"We wore our swords with the edge facing up, which was the style at the time." -Abe Simpson (Recounting his service in the Soviet Red Army from 1940-1945)
@@paleoph6168 Im not sure if its true, but i have heard with katana edge facing up makes the i dont remember japanese word for it, but slice as you draw the sword with same motion easier kinda like quick draw, and with shashka it would be the same
I mean, it was less that the bayonet was obsolete, and more that the guns they were issuing at the time either couldn't mount a bayonet, or else had one permanently mounted to the gun itself, both of which renders a bayonet scabbard rather superfluous.
@@davispeterson1876 No no comrade. There are no bayonet scabbards. Some comrades merely had a pair of loops on the side of their sword scabbard to help store their bayonet with their sword. Bayonets are meant to be dangerous at all times so the pointy end must always be exposed!
Russia is.... Russia 😄 that said , if I were a Soviet soldier in WW2 , I'd take this over a nagant revolver any day. Imagine you're a young Nazi on guard at night and this shaggy cossack leaps at you this thing in hand 😅 Germans would be running out of trousers sooner than they ran Outta ammunition.
@@dscrappygolani7981 The Russian army only started issuing socks in 2013. This is an Army still using foot wraps and jackboots in the 21st century. That is oddly both laughable and commendable.
My great uncle was in a Cossack cavalry unit (19th Cossacks, 2nd Ukrainian front) during the whole of the war. Ordered to draw swords exactly twice. They trained with their swords extensively though. In fact, exceptional swordsmanship badge was the first decoration a trooper could get, while still in training.
I'm gonna add a couple of things: 1. "Ethnic cossacks" is sort of a misnomer as it's primarily a social group rather than an ethnic one. However, their culture and language is somewhat distinct from the "mainland" Russia, with a lot of Ukrainian and Caucasian influence (because after Cossack state in Ukraine was destroyed in 1775, many Ukrainian cossacks moved, willingly or otherwise, to colonise Caucasus and Kuban') 2. A shashka is not, strictly speaking, a saber because it is front-heavy and less curved. It's not meant to be fenced with but rather deliver a single strong slash from horseback. The Adyghe word that "shashka" comes from means just "big knife", and technically, it is. 3. Another type of military issue shashka was the dragoon one, main difference being D-guard similar to European cavalry sabre
First people who were called cossacs were italian settlers in crimea XD (im not shittin you) turks, tatars and other non-christian people also joined cvossacs from time to time.
Well yeah, Soviets didn't like cossacks at all. In the times of the Russian Empire, before the Russian Revolution, cossacks were not just military, but also riot and crowd control troops, quite harsh and brutal on protesting workers. Quoth Lenin: "Don't feel sorry for the Cossacks. They have a lot of people's blood on their hands, they are always enemies of the workers. Let them go to their own lands, where they have property and families, or let them sit hopelessly in their barracks. Don't touch them there. But as soon as they go out into the street - mounted or on foot, armed or unarmed - look at them as your worst enemies, and destroy them without mercy."
@@whitecoffee8090 There's an interesting story about how Lenin was a host to one of the Cossacks who was actually after him. The Cossack knew only his name, but could not recognize him and even asked him "Have you seen this Lenin?"
Cossacks are basically a social group of nomadic borderland bandits, consisting of all sorts of criminal elements as well as runaway serfs for example, all of which obviously escape to the borders of the empire where it is easier to avoid empire's law enforcement and naturally gather into bands. Thus they are very much not exclusive to the south-west regions of Russian empire, for example another big region where those groups organized was sparsely populated eastern lands around Ural mountains (where I personally am from)
Edge up is very practical, as it doesn't dull the blade when worn and banged around. A shashka- very nice cavalry weapon, using it is still cultivated in both Russia and Ukraine. It has no handguard, but in return it allows for very swift and fancy movement. There are even some local dances involving the weapon. It's an old weapon with a long tradition.
With a wood lined scabbard, the issue with dulling is pretty negligible. This is a much bigger concern with steel scabbards of other patterns of swords.
@@HunterGargoyle Generally most European and Western scabbards went to steel construction in the 19th century. This shaska is an exception to that rule.
That's the logic for samurai, which seems logical because they were self-defense weapons so reducing maintenance takes precedence. But, in warfare, the most important factor is readiness and given you have to hold the grip at a weird angle to draw the sword - even more so this one with a grip angled inwards - that seems like a dubious priority.
And about edge upwards, it is great for very quick grab of the blade and, while taking out of the scabbard, imidiately attacking from top right or top left, instead of forced bottom left cut with edge down carry
Since Ian talked about the Type 95 Shin Gunto before; and that this Cossack sword was worn with its blade facing upwards (not unlike how Katana are supposed to be worn), I imagine a what-if scenario in which a WW2 Cossack encounters either an IJA cavalryman or an officer and then they have a swordfight.
It's not a 'Cossack' sword. It's a Caucasian tribal sword that had nothing to do with Cossacks. Just happened to be introduced to Cossack units under Russian empire. Probably because it was cheaper to produce than a proper saber with hand guard.
There was some engagement between cossack cavalry and IJA/Manchukuo Army cavalry at Khalkin Gol in 1939 and possibly briefly in August 1945. The equivalent Japanese sword was the Type 32 'Ko' (A Model) cavalry sabre, produced from 1898 to 1936.
Well, there are Siberian(well, the south of it, horses dont like forests and seamps) cossarcs, and they actually fought Japanese in 04/05. And yes, cossarcs were all around the empire/ussr. They were a line between a soldier and a civilian, a man that has own home, family, field, and if duty calls they were to be organised into cavalry on the spot. Basically frontier civilian(can be kinda compared to American militia). They had some variations throughout the history and place. Started out as raiders, turned into militia, then into crowd suppression squads, then into proper military cavalry (Ukrainian version). Or simply first man on a uncivilised land(slav edition)
Hell yeah! I love the firearm content, but its so good being able to see these videos as well, love the sword bayonet video and thoroughly enjoyed this as well! Need more truly forgotten weapons!
That's very cool, I'm glad he still has it. My grandad told me that as a boy in 1945 in London (Piccadilly Circus) he watched the Cossacks trick ride and preform on parade. He said that when they returned home, Stalin had them executed because he thought they were traitors or might disseminate Western ways of thinking.
The word shashka originates from the Circassian "sa'shkho", meaning " big knife". It started out as a backup blade and is believed to first have been worn together with the saber, like the yatagan in Turkey. As firearms became the mainstay of warfare, the saber fell out of use with the Caucasians and Cossacks alike and the lighter shashka remained the main edged weapon. It was viewed as a last-ditch, "one stroke" weapon, not meant for fencing or parrying, drawn after the rifles and pistols had been discharged, hence the tip-heavy balance and no crossguard.
Sashka and saber are the same weapon. Russian army defined difference between them according to matterial of their scabard. Sabre was carried in metalic scabbard while sashka in wooden/leather one.
I was referring to the hit-and-run tactics of the Caucasian highlanders, i.e. before the shashka was adopted by Russian cavalry. Regular cavalry would of course use it differently. @@TheFaveteLinguis
The sword of the highlanders and the Russian military are not the same even if they look it, the Russian Shashkas are military weapons which are near double the weight of the light swords the highlanders favoured, this means they are less agile but more robust and generally cut better. The Cossacks and higherlanders both specialised in small war and light troop actions. The original shashka was almost certainly a self defence weapon in addition to the dagger, being specialised towards a quick draw. While hit and run was preferable for light cavalry the cossacks still used them in prolonged engagements, especially on foot, and I'm sure the higherlanders did if they had too as well.
Very nice sword! The blade looks well designed with a thick spine at the grip, tapering to pretty thin near the point and that deep wide fuller is nicely done.
Not something I'd want to get whacked with. Thank you for posting this. I, like you, am a student of the history of the weapon. Your work has filled in many gaps I had in my knowledge. I very much appreciate your efforts. I very much enjoy your videos.
I’ve been following a UA-cam channel run by a guy who lives in Georgia (not the US state) who restores knives, swords, axes, and other old artifacts. He has done several of these from various states of disrepair and corrosion to everything from like new to at least recognizable. They’re very interesting weapons with some unique construction details that you couldn’t touch on because they’re kind of hard to disassemble and reassemble compared to your average rifle. If anyone’s interested, the channel is “Screws And Tools” (I am not affiliated, I’m just a fan) Oh, yeah- please do more non-firearm-related weapons content whenever possible. Just avoid nunchucks…
These things were machine rolled and hand finished. You can still see the hammer marks on most of these. They weight about 2 lbs or 950g which is heavy for shashkas. There is also a limited run '46 marked blade in the parade pattern.
