Born in 1682, young Charles became the king of Sweden at the age of 15. The ruler had the appearance of a true Scandinavian Viking – he was a fair-haired giant with great physical strength and, as it later turned out, a similar approach to conducting conquest-oriented politics. As a warrior, he was characterized by ruthlessness and unparalleled courage, but above all, he was an extremely talented commander capable of performing miracles on the battlefield.
Swedish King Charles XII Wittelsbach Painting: Hyacinthe Rigault via Wikimedia Commons
Charles inherited a state that was a European superpower at the peak of its military power. In 1699, Denmark, Saxony, and Russia formed an alliance aimed at countering Sweden’s hegemony. Instead of limiting himself to defense, Charles decided to eliminate his enemies one by one. He quickly defeated Denmark and then, without hesitation, redirected his forces eastward towards Livonia, going to the aid of the besieged fortress of Narva, which was under attack by the Russians.
The Swedish army that arrived at Narva numbered around 10,000 men. They faced an almost 40,000-strong Russian army, but the Tsar’s forces, despite their overwhelming numerical advantage, were less well-trained, less well-equipped, and led by French officers who often did not understand their subordinates. Charles XII skillfully divided the poorly led enemy wings and won the entire battle, completely crushing the Russian army, while losing only a few hundred soldiers. The Russians lost 15,000 men (!), all their banners, and all their artillery.
The Russians surrendered at Narva before Charles XII. Painting: Gustaf Cederström via Wikimedia Commons
A similar situation occurred in 1701 near the city of Riga, where the Swedish ruler defeated the combined Saxon-Russian forces led by Field Marshal Adam Heinrich von Steinau (the battle is known as The Crossing of the Düna).
Thus, after both of these battles, the legend of Charles as a brilliant commander who enjoyed immense trust from his people was born. At the same time, shortly thereafter, the young ruler made his biggest political mistake, which cost Sweden its position as a superpower in the long run. Instead of pursuing and ultimately defeating Russia, Charles decided to eliminate the Saxons from the war. In 1702, at Kliszow, the Swedish army, which had huge problems fighting against the Polish winged hussars 100 years earlier, easily defeated the Saxon-Polish forces. Over the next few years, Charles systematically dismantled Saxon resistance and in 1706 forced Augustus the Strong to abdicate.
Battle of Poltava Painting: Pierre-Denis Martin via Wikimedia Commons
After defeating the Saxons, Charles turned his eyes towards Russia and began his march towards Moscow. The campaign did not go according to plan for the 30,000-strong Swedish army: first, on the border of Masovia and Lithuania, Charles’s men were heavily attacked by the local population, causing the Swedes to lose about 1,000 men and thousands of horses. Then, they were stopped by the ruthless Russian winter and the scorched earth strategy pursued by the retreating Russians (100 years later, Napoleon Bonaparte would fall into the same trap). The Swedes suffered from the cold, lack of food, and falling morale. After the lost battle of Lesnaya in 1708, Charles headed towards Ukraine to try to form an alliance with Hetman Ivan Mazepa’s Cossacks. Historians have described the Ukrainian hetman’s terror when he learned of the approaching Swedes. He was said to have uttered the words “now we will both perish, he and I!” – in a sense, this did happen (Mazepa died shortly after fleeing to Turkey).
Charles XII and Ivan Mazepa after the Battle of Poltava. Painting: Gustaf Cederström via Wikimedia Commons
In 1709, the famous Battle of Poltava took place, where the well-rebuilt, well-supplied, and well-rested Russian army, which had a huge advantage, defeated the Swedish-Cossack forces of Charles XII. Wittelsbach managed to escape the massacre and found refuge in Turkey, which he persuaded to wage war against Russia, ultimately resulting in a Turkish victory. In 1713, Charles managed to sneak back to Sweden in disguise. The war against the anti-Swedish coalition continued, and Charles decided to attack Norway, which belonged to Denmark. In 1718, during the siege of the fortress of Fredrikshald, he was killed on the spot by a bullet to the head fired by one of the defenders.
The body of Charles XII, with a visible gunshot wound received at Fredrikshald. A photo from 1917.
The death of Charles XII Wittelsbach marked the end of Sweden’s hegemony in northern Europe. He was the last absolute monarch and warrior king who continued the policy of conquest started by his predecessors. The Swedish army never regained its strength and size as it did under the rule of Charles, and his military genius is often mentioned by contemporary historians and in works of art.
Below is one of the songs from the Swedish metal band Sabaton from their album “Carolus Rex” telling the story of Charles XII.
The history of Japan is interwoven with each other times of war and peace. For centuries there were periods of stability punctuated by conflicts between clans scattered throughout Japan. According to legend, Japan was founded in the seventh century BC when the country was integrated by the Emperor Jimmu. However, over time, his power was decreased by the wealthy and ambitious Japanese families, which detracted from the role of successive emperors. At the time, a caste of warriors called samurai was developed. They were representatives of a higher social class, often landowners, who devoted their life to learning the art of war. The most powerful of them – called the Shoguns, began to reach for the real power in Japan. The first was Yoshinaka Minamoto, who established the Kamakura shogunate and began a period of bakufu, which is the rule of the military commanders based on the feudal system.
At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Tokugawa family took power in Japan and established their shogunate. They gained virtually unlimited power, bringing the Emperor to the role of a puppet. Tokugawa introduced a policy of isolationism and rejected any western influence. At that period, bearing the name of Edo, Japan saw a rapid development of culture and religion, but the country was weakened economically and militarily. Japan slowly began to attract the attention of world powers, equipped with modern technology, including weapons.
At the same time in the society, especially among middle-class samurai was growing opposition against the Shogun. The pro-imperial faction saw the risk they carried behind the Tokugawa policy. Most of them hated foreigners, but they were well aware of the need for radical changes in the Land of the Rising Sun to catch up technologically with Europeans and Americans.
Samurai warriors from Satsuma Discrict, Chosyu Clan during the Boshin War Photo: Felix Beato, Source: Wikimedia Commons
So at the end of 1867 the last shogun – Yoshinobu Tokugawa – resigned, and in 1869 the Tokugawa clan was defeated by the pro-imperial forces during the war for supremacy in Japan (Boshin War). After many centuries, power fell into the hands of the emperor, the young Emperor Mutsuhito. There was a period of radical changes in politics, the economy, and in society, named after years the Meiji Restoration. Reforms of the Emperor industrialized the country, and reformed the administration, the monetary system, and the judiciary. The military service became obligatory for every man in a certain age and heath condition. The army itself was modernized in the shape of Western armies (especially British and Prussian), both in terms of weapons, as well as the organization. Furthermore, Japanese society began to apply a new class division and the lower class was the one who gained the rights previously reserved for the ruling class.
As you can see, these reforms marked the end of an era in the history of Japan and the end of the reign of the samurai – both within the country and on the battlefield. Suddenly these proud warriors who have dedicated their lives to learning the art of war, found themselves in a new, modern Japan where the samurai code of Bushido was to be forgotten and marginalized. Many of them fell into poverty and were removed from their farms. In 1876, the samurai were forbidden to wear two swords, what was for them an absolute humiliation. This caste of warriors, though they often saw the need to modernize the country, would not allow the collapse of values characterizing their recent reality. They watched the disappearance of the Japanese tradition, culture and religion as well as the code of the warrior which was a guidance in their life.
