Life and traditions of the imperial Russian guard. Guards units in the army: foundation, history. Badge "Guard" Russian Imperial Guard

Science and technology unusual phenomena nature monitoring Author sections Opening history extreme world Info Help File archive Discussions Services Infofront Information NF OKO RSS export useful links

Important Topics

Andrey Marynyak

With an aiguillette - fall or win
Life and traditions of the Imperial Russian Guard
(magazine "Motherland")

The Imperial Russian Guard by the end of the 19th century was the largest of the "guards" of the world: three infantry and two cavalry divisions, the Rifle and Separate Cavalry Brigades and the corresponding artillery units made up about 4 percent of the Imperial Army.
Its officer corps was completed according to certain rules, representatives of many noble families served in various regiments from generation to generation. “The officers looked at the regiment as if they were their second family when they were married, and when they were single, as if they were the only one. Among the officers there were those who numbered 10, 15 and 20 representatives of their kind in the same composition.

Royalists and stove-makers

The main condition for leaving the military school for the guards regiment, in addition to the vacancy and the “guards score”, was the general consent of the officers of the regiment to receive a new comrade in their environment. The senior cadet informed his intention to the junior officer or adjutant of the regiment, who, in turn, submitted his candidacy to the society of officers, usually headed by a senior colonel. If the junker who received the consent of the officers did not reach the guards score, he, as a rule, took an army vacancy and ended up in the guards regiment as seconded for a year. Since the question of admission to the regiment was decided by a closed ballot, a cadet who was not accepted into one regiment could try his luck in another. The reasons for the refusal were very diverse: from origin and debts to performing on stage, even in an amateur theater. We also note that there were regiments, which traditionally, in the overwhelming majority, included cadets of one school. So, those who graduated from the Corps of Pages were completed with the Cavalry Guards, the Life Guards Preobrazhensky and the Life Guards of the 4th Rifle Regiment of the Imperial Family, the cadets of the Pavlovsk Military School made up the majority of the officers of the Life Guards of the Pavlovsky Regiment.
Another unspoken limitation for the officers of the Guard was the financial side. According to a number of contemporaries, service in the cuirassier regiments of the 1st Guards Cavalry Division demanded from a young officer at least 3,000 rubles a year in addition to the salary, and twice as much in the Life Guards Hussar. Therefore, the junkers, on their first visit to the regiment, or young officers immediately upon enrollment in the lists, were asked in advance to measure their financial capabilities with the life worthy of a guards officer.
“In all matters, official and private,” recalled the root officer of the Life Guards of the Jaeger Regiment, the General Staff, Major General B.V. Gerua, “the dignity of the regiment stood for everyone in the first place. Rubbish was not taken out of the hut, the commander - whatever he was - was supported as a representative of the regiment, they piously observed the established regimental customs and "climbed out of their skin" if it was necessary to show that the life rangers in this or that area are at the right height " 3.
The tete-a-tete conversation between the senior colonel of the Life Guards of Her Majesty's Cuirassier Regiment E.N. - The cuirassier regiment did you a great honor by accepting you as officers in their midst. Yesterday you put on the officer epaulettes of the Cuirassier Regiment. I - your senior colonel - demand from you that - wherever you are - you do not for a minute forget that you have the officer insignia of our regiment on your shoulders. These shoulder straps oblige you ... Yes, these shoulder straps oblige anyone who has the honor to wear them to worthy deeds, decency and decency. Remember that in the eyes of society and the world, your every unseemly act or even gesture will be attributed not so much to your personality as to the entire regiment, because a regiment that has accepted an officer into its environment thereby guarantees his decency and good breeding. An officer who does not know how to protect his dignity and the dignity of the regiment, an officer who does not know how to behave, the regiment will not tolerate in his midst.
The senior staff officer or regiment commander, if he was a native officer of the unit, congratulating young lieutenants or cornets on such an important event as the beginning of officer service, at the same time warned: “There are people who look at the regiment as if it were a passage yard. He served for three years, found himself a pleasant place and left. We don't need these. Only those who have decided to serve in the Regiment all their lives, up to the rank of colonel, should come out to us, and if a war happens, then die in its ranks. Not guest performers. We need those for whom outside the regiment not only service, but life is impossible. Do you understand me?<...>It was hard not to understand when an example of regimental patriotism spoke to us. 26 years old in regimental uniform, from lower rank to colonel.
The impoverishment of the layer that completed the officer corps of the Guard began to have a strong effect by the beginning of the 20th century. An indicator of this was a large "staff turnover" in many regiments. Officers went to the Academy (usually the General Staff) for civil service, retired or transferred to the army. To prevent this process, scholarships (from 600 to 750 rubles a year) were introduced for some of the best students of military educational institutions, and in the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment, for example, at the expense of the lands of the former imperial gardens6, it became possible not only to remove from officers the burden of "public" expenses, but also start paying subsidies to those most in need from the funds received from the sale of these lands. At the same time, a movement began in the regiments to reduce the cost of living for guards officers. So, in the Life Guards Semenovsky Regiment, they were divided into "stove-makers" and "royalists" (sitting during general meetings, respectively, at the stove and at the piano). If the former advocated a modest lifestyle, the latter insisted on the need to maintain "guards chic". “It is absolutely impossible to indicate on what grounds this division occurred. In the "royalists", along with wealthy people, there were quite a few relative goloshtanniks and people of the most modest origin, while at the same time as in the "stove-makers" there were several house owners and officers who entered the largest St. Petersburg living rooms. It happened that of two brothers, one was a “royalist” and the other a “stove-maker”7. The main "debate" was about spending that did not directly affect the life of the regiment. So, for example, a request came to the regiment to donate money for a monument to Alexander II, which the village assembly decided to erect in its village of Uspensky, Yaroslavl province. Naturally, it was decided not to make donations on behalf of the regiment, but those who wish to engage in patronage should be granted such a right.
Maintaining a “worthy” life for a guardsman was a big burden on the officer's pocket. According to tradition, officers were supposed to visit only first-class restaurants, travel only in first-class carriages, and in the city - on “decent” cabs. Tailoring of uniforms required a lot of money (and in the cavalry, in addition, the cost of their own horse and its maintenance), constant deductions for the officers' meeting, numerous dinners, regimental holidays, receptions, gifts for officers leaving the regiment, theaters (where it was supposed to take places no further than a certain parterre row or a separate box) ...
With the expansion of the “sphere of entertainment” in Russia, and especially in the capital, at the beginning of the 20th century, it became necessary to officially regulate public places where an officer was allowed to visit, and where his presence was strictly forbidden.

