THE COSSACKS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 732, 23 December 1914, Page 3

THE COSSACKS.

RUSSIA'S EXPERT HORSEMEN. Amongst the various types of Rus sian soldiers now advancing in "steam roller" fashion into East Prussia there i'b none more generally and popularly known than the Cossacks. He is indeed to most people the traditional soldier of Russia. In the army of the Czar he holds a unique position for, to quote a Russian general, be belongs neither to the regular nor the irregular branches of the force, but forms a link between the two. Indeed the position of the Cossack is strangely similar to that of English soldiers in mediaeval times, when they belonged more or less to their lord, and were permitted to make a living on his land in return for their military service. Ihe Cossack, it is true, diff rs in this respect that he is his own master —he is too eager and capable a fighter to belong to anybody else; but, on the other hand he holds his land under military tenure, and in return be is liable to be called upon to eerve with the colours practically at any time, for his term of service continues as long as he is fit. The term "Cossack," which incidentally means adventurer or freebooter, does not merely refer, as is popularly supposed, to a body of soldiers, but is the name which applies to all the natives—and they are a race apart—residing in that district of Russia, which lies, roughly .speaking, between t-ie Ural mountains and the river Dnieper. Altogether there is a Cossack population of over two and a-half million, and of these some 320,000 are ready to take up arms should occasion arise. FIGHTERS TO IHE CORE. In time of peace the principal occupations of the people are of a pastoral and agricultural nature, with hunting and fishing thrown in. But it would be out of place to discuss the Cossack from a peace stanpoint, for he is a fighter to the core, and has been so ever since he made his appearance in history. In earlier days the race was a source of continual trouble in Russia owing to their keenness for fighting, and in the intervals between stirring up atrife in tbe Russian provinces they devoted considerable attention in the endeavour to carry out what they held to be a sacred obligation —namely, the extermination of the Turks and Tartars. Not only doea the martial spirit come naturallyfto the Cossack—and in this connection be it noted that all his games as * child are of a decidedly warlike nature —but it may also be said of hina taat he is born to the saddla. He can manage a horse almost as soon as he can walk, and the French writer who said that the "Cossack and his horse are one" put the matter in a nut shell. A3 indicative of his Bkill in managing horses it is sufficient to say that he does not use spurs, a condition which is probably unique among cavalry and horsemen.

The Cossack has to supply his own uniform, horse, and equipment, his Government merely providing him with arms. Simplicity and plainness, with no glittering and useless ornaments which Would only be of assistance to the enemy, characterises his uniform, in which the well-known and familiar black astrakhan headgear figures prominently. As one naturally expects among these born horsemen, the Cossack regiments are almost all cavalry, but as fighters they are almost as capable on foot as on horseback, and not only do they form several infantry regiments, but there is also a fair proportion of them in tbe artillery, The official Cossack strength on war footing is—lss regiments of cavalry. 20 battalions infantry, and 38 battalions artillery

THE SOUL AND EYE OF THE ARMY. As scouts, they have no equal in the Russian Army. "On active service," writes a Russian general, "the Cossack is the soul and eye of the army, or rather, he in the pointer dog," whilst another general is said to have remarked that, "a hundred Cossacks make less noise than a single regular cavalry soldier." These qualities fit him out pre-emi-nently as a guerilla fighter. Napoleon testified to that. Next to the hardships of the terrible Russian winter, nothing contributed more to the debacle of the Grand Army in its retreat from Moscow in 1812 than the untiring harassing work of the mounted Cossacks. The war record of these troops in more recent times is equally good. In the Russo-Turkish War of the late '7o's some splendid Work was done by them, and General Kuropatkin, in his history of tho Russo-Japanese war, though he says much against Russian cavalry in general, makes frequent referencse to the fine work achieved by the Cossacks, and to the great bravery they exhibited under all conditions.