The 20th Finnish Dragoon Regiment () was a cavalry regiment of the Imperial Russian Army which saw service during the later half of the 19th Century and beginning of the 20th before disbanding following the October Revolution. Three regiments went by the name of 'Finnish Dragoon Regiment', of which the 20th was the last.
First Regiment (1806) Formation Following the end of the War of the Third Coalition, the Russian Army was gradually expanded. On 23 June 1806, an imperial decree ordered the formation of several new dragoon regiments, among them was the Finnish Dragoon Regiment, along with the Mittau (Mitavsky), and in August the Arzamass, Yamburg, Libau, Nezhinsk, Serpukhov, Tiraspol, and Dorpat Dragoon Regiments. On 23 June 1806 the new regiment was formed in the town of Usvyatsky in the Vitebsk Province from one squadron each of the following: His Majesty's Life Cuirassier Regiment, and the Kargopol, Riga, and Kazansky Dragoon Regiments, along with a half squadron from the Livonian Dragoon Regiment. On formation the regiment joined the 14th Infantry Division which was in turn part of the I Army Corps based around the city of Orël.Translation from the Russian article.Zvegintsov, Chapter IV, p. 353.Smith, Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars, pp. 178–180.
The new regiment comprised five 'field' squadrons along with a depot/training half-squadron. This meant the regiment had a strength of 1,063 officers and other ranks and 899 combat horses. Soon after a new uniform was granted which was as follows: black peaked front and rear helmet and was surmounted with a leather comb. This was topped with a black leather comb, on top of which sat a mighty, horsehair crest. The hair was black for troopers, red for musicians, and black with a white front, having a vertical orange stripe, for non-commissioned officers. Officers in the field wore white crests with a black tip, separated from the white body by an orange ring. The front was covered with a brass plate bearing the crowned double-eagle badge. The uniform consisted of a light green tunic, with white collars, cuffs, and shoulder straps with red edging, yellow buttons and buff turnbacks. Buff waistcoats, white breeches and belts, high cuffed boots. Officers worse an aiguillette on the right shoulder in yellow, and two buttonholes in yellow on each side of the tunic, below the lapels. The square shabraque and holster covers were in white, edged with yellow. The harness was black.Smith, Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars, p. 171.
Prussian Campaign By February 1807 the regiment was sent to the front in Prussia where it first saw action at the Battle of Bergfried on 3 February which ended in a French victory.Smith, Napoleonic Wars Data Book, p. 240 After moving back towards the frontier, the regiment settled in what is now the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and remained in the rear for a short time.
On 5 and 6 June however, the regiment was back in the frontline under command of General Leving August, Graf von Bennigsen's field army was engaged at the Battle of Guttstadt-Deppen. However, after a short skirmish the Russians were unable to cross the bridgehead and the French VI Corps under Marshal Michel Ney withdrew. The short action resulted in a strategic victory for the Russians.Smith, Napoleonic Wars Data Book, pp. 246–247
On 7 June a false document was captured by the Russians indicating that Ney's forces would soon attack Bennigsen's army from the rear. The army therefore withdrew towards the heavily fortified town of Heilsberg and waiting for the impending attack.Chandler, Campaigns of Napoleon, pp. 871–883
After a short rest the army was on the move again, and on 10 June the forces of Emperor Napoleon and the Graf von Bennigsen met at the field of Heilsberg. Here, the Russian 6th and 8th Divisions held off a large French force until reinforcements in the form of the 3rd, 7th, and 14th Divisions arrived in due course. The Finnish Dragoons, still part of the 14th Division arrived shortly thereafter being thrown straight into the fray near the Prussian cavalry. The Finnish Dragoons and the other cavalry regiments of the division (Mittau Dragoons and Grodno Hussars) were grouped with the Right Wing Cavalry of Major General Kamenskoi. The wing charged through and inflicted heavy damage on Divisional General Louis-Vincent-Joseph de Saint-Hilaire's division. By the end of the day, the Russian forces were victorious and the French forces withdrew.
On 14 June, the main Russian army was engaged at the Battle of Friedland, though a large force under command of Major General Nikolay Borozdin was detached to the garrison in Allenburg. This force consisted of the Chevalier Guard Regiment, Finnish Dragoons, Mitau Dragoon Regiment, Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment, and 3 x artillery batteries.
Following the Treaties of Tilsit, Bennisgen's Army was withdrawn back into European Russia and its troops redistributed to their divisional garrison areas The Finnish Dragoons were subsequently moved to the Polotsky Uyezd in the Vitebsk Governorate where it had been raised. Because the regiment had been sent almost straight into action, proper standards weren't granted until 11 May 1807, though these in turn didn't take effect until the regiment's return to Vitebsk. The first regimental standards consisted of two types: the 'Tsar's/Colonel's colours': white with green corners, and the 'Regimental colours': four green corners with white edged, both of which were gold embroidery and fringe.
