Moskovsky Guards Regiment () was a

Russian Imperial Guard The Russian Imperial Guard, officially known as the Leib Guard ( ''Leyb-gvardiya'', from German ''Leib'' "body"; cf. Life Guards / Bodyguard), were combined Imperial Russian Army forces units serving as counterintelligence for preventing sabot ...

infantry regiment. Established in October 1817 it continued in existence until the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

History

Foundation

The Moscow Guards Regiment was created on 12 October 1817. In order to constitute the new unit, the two senior battalions of the existing Litovski Regiment of

line infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that formed the bulk of most European land armies from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Henri de la Tour d ...

were transferred to a senior corps of the Imperial Guard designated as the "Old Guard" (''ru: старая гвардия''). The Litovski itself had been raised on 7 November 1811 and this now became the nominal date of foundation for the Moscow Guards.

Campaigns

* 1812 -

Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino ( ) or Battle of Moscow (), in popular literature also known as the Battle of the Generals, took place on the outskirts of Moscow near the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. ...

(as Litovski Regiment) * 1813 - Battle of Lützen, Battle of Bautzen,

Battle of Dresden The Battle of Dresden (26–27 August 1813) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle took place around the city of Dresden in modern-day Germany. With the recent addition of Austria, the Sixth Coalition felt emboldened in t ...

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I, Karl von Schwarzenberg, and G ...

(as Litovski Regiment) * 1828–1829 — Russian-Turkish War * 1831 —

Polish campaign The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet ...

* 1863–1864 —

* 1877–1878 —

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

* 1914–1917 —

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Decembrist revolt

On 25 December 1825 the Moscow Regiment played a leading role in the

Decembrist revolt The Decembrist revolt () was a failed coup d'état led by liberal military and political dissidents against the Russian Empire. It took place in Saint Petersburg on , following the death of Emperor Alexander I. Alexander's brother and heir ...

. Led by reform minded young officers the regiment paraded for most of a day in the Senate Square of Saint Petersburg, in protest against the accession of

Tsar Nicholas I Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

. At dusk they were fired on by loyalist artillery and routed. The officers involved were executed or exiled, and the ordinary soldiers transferred to

units. However the Moscow Regiment, survived with its numbers restored by mass transferrals from the L.G. Grenadierski Regiment.

Uniforms and physical appearance

Throughout its history under the Russian Empire, the regiment wore the standard uniform of the Infantry of the Imperial Guard, which from 1683 to 1914 was predominantly of a dark green (eventually verging on black) colour. The main distinctions of the Moscow Guards Regiment were the all-red

facings A facing colour, also known as facings, is a common tailoring technique for European military uniforms where the visible inside lining of a standard military jacket, coat or tunic is of a different colour to that of the garment itself.René Char ...

(

plastron The turtle shell is a shield for the ventral and dorsal parts of turtles (the Order (biology), order Testudines), completely enclosing all the turtle's vital organs and in some cases even the head. It is constructed of modified bony elements such ...

, collar, cuffs and shoulder straps). On the collars were worn distinctive regimental patterns of braid (''litzen'') in gold or yellow material. In 1912, in recognition of its service during the Russo-Turkish War, officers of the regiment were authorised to wear a large metal

gorget A gorget ( ; ) was a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the English medieval clothing, medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon (headgear), chaperon hood. The term later described a steel or leather Collar (c ...

of a design dating from 1808. A peculiarity of the Russian Imperial Guard was that recruits for most regiments were required to meet certain criteria of physical appearance, in order to provide a standardised appearance on parade. For the Moscow Regiment conscripts were selected on the basis of their hair colour (red or reddish-brown).Patrick de Gmeline, page 63 "La Garde Imperiale Imperiale Russe 1896-1914", publisher Charles-Lavauzelle Paris 1986

References

Sources

* Gorokhoff, Gerard. Russian Imperial Guard. 2002. * Handbook of the Russian Army 1914 by the British General Staff. Battery Press reprint edition, 1996. {{Infantry regiments of the Russian Empire Russian Imperial Guard Infantry regiments of the Russian Empire Russian military units and formations of the Napoleonic Wars Former guards regiments Military units and formations established in 1812 Military units and formations disestablished in 1917 Guards regiments of the Russian Empire February Revolution