‘About the Cossacks, and
their usefulness in the field’
(‘Ueber den Kosaken, und dessen Brauchbarkeit im Felde’)
by [the Austrian] Captain A.
Prokesch
Translated by Geert van Uythoven
Source: Osterreichisches Militairisches Zeitschrift,
3. Band, 9. Heft (Wien, 1824) pp. 270 – 339.
part 7 (final part)
(pp. 329 - 339)
The ease with which the Cossack is able to
feed himself and his horse are very important assets for use in the field. His small needs are a complete miracle to foreigners.
There, where everything is destroyed by fire and sword, where the enemy will
starve, the Cossack is still able to find what he needs, to cook his
soup and to fodder his horse. During the retreat out of Russia, when the
Cossacks were so close to the French army all the time so that, regarding the
lack of food, they appeared to be exposed to the same fate, no leader has
suffered the loss of a man nor a horse.
The way the Cossack is seated on his horse facilitates the
use of his weapons, and it appears that especially his long lance, which he
places on his foot or holds under his arm, has even more length. During the
attack it has the appearance that the Cossack lies down on the neck of his
horse completely. This error derives from the bend state of his body and the
height of his saddle. The saddle, which also is used for safe keeping of all of
the Cossack’s belongings, is only loosely fixed on the horse by two wide belts;
reason the horseman only mounts by using his lance. That
a horse will be wounded because of the saddle is something that seldom happens
in this troop. The horses are always saddled; if the enemy appears, one
only has to mount his horse and he is ready. The
bridle has no bit; therefore, the horse is able to fodder at any moment of
rest; which also happens at any time, whenever possible.
The continuous foddering, and the great care with which one uses his horse, are partially the reason for the enormous endurance of them. The Cossack dismounts and walks beside his horse whenever possible by the circumstances. The moments he is on outpost duty is also fodder time for the horses. Yes, even in the middle of the fighting it is not rare to observe Cossacks foddering their horses, without dismounting, when they are not engaged in the fighting themselves at that moment. Cossack and horse are so used to each other that one can say that they both are as one. Often, one observes the Cossack sleeping in his saddle during the march, whiles his horse under him walks on with half closed eyes! When the war of 1813 had already ruined a lot of the horses of the Don, the leaders were forced to replace the loss by German ones. Miraculously, the Cossacks got their horses used to many habits of those originating from the Don already after a short period of time; such as the meagre fodder; the variable times of foddering; the quick pace; without the German horses suffering of it. Only the continuous speed marches they could not endure. During Tettenborn’s march from Kolding to Rheims nearly every horse which was not from the Don was ruined.
Whatever
many, which do not know them well will believe, the
state of mind of the Cossack is good. He is open to all innate, natural
feelings. However he does not know the enforced ones, which often are
only branches to the trunk of natural evolution. He
is loyal, and will adhere with unconditional, sacrificing love anyone, who has
done well to him. he does not know the calculations and weighing of service and
service in return. And with a clearly maintained natural experience he
knows that good doing will always be repaid in kind, and that there is no deal
for this. He is harsh to the enemy; however,
he will never kill his prisoners without any cause, or when he is not able to
take them with him. Even more, eye-witnesses assure that during the war of 1812
in several cases French prisoners were protected against the rage of farmers by
the Cossacks. Basis for this behaviour are his
religious believes. He will try to render his enemy, to damage him, and to
prevent him to be able to serve in the field again; but he is not inclined to
take his life. Therefore the habit to inflict many light lance stabs, instead
of one serious stab with would end life soon. The Cossack plunders only
when he is allowed to do so by his leader. Even then, certain limits are holy
to him. For example, he will never take anything from the house in which he is
billeted, as he honours the hospitality. When he is allowed to take booty, he
will recognise all natural relations. He will become
friends with children easily, and aid families with their daily
pursuits. One was able to observe this scene everywhere in France were Cossacks
were billeted for a while. He is highly trustworthy.
Goods that are entrusted to him are never more safe as in his hand. There is no
example of a Cossack stealing from another Cossack. The same honesty is
proved when dividing booty among each other, and when managing inheritances.
What an individual takes from the enemy is his; booty which is taken jointly is
auctioned, and the money divided evenly.
