Her Majesty Empress Maria Feodorovna's Cavalier Guard Regiment. The cavalry guards are the elite of the troops of the Russian Empire, the Life Guards Cavalry Guard Regiment

Printed with abbreviations.

Not much can be said about the final stage of the history of the Cavalier Guard Regiment. After all, cavalrymen-at-arms correspond much more to knightly, medieval times than to the era of "assertion of bourgeois relations" ...

The life of the Cavalier Guard Regiment went on as usual at that time. Regimental commanders changed, officers came and went, someone went as a Volunteer to the next war ... The staff structure of the regiment changed, or, as they usually say, improved. So, back in 1856, the regiment was transferred from a six-squadron to a four-squadron, and the fifth squadron was a reserve. In 1880, the reserve cavalry guard squadron became part of the Guards. reserve cavalry regiment.

On November 2, 1894, the regiment became known as the Cavalry Guards of Her Majesty Empress Maria Feodorovna Regiment. Such a parade-court existence of the cavalry guard continued until the memorable summer of 1914. This summer, as usual, the regiment spent in its camp location near Krasnoe Selo - in Pavlovsk Sloboda.

On July 10, the highest parade was held for the troops of the Krasnoselsk camp gathering, at which, next to Emperor Nicholas II, stood the President of the French Republic, Raymond Poincaré (less than a month later, the Russian Tsar and the French President would become allies in the great war).The parade was held in the usual way, but immediately after its completion, the guards cavalry regiments received an order to go to St. Petersburg and its suburbs to assist the police. At that time, the largest Putilovsky and Obukhov factories were on strike in the city, processions of strikers and protesters were passing through the streets.

Raymond Poincare

A day later, on July 72, when the cavalry guards again took their places in their city barracks, Nicholas II promoted pages and cadets of the graduating classes to officers. The regimental family of cavalry guards included cornets Mikhail and Sergei Bezobrazov, Nikolai Kaznakov, Dmitry Dubasov, Alexander Shebeko, and Prince Igor Repnin. This was the last production of peace burden officers.

Five days later, on July 17, the order for general mobilization was received in the regiment, and on the 21st, a parting prayer service was served in the barracks on Shpalernaya Street. At this prayer service, for the last time, the old cavalry guards, led by the oldest of the regimental commanders who were alive at that time, Adjutant General Greenwald, gathered together for the last time. Who would have known that the cavalry guards were parading along the regimental parade ground for the last time ... After all, there was no return from that war. On the same night, the regimental commander, Major General Prince Alexander Nikolaevich Dolgorukov, sent the first echelon of cavalry guards to the Varshavsky railway station to board the wagons.

According to the combat schedule, the 1st Guards. the cavalry division - without the 3rd Cossack brigade - became part of the cavalry detachment of Lieutenant General Khan-Nakhichevansky, which constituted the right group of the army cavalry of the 1st Army. my first combat mission in the world war - to conduct reconnaissance in battle across the border river Shirvint - the cavalry guards, like more than a hundred years ago, performed side by side with the Horse Guards. Having crossed the river, the Cavalry Guards Regiment began to advance on the village of Wabbeln, the Horse Guards - on Bilderweigen. The German border guard was quickly forced out of the villages, and the division commander ordered the brigade to be withdrawn to its original position. During the withdrawal, the cavalry guard Zelenin was mortally wounded - the first irretrievable loss of the regiment.

For some time, the cavalry guards mastered the theater of operations: they carried guard duty, were in skirmishes with the enemy, and carried out reconnaissance. Finally, on August 6, the regiment took the first battle - the very first battle in a long line of upcoming battles and battles. In many of its features, this battle resembled the baptism of fire of the cavalry guards at Austerlitz. In the reckless courage, contempt for death, in the audacity and chivalry of the last cavalry guards, those best qualities that they inherited from their ancestors - the cavalry guards of the reign of Alexander ...

Hussein-Ali, Khan of Nakhichevan. General of the Russian service, Azerbaijani.
Under his leadership, the cavalry guards served in 1914.

In the direction of the village of Kaushen, the regiment first marched on horseback - until the German artillery hit, put up a tight barrier. I had to turn back. They retreated calmly, but then the rear platoons suddenly hurried and began to jump forward.

"The cavalry guards do not gallop away!" - Cornet Veselovsky shouted to the soldiers, an officer who volunteered in the Balkan War, wounded there in 1912. These words, reminiscent of the glorious traditions of the regiment, were enough to calm people down, let the horses run,

After some time, dismounting, the cavalry guards again moved to the enemy. The Germans unleashed artillery fire on the chains. Almost immediately, Colonel Prince Kantakuzen, who was walking ahead of the ranks, was seriously wounded by a shrapnel bullet in the stomach. The 4th Squadron supported the advancing horsemen - despite the intensifying rifle fire and shrapnel. Cornet Kartsov was mortally wounded here, cornet Volzhin was shell-shocked. In the ranks of other squadrons, Staff Captain Kossikovsky and Lieutenant Prince Kildishev were mortally wounded.

There was a lot from the 19th century and the former cavalry guard and how Lieutenant Voevodsky 2nd, having collected his remaining eleven cavalry guards, again led them to the enemy battery. Six people died in this daring attack, the rest were wounded, and the lieutenant himself bandaged the wounds of each ... But the impulse of the attacking cavalry guards was in vain - at the very German positions, the realities of the new century awaited them - a barbed wire fence. I had to leave. And then the cavalry guards attacked the Germans again, and Prince Dolgorukov himself walked ahead of the chains with a naked saber. And the shrapnel tirelessly hit the chains, machine-gun bursts shredded the ranks. I had to stop, lie down, dig in. In one of the attacks, the cornet Voevodsky 4th was struck down. Dying, he managed to shout to the lieutenant: "Farewell, brother!"

That, too, is some kind of fate that weighed on the cavalry guards: Nikita Lunin and captain Kazimir Levenvolde, who served in the regiment at the same time as their brothers, died in the battle at Austerlitz. And in this battle near the village of Kaushen, an officer who served in the regiment with his brother also died. And they were all younger brothers.

Finally, closer to the end of the day, when the horse guards, life hussars came to the aid of the cavalry guards and the attack was supported by the guards artillery, they managed to break through the enemy defenses. During the pursuit, another officer was killed - the cornet Baron Pillar von Pilhau.

On August 13, the cavalry guards took Friedland, a city near which in 1807 a fierce battle took place between the Russian and French armies. Then the victory still went to the enemy. Now, a few artillery salvos were enough for the Germans to hastily clear the city.

This is how the war began for the cavalry guards, which contemporaries called the second Patriotic War, and the descendants called it the imperialist one. Now it is most often referred to as forgotten. Forgotten, overshadowed by subsequent events that radically changed the entire course of Russian history...

The cavalry guard regiment went along the roads of war - from one sector to another, from front to front. The cavalry guards fought in the Augustow and Kozlovo-Rudsky forests, in the Warsaw region, near Petrakov, Lyudinov, Sventsyan ... In addition, and this logic is quite difficult to understand, the regiment very often changed its subordination. It was logical that at first all four cuirassier regiments united into the 1st Guards. division, then two guards divisions converged into a cavalry corps, and then new changes began, so that at one time the cavalry guards were even seconded to ... the Ussuri cavalry brigade of General Krymov, which included the Nerchinsk and Ussuri Cossack regiments, the Primorsky Dragoon regiment and two Don Cossack batteries.