In 1877, rebel samurai from Satsuma began the uprising against the new rulers of Japan. Their leader was Saigo Takamori – one of the most important figures in the Meiji Restoration and the recent trusted emperor. Saigo was for years a trusted advisor to Emperor Meiji; however, he did not mindlessly give up western lifestyle. He respected western technological achievements and believed that Japan should use them. On the other hand, he wanted to remain faithful to Japanese traditions and culture, and feared that Japanese society will slowly take over improper influence of Western culture. Takamori wanted to co-create a strong Japan; however, he was not a supporter of centralization of power and increasing bureaucracy. He was forced to leave the environment of the Emperor and return to the family of Satsuma, where he headed the rebellion.
The movie “The Last Samurai” refers precisely to the uprising in Satsuma. Although the culture and customs of the samurai there are shown beautifully, their arms during the Rebellion were not limited to melee weapons and melee combat. The Takamori army numbered about 12 000 people and had modern guns and cannons. The problem was that deciding to start the uprising, the samurai of the Satsuma had only approx. 100 rounds of ammo per head, the money only for a month of fighting and zero logistical support. At the end of the uprising, the Takamori worriors actually threw themselves into battle with swords against the forces of Emperor armed with firearms. The Emperor, against the insurgent army, issued 90 000 well-equipped regular troops with 100 cannons.
The Battle of Shiroyama Painting from 1880, source: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Description of armor and weapons of the Samurai
Take a moment to describe the traditional weapons of the Samurai, ignoring firearms for a moment. The main attribute of these Japanese warriors was obviously their swords – a long (katana) and shorter (wakizashi). Katana was used in battle, and wakizashi to cut off the heads of defeated enemies and ritual suicide, called seppuku. The sword symbolized the honor of the samurai, and it was treated with reverence and respect. The process of producing it was almost a religious ceremony, and each sword was marked with a symbolic figure given by the master who created it. On the battlefield they were used as a spear and bow. Interestingly, every samurai had in his quiver one arrow signed with the name and surname of the holder. It facilitated the subsequent identification of the body and served as a trophy. Samurai armor changed over the centuries, but by the end it accepted a form of armor from the combined tiles. This was so practical that it was neutral body temperature and allowed to move freely during the fight. The weapon was surrounded by a high honor, and it was passed down from father to son. The helmet (kabuto) worn was made of metal covered with sheets of ceramics, with a movable cover for the neck and helmet or face mask to protect a warrior.
Samuraj in full armor Source: Terry Bennett, via Wikimedia Commons
Samurai were guided by the Bushido Code, which was a set of rules according to which the warrior had to deal both in life and in combat. Its principles are righteousness and justice, courage and perseverance, kindness and compassion, truthfulness, self-control and self-improvement, loyalty, honor and respect for ancestors and tradition. Bushido also meant a sense of understanding of the nature of death and surrender to it without fear at the right time.
The Seinan War
On February 15, 1877, Satsuma’s army set off in the direction of Tokyo to “ask” the government of his recent moves. The Seinan War began, and the first stop was the fortress of Kumamoto, which was in the hands of forces loyal to the Emperor. Thanks to its position and fortification, Kumamoto was one of the most powerful Japanese fortresses. The fortress was defended by approx. 4400 (3800 conscripted soldiers and 600 policemen) men under the command of General Taneki. Takamori Kumamoto got going quickly and moved on towards Tokyo, but his plan failed. The exchange of fire between the besieged and the besiegers began on February 19, and on February 22 insurgents stormed the castle. After a day-long battle, there remained an impregnable fortress, but the defenders suffered heavy losses. Takamori decided to close the ring of siege and wait for a suicide getaway, or the surrender of the defenders. Unfortunately, he lost so much time already and on 9 March, government troops launched an assault on Kagoshima, a port city south of the positions of the insurgents, thus overlapping them from behind. After gaining a foothold, part of the imperial army under the command of General Yamagata Aritomo reached Kumamoto and broke the siege of the fortress. Saigo Takamori also divided his army and sent several thousand troops to the north to take over the communication routes.
These troops encountered the enemy and fought the crucial battle of Tabaruzaka, which was the most important battle of the war. The clash was extremely bloody and ended in the deaths of a total of about 8,000 men, or 1/3 of the total manpower of both armies. The Imperial Army had a huge advantage in firepower during the battle, and in addition, the falling rain drenched many of the Enfield rifles used by the insurgents. However, the morale of the Satsuma samurai was high and even sinking in the mud successfully fought using their swords. Finally, after 11 days of the battle, imperial forces occurred in a defensive flank and the remnants of the insurgents were forced to retreat. Since that time, the forces of Saigo Takamori war turned into a continual retreat on all fronts. Some samurai were trying to save the situation and led a guerrilla war against the forces of the Emperor. Saigo knew that winning the war was no longer possible, but wanted to fight to the end. In June 1877, most of its army was sent to the Osumi Peninsula (shortly after the men were overtaken and defeated by the imperial forces), and the same with the rest of the forces broke through to Miyazaki over the Pacific Ocean. Soon after, his troops numbered about 3,000 people, when there were six times more of the enemy’s soldiers. During this difficult time of continual retreat Saigo Takamori, broke back in the region of Kagoshima.
Saigo Takamori with his officers Source: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
The Battle of Shiroyama
The last battle of the War Seinan and the battle of the last samurai in history took place on the slopes of the Shiroyama Mountain. 500 remaining Satsuma warriors fortified themselves on the mountain, but they lacked practically everything – food, drugs, ammunition. They were quickly surrounded by government forces in the strength of 30, 000, and their commander, the aforementioned General Yamagata Aritomo wrote a letter to Saigo Takamori, in which he asked for an armistice. The letter spoke of Saigo as a man of honor and he wrote that he understands the motives of the old samurai, when he decided to take up the fight for the future of Japan. The letter remained unanswered.
The next day, September 24, 1877 over the morning, imperial troops launched a final assault on Shiroyama. Saigo’s samurai fought with inhuman courage, dying in battle with six times more numerous and better equipped enemy, while bearing mostly only their swords. After more than an hour of fighting, only 40 of them lived, including the leader Saigo Takamori around which has focused some of his best friends and his best warriors, the once great army. As befits a true samurai, they decided at the last attack down the slopes where they wanted to meet dignity with death. During the charge Takamori was shot in the thigh, but he managed to sit down and with the help of a friend Beppu Shinsuke prepared for ritual Seppuku. Saigo looked calmly to the east, and then stabbed himself in the stomach with his wakizashi sword. Shinsuke in one movement cut off the head of his friend and leader, ending the life of the last great samurai in the history of Japan. The Seinan war came to an end then.
After all, of great Saigo Takamori was rehabilitated by the emperor in 1889 and named a national hero. He and his men paid the ultimate sacrifice while defending the values that they considered right and good for future generations. Saigo is now recognized as the symbol of honor, courage and commitment, and with his death the old, romantic samurai Japan’s spirit died as well.
Samurai training, with fictional character Ujio in front “Last Samurai” movie directed by Edward Zwick
In Europe, at the turn of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, there was the so-called Great Schism, a conflict over the power of two popes (one Roman and the other, who resided in Avignon). This period, when faith itself was less important than politics, pushed many believers away from the Church. Reformist movements began to come to the fore, one of which was the Czech professor and preacher Jan Hus. Based on the views of the radical Oxford theologian John Wycliffe, this man claimed, among other things, that Devotions should be held in Czech, communion in two forms, the Church itself should return to the early strict principles of Christianity, and the Bible was the only criterion of faith. As you can guess, the teachings of Huss did not bring him any followers within the structures of the Church. However, he was summoned to the Council of Constance, where, despite having a safe conduct pass, he was burned at the stake after a directed trial.