Because of the difficulties to take booty with them, they always try to sell it as quick as possible, keeping the money in their saddle which has a tray for this purpose. When a Cossack dies in the field a committee will be formed, which will open the saddle first, taking the money in safe keeping. After that, the weapons and the horse (both are property of the Cossack himself), and everything else he had will be auctioneered in the regiment. The horses are highly valued, and are always bought again by a Cossack. And often, especially when real Don-horses are becoming scarce, they are bought for several hundred paper-roubles. The money that is received is added to the ready money. The day of death and the total amount of money is written down in the regimental book. After that, the money is send to the depot on the Don. There the wife (most Cossacks are married) or any other heir is invited, receiving the total amount of money, without any deduction.
The
Cossack will strongly follow his religious duties. Recapturing
a holy statue or church properties from the enemy is regarded as his holy duty.
His religious devotion will change into idolatry, his piety in superstition
easily. On certain days he will refuse to undertake anything and trivial omens
will break or raise his spirit. For example, all
Mondays are according to his believe unfavourable days. If it rains when
he is at the start of an undertaking, he is certain that it will succeed. When a hare crosses the road, and is it not immediately
overtaken and killed, defeat is certain; on the contrary, a fox means luck.
A smart leader uses these weaknesses to his advantage, to gain the trust of his
men. Tettenborn managed to convince his Cossacks of his luck, that they even
regarded him bullet-proof, and were sure that none of his undertakings could
fail. The leader however has to overcome many impressions of such prejudices,
or at least be prepared to meet them when they come across his path.
Benkendorf, who was much trusted by his Cossack brigade and devotedly followed
by them, met such an instance near Soissons, proving the impact of such
prejudices. He had been ordered from Soisson to Fismes, and during the march he
soon noticed that his troop did not follow him with their usual confidence and
spirit. Reaching Braine, an officers reported him that numerous French cavalry
was pursuing the advance guard at their heels. Benkendorf called out for
volunteers; only 180 men responded, while usually the whole brigade would
answer such a request with: “We are all volunteers!” Moving through Braine, he
even heared some voices calling “nazad!”, which means “back!”. At that
moment, he realised himself that it was a Monday. Reaching the other end of the
village, he encountered his routing advance guard. At that moment, the call “nazad!
nazad!” became general, and the whole brigade fled back into the village,
impossible to halt them. Here was a bridge. The mass of fugitives, the wagons
which had followed, blocked the bridge totally; it was impossible to get over,
and in their backs the ‘Dragons d’Espagne’ yelling “en avant!”
closed in. One moment, Benkendorf believed his whole command would be lost, and
this indeed would have been the case if the French had used their carbines, and
would have charged. They halted however before the village and gave the
Cossacks time to recover from their panic. A few of the bravest engaged in
skirmishing. The forward French detachment began to waver. This was exploited
by the old Girov. He moved forward, and all of a sudden yelled “advance!” This
well-known and worshipped voice made the fear of the Cossacks disappear, and
filled them with shame. The whole mass charged, yelling wildly. The enemy
fired; but what a few minutes ago seemed to have been the ruin of the Cossacks,
had no effect now. The French were defeated, leaving 120 horses in the hands of
their opponents.
Alexander
Zemlenutin
Cossack
in the Soulin 9 Regiment
Only reluctantly the Cossack will leave the battlefield
before having buried the corpses of his fallen comrades. When this has
happened, he will reconcile himself with the loss. The high worth a Cossack
lays in their mutual protection and care is partially the
result of their patriarchal organisation and education, partially
because of the difficulties to bring themselves up to strength again. A soldier
is generally used to the fact that he will see a lot of his compatriots die,
however, no small troop will experience its loss more painful as the Cossacks. Also the loss of a horse is regretted by the whole troop,
and counts for the owner as a real misfortune. No horse in the world can
replace a horse of the Don. The loss of men an horse during the latest war was
very painful, and some squadrons were down to a mere twenty men.
To
leave a corpse of a killed Cossack in the hands of the enemy counts as one of
the most worse events that could happen. The Cossacks will send back their dead
and wounded as soon as possible, and they will protect the corpse of a fallen
comrade with the greatest sacrifice. When Napoleon in 1814 in the Champagne
threw himself on Blücher, and Tettenborn was observing the march of the
Emperor, it happened that a Cossack detachment wanted to move to a height, to
oversee the main road on which the enemy marched. This detachment had to move
through a village, from which already many shots were fired when they advanced.
