Russian GNW Standards

[Russian James]

We have various sources telling us the field colours of different regimental colours, and we know the first company carried the colonel's colour, but the colour of the central device is unknown.

Do you think it is a reasonable assumption to think the colour of the palm leaves changed between battalions?

i.e.:

1st battalion, 1st company, red leaves on white
2nd company, red leaves on blue

2nd battalion, 1st company, green leaves on white
2nd company, green leaves on blue


Your thoughts please, gents...

[Tacitus]

I do not think so. As I understand it the Russian method to differentiate their company colours was to add a unique number of stars to each colour.

This is a company colour with three stars from the Semenovski Guard regiment (which was lost at Narva 1700).


http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/fan ... 365&pos=17

There are however many Russian colours without any stars at all. Examples of those can be seen in the link below.

http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/search?query=rysk+fana

[danschorr]

You might want to check out this blog:
http://rusmilhist.blogspot.com/search/l ... 0Standards

It is a Russian site, but most of the pages are in English. The author is somewhat of an expert on Russian colours of the period. There is an email address you can use to ask him additional questions. His English is great.

[El Cid]

Also of interest:

Russian Infantry Colors from the early Great Northern
War, 1700-06.
Vladimir Velikanov 2007

[Russian James]

Yes, I understand the differentiation between companies, my question is between battalions.

If ALL regimental colours are similar, how do you tell 1st battalion from 2nd battalion?

[Tacitus]

Yes, I understand the differentiation between companies, my question is between battalions.

If ALL regimental colours are similar, how do you tell 1st battalion from 2nd battalion?

I am sorry that I did not read your first post as carefully as I should. But I now realise that you seem to have misunderstood the concept of a "colonels colour". There was only one colonel in a regiment so there was only one colonels colour. It was easy to tell the difference between the battalions since the first battalion carried the colonels colour while the second battalion only carried company colours.

Battalions were in this age only tactical formations and not administrative ones. The companies were numbered as parts of a regiment and not as parts of a battalion. Hence there was no need to show on the colour which battalion the company belonged to. The Swedish army did not do that until 1819.

[Russian James]

OK, thanks for that Tacitus. I was thinking of there being two 2nd companies, each with a star on the same coloured field, hence the confusion.

[maciek]

Also of interest:
Russian Infantry Colors from the early Great Northern
War, 1700-06.
Vladimir Velikanov 2007

What are you reffering ? Is it a book, an e-book or web-found article ?

[El Cid]

I have it on my Computer, no idea, where I got it from.