Don Cossacks

Inhaber
1760 Turoverov and Lukovkin

Unit History
The unit was present at Kay, Kunersdorf and Gross-Jagersdorf. The two units were under the commanded of Turoverov and Lukovkin respectively, when the Don Cossacks, as part of a Corps under Tchernishev, raided Berlin on September 15, 1760.
These troops were 'loaned' from the Don Cossacks to the Tsar as the Cossacks still retained specific freedoms from the Tsarist empire. Generally used as Hussars or to guard baggage and supply routes. Not good in set piece battles but inspired terror in the 'kleinkreig'. At Gross-Jagersdorf, August 30, 1757, the Cossacks were part of the advance guard under Sybilsky along with the Narvski Horse Grenadiers. The advance guard tangled early and briefly with the Prussian cavalry, under Holstein, on the Prussian right wing with no real result.
At Kay, July 23, 1759, the Cossacks were part of the Observation corps. They formed a skirmish front on the right wing and were quickly driven back by the advance of the Prussian cavalry at the beginning of the battle.



Comments
This is not a unit I normally would have collected but many years ago, I was pleasantly surprised by a group of gaming buddies who presented me with a birthday present – a regiment of Cossacks (there is no nicer gift a gamer can receive). The flags shown are Hetman flags from the early 1700's. There are hints that the Cossacks carried banners but I have found no definitive description and so used a flag design from an earlier period.
Unit painted in 1991.

Sources
Flags: Based on a flag from Dan Schorr’s site at: http://www.megalink.net/~dschorr/CosFlags2.html
Flags of the Ukrainian (Left Bank) Cossack Armies, 1651 by Vic Pocilujko
Text: Osprey’s Russian Army of the Seven Years War (2) (Men-at-Arms 298)
D. Meuser, Battle of Gross Jagersdorf, Seven Years War Association Journal Vol. X No.2
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