The Latvian Riflemen were originally a military formation of the Imperial Russian Army assembled starting 1915 in Latvia in order to defend Baltic governorates against the German Empire in World War I. Initially, the battalions were formed by volunteers, and from 1916 by conscription among the Latvian population. A total of about 40,000 troops were drafted into the Latvian Riflemen Division. They were used as an elite force in the Imperial and Red armies.
1916 uniform of the Latvian Riflemen
Latvian volunteers from 3rd Kurzeme Riflemen Battalion (1915)
Latvian Riflemen in the trenches during the Christmas Battles
Soviet-era monument for the Latvian Riflemen in Riga.
The Imperial Russian Army or Russian Imperial Army was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of regular troops and two forces that served on separate regulations: the Cossack troops and the Muslim troops.
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General Suvorov crossing the St. Gotthard Pass during the Italian and Swiss expedition in 1799.
Capture of a French Imperial Eagle by the Russian Imperial Guard at the Battle of Austerlitz
Russian dragoons and hussars in 1807