Regimental commanders also changed quite often. In November 1914, when the regiment was on the South-Western Front, Prince Dolgorukov was enlisted in the retinue and command was taken by Colonel Prince Alexander Nikolaevich Eristov, commander of the 1st Battery of the Guards. konio-artillery brigade. In May 1916, the prince was appointed brigade commander, and Colonel Nikolai Ivanovich Shipov, commander of the 5th Ural Cossack regiment, became the regimental commander of the cavalry guards, he belonged to the number of "indigenous cavalry guards", because back in 1911 he commanded the 4th squadron in the regiment . But a year later, Shipov was replaced by Colonel A.V. Yeletskoy, a "root" officer of the Ulansky regiment ...

Who would have recognized then, in the trenches of the world war, those same horsemen-guards in brilliant armor and helmets with eagles, the guard of honor at the throne of Russian emperors? Airplanes, machine guns, gases, powerful artillery turned out to be very significant opponents for the cavalry. So now the guards cavalrymen were taught more actions not on horseback, but on foot, they practiced running, digging, throwing hand grenades. Of course, white tunics, red super vests and golden cuirasses were completely forgotten, they were replaced by "khakis". Austerlitz and Borodino were no longer remembered either ...

Painting by N. Samokish depicting a cavalry guard in winter uniform

During the first ten months of fighting, the Russian army suffered significant losses. The infantry units suffered especially, and therefore it was allowed to second willing cavalry officers to the infantry. With what indignation would the cavalry guards of the times of Uvarov and De Preradovich react to such a proposal! But times are different, volunteer officers responded immediately. The first to go to the 13th Erivan Life Grenadier Regiment were the aide-de-camp lieutenant Prince Bagration-Mukhransky, lieutenants Buturlin and Gerngross, cornets Bezobrazov and Pashkov, ensign Count Medem. Cornet Orzhevsky was enlisted in the Lb.-Gds. Preobrazhensky Regiment. Very soon, Orzhevsky and Prince Bagration were killed ...

At the end of 1915 (after more than half a century of interruption), the 5th and 6th active squadrons were formed in the regiment. However, even more infantry was needed than cavalry, so in May 1916, with the 1st Guards. cavalry division, a rifle division was formed, initially consisting of four foot squadrons. Somewhat later, their number doubled. The squadrons bore the names of the regiments from which they received officers, non-commissioned officers and privates: cavalry guards, horse guards, cuirassiers. The first commander of the 1st foot squadron was staff captain V.N. Bibikov. For a short time in the ranks of the squadron, many officers of the regiment had to serve.

In July 1916, the cavalry guards were again transferred to Southwestern Front to break the offensive, which will be called the Brusilov breakthrough. On July 14, the regiment took up positions in the direction of Kobel, but stayed here for a little more than a week - on July 23, the cavalry guards were replaced at positions near the village of Krovatki by the 93rd Irkutsk Infantry Regiment.

More cavalry guards did not have to fight. Revolutionary events began in the country, which, as you know, directly affected the affairs of the front ...

On March 5, 1917, the regiment received a telegram about the abdication of the emperor. After reading the manifesto, the chief of staff of the Guards. cavalry corps, General Vinniken shot himself. He obviously felt that this was the beginning of the end, and did not want to drink to the bottom that bitter cup that many other generals and officers had to take ...

Emperor Nicholas II in the uniform of a colonel of the cavalry guard regiment

Since March, the Cavalier Guard Regiment has received the task of guarding the railway stations of Shepetovka and Kazatin. Guarded not from the Germans or Austrians - from their own Russian deserters. The army was falling apart, discipline was falling rapidly. But it would be naive to believe that the valiant Cavalier Guard Regiment could long remain a stronghold of order and loyalty to the oath in the stormy sea of anarchy and anarchy that surrounded it. The anti-national forces in the country understood perfectly well that it was possible to completely destroy the state machine only after the army was decomposed.

The first waves of deserters were stopped by cavalry guard patrols, the stations were put in order, but soon the guards were forced to become only observers of how the fragments of the crumbling front rolled past them. On the other hand, various kinds of agitators frequented the cavalry guards themselves - Socialist-Revolutionaries and Anarchists, Bolsheviks and Mensheviks - all their propaganda had a single ultimate goal: to "depose" one of the few remaining "bastions of tsarism", to win over a military unit, which is still not lost combat capability. But by that time, many of the officers had already clearly understood that it was time to leave the regiment - without waiting for the Bolshevik turmoil.

On August 30, in Sarny and Kazatin, where divisions of cavalry guards were stationed, events took place that confirmed the correctness of such a decision. In both divisions, rallies were held simultaneously, the participants of which decided to "express no confidence in the entire officer corps." Such demands suited the commissars of the Provisional Government, who were in charge at the front, quite satisfied. The commissar of the Special Army immediately energetically ordered: "In view of the acute distrust of the soldiers in the command staff, all officers who are in the ranks by September 1 must leave the regiment to be replaced by more democratic ones." The assistant commissar of the front was not so quick in making decisions; he demanded that only eleven officers be removed immediately, and that all the rest be removed as the shift arrived ...

A group of cavalry guards. Photo from the beginning of the 20th century

By November 1, only four officers remained in the Cavalier Guard Regiment: Acting Commander Captain G. S. Voevodsky, Staff Captains V. N. Zvegintsov, A. V. Chicherin and His Grace Prince A. P. Aiven. A day later, on November 3, a new commander arrived, invested with confidence new government, - Colonel Abramov from the 8th Astrakhan Dragoon Regiment. He brought the officers an order to leave for Kyiv. The last cavalry guards immediately left the regiment.

“With the departure of the last officers,” Vladimir Nikolaevich Zvegintsov wrote in his book “Cavalier Guards in the Great and Civil War,” the last connection with the past was broken. The soul of the regiment flew off. The regiment died ... "

The vast majority of former cavalry guards - officers, non-commissioned officers, soldiers - fought on various fronts of the white movement. In the ranks of the Volunteer Army in the south of Russia there were squadrons of cavalry guards.

But all this is a completely different story ...

There was no military unit in Russia, in whose lists there would be so many famous and well-known names, starting from Peter the Great himself and his closest associates and ending with ministers and prominent statesmen of the times of the last Russian emperor. No other part of the guard or army had such an amazing, unique history.

"We do not strive to be the first, but we will not allow anyone to be better than us" - the proud motto of the cavalry guards - the most courageous and handsome men of the era. They were united by loyalty to traditions, exceptional honesty, natural aristocracy, self-sacrifice and selfless love for the Fatherland. It is said about them: "The highest chic of the cavalry guard is the absence of any chic."

The glorious history of the cavalry guards in Russia began on March 30, 1724, when, for the coronation of the wife of Peter I, Empress Catherine I, which took place on May 7 of the same year, the Cavalier Guard Corps was formed as an honorary guard. The first half company of cavalry guards opened the coronation procession from the Kremlin Palace to the Assumption Cathedral, the second closed it. During the coronation itself, the cavalry guards were located on the steps of the throne.

