Napoleonic Newsdesk

Russian Army Study Group

by Paul Chamberlain

The Russian Army was respected throughout Europe for its bravery. In February 1813 when the Tsar offered to send troops to Spain, Wellington wrote that if 15,000 men were sent 'there can be no doubt that this number (or Russians particularly) would have the most decisive effect on the next campaign. Even if 1,000 or 2,000 only were sent it would show the power of the Russian Empire'. Unfortunately due to Spanish opposition and events in Northern Europe, Russian troops did not take part in the Peninsular War.

This Study Group looks at all aspects of the Russian Army; from the army life to the battles they fought. In 1999 articles in the Group's newsletter The Kiwer included accounts of the 1799 campaigns in Italy, Germany and Holland; Prince Condé's army; the Russian Army of 1799; book reviews; infantry uniforms and a whole lot more. Also last year saw the publications of translations of chapters on artillery, colours and the organisation of the army during the reign of Paul I, taken from Viskovatov's epic work The Historical Description of Clothing and Armaments of the Russian Army.

This year is the 200th anniversary of Russian troops quartering in the British Isles, which is to be commemorated by a book entitled The Russian Army in the British Isles 1799-1800. Further chapters of Viskovatov's work will also be published.

All you need to do to join is write an article on any aspect of the Russian Army for the Group's quarterly newsletter and send four A5 SAE with UK postage or IRC. If you live in the USA then US stamps will be fine, as these will be passed to our American distributor. For further information (please enclose an A5 SAE) contact the Study Group Co-ordinator - Laurence Spring, 12 Puckshill, Knaphill, Woking, Surrey, GU21 2BS.

More Napoleonic Newsdesk

Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #54
Back to First Empire List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 2000 by First Empire.
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com