Already used to be treated this way by French farmers in the vicinity of the
enemy army, this fire was no prove of enemy presence inside the place. The
leader wanted to make sure. An officer and four Cossacks volunteered to
reconnoitre and to ride through the village. As soon as they were on the road
inside the place, enemy infantry ran out from all houses, escorting them with
bullets while they galloped back. At the entrance of the village a Cossack that
was hit by two bullets fell from his horse. The officer and the remaining
Cossacks, noticing this, immediately turned back, placed their wounded comrade
on his horse again, and brought him back this way, ignoring their own danger.
The
usual means of punishment is the knout. A cruel but just strictness is
necessary. A Cossack who would plunder on his own account received under
Tettenborn 200 to 300 strokes with the knout. During the 1814 campaign this
happened only once, and here Tettenborn punished a whole regiment in the
presence of all other regiments. All that was stolen was returned to the
owners. To maintain strong discipline, at the start of the campaign on the Elbe
the lance pole of every regiment was ordered to be painted in a different
colour. Whenever someone would complain about the Cossacks, the regiment which
was responsible could immediately be ascertained, and it was convicted to pay
for the damage. The regiment itself was ordered to find out the guilty ones,
and to punish them accordingly. It is unbelievable how much strict discipline
will diminish the need for punishment, and how little the effect of cruel
punishment will be, when it will not be applied justly.
When
we oversee all examples which have been given on these pages, which can be
certified by a hundred thousand eye-witnesses who still are alive, and all
after action reports, we will note that during the latter campaigns the
Cossacks were always at the front of the combined allied armies. From the
smoking ruins of Moscow across the Weichsel, the Elbe, the Rhine, up to the
capital of the great conqueror, the Cossacks advanced in front of the armies.
Cossacks of the Guard and of the Jlowaisky, Tschernozubov and Benkendorf
I Regiments were the first to reoccupy the old City of Tsars, after the
enemy, which tasted their destiny for the first time, had abandoned it. In
Wilna it was this troop which, under Tettenborn, pulled Napoleon’s eagle from
the city hall under the eyes of the enemy. In Königsberg the Cossacks
proclaimed, under Kutuzov and Schepelev, the independence of Prussia, while at
that same moment the suppressors were still leaving through the Brandenburger
gate. In Berlin it were the Cossacks of Czernitschev and Tettenborn who yelled
the first ‘Hurrah’ for the liberation in front of the palace of the king. While
at the same time Cossacks under Davidov entered the Saxon capital. In Hamburg,
in Kassel, in Bremen, in Frankfurt am Main, in Rotterdam, and in Brussels,
everywhere the Cossacks were the first to hear the rejoicing of freedom, saw
the tears of joy, and received the congratulations of a population in trust of
a better future.
Using
the most reliable calculation possible, one is able to fix the number of
prisoners which the Cossacks took from 1812 to 1814 at ninety thousand men. The
guns that were captured by them however (not counting those which the French
nailed and left behind during their retreat) are registered at six hundred
pieces. Czernitschev alone captured one-hundred-twenty-five of those.
Winzingerode captured in less then six weeks, while Napoleon was still in
Moscow, over thirteen thousand men while covering the huge area from the
Jaroslaw road to Borodino with his 2,000 Cossacks. Tettenborn brought from
Wilna six thousand prisoners, and forty-eight enemy guns.
When one examines these achievements, even more when looking at what achieved this, one cannot doubt the extra-ordinary use of Cossacks in the field, and it should be clear that they cannot be replaced by any other arm. The most distinguished Russian generals are also the ones who do the most justice to the Cossacks. Wittgenstein, Woronzov, Saboniev, Diebitsch, and Poskevich, who’s judgement are known to the author, were perfectly clear about the extra-ordinary qualities of the Cossacks. The opinions of the King of Sweden, the Field Marshall’s Wellington, Blücher, and Schwarzenberg, and especially the one of General Gneisenau, after Scharnhorst’s dead the most regular, smartest and clear Prussian military man, agree with each other in their praise of the Cossacks. Napoleon put a price on the head of a Don Cossack during his retreat, and would gladly have changed part of his cavalry into Cossacks. Yes, apparently he tried to do this: he clothed Poles and French ‘à la cosaque’. But the Weichsel and the Seine are no Don, the Ural, and the Irtisch; horses from the Normandy do not fetch grass from under the snow, and for that matter the Cossack is just as less as the Mameluk, and the Hungarian hussar, born and raised in the streets of Paris.
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© Geert van Uythoven