Peter himself assumed the rank of captain of the cavalry guard, and appointed generals and colonels of other regiments as officers of the corps, and lieutenant colonels as corporals. Ordinary cavalry guards were sixty of the tallest and most handsome handsome officers. However, after the coronation, the corps did not last long. At the end of May 1724, it was disbanded, and the officers were disbanded in their regiments. The corps of cavalry guards as such did not exist in Russia until the accession to Russian throne Catherine II (1762-1796). Then, from among the Life Campanians, who were created by the daughter of Peter the Great, Elizabeth Petrovna and served her as a personal guard, a special Cavalier Guard Corps was formed.

The cavalry guards guarded the empress and members of the imperial family, carried out guard duty in the imperial chambers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, in all country palaces and residences. Service in the cavalry guard was considered very honorable, and only nobles could enter there. Many noble parents began to enroll their young children in the corps in order to provide them with further service directly at the imperial court.
Under Emperor Paul I, the Cavalier Guard Corps was repeatedly disbanded and re-created, changing its name. So, in 1799 he was called the special guard of the Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, who was considered Paul. And only on January 11, 1800, the Life Guards Cavalry Guards Regiment was formed, which became part of the Russian army on the same position as other guards regiments without retaining the privilege of recruiting from nobles. General Fyodor Petrovich Uvarov was appointed chief of the regiment, who performed this most honorable duty until his death in 1824.
In 1804, the uniforms of the cavalry guards, which retained the cut of the Pavlovian time for the longest time, acquire character traits military uniform of the 19th century - white double-breasted tunics with high collars, white elk pantaloons, over the knee boots, a helmet made of thick leather with a lush hair plume, which reliably protected from cold weapons. But the cuirasses, which were canceled in 1801, were put on by the cavalry guards in the summer of 1812. Combat experience showed the haste of the earlier decision ...

The baptism of fire, so glorious and so tragic, of the Life Guards Cavalier Guard Regiment, commanded by Major General N. Depreradovich, received Austerlitz on the field. As you know, on November 20, 1805, the allied armies, who hoped to secure a complete and unconditional victory over Napoleon, suffered a crushing defeat.
The confidence of the allies in victory was so great that before the battle the regiment was ordered to prepare for the royal review! The cavalry guards went to battle, as if to a parade. The regiment approached at the most critical moment of the battle, when the Russian guards infantry, which was in the direction of the main attack of the French, could no longer hold back the fierce attacks of the enemy and began to retreat.

The first three squadrons of cavalry guards attacked the French infantry, making it possible for scattered groups of Preobrazhenians to withdraw. The 4th squadron of Nikolai Repnin and the platoon of cornet Alexander Albrecht came to the aid of the Semyonovsky regiment. The Semyonov soldiers were surrounded by French guard cavalrymen, who were trying to recapture the guards' banners from them. The desperate blow of the squadron of cavalry guards allowed the Semenovites to cross the Raustitsky stream, and our cavalry also retreated behind them.
However, the French managed to close the encirclement around the brave squadron. All attempts to break through the ring from the outside were unsuccessful. For about 15 minutes, a fierce slaughter continued, until four squadrons of mounted French grenadiers shouted: "Let's make the St. Petersburg ladies cry!" did not fall on the Russian horsemen ...

All officers of the squadron of cavalry guards were wounded and taken prisoner. Those who could stand on their feet were brought before Napoleon after the battle. “Your regiment honestly fulfilled its duty!” Bonaparte told the squadron commander Repnin, and then added, pointing to the wounded 17-year-old cornet Sukhtelen, who was standing next to the commander: “He is very young to fight with us.” To which the young officer exclaimed: "You don't have to be old to be brave!"
Despite the fact that in their first battle the cavalry guards showed extraordinary courage and outstanding stamina, the consequences for the regiment were catastrophic - one third of the officers and 226 lower ranks died in the battle. The participation of the cavalry guards in the remaining battles of the campaign was not marked by significant success, and in April 1806 the regiment returned to Russia.
Of course, the daily service in the court regiment was marked by tension. Constant drill, endless worries about maintaining property in exemplary order, all kinds of reviews. But the cavalry guards also had plenty of benefits. So, the lower ranks, "excellent in service and behavior, had the right to receive from the Sovereign for a wedding: sergeants - 100 rubles, non-commissioned officers - 50 rubles each, privates - 25 rubles each."

The calm life of the cavalry guards, full of exercises and parades, continued until March 17, 1812, when the guards cuirassiers set out on a campaign against Vilna. Since the beginning Patriotic War The Life Guards Cavalier Guard Regiment became part of the 1st Army of Barclay de Tolly and retreated. Like the rest of the elite units, the regiment was protected in every possible way by the command and did not take part in hostilities until the Battle of Borodino. Near Borodino, the Life Guards Cavalry Guards Regiment and the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment became part of the 1st Cuirassier Division of Major General N. Depreradovich.

The cavalry guards entered the battle in one of its most dramatic episodes. During the third French attack on the Raevsky battery, in fact, the Russian position was broken through, and the brigade remained the only obstacle to the enemy. The regiment at a trot went on the attack on Pear's cavalry. At the very beginning of the attack, the commander of the regiment, Colonel K. Levenvold, was hit by grapeshot. The death of the commander confused the cavalry guards only for a moment, and they cut into the enemy column at full gallop.
The enemy could not withstand such an onslaught and fled. The cavalry guards pursued the fleeing French cavalry until the signal "Appel!" sounded, according to which everyone was to stop the attack and gather at the regimental standard. But about a hundred horsemen, in the heat of battle, continued the pursuit and stopped only when they saw the formation of French horsemen in front of them. The situation was critical: you can’t stand - the enemy attacks, turn around - hit in the back. Divisional adjutant M. Buturlin ordered to attack the enemy. His decisiveness saved the cavalry guards. The French did not accept the battle, and the guards were able to connect with fellow soldiers.

In just an hour and a half, which the cavalry guards spent in the battle, they lost 14 officers and 93 lower ranks, but managed to defend the center of the Russian positions. Many cavalry guards were awarded orders, edged weapons and insignia of a military order.

After the Battle of Borodino in the campaign of 1812-1814, the regiment took part in the battles of Kulm, Ferchampenoise, Leipzig, and ended its combat path by entering Paris. The successes of the guards were marked by the salary of St. George's standards with the inscription: "For distinction in the defeat and expulsion of the enemy from Russia in 1812" and 15 St. George's pipes with the inscription: "Cavalier Guard Regiment". In 1814, the Life Guards Cavalry Guards Regiment returned to their homeland.
The history of the regiment is inseparable from the names of the Decembrists - heroes and martyrs on December 14, 1825. About 30 cavalry guard officers were involved in the uprising on Senate Square. No regiment in the Russian army was so closely associated with secret societies Decembrists.

The peaceful everyday life of the guards continued for a hundred years. Life went on as usual: regimental commanders changed, officers came and went, the staff structure and name changed. Since 1894, the regiment has been called the Cavalry Guard of Her Majesty Empress Maria Feodorovna. The cavalry guards adorned parades and imperial reviews with their presence, served at court, enlivened the life of the society of the Russian capital.
This court existence continued until the tragic summer of 1914. The flywheel of the First World War was already beginning to unwind. On July 21, a parting prayer service was served in the barracks on Shpalernaya Street in St. Petersburg. On the same night, the first squadron of cavalry guards was loaded onto wagons at the Varshavsky railway station. Upon arrival at the front, the guards became part of the right group of the army cavalry of the 1st Russian army and soon participated in reconnaissance in battle across the border river Shirvint.