This is not the first time I have watched videos on this channel. I am Russian, my great-great-grandfather was a Don Cossack. It’s interesting to listen to you talk about checkers.
I own one of these that has been drasticaly cut down into a combat knife, with a blade legnth of around 10". The scabbard is also modified. While the workmanship is somewhat crude, the weapon feels surprisingly lively in the hand. Weather this was a deliberate field modification, or returning a broken sword into some measure of service, I have no way of knowing.
When researching blades one time, I came across the Cossack shashka. I really love the distinctive no-guard blade with the bird beak pommel. I also find this type of sword to be more interesting than the Japanese katana. The pommel gives the wielder a much more comfortable one-handed grip.
Thanks for discussing this topic. In my opinion, being interested in weapons not only means looking at guns but looking at swords, sabers, knives and more of this category too.
I have two slightly different shaskas on my wall. One has brass mounts like this one, and is dated 1934. The other has iron/steel mounts and no visible markings whatsoever. Always been my favourite style of sword.
I own one of these swords. It has red felt on the exterior of the scabbard. It has the bayonet fittings and the end cap, mouth and fittings are all brass. The sword is well balanced and feels good when you make cuts with it. A fine weapon overall.
"Ethnic Cossacks" sounds a bit jarring, a bit like "ethnic cowboys". It was more of a socioeconomic, cultural group rather than an ethnic one, although with distinct minority elements anc diverse cultural influences. At any rate, it was thoroughly destroyed by the Soviet rule through collectivization, purges, exile, postwar urbanization and basically ceased to exist by the time the USSR collapsed.
@@tombogan03884 No. They were descendants of Kıpchak Turks (Tatars) that served under Mongolian Army and local Eastern Europeans who had already mixed with Cuman Turks. After the fall of Mongolian Empire, its rump state Golden Horde basically became a Kıpchak ruled Turkic state. Kıpchak Turks ruled the region. They intermarried and mixed with their old foes. Cossacks became a mix of Kıpchak Turks and local Eastern Europeans who were already mixed with the previous invaders, Cuman Turks.
On our farm someone a long time ago brought one of those old bayonet blades for the soviet weapons. It was used to kill the pigs, but it actually was quite a relic, sad how it disappeared somewhere.
My great grandfather was in the Force française de l'intérieur during the liberation of paris, he took one of it on a german officer, m1928 one with bayonet slot and shiny brass. We have no idea of what it went trought before that though.
Cool view. My maternal Grandfather served in the Kiser's Army pre WWI, I have a tintype of him standing in his uniform with his sword at his side. I think my Uncle has the sword now, Grandpa hurriedly left Germany when he saw the war building and came to America where he began to farm. Said he took the fastest horse in the Kiser's stable and rode it to the coast where he boarded a ship to come to America. He knew he would need transport on arrival so he kept the Kiser's horse and rode it from New York to North Dakota to join a cousin who had come to America a few years earlier, the cousin had sent him money to buy the ticket to America, and Grandpa worked on the cousin's farm for a few years to pay back the loan.
It should be mentioned that the last successful cavalry charge in history took place in 1945 by Polish cavalry fighting in the Red Army that flanked a German entrenched position that had stymied the advance of tanks and infantry, so it shouldn't be so surprising that sabers were still being made for cavalry. Mounted cavalry was actually used by many European forces in WW2 including even Germany, although theirs were issued with lances and carbines but no swords.
They weren't part of Red Army. It was 1st "Warsaw" independent cavalry brigade. It was part of Polish army in the East. There were some poles in the red army but it's not the same thing.
@@karolgoofit7901 They were fighting alongside Soviet soldiers against the Germans which is the point I was trying to illustrate. If I had said fighting "with" the Red Army it could have been construed that they were fighting the Soviets, which also happened.
for all I understand, the role of soviet cavalry is rather underestimated - it is often known that units were sent into senseless attacks to stop the advancing germans in the beginning of Barbarossa, but later on the Soviet Cavalry was used more wisely and succesfull to operate on the flancs of attacking movements, to break through and create havoc in the rear. Also : not to forget the Italian Cavalry, that rode the maybe 2nd last big & succesfull attack in the USSR, in 1942 I think .
Even in 19th century noone sent cavalry in frontal assaults ever. The fashion for cavalry charges comes from the Russian Civil war 1918, they sure as fuck all fought irregular as a guerilla force. @@aasphaltmueller5178
love the unique content Ian! One of my favorite videos is your IJA/IJN mass produced NCO samurai sword. Even as we advance as a species there will always be our past
To provide a bit of historical context for what Ian mentions at the beginning regarding Cossack status in USSR: Cossacks are a bit of a unique culture - they are an ethno-class culture. They were cosmopolitan, united mostly by faith and service rather than a specific ethnicity, with Russians, Ukrainians, Poles, and later many of the ethnicities of Caucasus or Siberia joining their ranks. The closest equivalent they have in world history is the Sikhs. Their relationship with the Russian state has always been complicated, but after the left-bank Ukraine was formally integrated into the Russian Empire and the dissident Cossack movements were destroyed along with the Swedish forces at Poltava, they became the state's enforcers. They were freed from most forms of taxation and had significant autonomy within the Empire in exchange for providing cavalry troops to the state. And they were used in peacetime to put down rebellious movements - by the Empire's late days, this included putting down protests in the cities. So after the Revolution, when the Civil War began, the Bolsheviks branded Cossacks as class enemies, part of the exploitative system. Most Cossacks would fight for the Whites. After the war, enemy classes were forbidden from serving in the Red Army. Official state policy was aimed at eradicating these classes - dekulakization as an example of that, but the Cossacks were affected as well. However, in 1936 things began to change, and Cossacks were officially allowed to serve again. Several cavalry units were named Cossack units, and a Cossack uniform was introduced. By 1939, all class restrictions on service were lifted, with the exception of military academy attendance. Of course, some of the Cossacks that emigrated during the Civil War would become collaborationists, organized under the "Hauptverwaltung der Kosakenheere" - the main command of the Cossack forces, which was lead by Pyotr Krasnov. In addition to former White Cossacks, they would also recruit from the occupied territories in USSR. They would prove to be more supportive of Hitler than Vlasov's ROA, with Krasnov constantly criticizing Vlasov and his actions as being unfaithful to "German allies". Krasnov would be captured by the English and turned over to the Soviets, who sentenced him to death in 1946. With that in mind, although the Cossacks were no longer persecuted in USSR, the cultural element was still restricted - Cossacks would not be able to form communities until the collapse of USSR.
@@thealphazoid I specifically started out with an explanation of that - they're an ethno-class culture. They weren't an ethnicity in the traditional sense, but they weren't purely a class either. It was a mix of the two. Like I said, the closest equivalent they have is the Sikhs.
@@DawidKov yeah, I've noticed some pseudo-history in there. Not after the revolution (which one btw?) but after the Mensheviks coup. Coz Revolution of 1917 was orchestrated by SR (google it up), while months after terrorist gang of 'bolsheviks' made a coup. A Junta. And yeah, just after the revolution there was no USSR, there was soviet ruSSia, not USSR. Since you are barely know your history - I'm sure you are as wrong about Cossacs. Cossacs were Ukrainian warriors since 16th century, who were later serving moskovite/russian tzars, much later. You may find a french map that clearly says "Ukraine the land of cossacks" - the map dated by the time when ruSSIan hasn't existed just yet, except Moskovite tsardom.
Grandpa's a Russafide Greek from Ukrainian. He told us we could never become Kozak. Because we're Catholics (that's why they got sent to Siberia). Mandatory conversion a requirement.
