Officially on the adoption of the edged weapons of the system in 1881. was announced on August 4, 1881, by War Department Order No. 222. The system included three samples:
Checkers for regular troops in wooden sheaths.
Cossack swords in a wooden sheath.
Cuirassier sword in a wooden sheath.
Later, an artillery sword was added to the listed samples, while the cuirassier sword, although it was adopted into service, was not mass-produced and in fact did not enter the troops. .
Checker sample 1881 for regular troops it was "assigned to the armament" of the lower ranks of dragoons, lancers, hussars, horse artillery, gendarmes and those lower ranks of foot artillery, which by 1881 were armed with dragoon sabers, as well as feldwebels and podprapors of infantry, artillery and engineer troops. In the dragoon regiments, those lower ranks who previously had sabers with sockets for bayonet scabbards were assigned swords of a new pattern in a sheath with an additional bayonet slot16.
Cossack sword model 1881 was intended to arm Cossack troops, as well as two dragoon regiments previously armed with Asian swords, His Majesty's 16th Dragoons of Nizhny Novgorod, King of Württemberg, and His Majesty the King of Denmark's17th Dragoon regiment of Seversk, 18. In these regiments, the lower ranks, who had previously been assigned sabers (swords) of the Asian model with sockets for bayonet scabbards, were ordered to have Cossack swords of a new model, but in a sheath with an additional socket for a bayonet.
The cuirassier regiments, which by this time had survived only in the Guards, were assigned to the 1881 sword in wartime uniforms, which actually did not enter the troops. Since 1882, when bringing the Guards cuirassier regiments to martial law, they were supposed to have not a sword, but a sword of a new model on the shoulder port. As an accessory to some forms of peacetime, cuirassiers until the outbreak of the First World War used a cuirassier sword, installed in 1824.
Simultaneously with the introduction of cold steel weapons of new models, those lower ranks who were previously supposed to have cold weapons of the officer's model (for example, feldwebels and wahmistrs) were assigned cold steel weapons of a model identical to the lower ranks of an ordinary rank. Shortened dragoon swords, somewhat later assigned to artillery units, were ordered to be called artillery swords.
Checkers of the 1881 model, both for regular troops and Cossacks, had exactly the same blades and sheaths; the only difference was in the shape of the ephesus, since the Cossack sword did not have a bow. The sword differed from the checkers in a straight blade, but its ephesus was the same as that of an ordinary sword.
Left: Super-conscripted Feldwebel of the 8th Grenadier Regiment of Moscow, 1896-1907 Collection of A. Filyanov. Feldwebels (Vakhmistrs) were armed similarly to officers (revolver and sword), but cold steel weapons had to be not of the officer's, but of the soldier's model. Feldwebel infantry were not supposed to lanyard Right: Gunner of the 25th East Siberian Mountain Battery, 1905-1907. Collection of N. Tsarev. The artilleryman's armament consists of a revolver and an ordinary soldier's sword of the 1881 system with a shortened blade.
The ephesus of the common sword and sword of the 1881 system had only one protective arch, without side arches.
The order noted that "like Cossack and former dragoons and in general all oriental sabers, the new swords are quite symmetrical and can deliver excellent blade strikes. In the epheses of the former sabers, the side arches formed a heavy part placed on the side, which broke the symmetry of the weapon, which therefore curled up slightly in the hand and the blow was inflicted not with the blade of the blade, but slightly sideways. "
The cardinal difference between the weapons of the 1881 system and previous models was the attachment of the handle to the blade, that is, the angle of the blade and its center of gravity relative to the handle. In checkers and sabers of earlier models, the blade was "seated behind the handle" and pulled the handle back when swinging, which required additional force of the hand. In the new checkers, the blade was seated "in front of the handle", i.e. the handle was planted with a large angle of inclination. With the swing of the sword, he did not pull back, but on the contrary, slightly dragged the sword forward, "in the direction of the enemy."
According to the terminology of the time, sabers with such properties of the handle were called "leading sabers". The curvature of the blades in comparison with the existing ones was significantly reduced, as A.P. Gorlov wrote, "with the adoption of the curvature of the lines of the Caucasian spinning top" in order to make the sword suitable for both cutting and peging. Subsequently, such a decision was ambiguously assessed in the troops, but when designing the system, they relied primarily on the experience of France, where injections at that time were given paramount importance.