However, the Cavalry Guards Regiment took its first real battle in a series of upcoming battles on August 6, 1914 near the village of Kaushen. The cavalry guards attacked the enemy in cavalry formation, but the German artillery set up a powerful fire screen. I had to leave. Nervousness appeared in the ranks of the regiment, and the rear platoons began to charge forward. Then the cornet Veselovsky shouted to the soldiers: "The cavalry guards do not leave at a gallop!" These words were enough to calm people down.

Dismounting, the guards again attacked the enemy under heavy machine-gun and artillery fire. Ahead of the chains with a drawn sword was the commander of the regiment, Major General Prince Alexander Dolgorukov. I had to stop, lie down, dig in. It was only possible to break through the German defenses when the horse guards came to the rescue and the attack was supported by the guards artillery. Exactly a week later, the Cavalry Guards Regiment stormed the city of Friedland, famous for the campaign of 1807.

On the roads of the First World War, the regiment will pass from the Augustow and Kozlovo-Rudsky forests to Warsaw, Petrakov and Sventsyan, several times change its subordination, which sometimes defied any logic. Soon it will be difficult to recognize in the trenches those same brilliant guards-riders, the personal guard of the Russian emperor.

Artillery, machine guns, chemical weapons turned out to be an unbearable enemy for the cavalry. White uniforms and golden cuirasses were replaced by khaki uniforms, and training in equestrian formation changed to digging, running, crawling. The infantry in the active army required much more than the cavalry. In May 1916, a rifle division was formed, consisting of four foot squadrons. The officers of the 1st squadron came from the cavalry guard regiment, which is why it is called the cavalry guard regiment.

In July 1916 they took part in the Brusilovsky breakthrough in the Kovel region. All tasks of the cavalry guards are carried out with honor, but soon near the village of Krovatki they are replaced by infantrymen of the Irkutsk infantry regiment, and the regiment goes to the rear. On March 5, 1917, the regiment received a telegram about the abdication of the emperor. The guardsmen didn’t have to fight anymore - a revolution begins in the country ...

The revolutionary forces were well aware that the collapse of the state machine must begin with the armed forces. The belligerent army is decomposing before our eyes, discipline in units and subunits is rapidly falling. Since March 1917, the Cavalry Guards Regiment has been guarding the Shepetovka and Kazatin railway stations, but not from the Germans and Austrians, but from Russian deserters. And although the first waves of deserters were stopped and order was restored at the stations, after a while the cavalry guards could only witness the unheard-of shame of the Russian army. All sorts of agitators of various stripes frequented the regiment, calling for "the overthrow of the last stronghold of tsarism", which had retained its combat capability - the Cavalier Guard Regiment.

In the divisions of the cavalry guards, rallies of soldiers are held, at which they decided to express distrust of the officers and replace it with a more democratic one. Many of the officers begin to leave the regiment, not waiting for the Bolshevik turmoil. By November, only four officers remained in the regiment, who left the location of the unit on November 3. Vladimir Zvegintsev wrote in his book "Cavalier Guards in the Great and Civil War": "With the departure of the last officers, the last connection with the past was broken. The soul of the regiment flew off. The regiment died ..."

Most cavalry guard officers will participate in the White movement and will fight on different fronts. civil war. So, for example, in Denikin's Volunteer Army there were entire squadrons of cavalry guards. However, a full-fledged cavalry guard regiment in the Russian army never existed again. And probably won't exist...

In fact, cavalry guards appeared in Russia much earlier - back in 1724. However, throughout the 18th century, they did not represent a regular large military formation, but were a temporary honorary escort of emperors and empresses, as evidenced by their name (from the French cavalier - rider, and garde - guard).

"Cavalry Guard" of Peter I

For the first time, the cavalry guards performed the function of an honorary guard on the day of the coronation of Empress Catherine I - March 30, 1724. At the same time, they were led by Emperor Peter I himself, who assumed the title of captain of the cavalry guards; generals and colonels were listed as officers, lieutenant colonels were corporals, and 60 of the tallest and most representative chief officers were privates. Immediately after the end of the coronation celebrations, this company of cavalry guards was disbanded.

Cavalier Guards of Catherine II

After that, the "cavalry guard" was restored several more times: under the empresses Catherine I, Elizabeth I and Catherine II. However, this “part” was not actually a military one, but was either an imperial escort of high dignitaries at important celebrations (under Catherine I) or a noble guard at the empress’s chambers (under Elizabeth I and Catherine II). At the same time, the number of cavalry guards rarely reached 100 people, only under Catherine II the number of cavalry guards, in which guardsmen who distinguished themselves in battles, were also credited as a reward, reached 350 people. At the same time, the composition of the "cavalry guard" remained exclusively noble.

Cavalry guards of Paul I

And in 1799, Emperor Paul I established the regular Cavalier Guard Corps, as the personal guards unit of the Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (which was Paul himself). It included 189 people from the nobility who were awarded the badge of the Maltese Cross for merit. This feature was also reflected in the form of the Pavlovsk cavalry guards, on the red superwests of which there were white Maltese crosses. The very same uniform assigned to the cavalry guards in 1799 was white with red and silver, in the form of a cuirassier of that time, and with cuirassier weapons. Moreover, the cavalry guards usually wore triangular hats, but on solemn days they put on silver cuirasses and silver cones with ostrich feathers.

Ceremonial helmets ("shishaki") of the cavalry guards of Paul I

The purpose of creating the corps of cavalry guards was: to force the Russian noble youth to really serve, and not to be listed in the service, and, forcing them to experience the brunt of the service of the lower rank, thereby preparing the young nobles for the rank of army cavalry officer.
The corps was created by Field Marshal Count Valentin Platonovich Musin-Pushkin, who became the first chief of the cavalry guards. The first commander of the new unit was Lieutenant General Marquis Jean Franck Louis Dotishamp, an emigrant from revolutionary France, who did not know the Russian language at all. This circumstance made it difficult for the commander to communicate with his subordinates, and did not contribute to the popularity among the cavalry guards of this good military specialist, who was considered one of the best cavalry commanders of that time.

The creators of the Cavalier Guards Corps: Chief of the Cavalry Guards, Field Marshal Count Valentin Platonovich Musin-Pushkin and their commander, Lieutenant General Marquis Jean Frank Louis Dotishamp

And on January 11, 1800, the Cavalier Guard Corps was reorganized into a three-squadron Cavalier Guard Regiment, which became part of the guard troops on the same terms as other guard regiments. At the same time, the new guard unit was deprived of the former privilege of the cavalry guard formations - the recruitment of personnel exclusively by nobles. Now the nobles represented officers and partly non-commissioned officers in the Cavalry Guards Regiment, while ordinary cavalry guards were recruited from tall and stately recruits of peasant origin, or soldiers of the guard transferred to the regiment.

Cavalier guards of Alexander I in 1805: private and non-commissioned officer

The new chief of the cavalry guards, Adjutant General of the Emperor Fyodor Petrovich Uvarov, was engaged in the reorganization of the corps into a regiment; he was also approved by the commander of this regiment. Under him, discipline in the unit improved significantly - Uvarov personally selected personnel, preventing the transfer of military personnel from other military units seen in indiscipline and unseemly deeds.