In Bohemia it was boiling. The majority of the population supported the “Hussites”, and King Wenceslaus IV tried incompetently to control the nervous atmosphere in the country, but the result was an escalation of the conflict, and on July 30, 1419, Bohemia was overtaken by an insurrection. The church property was confiscated and the clergy were expelled from their parishes and robbed.
Birth of Hussite armed forces
When the country was on the verge of civil war, the field troops of the Hussites began to form, which were commanded by military leaders called “hejtmans”. The most eminent of them was the famous Jan Žižka, the general derived from the radical Hussite called Taborites. It was he who, commanding the Tabor in March 1425, having in front of him the predominant forces of the Catholic nobleman Bohuslav of Švamberk, during the battle used wagons connected with each other by wheels, defended by infantry. The new tactics were very successful and Žižka fought in this way also shortly afterwards, near Sudoměř , where the charge of heavy armoured knights attacked a wagenburg (the wagon fort) created by the Czechs. The riders were held back by the rain of bullets and bolts released from the wagenburg, and even if only a few managed to get to the vicinity of the carts, they were eliminated by the crews. In addition, the charge was hindered by the deep fog through which the knights ravaged each other. This way of fighting was perpetuated and used with brutal effectiveness by the Hussite armed forces over the following years.
Battle of Stary Wielisław, 1428. The painting shows charge of heavy armoured knights on the Hussite wagenburg. Robert Hauk via Wikimedia Commons
The main and most dangerous opponent of Hussite armies was the heavy cavalry. The Czechs resisted its crushing charges by defending themselves from behind the cover provided by the combat wagons, giving in the direction of the knights a salvo of crossbows, as well as primitive firearms. During hand-to-hand combat swords, cords, flails and spears were used. The crew of one combat vehicle consisted of two riflemen with guns, six crossbowmen, and twelve infantrymen with flails, swords, pole arms and shields. The equipment of the wagon made it possible for the crew to quickly shoot a deadly rain of arrows and bullets in the direction of the coming charge, and if the enemy managed to reach a wagon, his crew defended themselves both on it and under it – often a man was lying under the wagon, whose task was to cut the legs of knights’ horses. All this made the attack of the 15th century cavalry on the Hussite wagenburg often doomed to failure. The knights had a chance in a clash with Hussites only when their charge surprised the Czechs during the march, and the carts were not tied together.
“From behind the shields of the Silesian infantry crossbows appeared. Haugwitz shouted to hoarseness, forbade to shoot, ordered to wait. It was a mistake. When the cavalry approached for three hundred steps, Hussites began to fire from their wagons, a hail of bullets hit the target. In a moment a dense cloud of bolt flew to the Silesians. Immediately, many dead fell to the ground, the wounded shouted, the line of shields was shaken, Silesian infantrymen responded with fire, but chaotic and unceiling. The shooters’ hands were shaking. Because at Bleh’s command, Hussite troops rushed the step. And then they started running. With a wild scream on their lips. – They won’t hold.. – in the voice of Błażej from Kralup sounded first disbelief, then hope. And then certainty. – They won’t hold! God with us! Although it seemed unbelievable, the Silesian line suddenly collapsed like blown away by the wind. They abandoned their shields with spears, and the infantry immediately escaped from the battlefield.”
Part from Andrzej Sapkowski’s book “Warriors of God” (own translation).
Hussites defeat Catholic troops
In August 1419 King Wenceslas IV died and the Czech throne was taken by Sigismund of Luxembourg. The King in Bohemia, known for his reluctance to Hussitism, was supported by the only Catholic minority. In order to pacify the heretical country, a Luxembourger organized a crusade in 1420, during which a Catholic army of 30,000 people approached Prague, which was defended by 9,000 Hussites under the leadership of the brilliant Žižka. The Czech hetman managed to bind the invaders’ forces and then defeat them in an open battle on 14 July. In the following years three more crusades and several smaller expeditions were carried out on Bohemian territory – each of them was decisively repulsed by the Hussite army, which in turn, in retaliation, carried out expeditions to the territory of neighbouring countries, mainly to the Silesian Catholic principality. In short, the Czechs’ neighbours had no chance with them for a long time.
Famous for his victories, Jan Žižka was close to seizing power in the country, but in 1423, dissatisfied with the too radical approach of his comrades in arms, he left Tabor and founded his own field troops. After his death in 1424, his recent subordinates did not elect a new hetman, but called themselves Orphans. Since then, the Hussites’ armed forces have consisted of two armies operating independently of each other.
Fighting for wagons between Hussite and Catholic infantry Jan Goth via Wikimedia Commons
Catholics were not able to crush the Hussite forces, which tirelessly repulsed each of the expeditions to their lands. German and Silesian knights were killed under the troops of Czech infantry. The most significant of the crusades was the fourth one, commanded by the margrave of Brandenburg Frederick, who entered the Bohemia in the summer of 1431. The army had no precise operational plans, so it first approached Tachov Castle, abandoned the siege after a few days and finally besieged Domažlice. The relief of the Hussite army quickly reached the town. At the very sight of them, the Catholic army was overwhelmed by total panic and proud crusaders began a desperate escape towards the border. Chased by a Czech cavalry, the knights realized that the Tabor and Orphans would not be defeated in the open field.
When the weapon failed, King Sigismund of Luxemburg decided to use trickery and diplomacy. He wanted to take advantage of the fact that during the decade of war, Czech society suffered from hunger, shortage, rising prices, and epidemics of diseases. Negotiations with the Catholic Church created divisions among the Hussites, and more and more Czechs wanted to accept the conditions of the king, which obviously meant his return to the throne and the rejection of Four Prague Articles by the Czechs. The famous God’s fighters – Taborites and Orphans, were against the agreements with Catholics and rejected their offer to receive grace, but to guard the Hungarian border against the Turks.
The beginning of the end
In order to take the initiative, Tabor and Orphans under the command of the famous Prokop the Great, besieged city of Plzeň, a rich Catholic town, whose occupation was to be a strong bargaining chip in the negotiations between the Hussites and the Catholic Church. Unfortunately for them, in the meantime the Czech clergy came to an agreement with Rome. Most Czechs accepted the Pope’s sovereignty and turned their backs on the Hussite radicals. Since then, the Hussites lost their initiative in this Czech civil war. In May 1434, Utraquists (a moderate Hussite branch) smuggled supplies for the Catholic town of Plzeň, besieged by the radicals. Tabor and Orphans had to abandon the siege and withdraw.
“A thousand one hundred heavy-duty horses moved to the attack, leaning the lances at the same time. The ground started to tremble. Bleh and Zygmunt from Vranov realized the seriousness of the situation in a flash. On their order, the Taborite infantry quickly turned into a hedgehog covered with shields. The wagons were turned sideways, firearms looked out from behind the lowered sides. (…) The cavalry raised a battle cry and went into a gallop shaking the ground. The Taborite warriors responded with a bold scream, and from behind the shields appeared spears, swords, flails. Belts flew, firearms fired. A deadly salvo knotted Ruprecht’s Knights of Order of Saint John, hurting and scaring horses slowed down riders from Ziębice and Oława.
Part from Andrzej Sapkowski’s book “Warriors of God” (own translation).
