1.
Etching
–
Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types of material, as a method of printmaking, it is, along with engraving, the most important technique for old master prints, and remains in wide use today. In a number of variants such as microfabrication etching and photochemical milling it is a crucial technique in much modern technology. In traditional pure etching, a plate is covered with a waxy ground which is resistant to acid. The artist then scratches off the ground with an etching needle where he or she wants a line to appear in the finished piece. The échoppe, a tool with an oval section, is also used for swelling lines. The plate is dipped in a bath of acid, technically called the mordant or etchant. The acid bites into the metal where it is exposed, leaving behind lines sunk into the plate, the remaining ground is then cleaned off the plate. The plate is inked all over, and then the ink wiped off the surface, the plate is then put through a high-pressure printing press together with a sheet of paper. The paper picks up the ink from the lines, making a print. The process can be repeated many times, typically several hundred impressions could be printed before the shows much sign of wear. The work on the plate can also be added to by repeating the whole process, Etching has often been combined with other intaglio techniques such as engraving or aquatint. The process as applied to printmaking is believed to have been invented by Daniel Hopfer of Augsburg, Hopfer was a craftsman who decorated armour in this way, and applied the method to printmaking, using iron plates. Apart from his prints, there are two examples of his work on armour, a shield from 1536 now in the Real Armeria of Madrid. The switch to copper plates was made in Italy. On the other hand, the handling of the ground and acid need skill and experience, prior to 1100 AD, the New World Hohokam independently utilized the technique of acid etching in marine shell designs. Jacques Callot from Nancy in Lorraine made important technical advances in etching technique and he developed the échoppe, a type of etching-needle with a slanting oval section at the end, which enabled etchers to create a swelling line, as engravers were able to do. Callot also appears to have responsible for an improved, harder, recipe for the etching ground
Etching
–
The Soldier and his Wife. Etching by
Daniel Hopfer, who is believed to have been the first to apply the technique to printmaking
Etching
–
Portrait of
Luca Giordano, 18th century
Etching
–
Rembrandt,
The Virgin and Child with a Cat, 1654. Original copper etching plate above, example of the print below, with composition reversed.
Etching
–
Christ Preaching, known as The
Hundred Guilder Print; etching c1648 by
Rembrandt.
2.
Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg
–
Pavlovsk is a municipal town in Pushkinsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located 30 kilometers south from St. Petersburg proper and about 4 kilometers southeast from Pushkin. The town developed around the Pavlovsk Palace, a residence of the Russian imperial family. Between 1918 and 1944, its name was Slutsk, after the revolutionary Vera Slutskaya. Pavlovsk is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg, a wooden fortress was built by Russians on the place of Pavlovsk and was known from at least 13th century as part of an Administrative division of Novgorod Land. The fortress and the region were later captured by the Swedes. On 13 August 1702, the Russian army led by Peter the Great and Fyodor Apraksin met Swedes at the Izhora River, for several days, the Swedish Army was reinforcing their positions but were expelled upon a surprise frontal attack. Paul I, a fan of military, had long dreamed of building a stone fortress on the ruins of the Swedish forts. After he became an emperor, in 1796, he hired the Italian architect Vincenzo Brenna, by 1798 Brenna raised a Gothic folly, Bip fortress, which fascinated Paul so much that he listed it on the Army register of real fortresses. After the death of Catherine, Paul and Brenna expanded the Pavlovsk estate with real military barracks, officers quarters, Catherine the Great liked the nature in Pavlovsk area and frequently visited it for hunting trips. In December 1777, she assigned to her son, Paul I,362 desyatinas of land along the Slavyanka River, together with forests, arable land and two small villages with peasants. This was a present to Paul and his wife Maria Feodorovna on the occasion of the birth of their first son and this date is considered the founding date of the Pavlovskoye village. Catherine commissioned the Scottish architect Charles Cameron, who had previously done work for her in the nearby Tsarskoye Selo, to design a palace. Between 1782 and 1786 Cameron built the palace core that survives to date, the Temple of Friendship, Private Gardens, Aviary, Apollo Colonnade. He also planned the landscape including the huge English park with numerous temples, colonnades, bridges. The Temple of Friendship was the first building in Pavlovsk, followed by the main palace, the palace could have belonged to anyone. Not to the tsar of Russia in waiting, constrained financially, Paul and Maria closely watched Camerons progress and regularly curbed his far-reaching, expensive plans. Between 1786 and 1789 Camerons duties in Pavlovsk passed to Brenna, Paul personally hired Brenna, then employed by Stanisław Kostka Potocki, in 1782, and used him in 1783–1785 to visualize his architectural fantasies. Brenna left Camerons palace core intact, extending it with wings, although he remodeled the interiors
Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg
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Entrance to the park with pavilion "Three Graces"
Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg
–
Flag of Pavlovsk
Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg
–
Bip fortress in the early 19th century
Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg
–
View of the palace and park in 1808
3.
Russian Empire
–
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until it was overthrown by the short-lived February Revolution in 1917. One of the largest empires in history, stretching over three continents, the Russian Empire was surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires. The rise of the Russian Empire happened in association with the decline of neighboring powers, the Swedish Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Persia. It played a role in 1812–14 in defeating Napoleons ambitions to control Europe. The House of Romanov ruled the Russian Empire from 1721 until 1762, and its German-descended cadet branch, with 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third-largest population in the world at the time, after Qing China and India. Like all empires, it included a large disparity in terms of economics, ethnicity, there were numerous dissident elements, who launched numerous rebellions and assassination attempts, they were closely watched by the secret police, with thousands exiled to Siberia. Economically, the empire had an agricultural base, with low productivity on large estates worked by serfs. The economy slowly industrialized with the help of foreign investments in railways, the land was ruled by a nobility from the 10th through the 17th centuries, and subsequently by an emperor. Tsar Ivan III laid the groundwork for the empire that later emerged and he tripled the territory of his state, ended the dominance of the Golden Horde, renovated the Moscow Kremlin, and laid the foundations of the Russian state. Tsar Peter the Great fought numerous wars and expanded an already huge empire into a major European power, Catherine the Great presided over a golden age. She expanded the state by conquest, colonization and diplomacy, continuing Peter the Greats policy of modernisation along West European lines, Tsar Alexander II promoted numerous reforms, most dramatically the emancipation of all 23 million serfs in 1861. His policy in Eastern Europe involved protecting the Orthodox Christians under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and that connection by 1914 led to Russias entry into the First World War on the side of France, Britain, and Serbia, against the German, Austrian and Ottoman empires. The Russian Empire functioned as a monarchy until the Revolution of 1905. The empire collapsed during the February Revolution of 1917, largely as a result of failures in its participation in the First World War. Perhaps the latter was done to make Europe recognize Russia as more of a European country, Poland was divided in the 1790-1815 era, with much of the land and population going to Russia. Most of the 19th century growth came from adding territory in Asia, Peter I the Great introduced autocracy in Russia and played a major role in introducing his country to the European state system. However, this vast land had a population of 14 million, grain yields trailed behind those of agriculture in the West, compelling nearly the entire population to farm. Only a small percentage lived in towns, the class of kholops, close to the one of slavery, remained a major institution in Russia until 1723, when Peter I converted household kholops into house serfs, thus including them in poll taxation
Russian Empire
–
Peter the Great officially renamed the Tsardom of Russia the Russian Empire in 1721, and himself its first emperor. He instituted the
sweeping reforms and oversaw the transformation of Russia into a major European power.
Russian Empire
–
Flag
Russian Empire
–
Empress
Catherine the Great, who reigned from 1762 to 1796, continued the empire's expansion and modernization. Considering herself an
enlightened absolutist, she played a key role in the
Russian Enlightenment.
Russian Empire
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Catherine II Sestroretsk Rouble (1771) is made of solid copper measuring 77 millimetres (3 3 ⁄ 100 in) (diameter), 26 millimetres (1 1 ⁄ 50 in) (thickness), and weighs 1.022 kg (2.25 lb). It is the largest copper coin ever issued.
4.