"one. To all Messrs. officers in St. Petersburg are unconditionally forbidden to visit:
1) Private clubs and assemblies where gambling is carried out.
Note. gg. officers do not have the right to join private clubs and societies without the permission of their direct superiors. As guests of officers are allowed unconditionally to attend the following clubs: 1) Imperial Yacht Club; 2) Imperial River Yacht Club; 3) English Club; 4) New Club; 5) Noble Assembly; 6) Noble Assembly; 7) Merchant Assembly; 8) Railway Club; 9) Theater Club; 10) Agricultural Club.
2) "Variety" - Fontanka, 81 (winter cafe-chantan).
3) "Cafe - de - Paris" - a coffee shop under the Passage on Nevsky Prospekt.
4) "Eden" - a summer pleasure garden, Glazovaya st., No. 23.
5) "Yar" - a restaurant on Bolshoy pr. Petersburg stor.
6) Small cinemas.
7) Restaurants and hotels of the lowest ranks.
8) All taverns in general, tea, kitchen, coffee, beer, porter, as well as class III buffets at railway stations. From Order No. 13 (1911) for the troops of the Guards and the St. Petersburg Military District8.

Membership in some clubs (such as the Imperial Yacht Club) was considered a matter of regimental prestige. The number of restaurants "acceptable" for officers to visit (according to tradition, not purse) was rather limited. The standard group consisted of “Kyuba”, “Donon”, “Bear” and “Contan”, where, “having taken a table for breakfast, lunch or dinner, it was necessary to demand a bottle or “wine”, that is, a bottle of champagne (this is a minimum), which cost 12 rubles (in the collection of the regiment - 6 rubles. - A.M.)9. And this is with a junior officer's salary of about 100 rubles, along with housing allowances.
Rotation in high society, rapid promotion, guards privileges by no means relieved officers of responsibility for the accurate performance of service and maintaining the proper professional level. The guardsmen were required to be superior in military training compared to other parts of the Imperial Army.
As a result of constant control by the authorities and the awareness by the regiments themselves of the need to be “first”, the guards infantry always beat out “above excellent” in shooting, and the artillery inspector general, under the watchful eye of the artillery, did not lag behind. book. Sergei Mikhailovich guards artillery, both light and cavalry. The preparation of the guards cavalry since the time of his general inspectorate was vigilantly monitored by the commander-in-chief - he led. book. Nikolai Nikolaevich. Equestrian sport in general was widely used in the Imperial Russian Army at the beginning of the 20th century. Officers-guards took many prizes at international competitions.

Samovar

His own selection, but naturally according to rules other than for officers, was also for the lower ranks of the Guard. In addition to well-known physical data (health, height), favorite “types” have long been formed in the regiments: for example, the Pavlovsky Life Guards Regiment took snub-nosed ones, redheads with beards went to the Moscow Life Guards ... Nevertheless, given that recruits were selected almost at two a dozen regiments, at the "breakdown" in the Mikhailovsky Manege, there were often disputes between regimental commanders asking the commander in chief or corps commander to appoint one or another "recruit" in their regiment.
In contrast to the officers, for the lower ranks, service in the Guard was more profitable than the army in material terms: an ordinary guardsman received a salary twice as much as his army comrade, he was fed very well (in addition to a more than satisfying general diet, it was far from uncommon to add to the soldier’s cauldron at the expense of company and especially squadron commanders), wore a beautiful uniform. “For the occasion, it will be said that for all parades and reviews, as well as exercises and maneuvers in the Highest Presence, all guards soldiers received 1 ruble, corporals 1 ruble 50 kopecks each, junior non-commissioned officers 3 rubles each, senior non-commissioned officers officers 5 rubles each, a commander in active service 10 rubles each, and overtime officers - 25 rubles each from His Majesty. The musicians of all guards regiments in general could be considered quite wealthy people, as they could play at charity bazaars, in theaters. Moreover, the performance cost from 300 to 500 rubles, and calls to officer feasts also gave a considerable profit. In the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment, for example, an officer paid 25 rubles for each such call to the "trumpeters' choir", while the performance of favorite melodies was paid separately. At the same time, the adjutant of the regiment, which was in charge of the trumpet team, paid the headquarters trumpeter a salary of 60 rubles a month from his personal funds (that is, the salary of an army second lieutenant (cornet), however, without additives). Extra-conscripts and "specialists" received unofficial salaries from their officers: the senior regimental clerk - from the regimental adjutant, the clerk for the economic part - from the regimental treasurer, the regimental weapons master - from the weapons manager ...
Going on vacation, the guards were not averse to showing off the advantages of their position to their fellow villagers. A complete sensation was made by the arrivals home of the guards cuirassiers, who received the nickname "samovar" (according to the external "similarity" of a shiny cuirass with a samovar) or "funeral cavalry" (for frequent participation, especially the 1st brigade of the division - Cavalry Guards and Horse Guards - in the funeral of retired generals). One of the officers recalled: “They (cuirassiers. - A. M.) were released (on vacation. - A. M.) in helmets with grenada, in tunics, overcoats, with broadswords. Most secretly took, for a reward to the captain of the squadron, an eagle and bought monograms for shoulder straps that they put on at home. In frank conversations, they, choking, told how they saluted and even went to the front, not only the lower ranks, but almost officers of the army infantry, in county towns, seeing them riding the best cab in the city, in a helmet with an eagle and a tunic , with monograms and a broadsword, mistaking them for the Grand Dukes !!! In the church, they stood in front so that all the people could see them. They loved to flaunt ... "10
A special layer was made up of super-enlisted sergeant majors and sergeants, especially old men who had served in the regiments for several decades. “In each guards regiment, in addition to inanimate relics - banners, standards and St. George's trumpets, which reminded officers and soldiers of the glorious military past of their regiments, there were also living relics - super-ensigns who had served in the regiment for thirty or more years, who were witnesses of various historical events and jealously guarding the old regimental customs. These old men, many of whom had “broken off” the campaign for the Balkans with their regiments, kept to their separate caste, sometimes not letting even younger “extra-enlisted” ones in, believing that after the Turkish war “soldiers were not taught anything worthwhile”. Making up a real "regimental aristocracy", they could well afford to be offended by senior officers if they forgot to personally pay their respects at their name days and other family celebrations.
Being respected people, the old people had a number of honorary duties that were exclusively their prerogative. In the Life Guards Horse Grenadier Regiment, for example, there were six such veterans who had more than 25 years of long-term service behind them and were awarded St. George's crosses, numerous medals and foreign orders. The regiment officer recalled: “The regiment commander and all the officers called them by their first and patronymic names, and even the Sovereign, greeting Maslennikov and Geychenko at parades, called them Kirill Yakovlevich and Stepan Ivanovich. Each of these old men had traditional duties that they performed on solemn occasions. Sinegubkin and Maslennikov, during the days of regimental holidays, brought the first “trial portion” to the Sovereign, and the second - a silver glass of vodka, and Geychenko controlled the regimental song books when they sang in front of the Tsar or other distinguished guests.
The old men treated the young officers with condescending disdain, and although they showed them the respect required by the charter, they did not take them into account at all. And Maslennikov even considered his squadron commander, who served 15 years in the regiment of the captain, as a boy, because the captain, whose father also commanded the 6th squadron at one time, was born when Kirill Yakovlevich was already wearing two chevrons (silver corners on his left sleeve) for overtime service" 12.
During their service in the Guards, the long-term servicemen could save up quite a large amount, which was quite enough to "bring out" their children. So the already mentioned "treasury captain" Ivan Alekseevich Sinegubkin's eldest son and son-in-law were officers of one of the infantry regiments, and the youngest son was a communications engineer. Often, "extra-term" acquired real estate with earned money (for example, summer cottages in the vicinity of St. Petersburg, the delivery of which for the summer gave a good income).