Russo-Swedish War Following around a year of peacetime garrison service and training, the regiment was transferred to the Baltic coast in preparation for the coming Finnish War. Following the Russian takeover of Åbo (Turku), a division was detached from the Baltic region comprising the following units: Nevsky, Libavsky, and Brest Musketeer Regiments (6 x companies each), Pernovsky Regiment (1 x battalion), Grodno Hussars (1 x squadron), 2 x squadrons of the Finnish Dragoons, 1 x artillery battery, and 15 x gunboats. This small force was detached from the main garrison to attack the nearby Swedish transport vessels before they could launch an attack.Zvegintsov, pp. 426–429
On 2 March 1808 a Russian field army commanded by the drunken General Friedrich Wilhelm von Buxhoeveden began a two month long siege on the 'Gibraltar of the North', the Sveaborg Fortress just off the coast from Helsingfors (Helsinki). The Finnish Dragoons joined the siege sometime after the occupation of Lovisa (Loviisa), and would remain until the end of the siege on 3 May. Historian Digby Smith notes that, "[the fall of the fortress] in such a shameful way dealt a crushing blow to Swedish morale and led to the abandonment of Finland to Russia". During the battle, the regiment formed part of the cavalry force of the 17th Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Prince Andrey Gorchakov and comprised 4 x squadrons of 23 officers and 631 other ranks.Smith, Napoleonic Wars Data Book, p. 259
By 20 March the Russian field army was distributed to various areas along the south-western coast. The Finnish Dragoons were also separated as follows: 1 x squadron of 5 officers and 125 other ranks under the 3rd Detachment, 21st Division in Åbo, 3 x squadrons of 18 officers and 306 other ranks at the Sveaborg Fortress Detachment and 1 x squadron of 5 officers and 110 other ranks at Svartholm Fortress, and a troop of 61 other ranks at Borgå (Porvoo), the three being part of the 17th Division.
By 19 June, the regiment landed on the mainland Swedish Finland and advanced westwards towards the town of St Karins (Kaarina) where a small Russian force took up defensive positions along the coast. The local troops, including the Finnish Dragoons were sent towards the coast where a combined Swedish landing force under command of Major General Eberhard von Vegesack attempted a landing. On 20 June, a squadron of the Finnish Dragoons arrived in the area together with 3 x companies of the Brest Musketeer Regiment and 2 x guns from the 25th Artillery Brigade. The squadron didn't see any direct action and only remained in the reserve during this action. Following the Swedish withdrawal, 1/2 of the squadron remained in the area for local garrison duty while the other 1/2 of the squadron returned to the regiment in Åbo. The regiment was later involved at the minor action in Tammerfors (Tampere).
Following the Treaty of Fredrikshamn (Hamina), the Russian occupation of Finland was confirmed and the Grand Duchy of Finland was created as an 'semi-autonomous' region of the Russian Empire. As a consequence of the treaty, the Grand Duchy could only raise militia and local forces in times of invasion, and the Imperial Russian Army became responsible for its defence.Treaty of Frederikshamn
Short peace In 1809, the Russian forces in the Grand Duchy were reorganised. The regiment was consequently added to the 5th Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, itself part of the 2nd Army Corps. This corps was now the sole higher formation tasked with defence of the newly gained territory. The regiment also became the sole Finnish unit and began to recruit more Finns, in addition to setting up a new headquarters and depot in Villmanstrand (Lappeenranta).
On 12 October 1811, several officers and lower ranks were detached from the regiment to help with the formation of the new Astrakhan Cuirassier Regiment.
By 10 December 1811 the 2nd Army Corps was withdrawn from Finland and the defence of the region left to the 21st Infantry Division. The division slowly grew so that it not only covered Finland, but also Åland. That same month, regimental precedence was granted to the cavalry, and the Finnish Dragoons became 11th. Soon the defence of Finland was expanded back up to corps size, and became the 'Finnish Corps'. The 6th and 25th Divisions soon joined, along with the newly formed 27th Cavalry Brigade, the later of which now comprised the Finnish and Mitau Dragoons.
Patriotic War By the time of the French invasion of Russia, the Finnish Corps had expanded almost two-fold, but rather unusually was tasked with remaining in Finland and not joining the main Russian armies in Belarus and Western Russia. After news of the beginning of the Siege of Riga reached the War Office, the Finnish Corps was dispatched to Estonia. Just before moving to Estonia, the 'Army of Finland' comprised the 6th and 21st Division, of which the Finnish Dragoons of Loschtschilin's Cossacks formed the Cavalry Brigade within the 21st Division. The Finnish Dragoons at this point had a strength of three squadrons.Smith, Napoleonic Wars Data Book, p. 408
On August 20 the regiment arrived in the outskirts of the city and formed part of the reserve. By 18 December 1812 the French-led X Corps retreated after an almost 5 month long siege, leaving the Russians victorious.
Second Regiment (1889)
After the failures of the Russian Army during the Crimean War, several new local units and formations were raised throughout the Russian Empire. In the Grand Duchy of Finland, a new semi-autonomous 'Finnish Army' was created which comprised several local rifle battalions and along with a new dragoon regiment. On 17 April 1889, the Finnish Dragoon Regiment was formed in Villmanstrand (Lappeenranta) at the strength of one 'troop' or platoon. By 1891 the regiment was at full strength with 6 'sabre' squadrons and one depot/training squadron.
The new regiment soon received a new nickname, the "Black Dragoons" as the Finnish officers had spoiled their men and gave them "new, expensive Black horses". The exception to this was the trumpeteers who were mounted on light grey horses as per tradition.