Archangelogorodski Dragoons

Inhaber
Unknown

Unit History
The Russian dragoons began the Seven Years War still clinging to the old notion that their role was as a mounted infantry arm. The Dragoons were still trained to dismount and fire like infantry and their horses reflected the tactical doctrine being slight and of light build. Although the main cavalry force of the Russians, the reforms of 1756 left the Dragoons re-evaluating their role. The slow adaptation of new tactics and the general lack of enthusiasm by the officers meant that in the first two years of the conflict they could not be relied on to fully perform their military duty as main line cavalry. A reflection of the poor quality is that only three of the twenty Dragoon regiments participated in the Seven Year War campaigns. The regiments that participated were: Tverski, Tobolski, and Archanguelogorodski.
During the Seven Years War, the Archanguelogorodski Dragoons fought at Kunersdorf, Zorndorf, and Kay.
At Zorndorf, August 1758, the regiment was part of the first rank on the left wing. The front rank included elements of the Fedorovitch, Kasanski and the 3rd Cuirassiers. The cavalry was brigaded under the command of Major General Demiku.
At Kay, July 1759, the regiment helped guard the baggage Lager under Mordvinov.
At Kunersdorf, August 1759, the regiment was present along with the Kievski Cuirassiers and the 3rd Cuirassiers.
The flag carried by the first squadron would have been the imperial eagle on a white background. The crest within the eagle would have contained the same image as the crest in the coloured standard. The rest of the squadrons carried the coloured standard shown below. The saddle cloth of the Dragoons was cornflower blue as was their coat.
The regiment initially performed as a militia unit but improved to a regular unit by wars end. It was only one of three Dragoon regiments deemed worthy of participating in the Russian offensives in Eastern Prussia.

Comments
Originally I thought that the Russians would have many Dragoon regiments and was surprised to discover that the Horse Grenadiers were actually more common. Clearly a mouthful, the ‘Angel’ Dragoons are a nice unit and fun to field with the Russian Horse Grenadiers. Unit painted March 2006.

Sources
Flag: Osprey’s Russian Army of the Seven Years War (2) (Men-at-Arms 298)
Text D. Meuser, Battle of Kay, Seven Years War Association Journal Vol. X No.2
F. Mueller, 1998 Frederick the Great Battlefield Tour, Seven Years War Association Journal Vol. X No.3
Osprey’s Zorndorf 1758 (Campaign 125)