Army of the Tsardom of Russia
Army of Tsardom of Russia | |
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Войско Русского государства ( Armies of Rus' | |
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History | Military history of Russia Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars Russo-Kazan Wars (1439-1552) Russian-Livonian War (1480-1481) Smolensk War (1632-1634) |
Army of the Tsardom of Russia ( in 1547.
Historical background
The
By the second half of the 14th century, the process of transformation of the druzhina, which was divided into senior and junior, into the court of the prince and the regiment, which began in the 12th century in southern Rus', was completed. Most researchers consider the city regiments not as feudal cavalry militias of the respective principalities, but as foot militias of the respective cities, and trace them back to the 16th century. The prevailing opinion is that in the Battle of Kulikovo the center of the Russian army was represented by a people's militia on foot, although nothing is known about the division of the united troops into tactical units according to the types of weapons (troops).
Structure
Until the middle of the 15th century, Russian state's armed forces were decentralized and could be assembled as an improvised peasant's militia. While the Grand Prince of Moscow could call up subjects under his direct authority or subjects of other princes. Yet, the Grand Prince didn't have the power to coerce other princes to subordinate their armies to him, with a clear example in the form of the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, when the princes of Tver, Principality of Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal and Ryazan principalities refused to assist prince Dmitry Donskoy. The founding event which changed the balance of power and made Grand Prince Vasily II to have near-monopoly over armed forces was the civil war of 1425–1453.[2] In according with the social composition and the fact that there was no general mandatory conscription, the majority of the Tsardom army were dvoryaniye and junior bojary (deti boyarskie). Some of the conscripted had in possession hereditary estate called votchina but most of the cavalrymen received service estate (pomeste) which were in their possession only during the time of the military service. After they finished their service, the estate returned to the state. As the army expanded, other types of soldiers were recruited and were paid with cash and they were led by the dety boyarskie or even boyars.[3] One of the main shortcomings of the local army was its long mobilization process. In addition the lack of systematic military training and weapons at the possession of each soldier. A separate problem was the failure of some landowners to attend the service. At the end of the 16th century, the total number of nobles and Deity Boyarskie did not exceed 25,000 people.
The basic unit of the army of the tsardom was the polk, often translated as regiment, which was commanded by
While it was not an army in the modern sense of the word, there was a clear division to various military units, according to a description of the Russian army, given by
- Infantry. These are archers, city Cossacks, servicemen of soldier regiments, dragoons, dependent people, and in some cases dismounted nobles and their combat serfs.
- Cavalry. It belonged to the noble militia, serving foreigners, reiters and hussars of the new system, equestrian archers and city *Cossacks, equestrian data (prefabricated) people.
- Artillery. It was made up of gunners and tinkers, as well as other instrumental people.
- Military engineering units. Mostly they were field people, but others could perform their tasks, for example, archers.
- Spear companies were arranged in hussar formation.
Command and control
In 1522 Vasily III made further centralization of the command system when he turned Kolomna into his headquarters for spring and autumn operations to the banks of the Oka river, between Kolomna and Kaluga which stretched for 250kkm.[6]
By the mid of the 17th century the cetnral government of 53 ministries (prikazy) of which 21 directly dealt with military affairs. After the 13 Years War, all but the Secret Chancellery (prikaz velikogo gosudaria tainykh del) were subordinated to the Razriad command.[7]
Weapons
Until the middle of the 15th century, spears were the weapon of the first onslaught. Since the 16th century, their use has been revived again. As a stabbing cavalry spear, a lance with a faceted tip was used, well suited for ramming. Against cavalry in the 17th century, infantry lances were used in the regiments of the new system. More common, since the XIV century, were spears with narrow-leaved tips with an elongated triangular feather on a massive, sometimes faceted sleeve. They dealt powerful armor-piercing blows. The infantry weapon was the spears - heavy and powerful spears with a laurel tip. It was the most massive weapon. From about the 16th century, modified spears were used in the local cavalry. Another modification of the spear was the sovnya used in the infantry. Since ancient times, there have been throwing darts - sulits, with which it was possible to stab. Later, such darts, djids, were kept in special quivers, but in Rus' they were practically not used[8]
Bladed weapons
Swords which were used in the
Firearm
The exact date of the appearance of firearms in Rus' is unknown, but it happened under Dmitry Donskoy no later than 1382, when they were used in the
Armour