Button-savior

The regiments of the Guards sacredly observed their traditions and remembered their history.
Various moments in the life of the regiment were reflected not only on the St. George banners and standards, in the windows of the regimental museums and in the atmosphere of the officers' meeting, but also in the elements of the form of the guards units, the features of the system. The “little things” that were obscure to an outsider were significant and expensive for fellow soldiers.
For a long time, the regiments of the "Peter's Brigade" - the Life Guards Preobrazhensky and the Life Guards Semenovsky were the only ones whose officers wore badges, which indicated the dates of the founding of the regiments, the 150th anniversary of the Guards and the 200th anniversary of the founding of the regiments. On the "captain's" signs, the date of the battle near Narva was also added, and in the 1st company of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, the date of the enthronement of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, in memory of the decisive role played in this by the grenadier company of the regiment, the future Life Company. These signs were a source of pride and served as "advertising" regiments. So the Semyonov officers, convincing the Pavlon cadet of the advantage of going to their regiment, said: “We are the “Peter's Brigade” ... And you will wear a badge ... In the entire Russian army there are only two regiments that have it ... Transfigurators and we...”13.
In the Life Guards of the Izmailovsky regiment, there was a traditional sewing of a uniform in the form of a braided female braid. According to legend, when, at the foundation of the regiment in 1730, the Empress Anna Ioannovna was asked what kind of sewing to bestow on the new guards regiment, the empress, who was engaged in the morning toilet, pointed to her scythe, and the issue was resolved. The charm of a beautiful legend was so great that for a long time no one paid attention to the fact that there was simply nowhere to put sewing on the uniform of that time, which actually appeared only in 1800 and was probably adopted from the Prussian guards grenadier battalion.
At the beginning of the century, the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment regained first sewing, and then the aiguillettes on the right shoulder, granted to the regiment in 1775 to distinguish itself from other grenadier regiments for the valor shown by the regiment during the Russian-Turkish war. The regimental march contained the following lines:
Otherwise, it is impossible for a grenadier to be,
Axelbant calls us to fall or win.
With the words of this march in 1915, Colonel Moravsky, the Life Grenadier, led his 2nd battalion to attack, whom everyone in the regiment, both officers and soldiers, called "Uncle Sasha." The opponent of the Life Grenadier in this battle was the best regiment of the German Guard - the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment of Emperor Alexander I. The battalion, picking up the march, went to the German machine guns, the position was taken, the mortally wounded "Uncle Sasha" died on the crest of the German trench.
The regiments of the Life Guards Pavlovsky and the Life Guards of the 4th Infantry of the Imperial Family stood out sharply against the background of the rest of the guards infantry. Grenadier caps were the first to be retained for distinction in the battle of Preussisch-Eylau, when 500 people were out of action. While the rest of the army was introducing shakos, on November 13, 1808, by the highest order of Emperor Alexander I, the names of the owners were carved on the "grenadiers". Thus, the Pavlovsk Life Guards Regiment, until the revolution of 1917, remained the only regiment that had a headdress of the beginning of the 19th century, and the regiment kept 532 “nominal” grenadiers, about which A. S. Pushkin said: “The radiance of these copper hats, shot through and through in battle ... ". In memory of the exploits of the regiment in the Napoleonic Wars, the Pavlovtsy marched in parades holding rifles “on hand”, as if going on the attack, while all other regiments, according to the charter, carried guns “on their shoulders”.
The Life Guards of the 4th Rifle Regiment of the Imperial Family, formed in 1854 from specific peasants, in 1856 received the rights of the Young Guard. Initially, he received a different form from other parts, which should resemble the Russian national costume: a caftan fastened obliquely and a hat (something in between a Polish confederate and a coachman's hat) with a militia cross. The regiment retained this uniform, with minor changes, until 1917 (naturally, only as a dress uniform), and there was no collar on the half-caftan of the 1906 model, but a crimson (the color of the rifle units of the Imperial Army) kosovorotka appeared.
The guards cavalry did not lag behind their infantry. The receipt by the Life Guards Horse Regiment of the Star of the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called for elements of uniforms and equipment, which later became the emblem of the entire Russian Guard, was firmly associated in the regiment with the tragic events of March 11, 1801: the guard of the Horse Guards, at the insistence of Palen, was removed by Emperor Paul, who paid for it with their lives. The Horse Guards were the only regiment whose officers did not participate in the conspiracy, and, at the insistence of Empress Maria Feodorovna, they received stars with the order's motto: "For Faith and Loyalty."
The officers of the Life Guards of His Majesty's Cuirassier Regiment on the collar of their tunics retained the button canceled in other cuirassier regiments. She is “on the tunic of L.Gv. The Podolsky Cuirassier Regiment ... saved the life of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich - the Viceroy in the Kingdom of Poland and the Chief of the Regiment: the bullet of the Pole, who shot at the Grand Duke, changed direction, hitting the button on the collar of the tunic "14. Subsequently, the Life Guards Cuirassier Regiment of His Majesty accepted into its ranks the Podolsky cuirassiers, and with them a yellow applied cloth and a button on the tunic collar.
The officers of the Life Guards of His Majesty's Hussar Regiment wore tashki with an unfinished pattern. According to legend, Empress Catherine II embroidered the tashka and, not having time to finish the work, she died. Since then, in memory of the Empress, under whom the regiment was formed, the officers of the regiment wore the “unfinished” tashka.
Like all other regiments of the Imperial Russian Army, units of the Guard also had their own holidays: regimental, company, squadron and battery. In St. Petersburg and its environs, regimental holidays have always been celebrated with great pomp, which is quite natural: they were always attended by members of the Imperial Family, many of whom were Chiefs, served or were listed in the lists of guard units, the emperor himself always tried to be present at the regimental holidays of his Guard. After 1905, visits by the sovereign to officers' meetings "simply", without any special official reasons, and even without security guards, became more frequent. Knowing perfectly well the customs and traditions of his Guard, Nicholas II often sat up with officers until the morning, discussing various episodes of military service over a glass of wine.
To keep the regiment in touch with its officers, even if they left the regiment, “comradely dinners” were regularly held. Usually they were held once a month, but in the richer regiments - weekly (in the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment they even had the special name of "Thursday" dinners). Officers could be absent from these regimental meetings only due to illness and with the permission of the senior colonel, who in each regiment was the legislator and guardian of the internal regimental life and whose authority was almost higher than the regiment commander. Senior colonels were a necessary layer between the officers of the regiment and its commander, who was often appointed from the officers of another regiment, sometimes "competing". For example, during the age-old rivalry between the Cavalier Guards and the Horse Guards, it happened that the Cavalier Guards regiment was commanded by a horse guard and vice versa. The duty of regulating the internal life of the regiment and resolving all kinds of conflicts fell on the senior colonel. The introduction of young people into regimental life was charged with the duty of the senior lieutenant (cornet), who was supposed to observe the behavior of freshly promoted officers both in the regiment and outside it, to warn and guide them on the right path. At common lunches and breakfasts, he always sat on the left, "youth" flank of the table and vigilantly observed that his "subordinates" observed due decency and did not overstep the bounds of what was permitted.
Going out to the guards regiment, the officer usually ordered his silver instrument, a uniform model in the regiment, “i.e. knives, forks, spoons engraved with his name, patronymic and surname and year of issue, for which he contributed 100 rubles. Sovereigns-Chiefs of the regiment and Grand Dukes, who were listed in the lists of the regiment, were included in the lists of the regiment after leaving the post of regiment commander, had such devices. Each device was in a separate case. The highest persons were always given their instruments, and silver was mixed on purpose for all the rest, giving also the silver of old, former officers, to remind them of them. If an officer left without a gift and without a membership badge15, then his silver was returned to him, and he never again dared to cross the threshold of the meeting. If an officer, leaving the regiment, allowed his debts, discrediting the honor of the uniform of the regiment, to be paid by the officers in a pool, then the silver was returned to him. Silver was served only on solemn occasions, but not on a daily basis”16.

