Size
The Russians used seven of their fourteen army corps for the Russo-Turkish war, accompanied by two independent rifle brigades, the United Cossack Division and nine unbrigaded Don Cossack regiments. They expanded their commitment after their second abortive attempt to storm Plevna: calling up the Imperial Guard, two divisions of Grenadiers, four more infantry divisions and another cavalry division.
A Corps consisted of two infantry divisions, two artillery brigades, a cavalry division and various supporting units. The structure of a Line Corps appears below.
Organisation
Infantry
Each infantry division consisted of two brigades of two regiments each. Each regiment consisted of three battalions, apart from those of the Imperial Guard and those of the Caucasian Corps (No. 10) which had four battalions to each regiment.
An infantry battalion in a three-battalion regiment had five companies: four line companies and one rifle company, although it was customary to actually field the rifle companies together as a fourth battalion. In a four-battalion regiment, three of the battalions were four-company line battalions, and the other a four-company rifle battalion.
A battalion had a paper strength of around 1050 men: making each company 200 strong. Companies were divided into two half-companies: the usual unit of command.
Independent rifle battalions (two to each independent rifle brigade) comprised four companies, each of around 200 men, although in the Caucasian Corps a figure of around 250 men was more common.
Note: to avoid confusion, line infantry will be known as either line or line-rifle, with infantry from the independent rifle brigades known as rifles.
Cavalry
Each cavalry division had one regiment of each type of cavalry: one dragoon; one Uhlan; one Hussar; and one Don Cossack. These were split into two brigades of two regiments each. Each division was attached to a particular army corps, and also contained two batteries of either horse of Cossack artillery.
A line cavalry regiment comprised around 750 men (around 150 non-combatants were included in this total: farriers etc), split into four squadrons.
A Cossack regiment consisted of six Sotnias, each of around 170 men.
Imperial Guard cavalry regiments had six squadrons, each of around 150 men.
Artillery
Each artillery brigade was usually attached to a specific infantry division, and there was no separate Corps artillery reserve.
Artillery brigades consisted of three batteries of 9 pdr guns and three batteries of 4 pdr guns. Brigades from the Siberian (Nos. 13 and 14) and Turkestan (no. 12) Corps substituted a 3 pdr mountain battery for one of the 4 pdr field batteries.
Field and horse batteries had a complement of eight guns each.
The Russians also possessed three huge seige parks of heavy artillery: each of around 400 pieces.
The Imperial Guard
The Imperial Guard comprised three infantry divisions, each of four brigades, each of four battalions. It also included a four-battalion rifle brigade, two cavalry divisions, four brigades of artillery (three field, one horse), and a battalion of sappers.
Equipment
Infantry
The line and line-rifle infantry used the Krenck: a breech-loading conversion of the muzzle-loader used in the 1854 Crimean War. It's maximum range was somewhat under 600 paces and it was, effectively, obsolete compared with the Berdan and Peabody.
The Imperial Guard, Grenadiers and independent rifle brigades were newly issued (1874 onwards) with the Berdan rifle: a single-shot, .42" breech-loader sighted to 1,800 paces.
Cavalry
Dragoons carried a sabre, Berdan carbine and bayonet.
Lancers and Hussars were actually equipped the same: front ranks carried a revolver, a sabre and a lance; rear ranks carried a revolver, a sabre and a Berdan carbine.
The Cossacks carried the schaska, a long curved single-edged sword with no guard; a lance and a Berdan carbine.
Artillery
The artillery used significantly inferior bronze copies of Krupp steel rifled guns.
The horse and light foot batteries used 4pdr guns with an extreme range of 3,800 yards. The heavy foot batteries used a 9pdr gun with an extreme range of 5,000 yards. Neither, however, had an effective range of more than 1,000 yards.
Uniforms
Infantry
Line infantry wore a dark green kepi with a high crown and a band in the regimental seniority colour (1st, red; 2nd, blue; 3rd, white; 4th, black).
The tunic was also dark green, single-breasted, with shoulder straps of either red (1st Brigade) or blue (2nd Brigade). Summer issue was a white blouse.
