the Corps of the Interior, and 250,000 Irregulars. This added up to a huge conglomerate of one and a third million men potentially under arms, which on the face of it totally dwarfed the potential force that the allies could put into the field.

In practice however the number of troops available to confront the allied armies with any measure of effectiveness was nothing like that figure. The Reserve Army was principally made up of time served ex-regulars with no desire to embark on further active service, and raw untrained recruits. The Corps of the Interior was deployed along the long farflung frontiers of the Empire, and on internal policing. The Irregulars were Cossack light cavalry, renowned horsemen but notoriously unpredictable and often unreliable. The Regular Army itself had major ongoing commitments. In the Army of the Caucasus, against the ever rebellious Chechens and other mountain race dissidents, some 200,000 were deployed. Other substantial garrisons had to be maintained; in the Baltic area to defend against the threat of seaborne invasion, in Poland to keep down the revolutionary Poles, and safeguarding the approaches from Austria. This left around 150,000 available for service in the Crimea. In addition there was no railway network south of Moscow, and the few roads were poor and often impassable for at least six months of the year. In fact the allies could move men and supplies from their home bases far quicker than the Russians could. Numerical superiority would not be a factor in the War.

The Regular Army was organised on a conventional European-type basis. The Guards and the Grenadier Corps, each of three infantry divisions, comprised the elite - Tsar Nicholas retained them in their entirety for the defence of St Petersburg throughout the War. The main infantry arm comprised six corps, each of three divisions. The divisions were numbered consecutively through from 1 to 18, and were between 15 -17,000 strong. Each had one brigade of Infantrymen and one brigade of Jägers, or Riflemen. The difference was that the Infanteers carried muskets and the Jägers would all carry rifles when sufficient became available. There were two regiments per brigade, each with a strength of around 4000, and each composed of four regular battalions commanded by Lieut Colonels or Majors. There were 215 infantry Generals, mostly long service qualified, and many could be found down commanding Regiments, as well as full Colonels.

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