Thanks to strong internal foundations, historical traditions and a strict selection of officer cadres, the regiments of the Guard were the real elite of the Imperial Russian Army and proved this during the First World War. With the collapse of the Russian Empire, the Russian Imperial Guard, whose officers and soldiers fought for Russia for several more years under the national white-blue-red flag of the White Movement, also became a thing of the past and, without laying down their arms, left the Crimea in November 1920 under the command of a native officer of the Life Guards. Guards of the Horse Regiment of Baron P. N. Wrangel. Already in exile, in different countries, the officers of the guards units created regimental associations and societies and did everything to preserve for posterity the memory of the glorious deeds of the Russian guards, who faithfully served the Tsar and the Fatherland.

Notes
1. History of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. T. 3. Paris. 1964, p. 78.
2. An exception in this regard was the guards artillery. If the junkers entering the infantry and cavalry units immediately upon entering the regiment put on the uniform of the regiment, then “all the pages and junkers leaving the Guards Artillery were enlisted in the Field Artillery, that is, they put on the uniform of field artillery and only a year later, after honoring their combat superiors were transferred to parts of the Guards Artillery, when they put on the uniform of the Guards Artillery ”(Life Guards 2nd Artillery Brigade. Compiled by Gen.-m A. F. von Akkerman. Belgrade. B. g. S. 53.).
3. Gerua B. V. Memories of my life. T. 1. Paris. 1969, p. 61.
4. Trubetskoy V., Prince. Notes of a cuirassier//Our heritage. 1991. No. IV. S. 105.
5. Makarov Yu. My service in the Old Guard. 1905-1917. Peacetime and war. pp. 41-42. This is how the young lieutenants Makarov and Essen were greeted in 1905 by the commander of the Life Guards Semenov Regiment, Colonel G.A.
6. At the end of 1905, Nicholas II transferred to the ownership of the regiment a huge plot of land of the former imperial gardens near the regiment's barracks on Kirochnaya Street, in the center of St. Petersburg. By gradually selling land for development, the regiment made up a large capital (according to the Minister of War, General A.F. Rediger: "probably several million rubles").
7. Makarov Yu. Decree. op. S. 209.
8. Quoted. By: Scout. 1911 No. 1067.
9. Cuirassiers of His Majesty. 1902-1914. The last years of peacetime. B. m. B. g. S. 35.
10. Decree. op. pp. 72-73.
11. Voronovich N. All-seeing eye. From the life of the Russian army. New York. 1951. S. 20.
12. Ibid.
13. Pavlons - the naming of the cadets of the Pavlovsk Military School, established in the military environment, by the way, did not apply to the ranks of the Life Guards of the Pavlovsk Regiment; Makarov Yu. Decree. op. S. 35.
14. Cuirassiers ... S. 40.
15. An officer who left the regiment by decision of the society of officers, i.e., allowed himself some unseemly act that could cast a shadow on the honor of the regiment, was deprived of a regimental badge, indicating the preservation of his membership in the regimental officers' meeting and was not awarded a farewell gift from colleagues.
16. Cuirassiers ... S. 34.
Headings: former Russia
No tags

“... In order to revive and develop domestic military traditions, increase the prestige of military service and in connection with the 300th anniversary of the Russian guards, I decide:

From the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin

Military service has always been the most honorable and respected in Russia. And this is no coincidence, because throughout the thousand-year history of the Russian state, our ancestors constantly had to defend the independence and integrity of their country with weapons in their hands.

A special place among the armed defenders of the Motherland has always been occupied by the heroes of the battles, who defended the freedom and independence of the Fatherland without sparing their lives. From such people the Russian guard was created. It can be said without exaggeration that for more than three hundred years of their existence, the guardsmen have written the most memorable pages in the military chronicle of the Russian state.

The guards were traditionally called the selected, privileged, best trained and equipped part of the troops. The word "guard" basically has an ancient Gothic root, which means "guard, defend, protect." It was the core of the army, armed detachments that were directly attached to the monarch, often performing the functions of his personal guard.

The guard in Russia was established at the beginning of the reign of Peter I from the "amusing" Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments. The first mention of the Russian guards units is given in the historical annals of the Russian army in connection with the military campaigns of the Petrine troops near Azov and Narva. In the archives of the Semyonovsky regiment there is information that already in 1698 it was called the Semyonov Life Guards. In 1700, during the Narva "confusion", two guards regiments held back the onslaught of the Swedes for three hours, for which the chief officers of these regiments were awarded a special silver distinction (the oldest in Russia) with the inscription: "1700, November 19".

In the reign of Peter I, the guard was replenished mainly by nobles. The officers enjoyed privileges and had a seniority of two ranks in comparison with the army. Only after significant combat losses in the guards units did they begin to admit recruits to them and the transfer of military personnel from other units for understaffing.

Recruits-soldiers were selected for the tsarist guard by their appearance: in the Preobrazhensky regiment - the tallest and fair-haired, in Semenovsky - blonds, in Izmailovsky - brunettes, in the life huntsman - light build with any hair color. So the soldiers of the Life Guards of the Moscow regiment were red-haired, the Grenadiers - brunettes, Pavlovsky - red and snub-nosed.

From the end of the 18th century in Russia, banners began to serve as the sign of the guards regiment (previously they were considered ammunition accessories). Since that time, the guards banner has become a symbol of military honor, valor and glory. History has preserved many examples of heroic deeds under the banners of the guards.

The first naval part of the Russian Imperial Guard - the Guards Crew - was officially formed in 1810 by decree of Emperor Alexander I. The most worthy sailors and officers were selected from the fleet for staffing, such a transfer was made as a reward for distinction on the personal order of the emperor. In fact, even under Peter I, the first court rowing team was formed, which was subsequently transformed with an increase in status and the addition of new functions to the Guards crew.

In the battles of the Patriotic War of 1812, the guards covered themselves with unfading glory, setting an example of true service to the Fatherland. The feat of self-sacrifice of the cavalry guards in the battle of Austerlitz on November 20, 1805, when they went to certain death, saving the bleeding Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments from the vastly superior forces of the French cavalry that fell upon them, is inscribed in blood in the military history of the Fatherland. The Naval Guards crew as part of the ground forces also participated in the most significant battles: for Smolensk, near Borodino, near Dresden and Leipzig. In the historical Battle of Borodino on August 26, 1812, near the walls of Moscow, the sailors-guards destroyed the regiment of General Delson's division and smashed the soldiers of the French marshals Davout, Ney, Junot and Murat's cavalry with their artillery.