Chief of the Cavalry Guards Regiment during all the wars against Napoleon, Adjutant General of the Emperor Fyodor Petrovich Uvarov

Shortly after the accession to the throne of Emperor Alexander I, the Cavalier Guard Regiment was increased to 5 squadrons - now the regiment's staff consisted of 991 people (41 officers, the rest were non-commissioned officers and privates). At the same time, Major General Pavel Vasilievich Golenishchev-Kutuzov was appointed commander of the regiment, but in 1803 he was replaced in this post by Major General Nikolai Ivanovich Depreradovich, who commanded the cavalry guards until the spring of 1812, although he was appointed commander of 1 th Cuirassier Division, which included the Cavalier Guard Regiment. In May 1812, Depreradovich was replaced as commander of the cavalry guards by Colonel Karl Karlovich Levenvolde, but he did not lead this regiment for long: on August 26, Colonel Levenvolde died during the Battle of Borodino. After the death of Levenvolde, the cavalry guards were led by Major General Ivan Zakharovich Ershov; under his command, the regiment participated in the foreign campaigns of the Russian army in 1813-1814. The chief of the cavalry guard regiment during all the wars against Napoleon was the adjutant general of the emperor Fyodor Petrovich Uvarov.

The first commanders of the regiment of cavalry guards: Major General Pavel Vasilyevich Golenishchev-Kutuzov, Major General Nikolai Ivanovich Depreradovich and Major General Ivan Zakharovich Ershov
(portrait of K.K. Levenvolde could not be found)

The new Guards Regiment received its baptism of fire in 1805 at the Battle of Austerlitz, showing itself at the same time from the very better side. At the critical moment of the battle, when the Russian guards infantry was pressed by superior French forces to the Raustitsky stream, the cavalry guards managed to save the Preobrazhenians and Semenovites. They quickly crossed the stream along the dam, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd squadrons of cavalry guards, led by General Depreradovich, cut into the ranks of the French infantry, giving the Preobrazhenians and Semenovites the opportunity to cross to the other side. At the same time, the 4th and 5th squadrons under the command of Colonel Prince N.G. Repnin-Volkonsky attacked the French cavalry, which was marching to the aid of its infantry. During the ensuing fierce battle, Napoleon's guards cavalry arrived in time to help the crushed squadrons of General Rapp, surrounding Repnin's cavalry guards. In the cabin with superior enemy forces, the encircled 4th squadron of cavalry guards fell almost in full strength: only 18 people were able to escape, the rest were killed or wounded were captured. In total, under Austerlitz, the regiment lost 26 officers and 226 lower ranks (out of 800 people who were in service). For this battle, the chief of the regiment, Lieutenant General F.P. Uvarov and regiment commander Major General N.I. Depreradovich received the Order of St. George 3rd degree, Colonel N.G. Repnin-Volkonsky - the Order of St. George 4th degree, the rest of the squadron commanders - the Order of St. Vladimir 4th degree, all wounded officers - golden weapons (swords), all other officers - Annen crosses "For courage" on swords. The cadets who participated in the battle were promoted to officers.

Cavalry guards in the battle with the Turkish alla

In 1807, the cavalry guards played an important role in the Battle of Heilsberg. When the powerful onslaught of the French almost overturned the vanguard of General Bagration, it was the fierce attacks on the enemy of the cavalry guards that allowed Bagration to safely retreat, while maintaining order in his troops. For this battle, two cavalry guards were the first in Russia to be awarded the recently approved Insignia of the Military Order, awarded to the lower ranks "for military merits and for bravery against the enemy." They were non-commissioned officer Yegor Ivanovich Mityukhin (badge No. 1) and Private Karp Savelyevich Ovcharenko (badge No. 3).

Cavalier guards in the form of 1812: private, timpani player and officer

During the Patriotic War of 1812, 4 active squadrons of the regiment (35 officers and 725 lower ranks) were in the 1st Western Army in the 1st Cuirassier Division of Major General N. I. Depreradovich; the reserve squadron was in the combined cuirassier regiment in the corps of Lieutenant General P. X. Wittgenstein. As already mentioned, Colonel K. K. Levenvolde commanded the cavalry guards at the initial stage of the war.
The cavalry guards were the elite of the Russian cavalry, and therefore the command kept them in reserve, sending them into battle only as a last resort. So, the cavalry guards were used in the battle on July 15 (27) near Luchesa, where they covered the flank of the rear guard, and then in the battle of Smolensk. As a result of these battles, by the beginning of the Battle of Borodino, 30 officers and 549 lower ranks remained in the ranks of the Cavalier Guard Regiment.
During the battle of Borodino, the regiment was also initially in reserve - the command wanted to throw the guards into battle at the most decisive moment. Only after 14 hours, General M. B. Barclay de Tolly ordered the Cavalier Guard and Life Guards Cavalry Regiments to be brought into battle - during the last attack by the enemy of N. N. Raevsky's battery, at the most dramatic and critical moment of the battle. The guards attacked the Saxon cuirassiers and Polish lancers, who were rushing to the Kurgan battery. At that moment, the commander of the cavalry guards, Colonel Levenvolde, was killed with a buckshot in the head. Nevertheless, despite the death of the commander, the guards crushed Pear's cavalry with a swift attack and began to pursue it. In order to avoid separation from the rest of the forces, the command gave a signal to return, but part of the cavalry guards, carried away by the pursuit, broke far ahead and ran into a new wave of enemy cavalry. Thus, about a hundred cavalry guards found themselves face to face with superior enemy forces; the guards instantly formed a formation, and the officers who were among them decided to attack the enemy - this was the only way out, because if the detachment turned around to return to its own, it would inevitably be crushed. A hundred armored cavalry guards rushed at the enemy; the enemy cavalrymen, taken aback, did not accept the battle and retreated, which allowed the detached group to return to the location of their troops.

Attack of the cavalry guards at the Battle of Borodino

These attacks at Borodino cost the cavalry guards the loss of 14 officers and 93 lower ranks. For the courage shown in battle, all the surviving officers were awarded orders and golden swords, and 63 lower ranks were awarded the Insignia of the Military Order.
The reserve squadron of cavalry guards, which was part of the combined cuirassier regiment of the corps of General Wittgenstein, who covered the St. Petersburg direction, was not idle either. This squadron participated in the Svolnya River, in both battles near Polotsk, in the battles at Batury (November 11), at Borisov (November 15) and at Studenka (November 16).
After the expulsion of Napoleon from Russia, the Cavalry Guard Regiment took part in the Foreign Campaign, distinguishing itself in 1813 at Lutzen, Kulm and Leipzig, and in 1814 at Fer-Champenoise. For exploits in the Patriotic War, the Cavalry Guards regiment was awarded St. George's standards with the inscription "For distinction in the defeat and expulsion of the enemy from Russia in 1812", and for the battle at Fer-Champenoise, the St. George pipes were granted to the regiment.

With the end Napoleonic Wars for the cavalry guards, a long period of peace began - for about a hundred years they had not been able to prove themselves in battles with the enemy. Only twice did a military thunderstorm disturb this guards regiment. So, in the powder turmoil of the December uprising on Senate Square in 1825, the Cavalier Guard Regiment, which had taken the oath to Nicholas I, remained on the side of the new emperor. Summoned to St. Petersburg from Tsarskoe Selo, the cavalry guards left the place so hastily that they appeared on Senate Square without cuirasses and on horses saddled “in a manege”, and one squadron was generally in uniforms and caps. This caused displeasure, and even indignation of the emperor and his retinue. In order not to see this "shameful sight" further, the cavalry guards were removed behind their backs - to Admiralteyskaya Square.