Dresden
–
Dresden is the capital city and, after Leipzig, the second-largest city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the border with the Czech Republic, Dresden has a long history as the capital and royal residence for the Electors and Kings of Saxony, who for centuries furnished the city with cultural and artistic splendour. The city was known as the Jewel Box, because of its baroque, the controversial American and British bombing of Dresden in World War II towards the end of the war killed approximately 25,000, many of whom were civilians, and destroyed the entire city centre. After the war restoration work has helped to reconstruct parts of the inner city, including the Katholische Hofkirche, the Zwinger. Since German reunification in 1990 Dresden is again a cultural, educational and political centre of Germany, the Dresden University of Technology is one of the 10 largest universities in Germany and part of the German Universities Excellence Initiative. The economy of Dresden and its agglomeration is one of the most dynamic in Germany and it is dominated by high-tech branches, often called as “Silicon Saxony”. The city is one of the most visited in Germany with 4,3 million overnight stays per year. The royal buildings are among the most impressive buildings in Europe, main sights are also the nearby National Park of Saxon Switzerland, the Ore Mountains and the countryside around Elbe Valley and Moritzburg Castle. The most prominent building in the city of Dresden is the Frauenkirche, built in the 18th century, the church was destroyed during World War II. The remaining ruins were left for 50 years as a war memorial, the church was rebuilt from 1994 to 2005. Although Dresden is a relatively recent city of Germanic origin followed by settlement of Slavic people, Dresdens founding and early growth is associated with the eastward expansion of Germanic peoples, mining in the nearby Ore Mountains, and the establishment of the Margraviate of Meissen. Its name etymologically derives from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the forest, Dresden later evolved into the capital of Saxony. Around the late 12th century, a Slavic settlement called Drežďany had developed on the southern bank, another settlement existed on the northern bank, but its Slavic name is unknown. It was known as Antiqua Dresdin by 1350, and later as Altendresden, dietrich, Margrave of Meissen, chose Dresden as his interim residence in 1206, as documented in a record calling the place Civitas Dresdene. After 1270, Dresden became the capital of the margraviate and it was given to Friedrich Clem after death of Henry the Illustrious in 1288. It was taken by the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1316 and was restored to the Wettin dynasty after the death of Valdemar the Great in 1319, from 1485, it was the seat of the dukes of Saxony, and from 1547 the electors as well. The Elector and ruler of Saxony Frederick Augustus I became King Augustus II the Strong of Poland in personal union and he gathered many of the best musicians, architects and painters from all over Europe to the newly named Royal-Polish Residential City of Dresden. His reign marked the beginning of Dresdens emergence as a leading European city for technology, during the reign of Kings Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III of Poland the Zwinger Royal Palace, the Hofkirche and the Frauenkirche were built
Dresden
–
Clockwise: Dresden at night,
Dresden Frauenkirche,
Schloss Pillnitz,
Dresden Castle and
Zwinger.
Dresden
–
The
Fürstenzug —the Saxon sovereigns depicted in
Meissen porcelain
Dresden
–
Dresden in 1521
Dresden
–
Image of Dresden during the 1890s, before extensive World War II destruction. Landmarks include
Dresden Frauenkirche,
Augustus Bridge, and
Katholische Hofkirche.
5.
Prussia
–
Prussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg, and centred on the region of Prussia. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organised, Prussia, with its capital in Königsberg and from 1701 in Berlin, shaped the history of Germany. In 1871, German states united to create the German Empire under Prussian leadership, in November 1918, the monarchies were abolished and the nobility lost its political power during the German Revolution of 1918–19. The Kingdom of Prussia was thus abolished in favour of a republic—the Free State of Prussia, from 1933, Prussia lost its independence as a result of the Prussian coup, when the Nazi regime was successfully establishing its Gleichschaltung laws in pursuit of a unitary state. Prussia existed de jure until its liquidation by the Allied Control Council Enactment No.46 of 25 February 1947. The name Prussia derives from the Old Prussians, in the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights—an organized Catholic medieval military order of German crusaders—conquered the lands inhabited by them. In 1308, the Teutonic Knights conquered the region of Pomerelia with Gdańsk and their monastic state was mostly Germanised through immigration from central and western Germany and in the south, it was Polonised by settlers from Masovia. The Second Peace of Thorn split Prussia into the western Royal Prussia, a province of Poland, and the part, from 1525 called the Duchy of Prussia. The union of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 led to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, Prussia entered the ranks of the great powers shortly after becoming a kingdom, and exercised most influence in the 18th and 19th centuries. During the 18th century it had a say in many international affairs under the reign of Frederick the Great. During the 19th century, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck united the German principalities into a Lesser Germany which excluded the Austrian Empire. At the Congress of Vienna, which redrew the map of Europe following Napoleons defeat, Prussia acquired a section of north western Germany. The country then grew rapidly in influence economically and politically, and became the core of the North German Confederation in 1867, and then of the German Empire in 1871. The Kingdom of Prussia was now so large and so dominant in the new Germany that Junkers and other Prussian élites identified more and more as Germans and less as Prussians. In the Weimar Republic, the state of Prussia lost nearly all of its legal and political importance following the 1932 coup led by Franz von Papen. East Prussia lost all of its German population after 1945, as Poland, the main coat of arms of Prussia, as well as the flag of Prussia, depicted a black eagle on a white background. The black and white colours were already used by the Teutonic Knights. The Teutonic Order wore a white coat embroidered with a cross with gold insert
Prussia
–
... during the
Renaissance period
Prussia
–
Flag (1892–1918)
Prussia
–
... according to the design of 1702
Prussia
–
Prussian King's Crown (
Hohenzollern Castle Collection)
6.
Imperial Academy of Arts
–
The Russian Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov under the name Academy of the Three Noblest Arts. Catherine the Great renamed it the Imperial Academy of Arts and commissioned a new building, the academy promoted the neoclassical style and technique, and sent its promising students to European capitals for further study. Training at the academy was virtually required for artists to make successful careers, formally abolished in 1918 after the Russian Revolution, the academy was renamed several times. It established free tuition, students from across the country competed fiercely for its few places annually, in 1947 the national institution was moved to Moscow, and much of its art collection was moved to the Hermitage. The building in Leningrad was devoted to the Ilya Repin Leningrad Institute for Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, since 1991 it has been called the St. Petersburg Institute for Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. The academy was located in the Shuvalov Palace on Sadovaya Street, in 1764, Catherine the Great renamed it the Imperial Academy of Arts and commissioned its first rector, Alexander Kokorinov, to design a new building. It took 25 years to complete the Neoclassical edifice, which opened in 1789, konstantin Thon was responsible for the sumptuous decoration of the interiors. He also designed a quayside in front of the building, with stairs down to the Neva River, Ivan Betskoy reorganized the academy into a de facto government department, it supervised matters concerning art throughout the country, distributing orders and awarding ranks to artists. The academy vigorously promoted the principles of Neoclassicism by sending the most notable Russian painters abroad, in order to learn the ancient and Renaissance styles of Italy and it also had its own sizable collection of choice artworks intended for study and copying. The adherents of this movement became known as peredvizhniki, led by Ivan Kramskoi, they publicly broke with the Academy and organized their own exhibitions, which traveled from town to town across Russia. Ilya Repin, Mikhail Vrubel and some other painters still regarded the academys training as indispensable for the development of professional and technical skills. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Imperial Academy passed through a series of transformations, after the Academys move to Moscow that year, the building in what was then called Leningrad was renamed Ilya Repin Leningrad Institute for Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. The national academy has stayed in Moscow, in 1991 it was renamed the Russian Academy of Arts. The old academys art collection, which included works by Poussin, David. During the Soviet era, academies were free of tuition fees as they were financed by the government, many would-be students would apply to the Academy for as many as six or seven years in a row without success. With just twenty places available and thousands of applicants, the competition was brutal, well-known graduates of Ilya Repin Leningrad Institute for Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in 1930–1950s include, The Russian Academy of Arts has been headquartered in Moscow since 1947. Its current president is Zurab Tsereteli and its vice-president is Tair Salakhov and it is also called the St. Petersburg State Academic Institute of Fine Arts, Sculpture and Architecture. - Saint Petersburg, NP-Print Edition,2007, the Leningrad School Russian Academy of Arts The St. Petersburg State Academic Institute of Fine Arts Sergei V. Ivanov
Imperial Academy of Arts
–
The main building on the Academy Quay
Imperial Academy of Arts
–
The Inauguration of the Academy of Arts, a painting by
Valery Jacobi.