The first ship of the Guards crew of Russia was the 74-gun sailing battleship Azov, commanded by Captain 1st Rank M.P. Lazarev, in the future a famous naval commander. On October 8, 1827, in the famous Navarino battle of the combined fleet of Russia, England and France against the Turkish-Egyptian fleet, fighting simultaneously with five Turkish ships, Azov destroyed four, and the fifth, 80-gun battleship under the flag of the commander of the enemy fleet, forced to run aground. In this battle, the officers of "Azov" especially distinguished themselves: Lieutenant P.S. Nakhimov, midshipman V.A. Kornilov and midshipman V.I. Istomin. The highest award for successful military operations in this battle was awarded to Azov. At the end of the Crimean War, all the crews of the Black Sea Fleet (from the 29th to the 45th) were awarded St. George flags with the inscription: "For the defense of Sevastopol from September 13, 1854 to August 27, 1855."

This is how military glory was created and the traditions of the Russian guard were laid.

It became quite natural that the Russian guard, which ceased to exist in 1918, was reborn again in the terrible years of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

In fierce battles, the fighters and commanders of the Red Army demonstrated to the whole world their love for their Fatherland, their people, loyalty to the military oath. On the battlefield, they gained combat experience and frustrated the intentions of the invaders. Thus, during the Battle of Smolensk, which unfolded in mid-July 1941 in the Western strategic direction, Soviet troops forced the enemy to go on the defensive for almost two months and delayed his advance towards Moscow. This was the first strategic success of the Soviet Armed Forces. It was here, in the battles on the outskirts of Moscow, near Yelnya, in 1941, the pride of the Army - the guards - received its second birth. In the harsh time of repelling fascist aggression, it became necessary to revive the time-tested glorious tradition of the Russian army - the creation of the most skillful and courageous fighters of shock units, which were an example for all soldiers and a support for command. The Soviet Guards were sent to the most difficult sectors of the front and everywhere they carried out combat missions with honor. No wonder they said during the war: “Where the guards advance, the enemy cannot resist. Where the guard is defending, the enemy cannot pass.

In September 1941, the concept of "guard unit" was introduced in the Red Army. On May 21, 1942, for the military personnel of the guards units, the badge "Guards" was established, and for the guardsmen of the fleet - a rectangular plate with an orange moire ribbon with black longitudinal stripes. At the same time, guards military ranks were introduced in the active army.

The first ships received the rank of Guards on April 3, 1942. By order No. 72 of the People's Commissar of the Navy, Admiral Nikolai Kuznetsov, four submarines of the Northern Fleet became guards: D-3 Krasnogvardeets, submarine K-22, M-171 and M-174. From the composition of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, the destroyer Stoikiy, the mine layer Marty and the minesweeper Gafel became the first guard ships. And the largest and most powerful warship of the Black Sea Fleet - the cruiser Krasny Kavkaz - was awarded the title of Guards. For the decisive contribution to the heroic defense of Sevastopol, by Order of the Navy Naval Forces No. 138 of June 18, 1942, the 1st separate artillery battalion of the Coastal Defense of the Black Sea Fleet, which at that time included the 30th and 35th armored turret batteries, was awarded the guard rank. On the walls of the 30th battery, which died in an unequal battle, enemy soldiers wrote "... the strongest fortress in the world." The award, deserved by the high price of courage and self-sacrifice of soldiers, did not always find heroes. According to the memoirs of the last defender of the 14th coastal battery of the 2nd separate artillery battalion of the Coastal Defense of the Main Base of the Black Sea Fleet - commander of gun No. 3 sailor Teslenko G.I. - in the last days of June 1942, the 14th sniper coastal battery was presented to the rank of Guards, but the idea, apparently, was lost in the fire of the burning Sevastopol.

Numbering by the end of the war in its ranks over four thousand formations, the guard was a powerful vanguard of the Armed Forces of the USSR.

Already 76 years separate us from those September days of 1941, when the first Guards divisions appeared in the Red Army.

In the post-war years, the Soviet guards continued the glorious traditions of previous generations of guardsmen. And although in peacetime the formations were not transformed into guards, in order to preserve the combat traditions, the guards ranks of units, ships, formations and associations during the reorganization were transferred to new military units and formations with direct succession in terms of personnel. Thus, the Kantemirovskaya tank division was created on the basis of the famous 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Corps. The honorary title was retained and the corps guards banner was transferred to her. The same thing happened with the 5th Guards Mechanized Division, whose servicemen subsequently performed their military duty in Afghanistan with dignity.

Guards units and formations were located mainly at the forefront in groups of troops and border districts, and divisions, the exploits of which received special recognition, were deployed in large cities and capitals of the Union republics. A rookie soldier, coming to serve in the guards unit, with great pride accepted the badge "Guards" from the hands of the commander and swore not to shame the memory of his fathers and grandfathers.

The guardsmen who had to participate in various local wars and conflicts outside the borders of our Motherland remained worthy of the memory of their predecessors. So, in February - October 1950, in accordance with the agreement between the USSR and the PRC dated February 14, 1950, the Group of Soviet Air Defense Forces operated to repel Kuomintang air raids on the cities of the People's Republic of China. The Group, along with other units, included the 29th Guards Fighter Aviation and the 1st Guards Anti-Aircraft Searchlight Regiment. Guards pilots also had to participate in the Korean War of 1950-1953. The rocket guards demonstrated their best qualities in July-October 1962, when, during the operation "Anadyr", in the most difficult climatic conditions, a group of troops was created in Cuba, capable of preventing a probable invasion of the US armed forces on the island.

The Guards of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was the successor and continuer of the combat traditions of their predecessors. Guards Motorized Rifle Tamanskaya, Guards Tank Kantemirovskaya, 20th Guards Motorized Rifle Carpathian-Berlin Division; Guards formations of the Airborne Troops; guards Stalingrad-Korsun motorized rifle regiment ... These names still evoke memory, inspire and oblige.

The current generation of guards worthily continues the centuries-old traditions of selfless service to the Motherland and loyalty to the oath.

This was clearly manifested during the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus. The feat of the Pskov heroes-paratroopers is akin to the feats of the cavalry guards in the battle of Austerlitz in 1805 and the Panfilov heroes in the winter of 1941. airborne division took a fierce battle with many times superior forces of mercenary militants. The paratroopers did not flinch, did not retreat, fulfilled their military duty to the end, at the cost of their lives blocked the path of the enemy, showing courage, courage and heroism. The heirs of the military glory obtained by their predecessors under the walls of Narva, near Borodino, on the Shipka Pass and at Dubosekovo, they could not do otherwise: the guard does not surrender and does not retreat. From August 10 to August 23, 2008, the Guards missile cruiser Moskva, as part of a naval unit of diverse forces, took part in ensuring the peacekeeping operation Peace Enforcement, being in the eastern part of the Black Sea. Being the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia, "Moskva" actively participates in the combat training of the fleet and combat services in various parts of the World Ocean. Both paratroopers and sailors today honorably fulfilled their military duty, did not disgrace their guards rank.

