#8314 WWI Russian Cavalry

At the outbreak of the First World War, Imperial Russia possessed the largest cavalry force of any major European power. The vast distances and comparatively open terrain of the Eastern Front seemed to offer mounted troops greater opportunities than the increasingly confined battlefields of Western Europe. Russian cavalry was used for reconnaissance, screening the movement of armies, protecting exposed flanks, carrying messages and pursuing a retreating enemy. Russia began the war with 117 cavalry regiments organized into 37 divisions, including regular army, Guard and Cossack formations.

Box art.

The regular cavalry included dragoons, hussars and uhlans. Although these traditional titles and regimental distinctions were retained, the different branches performed broadly similar duties by 1914. Cavalrymen were trained to fight mounted with lance or sabre, but they could also dismount and use their rifles as mobile infantry. This versatility became increasingly important as machine guns, rapid-firing artillery and entrenched positions made large mounted charges much more dangerous.

Test sprue.

Russian cavalry saw extensive service during the opening campaigns in East Prussia, Poland and Galicia. Mounted formations advanced ahead of the armies, searched for enemy positions and attempted to raid communications and supply lines. One of the largest traditional cavalry encounters of the war took place at Jaroslavice in Galicia in August 1914, where Russian and Austro-Hungarian cavalry divisions fought one another. Russian cavalry also contributed to the defeat of Austro-Hungarian forces at Gorodenko in April 1915.

Digital pics

As the war continued, cavalry increasingly fought on foot. The mobility provided by the horse still allowed units to cover ground rapidly and reinforce threatened sectors, but once in action the men often dismounted and occupied trenches alongside the infantry. By 1917, many Russian cavalry units were serving primarily as dismounted frontline troops. Nevertheless, mounted formations remained especially useful during retreats, breakthroughs and operations in regions where continuous trench systems did not exist.

Sizing figures

Each sprue contains four horses and five riders, including a special officer figure. This allows the modeller to choose which four riders to mount on each sprue and to include an officer among the completed figures. With three sprues in the box, the set provides twelve mounted cavalrymen, with a selection of lancers, swordsmen, rifle-armed troopers and officers that can be arranged as a patrol, a moving squadron or a mounted attack.

Sprue makeup

The figures can be combined with our WWI Russian Infantry, Infantry Heavy Weapons, Artillery Crew and 76mm Putilov M1902 Gun to create a broader Imperial Russian force. Our Russian Cossacks provide the less regular mounted troops who served alongside the army cavalry in reconnaissance, raids and screening operations. Together, the sets are suitable for campaigns in East Prussia and Galicia in 1914, the Great Retreat of 1915 and the Brusilov Offensive of 1916. They can also be used for the Russian Civil War, when mounted troops played an especially prominent part in the fast-moving fighting across the former Russian Empire.

More sizing figures

8061 WWI Russian Infantry

8080 WWI Russian Infantry Heavy Weapons

8173 WWI 76mm Putilov M1902 Gun

8257 WWI Russian Artillery Crew

8315 WWI Russian Cossacks

All information on this page subject to change.