The Hussite field armies approached Prague, but, expecting battles with the forces of Catholics and Utraquists , withdrew and took favourable positions between Český Brod and Kouřim, on the hill under which the village of Lipany was situated. Both armies stood in front of each other and started to prepare for the battle that was to determine the future of Bohemia.
The last battle of the Hussites
The Taborite fighters, under the command of Prokop the Great, built a camp consisting of 480 combat wagons connected together and defended by 10,000 infantry and 700 horsemen. A kilometre before them stood coalition troops, having 13,000 infantry and 1,500 riders, also sheltered behind the wagenburg. For the first time in history, armies using fortifications made of mobile wagons were to fight against each other. One side had to expose itself and attack, leaving its own wagon formation. The leaders of both armies were not willing to take any risks, and for several days there were attempts to negotiate between them, which ended up unfavourably for the radicals. An internal dispute caused the departure of one of Hussites’ military leaders, Bedřich ze Strážnice and his 300 horsemen.
Break-up of the Czech wagenburg near Lipany Věnceslav Černý via Wikimedia Commons
No agreement was reached during the talks and on May 30 the Battle of Lipany began with the salvos of the Taborites. This shooting did not cause great losses on the side of Catholics and Utraquists, but it clearly broke their morale. To remedy this, Diviš Bořek of Miletínka ordered a loud prayer, and his riders, accused by infantry and the desire to escape, took off their spurs, descended from horses and promised that they would either win or lose their lives. Only a separate branch led by Mikuláš Krchlebec remained on the horses.
It was this unit that was supposed to play a key role during the initial phase of the battle. Krchlebec was given the risky, though extremely important task of deceiving the enemy. According to the order, when the gunfire led by Tabor had already begun, his cavalry came close and, keeping a distance from the enemy carts, pretended to attack. At the same time, the infantry of the coalition signalled the disconnection of wagons and the abandonment of the defensive order.
As soon as the Taborite warriors saw their opponents’ actions, they fell into euphoria. The radical command was sure that the enemy ride was supposed to cover the retreat of the whole army, so without thinking long, they threw their forces into a mad attack. They were sure that they would hit the retreating, defenceless opponent.
It happened completely different. The cavalry of Krchlebec in one moment turned back and attacked the surprised, unprotected Taborites. After reaching wagenburg, they managed to overturn eight wagons and thus make a breakthrough for the rest of the forces that invaded the interior of the camp and began to slaughter the Taborite army. The dramatic struggle lasted until the evening, and death took a bloody harvest among the Hussites. Inside the wagenburg, Prokop the Great was killed, the Tábor fighters lost 1300 people (Catholics and Utraquists lost 200), and many Hussite hetmans fled to the surrounding cities. After the battle, 700 Taborites were taken to the surrounding barns and burned alive.
Hetman Jan Čapek escaped from the battlefield and reached Kolín castle, but for the following years his former comrades considered him a traitor and for this reason this famous commander left Bohemia for service in the royal army in Poland already a year later.
The Battle of Lipany finally ended the period of religious wars in Central Europe. In 1436, the elderly Sigismund of Luxemburg reached his goal and took over power in the country, which was the final end of the revolution in Bohemia at that time. The defeats of the Hussite radicals fought until 1437. The last commander of the Hussite army is considered to be Jan Rohacz of Duba, whose modest forces were defeated three years after the battle, and Rohacz was hanged in Prague.
Below is an excerpt from a Czech movie “Jan Žižka” from 1956, which shows the Battle of Sudoměř between the Hussites led by Jan Žižka and the Czech Catholics of Sigismund of Luxembourg . Despite the poor quality of the video, the recording may help the reader to understand how the Czechs fought during the Hussite Wars.
The Abrams entered service in the 1980s, replacing the then already ageing M60. Since then, M1s have fought in the Persian Gulf, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq, among other places, each time performing well in battle and being indispensable infantry support. As of 2016, the Abrams remains the primary tank used by the US Army and Marines, as well as the armies of Egypt, Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Australia.
M1A2 Source: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
2. Production cost
To date, more than 10,000 tanks have been built in three main equipment versions: M1, M1A1 and M1A2. Abrams are still being developed and new armor, weapons and other equipment have been added to them over nearly 40 years. The 60-ton tank is equipped with a 1,500-horsepower engine that is capable of accelerating it to speeds of 70 km/h. In 1999, the cost of manufacturing one M1 was more than $5 million.
M1 Abrams fires its 120 mm cannon Source: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
3. First combat test
For Abrams, the first major test was Operation Desert Storm in 1991. The U.S. tanks proved to be extremely effective under combat conditions and caused massive losses among Iraqi machines. The Iraqis lost some 2,000 tanks, while M1 Abrams were destroyed only 9 – with 7 by mistakenly opening fire on their own vehicles, and 2 destroyed by their own crews to prevent a possible Iraqi takeover of the tanks. It could be said that the only threat to the Abrams on the battlefield came from the other Abrams, or any other American machine.
Source: www.reddit.com
4. Advantage through range
During the Gulf War, M1 Abrams tanks scored hits from a range of more than 2,500 meters, leaving no chance for enemy Soviet-designed tanks, whose range did not exceed 2,000 meters. They were destroyed before they themselves could open fire on the enemy.
5. Whispering Death
The gas turbine engine with which the Abrams are equipped is relatively quiet, which has translated into giving these colossi the nickname “Whispering Death.”
Source: tumblr.com
6. Targets not only on the ground
The M1 tank’s primary cannon is the M68A1 105mm gun, while the M1A1 and M1A2 versions use the M256 120mm smoothbore(see Abrams shooting exercises in Lithuania). The M256 cannon theoretically has the ability to shoot down aircraft flying at low altitude, but this has not been tested in combat conditions. It is worth mentioning a useful offensive capability of Abrams tanks, which is the ability to shoot on the move thanks to the built-in target stabilizer.
Source: tumblr.com
7. Tank armor
The tank is protected by multi-layer composite armor, a combination of steel plates and ceramic blocks. The M1A1HA and M1A2 were equipped with depleted uranium armor. This combination can stop almost any missile fired at an Abrams (the American Hellfire has the ability to penetrate this armor). However, one thing is worth mentioning. After Hussein’s overthrow, the US gave Iraq 140 M1A1-SA tanks, a version without the aforementioned uranium-enriched armor. Currently (early 2016), 30 of them have already been destroyed by Islamic militias, most of them by firing an anti-tank guided missile.
8. Vehicle protection during urban combat
The M1 Abrams (or rather, its crew) can survive a biological or chemical attack and has the ability to release a smoke screen, making it harder to locate on the battlefield. The experience of fighting in built-up terrain forced the retrofitting of Abrams with additional protection for the sides of the tank and its undercarriage. The TUSK system (Tank Urban Survivability System) was created, which provided better protection for the vehicle against hand grenade launchers and mines. TUSK is all about reactive armor, a remote-controlled rifle, a 360-degree camera for the commander, providing communications for the tank commander and nearby infantry, and much more. By 2008, all Abrams stationed in Iraq were equipped with TUSK. An improved built-up area defense system, TUSK-2, is currently being installed on the units.
Abrams armed with TUSK
On their combat route, M1 Abrams tanks have proven their effectiveness and so far there are no plans to replace them with a newer unit, but existing units are constantly being upgraded. I invite you to take a peek at the video excerpts:
A demonstration of the speed and mobility of tanks:
The two main characters in the photo are Greta Friedman, who was a dentistry student at the time, and sailor George Mendonsa. At first glance, the scene depicts their romantic kiss. Well, nothing could be further from the truth – Greta did not know George until that moment. When the surrender of Japan was announced, the sailor was in Times Square on a date with his future wife Rita.