Times change, people change, the names of military units change, but traditions remain unchanged. The inseparable unity of the past, present and future has been and remains one of the main sources of strength and valor of the Russian army.

The word "guard" comes from the Old Germanic or Scandinavian word Warda or Garda - to guard, protect.
Since ancient times, kings and generals had with them detachments of bodyguards, whose duties included exclusively the protection of the ruler.
Bodyguards gradually began to unite in special units, formations, and later - in selected troops.


On September 18, 1941, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Red Army introduced the concept of "guards unit".
This decision was made a few days after the Soviet troops successfully liquidated the so-called Yelnin ledge during World War II.
The Yelninskaya operation is an army offensive operation of the Red Army, which was the first actual defeat of the Wehrmacht during the war. It began on August 30, 1941 with the offensive of two armies (24th and 43rd) of the Soviet Reserve Front (commander - General of the Army G.K. Zhukov), and ended on September 6 with the liberation of the city of Yelnya and the liquidation of the Yelny ledge. In accordance with Soviet historiography, it is part of the Smolensk battle.


On September 18, 1941, by decision of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR of September 18, 1941 No. 308, four rifle divisions of the USSR - the 100th, 127th, 153rd and 161st - "for military exploits, for organization, discipline and exemplary order" were given the honorary titles "guards", and they were renamed and transformed into the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th guards, respectively.


On June 19, 1942, the Guards Naval Flag was established, and on July 31, 1942, the Regulations on the Guards of the USSR Fleet were put into effect.
Later, in the course of the war, many battle-hardened units and formations of the Red Army were transformed into guards. There were guards regiments, divisions, corps and armies.


The military ranks of servicemen serving in the guards units and formations have the prefix "guards" - for example, "guards cadet", "guards major-engineer", "guards colonel-general". During the war years in the Navy, the words “guards” (for aviation and coastal defense) were added to the military ranks of military personnel serving in guards units - for example, “guards captain”, as well as “guards crew” (for sailors) - for example, “ guards crew captain of the first rank.


By the end of the war, the Soviet guard included 11 armies and 6 tank armies; 40 rifle, 7 cavalry, 12 tank, 9 mechanized and 14 aviation corps; 215 divisions; 18 warships and a large number of units of various types of the Armed Forces and branches of service.


In peacetime, formations, formations, units and ships were not converted into guards ones. However, in order to preserve military traditions, the guards names belonging to units, ships, formations and associations, when they were disbanded, could be transferred to other associations, formations, units and ships.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, guard units, formations and associations were preserved in such post-Soviet countries as Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

Tables of ranks of the Russian Army

Russian Guard 1884-1917

The table shows the ranks of the ranks of the guard from 1884 to 1917. These are the years of the reign of Alexander III (1881-1894), Emperor Nicholas II (1894-1917).

During the period under review, the ranks in the guards were one class higher than in the army, i.e. "old" and "young" guards are equalized in ranks.

In 1891, the Cossack ranks were established in the Life Guards Cossack and the Life Guards Ataman Regiment (until that time, these regiments had general cavalry ranks).

With the outbreak of the First World War, the entire guard went to the front, leaving in St. Petersburg (renamed after the start of the war to Petrograd) only their reserve battalions. The personnel of the guard melted away in battles already in the campaign of 1914-15, and in the future, the difference between the guards and the army regiments consisted only in the name. We can say that the Russian guard died in the fire of the World War. The company of the Palace Grenadiers was disbanded in the summer of 1917.

In 1942, the word "Guard" will return to our army, but already as a collective award, to regiments, divisions, corps and armies that distinguished themselves in battle. The units awarded this honorary title will differ from the rest of the army units by a somewhat reinforced staff (in the state guards regiment there is a battalion of submachine gunners instead of a separate company of submachine gunners, in regimental artillery instead of 76mm regimental guns there will be 76mm divisional guns ZIS-3), yes in the period war with a one and a half salary of a monetary content.

Footguards

The code*	Category	Rank class	Name of rank
1	lower ranks		Life Guard Private
2			Corporal of the Life Guards
3	non-commissioned officers		Life Guards junior non-commissioned officer
4a			Life Guards senior non-commissioned officer
4b			Life Guards Sergeant Major
5a			Life Guard ensign
5 B		XIV	Life Guards Ensign
7	Chief officers	XIII	Life Guard Ensign
8a		X	Life Guards Second Lieutenant
8b		IX	Life Guard Lieutenant
9a		VIII	Life Guard Staff Captain
9b		VII	Life Guard Captain
12	Headquarters officers	V	Life Guard Colonel

* Read more about rank encoding.

Guards Cavalry

The code*	Category	Rank class	Name of rank
1	lower ranks	.	Life Guard Private
2			Corporal of the Life Guards
3	non-commissioned officers		Life Guard junior non-commissioned officer
4a			Life Guards senior non-commissioned officer
4b			Life Guard Wahmister
7	Chief officers	XI	Life Guard Cornet
8		IX	Life Guard Lieutenant
9a		VIII	Life Guards Headquarters Captain
9b		VII	Life Guards Captain
12	Headquarters officers	V	Life Guard Colonel

Guards Cossacks

The code*	Category	Rank class	Name of rank
1	lower ranks		Life Guards Cossack
2			Life Guard order
3	non-commissioned officers		Life Guards Junior Sergeant
4a			Life Guards Senior Sergeant
4b			Life Guard Wahmister
5		XIV	Life Guards cadet
7	Chief officers	XI	Leb-guard cornet
8		IX	Life Guards centurion
9a		VIII	Life Guards podesaul
9b		VII	Life Guard Yesaul
12	Headquarters officers	V	Life Guard Colonel

Company of Palace Grenadiers

The code*	Category	Rank class	Name of rank
1	lower ranks		Grenadier 2nd class
2			Grenadier 1st class
3	non-commissioned officers	XIV	non-commissioned officer
5		XII	Feldwebel
7	Chief officers	XI	Ensign
8a		IX	Second Lieutenant
8b		VIII	lieutenant
8c		VI	Captain
9	Headquarters officers	III	Colonel

In total, 49 BMO ships took part in the hostilities. More than 80% of the personnel were awarded orders and medals for military merit. A total of ten BMOs died. Considering that they always went in the first echelon of the landing forces, and the fact that a significant part of these ships died on mines, this figure confirms that the “irons”, as the sailors lovingly called the BMO, were made in good faith and had high combat survivability .

The creation of armored "sea hunters" in the conditions of the most severe blockade is another of the many unprecedented feats of Leningraders during the 900-day blockade of the city.

A. L. Nikiforov

Russian Imperial Guard during the First World War

For two centuries, the fate of the Imperial Guard of Russia was closely connected with the Russian monarchy. Created by the iron will of Peter I the Great at the very beginning of the 18th century, the guard became one of the symbols of the mighty Russian Empire, being a reliable support of statehood. Therefore, it is quite natural that in the tragic period of the collapse of the empire, the glorious imperial guard of Russia went with it into the past.