If the main armor of Russian warriors was usually chain mail, then by the 13th century it would be significantly replaced by a lamellar protection system. It was lamellar armour, consisting of plates connected by belts. There was also Scale armour, in which the plates were strengthened at one end on a leather or cloth base. The third type, brigandine in which the plates were also attached to the base. And fourthly, the appearance of early mirrors, which were a round metal plaque worn over armor, is attributed to the end of the 13th century. In Novgorod and Pskov, for example, the first two types almost completely replaced chain mail, but in other Russian lands it remained important. The Mongol invasion brought the spread of some new types of armor. Already in 1252, the army of Daniel of Galicia, to the surprise of the Germans, was in Tatar armor. The appearance of kuyaks is also associated with it, analogues of scales or brigantines that existed in Moscow Rus', but were not widely used. It is known that the armor of Dmitry Donskoy, who took part in the Battle of Kulikovo, was lamellar, since “he was beaten and the ulcer was severe”, but it is impossible to identify him; according to the annals, the prince fought along with ordinary soldiers. By the second half of the 15th century, the spread of Mail and plate armour - Bekhtertsy (Russian: Бехтерец), Kalantars (Russian: Калантарь), and later Yushmans (Russian: Юшман), dates back to the second half of the 15th century. In the 16th-17th centuries, chain mail again became the main armor. The use of protective clothing, tegilyaev, which was used in the 16th century by poor people, or in combination with metal armor, by the rich, is associated with Asian influence. However, the government did not support their use. Wealthy people could afford a mirror made entirely of several large metal plates fastened together. Quite often, bracers were used, with less common were buturlyks and knee pads. In the 17th century, which is associated with the organization of regiments of the new system for the Russian-Polish war, armor began to be used, consisting of a cuirass with a plate skirt (floors), and sometimes necklaces. At first, armor was imported from Europe, but soon they began to be manufactured at the Tula-Kashirsky factories.[13] In the 14th and 15th centuries, round shields became widespread in the cavalry. They reached a quarter of human height and had a convex or funnel shape. At the beginning of the 16th century, they fell into disuse. Until the end of the 15th century, triangular, gable shields were also used. Since the 15th century, artillerymen often used large, mobile shields called Gulyay-gorod, for cover.
Size
The size of the army of the Russian Tsardom in the 16th century is unknown. According to the upper estimate by the end of the century it could reach 110,000 people, of which 25,000 landowners, up to 50,000 of their people (according to a revised estimate - up to 25 thousand), 10 thousand Tatars, 20 thousand archers and Cossacks, 4 thousand foreigners. At the end of the 16th century, under Boris Godunov, the Russian army consisted of 80 thousand noble cavalry and 12 thousand infantry (including 7,000 archers), auxiliary troops from the "Cheremis" (up to 30 thousand people), and 3,000-4,000 foreigners.[14] Some historians estimate the number between 50,000 and 100,000.[3] Taking into account the fact that from 200 quarters of the land the landowner had to bring one armed person (and with a larger plot, an additional one-person from 100 quarters), the total number of noble militia could reach 50,000. In the middle of the 17th century, their number increased: for example, according to the "Estimate of all service people" of 1651, there were a total of 37,763 nobles and dety boyarskie, and the estimated number of their combat serfs was at least 40,000 people.
Fortresses
The development of the Army in the Tsardom of Russia occurred along with the major expansion of the country's borders which made it vulnerable to attacks. In addition, the development of gunpowder created the need to have a defensive installation in which the artillery could be placed. The creation of fortresses along the southern borders of Russia cordoned off the steppes from nomadic attacks. Among the fortress that were built, one can count Bryansk, Belgorod, Smolensk and Izyum.[6] The official who was in charge of the supplies to a fortress was the gorodovoy prikazchik (can be translated as city commandant) and he was subordinated to the grand prince and then Tsar. He dealt with matters of military-administrative management.
Military Revolution
The 16th century was a period of major changes and development, including the introduction of a new style of forces the gunpowder, in the armies in Europe, a concept known as the Military Revolution. While prior to the mid 16th century the Russian armies were made up of regional cavalry forces using cold steel, a need for a change arose when the Russian forces began fighting with modernized Baltic forces.[15]
See also
References
- ^ Соловьёв С. М (1871). История России с древнейших времён (in Russian). Saint Petersburg. pp. 207–208.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ISBN 0333692241.
- ^ from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- )
- ^ "История создания Вооруженных Сил России" (PDF) (in Russian). Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-203-96176-6. Archived(PDF) from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ISBN 9004122737. Archivedfrom the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Кирпичников А. Н. (1976). Военное дело на Руси в XIII—XV вв (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Висковатов А. В. (1841). Историческое описание одежды и вооружения российских войск, с рисунками, составленное по высочайшему повелению: в 30 т.: в 60 кн (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Кирпичников А. Н. "Военное дело на Руси в XIII—XV вв" (PDF) (in Russian). Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Richard Hellie. The Costs of Muscovite Military Defense and Expansion. Brill. p. 51.
- ^ Ivan Sinergyev (1853). Древности Российскаго государства, изданныя по высочайшему повелению (in Russian). pp. 58–63. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Лосик А. В., Щерба В. Н. "Русское войско в Смутное время. По сведениям "Истории России с древнейших времён"" (in Russian). Military-Historical Journal. pp. 80–87. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ The Consequences of the Military Revolution in Muscovy: A Comparative Perspective (1996). "The Consequences of the Military Revolution in Muscovy: A Comparative Perspective". The Consequences of the Military Revolution in Muscovy: A Comparative Perspective: 607–608.