Kiss in Times Square Source: wikimedia.org, Photo: Alfred Eisenstaedt
Happy about the end of the war and having already had a few drinks, George grabbed a stranger student standing close to him and stole a long kiss from her. As the head of the photo later recalled, she was actually not too happy about the whole situation and did not reciprocate the kiss (she reportedly even slapped the sailor).
George Mendonca and Greta Friedman in Rhode Island, 2009 Source: Josh23, Wikimedia Commons
For decades, the identity of Greta and George remained undetermined, and in addition, many people falsely identified themselves as one of the people in the photo. It was not until the 1980s that the names of the kissing couple were confirmed with the help of scientific analysis of the photograph. Similarly, attempts were made to determine the exact time the photo was taken, as Eisenstaedt could not remember when exactly he captured it. Scientist Donald W. Olson, based on the alignment of the sun’s rays in the frame, determined the moment the photograph was taken to be 5:51 pm.
George and Greta later met many times, mostly at parades and other celebrations to which they were invited. 67 years after the memorable photo was taken, they reappeared in Times Square. A series of memorials, called Unconditional Surrender, were created in their honor. Greta Friedman died on September 8, 2016 in Richmond, Virginia. George Mendonsa died on February 17, 2019, two days before his 96th birthday.
On August 14, 2015, the 70th anniversary of Japan’s surrender, the famous kiss was repeated in Times Square:
Almost everyone has heard of the famous Hundred Years’ War, which was fought in France in the 14th and 15th centuries. This long (as long as 116 years) and bloody series of armed conflicts between England and France began with English claims to the French throne. One of the first major clashes of armed battles of the period was the Battle of Crécy. In that battle, one smaller but disciplined army of English King Edward III defeated a French army – twice its size, but ineptly commanded, inflicting it.
Edward Woodstock, called the Black Prince (son of Edward III) on the battlefield Source: Julian Story [Domena Publiczna], via Wikimedia Commons
Before the battle
On August 26, 1346, an English army led by Edward III clashed with Philip VI’s French near Crécy, in northern France. Earlier, Edward’s forces had retreated north, pursued by Philip who wanted to catch up with them and engage in a battle on the Somme, which would have given France an advantage. However, the English managed to escape this trap and, overcoming the weak crossing defenses, made their way to the other side of the river at the last minute. Thus, it was Edward who secured the choice of the site of the future battle, on which he based his victorious strategy.
Before the battle, Edward and his army took up a position on a hilltop, which gave them a strategic advantage over the French. The English spent a full day building defensive lines complete with spur, palisade and wolf pits. They then deployed in three lines, each about 2 km long. In front of the first line, many deadly traps were placed, such as camouflaged pits, sharpened piles and metal stars that cripple horses’ hooves. The English knights unhesitatingly obeyed Edward’s order to stand up to fight alongside the regular infantry. One of the wings was commanded by the king’s son, the then 16-year-old Edward IV later known as the “Black Prince.”
Line of English troops during the battle Source http://ringingforengland.co.uk/st-george/
Force comparison
The English forces numbered between 8,000 and 14,000 men, including 2 – 3,000 heavy-armed knights, 5 – 10,000 elite archers and about a thousand pikemen. They were also supplied with 3 cannons (and this is the first confirmed use of artillery on the battlefield in history), but their combat value was very low at the time – they worked quite well as psychological weapons instead.
English archers were one of the deadliest formations on the medieval battlefield. They were equipped with long bows made of yew wood, which could carry up to 300 meters and penetrated the knight’s armor at short range. However, the most important thing was their rapidity – a trained English archer was able to release 5-6 arrows per minute, while a crossbowman could shoot a maximum of two. These archers were true serial killers, and used correctly in battle (which happened very often) they were very difficult to stop.
The English were prepared and ready to accept the battle, a French army arrived on the fields of Crécy. Philip managed to gather 20 – 40,000 men, including, among others, 12,000 heavy knights and 6,000 famous mercenary crossbowmen from Genoa.
14th century French knights Source: http://ru.warriors.wikia.com/
Deadly charge and a hail of bullets
The battle began with a duel between crossbowmen and English archers. The mercenary Italian crossbowmen were known at the time for their excellent training and discipline. However, that day the Genoese squad hired by the French was exhausted after a long march, and to top it off, the strings of their crossbows got wet in the rain (the English had managed to hide their strings under their helmets). As if that wasn’t enough, the Genoese had left their pavises in camp – so they had no protection from enemy fire.
Despite all these adversities, mercenary crossbowmen were sent to attack the English lines and bravely launched an assault. However, they had to climb up the slope in low visibility, as the sun shone directly on them. By some miracle, the Italians managed to fire the first salvo, but this one did not reach the English lines. At the same time they were already under fire from Edward’s archers, whose arrows quickly began to take a bloody toll among them.
The Genoese commander, seeing the deaths of dozens of his men, ordered a quick retreat. However, when King Philip of France saw his mercenaries fleeing the battlefield, he ordered his knights to quickly strike at the first lines of the English. However, the knights did not wait for the return of the crossbowmen, whom the French charge literally massacred.
The French attack, uncoordinated and unorganized after killing many allied mercenaries, was unable to break through English lines and entanglements. The knights charged 16 times, dying under a hail of English arrows, drowning in the swamp and dying in wolf pits. Only a few groups of Frenchmen managed to reach the enemy, but these were quickly annihilated by Welsh and Irish pikemen.
English archer Source: http://www.nationalturk.com/
After the battle
Many high-born Frenchmen and their allies died that day, and one of them was the Bohemian King John of Luxembourg. This 50-year-old blind warrior who, on the fields of Crécy, ordered squires to tie themselves to two knights and died during the assault, choosing death over dishonor.
The Battle of Crécy is a rare example of a victory by a smaller army over a much larger one. Its outcome was determined by excellent training and discipline in the army, as well as Edward III’s use of terrain and anticipation of the enemy’s movements. French losses were enormous – more than 1,500 knights and several thousand infantry remained forever in the fields near Crécy. The English lost only 100-300 soldiers and … a lot of arrows. Some historians consider this battle the beginning of the end of the cavalry era in Europe.
After winning at Crécy, Edward III besieged and captured Calais. However, no one expected that the Hundred Years’ War was just beginning….
Finally, a fun fact
A fact reminded to me by a colleague – everyone knows what the gesture of showing an extended middle finger, the so-called “f*ck”, looks like. This gesture dates precisely from the Hundred Years’ War, and it was originated by English archers displaying their hands with one finger towards the enemy before a fight. It originated from the fact that when the French succeeded in capturing such an archer, they immediately cut off his fingers with which to draw the bowstring. The gesture of the straightened finger (which one still possessed) was an attempt to provoke and anger the opponent.
Bismarck, and her sister ship Tirpitz were the biggest battleships ever built in Europe, having overall length of over 250 metres, the maximum speed of 30 knots, and crew of over 100 officers and almost 2000 enlisted men. She was armed with eight 38 cm guns built in four turrets, twelve 15 cm guns, sixteen 10.5 cm, sixteen 3.7 cm and twelve 2 cm anti-aircraft guns. Well armoured, the battleship also had her four reconnaissance floatplanes. Bismarck was a serious threat to Allied navy.
