"New order regiments" ''(

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: "Полки иноземного (нового) строя")'', also known in the literature as "foreign formation regiments", were professional military units formed in

Russian Tsardom The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I in ...

in the 17th century, armed and trained in line with the Western European armies.

Prelude

First attempts with Western military training in Russia were made by

Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky Prince Mikhail Vasiliyevich Skopin-Shuisky (russian: Михаил Васильевич Скопин-Шуйский) (8 November OS (18 November NS) 1586 – 23 April OS (3 May NS) 1610) was a Russian statesman and military figure during the T ...

in 1609, during De la Gardie Campaign. In 1630 the Muscovite government began to hire mercenary officers in Sweden, the Netherlands, and Scotland to train a new, "foreign formation force" ("inozemskii stroi") in the new tactics. Six regiments of infantry ("soldaty"), a regiment of heavy cavalry pistoleers ("reitary"), and a regiment of dragoons ("draguny") were formed from Muscovite peasant militiamen, Cossacks, service class cavalrymen and free volunteers from various social categories. Unlike the traditional formation troops, the new regiments were outfitted and salaried at treasury expense.

Formation

After the

Smolensk War The Smolensk War (1632–1634) was a conflict fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia. Hostilities began in October 1632 when Russian forces tried to capture the city of Smolensk. Small military engagements produced mix ...

most, but not all of the expensive "foreign formation regiments" had been disbanded. A few thousand "foreign formation" infantry and dragoons had manned the Abatis Line, but in 1646 the government decided to make "foreign formation" units an important permanent element in the army. A number of officers were hired abroad, especially in the Netherlands; a "war manual" on the exercise of musket and pike was translated into Russian, to help in training Muscovite infantry; a new census was conducted to levy troops by household (one from every 20-100 homes); and

Tsar Alexis Aleksey Mikhaylovich ( rus, Алексе́й Миха́йлович, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ; – ) was the Tsar of Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676. While finding success in foreign affairs, his reign saw several wars ...

placed thousands of "state serfs" along the border in standing service as ‘settled’ dragoons and infantry, drilled in their villages year-round under foreign officers.

Combat service

During

Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) The Russo-Polish War of 1654–1667, also called the Thirteen Years' War and the First Northern War, was a major conflict between the Tsardom of Russia and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Between 1655 and 1660, the Swedish invasion was a ...

, the number of the foreign formation troops grew (7 percent of the Muscovite army in 1651, 79 percent in 1663). With the exception of the better-trained

Reiter ''Reiter'' or ''Schwarze Reiter'' ("black riders", anglicized ''swart reiters'') were a type of cavalry in 16th to 17th century Central Europe including Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Tsardom of Russia, and others. ...

regiments, the "soldat" infantry was still of limited use on the battlefield. More importantly, though, these infantry regiments were conscripted from serfs and commoners, so it was easier to rebuild them than damaged units of traditional hereditary servitors- Landed cavalry and Streltsy.

Organization

During military reforms in 1648 four types of professional regiments were formed: *

s, recruited from noblemen and hereditary servicemen. Heavy cavalry, armed with

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and light ...

pistols A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, a ...

, and sabers. * Dragoons, recruited from Cossacks, Streltsy and peasants. Mounted infantry, armed with muskets, swords, and spears. * Infantry ("soldaty"), recruited from "state serfs".

Musketeer A musketeer (french: mousquetaire) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare particularly in Europe as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a pre ...

s were equipped the same as Streltsy(muskets and

bardiche A bardiche , berdiche, bardische, bardeche, or berdish is a type of polearm used from the 14th to 17th centuries in Europe. Ultimately a descendant of the medieval sparth or Danish axe, the bardiche proper appears around 1400, but there are nu ...

s), with the addition of swords and helmets.

Pikemen A pike is a very long thrusting spear formerly used in European warfare from the Medieval warfare, Late Middle Ages and most of the Early modern warfare, Early Modern Period, and were wielded by infantry, foot soldiers deployed in pike square fo ...

wore helmets and

breastplate A breastplate or chestplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury, as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status. A breastplate is sometimes worn by mythological beings as a distinctive item of clothing. It is ...

s but were discarded after 1660. * Hussars emulated Polish

Winged Hussars The Polish hussars (; pl, husaria ), alternatively known as the winged hussars, were a heavy cavalry formation active in Poland and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1503 to 1702. Their epithet is derived from large rear wings, which ...

. Heavy cavalry, armed with

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, ...

s and

lance A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier ( lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unli ...

s. Reiters and Hussars wore Western-style armor, at first imported, but after 1654 manufactured in Tula.{{Cite book, title=Istorii︠a︡ voennogo iskusstva, last=Andreevich), first=Razin, E. A. (Evgeniĭ, date=1999, publisher=Poligon, isbn=5891730391, location= aint Petersburgoclc=49371210

References

Military units and formations of the Russian Empire