Cossack Troops - Organization and Tasks
Mounted Cossacks were a special kind of light cavalry and in wartime were part of both the strategic (“independent”) and military cavalry. Therefore, the main activities of the Cossack cavalry, like regular cavalry, were reconnaissance, curtain installation, raids and other forms of waging a "small" war; a feature of the equestrian Cossack units was the use of special Cossack tactics in battle (such as, for example, “lava”). The auxiliary tasks of the Cossack units included the protection of senior officers, convoys, transports, mail, communications and communication lines. The Plastunsky (foot Cossack) battalions, as a special kind of light infantry, corresponded with army rifle units in their tasks and tactics, that is, they possessed the skills of fighting in loose formation and on rough terrain, and in addition participated in reconnaissance, carried guard and reconnaissance service. Cossack artillery, like army horse artillery, was intended to directly assist their troops in their offensive or defensive combat operations.
The organization of the mounted Cossack regiments was about the same as in the regular cavalry. The tactical unit was a hundred, and the administrative unit was a regiment, which consisted of 6 hundreds or 3 divisions of 2 hundreds each (guards regiments in peacetime, as well as Astrakhan, Semirechensky, Amur and part of the regiments of the Ural and Orenburg Cossack troops consisted of 4 hundreds) . In addition to the regiments, the Cossack troops also included separate Cossack hundreds and separate divisions.
In accordance with the staffing table in the peacetime Don Cossack regiment, there were 36 officers: the regiment commander (colonel), 2 assistant regiment commanders (military foremen), the head of the regiment's household (military foreman), 6 centenary commanders (esauls) and 26 junior officers (podesauly , centurions, cornets). The lower ranks of the lower ranks included 6 sergeants (as a rule, in the rank of cadet), 25 senior and 25 junior officers, a convoy officer, 12 trumpeters, 18 clerks and 750 ordinary Cossacks. The positions of medical and veterinary doctors and clerk in the economic part were occupied by officials of the military department, and paramedics and clerks were occupied by non-combatant lower ranks. In wartime, the number of officers was reduced to 25 (1 staff officer and 10 chief officers were seconded to the regiment of the 2nd stage).
Cossack cavalry regiments of the 1st stage were part of the guard, army cavalry, Cossack and cavalry divisions and brigades. His Imperial Majesty's own convoy was subordinate to the commander of the Imperial Headquarters, the Life Guards Cossack, Ataman and Consolidated Cossack regiments made up the third brigade of the 1st Guards Cavalry Division. 16 Cossack regiments (10 Don, 3 Orenburg, 2 Ural and 1 Terek) were part of the second brigades of army cavalry divisions, 22 (6 Don, 9 Kuban, 3 Terek, 3 Orenburg, 1 Ural and 1 Semirechensk) - 6 Cossack divisions, 9 (2 Kuban, 2 Siberian, 4 Transbaikal and 1 Ussuri) - 4 Cossack brigades; 4 Cossack regiments (Don, Astrakhan, Siberian and Amur) and 2 divisions (Kuban and Orenburg) were not included in the formations.
The foot units of the Cossack troops in peacetime were represented by the Plastun brigade (of 6 plastun battalions of 4 hundreds each), which was formed by the Kuban Cossack army. Cossack artillery consisted of 1 Guards (Life Guards Don) and 19 Cossack batteries, of which 14 were part of 7 Cossack artillery battalions (3 Don, 2 Caucasian (Kuban-Terek), 1 Orenburg and 1 Transbaikal), 1 - part army cavalry artillery battalion, and 4 were separate.
When the mobilization was announced, the total number of Cossack troops tripled (due to the conscription of privileged Cossacks and storekeepers in the Cossack units of the 2nd and 3rd stages). During the war, according to the mobilization schedule, all Cossack troops fielded 943 cavalry hundreds, 72 plastun hundreds, 39 artillery batteries and spare parts. Cossack regiments and hundreds of the 2nd and 3rd stages were supposed to make up the Cossack divisions of the 2nd stage, as well as individual hundreds and regiments included in the infantry (rifle) divisions, corps and armies to perform various tasks.
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