Zvezda 8018 Guards cossacks of year 1812

The Russian army at the end of the 18th century was probably the largest and arguably one of the strongest armies in Europe. During the reign of Catherine II the Great (1762-1796), she won several important victories in the course of the wars with Turkey, won the war with Poland in 1792 and was instrumental in suppressing the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794. Also in the course of the wars with revolutionary France (1792-1799), she did not show her wrong side. However, the defeats at Austerlitz (1805) and at Iława Pruska and especially at Frydland (1807) forced changes in the Russian army, which also affected its cavalry, including the Cossacks. At the very beginning, it is worth pointing out that the Cossack units at that time were treated in the Russian army as irregular, intended primarily for the conduct of the widely understood so-called "Little war", especially insurance of the marches of the army or patrol service. However, they were also used in battles, an example of which is the Battle of Borodino in 1812. The armament of the soldiers of these units was heterogeneous and showed considerable differences between the regiments concerned. In general, however, most of the Cossacks were armed with a lance and a saber. As additional weapons were used cavalry guns transported in olsters, the number of which, however, was not strictly defined. Most often, the Cossack regiment was divided into five sotnias. For example, the regiment of the Don Cossacks had 591 people on a "full-time" basis. On the other hand, two or three regiments were formed into a brigade, which in turn were often assigned to regular troops.