The 1st Kalmyk Regiment Formation and Its Military Experience in the War of 1812–1814

The war of 1812–1814 has become a challenge for the Russian Empire. To meet the attack of “The Grand Armee”, great forces were called up, including the regiments, formed from non-Russian ethnic groups. The 1st Kalmyk Regiment (Commander – Captain Dzhamba-taysha Tundutov) was one of these regiments. It should be noted that the historiography of Napoleonic Wars starting from the XIX century was interested in irregular regiments far less than in the regular ones, that is why their history abounded with unexplored facts. Stavropol, 1st and 2nd Kalmyk Regiments went through a glorious way in the war of 1812–1814, but, unfortunately, for a number of reasons it was misrepresented in the history of the XХ century. The 1st Kalmyk Regiment was the most unlucky, as its military experience was far from being true due to the mistakes, made by the researchers. The article is focused on the history of the 1st Kalmyk Regiment formation and its military experience in the war of 1812–1814. The work is chiefly based on the Russian State Military History Archive data.