@@thealphazoid "the Revolution", note the capital "R", is typically used to refer to the October Revolution of 1917. Clearly, since I mention the Bolsheviks right after, I am not referring to either the 1905 revolution or the February "bourgeoisie" one. I am quite aware of the differences between USSR and RSFSR, thank you, and you may notice that I've not used the term USSR in reference to RSFSR in my original comment. Your mention of this is irrelevant, same as the useless pedantry of questioning which revolution I was talking about. "Ukraine" originally translates as "borderland" - it was the term used to describe territories on the peripheries of Russian and Polish states. These territories, populated by Orthodox East Slavic ancestors of Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians before these distinctions became noticeable, fell partially under Polish-Lithuanian control, though this control was strained and often challenged. Essentially, the local warlords attempted to maintain control while repelling the Polish conquests from the west, and the Tatar raids from the south and east. They also had some conflict with the Russian states of the time, who were slowly being united under Moscow. The reason for conflict there, however, was due to a matter of control rather than religion, as was the case with the Poles and Tatars. Quite a few Cossacks were escaped serfs from Russia, so this haven for serfs undermined the Russian system. The Tsardom's establishment was the end point of a long process of Russian unification, and Ivan IV was specifically crowned as "Tsar of all Russias". So, although I put little value on a French map when they were nowhere near the area, if it included the Muscovite Tsardom, it included Russia. The map, however, would not be wrong - Ukraine, the geographical location rather than a political entity, was the land of the Cossacks. Because local rule was represented almost exclusively through Cossack warlords. You couldn't exactly draw borders here - the Poles claimed they ruled everything up to the Don, but in reality they barely had control to the Dnieper. After Moscow united Russian states into a single domain, and with the growing Polish ambitions in the region, the warlords of Ukraine ended up in a position where they had to pick between one or the other. This was all the more important in light of the expanding ties between the Crimean Tatars and the Ottoman Empire, which made the Tatar threat too much for the Cossacks to handle. Some chose the Poles, some chose Moscow, yet others wanted an independent rule. In the end, those that chose the Poles would lose to their own, as they were seen as traitors, while those that wanted independence would join Sweden in the war against Russia, and end up losing too. The only ones that remained were those loyal to the Tsar. And yes, Ukrainian culture was influenced by the Cossacks, as well as to some extent by the Polish rule. But Cossacks weren't just Ukrainians, there were Russians and Poles that left their way of life and joined the Cossacks. Later on, there were Caucasian and Siberian Cossacks too. Not all Ukrainians were Cossacks either. And this was further reinforced in the Russian Empire, where Cossacks had a specific class status, while Ukrainians - Maloross, - were defined separately from them.
You got me thinking Ian and I found a Shashka with bayonet scabbard. It has flat brass fittings around the sward scabbard holding round ones to hold the bayonet tube (it looks like wood covered in leather like the sward one. In the picture the tube contained a 91/30 bayonet.
@@loquat44-40 There cannot be any “Ukrainian traditionalists” - Ukraine is only 32 years old. As for historical times, the territory of present-day Ukraine has always been divided between Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, Poland, and for some time even Sweden. Only the communists united this territory into a single country: first by Lenin, and completed by Stalin - by annexing Western Ukraine, which had been outside Russia for more than 600 years. So, in principle, Ukrainians cannot have any common traditions and culture - these are different ethnic groups from different countries who never lived together until the end of World War 2.
@@loquat44-40 An official, unified, literary, academic language - was made by the communists. Before that, and now, each region has its own dialect, a cross between Russian, Polish, German, Turkish, Hungarian, Romanian - and each dialect differs from its neighbor, depending on which Empire controlled this territory. Dude, the country is called “Ukraine” for a reason: it literally means "border lands". The Communists took the Poltava dialect as the basis for the official Ukrainian language.
@@loquat44-40 I don’t understand why you said all these platitudes, they don’t refute anything. In the Russian Empire there was no single official language, everyone used any language as it suited them - the nobility spoke French among themselves, they often wrote letters in Latin. Consequently, no one told the residents what language to speak. Poland has a single language and culture - because before the partitions, it was a country. The peoples of Ukraine, on the contrary, never lived in the same state before 1945. They are not similar either culturally or linguistically - this is a Frankenstein monster, created artificially from pieces of neighboring peoples, their cultures and languages.
Cossacks picked shashka as their weapon of choice after Russian colonial wars in Caucasus, thus the origin of the word itself is not Russian, it comes from Adyghe language.
@@xochiltepetzalailhuicamina2322 I'm just reciting Russian Wiki article on it, but yes, it's true, that Russian has many deep-rooted words of Turkic and Persian origin, like "сарафан" ("a sarafan", I type of traditional Russian female dress) comes from Persian "saref". So maybe it got to Adyghe first and then to Russian.
Cossack are the Russian what are you smoking, unlike america Russia is true multi ethnic country Cossack traditionally has two simple objectives Protect the faith (christian ) and Russian land
Thanks for the video. Swords are intriguing weapons. I doubt that they were used effectively very often in WWII, but they still have a certain charisma.
They were used. Cossacks took two swords in their hands, reins on their teeth, and rushed on horse into German artillerymen, and cut them into pieces. There are many examples of this. Even today, Cossacks are very skilled with swords. Of course, one bullet is stronger than the strongest sword.
@@dekipet Only past about seven paces. Bullets aren't always immediately fatal, and a skilled cavalryman doing 25mph at your face is going to be far more instantly lethal.
There were huge chunks of the Eastern front where the German lines were essentially Swiss cheese. Cossack cavalry units would infiltrate in the dark and snow to attack isolated German artillery and logistics positions deep in the rear. Often with a charge straight out of the Napoleonic wars, swords a swinging.
@@dekipet Thanks for the reply and the information. I hadn't thought about rushing artillery posts, but I can see where that could work. I'm sure they still took heavy casualties doing that.
Great video! Another interesting fact is that the groove in the pommel was originally intended to serve as a rifle rest when using the sword in the scabbard as a monopod.
Cossack shashka, always worn with the blade up, for quick removal with a blow. For this purpose, there is no handle protection to prevent snagging during quick removal. Wooden scabbard to keep it quiet. Therefore, in Tsarist Russia, sabers were changed to shashka. During World War II, the number of cavalry increased in both Russia and Germany. Because of its effectiveness when you need to quickly close an enemy breakthrough or for a raid on the rear. Even when operating together with tanks as support. There was a tactic when the tanks started fighting each other, the cavalry went to the flank and burned the enemy’s equipment with bottles and grenades.
Edge up makes sense when you think about the possibility of the edge damaging by banging around, plus you can draw and cut in a single sweep with that configuration, same as the samurai katana
No idea what you have in mind when you say you can draw and cut in a single sweep. You need to transition the blade from facing your arm to facing your knuckles when you draw it edge up from your side. I just tried it a few times with one of my sabres and it's very awkward indeed. It's the normal blade down arrangement that allows you to draw and immediately slash.
@BobsVagene it's much more economical, from a exertion perspective, to cut downwards from the top of the target, rather than coming in from the bottom. With the blade facing upwards this allows you to draw and come in for a slash from the top with a flick of the wrist, having the blade facing down means that in order to attack from the top you need to adjust the blade first. You can draw and cut in that position, yes, but it is not as efficient because you'd be doing it from the bottom. As for it being awkward I personally don't find it awkward, you just need to train for it, like anything else. That being said cavalry sabres don't lend themselves well to this manoeuvre, as for example katanas would
@@undead9999 Are you saying you'd draw and keep the blade facing towards youself? If so, I still don't get it. I have trained Kali and the only thing I can picture relative to what you're saying is throwing the outside portion of the abaniko from that position, to use their terminology. With a two handed katana I can see this making a bit more sense, using your off hand for leverage. But you still have to spin the blade in your hands to get the edge facing the right way before the next swing. I would rather lose some efficiency on the first blow and not have to juggle the sword around when in combat. With two hands it's doable, with one hand I would absolutely not want to loosen my grip on the hilt to adjust the direction of the blade. Anyway, swords are cool. Gotta get back into training.
@@undead9999 Looked up a video on the katana draw. Makes more sense and I can see the benefits. I am coming at it from a one hander perspective and I think I would have to practice this for a bit to determine the tradeoffs in practice. I am pretty sure that in a typical combat situation you are going to be drawing your sword ahead of time anyway, and not striking from the scabbard. The chamber for Kali is typically on the shoulder and you are slashing down on your initial strike. But I will admit, I haven't trained striking from a draw at all in the past. I have done a variety of martial arts and sword training is by far the most interesting of them all in my opinion.
My inputs (I am not an expert): 1. Shaska slight curved shape is a compromise between curved sward (that requires experience to be used) and peak (for simple cavalry attack) 2. Shashka is hanged "up side down" so when you taking it out, the sharp edge is pointing up and can not cut the horse
World War Two in Real Time did a great video about WW2 cavalry. The Soviets still took cavalry seriously, they had massive state owned horse farms, and started the war with 20 or 30 cavalry divisions.
The "edge facing up" is for a practical reason for a single-edged sword: it's so the edge is facing outward, toward an opponent, when drawn. Samurai did the same thing, so you cut someone even as you're drawing the blade. Old-school tacticool.
You can perform a strike while unsheathing regardless of edge-carry. Edge-up just allows you to strike downward on draw, which is more powerful but slower than the upward strike that edge-down carry enables.
Yeah not really. Edge down you draw straight into a hanging guard and this was common with a lot of single edged military saber. You probably don't want to draw into a hanging guard with a katana or shashka though because the sword hand is presented prominently but both swords have poor hand protection.