Uniform trousers were dark green in winter and white in the summer, worn tucked into the top of high boots.
Infantry were also issued with a grey (officers) or dark beige (soldiers) greatcoat known as a paletot. It came with a hood (the bashlik), also in dark beige. In winter, they could also be issued with the polushubok, or sheepskin waistcoats, to be worn under the greatcoat.
Cavalry
Headgear was a white foorazhka, or peaked cap.
Dragoons wore a single-breasted dark green tunic.
Hussars, Lancers and Cossacks wore a dark blue single-breasted tunic. Hussars had yellow frogging; Lancers had brass shoulder straps; and Cossacks' tunics were plain.
All breeches were light blue.
Artillery
Same as for line infantry, but with black shoulder straps with red piping.
The Imperial Guard & Grenadiers
The Imperial Guard wore dark green double-breasted jackets, and dark green trousers with a red stripe. On their heads their wore a dark-green foorazhka.
The Grenadiers wore the same as uniforms as line infantry, but with yellow shoulder straps.
Quality
Russian infantry were average (Guard, Grenadiers and rifles may be considered average-to-good). Artillery was average-to-poor. Cavalry was poor, except for Cossacks, who were good when they could restrain their desire for rape and pillage.
| 1 | Russian Line Army Corps 1877-1878 | |||||||
| Infantry Division | Infantry Division | Cavalry Division | ||||||
| Artillery Brig | Artillery Brig | |||||||
| 2 | Line Infantry Division with Attached Artillery Brigade | |||||||
| Infantry Brigade | Artillery Brigade | |||||||
| Infantry Regiment | Infantry Regiment | 9pdr Btty | 4pdr Btty | |||||
| 9pdr Btty | 4pdr Btty | |||||||
| Inf Bttn | Inf Bttn | Inf Bttn | Inf Bttn | 9pdr Btty | 4pdr Btty | |||
| Line Co. | Line Co. | Line Co. | Line Co. | |||||
| Line Co. | Line Co. | Line Co. | Line Co. | |||||
| Line Co. | Line Co. | Line Co. | Line Co. | |||||
| Line Co. | Line Co. | Line Co. | Line Co. | |||||
| Inf Bttn | L-Rifle Co.'s | Inf Bttn | L-Rifle Co.'s | |||||
| Line Co. | L-Rifle Co. | Line Co. | L-Rifle Co. | |||||
| Line Co. | L-Rifle Co. | Line Co. | L-Rifle Co. | |||||
| Line Co. | L-Rifle Co. | Line Co. | L-Rifle Co. | |||||
| Line Co. | Line Co. | |||||||
| Infantry Brigade | ||||||||
| Infantry Regiment | Infantry Regiment | |||||||
| Inf Bttn | Inf Bttn | Inf Bttn | Inf Bttn | |||||
| Line Co. | Line Co. | Line Co. | Line Co. | |||||
| Line Co. | Line Co. | Line Co. | Line Co. | |||||
| Line Co. | Line Co. | Line Co. | Line Co. | |||||
| Line Co. | Line Co. | Line Co. | Line Co. | |||||
| Inf Bttn | L-Rifle Co.'s | Inf Bttn | L-Rifle Co.'s | |||||
| Line Co. | L-Rifle Co. | Line Co. | L-Rifle Co. | |||||
| Line Co. | L-Rifle Co. | Line Co. | L-Rifle Co. | |||||
| Line Co. | L-Rifle Co. | Line Co. | L-Rifle Co. | |||||
| Line Co. | Line Co. | |||||||
| 3 | Line Cavalry Division | |||||||
| Line Cavalry Brigade | Line Cavalry Brigade | |||||||
| Dragoon | Lancer | Hussar | Cossack | |||||
| Regiment | Regiment | Regiment | Regiment | |||||
| Squadron | Squadron | Squadron | Sotnia | |||||
| Squadron | Squadron | Squadron | Sotnia | |||||
| Squadron | Squadron | Squadron | Sotnia | |||||
| Squadron | Squadron | Squadron | Sotnia | |||||
| Sotnia | ||||||||
| Sotnia | ||||||||