The Russian Imperial Guard had a glorious history and significant privileges compared to the army units of the Russian army. Her military training, the brilliance of dress uniforms made an indelible impression on all the guests of the royal dynasty.

Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich recalled: “... In July 1914, shortly before the start of the Great War, in honor of the visit to Russia of French President Raymond Poincaré, a large parade of units of the capital's guard was given on the Field of Mars. The parade ended with a cavalry attack. This attack was the highlight of the entire parade. At the end of the Field of Mars, all the cavalry that was on parade, that is, two divisions, lined up. Then, at the command of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, the entire mass of the cavalry rushed into the quarry in the direction of the guest tent, where Emperor Nicholas II and the French president watched the parade. The picture was truly majestic, and even creepy. By order of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, the entire galloping mass of cavalry stopped in an instant.

in front of the royal retinue and guests. The officers lowered their weapons, saluting, and the trumpeters began to play the Guards campaign .... "1.

Indeed, the training of the guards cavalry was fascinating. For the wars of the early XIX century. that would be great preparation. But what to do if this mass of cavalry was met not by the parade ground of the Field of Mars, but by ravines with barbed wire, behind which cold-blooded machine gunners would be waiting for them, the royal commanders did not really think.

Unfortunately, as part of the current military training of the capital's guard units, most commanders paid insufficient attention to raising the level of knowledge of guard officers, conducting tactical exercises, improving weapons skills, establishing interaction between military branches in the field, organizing forced marches and military maneuvers.

Instead, for many tsarist generals, the main criterion for the training of guards units was the impeccable harmony of marching columns in parades, the gallant appearance of officers and soldiers, and questions of modern military tactics were a “dark forest” for most guards commanders.

It is natural that the field exercises of the capital guards near Krasnoe Selo at the beginning of the 20th century. turned into a formality, where much was done the old fashioned way: the cavalry rushed, not embarrassed by the designated fire, at the infantry chains and firing batteries. To repel these attacks, in the spirit of the battles of Preussisch-Eylau and Borodino, the infantry reserves went out, holding their feet, in close formation on the line of chains, and fired volleys, the friendly crackle of which resembled cracking a nut. Mounted orderlies rushed along the front, as if spellbound against imaginary bullets and shrapnel. Needless to say, the batteries drove picturesquely onto the crests of the hills, famously removed from the limbers in full view of the enemy and stood in open positions2.

Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, at such summer maneuvers in 1913, summing up the results of the maneuvers, expressed a thoughtful phrase characterizing the level of military-strategic thinking of the highest tsarist generals: “... I can add that the maneuver played out perfectly: the infantry advanced, the cavalry galloped, the artillery fired. Thank you, gentlemen!...”3.

Somehow, the tsarist army was not lucky in the early twentieth century. for talented military leaders. With a universal formula for assessing the level of your

1 Cited. by: Dreyer V.N. At the end of an empire. SPb., 2011. S. 289.

2 See: Bezobrazov V.M. Dead Guard. Commander's Notes. SPb., 2008. S. 199.

3 Cit. Quoted from: Kersnovsky A.A. History of the Russian army. T. 4. Kersnovsky. M., 1994. S. 212.

combat readiness - "... the infantry advanced, the cavalry galloped, the artillery fired ...", the Russian army entered the First World War, having well-trained German and Austro-Hungarian armies as opponents.

The declaration of war by Germany and its allies found the capital's guards in Krasnoye Selo, where, under the command of General Vladimir Mikhailovich Bezobrazov, they were preparing for summer maneuvers. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Imperial Army, ordered the Guards Corps to concentrate on the western border.

On August 7, 1914, the Guards Corps, attached to the 2nd Army of General Samsonov, concentrated in the Kingdom of Poland, in the area of ​​​​the Novo-Georgievsk fortress. The 1st and 2nd Guards Cavalry Divisions, together with the troops of the 1st Army of General Rennenkampf, were already in East Prussia. The 3rd Guards Infantry Division, located in Warsaw, also fought in East Prussia, and in October 1914 returned to Warsaw.

Throughout the First World War, the Russian Guard was often used piecemeal. Separate brigades or divisions supported parts of the army they were part of. Thus, the commander of the imperial guard, General Bezobrazov, did not lead all of his troops.

For example, on August 16, 1914, the 1st Guards Infantry Division was hastily sent by rail to Lublin to reinforce General Evert's 4th Army. Two days later, the entire guard corps advanced in the same direction, as the enemy threatened the city. During heavy battles, in which the 1st brigade of the 2nd guards division suffered especially heavy losses, the tsarist troops won, and General Mannerheim's separate guards cavalry brigade pursued the retreating enemy. The Guards Rifle Brigade also suffered heavy losses at Opatov, being attached to the 9th Army. Finally, on October 1, 1914, the Guards Corps was withdrawn to the army reserve, directly subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief1.

On October 10, the guards corps again participated in the battles on the Southwestern Front in the area of ​​​​the Ivangorod fortress, located in the Kingdom of Poland. While Warsaw and Ivangorod continued

With the German and 1st Austro-Hungarian armies, the Russians counterattacked with the forces of their 9th Army. On October 12, the Russian guards corps broke through the Austrian front, forcing the enemy to retreat. By the end of October 1914, the Austro-German troops were thrown back to our western border, and

1 See: Kersnovsky A.A. Decree. Op. S. 221.

part of the territory of Poland, which was part of the Russian Empire, was completely liberated.

Our losses in the first months of the war turned out to be very large, especially in the guards. So, for example, after a fierce attack on November 11 by the Life Guards, the Grenadier Regiment was reduced to the size of a battalion. The officers of the less affected guards cavalry regiments voluntarily transferred to serve in the infantry. In addition, supply difficulties began, especially in artillery.

On December 6, 1914, the guards corps was again put into reserve, and on December 17-18, Emperor Nicholas II visited the 1st and 2nd guards divisions, and also held a review of the Ataman and Consolidated Cossack regiments. The officers and soldiers who distinguished themselves in battle were awarded St. George's crosses, and the commander of the guard, General Bezobrazov, was assigned to the imperial retinue and was awarded the golden St. George weapon.

On December 30, 1914, the entire Guards Corps, consisting of two cavalry divisions and the 3rd Infantry Division, joined at Radom, and only His Majesty's Cossack Regiment served at the Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief. At the end of January 1915, the guard was assembled near Warsaw, and then, as part of the 12th army of General Plehve, took up positions near the Narew River in the Kingdom of Poland. The offensive began on February 7, but due to poor leadership, it did not succeed, and General Plehve stubbornly continued to throw his regiments into battle, including the guard. With little progress, this offensive cost the Russian guard 10 thousand people killed, wounded and missing, and the losses in the advancing army units amounted to 35 thousand people. Then the front temporarily stabilized, and in mid-June 1915 the Guards were withdrawn to the rear2.