You can still uppercut from the scabbard when wearing a sword facing down, I dont think that's the main reason here. Another practical reason for wearing a sword like this is limiting edge contact with the scabbard and preseving the edge a bit better, especially if the scabbard is made of metal. Then again, a lot of things are simply fashion.
Sharp edge up was both a safety measure, so when a cavalryman pulls it during the charge the saber doesn't cut the horse, and an optimal ready to use measure. It saved an extra move. Try pulling it out both ways, you'll see that the edge up saves time and ready to go in just one move, and you might need one or two more moves of the arm or wrist when pull out edge down. Nothing strange about it, and nothing to do with fashion. Most importantly, your horse is happy to keep its left ear haha
Addendum on service: during World War II, the Italian cavalry regiments Savoia Cavalleria and Lancieri di Novara were deployed to the Eastern front, and they replaced their sabers with the M1927 shashka, captured from Soviet depots. This was the blade the Savoia Cavalleria used in the Charge of Izbushensky, the insane moment where a 700-strong cavalry regiment routed 2,500 Soviet infantrymen.
No one told a story (legend) on how Buddenniy tested helmets with his shaska (test proved to be successful) and claimed that a good cavalryman could cut an infantryman from shoulder to pelvis with such blade in one hit.
Nice content (as always, btw), THX, Ian! There's interesting feature of this particular subject: Both in russian criminology (as the sience) and the history of armament (cold steel weapons), the whole bunch of "shashka's" family objected as a ... knives ! Obviousely, you can see it in the design (style) and construction concept of the subject. Etimology mostly goes to Russian Empire Caucase-region "cherkess" nation [people], so, in cherkess language "sash-ho" - means: "big knife" then the term transforms to "shashka" as we know it nowdays. THX again, and have a good weekend!
I own this swords rival precursor. A Napoleon war era heavy cavalry sabre from the western Russian cuirassiers. It has a much more ornate guard and there is no curve to the blade.
Two differences between shashka and sabre in russain tradition: sabre has a handguard and scabbard is worn "blade down" at the belt, shashka often has no handguard and scabbard is worn "blade up" on the shoulder sling. But in the mid-18 century there where mess with naming of the bladed weapons in russian imperial army, every blade could be called either way
I had one when a student (Schlagende Verbindung/ Deutsche Landsmannschaft) and we used it for training (no wrist-hindering basket) on our dummy... excellent balance and quality (got it from a fraternity brother of my father), the equally onvincing swords I used on that target (and in fun-fights) were my 1889 light cavalry saber (german ulan or hussar) and british highland basket hilt broadsword, the real broadsword and claidheam blades leaving to much impressive marks on the rubbertyre recipients for any would-be recipients to try... actually my then bagpipe instructor had an original claidheam da lann and used it on a reconstructed targaidh... it took a quarter of an hour to prise it loose again! So from a fellow son of a blade, best wishes and ne'er be where your opponents blade swishes! (You certainly ken there's a scots word fir the sound of a blade? "Soush"!) En Guard!!! 😊
"Ethnic cossacks" is sort of a misnomer as it's primarily a social group rather than an ethnic one This. Calling them ethnic cossacks is as same as using 'Ethnic pirate" term.
Dark Souls 3 brought me here, as they feature a pair of these weapons called Sellsword Twinblades. For someone who use that in-game, I'm glad to hear it actually exists.
I have several of these. They are awesome swords. Also great for spinning (see cossack sword dances lol) Edge up is also functional and practical. When you have it attached to yourself, it is easier to draw when its like that. Very awkward the otherway.
Hi! Small mistake - cossacs are not some kind of ethnic group or tribe in Russia (but they want to be ones)) Our cossacs always were some kind of professional warriors, who lived nearby the state border. They often were former bandits, slaves, thieves ets, who wanted to live their own way without Russian government. But as time passed by, cossacs were invited by our government (about 16 century) as pioneers and guardians. So, if you had wild West in 19 century - we had wild East and Caucasus since 16 century - absolutely the same things ))
Ножны легкие кожаные без металлических и деревянных вставок, чтобы лезвие не разрезало ножны под собственным весом шашку носили лезвием в верх " Помнят польские паны Помнят псы атаманы Конноармейские наши клинки"
You have a fairly good example of the late model M27. The scabbard fittings fully correspond to the year. Early fittings were entirely brass, later ones were bimetallic, as in your example. Does not correspond to 1945, the head is a saber pommel. this pommel was used for checkers made before 1941. Afterwards, the design was simplified and from 1942 to 1945 the pommel had only the outline of a star, without floral ornament and with a smooth field. Greetings from Russia, your colleague Alex.
Ian could probably do a video of a hotdog and still make it interesting ngl. Jokes aside I dont mind blades being on forgotten weapons, in fact I would like to see more bayonets and such
I have a copy from India that is close to authentic but the ring hanger is in a more traditional position. The engravings are correct but the wood seems to be a sort from India with a reddish tint. I have a Nagant revolver which compliments it. I bought it so I could learn to twirl it but it's sort of heavy or I am weak.
Morphy Auctions is just a few miles from where I live in Lancaster County, PA. I'd bet Ian could generate some interest in a meet and greet at Morphy if he wanted to.
"We wore our swords with the edge facing up, which was the style at the time." -Abe Simpson (Recounting his service in the Soviet Red Army from 1940-1945)
Interesting
And the scabards had pictures of bees on em
You couldn't get the decorative ones, because of the war. So, we had to use the ones with the black sheaths.
Not unlike how the Katana was meant to be worn.
@@paleoph6168 Im not sure if its true, but i have heard with katana edge facing up makes the i dont remember japanese word for it, but slice as you draw the sword with same motion easier kinda like quick draw, and with shashka it would be the same
Soviets in 1944: "Guys the bayonet is obsolete, there will no longer be a place to store them on your issued sword scabbard..."
I mean, it was less that the bayonet was obsolete, and more that the guns they were issuing at the time either couldn't mount a bayonet, or else had one permanently mounted to the gun itself, both of which renders a bayonet scabbard rather superfluous.
@@davispeterson1876 No no comrade. There are no bayonet scabbards. Some comrades merely had a pair of loops on the side of their sword scabbard to help store their bayonet with their sword. Bayonets are meant to be dangerous at all times so the pointy end must always be exposed!
Russia is.... Russia 😄 that said , if I were a Soviet soldier in WW2 , I'd take this over a nagant revolver any day. Imagine you're a young Nazi on guard at night and this shaggy cossack leaps at you this thing in hand 😅 Germans would be running out of trousers sooner than they ran Outta ammunition.
@@dscrappygolani7981 The Russian army only started issuing socks in 2013. This is an Army still using foot wraps and jackboots in the 21st century. That is oddly both laughable and commendable.
Warhammer 40.000 mentality right there.
My great uncle was in a Cossack cavalry unit (19th Cossacks, 2nd Ukrainian front) during the whole of the war. Ordered to draw swords exactly twice. They trained with their swords extensively though. In fact, exceptional swordsmanship badge was the first decoration a trooper could get, while still in training.
Neat.
Free Ukraine!!!! 🤠👍🇺🇦
Ukronazistan@@worldtraveler930
yeah thats what he did@@worldtraveler930
@@worldtraveler930you mean from all foreign influence?
I'm gonna add a couple of things:
1. "Ethnic cossacks" is sort of a misnomer as it's primarily a social group rather than an ethnic one. However, their culture and language is somewhat distinct from the "mainland" Russia, with a lot of Ukrainian and Caucasian influence (because after Cossack state in Ukraine was destroyed in 1775, many Ukrainian cossacks moved, willingly or otherwise, to colonise Caucasus and Kuban')
2. A shashka is not, strictly speaking, a saber because it is front-heavy and less curved. It's not meant to be fenced with but rather deliver a single strong slash from horseback. The Adyghe word that "shashka" comes from means just "big knife", and technically, it is.
3. Another type of military issue shashka was the dragoon one, main difference being D-guard similar to European cavalry sabre
First people who were called cossacs were italian settlers in crimea XD (im not shittin you) turks, tatars and other non-christian people also joined cvossacs from time to time.
@@НиколайЛамбертAlso there's this Cossack - Kazakh theoretical connection
Well yeah, Soviets didn't like cossacks at all. In the times of the Russian Empire, before the Russian Revolution, cossacks were not just military, but also riot and crowd control troops, quite harsh and brutal on protesting workers. Quoth Lenin: "Don't feel sorry for the Cossacks. They have a lot of people's blood on their hands, they are always enemies of the workers. Let them go to their own lands, where they have property and families, or let them sit hopelessly in their barracks. Don't touch them there. But as soon as they go out into the street - mounted or on foot, armed or unarmed - look at them as your worst enemies, and destroy them without mercy."