Imperial Academy of Arts
–
G. K. Mikhailov, Second Antique Gallery at the Academy of Arts, 1836.
Imperial Academy of Arts
–
Maksim Vorobyov,
Egyptian sphinxes lining Academy Quay, 1835
7.
Military art
–
The genre of military art is characterized by its subject matter rather than by any specific style or material used. The battle scene is one of the oldest types of art in developed civilizations, as rulers have always been keen to celebrate their victories, the depiction of other aspects of warfare, especially the suffering of casualties and civilians, has taken much longer to develop. The term war art is used, mostly in relation to 20th century military art made during wartime. Art depicting military themes has existed throughout history, the Battlefield Palette, a cosmetic palette from the Protodynastic Period of Egypt is incomplete, but shows prisoners being led away, and wild animals feasting on the dead. The Stele of the Vultures, about 2,500 BC, is one of a number of Mesopotamian victory stelae. Also around 2,500 BC, the earliest known depiction of a city being besieged is found in the tomb of Inti, an official from the 21st nome of Upper Egypt, the scene shows Egyptian soldiers scaling the walls of a near eastern fortress on ladders. Although the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC appears to have been inconclusive, surviving Assyrian art mainly consists of large stone reliefs showing detailed scenes of either military campaigns or hunting. The ancient Greek Parthenon Marbles show lengthy parades of the volunteer cavalry force. In Han dynasty China, a stone relief of c. 150-170 AD from the Wu family shrines shows a battle between forces in the Campaign against Dong Zhuo. The Alexander Mosaic is a large and dramatic battle scene showing Alexander the Great defeating Darius III of Persia, it is a floor mosaic excavated from Pompeii, such scenes had a great influence on Renaissance battle scenes. By the Late Roman Empire the reverse of coins often showed soldiers and carried an inscription praising our boys. Soldier saints, shown in military dress, were extremely popular, some illuminated manuscripts illustrated the many battles in the Old Testament. The Siege of the Castle of Love, often found on Gothic ivory mirror-cases, showed knights attacking a castle defended by ladies, all of these depicted frankly minor actions where Florence had defeated neighbouring cities, but important battles from distant history were equally popular. The Battle of the Milvian Bridge by Giulio Romano brought a huge and it was the most detailed and panoramic battle picture of its day, and its aerial viewpoint was to be very widely followed over the next centuries, though rarely to such dramatic effect. Vroom had also worked for English patrons, designing a set of tapestries of the defeat of the Spanish Armada which was destroyed when the Houses of Parliament burnt down in 1834. The paintings of Salvator Rosa, essentially landscapes, often showed groups variously described as bandits or soldiers lurking in the countryside of Southern Italy. The Surrender of Breda by Velázquez shows a scene as the two sides meet peacefully to surrender the town, a theme more often copied in naval painting than land-based military art
Military art
–
The Surrender of Breda by
Diego Velázquez (1634-35) shows a crowded scene as the two sides meet peacefully to surrender the town.
Military art
–
The
Battle of Poitiers in 1356, in a manuscript of
Froissart's Chronicles of c. 1410
Military art
–
The Roman
Alexander Mosaic showing
Alexander the Great (left) defeating
Darius III of Persia; a floor mosaic excavated from
Pompeii, c. 100BC
Military art
–
A small segment of the 70 metres (230 ft) long
Bayeux Tapestry.
8.
Alexander Sauerweid
–
Alexander Sauerweid was a Baltic German painter who taught battle painting at the Russian Imperial Academy of Arts. In 1795, when Kurland was annexed by Russia, his family moved to Germany where he received his training at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts from 1806 to 1812. As a young man, he enjoyed popularity and produced a series of horse portraits. He later went to Paris, travelling most of the way on foot for lack of funds, then to London, in 1814, Czar Alexander I invited him to Saint Petersburg to paint official portraits of Russian troops and their uniforms. In 1825, he became the first Painter of the General Staff, in 1827, he was named an honorary member of the Imperial Academy and soon became head of the battle painting class. Later he was elevated to full Professor, under Czar Nicholas I, he was Art Instructor for the Grand Dukes Konstantin, Nicholas and Michael. Most of his paintings were displayed in the Imperial Palaces, rather than in exhibitions and his sense of perspective has been criticized, but his horses are considered to be particularly well done. In addition to oil paintings, he left behind many watercolors and his son Nikolay also became a painter of military scenes. Thomas Hemmann, Der Krieg in Sachsen 1809 dargestellt von Geißler und Sauerweid
Alexander Sauerweid
–
Alexander Sauerweid, by
Bogdan Willewalde (early 1840s)
Alexander Sauerweid
–
The
Siege of Varna (1836)
9.
Karl Bryullov
–
Karl Pavlovich Bryullov, also transliterated Briullov or Briuloff and referred to by his friends as The Great Karl, was a Russian painter. He is regarded as a key figure in transition from the Russian neoclassicism to romanticism, Karl Bryullov was born on December, 12th,1799 in St. Petersburg, in a family of the academician, the woodcarver and engraver Pavel Ivanovich Briullo who was of Huguenot descent. He felt drawn to Italy from his early years, despite his education at the Imperial Academy of Arts, Bryullov never fully embraced the classical style taught by his mentors and promoted by his brother, Alexander Bryullov. His best-known work, The Last Day of Pompeii, is a vast composition compared by Pushkin and Gogol to the best works of Rubens and it created a sensation in Italy and established Bryullov as one of the finest European painters of his day. An anecdote concerning Bryullov appeared in Leo Tolstoys essay Why Do Men Stupefy Themselves. while he was working on the plafond of St Isaacs Cathedral, his health suddenly deteriorated. Following advice of his doctors, Bryullov left Russia for Madeira in 1849 and he died in the village of Manziana near Rome and is buried at the Cimitero Acattolico there. List of Russian artists Paintings by Bryullov Karl - high res Online gallery of Briullov paintings Brullovs paintings at the Russian Art Gallery Karl Brulloff
Karl Bryullov
–
Self-portrait (1848)
Karl Bryullov
–
A Dream of a Girl Before a Sunrise, 1830-1833,
Pushkin Museum
Karl Bryullov
–
Daughters of
Pacini, Giovannina and Amacilia, 1832,
Tretyakov Gallery
Karl Bryullov
–
The Last Day of Pompeii (1833)
10.
Academic art
–
Academic art, or Academicism, is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. In this context it is often called academism, academicism, Lart pompier, and eclecticism, in this medicean institution students learned the arti del disegno and heard lectures on anatomy and geometry. Another academy, the Accademia di San Luca, was founded about a later in Rome. The Accademia di San Luca served a function and was more concerned with art theory than the Florentine one. Accademia di San Luca later served as the model for the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture founded in France in 1648, and which later became the Académie des beaux-arts. The Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture was founded in an effort to distinguish artists who were practicing a liberal art from craftsmen. This emphasis on the component of artmaking had a considerable impact on the subjects. This battle of styles was a conflict over whether Peter Paul Rubens or Nicolas Poussin was a model to follow. Debates also occurred over whether it was better to learn art by looking at nature, academies using the French model formed throughout Europe, and imitated the teachings and styles of the French Académie. In England, this was the Royal Academy, one effect of the move to academies was to make training more difficult for women artists, who were excluded from most academies until the last half of the 19th century. This was partly because of concerns over the propriety of life classes with nude models, special arrangements were often made for female students until the 20th century. Since the onset of the debate, many artists worked between the two styles. In the 19th century, in the form of the debate, the attention. One artist after another was claimed by critics to have achieved the synthesis, among them Théodore Chassériau, Ary Scheffer, Francesco Hayez, Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps, and Thomas Couture. William-Adolphe Bouguereau, an academic artist, commented that the trick to being a good painter is seeing color. Another development during this period included adopting historical styles in order to show the era in history that the painting depicted, called historicism and this is best seen in the work of Baron Jan August Hendrik Leys, a later influence on James Tissot. Its also seen in the development of the Neo-Grec style, historicism is also meant to refer to the belief and practice associated with academic art that one should incorporate and conciliate the innovations of different traditions of art from the past. The art world also grew to give increasing focus on allegory in art, as artists attempted to synthesize these theories in practice, the attention on the artwork as an allegorical or figurative vehicle was emphasized
Academic art
–
Birth of Venus,
Alexandre Cabanel, 1863.
