red cavalry 1920
Reds of “Budyonny’s Cavalry Army” (Konarmia) the key Bolshevik fire brigade of the Russo-Polish War. Note the mix of French Adrian helmets, Cossack shapskas and Trotsky caps for headgear. Also note the Cossack at the left is wearing the 1909 pattern officer’s webgear to include a trench whistle near his left armpit. As pre-Civil War Cossack officers in the Konarmia were rare (Budenny himself had only been a senior NCO in the Imperial Dragoons) this officer is likely had an interesting tale– though notably he has ditched his shoulder boards.