@@whitecoffee8090 There's an interesting story about how Lenin was a host to one of the Cossacks who was actually after him. The Cossack knew only his name, but could not recognize him and even asked him "Have you seen this Lenin?"
Cossacks are basically a social group of nomadic borderland bandits, consisting of all sorts of criminal elements as well as runaway serfs for example, all of which obviously escape to the borders of the empire where it is easier to avoid empire's law enforcement and naturally gather into bands. Thus they are very much not exclusive to the south-west regions of Russian empire, for example another big region where those groups organized was sparsely populated eastern lands around Ural mountains (where I personally am from)
Edge up is very practical, as it doesn't dull the blade when worn and banged around. A shashka- very nice cavalry weapon, using it is still cultivated in both Russia and Ukraine. It has no handguard, but in return it allows for very swift and fancy movement. There are even some local dances involving the weapon. It's an old weapon with a long tradition.
With a wood lined scabbard, the issue with dulling is pretty negligible. This is a much bigger concern with steel scabbards of other patterns of swords.
@@colbunkmustsuch as the 1895 British sabers or even in 1796 light cavalry sabers
@@HunterGargoyle Generally most European and Western scabbards went to steel construction in the 19th century. This shaska is an exception to that rule.
That's the logic for samurai, which seems logical because they were self-defense weapons so reducing maintenance takes precedence. But, in warfare, the most important factor is readiness and given you have to hold the grip at a weird angle to draw the sword - even more so this one with a grip angled inwards - that seems like a dubious priority.
@@jackmcslayif it was self defense than a quicker easier draw would make more sense.
Maybe the actual answer is "tradition"
As someone who tried a lot of sabres, i must say, shashka is amazingly great in terms of carrying and handling, my personal favourite style of sabre
And about edge upwards, it is great for very quick grab of the blade and, while taking out of the scabbard, imidiately attacking from top right or top left, instead of forced bottom left cut with edge down carry
@@buzdygan5488 Edge up is literally only done to preserve the edge.
@@buzdygan5488 japanese swords are also worn edge upwards on the belt
@@Roderik95 yes, but it also impacts use, as i described
@@jonc8074katana to be exact, though the tachi was worn edge down like a sabre
Since Ian talked about the Type 95 Shin Gunto before; and that this Cossack sword was worn with its blade facing upwards (not unlike how Katana are supposed to be worn), I imagine a what-if scenario in which a WW2 Cossack encounters either an IJA cavalryman or an officer and then they have a swordfight.
Could've happened in 1904/05...
@@ForgottenWeapons the cossacks were in Manchuria so it's possible. 04/05 would be shashka vs kyu gunto.
It's not a 'Cossack' sword. It's a Caucasian tribal sword that had nothing to do with Cossacks. Just happened to be introduced to Cossack units under Russian empire. Probably because it was cheaper to produce than a proper saber with hand guard.
There was some engagement between cossack cavalry and IJA/Manchukuo Army cavalry at Khalkin Gol in 1939 and possibly briefly in August 1945. The equivalent Japanese sword was the Type 32 'Ko' (A Model) cavalry sabre, produced from 1898 to 1936.
Well, there are Siberian(well, the south of it, horses dont like forests and seamps) cossarcs, and they actually fought Japanese in 04/05.
And yes, cossarcs were all around the empire/ussr. They were a line between a soldier and a civilian, a man that has own home, family, field, and if duty calls they were to be organised into cavalry on the spot.
Basically frontier civilian(can be kinda compared to American militia). They had some variations throughout the history and place. Started out as raiders, turned into militia, then into crowd suppression squads, then into proper military cavalry (Ukrainian version). Or simply first man on a uncivilised land(slav edition)
Hell yeah! I love the firearm content, but its so good being able to see these videos as well, love the sword bayonet video and thoroughly enjoyed this as well! Need more truly forgotten weapons!
Friend of mine has one that was captured by a German in ww2 and he wrote all the places he went and battles he fought on the scabbard.
That's very cool, I'm glad he still has it.
My grandad told me that as a boy in 1945 in London (Piccadilly Circus) he watched the Cossacks trick ride and preform on parade.
He said that when they returned home, Stalin had them executed because he thought they were traitors or might disseminate Western ways of thinking.
Care to tell the places he went ?
I implore you , please tell us all the places he visited please🥺🥺🥺
He better keep it.
Wait, your friend got it from a german...??
The word shashka originates from the Circassian "sa'shkho", meaning " big knife". It started out as a backup blade and is believed to first have been worn together with the saber, like the yatagan in Turkey. As firearms became the mainstay of warfare, the saber fell out of use with the Caucasians and Cossacks alike and the lighter shashka remained the main edged weapon. It was viewed as a last-ditch, "one stroke" weapon, not meant for fencing or parrying, drawn after the rifles and pistols had been discharged, hence the tip-heavy balance and no crossguard.
Sashka and saber are the same weapon. Russian army defined difference between them according to matterial of their scabard. Sabre was carried in metalic scabbard while sashka in wooden/leather one.
Last ditch? What are your sources on that? Russian cavalry fought with them through WWI, Civil War and many other conflicts up to the mid WW2.
I was referring to the hit-and-run tactics of the Caucasian highlanders, i.e. before the shashka was adopted by Russian cavalry. Regular cavalry would of course use it differently. @@TheFaveteLinguis
The Circassian blade originated from the alans of Central Asia
The sword of the highlanders and the Russian military are not the same even if they look it, the Russian Shashkas are military weapons which are near double the weight of the light swords the highlanders favoured, this means they are less agile but more robust and generally cut better.
The Cossacks and higherlanders both specialised in small war and light troop actions.
The original shashka was almost certainly a self defence weapon in addition to the dagger, being specialised towards a quick draw.
While hit and run was preferable for light cavalry the cossacks still used them in prolonged engagements, especially on foot, and I'm sure the higherlanders did if they had too as well.
Very nice sword! The blade looks well designed with a thick spine at the grip, tapering to pretty thin near the point and that deep wide fuller is nicely done.
Not something I'd want to get whacked with. Thank you for posting this. I, like you, am a student of the history of the weapon. Your work has filled in many gaps I had in my knowledge. I very much appreciate your efforts. I very much enjoy your videos.
I’ve been following a UA-cam channel run by a guy who lives in Georgia (not the US state) who restores knives, swords, axes, and other old artifacts. He has done several of these from various states of disrepair and corrosion to everything from like new to at least recognizable. They’re very interesting weapons with some unique construction details that you couldn’t touch on because they’re kind of hard to disassemble and reassemble compared to your average rifle.
If anyone’s interested, the channel is “Screws And Tools” (I am not affiliated, I’m just a fan)
Oh, yeah- please do more non-firearm-related weapons content whenever possible. Just avoid nunchucks…
These things were machine rolled and hand finished. You can still see the hammer marks on most of these. They weight about 2 lbs or 950g which is heavy for shashkas. There is also a limited run '46 marked blade in the parade pattern.
This is not the first time I have watched videos on this channel. I am Russian, my great-great-grandfather was a Don Cossack. It’s interesting to listen to you talk about checkers.
Yay! Sword! Thank you Ian!
I, for one, LOVE sword history videos. I’d watch any and all you put up.
On that note, if you can find an M1917 naval cutlass, that would be neato.
I own one of these that has been drasticaly cut down into a combat knife, with a blade legnth of around 10". The scabbard is also modified. While the workmanship is somewhat crude, the weapon feels surprisingly lively in the hand.
Weather this was a deliberate field modification, or returning a broken sword into some measure of service, I have no way of knowing.
Forgotten weapons indeed! Thank you for sharing this Ian.
When researching blades one time, I came across the Cossack shashka. I really love the distinctive no-guard blade with the bird beak pommel. I also find this type of sword to be more interesting than the Japanese katana. The pommel gives the wielder a much more comfortable one-handed grip.
Thanks for discussing this topic. In my opinion, being interested in weapons not only means looking at guns but looking at swords, sabers, knives and more of this category too.
I have two slightly different shaskas on my wall. One has brass mounts like this one, and is dated 1934. The other has iron/steel mounts and no visible markings whatsoever. Always been my favourite style of sword.
That was great! Like seeing the edged weapons once in awhile.
What a coincidence, I just found out my father in law has one of these swords as a bring back from WW2! Awesome video, I'm sharing it with my family!!
I own one of these swords. It has red felt on the exterior of the scabbard. It has the bayonet fittings and the end cap, mouth and fittings are all brass. The sword is well balanced and feels good when you make cuts with it. A fine weapon overall.