Bismarck in 1941 Source: Bundesarchiv, Bild 193-04-1-26, Wikimedia Commons
The ship joined German fleet in August 1940 during the World War II. Bismarck’s mission was to join the Battle of the Atlantic and fight against Allied merchant convoys. At this time, Great Britain was highly dependent on supply convoys from the USA, and Kriegsmarine was attempting to collapse the economic potential of the UK by attacking them. German Navy sent U-Boat wolf-packs and surface raiders, like battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, which sunk 22 Allied merchant ships from January to March 1941 during Operation Berlin. Nazi command was sure Bismarck will be even more destructive and fearsome weapon. They planned to repeat the operation, but with four battleships – Bismarck, Tirpitz, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Those four ships were to wreak havoc together against the Atlantic shipping.
Bismarck on December 1940 Source: bismarck-class.dk
However, three of them could’t get into action on time – Tirpitz was not ready to get into combat before Autumn 1941, Gneisenau was hit by British torpedo during repairs in Brest (and then bombed), and Scharnhorst needed to repair her boilers. Nazi Naval Command needed to adjust their plans – they had to use Bismarck and Prinz Eugen, Germany’s new heavy cruiser.
Into the Atlantic!
After sea trials and trainings in Gulf of Gdańsk from September 1940 to April 1941, Bismarck was prepared and ready. On 22 April Admiral Günther Lütjens ordered to begin the Operation Rheinübung. The time has come – battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen were to reach the Atlantic Ocean and hunt for Allied suppy convoys. Lütjens knew, that the key to operation’s success was to stay undetected before reaching the ocean. He had eleven supply ships and a few weather reconnaissance planes waiting for them on the Atlantic and the North Sea.
On 19 may Bismarck left Gotenhafen, heading Danish Straits. She was joined by the Prinz Eugen and six destroyers as their escort. They were immediately spotted the day after while crossing the strait by neutral Swedish cruiser HMS “Gotland”. Sweden informed British embassy about the unit. Brits began to seek German ships – the operation was no longer a secret to the Allies.
On 22 May, after 1-day stopover in a fjord near Bergen and dismissing the escort, Bismarck and Prinz Eugen were heading Iceland as soon as possible. Lütjens’ plan was to sail through the Danish Strait, and then enter the Atlantic. German Intelligence was certain that Bismarck and Prinz Eugen were no longer chased by British Navy – they were terribly wrong.
Two British heavy cruisers- HMS Suffolk and HMS Norfolk were patrolling the Danish Strait, when Suffolk spotted German ships. She was shortly joined by Norfolk and both cruisers were tracking Bismarck and Prinz Eugen, trying to hide in a fog and maintain at 6400 metres from German ships. Brits expected support to fight Bismarck.
And the help came – battlecruiser HMS Hood and battleship HMS Prince of Wales were patrolling the area near Iceland and right after information about spotting Germans, British Navy sent them to fight Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. Hood was the largest war ship before 1940 when Bismarck was built. She was the pride and flagship of British Navy, last and the most powerful battlecruiser constructed for Great Britain.
British battlecruiser HMS Hood Source: Allan C. Green, Adam Cuerden via Wikimedia Commons
Sinking of Hood
On 24 May began the Battle of the Denmark Strait. German battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen fought British battlecruiser HMS Hood and battleship HMS Prince of Wales. Just six minutes after first salvo, Hood was hit by Bismarck’s shell. Massive explosion destroyed the aft part of the ship, and the Pride of British Navy sank in only three minutes with 1418 men aboard. She probably was badly hit the ammo magazine. Prince of Wales was forced to disengage from battle, but before that she had hit Bismarck three times. One of these hits caused loss of fuel. Ship’s maximum speed was limited as well. Also, the element of surprise had been lost – Bismarck was unable to enter the Atlantic. The only option was to abort the mission and steer to occupied France, where the battleship could be repaired.
Lütjens ordered the undamaged Prinz Eugen to continue raiding on her own. Norfolk, Suffolk and the damaged Prince of Wales continued to shadow Bismarck, tracking her fuel slick. British Navy ordered all available units to seek and destroy Bismarck. On 10:00 PM 24 May, they launched an air attack with nine Swordfish torpedo bombers, and made one hit under German battleship’s bridge. No serious damage was done. British shadowers lost contact with Bismarck. At this time, British Force H contanining Aircraft Carrier HMS Ark Royal, battlecruiser Renown, and the light cruiser Sheffield were approaching to intercept.
We shall fight to the last shell
On 26 May, a flying-boat Catalina found Bismarck. German ship was heading East and was not in a range of Luftwaffe yet. On this day Aircraft Carrier Ark Royal launched two air strikes. The second one had two or three hits on Bismarck, causing critical damage on steering. Bismarck started to sail West, with no chance to take control on the ship’s direction. Lütjens signalled the headquarters “Ship unmanoeuvrable. We shall fight to the last shell. Long live the Führer”. The ship was doomed.
At 22:37 Polish destroyer ORP Piorun, one of destroyers which joined British cruisers and battleships on May 26, spotted Bismarck. Contact was lost, but soon the battleship was found by other destroyers from the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla. No serious damage was done on both sides, but it was the beginning of ship’s end.
Tirpitz – Bismarck’s sistership. Screen from World of Warships game. Source: http://worldofwarships.eu/
On the next day the pride of German Navy fought her last battle. Attacked by four British ships – HMS Norfolk, HMS King George V, HMS Rodney and HMS Dorsetshire. After 96 minutes of fighting and taking over 300 hits, the most fearsome battleship in Europe fell silent. Then she was torpedoed and sunk in a few minutes. Over 2100 men died.
After the Battle
Bismarck’s sinking was an end of an era for German Navy and a turning point in the war in the Atlantic. Many German supply ships were destroyed by British, and German abandoned their plans about offensive actions performed by battleships. German Grand Admiral Erich Reader’s independence was limited by Hitler. For Allies, this victory was a step ahead to destroy the evil Nazi Germany.
After the battle, British Admiral John Tovey said, “The Bismarck had put up a most gallant fight against impossible odds worthy of the old days of the Imperial German Navy, and she went down with her colours flying.” This is a story about bravery, sacrifice, dedication and honor. Both sides – German and Allied sailors fulfilled their duty to the end. Too bad, some of them were fighting to enslave the others.
Additional Facts:
Bismarck was probably trying to surrender three times during her last battle. Signs were ignored.
Unsinkable Sam was a cat who had been owned by an unknown crewman of Bismarck. Rescued by British sailors from HMS Cossack, stayed on the ship until October 1941 when Cossack had been dastroyed by an U-boat. Sam was moved to HMS Ark Royal, and the ship was torpedoed and sunk as well. Sam had no luck and he was transferred to seaman’s home in Belfast. Sam outlived all ships he was staying at.
Watch the World of Warships’ gameplay of Bismarck on Youtube:
The end of the 19th century was to be a period of political and economic expansion in Asia for Russia. In 1891, the first subsoil of the Trans-Siberian railway was created to connect the Urals with Vladivostok, the main Russian port in the Far East. At the same time, the Russians decided to find a new, unfreezing port for the fleet operating in the Pacific Ocean. In Vladivostok there was neither infrastructure needed for ships, nor qualified shipbuilding workers and engineers. Both the attempts to establish a base in the Korean Strait and the lease of the port on the east coast of Korea ended in failure. However, in March 1898 the Russians managed to lease from China the Liaotin Peninsula with a sea base named Port Arthur. As it turned out later, the choice of Port Artur as a navy base was the worst possible one. The infrastructure had to be built from scratch, the fortifications were destroyed, and the entrance to the base was narrow and shallow. The small town was too poor to accept and sustain tens of thousands of soldiers, so water and food had to be imported from China and Japan. The problem of Port Arthur depicted perfectly well the mess prevailing in the then tsarist Russia, especially in its army.