Academic art
–
Life class at the
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1826 by
Wilhelm Bendz.
Academic art
–
Students painting "from life" at the École. Photographed late 1800s.
Academic art
–
Demosthenes at the Seashore, a Royal Academy prize winning drawing, 1888.
11.
Bavaria
–
Bavaria is a free state and one of 16 federal states of Germany. Located in the German southeast with an area of 70,548 square kilometres and its territory comprises roughly a fifth of the total land area of Germany, and, with 12.9 million inhabitants, it is Germanys second most populous state. Munich, Bavarias capital and largest city, is the third largest city in Germany, the Duchy of Bavaria dates back to the year 555. In the 17th century CE, the Duke of Bavaria became a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Bavaria existed from 1806 to 1918, when Bavaria became a republic. In 1946, the Free State of Bavaria re-organised itself on democratic lines after the Second World War, Bavaria has a unique culture, largely because of the states Catholic majority and conservative traditions. Bavarians have traditionally been proud of their culture, which includes such as Oktoberfest. The state also has the second largest economy among the German states by GDP figures, modern Bavaria also includes parts of the historical regions of Franconia, Upper Palatinate and Swabia. The Bavarians emerged in a north of the Alps, previously inhabited by Celts. The Bavarians spoke Old High German but, unlike other Germanic groups, rather, they seem to have coalesced out of other groups left behind by Roman withdrawal late in the 5th century. These peoples may have included the Celtic Boii, some remaining Romans, Marcomanni, Allemanni, Quadi, Thuringians, Goths, Scirians, Rugians, the name Bavarian means Men of Baia which may indicate Bohemia, the homeland of the Celtic Boii and later of the Marcomanni. They first appear in written sources circa 520, a 17th century Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz, citing Cyriacus Spangenberg, claimed that the diocese was named after an ancient Bohemian king, Boiia, in the 14th century BCE. From about 554 to 788, the house of Agilolfing ruled the Duchy of Bavaria and their daughter, Theodelinde, became Queen of the Lombards in northern Italy and Garibald was forced to flee to her when he fell out with his Frankish overlords. Garibalds successor, Tassilo I, tried unsuccessfully to hold the frontier against the expansion of Slavs. Tassilos son Garibald II seems to have achieved a balance of power between 610 and 616, after Garibald II little is known of the Bavarians until Duke Theodo I, whose reign may have begun as early as 680. From 696 onwards he invited churchmen from the west to organize churches and his son, Theudebert, led a decisive Bavarian campaign to intervene in a succession dispute in the Lombard Kingdom in 714, and married his sister Guntrud to the Lombard King Liutprand. At Theodos death the duchy was divided among his sons, at Hugberts death the duchy passed to a distant relative named Odilo, from neighbouring Alemannia. He was defeated near Augsburg in 743 but continued to rule until his death in 748, saint Boniface completed the peoples conversion to Christianity in the early 8th century. Bavaria was in ways affected by the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century
Bavaria
–
Prehistoric Heunischenburg, in the vicinity of
Kronach
Bavaria
–
Flag
Bavaria
–
Kingdom of Bavaria 900
Bavaria
–
Bavarian stamps during the German empire period
12.
Russian Grand Duke
–
This is a list of those members of the Russian Imperial Family who bore the title Velikiy Knjaz. This courtesy title was borne by the sons and male-line grandsons of the Emperors of Russia and they were not sovereigns, but members and dynasts of the House of the reigning Emperor. For those Grand Dukes who were rulers of Russia, see List of Russian rulers, the title Grand Prince is the English translation of the Russian Великий князь. The Slavic knyaz and the Baltic kunigaitis is a cognate of King, the title Grand Prince originated from 9th century when rulers of Kievan Rus were so styled. In later medieval Russian states it already was used simultaneously by several rulers in the more expanded Rurikid dynasty, for those Grand Dukes who were rulers of Russia, see List of Russian rulers. Until the 19th century, the Russian Imperial House was usually in a situation, having often no more than a couple of male dynasts. The number to use the title was not abundant. Empress Elisabeth of Russia, after all male-line descent had been exhausted, made her sisters son, the future Peter III of Russia a dynast, after the births of the numerous sons of Nicholas I of Russia, the number of Grand Dukes increased into higher orders of magnitude. This afforded Russia a respite from earlier fragility that had plagued Russian succession, Alexander III formalized the use of titles in the Imperial House in 1886 by such amendment to the succession laws. One male infant only 9 days old at the time of Alexanders edict thus lost the title and those Russian dynasts who genealogically were distant from Emperors were entitled to titulary Prince of Russia. Ioann Konstantinovich of Russia was apparently the only who lost the ducal title accorded by convention at birth. The numbers began to decrease for other reasons too, in the last three decades before the revolution, only a couple of boys were born who were entitled to grand ducal title. After the revolution, particularly morganatic marriages axed numbers of dynasts to increasingly low numbers, Alexander IIIs edict has led to the situation where there is no longer any descendant to be uncontestedly entitled to grand ducal title. Great Prince or Grand Prince would be an accurate translation of this Russian title. In German, however, a Russian Grand Duke was known as a Großfürst, Grand Duke is the traditional translation of the title Velikiy Kniaz in languages which do not have different words for prince as a substantive title and prince as a courtesy title. English and French are such languages, a Grand Duke Leonid of Russia appears in the Lucky Luke comic book Le Grand Duc, by Morris and René Goscinny. A Grand Duke Alexei of Russia appears in the Sherlock Holmes short story The Adventure of the Seven Clocks, by Adrian Conan Doyle, the title of sovereign Grand Duke and it as translation of Velikiy Knjaz have clearly different meanings. In translations and such texts, Grand Duke of Russia may also refer to some or all of the medieval reigning grand princes of the Kievan Rus and its successor states
Russian Grand Duke
–
Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, future
Nicholas I of Russia.
Russian Grand Duke
–
Imperial Standard of the Grand Duke.
Russian Grand Duke
–
The
Grand Ducal Mausoleum in St. Petersburg
Russian Grand Duke
–
Peter Feodorovich
13.
Napoleon
–
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, Napoleon dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars. He won most of these wars and the vast majority of his battles, one of the greatest commanders in history, his wars and campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide. Napoleons political and cultural legacy has ensured his status as one of the most celebrated and he was born Napoleone di Buonaparte in Corsica to a relatively modest family from the minor nobility. When the Revolution broke out in 1789, Napoleon was serving as an officer in the French army. Seizing the new opportunities presented by the Revolution, he rose through the ranks of the military. The Directory eventually gave him command of the Army of Italy after he suppressed a revolt against the government from royalist insurgents, in 1798, he led a military expedition to Egypt that served as a springboard to political power. He engineered a coup in November 1799 and became First Consul of the Republic and his ambition and public approval inspired him to go further, and in 1804 he became the first Emperor of the French. Intractable differences with the British meant that the French were facing a Third Coalition by 1805, in 1806, the Fourth Coalition took up arms against him because Prussia became worried about growing French influence on the continent. Napoleon quickly defeated Prussia at the battles of Jena and Auerstedt, then marched the Grand Army deep into Eastern Europe, France then forced the defeated nations of the Fourth Coalition to sign the Treaties of Tilsit in July 1807, bringing an uneasy peace to the continent. Tilsit signified the high watermark of the French Empire, hoping to extend the Continental System and choke off British trade with the European mainland, Napoleon invaded Iberia and declared his brother Joseph the King of Spain in 1808. The Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support, the Peninsular War lasted six years, featured extensive guerrilla warfare, and ended in victory for the Allies. The Continental System caused recurring diplomatic conflicts between France and its client states, especially Russia, unwilling to bear the economic consequences of reduced trade, the Russians routinely violated the Continental System and enticed Napoleon into another war. The French launched an invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812. The resulting campaign witnessed the collapse of the Grand Army, the destruction of Russian cities, in 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in a Sixth Coalition against France. A lengthy military campaign culminated in a large Allied army defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, the Allies then invaded France and captured Paris in the spring of 1814, forcing Napoleon to abdicate in April. He was exiled to the island of Elba near Rome and the Bourbons were restored to power, however, Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France once again. The Allies responded by forming a Seventh Coalition, which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in June, the British exiled him to the remote island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died six years later at the age of 51
Napoleon
–
The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, by
Jacques-Louis David, 1812
Napoleon
–
Imperial coat of arms
Napoleon
–
Napoleon's father
Carlo Buonaparte was
Corsica 's representative to the court of
Louis XVI of France.