This is super cool, would be very happy for you to do more blades too
"Ethnic Cossacks" sounds a bit jarring, a bit like "ethnic cowboys". It was more of a socioeconomic, cultural group rather than an ethnic one, although with distinct minority elements anc diverse cultural influences.
At any rate, it was thoroughly destroyed by the Soviet rule through collectivization, purges, exile, postwar urbanization and basically ceased to exist by the time the USSR collapsed.
They were the descendants of the Mongols.
That's why their sabers are so similar to Mongol swords.
@@tombogan03884 No. They were descendants of Kıpchak Turks (Tatars) that served under Mongolian Army and local Eastern Europeans who had already mixed with Cuman Turks. After the fall of Mongolian Empire, its rump state Golden Horde basically became a Kıpchak ruled Turkic state. Kıpchak Turks ruled the region. They intermarried and mixed with their old foes. Cossacks became a mix of Kıpchak Turks and local Eastern Europeans who were already mixed with the previous invaders, Cuman Turks.
Cossack literally means Kazakh, and I am not shitposting here.
@@hannibalburgers477 The word Cossack comes from Cuman language, Cosac meant free man. The word Kazakh has the same root.
@@hannibalburgers477 And buckaroo is a corruption of vaquero, the Mexican Spanish word for cowboy!
On our farm someone a long time ago brought one of those old bayonet blades for the soviet weapons. It was used to kill the pigs, but it actually was quite a relic, sad how it disappeared somewhere.
Thanks for a very brief and amazingly acurate discription of cossacks in during interbellum! Really!
A video about sabers and guns used at the victorious charge of the italian Savoia Cavalleria at Izbushensky in 1942 would be awesome!
My great grandfather was in the Force française de l'intérieur during the liberation of paris, he took one of it on a german officer, m1928 one with bayonet slot and shiny brass. We have no idea of what it went trought before that though.
Cool view. My maternal Grandfather served in the Kiser's Army pre WWI, I have a tintype of him standing in his uniform with his sword at his side. I think my Uncle has the sword now, Grandpa hurriedly left Germany when he saw the war building and came to America where he began to farm. Said he took the fastest horse in the Kiser's stable and rode it to the coast where he boarded a ship to come to America. He knew he would need transport on arrival so he kept the Kiser's horse and rode it from New York to North Dakota to join a cousin who had come to America a few years earlier, the cousin had sent him money to buy the ticket to America, and Grandpa worked on the cousin's farm for a few years to pay back the loan.
“In my opinion, sir, any officer who goes into action without his sword is improperly dressed.” - Jack "Mad Jack" Churchill.
It should be mentioned that the last successful cavalry charge in history took place in 1945 by Polish cavalry fighting in the Red Army that flanked a German entrenched position that had stymied the advance of tanks and infantry, so it shouldn't be so surprising that sabers were still being made for cavalry. Mounted cavalry was actually used by many European forces in WW2 including even Germany, although theirs were issued with lances and carbines but no swords.
They weren't part of Red Army. It was 1st "Warsaw" independent cavalry brigade. It was part of Polish army in the East. There were some poles in the red army but it's not the same thing.
Also, horses were still used as beasts of burden by many forces in WW2
@@karolgoofit7901 They were fighting alongside Soviet soldiers against the Germans which is the point I was trying to illustrate. If I had said fighting "with" the Red Army it could have been construed that they were fighting the Soviets, which also happened.
for all I understand, the role of soviet cavalry is rather underestimated - it is often known that units were sent into senseless attacks to stop the advancing germans in the beginning of Barbarossa, but later on the Soviet Cavalry was used more wisely and succesfull to operate on the flancs of attacking movements, to break through and create havoc in the rear. Also : not to forget the Italian Cavalry, that rode the maybe 2nd last big & succesfull attack in the USSR, in 1942 I think .
Even in 19th century noone sent cavalry in frontal assaults ever. The fashion for cavalry charges comes from the Russian Civil war 1918, they sure as fuck all fought irregular as a guerilla force. @@aasphaltmueller5178
love the unique content Ian! One of my favorite videos is your IJA/IJN mass produced NCO samurai sword. Even as we advance as a species there will always be our past
Nice! Now do the Kidjal next please! Also a Cossak edged weapon- "sidearm" to the sword, worn everywhere and at all times...
To provide a bit of historical context for what Ian mentions at the beginning regarding Cossack status in USSR:
Cossacks are a bit of a unique culture - they are an ethno-class culture. They were cosmopolitan, united mostly by faith and service rather than a specific ethnicity, with Russians, Ukrainians, Poles, and later many of the ethnicities of Caucasus or Siberia joining their ranks. The closest equivalent they have in world history is the Sikhs.
Their relationship with the Russian state has always been complicated, but after the left-bank Ukraine was formally integrated into the Russian Empire and the dissident Cossack movements were destroyed along with the Swedish forces at Poltava, they became the state's enforcers. They were freed from most forms of taxation and had significant autonomy within the Empire in exchange for providing cavalry troops to the state. And they were used in peacetime to put down rebellious movements - by the Empire's late days, this included putting down protests in the cities.
So after the Revolution, when the Civil War began, the Bolsheviks branded Cossacks as class enemies, part of the exploitative system. Most Cossacks would fight for the Whites. After the war, enemy classes were forbidden from serving in the Red Army. Official state policy was aimed at eradicating these classes - dekulakization as an example of that, but the Cossacks were affected as well.
However, in 1936 things began to change, and Cossacks were officially allowed to serve again. Several cavalry units were named Cossack units, and a Cossack uniform was introduced. By 1939, all class restrictions on service were lifted, with the exception of military academy attendance.
Of course, some of the Cossacks that emigrated during the Civil War would become collaborationists, organized under the "Hauptverwaltung der Kosakenheere" - the main command of the Cossack forces, which was lead by Pyotr Krasnov. In addition to former White Cossacks, they would also recruit from the occupied territories in USSR. They would prove to be more supportive of Hitler than Vlasov's ROA, with Krasnov constantly criticizing Vlasov and his actions as being unfaithful to "German allies". Krasnov would be captured by the English and turned over to the Soviets, who sentenced him to death in 1946.
With that in mind, although the Cossacks were no longer persecuted in USSR, the cultural element was still restricted - Cossacks would not be able to form communities until the collapse of USSR.
Cossack is not an ethnicity :)
@@thealphazoid I specifically started out with an explanation of that - they're an ethno-class culture. They weren't an ethnicity in the traditional sense, but they weren't purely a class either. It was a mix of the two.
Like I said, the closest equivalent they have is the Sikhs.
@@DawidKov yeah, I've noticed some pseudo-history in there. Not after the revolution (which one btw?) but after the Mensheviks coup. Coz Revolution of 1917 was orchestrated by SR (google it up), while months after terrorist gang of 'bolsheviks' made a coup. A Junta.
And yeah, just after the revolution there was no USSR, there was soviet ruSSia, not USSR.
Since you are barely know your history - I'm sure you are as wrong about Cossacs.
Cossacs were Ukrainian warriors since 16th century, who were later serving moskovite/russian tzars, much later.
You may find a french map that clearly says "Ukraine the land of cossacks" - the map dated by the time when ruSSIan hasn't existed just yet, except Moskovite tsardom.
Grandpa's a Russafide Greek from Ukrainian. He told us we could never become Kozak. Because we're Catholics (that's why they got sent to Siberia). Mandatory conversion a requirement.
@@thealphazoid "the Revolution", note the capital "R", is typically used to refer to the October Revolution of 1917. Clearly, since I mention the Bolsheviks right after, I am not referring to either the 1905 revolution or the February "bourgeoisie" one.
I am quite aware of the differences between USSR and RSFSR, thank you, and you may notice that I've not used the term USSR in reference to RSFSR in my original comment. Your mention of this is irrelevant, same as the useless pedantry of questioning which revolution I was talking about.
"Ukraine" originally translates as "borderland" - it was the term used to describe territories on the peripheries of Russian and Polish states. These territories, populated by Orthodox East Slavic ancestors of Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians before these distinctions became noticeable, fell partially under Polish-Lithuanian control, though this control was strained and often challenged. Essentially, the local warlords attempted to maintain control while repelling the Polish conquests from the west, and the Tatar raids from the south and east.
They also had some conflict with the Russian states of the time, who were slowly being united under Moscow. The reason for conflict there, however, was due to a matter of control rather than religion, as was the case with the Poles and Tatars. Quite a few Cossacks were escaped serfs from Russia, so this haven for serfs undermined the Russian system.
The Tsardom's establishment was the end point of a long process of Russian unification, and Ivan IV was specifically crowned as "Tsar of all Russias". So, although I put little value on a French map when they were nowhere near the area, if it included the Muscovite Tsardom, it included Russia.