At three o'clock in the afternoon the guards cavalry was ordered to attack the rebels. The horse guards and cavalry guards did this with obvious reluctance (no one wanted to shed the blood of their comrades), and retreated at the first shots from the rebels' square. This was repeated several times; as an eyewitness testified: "The cavalry guard regiment evenly went on the attack, but without much success." Since the cavalry did not want to solve the problem, the rebels were eventually dispersed by artillery salvos.
Despite the fact that during the uprising all the cavalry guards were in the ranks of government troops, after the suppression of the rebellion, many officers of this regiment were accused of participating in a conspiracy: a total of 28 officers of the cavalry guard regiment were involved in the Decembrists' case - mostly simply for "freedom-loving chatter" and acquaintance with the conspirators. Nevertheless, the punishment of these "Decembrists" was quite cruel: some of the officers were transferred with a reduction in rank to other regiments, and four (lieutenant Annenkov, cornet Svistunov, cornet Muravyov and captain Count Chernyshev) were sent to hard labor. It should be noted that the attitude of the officers of the regiment towards the convicts was generally negative, although many pitied them as their comrades-in-arms, "confused by freethinking."
The second time the Cavalry Guards Regiment was raised on combat alert during Crimean War(1853-55) and sent to the Polish city of Biala Podlaska: Prussian and Austrian troops concentrated on the western border of the Russian Empire, threatening an invasion, and the cavalry guards, along with other troops, were preparing to repel the attack (but - nothing happened ...).

Private of the Cavalier Guard Regiment in the form of the middle of the 19th century

As already mentioned, the peaceful everyday life of the guards continued for a hundred years. In peacetime, the cavalry guards daily occupied the inner guard in the palace in which the sovereign was staying, and on solemn occasions they put on armor. In addition to serving at the court, the cavalry guards decorated with their presence all parades and imperial reviews. Life went on as usual: regimental commanders changed, officers came and went, the staff structure and name changed. From 1881 until February Revolution In 1917, the chief of the regiment was Empress Maria Feodorovna, wife and then widow of Emperor Alexander III. In her honor, since 1894, the regiment began to be called the Cavalry Guards of Her Majesty Empress Maria Feodorovna Regiment.

Empress Maria Feodorovna

Empress Maria Feodorovna with sponsored cavalry guards

At this time, as in the previous decades, the cavalry guards wore white cuirassier uniforms; the collar and cuffs of the uniform were red, with guards buttonholes: for the lower ranks from yellow braid, for officers - from a silver thread. This coloring was traditional for cavalry guards at all times, but the cut of uniforms changed over the years according to fashion. Instrument metal in the regiment of cavalry guards was white (for officers it was silver). The saddle-cloths under the saddles are red, with a black border, overlaid with yellow braid at the lower ranks, and with silver galloon for officers. However, in addition to the front white uniform, the cavalry guards also had a festive red uniform, and at the beginning of the 20th century, according to experience Russo-Japanese War for everyday wear in all parts Russian army a khaki uniform was introduced.

The form of the Cavalier Guards at the beginning of the 20th century: white dress, red festive, protective everyday

An interesting feature was the helmets of the cavalry guards: in full dress and festive uniforms, metal double-headed eagles were attached to them. At everyday form in the ranks, the eagles were screwed together, and stylized “flaming grenades” were installed in their place, and outside the ranks, instead of helmets, the cavalry guards wore white caps with a red band.

Headgear of the Cavalier Guard Regiment:
parade helmet, everyday helmet for the ranks, everyday cap out of ranks

Even under Emperor Nicholas I, some features of the recruitment of the Cavalier Guard Regiment developed, which lasted until the very end of its history. The regiment was staffed exclusively by tall beardless gray and blue-eyed blonds. The recruitment of the regiment with horses was also regulated. For the 1st squadron, light bay horses without marks were selected, for the 2nd - bay with marks, for the 3rd - bay without marks, and the 4th - dark bay without marks. The trumpeters of the cavalry guards rode only on gray horses.

Ordinary cavalry guards in the form of the early 20th century

Every year on September 5, on the day of Saints Zacharias and Elizabeth, the cavalry guards celebrated their regimental holiday, and on January 11, 1899, they magnificently celebrated the 100th anniversary of the regiment. A commemorative medal and a special token were made. The compilation of a four-volume edition of the biographies of the cavalry guards began, which eventually included the biographies of the officers who served in the regiment in 1724-1908. On the day of the anniversary, a parade of the regiment took place in the Mikhailovsky Manege with the presentation of a new banner, after which a breakfast was given for officers in the Anichkov Palace.

Regimental badge of cavalry guards, appeared in 1899

Such an easy existence continued until the tragic summer of 1914. But already at the very beginning of World War I, the cavalry guards went to the front. As part of the 1st Guards Cavalry Division, the cavalry guards arrived in the Consolidated Cavalry Corps of the 1st Russian Army; the corps was commanded by Lieutenant General Huseyn Khan Nakhichevansky. The regiment took the first battle on August 6, 1914 near the village of Kaushen during the East Prussian operation. The cavalry guards went on a horse attack on the enemy; however, German artillery put up a powerful fire screen, effectively disrupting the attack. The horses, not accustomed to shooting, were frightened by the gaps and ceased to obey the riders. Then the cavalry guards dismounted, and again attacked the enemy - already on foot, with carbines and bayonets attached to them; in front of the chains with a naked saber was the commander of the regiment, Major General Prince Alexander Nikolaevich Dolgorukov. The cavalry guards, under heavy fire, nevertheless reached the enemy and, after a fierce battle, put him to flight. In that battle at Kaushen, the Cavalry Guards and the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment lost more than half of the available officers killed and wounded; total losses amounted to about 380 people. The Germans lost 1200 people.

The commander of the cavalry guards in 1914, Major General Prince Alexander Nikolaevich Dolgorukov

Then, until 1916, the regiment participated in the fighting on various fronts. In the conditions of that war, the cavalry guards had to forget about white uniforms and golden cuirasses, and get used to the form of a protective color; instead of training in actions in the equestrian formation, the cavalry guards were now taught to dig in, run over, crawl. In July 1916, the regiment took part in the famous Brusilov breakthrough; this was his last combat mission; at the end of the offensive, the cavalry guards were taken to rest in the rear.
After the abdication of the emperor in March 1917, the Cavalry Guards Regiment began to guard the railway stations of Shepetovka and Kazatin; the guards were ordered to detain deserters fleeing from the front. The decomposition of the Russian army could not but affect the rank and file of the guards; therefore, on August 30, in Sarny and Kazatin, where squadrons of cavalry guards were stationed, rallies were held, the participants of which decided to "express no confidence in the entire officer corps." The commissar of the Special Army ordered: "In view of the acute distrust of the soldiers in the command staff, all officers who are in the ranks by September 1 must leave the regiment to be replaced by more democratic ones." As a result, only four officers remained in the Cavalier Guard Regiment, and even those were sent to Kyiv in early November by the new commander, Colonel Abramov, from the 8th Dragoon Astrakhan Regiment. A few days later, the Cavalier Guard Regiment was completely disbanded.
However, the disbandment of the regiment by the Bolsheviks did not mean the complete disappearance of the cavalry guards. Dismissed in September 1917 by decision of the commissars, the officers of the Cavalier Guard Regiment, for the most part, joined the white movement, and they tried to stick together as much as possible. Having joined the Circassian cavalry division, in the fall of 1918, the cavalry guards formed a platoon (which grew into a squadron in two months) of cavalry scouts of the Consolidated Guards Regiment. By July 1919, the cavalry guards had already formed three squadrons, whose combat biography ended in the autumn of 1920 in the Crimea during the evacuation of the White Guard troops from Russia.
In exile, the former cavalry guards created the regimental association "Cavalier Guard Family", which helped and supported officers in need. In 1938-1968, this association published the annual journal Vestnik of the Cavalier Guard Family.

