| Rod Robertson | 03 May 2010 8:39 a.m. PST |
Does anybody know if Soviet regular cavalry (as opposed to Cossack Cavalry) were still issued cavalry sabres in 1944 or were their personal weapons limited to rifles (bayonets?), SMG's and pistols by this time? I am interested in the mixed cavalry and tank formations particularly.
I am about to start painting two troops of late war cavalry and I am stumped. Photos are abmbiguous and textual references elude me to date.
Commrade Robertson! |
aecurtis  | 03 May 2010 8:56 a.m. PST |
I do not believe the regular cavalry gave up the saber. The books I have on Soviet cavalry are in storage at the moment, unfortunately. Allen |
| Rod Robertson | 03 May 2010 9:07 a.m. PST |
Allen and others:
Its pictures like this which make me wonder!
link
Robertson. |
| aecurtis | 03 May 2010 9:21 a.m. PST |
The scabbard would be on the other side, so probably not visible. The Red Army's cavalry was not as forward-looking as the US Cavalry: picture …and tended to retain its traditional armament: picture 
Allen |
| Lentulus | 03 May 2010 9:37 a.m. PST |
Nothing I have read suggests the saber was dropped. I've read the one readily available memoir by a cavalryman, and his personal opinion was that cavalrymen liked the traditional uniforms and equipment. |
| Rod Robertson | 03 May 2010 11:04 a.m. PST |
Allen:
Speaking of forward-looking:
picture
Robertson. |
| aecurtis | 03 May 2010 11:15 a.m. PST |
|
Frederick  | 03 May 2010 11:43 a.m. PST |
In an old book I have on the Cavalry of World War II it looks like the late war Russians still had their sabres |
| elsyrsyn | 03 May 2010 12:23 p.m. PST |
Is the FOW Bear Cavalry company box set out yet? Doug |
| Black Bull | 03 May 2010 1:02 p.m. PST |
The Soviet cavalry squadron at Osh in the late'80s still had sabres and i want some bear cavalry. |
| Mark Plant | 03 May 2010 9:47 p.m. PST |
Rod, surely that picture you linked through to is Cossacks? |
| Rod Robertson | 04 May 2010 5:22 a.m. PST |
Mark:
The uniforms in my first link would indicate that these are not cossacks but regular Soviet Cavalry. See the links below for cossacks.
picture
A better picture is here:
picture
or:
picture
Soviet regular cavalry had uniforms more in line with infantry such as these below:
picture
Can anybody make out sabres on the last photo – I can't see any.
Rod Robertson. |
| Barin1 | 04 May 2010 5:59 a.m. PST |
Rod, as far as I recall, the first pic is from winter 1941, showing a unit from general Dovator regiment. I remember reading that they have used sabres to cut off some rearguard of Germans, stuck in snow. Pic 3 is showing Vlasov's army (ROA) so they're another story. Late war, cavalry units had sabres, but used them only for parades. Edit: got a video for you: link |