The map, however, would not be wrong - Ukraine, the geographical location rather than a political entity, was the land of the Cossacks. Because local rule was represented almost exclusively through Cossack warlords. You couldn't exactly draw borders here - the Poles claimed they ruled everything up to the Don, but in reality they barely had control to the Dnieper.
After Moscow united Russian states into a single domain, and with the growing Polish ambitions in the region, the warlords of Ukraine ended up in a position where they had to pick between one or the other. This was all the more important in light of the expanding ties between the Crimean Tatars and the Ottoman Empire, which made the Tatar threat too much for the Cossacks to handle.
Some chose the Poles, some chose Moscow, yet others wanted an independent rule. In the end, those that chose the Poles would lose to their own, as they were seen as traitors, while those that wanted independence would join Sweden in the war against Russia, and end up losing too. The only ones that remained were those loyal to the Tsar.
And yes, Ukrainian culture was influenced by the Cossacks, as well as to some extent by the Polish rule. But Cossacks weren't just Ukrainians, there were Russians and Poles that left their way of life and joined the Cossacks. Later on, there were Caucasian and Siberian Cossacks too. Not all Ukrainians were Cossacks either.
And this was further reinforced in the Russian Empire, where Cossacks had a specific class status, while Ukrainians - Maloross, - were defined separately from them.
What a beautiful and well preserved blade. Would love to do some test cutting with one to see how well it performs...
Shasca was not only cossack weapon. It also used in artillery
Very good condition as well. I learned to fight with a shaska and shamshir years ago.
You got me thinking Ian and I found a Shashka with bayonet scabbard.
It has flat brass fittings around the sward scabbard holding round ones to hold the bayonet tube (it looks like wood covered in leather like the sward one.
In the picture the tube contained a 91/30 bayonet.
I was aware of these sabers, but until now I didn't know anything about them. A welcome video, thanks for posting.
@@loquat44-40 There cannot be any “Ukrainian traditionalists” - Ukraine is only 32 years old. As for historical times, the territory of present-day Ukraine has always been divided between Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, Poland, and for some time even Sweden. Only the communists united this territory into a single country: first by Lenin, and completed by Stalin - by annexing Western Ukraine, which had been outside Russia for more than 600 years. So, in principle, Ukrainians cannot have any common traditions and culture - these are different ethnic groups from different countries who never lived together until the end of World War 2.
@@loquat44-40 An official, unified, literary, academic language - was made by the communists. Before that, and now, each region has its own dialect, a cross between Russian, Polish, German, Turkish, Hungarian, Romanian - and each dialect differs from its neighbor, depending on which Empire controlled this territory. Dude, the country is called “Ukraine” for a reason: it literally means "border lands".
The Communists took the Poltava dialect as the basis for the official Ukrainian language.
@@loquat44-40 I don’t understand why you said all these platitudes, they don’t refute anything.
In the Russian Empire there was no single official language, everyone used any language as it suited them - the nobility spoke French among themselves, they often wrote letters in Latin. Consequently, no one told the residents what language to speak.
Poland has a single language and culture - because before the partitions, it was a country. The peoples of Ukraine, on the contrary, never lived in the same state before 1945. They are not similar either culturally or linguistically - this is a Frankenstein monster, created artificially from pieces of neighboring peoples, their cultures and languages.
Cossacks picked shashka as their weapon of choice after Russian colonial wars in Caucasus, thus the origin of the word itself is not Russian, it comes from Adyghe language.
Likely the name originally come from the Persian Shamshir
its originated from hungarian szalya. just becuase the firts sword like this made in hunagry at 600.
@@xochiltepetzalailhuicamina2322
I'm just reciting Russian Wiki article on it, but yes, it's true, that Russian has many deep-rooted words of Turkic and Persian origin, like "сарафан" ("a sarafan", I type of traditional Russian female dress) comes from Persian "saref".
So maybe it got to Adyghe first and then to Russian.
Cossack are the Russian what are you smoking, unlike america Russia is true multi ethnic country
Cossack traditionally has two simple objectives Protect the faith (christian ) and Russian land
I always appreciate when someone knows both gun terms and sword terms.
Thanks for the video.
Swords are intriguing weapons. I doubt that they were used effectively very often in WWII, but they still have a certain charisma.
They were used. Cossacks took two swords in their hands, reins on their teeth, and rushed on horse into German artillerymen, and cut them into pieces. There are many examples of this. Even today, Cossacks are very skilled with swords.
Of course, one bullet is stronger than the strongest sword.
@@dekipet
Only past about seven paces. Bullets aren't always immediately fatal, and a skilled cavalryman doing 25mph at your face is going to be far more instantly lethal.
There were huge chunks of the Eastern front where the German lines were essentially Swiss cheese. Cossack cavalry units would infiltrate in the dark and snow to attack isolated German artillery and logistics positions deep in the rear. Often with a charge straight out of the Napoleonic wars, swords a swinging.
@@dekipet Thanks for the reply and the information. I hadn't thought about rushing artillery posts, but I can see where that could work. I'm sure they still took heavy casualties doing that.
@@EricDaMAJ Thanks for the reply and information. That would take incredible courage, but I can see where that could work against isolated positions.
You should make some videos on swords. Katana, scimitar, Gladius, and so on. Would love to see some old blades.
Ian did a video before on the Type 95 Shin Gunto, which is based on the Katana.
Check it out, it's cool.
Great video! Another interesting fact is that the groove in the pommel was originally intended to serve as a rifle rest when using the sword in the scabbard as a monopod.
'Not necessarily being treated well.' What an understatement.:')
Beautiful weapon with rich history though.
Cossack shashka, always worn with the blade up, for quick removal with a blow. For this purpose, there is no handle protection to prevent snagging during quick removal. Wooden scabbard to keep it quiet. Therefore, in Tsarist Russia, sabers were changed to shashka. During World War II, the number of cavalry increased in both Russia and Germany. Because of its effectiveness when you need to quickly close an enemy breakthrough or for a raid on the rear. Even when operating together with tanks as support. There was a tactic when the tanks started fighting each other, the cavalry went to the flank and burned the enemy’s equipment with bottles and grenades.
Really nice to see an episode again without the constant "you can win THIS gun."
Great video as always, keep up the good work
Nice review, thanks!
Great Historic blade! Love the sharpened back edge!
It would.be awesome if Iain tested this and the mass produced katana from the IJA he reviewed earlier.
Accidental virus link
Edge up makes sense when you think about the possibility of the edge damaging by banging around, plus you can draw and cut in a single sweep with that configuration, same as the samurai katana
No idea what you have in mind when you say you can draw and cut in a single sweep. You need to transition the blade from facing your arm to facing your knuckles when you draw it edge up from your side. I just tried it a few times with one of my sabres and it's very awkward indeed. It's the normal blade down arrangement that allows you to draw and immediately slash.
@BobsVagene it's much more economical, from a exertion perspective, to cut downwards from the top of the target, rather than coming in from the bottom. With the blade facing upwards this allows you to draw and come in for a slash from the top with a flick of the wrist, having the blade facing down means that in order to attack from the top you need to adjust the blade first. You can draw and cut in that position, yes, but it is not as efficient because you'd be doing it from the bottom. As for it being awkward I personally don't find it awkward, you just need to train for it, like anything else. That being said cavalry sabres don't lend themselves well to this manoeuvre, as for example katanas would
@@undead9999 Are you saying you'd draw and keep the blade facing towards youself? If so, I still don't get it. I have trained Kali and the only thing I can picture relative to what you're saying is throwing the outside portion of the abaniko from that position, to use their terminology. With a two handed katana I can see this making a bit more sense, using your off hand for leverage. But you still have to spin the blade in your hands to get the edge facing the right way before the next swing. I would rather lose some efficiency on the first blow and not have to juggle the sword around when in combat. With two hands it's doable, with one hand I would absolutely not want to loosen my grip on the hilt to adjust the direction of the blade. Anyway, swords are cool. Gotta get back into training.
@@undead9999 Looked up a video on the katana draw. Makes more sense and I can see the benefits. I am coming at it from a one hander perspective and I think I would have to practice this for a bit to determine the tradeoffs in practice. I am pretty sure that in a typical combat situation you are going to be drawing your sword ahead of time anyway, and not striking from the scabbard. The chamber for Kali is typically on the shoulder and you are slashing down on your initial strike. But I will admit, I haven't trained striking from a draw at all in the past. I have done a variety of martial arts and sword training is by far the most interesting of them all in my opinion.
These guys were specifically trained to _not_ draw and cut in a single motion, regardless of tradition.
Maybe they clashed with a Katana or Gun-to in Manchuria in 1945!