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Description of the Bladed Weapons System 1881 Part 1
Officially on the adoption of the edged weapons of the system in 1881. was announced on August 4, 1881, by War Department Order No. 222. The system included three samples:
Later, an artillery sword was added to the listed samples, while the cuirassier sword, although it was adopted into service, was not mass-produced and in fact did not enter the troops. .
Checker sample 1881 for regular troops it was "assigned to the armament" of the lower ranks of dragoons, lancers, hussars, horse artillery, gendarmes and those lower ranks of foot artillery, which by 1881 were armed with dragoon sabers, as well as feldwebels and podprapors of infantry, artillery and engineer troops. In the dragoon regiments, those lower ranks who previously had sabers with sockets for bayonet scabbards were assigned swords of a new pattern in a sheath with an additional bayonet slot16.
Cossack sword model 1881 was intended to arm Cossack troops, as well as two dragoon regiments previously armed with Asian swords, His Majesty's 16th Dragoons of Nizhny Novgorod, King of Württemberg, and His Majesty the King of Denmark's17th Dragoon regiment of Seversk, 18. In these regiments, the lower ranks, who had previously been assigned sabers (swords) of the Asian model with sockets for bayonet scabbards, were ordered to have Cossack swords of a new model, but in a sheath with an additional socket for a bayonet.
The cuirassier regiments, which by this time had survived only in the Guards, were assigned to the 1881 sword in wartime uniforms, which actually did not enter the troops. Since 1882, when bringing the Guards cuirassier regiments to martial law, they were supposed to have not a sword, but a sword of a new model on the shoulder port. As an accessory to some forms of peacetime, cuirassiers until the outbreak of the First World War used a cuirassier sword, installed in 1824.
Simultaneously with the introduction of cold steel weapons of new models, those lower ranks who were previously supposed to have cold weapons of the officer's model (for example, feldwebels and wahmistrs) were assigned cold steel weapons of a model identical to the lower ranks of an ordinary rank. Shortened dragoon swords, somewhat later assigned to artillery units, were ordered to be called artillery swords.
Checkers of the 1881 model, both for regular troops and Cossacks, had exactly the same blades and sheaths; the only difference was in the shape of the ephesus, since the Cossack sword did not have a bow. The sword differed from the checkers in a straight blade, but its ephesus was the same as that of an ordinary sword.
Left: Super-conscripted Feldwebel of the 8th Grenadier Regiment of Moscow, 1896-1907
Collection of A. Filyanov.
Feldwebels (Vakhmistrs) were armed similarly to officers (revolver and sword), but cold steel weapons had to be not of the officer's, but of the soldier's model. Feldwebel infantry were not supposed to lanyard
Right: Gunner of the 25th East Siberian Mountain Battery, 1905-1907.
Collection of N. Tsarev.
The artilleryman's armament consists of a revolver and an ordinary soldier's sword of the 1881 system with a shortened blade.
The ephesus of the common sword and sword of the 1881 system had only one protective arch, without side arches.
The order noted that "like Cossack and former dragoons and in general all oriental sabers, the new swords are quite symmetrical and can deliver excellent blade strikes. In the epheses of the former sabers, the side arches formed a heavy part placed on the side, which broke the symmetry of the weapon, which therefore curled up slightly in the hand and the blow was inflicted not with the blade of the blade, but slightly sideways. "
The cardinal difference between the weapons of the 1881 system and previous models was the attachment of the handle to the blade, that is, the angle of the blade and its center of gravity relative to the handle. In checkers and sabers of earlier models, the blade was "seated behind the handle" and pulled the handle back when swinging, which required additional force of the hand. In the new checkers, the blade was seated "in front of the handle", i.e. the handle was planted with a large angle of inclination. With the swing of the sword, he did not pull back, but on the contrary, slightly dragged the sword forward, "in the direction of the enemy."
According to the terminology of the time, sabers with such properties of the handle were called "leading sabers". The curvature of the blades in comparison with the existing ones was significantly reduced, as A.P. Gorlov wrote, "with the adoption of the curvature of the lines of the Caucasian spinning top" in order to make the sword suitable for both cutting and peging. Subsequently, such a decision was ambiguously assessed in the troops, but when designing the system, they relied primarily on the experience of France, where injections at that time were given paramount importance.
Read the continuation of the article in the next post
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