During the existence of the Cavalier Guard Regiment, many officers served in it, who later became famous people. Among the most famous former cavalry guards are the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, partisan and poet Denis Vasilyevich Davydov; in the ranks of the Cavalry Guards Regiment, the future Decembrists Ivan Alexandrovich Annenkov, Sergey Grigoryevich Volkonsky, Mikhail Sergeyevich Lunin fought against Napoleon. Served among the cavalry guards and the notorious killers of poets A.S. Pushkin and M.Yu. Lermontov - Georges Charles Dantes and Nikolai Solomonovich Martynov. The former cavalry guards were both the leader of the Greek Revolution, Alexander Konstantinovich Ypsilanti, and the famous hero Russian-Turkish war 1877-78 General Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev. The Moscow Mayor, the first honorary citizen of Moscow, Alexander Alekseevich Shcherbatov, Chairman of the III and IV State Duma Mikhail Vladimirovich Rodzianko, Hetman of Ukraine Pavel Petrovich Skoropadsky and Marshal, and then President of Finland Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim also began their biography in the Cavalier Guard Regiment.

"I want everyone..."

The cavalry guard regiment as a permanent combat unit was formed on January 11, 1799; Initially, it was called the Cavalier Guard Corps and consisted of only 189 people. But already on January 11, 1800, the corps was reorganized into a three-squadron cavalry guard regiment of the imperial guard.

In fact, cavalry guards appeared in Russia much earlier - back in 1724. However, throughout the 18th century, they did not represent a regular large military formation, but were a temporary honorary escort of emperors and empresses, as evidenced by their name (from the French cavalier - rider, and garde - guard).

"Cavalry Guard" of Peter I

Cavalier Guards of Catherine II

Cavalry guards of Paul I

Ceremonial helmets ("shishaki") of the cavalry guards of Paul I

Cavalier guards of Alexander I in 1805: private and non-commissioned officer

Chief of the Cavalry Guards Regiment during all the wars against Napoleon, Adjutant General of the Emperor Fyodor Petrovich Uvarov

The new guards regiment received its baptism of fire in 1805 at the battle of Austerlitz, showing itself from the best side. At the critical moment of the battle, when the Russian guards infantry was pressed by superior French forces to the Raustitsky stream, the cavalry guards managed to save the Preobrazhenians and Semenovites. They quickly crossed the stream along the dam, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd squadrons of cavalry guards, led by General Depreradovich, cut into the ranks of the French infantry, giving the Preobrazhenians and Semenovites the opportunity to cross to the other side. At the same time, the 4th and 5th squadrons under the command of Colonel Prince N.G. Repnin-Volkonsky attacked the French cavalry, which was marching to the aid of its infantry. During the ensuing fierce battle, Napoleon's guards cavalry arrived in time to help the crushed squadrons of General Rapp, surrounding Repnin's cavalry guards. In the cabin with superior enemy forces, the encircled 4th squadron of cavalry guards fell almost in full strength: only 18 people were able to escape, the rest were killed or wounded were captured. In total, under Austerlitz, the regiment lost 26 officers and 226 lower ranks (out of 800 people who were in service). For this battle, the chief of the regiment, Lieutenant General F.P. Uvarov and regiment commander Major General N.I. Depreradovich received the Order of St. George 3rd degree, Colonel N.G. Repnin-Volkonsky - the Order of St. George, 4th degree, the rest of the squadron commanders - the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th degree, all wounded officers - golden weapons (swords), all other officers - Annen crosses "For Courage" on swords. The cadets who participated in the battle were promoted to officers.

The cavalry guards at the Battle of Austerlitz fight Napoleon's guards cavalry

Cavalier guards in the form of 1812: private, timpani player and officer

During the Patriotic War of 1812, 4 active squadrons of the regiment (35 officers and 725 lower ranks) were in the 1st Western Army in the 1st Cuirassier Division of Major General N. I. Depreradovich; the reserve squadron was in the combined cuirassier regiment in the corps of Lieutenant General P. X. Wittgenstein. As already mentioned, Colonel K. K. Levenvolde commanded the cavalry guards at the initial stage of the war.
The cavalry guards were the elite of the Russian cavalry, and therefore the command kept them in reserve, sending them into battle only as a last resort. So, the cavalry guards were used in the battle on July 15 (27) near Luchesa, where they covered the flank of the rear guard, and then in the battle of Smolensk. As a result of these battles, by the beginning of the Battle of Borodino, 30 officers and 549 lower ranks remained in the ranks of the Cavalier Guard Regiment.
During the battle of Borodino, the regiment was also initially in reserve - the command wanted to throw the guards into battle at the most decisive moment. Only after 14 hours, General M. B. Barclay de Tolly ordered the Cavalry Guard and Life Guards Cavalry Regiments to be brought into battle - during the last attack by the enemy of N. N. Raevsky's battery, at the most dramatic and critical moment of the battle. The guards attacked the Saxon cuirassiers and Polish lancers, who were rushing to the Kurgan battery. At that moment, the commander of the cavalry guards, Colonel Levenvolde, was killed with a buckshot in the head. Nevertheless, despite the death of the commander, the guards crushed Pear's cavalry with a swift attack and began to pursue it. In order to avoid separation from the rest of the forces, the command gave a signal to return, but part of the cavalry guards, carried away by the pursuit, broke far ahead and ran into a new wave of enemy cavalry. Thus, about a hundred cavalry guards found themselves face to face with superior enemy forces; the guards instantly formed a formation, and the officers who were among them decided to attack the enemy - this was the only way out, because if the detachment turned around to return to its own, it would inevitably be crushed. A hundred armored cavalry guards rushed at the enemy; the enemy cavalrymen, taken aback, did not accept the battle and retreated, which allowed the detached group to return to the location of their troops.

Attack of the cavalry guards at the Battle of Borodino

With the end of the Napoleonic wars, a long period of peace began for the cavalry guards - for about a hundred years they did not have a chance to prove themselves in battles with the enemy. Only twice did a military thunderstorm disturb this guards regiment. So, in the powder turmoil of the December uprising on Senate Square in 1825, the Cavalier Guard Regiment, which had taken the oath to Nicholas I, remained on the side of the new emperor. Summoned to St. Petersburg from Tsarskoe Selo, the cavalry guards withdrew so hastily that they appeared on Senate Square without cuirasses and on horses saddled “in the arena”, and one squadron was generally in uniforms and caps. This caused displeasure, and even indignation of the emperor and his retinue. In order not to see this “shameful sight” further, the cavalry guards were removed behind their backs - to Admiralteyskaya Square.

