The Russian Imperial Cavalry in 1914

Based on the drawings of Vladimir Emmanuel, this ebook provides a representation of all the regiments of the Imperial Russian Cavalry in 1914. This edition is based on an original 1986 private printing, but includes more information on the history, organization and ranks of the period. This contains over 100 hand crafted illustrations and an order of battle for the Russian cavalry. The text includes portion written by fellow Russian officers who fought in the line and Cossack cavalry. Vladimir Alexandrovich Emmanuel, the eldest son of Alexander Nikolaievich Emmanuel (Colonel of the Crimean Horse Regiment of Her Sovereign Majesty Empress Alexandra Feodorovna) and Leonida Alexandrovna (nee Dluzshevski), was born on September 7, 1896. He was a descendant of a noble family of Austro-Hungarian origin, which entered Russian military service in 1797, with his great-great-grandfather, General George Emmanuel, fighting against Napoleon in the War of 1812. Vladimir Emmanuel graduated from the Cadet Corps of the Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich in Odessa, just as World War I was declared, and went to complete an accelerated course of the Corps of Pages and on April 14, 1915, he was promoted to Coronet and three days later he joined the active Crimean Horse Regiment. He fought throughout World War I and the Russian Civil War, was wounded several times and was awards several medals for bravery in both conflicts. In 1920, he was evacuated from the Crimea in the waning days of the Russian Civil War and eventually settled in Yugoslavia. It was during his stay in Yugoslavia that he painted the figures of the Russian cavalry he had known so well. In 1945, he was evacuated to Austria and then immigrated to the United States in 1949, where he lived in Vineland, NJ. He died on January 4, 1983, at the age of 86