Zaporozhian Cossack Army
The Zaporozhian Cossack Army refers to the armed forces of the hetmanate of the Zaporozhian Cossacks , an autonomous state on Ukrainian soil from 1649 until its dissolution in 1775.
history
In the 15th to 17th centuries, the egalitarian warrior communities of the Zaporozhian (Dnepr), Don , Terek , Kuban , Ural and Volga Cossacks formed on the rivers of the steppe border . They played an important role as warriors and rebels in Poland-Lithuania and the Moscow state . The Hetmanate's Cossack army consisted of around 30,000 soldiers in the 17th century , divided into ten Cossack regiments according to a military-administrative structure . In the course of time it developed into a permanent military organization with a choice of lower and middle commanders.
The administration of the hetmanate was based on military institutions, so that a merging of the military and the state in the hetmanate can be determined. There were the bodies of the officers' council, the army or general council, which demonstrate this dual function. The army was recruited from the 17 territorial units of the hetmanate, the Cossack regiments. For example, in 1649 the Bila Tserkwa Regiment consisted of 23 hundreds with a total of 2990 register Cossacks , i.e. registered soldiers. The total population within the regiment in 1654 was 6668 in 19 settlements.
The hetman was the leader of the army. He had a bodyguard made up of Ukrainian and foreign mercenaries . Under the hetman stood the atamans , who usually led associations of several Cossack hundreds, so-called Sotnia. Atamans and Hetman were proposed by the Tsar and confirmed by election.
The hetman and the army were bound by an oath of loyalty to the tsar . At the same time, Russia maintained garrisons in the most important cities of the hetmanate. The Cossack hetmanate served on the part of the Russian army as part of the irregular forces in wars against Sweden , Poland-Lithuania , the Ottoman Empire , the Khanate of Crimea and Persia .
In 1765 the hetmanate became a normal province of the Russian Empire . When the so-called wild field was secured after the victory against the Ottomans or the Crimean Tatars , the function of the Cossack border troops was no longer available. The Cossack army of the hetmanate was dissolved in 1775 in connection with the Pugachev uprising by the Russian Empress Catherine II and its units were converted into regular Russian units .
External perception of the Cossacks
Contemporary reports painted a negative picture of the fighting Cossacks. In many cases, they reported considerable atrocities and the use of violence against civilians. They are accused of looting, murder, thirst for robbery and limitless lust for violence based on concrete acts. At the same time, according to contemporary notions, Cossack units had no discipline or constitution. Cossacks avoided fighting regular troops and preferred to stay in the hinterland to be able to pillage there. They were considered the "vultures of the battlefield".
Her opponents confused her with a chaotic attack tactic based on speed, silence and her stamina in the saddle. They covered great distances in a short space of time and appeared as the vanguard without warning , just as they disappeared just as quickly.
The British historian Philip J. Haythornthwaite wrote:
“The mere participation of the Cossacks ensured that there would be abundance of pillage and pillage, rape, murder and a hundred other atrocities. Cossacks did not see the war as a matter of politics, for them it was a culture and a way of life. "
See also
literature
- Andreas Kappeler : Die Kosaken, CH Beck, 2013