Lithuanian Life Guards Regiment

One of the renowned regiments of the Imperial Russian Army. Formed in November 1811 with three battalions, it was part of the Guards Infantry Division. It took part in the French invasion of Russia of 1812. It received its baptism of fire at the Battle of Borodino, distinguishing itself in repelling an attack by French cuirassiers and defending the heights at Semyonovsky Ravine. Mikhail Kutuzov wrote that at the Battle of Borodino, the Lithuanian and Izmailovsky Life Guards Regiments "covered themselves with glory in the sight of the entire army." As part of the Russian Guard, the regiment participated in the Battle of Maloyaroslavets and the pursuit of the French. For their courage and heroism, all battalions of the regiment were awarded the St. George banner in 1813, bearing the inscription: "For distinction in the defeat and expulsion of the enemy from Russia in 1812." During the War of the Sixth Coalition in 1813, the regiment fought in the battles of Lützen, Bautzen, Dresden, Leipzig, and Kulm. On October 12, 1817, during the celebration of the fifth anniversary of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow and the laying of the foundation stone of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in honor of the victory over Napoleon's army, in commemoration of the special feats rendered by the regiment in the Battle of Borodino and the defense of Moscow, the Lithuanian Life Guards Regiment was renamed the Moscow Life Guards Regiment. All dates are according to the Julian calendar, also known as the Old Style. • October 12, 1817 – from the 3rd Battalion of the Lithuanian Life Guards Regiment, which had been in Warsaw since 1814 in the Guards detachment under Tsarevich Konstantin Pavlovich, with the addition of natives of the Congress Poland from other regiments, a new Life Guards Lithuanian Regiment was formed with the rights and privileges of the Old Guard. • April 16, 1818 – The regiment was organized into two battalions, each with one grenadier company and three fusilier companies. • November 18, 1830 – After the November Night, the regiment, along with other Russian units, was concentrated near Wierzbno. • November 21, 1830 – The regiment was ordered to leave Congress Poland. • December 2, 1830 – The regiment crossed the border of Congress Poland on the Bug River near Włodawa. • 1831 – The regiment participated in the suppression of the Polish–Lithuanian November Uprising. • February 13, 1831 – The regiment was in reserve during the Battle of Olszynka Grochowska. • April 1, 1831 – Two reserve companies were formed under the regiment. • June 7, 1831 – Participation in the Battle of Paneriai. • June 12–July 7, 1831 – The regiment was part of Russian units operating against General Antoni Giełgud's corps at the Prussian border. • July 25, 1831 – The regiment became part of the Separate Guard Corps (formerly it was part of the Separate Lithuanian Corps). • 6 August 1831 – the regiment crossed the Vistula and joined the rest of the Guard Corps, and then participated in the assault on Warsaw. • November 16, 1831 – The reserve was reformed into the 2nd Battalion, and the former 2nd was renamed the 3rd. • March 15, 1832 – The regiment arrived in St. Petersburg and Oranienbaum. • January 25, 1842 – To form , it was ordered to have a 4th consisting of on permanent leave. • May-November 1849 – the regiment participated in the Russian intervention against the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, but did not take part in the fighting • March 10, 1854 – The 4th Reserve was transferred to the 4th Active ; the 5th Reserve was formed. • August 20, 1854 – The 5th Reserve was transferred to the Reserve; the 6th Reserve was formed. • September 17, 1854 – The 4th Active, 5th Reserve, and 6th Reserve were allocated to the Lithuanian Life Guards Reserve Regiment. • February 9, 1856 – One rifle company was formed for each battalion from the regiment's best riflemen. • August 6, 1856 – The regiment was consolidated into 3 battalions with 3 rifle companies. • August 19, 1857 – The 3rd was renamed a reserve battalion and disbanded for peacetime. • September 22, 1862 – The regiment was transferred back to Warsaw. • April 30, 1863 – The 3rd was formed and designated an active battalion. • In 1867, the regiment (minus the 3rd ) was renamed the Moscow Life Guards Regiment, and the 3rd served as the basis for the formation of a new regiment under the same name. • February 6, 1875 – The 4th , consisting of 4 companies, was formed from the regiment's rifle companies. • August 7, 1877 – Reserve was formed. • September 15, 1878 – Reserve was disbanded. • During the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), the regiment fought at Telish and besieged Plevna. After the latter's fall, it made a difficult winter march through the Balkan Mountains and participated in battles at Tashkessen, Dolni Komartsi, Petrichev, and Plovdiv. It particularly distinguished itself in the battle at Karagach (east of Philippopolis), where it captured 23 Turkish guns. For heroism displayed in battles against the Ottoman army, the regiment's personnel were awarded the honorary inscription on their headdresses: "For Philippopolis, January 3, 4, and 5, 1878." • July 18, 1914 – Reserve was formed due to the regiment's mobilization. • During World War I, the regiment, as part of the 3rd Guards Infantry Division, took part in combat operations on the Northwestern, Western, and Southwestern Fronts. Fought in the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes and the Battle of Łódź (1914). Fought at Stokhid in July 1916. • From March 4, 1917 – Lithuanian Guards Regiment. • May 9, 1917 – Reserve deployed to form the Lithuanian Guards Reserve Regiment (Order of the Petrograd Military District, No. 262) • April 3, 1918 – active regiment disbanded (Order of the Moscow Regional Commissariat for Military Affairs, April 3, 1918, №139) • May 31, 1918 – Lithuanian Guards Reserve Regiment disbanded (Order of the Commissariat for Military Affairs of the Petrograd Labor Commune, June 7, 1918, №137) == Regimental Chiefs ==