Attack of the guards cavalry on the rebels on the Senate Square on December 14, 1825

At three o'clock in the afternoon the guards cavalry was ordered to attack the rebels. The horse guards and cavalry guards did this with obvious reluctance (no one wanted to shed the blood of their comrades), and retreated at the first shots from the rebels' square. This was repeated several times; as an eyewitness testified: "The cavalry guard regiment evenly went on the attack, but without much success." Since the cavalry did not want to solve the problem, the rebels were eventually dispersed by artillery salvos.
Despite the fact that during the uprising all the cavalry guards were in the ranks of government troops, after the suppression of the rebellion, many officers of this regiment were accused of participating in a conspiracy: a total of 28 officers of the cavalry guard regiment were involved in the Decembrist case - mostly simply for "freedom-loving chatter" and acquaintance with the conspirators. Nevertheless, the punishment of these "Decembrists" was quite cruel: some of the officers were transferred with a reduction in rank to other regiments, and four (lieutenant Annenkov, cornet Svistunov, cornet Muravyov and captain Count Chernyshev) were sent to hard labor. It should be noted that the attitude of the officers of the regiment towards the convicts was generally negative, although many pitied them as their comrades-in-arms, "confused by freethinking."
The second time the Cavalry Guards Regiment was alerted during the Crimean War (1853-55) and sent to the Polish city of Biala Podlaska: Prussian and Austrian troops were concentrated on the western border of the Russian Empire, threatening an invasion, and the cavalry guards, along with other troops, were preparing to repel the attack (but - nothing happened ...).

Private of the Cavalier Guard Regiment in the form of the middle of the 19th century

As already mentioned, the peaceful everyday life of the guards continued for a hundred years. In peacetime, the cavalry guards daily occupied the inner guard in the palace in which the sovereign was staying, and on solemn occasions they put on armor. In addition to serving at the court, the cavalry guards decorated with their presence all parades and imperial reviews. Life went on as usual: regimental commanders changed, officers came and went, the staff structure and name changed. From 1881 until the February Revolution of 1917, Empress Maria Feodorovna, wife and then widow of Emperor Alexander III, was the chief of the regiment. In her honor, since 1894, the regiment began to be called the Cavalry Guards of Her Majesty Empress Maria Feodorovna Regiment.

Empress Maria Feodorovna

Empress Maria Feodorovna with sponsored cavalry guards

At this time, as in the previous decades, the cavalry guards wore white cuirassier uniforms; the collar and cuffs of the uniform were red, with guards buttonholes: for the lower ranks from yellow braid, for officers - from a silver thread. This coloring was traditional for cavalry guards at all times, but the cut of uniforms changed over the years according to fashion. Instrument metal in the regiment of cavalry guards was white (for officers - silver). The saddle-cloths under the saddles are red, with a black border, overlaid with yellow braid at the lower ranks, and with silver galloon for officers. However, in addition to the white dress uniform, the cavalry guards also had a festive red uniform, and at the beginning of the 20th century, according to the experience of the Russo-Japanese War, a protective color uniform was introduced for everyday wear in all parts of the Russian army.

The form of the Cavalier Guards at the beginning of the 20th century: white dress, red festive, protective everyday

An interesting feature was the helmets of the cavalry guards: in full dress and festive uniforms, metal double-headed eagles were attached to them. In everyday uniforms, the eagles were screwed together in the ranks, and stylized “flaming grenadiers” were installed in their place, and outside the ranks, instead of helmets, the cavalry guards wore white caps with a red band.

Headgear of the Cavalier Guard Regiment:
parade helmet, everyday helmet for the ranks, everyday cap out of ranks

Ordinary cavalry guards in the form of the early 20th century

Regimental badge of cavalry guards, appeared in 1899

The commander of the cavalry guards in 1914, Major General Prince Alexander Nikolaevich Dolgorukov

During the existence of the Cavalier Guard Regiment, many officers served in it, who later became famous people. Among the most famous former cavalry guards are the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, partisan and poet Denis Vasilyevich Davydov; in the ranks of the Cavalry Guards Regiment, the future Decembrists Ivan Alexandrovich Annenkov, Sergey Grigoryevich Volkonsky, Mikhail Sergeyevich Lunin fought against Napoleon. Served among the cavalry guards and the notorious killers of poets A.S. Pushkin and M.Yu. Lermontov - Georges Charles Dantes and Nikolai Solomonovich Martynov. The former cavalry guards were both the leader of the Greek Revolution, Alexander Konstantinovich Ypsilanti, and the famous hero of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-78. General Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev. The Moscow Mayor, the first honorary citizen of Moscow, Alexander Alekseevich Shcherbatov, Chairman of the III and IV State Duma Mikhail Vladimirovich Rodzianko, Hetman of Ukraine Pavel Petrovich Skoropadsky and Marshal, and then President of Finland Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim also began their biography in the Cavalier Guard Regiment.

This publication is an essay on the history of the Cavalier Guard Regiment from the moment of its formation until 1851. No other part of the Russian guard had such amazing story. “We do not strive to be the first, but we will not allow anyone to be better than us,” was the motto of the cavalry guards. The officers of the regiment have indeed always been distinguished by loyalty to knightly traditions, natural aristocracy and self-sacrifice. The creation of the most privileged of the regiments of the Russian army dates back to 1724 - the time of the coronation of the wife of Peter the Great, Empress Catherine I. As an honorary guard for this ceremony, a detachment of 50 drabants or the Cavalier Guard Corps was formed. During the XVIII century. this formation, as the honorary guard of the emperor, staffed exclusively from representatives of the Russian nobility, was modified, disbanded and formed again. In 1800, Emperor Paul I reorganized the Cavalier Guard Corps into the Life Guard Cavalry Guard Regiment, which became part of the guard troops on an equal footing with other guard regiments, without retaining the privilege of recruiting only nobles. General F.P. was appointed the first chief of the regiment. Uvarov, and since 1803 Major General N.I. Depreradovich (died in 1813). From the beginning of the reign of Nicholas I, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna became the regiment's chief, and from 1831 the regiment was called Her Majesty's Cavalier Guard Regiment. Since 1857, the Cavalry Guard Regiment was the first of six regiments of the 1st Guards Cavalry Division, which, in addition to four cuirassiers (heavy cavalry), also included two Guards Cossack regiments.

The cavalry guard regiment received its baptism of fire in the battle of Austerlitz (November 20, 1805). At the critical moment of the battle, the cavalry guards attacked the French cavalry, which was besieging the Semyonovsky regiment, but they themselves were surrounded. Of the two squadrons of the regiment, only 18 people managed to escape, and the rest were killed or captured. In total, in this battle, the regiment lost a third of the officers and 226 lower ranks. For this feat, almost all officers of the regiment received awards. During the Patriotic War of 1812, the cavalry guards especially distinguished themselves in the Battle of Borodino, where the regiment lost 14 officers and 93 lower ranks. During the foreign campaigns of the Russian army, the cavalry guards were with the person of Alexander I, fought heroically at Luzen and Ferchampenoise, and participated in the solemn entry of the allied troops into Paris. During the reign of Nicholas I, the cavalry guard regiment was mainly at the court, participating in numerous court ceremonies. The only military campaign in which the cavalry guards took part was the suppression of the Polish uprising in 1830-1831, during which they occupied Warsaw and participated in the campaign to the Modlin fortress.

A feature of this publication are applications where decrees, reports, extracts, lists of officials, officers and first cavalry guards, lists of generals, headquarters and chief officers of the Cavalier Guard Regiment, awarded for distinction in hostilities, a list of headquarters and chief officers of the Cavalry Guard Regiment of those killed and mortally wounded during the fighting.