The Effectiveness of the Don and Kuban Cossacks in the Russian-Japanese War of 1904–1905: Controversial Aspects

The article is devoted to the combat capability assessment of the Don and Kuban military unit on the basis of Russian-Japanese War of 1904–1905. This issue remains controversial in the Russian historiography and it continues to attract the attention of researchers in connection with attempts to revive Cossack military units. We use the problem and comparative historical methods. As a result of research, we found that the War Office correctly identified trends in the development of cavalry. War Office tried to create the tools to use it in a new environment. However, they does not take into account the possibility of a local war. Therefore, Military Ministry was forced to improvise in mobilizing and organizing the Don and Kuban military unit. Many decisions were not thought. Besides, cavalry units used for other purposes because of errors Russian command and their staffs were poorly organized. We conclude that the failure of the Don at Kuban military unit during the Russian- Japanese War were associated with similar private reasons, and not a systemic crisis Cossack troops.