Napoleon
–
Napoleon Bonaparte, aged 23, Lieutenant-Colonel of a battalion of Corsican
Republican volunteers
14.
Munich
–
Munich is the capital and largest city of the German state of Bavaria, on the banks of River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg, the Munich Metropolitan Region is home to 5.8 million people. According to the Globalization and World Rankings Research Institute Munich is considered an alpha-world city, the name of the city is derived from the Old/Middle High German term Munichen, meaning by the monks. It derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who ran a monastery at the place that was later to become the Old Town of Munich, Munich was first mentioned in 1158. From 1255 the city was seat of the Bavarian Dukes, black and gold—the colours of the Holy Roman Empire—have been the citys official colours since the time of Ludwig the Bavarian, when it was an imperial residence. Following a final reunification of the Wittelsbachian Duchy of Bavaria, previously divided and sub-divided for more than 200 years, like wide parts of the Holy Roman Empire, the area recovered slowly economically. In 1918, during the German Revolution, the house of Wittelsbach, which governed Bavaria since 1180, was forced to abdicate in Munich. In the 1920s, Munich became home to political factions, among them the NSDAP. During World War II, Munich was heavily bombed and more than 50% of the entire city, the postwar period was characterised by American occupation until 1949 and a strong increase of population and economic power during the years of the Wirtschaftswunder after 1949. The city is home to corporations like BMW, Siemens, MAN, Linde, Allianz and MunichRE as well as many small. Munich is home to national and international authorities, major universities, major museums. Its numerous architectural attractions, international events, exhibitions and conferences. Munich is one of the most prosperous and fastest growing cities in Germany and it is a top-ranked destination for migration and expatriate location, despite being the municipality with the highest density of population in Germany. Munich nowadays hosts more than 530,000 people of foreign background, the year 1158 is assumed to be the foundation date, which is the earliest date the city is mentioned in a document. The document was signed in Augsburg, by that time the Guelph Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, had built a bridge over the river Isar next to a settlement of Benedictine monks—this was on the Old Salt Route and a toll bridge. In 1175, Munich was officially granted city status and received fortification, in 1180, with the trial of Henry the Lion, Otto I Wittelsbach became Duke of Bavaria and Munich was handed over to the Bishop of Freising. In 1240, Munich was transferred to Otto II Wittelsbach and in 1255, Duke Louis IV, a native of Munich, was elected German king in 1314 and crowned as Holy Roman Emperor in 1328. He strengthened the position by granting it the salt monopoly
Munich
–
From left to right: The
Munich Frauenkirche, the
Nymphenburg Palace, the
BMW Headquarters, the
New Town Hall, the
Munich Hofgarten and the
Allianz Arena.
Munich
–
Munich city
coat of arms
Munich
–
Banners with the colours of Munich (left) and Bavaria (right) with the
Frauenkirche in the background
Munich
–
Bombing damage to the Altstadt. Note the roofless and pockmarked Altes Rathaus looking up the Tal. The roofless Heilig-Geist-Kirche is on the right of the photo. Its spire, without the copper top, is behind the church. The Talbruck gate tower is missing completely.
15.
Peter von Hess
–
Peter Heinrich Lambert von Hess was a German painter, known for historic paintings, especially of the Napoleonic Wars and the Greek War of Independence. Peter von Hess initially received training from his father Carl Ernst Christopher Hess and he accompanied his younger brother Heinrich Maria to Munich in 1806, and enrolled at the Munich Academy at the age of sixteenth. He also trained under Wilhelm von Kobell, during the Napoleonic Wars, he was allowed to join the staff of General Wrede, who commanded the Bavarians in the military operations which led to the abdication of Napoleon. There he gained novel experiences of war and a taste for extensive travel, during this time, von Hess painted his first battle pieces. In 1818 he spent some time in Italy where he painted landscapes and various Italian scenes and travelled to Naples with Joseph Petzl and a group of other Bavarian artists. In 1833, at Ludwigs request, he accompanied Otto of Greece to the newly formed Kingdom of Greece, where at Athens he gathered materials for pictures of the war of liberation. The sketches which he made were placed, forty in number, in the Pinakothek, after being copied in wax on a large scale by Nilsen. King Othos entrance into Nauplia was the subject of a large and crowded canvas now in the Pinakothek, peter von Hess work has been evaluated positively for its execution but some have questioned its boldness and congeniality. He is buried in the Alter Südfriedhof in Munich and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Hess
Peter von Hess
–
Peter von Hess
Peter von Hess
–
Alexander Ypsilantis (1792–1828)
Peter von Hess
–
Andreas Vokos Miaoulis
Peter von Hess
–
Alexandros Mavrokordatos defends Missolonghi
16.
Horace Vernet
–
Émile Jean-Horace Vernet was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist Arab subjects. Vernet was born to Carle Vernet, another painter, who was himself a son of Claude Joseph Vernet. He was born in the Paris Louvre, while his parents were staying there during the French Revolution, Vernet quickly developed a disdain for the high-minded seriousness of academic French art influenced by Classicism, and decided to paint subjects taken mostly from contemporary culture. Therefore, he began depicting the French soldier in a familiar, vernacular manner rather than in an idealized. Some of his paintings that represent French soldiers in a direct, less idealizing style, include Dog of the Regiment, Trumpeters Horse. He gained recognition during the Bourbon Restoration for a series of paintings commissioned by the duc dOrleans. Critics marvelled at the speed with which he painted. Many of his paintings made during early phase of his career were noted for their historical accuracy as well as their charged landscapes. Examples of paintings in style include his Four Battles series, The Battle of Jemappes, The Battle of Montmirail, The Battle of Hanau. Over the course of his career, Horace Vernet was honoured with dozens of important commissions. King Louis-Philippe was one of his most prolific patrons and his depictions of Algerian battles, such as the Capture of the Smahla and the Capture of Constantine, were well-received, as they were vivid depictions of the French army in the heat of battle. After the fall of the July Monarchy during the Revolution of 1848 and he continued to paint representations of the heroic French army during the Second Empire and maintained his commitment to representing war in an accessible and realistic way. He accompanied the French Army during the Crimean War, producing paintings, including one of the Battle of the Alma. Vernet died in his hometown of Paris in 1863, in Arthur Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter Holmes claims to be related to Vernet, stating, My ancestors were country squires. Was the sister of Vernet, the French artist, without further clarifying whether this is Claude Joseph Vernet, Carle Vernet, or Horace Vernet. Harkett, Daniel and Katie Hornstein, eds, Horace Vernet and the Thresholds of Nineteenth-Century Visual Culture. Dartmouth College Press/University Press of New England Ruutz-Rees, Janet E. Horace Vernet, works by Horace Vernet at Open Library
Horace Vernet
–
Self-Portrait with Pipe (1835)
Horace Vernet
–
Street Fighting on Rue Soufflot, Paris, June 25, 1848
Horace Vernet
–
Horace Vernet
Horace Vernet
–
Italian Brigands Surprised by Papal Troops
17.