Russian battleship Sevastopol in Port Artur, May 1904 http://navsource.narod.ru via Wikimedia Commons
Japan was a natural competitor of Russia in East Asia. Until the middle of the nineteenth century, the country ruled by the Emperor was controlled by the Americans and the British, who imposed trade agreements unfavourable to the Japanese people. However, after The Meiji Restoration, Japan quickly modernised and became a regional power. Numerous well-equipped and well-trained troops were created. From 1882 to 1890, 32 ships with a total displacement of 30,000 tonnes entered the service. Meanwhile, Russia had underestimated the growing threat from Japan. The Tsar concurred with the military attaché in Korea, who claimed that “decades will pass, perhaps centuries, until the Japanese army will be in one line with the weakest European army“. Time has shown how much he was wrong…
Russia and Japan could not agree on sharing their spheres of influence in Korea and Manchuria, so in 1902 Japan concluded an anti-Russian alliance with Great Britain. In 1903, the Japanese staff began to prepare vigorously for war; it was assumed that the opponent’s fleet would be quickly annihilated and then Korea will be invaded. Meanwhile, the Japanese mobilisation was disregarded in St. Petersburg. There was even a dominant view to allow the Japanese to enter Manchuria and break it down there. The Tsar and his advisors believed that in the event of a conflict they would be able to quickly move eastwards with the help of the Trans-Siberian railways.
An attack on Port Arthur and the end of Russia’s Pacific fleet
On the night of February 8-9, the Japanese fleet unexpectedly attacked Russian ships standing in Port Arthur. Two battleships and a cruiser were seriously damaged, but the plan to sink the Russian fleet failed. At the same time, the army also launched a landing on the Korean Chemulpo Bay, where the Russian cruiser “Varyag” and the canonnabis ship “Korietz” were sunk.
The Japanese fleet blocked and mined Port Artur. After entering the mine, the battleship “Petropavlovsk” sank (the commander of the port vice-admiral Stepan Makarov, and the famous painter Vasily Verylaphepagin were killed). Japanese ships were also affected by mine damage. Among other things, two battleships and a cruiser were lost.
Russian battleship “Oslyabya”, the first ship sunk in the battle of Tsushima Source: Wikimedia Commons
On 1st May the Japanese brought a raid to Manchuria. They quickly dealt with a limited number of Russian defenders and soon afterwards cut off Port Arthur. On 17th July the Japanese infantry was already close to the base and started the artillery fire of the Russian port. The Russian Admiral Witthoft ordered the transfer of ships stationed in a besieged port to Vladivostok, but his forces (6 battleships, 4 cruisers, 8 torpedo boats) were caught up by the fleet of General Togo (4 battleships, 6 cruisers and torpedo boats). During the battle, the Russian commander was killed, and only a few units managed to avoid destruction and returned to Port Arthur. In addition, on 14th June in the Korean Strait, Rear Admiral Karl Jensen, who was unaware of the failure of the Port Artur division, was crushed. In this way the Russian fleet in the Pacific had ceased to exist (!). Soon afterwards, after a murderous siege, Japan captured Port Arthur.
The expedition through half of the world
At the time when Port Arthur fell, there were Russian ships off the coast of Madagascar, which in September 1904 departed from the Baltic port of Lipawa and went to aid the forces in the Pacific Ocean. At the beginning of the war with Japan, the Tsar and his advisors decided to send the so-called Second Pacific Squadron to East Asia. Its commander was Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky.
From the very beginning everything went wrong. The condition of the ships and the training of the seamen was tragic, and for some vessels, their first test was a voyage to East Asia. About 30% of the crews were deployed from the reserve, and the remaining majority were conscripts who had no experience at sea. The mood among officers is best illustrated by the statement of Commander Nikolai Bukhvostov, the commander of the battleship “Imperator Aleksandr III”: “There will be no victory (….) but for one I can assure you: if we will all have to die, we will not give up for sure!”.
Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky, Russian commander in the Battle of Tsushima Source: Wikimedia Commons
The Russian navy command knew from the outset that before the Second Pacific Squadron will reach the east coast of Russia, Port Arthur would collapse a long time before, so it was planned to go to Vladivostok and treat it as a starting point for further action against Japan. In fact, it was a suicidal mission because the contact with Japanese ships was almost certain, and Vladivostok did not have the technical support to remove any possible damage to the ships. The Tsar sent the ships for a certain destruction because he wanted to keep public opinion in the belief that the situation in the east was under control.
The cruise of Rozhestvensky’s fleet was to start in the Baltic Sea, lead through the Atlantic and finish 18 000 nautical miles further, in the Korean Strait. A separate echelon composed of smaller vessels was to follow a shorter route through the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal. The relocation of the Russian fleet was a huge effort, which required, among other things, the following: the purchase of 500 000 tonnes of coal in Germany, and the hiring of Norwegian commercial ship fleets to carry the vessels through the North Sea and mobilise the tsarist police to secure their passage through the Danish Straits. The group led by Rozhestvensky stopped for two months in Madagascar, where inexperienced ship crews trained themselves in shooting. When the Russian fleet entered the Korean Strait, its cruise had already lasted for almost nine months.
The annihilation of the Tsar’s fleet
The Japanese knew well about the approaching enemy and patiently patrolled the strait awaiting the arrival of the Russians. On 27th May, a Japanese auxiliary cruiser saw the Russian squadron. Admiral Togo had units with less firepower under his orders, but more modern and faster, and the crews were incomparably better trained.
The Japanese commander’s plan was to cut through the chic of the Russian ships, and then destroy their battleships, which, according to Togo, was the key to victory. At 11:15 AM, the first shots in the direction of Russian warships were fired. At 1:49 PM a signal appeared on the Japanese flagship battleship “Mikasa”: “The future of the Empire depends on the outcome of the battle. Let everyone do their part!”.
Togo’s ships were sailing from west to east. After being ahead of the Russian troops, they suddenly turned southward and crossed the enemy’s route and started to fire on the enemy ships. Rozhestvensky tried to escape, but the difference in speed made this plan fail, and in a short time the Russian formation went into a crumble. Modern Japanese bullets easily penetrated by Russian ship’s armor and the first victim of these was the battleship “Oslyabya “, which sank with almost 500 sailors on board (the commanding officer shot himself, seeing a huge defeat). The flagship “Knyaz Suvorov” was so badly destroyed that the wounded Rozhestvensky had to be evacuated to one of Russian destroyers. Togo’s men focused the fire on the battleship “Imperator Aleksandr III”, which after a few hits lost her steering ability and sank in the evening, and with her almost 900 people. The battleship “Borodino” was also sunk, which is said to have fought to the end by shooting Japanese units from his gun. Soon afterwards, “Suvorov” went to the bottom, where her heroic defenders used the last remaining cannon of 75 mm until the end.
Admiral Togo on the battleship “Mikasa”, the flagship of the Japanese fleet Author: Tōjō Shōtarō via Wikimedia Commons
In spite of the falling darkness, Togo’s torpedo vessels, thrown into the chase behind the Russians sank other damaged battleships “Navarin” and “Sissoi Veliky”. At the coast of Tsushima, the battlecruiser “Admiral Nakhimov” was sunk by the ship’s own crew.
