Living History Group

"Preobrazhensky Life Guards", 1709
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WEAPONS

Fire-arms. Main weapon for the infantry was smoothbore musket with plug or socket bayonet. It is probable that in early stages the Petrian army used matchlock muskets, then flintlock muskets of various models untill French battery flintlock was generaly adopted.
Cold-steel. Officers and soldiers were also armed with cold steel, mainly swords of all types; however sabres could be met in earlier stages.
Pole-arms used included: halberds for serjeants, corporals and "kapitan-armus"; half-pikes for second-ensigns; spontoons for officers; and pikes for pikemen (starting 1707 - 1/8th portion of soldiers).

Below one can find some materials about weapons of Russian army in 1700-1721 period:
- Photos of original items of hisorical weapons stored in The Artillery Museum in St.Petersburg. (page in Russian).
- Review of tendencies of development of Russian small fire arms from late 17 to 18 century. (doc file in Russian, 116 kb) 
(from the book: Маковская Л.К. РУЧНОЕ ОГНЕСТРЕЛЬНОЕ ОРУЖИЕ РУССКОЙ АРМИИ конца  XIV-XVIII веков. ОПРЕДЕЛИТЕЛЬ. - М.: ВОЕННОЕ ИЗДАТЕЛЬСТВО, 1992.)