REPORT 



UPON THE 



RUSSIAN ARMY. 



CHAPTER I. 



ORGANIZATION, UNIFORM, RECRUITING, RATIONS, ETC., ETC., OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY. 



INTRODUCTION. 



It will be seen from tlie following report that the main regular army of Russia, the grand 

 active army of operations, presents at least one most important and striking feature, viz : that 

 it is organized solely with a view to great military considerations, entirely untrammelled by the 

 necessities of interior police service in time of peace. Its organization in army corps, divisions, 

 &c. , is uniformly kept up during peace ; it is located solely with reference to operations in 

 foreign countries or on the frontiers, and is maintained in constant readiness for the field. It 

 may, therefore, fairly be regarded as embodying the Russian conception of the perfect organiza- 

 tion of large masses for active operations. 



The vast experience of the Russians in wars, conducted alike upon the grandest and most 

 limited scale, at one time carried on by great masses on the level and unobstructed plains of 

 Europe, at another by small detachments in the rugged mountains of Caucasus and Asia Minor, 

 or on the frontiers of Tartary and China ; the great perfection to which military science has 

 been carried in the schools and special corps ; the intelligence, skill, and courage they have so 

 often evinced, both in attack and defence, — all these considerations render a detailed study of 

 the Russian system of war both profitable and interesting. 



In addition, there is, perhaps, no European service of which so little is known by the officers 

 of our army as the Russian. In this report I have given the organization somewhat in detail, 

 probably too much so to interest a mere cursory reader, and not sufficiently to satisfy the student 

 of his profession; but the time and means of information at my disposal permit no more. In 

 reference to the army of the Caucasus, the composition of which is briefly given, it should be 

 borne in mind that the Caucasus is a very rugged mountain region, with valleys interspersed ; 

 that hostilities there are now almost entirely confined to the most difficult portions ; that 

 mountain chains form a great part of its boundaries on the sides of Turkey and Persia ; and 

 that, in the event of an oifensive war, after having crossed these mountains, the opponents of 

 the Russians would consist mostly of irregular cavalry and indifferent infantry. These con- 

 siderations will explain the almost entire absence of regular cavalry in that army. It is 

 probable, however, that, in the event of a Persian war, some regular cavalry would be added to 

 this army. During the Persian campaigns of 1826 and 1827 a division (four regiments) of 

 lancers were with the army. 