Napoleonic wars
–
The wars resulted from the unresolved disputes associated with the French Revolution and the Revolutionary Wars, which had raged on for years before concluding with the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. Napoleon became the First Consul of France in 1799, then Emperor five years later, inheriting the political and military struggles of the Revolution, he created a state with stable finances, a strong central bureaucracy, and a well-trained army. The British frequently financed the European coalitions intended to thwart French ambitions, by 1805, they had managed to convince the Austrians and the Russians to wage another war against France. At sea, the Royal Navy destroyed a combined Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar in October 1805, Prussian worries about increasing French power led to the formation of the Fourth Coalition in 1806. France then forced the defeated nations of the Fourth Coalition to sign the Treaties of Tilsit in July, although Tilsit signified the high watermark of the French Empire, it did not bring a lasting peace for Europe. Hoping to extend the Continental System and choke off British trade with the European mainland, Napoleon invaded Iberia, the Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support. The Peninsular War lasted six years, featured extensive guerrilla warfare, the Continental System caused recurring diplomatic conflicts between France and its client states, especially Russia. Unwilling to bear the consequences of reduced trade, the Russians routinely violated the Continental System. The French launched an invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812. The resulting campaign witnessed the collapse and retreat of the Grand Army along with the destruction of Russian lands. In 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in a Sixth Coalition against France, a lengthy military campaign culminated in a large Allied army defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813. The Allies then invaded France and captured Paris in the spring of 1814 and he was exiled to the island of Elba near Rome and the Bourbons were restored to power. However, Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France once again, the Allies responded by forming a Seventh Coalition, which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in June. The Congress of Vienna, which started in 1814 and concluded in 1815, established the new borders of Europe and laid out the terms, Napoleon seized power in 1799, creating a de facto military dictatorship. The Napoleonic Wars began with the War of the Third Coalition, Kagan argues that Britain was irritated in particular by Napoleons assertion of control over Switzerland. Furthermore, Britons felt insulted when Napoleon stated that their country deserved no voice in European affairs, for its part, Russia decided that the intervention in Switzerland indicated that Napoleon was not looking toward a peaceful resolution of his differences with the other European powers. The British quickly enforced a blockade of France to starve it of resources. Napoleon responded with economic embargoes against Britain, and sought to eliminate Britains Continental allies to break the coalitions arrayed against him, the so-called Continental System formed a league of armed neutrality to disrupt the blockade and enforce free trade with France
Napoleonic wars
–
Top:
Battle of Austerlitz Bottom:
Battle of Waterloo
Napoleonic wars
–
"Maniac-raving's-or-Little Boney in a strong fit" by
James Gillray. His caricatures ridiculing Napoleon greatly annoyed the Frenchman, who wanted them suppressed by the British government.
Napoleonic wars
–
The British
HMS Sandwich fires to the French
flagship Bucentaure (completely dismasted) in the battle of
Trafalgar. The Bucentaure also fights
HMS Victory (behind her) and
HMS Temeraire (left side of the picture). In fact, HMS Sandwich never fought at Trafalgar and her depiction is a mistake by
Auguste Mayer, the painter.
Napoleonic wars
–
European strategic situation in 1805 before the War of the Third Coalition
18.
Battle of Kulm
–
The Battle of Kulm was a battle near the town Kulm and the village Přestanov in northern Bohemia. It was fought on 29–30 August 1813, during the War of the Sixth Coalition, following the French victory at Dresden, Vandamme pursued the retreating allies. Napoleon sent Marshals Gouvion Saint Cyr and Auguste Marmont to support Vandammes corps, with Vandamme in advance, Saint Cyrs and Marmonts corps brought up the rear. Vandamme caught up with Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoys forces near the town of Kulm, the situation was very dangerous for the allies, if Vandamme won the battle, the French would take the passes in the mountain, and the retreating Coalition army could be trapped by Napoleon. However, Ostermann-Tolstoy rallied all of his troops for a stiff defense, Vandammes situation changed the next day. A Prussian corps commanded by Friedrich von Kleist attacked Vandammes rear guard, Kleist then received help from a combined Russian and Austrian attack on his front, under the command of Generals Ostermann-Tolstoy and von Colloredo-Mansfeld. In an attempt to repulse attacks on his front and rear. The inexperienced French troops were unable to fend off the allies, the allies lost approximately 13,000 soldiers killed or wounded. In Vandammes corps there were two Polish regiments of Uhlans, part of cavalry divisions under the command of General Jean Corbineau and these regiments were used by Vandamme to defend against enemy cavalry charges. One regiment, commanded by Colonel Maximilian Fredro, was attacked after withdrawing to a defile, the other regiment of Uhlans, under the command of Count Tomasz Łubieński successfully withdrew. Thus, by winning this battle, Ostermann-Tolstoy and his troops succeeded in buying much needed time for the Coalition armies to regroup after the Battle of Dresden. According to a French anecdote, after the battle Vandamme was brought to and accused by Emperor Alexander I of Russia of being a brigand and plunderer. He retorted, I am neither a plunderer nor a brigand and this statement apparently hinted at the widespread belief that Alexander I was implicated in the murder of his father, Emperor Paul I. The battlefield is mostly built over, there is a large monument topped with a lion next door to the Hotel Napoleon. Jadwiga Nadzieja Lipsk 1813 historical battles serie published in Warsaw by Bellona 1998 ISBN 83-11-08826-8 pp. 57–59, Battle of Kulm Memoirs of the Duke Rovigo
Battle of Kulm
–
Battle of Kulm
Battle of Kulm
–
Charge of the cuirassiers at Kulm
19.
Battle of Leipzig
–
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813, at Leipzig, Saxony. Napoleons army also contained Polish and Italian troops, as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine, the battle was the culmination of the 1813 German campaign and involved nearly 600,000 soldiers, making it the largest battle in Europe prior to World War I. Being decisively defeated for the first time in battle, Napoleon was compelled to return to France while the Coalition hurried to keep their momentum, Napoleon was forced to abdicate and was exiled to Elba in May 1814. However, the Russian Tsar refused to even as the French occupied the city. With this string of defeats, the armies of France were in retreat on all fronts across Europe, anti-French forces joined Russia as its troops pursued the remnants of the virtually destroyed Grande Armée across central Europe. He sought to regain the offensive by re-establishing his hold in Germany, the victories led to a brief armistice. He then won a victory at the Battle of Dresden on 27 August. This policy led to victories at Großbeeren, Kulm, Katzbach, after these defeats, the French emperor could not easily follow up on his victory at Dresden. With the intention of knocking Prussia out of the war as soon as possible, Oudinot was defeated at the Battle of Großbeeren, just south of the city. With the intact Prussian force threatening from the north, Napoleon was compelled to withdraw westward and he deployed his army around the city, but concentrated his force from Taucha through Stötteritz, where he placed his command. The Prussians advanced from Wartenburg, the Austrians and Russians from Dresden, the coalition had some 380,000 troops along with 1,500 guns, consisting of 145,000 Russians,115,000 Austrians,90,000 Prussians, and 30,000 Swedes. This made Leipzig the largest battle of the Napoleonic wars, surpassing Borodino, Wagram, Jena and Auerstadt, Ulm, Napoleon conscripted these men to be readied for an even larger campaign against the newly formed Sixth Coalition and its forces stationed in Germany. While he won several battles, his army was being steadily depleted as Coalition commanders, closely following the Trachenberg Plan. The Swedes also had under their command a company of the British Rocket Brigade armed with Congreve rockets, despite being outnumbered, Napoleon planned to take the offensive between the Pleisse and the Parthe rivers. The position at Leipzig held several advantages for his army and his battle strategy, the rivers that converged there split the surrounding terrain into many separate sectors. The northern front was defended by Marshals Michel Ney and Auguste de Marmont, the artillery reserve and parks, ambulances, and baggage stood near Leipzig, which Napoleon made his supply base for the battle. The bridges on the Pleisse and White Elster rivers were defended by infantry, the main battery stood in reserve, and during battle was to be deployed on the Gallows Height. This battery was to be commanded by the artillery expert Antoine Drouot, the western flank of the French positions at Wachau and Liebertwolkwitz was defended by Prince Joseph Poniatowski and Marshal Pierre Augereau and his young French conscripts
Battle of Leipzig
–
Russian, Austrian, and Prussian troops in Leipzig. Painting by
Alexander Sauerweid
Battle of Leipzig
–
Richard Caton Woodville - Charge of
Polish chevau-legers at Leipzig (1813)
Battle of Leipzig
–
Napoleon and
Poniatowski at Leipzig, painted by
January Suchodolski
Battle of Leipzig
–
Alexander I, the
Emperor of Russia and the supreme commander of Coalition forces, (left); and
Schwarzenberg of
Austria, the field commander of Coalition forces, (right)
20.