On 28th May the Japanese fleet caught up with and drowned another Russian ships: the battleship “Imperator Nikolai I”, coast defense ships “General Admiral Graf Apraksin” and “Admiral Seniavin”, and the cruiser “Izumrud”. Rear Admiral Nebogatov, when he saw the opponent’s overwhelming advantage, decided to lay down his arms. His capitulation was not recognized by Admiral Togo, who, as a descendant of samurai, did not accept something like giving up. It was only the intervention of his officer cadre that saved the Russians from certain death.
On the other ships Russians usually defended themselves very bravely, which was noticed by their opponents. Only four cruisers and two destroyers escaped from the massacre. 5182 Russian sailors died and 5917 (including Admiral Rozhestvensky) were captured.
Japanese losses were negligible: three torpedo ships were lost, several ships were damaged, 181 sailors died (a very small number compared to Russian losses!) and 587 were injured.
The battle of Tsushima ended with the total defeat of the Russian fleet. Her best ships were destroyed, and the reputation of the Russian empire and the position of the third maritime power were in ruins. On September 5,1905 in Portsmouth, both countries signed a peace treaty that gave Japan part of Manchuria, Korea and the North Pacific fisheries. Japan began to dominate East Asia, and Russia was on the brink of civil war as a result of strikes and revolts. Soon afterwards, World War I began and the tsarist government collapsed – but that’s another story.
Around 45,000 soldiers, 600 tanks, 500 artillery pieces and mortars, 320 aircraft, and 6,000 other vehicles were supposed to participate in the exercises. The soldiers selected to take part in the test in Totskoye were carefully chosen beforehand and were obligated to keep the secrecy of their participation in the trial of the new type of weapon. As a reward, they were offered three months’ pay in advance.
Soviet commanders wanted the exercise location to closely simulate the hilly, wooded terrain of West Germany. Previous nuclear tests had mostly taken place on the plains of Kazakhstan, but this time the area near the village of Totskoye was chosen, which had been used as a testing ground since the 18th century. Soviet leaders, including Georgy Zhukov (the initiator of the exercises), Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, Alexander Vasilevsky, and Ivan Konev, were supposed to observe everything from an atomic shelter.
On September 14, 1954, strong winds of up to 20 m/s were blowing around Totskoye. At 9:33 am, a Tu-4 bomber dropped the atomic bomb “Tatyana” on the testing ground from a height of 8,000 meters. After 45 seconds of flight, the explosion occurred at a height of 350 meters, and 5 minutes later, the attacked area was subjected to artillery fire. The bomb dropped on Totskoye had a yield of 40 kilotons, which was equivalent to 2-3 “Little Boy” bombs that the Americans dropped on Hiroshima 9 years earlier. The explosion was visible from a distance of 50 km from the point of detonation.
Tu-4 strategic bomber Source: Monino98 via Wikimedia Commons
The damage caused by the bomb was terrible. Within a radius of 300 meters from the epicenter, there was nothing that could survive the explosion, the ground was completely scorched, and only tree stumps remained. Within a radius of up to 5 kilometers, villages were burned down – fortunately, their inhabitants were evacuated beforehand.
At that time, the Soviet Union’s war doctrine (just like the American doctrine) erroneously assumed the use of nuclear weapons as conventional weapons, such as regular artillery shelling followed by infantry attacks. That is why, just 3 hours after the explosion, Soviet troops entered the contaminated area from two sides. Those who were closest to the epicenter died shortly after the end of the exercises, suffering from radiation sickness. A vast number of the remaining soldiers later died from cancer, and practically all of them suffered other negative health effects.
The Soviet army was completely unprepared for the later negative health effects that affected people participating in the exercises. The irradiated soldiers should have been immediately washed and decontaminated, but the communists did neither of these things. Moreover, the day before the explosion on the range, they were issued new uniforms which were later irradiated, and some soldiers wore them even years later.
Georgy Zhukov, Marshal of the Soviet Union P. Bernstein via Wikimedia Commons
Unfortunately, the nuclear bomb that was dropped on Totskoye had terrible effects on the civilian population as well. During the explosion, a strong wind blew and the radioactive cloud, carried at a height of even 15 km, managed to fly even thousands of kilometers away, all the way to Novosibirsk. Among the residents, the incidence of cancer increased, and the effects of the exercises at the Totskoye range were visible for years after their completion.
The Soviet Union not only did not intend to help these people, but also forbade every soldier from talking about the Totskoye exercises for 25 years. Those who survived and went to the doctor were turned away because their documents contained completely falsified data on their service history during the fateful day in September 1954.
The communist state completely ignored the people on whom it had committed such a heinous crime. As it turned out, this incompetence and disregard for human life contributed to the later collapse of the socialist system – but it took another 37 years of the Cold War between atomic powers for this to happen.
It is reported that around the year 1675, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV sent a letter to the Zaporozhian Cossacks, in which he issued them an ultimatum to cease their attacks on his lands and to unconditionally submit to his rule. The dating of the letter is uncertain, as is the fact of whether the content of the letter is authentic. The addressee is the Koshovyi Otaman Ivan Sirko, whose people indeed often raided the territories of the Ottoman Empire. Below is the Sultan’s letter:
“Sultan Mehmed IV to the Zaporozhian Cossacks
As the Sultan; son of Muhammad; brother of the sun and moon; grandson and viceroy of God; ruler of the kingdoms of Macedonia, Babylon, Jerusalem, Upper and Lower Egypt; emperor of emperors; sovereign of sovereigns; extraordinary knight, never defeated; steadfast guardian of the tomb of Jesus Christ; trustee chosen by God Himself; the hope and comfort of Muslims; confounder and great defender of Christians — I command you, the Zaporogian Cossacks, to submit to me voluntarily and without any resistance, and to desist from troubling me with your attacks.”
The Cossacks decided not to take the received letter seriously and prepared a response, in which they comically parodied the lofty style in which the Sultan’s letter was written:
“Zaporozhian Cossacks to the Turkish Sultan
O sultan, Turkish devil and damned devil’s kith and kin, secretary to Lucifer himself, Greetings! What the devil kind of knight are you, that can’t slay a hedgehog with your naked arse? The devil excretes, and your army eats. You will not, you son of a bitch, make subjects of Christian sons; we’ve no fear of your army, by land and by sea we will battle with thee, fuck your mother.
You Babylonian scullion, Macedonian wheelwright, brewer of Jerusalem, goat-fucker of Alexandria, swineherd of Greater and Lesser Egypt, pig of Armenia, Podolian thief, catamite of Tartary, hangman of Kamyanets, and fool of all the world and underworld, an idiot before God, grandson of the Serpent, and the crick in our dick. Pig’s snout, mare’s arse, slaughterhouse cur, unchristened brow, screw your own mother!
So the Zaporozhians declare, you lowlife. You won’t even be herding pigs for the Christians. Now we’ll conclude, for we don’t know the date and don’t own a calendar; the moon’s in the sky, the year with the Lord, the day’s the same over here as it is over there; for this kiss our arse!
Koshovyi Otaman Ivan Sirko, with the whole Zaporozhian Host.”
Translation: Wikipedia
🙂 The reply is still hilarious. In 1880 the painter Ilya Repin became interested in the entire history of the letter and painted the picture “The Cossacks write a letter to the Sultan,” which is shown below.