My inputs (I am not an expert):
1. Shaska slight curved shape is a compromise between curved sward (that requires experience to be used) and peak (for simple cavalry attack)
2. Shashka is hanged "up side down" so when you taking it out, the sharp edge is pointing up and can not cut the horse
That sound you hear in the background is Skallagrim's footsteps as he runs at Mach 3 to try to make an appearance for this video.
World War Two in Real Time did a great video about WW2 cavalry. The Soviets still took cavalry seriously, they had massive state owned horse farms, and started the war with 20 or 30 cavalry divisions.
The "edge facing up" is for a practical reason for a single-edged sword: it's so the edge is facing outward, toward an opponent, when drawn. Samurai did the same thing, so you cut someone even as you're drawing the blade.
Old-school tacticool.
Samurai did not always carry swords with the blade facing up . Depended on a few things . For example era , style of sword or personal preference.
You can perform a strike while unsheathing regardless of edge-carry. Edge-up just allows you to strike downward on draw, which is more powerful but slower than the upward strike that edge-down carry enables.
Yeah not really. Edge down you draw straight into a hanging guard and this was common with a lot of single edged military saber. You probably don't want to draw into a hanging guard with a katana or shashka though because the sword hand is presented prominently but both swords have poor hand protection.
You can still uppercut from the scabbard when wearing a sword facing down, I dont think that's the main reason here. Another practical reason for wearing a sword like this is limiting edge contact with the scabbard and preseving the edge a bit better, especially if the scabbard is made of metal. Then again, a lot of things are simply fashion.
@@jeffthebaptist3602Didn't think about hand protection. Good point
Thank you for featuring some more diverse arms as opposed to JUST featuring those arms of the fire variety!
Sharp edge up was both a safety measure, so when a cavalryman pulls it during the charge the saber doesn't cut the horse, and an optimal ready to use measure. It saved an extra move. Try pulling it out both ways, you'll see that the edge up saves time and ready to go in just one move, and you might need one or two more moves of the arm or wrist when pull out edge down. Nothing strange about it, and nothing to do with fashion. Most importantly, your horse is happy to keep its left ear haha
Addendum on service: during World War II, the Italian cavalry regiments Savoia Cavalleria and Lancieri di Novara were deployed to the Eastern front, and they replaced their sabers with the M1927 shashka, captured from Soviet depots.
This was the blade the Savoia Cavalleria used in the Charge of Izbushensky, the insane moment where a 700-strong cavalry regiment routed 2,500 Soviet infantrymen.
"You can fire one sword per fight by hand."-Instructor *throws sword*
Спасибо, не думал что вам такое интересно.
Thanks Ian. Great doccie! 👍🇿🇦
I don't have blade tism however I really like the design of the grip. You don't need a guard because it builds character.
If you scared of losing hand you no deserve sword!
~ WW2 Soviet sword fighting doctrine
The cossacks played a huge role on the Eastern front. On both sides, at least until the axis cossacks and their families found their end in Lienz
Lienz not Linz. Two different places in Austria
@@JGCR59 sorry Autocorrect got me there
No one told a story (legend) on how Buddenniy tested helmets with his shaska (test proved to be successful) and claimed that a good cavalryman could cut an infantryman from shoulder to pelvis with such blade in one hit.
I can’t believe he didn’t mention the finger groove built into the pommel so you can chuck it kinda like a spear!
Nice content (as always, btw), THX, Ian!
There's interesting feature of this particular subject:
Both in russian criminology (as the sience) and the history of armament (cold steel weapons), the whole bunch of "shashka's" family objected as a ... knives !
Obviousely, you can see it in the design (style) and construction concept of the subject.
Etimology mostly goes to Russian Empire Caucase-region "cherkess" nation [people], so, in cherkess language "sash-ho" - means: "big knife" then the term transforms to "shashka" as we know it nowdays. THX again, and have a good weekend!
I own this swords rival precursor. A Napoleon war era heavy cavalry sabre from the western Russian cuirassiers.
It has a much more ornate guard and there is no curve to the blade.
Wow leard something new thx Ian.
Can't wait for the model 1487 Swiss pike being reviewed. Not even close to a joke, I'd love medieval weapons on this channel.
I need to know if any cossack units fought in the invasion of Manchuria... maybe at one point a japanese officer and a cossack had a swordfight :,)
write in the search bar: Russo-Japanese War Aleksandr Saichich (Александр Саичич).
Yep. During Russo-Japanese war. And it wasn’t in favor of katana
Thank you from Russia, for a very interesting and detailed, however, as always, review of forgotten weapons!
ScholaGladiatoria needs to see this
We need a collab between FW and schola gladiatoria.
Two differences between shashka and sabre in russain tradition: sabre has a handguard and scabbard is worn "blade down" at the belt, shashka often has no handguard and scabbard is worn "blade up" on the shoulder sling. But in the mid-18 century there where mess with naming of the bladed weapons in russian imperial army, every blade could be called either way
I had one when a student (Schlagende Verbindung/ Deutsche Landsmannschaft) and we used it for training (no wrist-hindering basket) on our dummy... excellent balance and quality (got it from a fraternity brother of my father), the equally onvincing swords I used on that target (and in fun-fights) were my 1889 light cavalry saber (german ulan or hussar) and british highland basket hilt broadsword, the real broadsword and claidheam blades leaving to much impressive marks on the rubbertyre recipients for any would-be recipients to try... actually my then bagpipe instructor had an original claidheam da lann and used it on a reconstructed targaidh... it took a quarter of an hour to prise it loose again! So from a fellow son of a blade, best wishes and ne'er be where your opponents blade swishes! (You certainly ken there's a scots word fir the sound of a blade? "Soush"!) En Guard!!! 😊
I find beauty in shashka, beautiful swords
Great idea for Forged in Fire!
"Ethnic cossacks" is sort of a misnomer as it's primarily a social group rather than an ethnic one
This. Calling them ethnic cossacks is as same as using 'Ethnic pirate" term.
Dark Souls 3 brought me here, as they feature a pair of these weapons called Sellsword Twinblades. For someone who use that in-game, I'm glad to hear it actually exists.
ИМЗ - инструментально-металлургический завод № 391 в городе Златоуст.
IMZ - tool and metallurgical plant No. 391 in the city of Zlatoust.
Beautifully elegant
What a pretty blade
I have several of these. They are awesome swords. Also great for spinning (see cossack sword dances lol)
Edge up is also functional and practical. When you have it attached to yourself, it is easier to draw when its like that. Very awkward the otherway.
Having the blade facing upwards isn’t a matter of style, it avoids any possible damage caused by rocking the sword inside the “case” while walking.
"So you see, Ivan. For when you wish to be stylish you wear your sword blade up."
One word: Shalashaska
Hi! Small mistake - cossacs are not some kind of ethnic group or tribe in Russia (but they want to be ones)) Our cossacs always were some kind of professional warriors, who lived nearby the state border. They often were former bandits, slaves, thieves ets, who wanted to live their own way without Russian government. But as time passed by, cossacs were invited by our government (about 16 century) as pioneers and guardians. So, if you had wild West in 19 century - we had wild East and Caucasus since 16 century - absolutely the same things ))
Ножны легкие кожаные без металлических и деревянных вставок, чтобы лезвие не разрезало ножны под собственным весом шашку носили лезвием в верх
" Помнят польские паны
Помнят псы атаманы
Конноармейские наши клинки"
You have a fairly good example of the late model M27. The scabbard fittings fully correspond to the year. Early fittings were entirely brass, later ones were bimetallic, as in your example. Does not correspond to 1945, the head is a saber pommel. this pommel was used for checkers made before 1941. Afterwards, the design was simplified and from 1942 to 1945 the pommel had only the outline of a star, without floral ornament and with a smooth field. Greetings from Russia, your colleague Alex.
the channel is called "forgotten weapons" not " forgotten firearms" please bring in more swords! 😊
Ian could probably do a video of a hotdog and still make it interesting ngl. Jokes aside I dont mind blades being on forgotten weapons, in fact I would like to see more bayonets and such
I'm still waiting for Ian to review vintage Nerf guns for April Fool's.
Damn...
I can only upvote this once.
Very similar to my Shashqa. I'll have to do a frame by frame comparison as my hilt markings are different. My Shashqa is experienced!
I have a copy from India that is close to authentic but the ring hanger is in a more traditional position. The engravings are correct but the wood seems to be a sort from India with a reddish tint. I have a Nagant revolver which compliments it. I bought it so I could learn to twirl it but it's sort of heavy or I am weak.
Morphy Auctions is just a few miles from where I live in Lancaster County, PA. I'd bet Ian could generate some interest in a meet and greet at Morphy if he wanted to.