Battle of Paris (1814)
–
The Battle of Paris was fought on March 30–31,1814 between the Sixth Coalition—consisting of Russia, Austria, and Prussia against the French Empire. After a day of fighting in the suburbs of Paris, the French surrendered on March 31, ending the War of the Sixth Coalition and forcing Emperor Napoleon to abdicate, Napoleon was retreating from his failed invasion of Russia in 1812. With the Russian armies following up victory, the Sixth Coalition was formed with Russia, Austria, Prussia, Great Britain, Sweden, Spain, after the battle, the Pro-French German Confederation of the Rhine collapsed, thereby losing Napoleons hold on Germany east of the Rhine. The Coalition forces, numbering more than 400,000 and divided into three groups, finally entered northeastern France in January 1814. Utilizing his advantages, Napoleon defeated the divided Coalition forces in detail, starting with the battles at Brienne and La Rothière and he then launched his brilliant six-day campaign against the huge Coalition army, under Blücher, threatening Paris to its northeast at the Aisne River. He successfully defeated and halted it, but could not seize the initiative back in their favor as Blüchers forces were still largely intact. The Austrian emperor Francis I and King Frederick William III of Prussia felt very demoralized upon hearing the setbacks brought about by Napoleons victories since the start of the campaign and they even considered ordering a general retreat. But the Tsar Alexander I was far more determined than ever to victoriously enter Paris whatever the cost, imposing his will upon Schwarzenberg and the wavering monarchs. He was successful in defeating this army, but it was not enough to halt it in time, after this the Coalition forces advanced yet again towards Paris. Until this battle it had been nearly 400 years since a foreign army had entered Paris, since the disaster in Russia and the start of the war, the French populace had been increasingly becoming war-weary. France had been exhausting itself at war for 25 years, and many of its men had died during the wars Napoleon had fought until then, the leaders of the Coalition decided that Paris, and not Napoleon himself, was now the main objective. The Tsar intended to ride out to meet the Prussian king and they met on a road leading directly to Paris and the Tsar proposed his intentions. He brought a map and spread it to the ground for all of them to see as they talked about the plan, the plan was for the entire main Coalition army to stop pursuing Napoleon and his army and instead march directly to Paris. The exception was Wintzingerodes 10, 000-strong cavalry detachment and eight horse batteries which were to follow, as was usual, the king agreed as did Schwarzenberg. The main Coalition army began its march towards Paris on 28 March, while the main Coalition army attacked Paris, Wintzingerodes unit hotly pursued Napoleon and his rag-tag army to the southeast, but was later beaten back by the latter. However, by the time the emperor knew of the subterfuge, he was too far away to the southeast of Paris. He would never reach the city in time, thus he also could not participate in the battle for the city. The Coalition army totaled about 150,000 troops, assisting the French were the incomplete trenches and other defenses in and around the city
Battle of Paris (1814)
–
Defense of
Clichy during the battle of Paris
Battle of Paris (1814)
–
Russian army enters Paris
21.
Horse Guards Regiment
–
The Horse Guards comprised several independent troops raised initially on the three different establishments. In the late 1660s, there were thus three troops in England, one in Ireland, and two in Scotland of which one was ceremonial for attendance of Lord High Commissioner, in 1707, there were four troops of Horse Guards, and two troops of Horse Grenadiers. From 1658 to 1788, the Horse Guards existed as independent troops and they were placed on the English establishment in 1661, with the founding of the modern Regular British Army. Originally, as befitted their role as bodyguards to the Sovereign and they, therefore, had no non-commissioned officers, their brigadiers being commissioned and ranking as lieutenants, their sub-brigadiers ranking with cornets in the rest of the army. Although this no longer obtains, the officers of their successor regiment. 1658-1788 1st Troop of Horse Guards,1746 absorbed 3rd Troop, The Horse Guards. 1788 absorbed 1st Troop, The Horse Grenadier Guards and was reorganised to form the 1st Regiment of Life Guards 1659, nov 1659 re-modelled as Moncks Life Guards 1660-1661 3rd Troop of Horse Guards. 1661-1670 3rd Troop of Horse Guards, 1670-1788 2nd Troop of Horse Guards. 1788 absorbed 4th Troop, The Horse Guards,1788 On June 8 it absorbs the 2nd Troop, The Horse Grenadier Guards and on June 25 it is reorganised, to form the 2nd Regiment of Life Guards. 1658-1670 2nd Troop of Horse Guards 1670-1746 3rd Troop of Horse Guards 1746 absorbed by 1st Troop, 1686-1689 4th Troop of Horse Guards. 1599 raised on 30 April in Holland as a troop of horse and redesignated in 1665 as Garde du Corps van Zijne Majesteit, 1689-1699 Placed on English establishment in 1689 and returned to Dutch service in 1699 upon conclusion of the Nine Years War and the Treaty of Ryswick. During this period the Dutch troop was ranked as the 4th Troop of Life Guards, in literature this troop is sometimes confused with the Dutch Regiment of Horse Guards, known as Portlands Horse after its commander William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland. 1705 The troop lost its Guards status, 1661-1709 Scots Troop of Horse Guards 1709-1746 4th Troop of Horse Guards 1746 absorbed by 2nd Troop, The Horse Guards. Raised on the Scottish Establishment for attendance on the Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland
Horse Guards Regiment
–
1st Troop of Horse Guards at the
Battle of Dettingen.
22.
Caucasus
–
The Caucasus /ˈkɔːkəsəs/ or Caucasia /kɔːˈkeɪʒə/ is a region at the border of Europe and Asia, situated between the Black and the Caspian seas. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, which contain Europes highest mountain, politically, the Caucasus region is separated between northern and southern parts. The southern parts consist of independent sovereign states, and the parts are under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. The region is known for its diversity, aside from Indo-European and Turkic languages, the Kartvelian, Northwest Caucasian. Pliny the Elders Natural History derives the name of the Caucasus from Scythian kroy-khasis, German linguist Paul Kretschmer notes that the Latvian word Kruvesis also means ice. According to German philologists Otto Schrader and Alfons A. Nehring, the South Caucasus region and southern Dagestan were the furthest points of Persian expansions, with areas to the north of Caucasus Mountains practically impregnable. The mythological mountain of Qaf, the worlds highest mountain that ancient lore shrouded in mystery, was said to be situated in this region, therefore, the Caucasus might be associated with the legendary mountain. The Ciscaucasus contains the majority of the Greater Caucasus Mountain range. It includes Southwestern Russia and northern parts of Georgia and Azerbaijan, the Transcaucasus is bordered on the north by Russia, on the west by the Black Sea and Turkey, on the east by the Caspian Sea, and on the south by Iran. It includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands, all of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are in South Caucasus. The main Greater Caucasus range is generally perceived to be the line between Asia and Europe. The highest peak in the Caucasus is Mount Elbrus in the western Ciscaucasus in Russia, the Caucasus is one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse regions on Earth. The nation states that comprise the Caucasus today are the post-Soviet states Georgia, Armenia, three territories in the region claim independence but are recognized as such by only a handful or by no independent states, Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are recognised by the majority of independent states as part of Georgia, the Russian divisions include Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, and the autonomous republics of Adygea, Karachay–Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Dagestan. The region has many different languages and language families, there are more than 50 ethnic groups living in the region. Russian is used as a common language, today the peoples of the Northern and Southern Caucasus tend to be either Eastern Orthodox Christians, Oriental Orthodox Christians, or Sunni Muslims. Shia Islam has had many adherents historically in Azerbaijan, located in the part of the region. Located on the peripheries of Turkey, Iran, and Russia, the region has been an arena for political, military, religious, throughout its history, the Caucasus was usually incorporated into the Iranian world
Caucasus
–
Caucasus from the sea by
Ivan Aivazovsky, 1899
Caucasus
–
Caucasus mountain range
Caucasus
–
View of the Caucasus Mountains in
Dagestan, Russia
Caucasus
–
Petroglyphs in
Gobustan,
Azerbaijan, dating back to 10,000 BC indicating a thriving culture. It is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
23.
