Wednesday 26 November 2014

Russian Invasion Army

The Russian Army aboard the invasion fleet comprised a core of trained and battle hardened veterans who had served in the recent Russo-Turkish war of 1877/1878 supplemented with detachments from the units deployed in the Empire's far east provinces.

European Units Detached from IX Army Corps Orel
1st battalion 141st Regiment 1st Brigade 36th Infantry Division                       ≈ 1000 effectives *
1st battalion 143rd Regiment 2nd Brigade 36th Infantry Division                      ≈ 1000 effectives *
Siberian Units
Combined Battalion 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th West Siberian Frontier Battalions        ≈ 800 effectives +
Combined Battalion 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th East Siberian Frontier Battalions         ≈ 800 effectives +
Two Sotnia detached from 1st Transbaikal Cossack Regiment                      ≈ 340 effectives x
Four Gorlov guns on wheeled mounts - naval crews available
 
*            these units included their rifle company which could be detached for skirmishing
+            these units include one company from each of the parent battalions
x            the Cossacks travelled without mounts
Notes:
-No artillery included in OOB the fleet would supply ‘big gun’ support when required
-Approximate strengths are based on numbers before the fleet left Vladivostok in July 1879 on arrival off the coast of South Australia on Sunday 17th August 1879 the unit returns showed effective’s numbers ranged from 50% to 70% of these totals
-Troops were equipped with the latest single shot manually cycled bolt action Berdan II rifle which used a socket style bayonet
-To supplement his units firepower as they had no integral artillery Lieutenant-General Lazarev personally ensured four Gorloff guns were included in the invasion forces armaments these were to be crewed by sailors from the fleet

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