of the Regiment (Colonel-in-chief): • October 12, 1817 - June 15, 1831 – Grand Duke Tsarevich Konstantin Pavlovich • June 25, 1831 - August 28, 1849 – Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich • November 6, 1856 - March 4, 1917 – Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich the Younger • July 26, 1872 - August 1, 1874 – Field marshal Graf Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg (2nd chief) == Regiment commanders ==

(In pre-revolutionary Russian terminology, a commander meant an acting chief or commander. Since the 1820s, the position of commander of a guards regiment corresponded to the rank of Major general, and when colonels were appointed to this position, they remained commanders until their promotion to major general.) • January 22, 1818 – June 1, 1829 – Major General Vasily Mikhailovich Kishkin • July 28, 1829 – October 24, 1831 – Major General • October 24, 1831 – September 22, 1841 – Major General • September 22, 1841 – December 6, 1849 – Major General (from April 3, 1849, Lieutenant General) • December 6, 1849 – May 4, 1855 – Major General Baron • May 4, 1855 – November 23, 1855 – Commander-in-Chief Major General Dmitry Petrovich Fedorov • November 23, 1855 – June 18, 1863 – Major General Baron • June 18, 1863 – July 17, 1864 – Major General Otto Wilhelm Furuhjelm • July 19, 1864 – August 30, 1869 – Major General • August 30, 1869 – August 17, 1874 – His Imperial Majesty's Retinue Major General Baron Andrey Korf • April 17, 1874 – December 1, 1878 – Adjutant Colonel (since December 18, 1877 of His Majesty's Retinue, Major General) Baron • December 1, 1878 – November 20, 1886 – Major General • November 30, 1886 – February 8, 1895 – Major General (1839—1917) • March 8, 1895 – December 13, 1898 – Major General Baron • December 20, 1898 – April 22, 1899 – Colonel Peterov, Ernest-Yakov Kasperovich (temporary commander) • March 20, 1899 – January 27, 1901 – Major General • 03/22/1901 – 04/30/1903 – Major General • 06/09/1903 – 08/30/1908 – Major General Vladimir Olokhov • 10.10.1908 – 31.12.1913 – Major General Sheremetov, Alexander Vasilievich • 12/31/1913 – 06/24/1915 – Major General • 06/24/1915 – 10/28/1916 – Major General • 10/28/1916 – 08/10/1917 – Major General • 10.08.1917 – 22.10.1917 – Commander Colonel Eismont, Mikhail Nikolaevich • 22.10.1917 – 25.10.1917 – Commander Colonel Amelung, Boris Vladimirovich • 25.10.1917 – 02.12.1917 – Commander Colonel Korsak, Vladimir Viktorovich • 02.12.1917 – 21.02.1918 – Captain • 21.02.1918 – 12.03.1918 – Colonel Eismont, Mikhail Nikolaevich == Famous people who served in the regiment ==

in Warsaw. • (1896-1971) – Soviet military leader, major general. • – Lieutenant General of the General Staff, head of the 1st Pavlovsk Military School. • – general, participant in the Crimean War and the Caucasian War. • – writer, poet, participant in the French invasion of Russia. • – military doctor, participant in the French invasion of Russia. • – lieutenant general, participant in the Caucasian War and the Russo–Turkish war (1877–1878). • – diplomat, orientalist. • – Lieutenant General, military writer. • – Lieutenant General, Director of the Saint Petersburg State University of Civil Engineering (SPbGASU). • – Lieutenant General, geographer, orientalist, and military statistician. • Sergei Mezheninov – Soviet military commander. • – Lieutenant General of the General Staff. • – Infantry General, Military Governor of Nizhny Novgorod. • – Major General, participant of the Caucasian War. • – Artillery General, member of the State Council. • Mikhail Bonch-Bruyevich – Imperial Russian and Soviet military commander. • – military doctor, state councilor. Shelkovnikov, • – General of the Infantry, hero of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. • – Major General. • Nikolai Yudenich – General of the Infantry, commander of the Northwestern Army. • Jānis Fabriciuss – Latvian Soviet commander and commissar. • – Colonel in the Latvian Army and briefly Major General in the Soviet Army, executed by the Soviet regime. == References ==

• Uniform in 1910. • Chest badges and insignia of the Guards.