Vladimir Smith

Irregular troops of the Orenburg region Vladimir Smith

The monograph addresses the active participation of the Krai's irregular troops: The Urals and Orenburg Cossack Troops, the Stavropol Kalmyk and Bashkir-Meshcheryak Troops, the Teptyar regiments along with the Russian army regiments in wars and campaigns. This testifies to the increasing role played by irregular formations in Russia's military history. Irregular forces of the Orenburg Region took an active part in almost all wars of Russia in the XVIII-XIX centuries, they distinguished themselves in the Seven Years' War (1756-63), in the Russian-Turkish wars, in the Patriotic War of 1812. Of the 102 irregular regiments that participated in the Patriotic War of 1812 and in the foreign campaign of the Russian Army, which at that time were in the active army, the irregular regiments of the Orenburg region accounted for 34 regiments, i.e. a third part. Of these, 20 regiments were Bashkir, 2 Meshcheryak, 2 Teptyar, 1 Kalmyk (Stavropol), 4 Orenburg and 5 Urals Cossack regiments. The book shows the important role of irregular units in the accession of Central Asia to Russia.