Imperial Russia Badge identification

[Vatjan]

Hi guys,

Can any of you tell me what this badge is.

Or at least give a translation of the inscription.

Thanks in advance

Jan

[GeorgeCL]

Your Russian civil War Badge is for the

Fourth Infantry shock troops division of General Kornilov.

Can we see the reverse?

Looks good from the front.

George

[Stogieman]

Hi Jan. I cannot help with the ID, but that is surely a very, very beautiful and unusual cross!

[GeorgeCL]

translation of badge, AKA Badge for the 4th strike infantry division.

Top

4 inf. Div

center across

Strike

lower arm.

18 june 1917

George

[joe campbell]

rare and beautiful, jan!

show the reverse, please.

joe

[Vatjan]

Thanks guys, it's unfortunately not mine.

I'll post a scan of the reverse in the weekend

Jan

[Vatjan]

This badge comes from the uniform of a Belgian officer of the famous car-canon regiment that fought with the russians in Russia during WWI. I have no idea how/why he got the badge.

reverse:

[Vatjan]

The officers of this regiment wore the usual Belgian collar insigna but also russian pagone

[Vatjan]

Thanks to those who helped out.

Any other info is of course alwas welcome

Pagone detail

[Guest Rick Research]

Acording to P. Pashkov's 1961 Paris-published "Orders and Badges of the White Armies in the Civil War, 1917-1922"--

This regiment was formed in June 1917, composed of 2,000 men in 2 battalions, with 3 machine gun detachments and 2 reconnaissance detachments. On 16 August 1917 "all the Kornilovtsy received Saint George crosses for action on the Southwest Front." So if that is accurate, there should be a St. George ribbon on this uniform.

The Regimental commander, a General Dukhonin, was murdered by Bolsheviks at the time of the October Revolution, and most members of the regiment made their way in small groups to the River Don, where senior surviving officer a Colonel Nezhdentsev reformed the Regiment, which became to core of what next became the Volunteer Army. By June 1919 the Regiment had been reinforced to a 3 regiment unit renamed the Kornilov Division.

Within that division, the "new" 4th 'Kornilovsky' Shock Regiment was made up of Donets basin coal miners.

The Regiment was evacuated from the Crimea to the refugee internment camp at Gallipoli in Turkey, from whence its former personnel dispersed after demobilization.