Meanwhile, on June 12, 1915, the second stage of the powerful German-Austrian offensive on the Eastern Front began, the main goal of which was to encircle and destroy the Russian army in Poland. The stubborn defense of the tsarist troops at Krasnostav slowed down the German offensive at the cost of huge losses in the Russian army. On July 7, under the scorching sun, the Imperial Guard again entered the battle with the 9th German Army near Warsaw and completed the combat mission, but due to the mistakes of the headquarters of the southwestern front, this success was reduced to zero, and soon Warsaw was surrendered.

The "great retreat" of the Russian army in the summer of 1915 continued along the entire front, but the enemy did not achieve his main goal - the bloodless tsarist army was not destroyed, and in the fall

1 See: Volkov S.V. Russian officer corps. M., 2003. S. 280.

2 See: Bezobrazov V.M. Dead Guard. Commander's Notes. SPb., 2008. S. 201.

1915 the front line stabilized. On August 9, 1915, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich was removed from the post of Commander-in-Chief by decree of the emperor and was appointed governor of the Caucasus, as well as commander of the Caucasian Front. Emperor Nicholas II took over the leadership of the Headquarters and the Army.

Throughout 1915, the lack of weapons and ammunition in the Russian army became catastrophic and artillery support for the troops during the battles was practically absent. The guards artilleryman lieutenant colonel Alfater recalled: “... before my eyes, sad battle scenes pass in a kaleidoscope. Night withdrawal, artillery quickly joins the action, but fires only a few shells. And all the same irritated questions addressed to the battery: "How many shells are left?". And always the same answers: 100, 80, and sometimes less. By evening, smoke envelops our rear: commanders set fire to villages, haystacks, grain, burn fields. The army is dominated by a sense of helplessness, inability to stop the enemy, inevitable death. At night, retreat again, reflections of fire, and refugees crowd along the road - children in carriages, old people with poor belongings .. "1.

In July 1915, General Bezobrazov, for disobeying the orders of General Lesh, was removed from command of the Guards Corps and replaced by General Olokhov. By November 1915, the eastern front had stabilized, the retreat of the Russian army was over, the army survived, but Poland, part of Belarus, almost all of Lithuania and Courland were given to the enemy. The guards regiments were bled dry by intense battles, and the guards cavalrymen increasingly served on foot, in the trenches.

The commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Emperor Nicholas II, came to the conclusion that it was necessary to reorganize the guard, and in early October 1915, he initiated General Bezobrazov into his plans. The Guard was to consist of two infantry and one cavalry corps. The plan approved by the emperor on October 8, 1915 was implemented by General Bezobrazov, the newly appointed commander of the guard troops. However, the reorganization proceeded slowly given the most difficult situation with the staffing, especially in the 3rd Guards Division, which suffered heavy losses in the 1914 campaign.2

In mid-February 1916, the guard was moved to the Northwestern Front, to Rezhitsa, to strengthen the defense of Petrograd in the event of a German attack on the capital, but remained in

1 Cited. by: Portuguese R.M., Alekseev P.D., Runov V.A. The First World War in the biographies of Russian military leaders. M., 1994. S. 238.

2 See: Kersnovsky A.A. Decree. op. S. 225.

reserve. In May, the guards corps were transferred to the Western Front. The tragic days of 1915 were already behind us.

On the neighboring South-Western Front, on May 19, 1916, the offensive of the Russian army began - the famous "Brusilov breakthrough". To support the advancing troops, the Western Front also switched to active operations. On May 27, the Guard entered into a stubborn battle near Kovel. On July 15, 1916, at 1 pm, after strong artillery preparation, the guards broke through the swamps and attacked the enemy fortifications near the Belarusian town of Stokhod.

The 1st Guards Infantry Corps met strong resistance from the Germans near the village of Raymetso. The 2nd guards corps advanced more successfully, and the guards riflemen were even able to capture the enemy headquarters. The guards crew, left in reserve, on their own initiative tried to help both corps, trying to connect, covering the enemy in an encirclement. In the following days, the attacks of the Russian guards were aimed at capturing Vitonezh. German troops stubbornly counterattacked. As a result of five-day battles, the guard captured more than 8 thousand German soldiers, about 300 officers, two generals, as well as 50 cannons and 70 machine guns. After the regrouping, the tsarist guard continued the offensive at 17:00 on July 26, 1916. Two days passed in unsuccessful attacks. The guard generals, especially Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich, made tactical mistakes, and the guard units were forced to dig in. During the period from July 15 to July 28, the Guards lost about 30 thousand people in killed, wounded and missing1.

On August 15, 1916, the guards corps were transformed into the "Special Army". At its head, General Romeiko-Gurko replaced General Bezobrazov. The Guards command made several attempts to resume the offensive in the direction of the city of Kovel, but they failed. These battles, due to the abundance of victims, were called the "Kovel meat grinder", during which the guards attacked at least 17 times. By mid-November 1916, the fighting subsided, the guards remained in positions near Stokhod, preparing to go on the offensive in the spring of 1917.

In June 1917, the guard corps took part in the so-called "Kerensky offensive", but it was no longer the imperial guard. The death sentence of the Russian army and the imperial guard was pronounced on March 1, 1917, when, after the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II, the famous “Order No. 1” was issued by the decision of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies, abolishing military discipline and ranks.

1 See: Volkov S.V. Decree. op. S. 291.

The collapse of the army immediately followed, embracing even the guards units located at the front. The mood in the Guards units was different: in the 1st Guards Rifle Regiment, the regiment commander was killed, in the Semyonovsky Regiment, officers and soldiers fraternized, there were no serious incidents in Preobrazhensky, in the 4th Guards Rifle Regiment, officers of Baltic origin were expelled. In the guards cavalry, where the losses were lower and the composition of the regiments remained more homogeneous, revolutionary propaganda was not successful. The Cossack guards units returned home to the Don in perfect order and with standards.

The "swan song" of the remnants of the former imperial guard was the July battles of 1917 in the Carpathian region, near Mshany and Tarno-pol, where the oldest guards regiments - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky - especially distinguished themselves.

On May 20, 1918, in the context of the growing Civil War, these glorious regiments were officially disbanded by the decision of the few surviving officers, and most of the guards officers joined the White Army that was being formed. The history of the Imperial Guard of Russia is over.

A. V. Pokhilyuk

During the Great Patriotic War, Soviet patriots repeated the feat of Ivan Susanin

A worthy contribution to the defeat of the Nazi invaders was made by the Soviet people who were on the other side of the front line.

The establishment of a bloody "new order" in the occupied regions of the USSR was accompanied by unrestrained preaching of chauvinism, nationalism and racism. The Nazis tried to shake the steadfastness of our people, undermine their faith in the victorious Red Army, divide them with national partitions, quarrel among themselves and turn them into obedient slaves. But the actions of the fascist invaders aroused the just anger of the Soviet people and even greater love for their socialist homeland.

The Soviet government educated the people as ardent patriots of the Motherland and genuine internationalists. Therefore, the conscious struggle of the peoples of the USSR against foreign invaders proceeded from the very nature of Soviet society. In the rear of the enemy armies, the partisan movement became an integral part of this struggle. In the temporarily occupied Soviet territory, partisan

 

---

Read:
A call to draw attention to a message Trial exam in English Buy a diploma of higher education inexpensively English language tests Buy a diploma of higher education inexpensively