Uniforms of the 6th Urals Mountain Rifle Division
This reconstruction is based on research conducted by the Ekaterinburg Military History Club "Mountain Shield" and uniform schemes created by K. Novikov, published at bergenschild.ru.
The available photographs of the division's officers, as well as a more careful reading of sources relating to the period of the division's formation in the summer and autumn of 1918, allow for significant additions to be made.
The reconstruction of the shoulder-boards of the rifle regiments, as well as the artillery divizion and engineer company, was carried out on the basis of Order No. 11 of the Siberian Army dated 10 September 1918, which stated, in particular:
The commander of the army has ordered that in cases where officers, doctors, officials and riflemen are unable to obtain khaki-coloured shoulder-boards, they are permitted to wear braided or arm of service coloured shoulder-boards instead.
RGVA F.39512 Op.1 D.58 L.77.
Order No. 10 of the Military Department of the Provisional Siberian Government, dated 24 July 1918, announced the description of sleeve insignia to distinguish between the ranks of officers and soldiers of the army of the Provisional Siberian Government. The colour of the insignia for rifle regiments was specified as raspberry, and for artillery and engineer units as black with red piping; with gold and silver metal respectively.
RGVA F. 39597 Op.1 D.12 L.25-25ob.
Uniforms which have been preserved from the period show coloured cloth strips in the arm of service colour, as established by Order No. 12 of the Military Department of the Provisional Siberian Government dated 27 July 1918:
Cotton and cloth campaign blouses are to have [lace] on the chest opening, from the edge of the collar along the lapel to the end of the opening, along the outer edge of the slit
Greatcoats are to have it along the upper edge of their cuffs.
The cloth strip should be a ¼ vershok wide, with the outer edge folded inward on the blouse, and a ¼ vershok wide without folding on the overcoat.
Raspberry is to be used for riflemen, and other arm in the colour of the sleeve insignia, temporarily red.
Officer's tunic and "French" style coats are to have similar strips placed on the sleeves (as on the greatcoats).
RGVA F.39597 Op.1 D.12 L.27.
The shoulder-boards of the rifle regiments, artillery divizion and engineer company have been reconstructed on the basis of the above information.
The following reconstructions by A. Karevskiy
Metal and cloth versions of the shoulder-boards of officers of the Mountain Rifle Regiments:
1 – 21st Chelyabinsk; 2 – 22nd Zlatoust; 3 – 23rd Miass; 4 – 24th Satka
K. Novikov's reconstruction has white stripes shown on the raspberry shoulder-boards, but his reconstruction is based on the assumption that they were made of lace metal (i.e. gold).
Khaki shoulder-boards of the rifle regiments of the 6th Urals Mountain Rifle Division:
1 – general; 2 – colonel; 3 – second-lieutenant; 4 – staff-captain
Coloured and khaki shoulder-boards of other ranks of the Mountain Rifle Regiments:
1 – 21st Chelyabinsk; 2 – 22nd Zlatoust; 3 – 23rd Miass; 4 – 24th Satka
Shoulder-boards of officers of the 6th Urals Mountain Rifle Artillery Divizion
1 – standard braided shoulder-board of an artillery lieutenant;
2 – lieutenant-colonel based on the Siberian Army's 1918 system;
3 – staff-captain in the same system; 4 – khaki shoulder-board for an ensign
Shoulder-boards of officers of the engineer company of the 6th Urals Mountain Rifle Division:
1 – standard braided shoulder-board of a second-lieutenant in the engineers;
2 – lieutenant-colonel in the engineers based on the Siberian Army's 1918 system;
3 – ensign in the engineers, in the same system; 4 – khaki shoulder-board of a lieutenant
Shoulder-boards of other ranks of the Artillery Divizion and Engineer Company
of the 6th Urals Mountain Rifles Division
Uniform of officers of the rifle regiments of the 6th Urals Mountain Rifle Division
The cockades are shown with overlaid ribbons of the national colours, which was established by Order No. 7 of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on 2 October 1918 and subsequently became widespread in the Russian Army, especially in the Western Army (later the 3rd Army of the Eastern Front)
Uniforms of other ranks of the rifle regiments of the 6th Urals Mountain Rifle Division
Winter uniforms of the rifle regiments of the 6th Urals Mountain Rifle Division
Uniforms of the Artillery Divizion and Engineer Company
of the 6th Urals Mountain Rifles Division
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Pygmy Wars Notes
The original for this page is at kolchakiya.ru/uniformology/6_Ural_div.htm.
The bergenschild.ru site no longer exists, but the schemes for this division can be seen here in pdf.
For a while the 1st Ural Hussar Regiment acted as the cavalry divizion for this Division. Its uniforms can be found here.
Discussion on the translation choices I have made can be found here.
History of the 6th Ural Mountain Rifle Division
Taken from Volkov.
The division was formed in July 1918 in Chelyabinsk from volunteer units of the first days of the anti-Bolshevik uprising. Originally called the Chelyabinsk Independent Division, with its regiments being the 1st to 4th People's Regiment, it was renamed the 1st Ural Infantry Division in July. In August 1918 it was once more renamed, now to the 6th Ural Mountain Rifle Division, and the regiments were given new numbers. It included 21st Chelyabinsk, the 22nd Zlatoust, the 23rd Miass and the 24th Satka Mountain Rifle Regiments, and the 6th Independent Ural Rifle Artillery Divizion. It was in the 3rd Ural Mountain Rifle Corps.
It was sent to the front in late autumn-winter 1918, taking part in the spring offensive. By the end of summer 1919 was severely depleted and understrength. Attempts to reinforce the division were unsuccessful, as the reinforcements arriving from Siberia had been heavily influenced by enemy propaganda and defected to the enemy. On 1 February 1919 the 23rd and 24th Regiments were sent to form the 10th Upper Ural Rifle Division. Two battalions of the 21st Chelyabinsk Regiment defected to the Reds in the summer of 1919 on the Belaya River, allowing the front line to be broken.
It was disbanded in October 1919 and incorporated into the 12th Ural Rifle Division: the 21st Chelyabinsk Regiment into the 47th Tagil Regiment, the 22nd Zlatoust Regiment into the 46th Iset Rifle Regiment and presumably the artillery into the 12th Artillery Divizion.