Dagestan
–
The Republic of Dagestan, also spelled Daghestan, is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea. With a population of 2,910,249, Dagestan is very diverse and Russias most heterogeneous republic, with none of its several dozen ethnicities. Largest among these ethnicities are the Avar, Dargin, Kumyk, Lezgian, Laks, Azerbaijani, Tabasaran, ethnic Russians comprise about 3. 6% of Dagestans total population. Russian is the official language and the lingua franca among the ethnicities. Dagestan has been a scene of Islamic insurgency, occasional outbreaks of separatism, according to International Crisis Group, the militant Islamist organization Shariat Jamaat is responsible for much of the violence. The word Dagestan is of Turkish and Persian origin, dağ means mountain in Turkish and -stan is a Persian suffix meaning land. Some areas of Dagestan were known as Albania, Avaria, the name Dagestan referred to Dagestan Oblast during 1860 to 1920, corresponding to the southeastern part of the present-day Republic. It is the southernmost part of Russia, and is bordered on its side by the Caspian Sea. Major rivers include, Sulak River Samur River Terek River Vladas River Ccenter River Dagestan has about 405 kilometers of coast line on the Caspian Sea, most of the Republic is mountainous, with the Greater Caucasus Mountains covering the south. The highest point is the Bazardüzü/Bazardyuzyu peak at 4,470 meters on the border with Azerbaijan, the southernmost point of Russia is located about seven kilometers southwest of the peak. Other important mountains are Diklosmta, Gora Addala Shukgelmezr and Gora Dyultydag, Dagestan is rich in oil, natural gas, coal, and many other minerals. The climate is hot and dry in the summer but the winters are harsh in the mountain areas, Average January temperature, +2 °C Average July temperature, +26 °C Average annual precipitation,250 to 800 mm. Dagestan is administratively divided into forty-one districts and ten cities/towns. The districts are subdivided into nineteen urban-type settlements, and 363 rural okrugs. In the first few centuries AD, Caucasian Albania became a vassal, with the advent of the Sassanian Empire, it became a satrapy within the vast domains of the empire. In later antiquity, it was a few times fought over by the Roman Empire, over the centuries, to a relatively large extent, the peoples within the Dagestan territory converted to Christianity alongside Zoroastrianism. In the 5th century AD, the Samian peregrinations took place from Ukraine to this land, during the Sassanian era, southern Dagestan became a bastion of Iranian culture and civilisation, with its centre at Derbent, and a policy of Persianisation can be traced over many centuries. In 664, the Persians were succeeded in Derbent by the Arabs, by the 15th century, Albanian Christianity had died away, leaving a 10th-century church at Datuna as the sole monument to its existence
Dagestan
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View of a ruined fortress wall in
Gunib.
Dagestan
Dagestan
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Map of the Caucasian isthmus. Designed and drawn by J. Grassl, 1856
Dagestan
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In the old town of
Derbent, a
World Heritage Site
24.
November uprising
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The November Uprising, Polish–Russian War 1830–31, also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress Polands military academy revolted, led by lieutenant Piotr Wysocki and they were soon joined by large segments of societies of Lithuania, Belarus, and the Right-bank Ukraine. Despite local successes, the uprising was crushed by a numerically superior Imperial Russian Army under Ivan Paskevich. Tsar Nicholas I decreed that henceforth Poland was a part of Russia, with Warsaw little more than a military garrison. After the Partitions of Poland, Poland ceased to exist as an independent political entity at the end of 1795, however, the Napoleonic Wars and Polish participation in the wars against Russia and Austria resulted in the creation the Duchy of Warsaw in 1807. The Congress of Vienna brought that states existence to an end in 1815, and essentially solidified the long-term division of Poland among Russia, Prussia, United with Russia through a personal union with the Tsar as King of Poland, the province could elect its own parliament and government. The kingdom had its own courts, army and treasury, over time, however, the freedoms granted to the Kingdom were gradually taken back and the constitution was progressively ignored by the Russian authorities. Alexander I of Russia never formally crowned himself as King of Poland, instead, in 1815, he appointed Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich as de facto viceroy, disregarding the constitution. Soon after the Congress of Vienna resolutions were signed, Russia ceased to respect them, in 1819 Alexander I abandoned liberty of the press in Congress Kingdom and introduced censorship. As a result, after 1825 sessions of Polish Sejm were conducted in secret, Nicholas I of Russia formally crowned himself as King of Poland on 24 May 1829 in Warsaw. He abolished Polish social and patriotic organizations, the opposition of the Kaliszanie faction. Although married to a Pole, he was considered as an enemy of the Polish nation. Also, his command over the Polish Army led to conflicts within the officer corps. These frictions led to various conspiracies throughout the country, most notably within the army, the final spark that ignited Warsaw was a Russian plan to use the Polish Army to suppress Frances July Revolution and the Belgian Revolution, in clear violation of the Polish constitution. The rebels managed to enter the Belweder, but Grand Duke Constantine had escaped in womens clothing, the rebels then turned to the main city arsenal, capturing it after a brief struggle. The following day, armed Polish civilians forced the Russian troops to north of Warsaw. This incident is called the Warsaw Uprising or the November Night. Taken by surprise by the unfolding of events during the night of 29 November
November uprising
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Taking of the Warsaw Arsenal. Painting by
Marcin Zaleski.
November uprising
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Battle of Olszynka Grochowska
November uprising
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Emilia Plater leading
scythemen 1831
November uprising
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Seal of the Dictator of the uprising
25.
Hungarian revolution of 1848
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The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was one of the many European Revolutions of 1848 and closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. The revolution in the Kingdom of Hungary grew into a war for independence from the Austrian Empire, Czar Nicholas I answered, and sent a 200,000 men strong army with 80,000 auxiliary forces. Finally, the joint army of Russian and Austrian forces defeated the Hungarian forces, after the restoration of Habsburg power, Hungary was placed under brutal martial law. The anniversary of the Revolutions outbreak,15 March, is one of Hungarys three national holidays, the Kingdom of Hungary had always maintained a separate parliament, the Diet of Hungary, even after the Austrian Empire was created in 1804. The administration and government of the Kingdom of Hungary remained largely untouched by the government structure of the overarching Austrian Empire, Hungarys central government structures remained well separated from the imperial government. The country was governed by the Council of Lieutenancy of Hungary - located in Pozsony and later in Pest -, ignác Martinovics worked as a secret agent for the new Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold II, until 1792. In another of his works, Catechism of People and Citizens, he argued that citizens tend to oppose any repression and he also became a Freemason, and was in favour of the adoption of a federal republic in Hungary. As a member of the Hungarian Jacobins, he was considered a forerunner of revolutionary thought by some. He was in charge of stirring up a revolt against the nobility among the Hungarian serfs, for these subversive acts, Francis II, the Holy Roman Emperor, dismissed Martinovics and his boss, Ferenc Gotthardi, the former chief of the secret police. He was executed, together with six other prominent Jacobins, in May 1795, the Diet of Hungary had not convened since 1811. The frequent diets held in the part of the reign occupied themselves with little else but war subsidies. In the latter years of Francis I. the dark shadow of Metternichs policy of stability fell across the kingdom, but beneath the surface a strong popular current was beginning to run in a contrary direction. Hungarian society, not unaffected by western Liberalism, but without any help from abroad, was preparing for the future emancipation. In 1825 Emperor Francis II convened the Diet in response to growing concerns amongst the Hungarian nobility about taxes and this – and the reaction to the reforms of Joseph II – started what is known as the Reform Period. But the Nobles still retained their privileges of paying no taxes, the influential Hungarian politician Count István Széchenyi recognized the need to bring the country the advances of the more developed West European countries, such as England. It was an attack upon the constitution which, to use the words of István Széchenyi. In 1823, when the powers were considering joint action to suppress the revolution in Spain. The county assemblies instantly protested against this act, and Francis I was obliged, at the diet of 1823
Hungarian revolution of 1848
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Artist
Mihály Zichy 's painting of
Sándor Petőfi reciting the
National Poem to a crowd on March 15, 1848
Hungarian revolution of 1848
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The entrance room of the Pilvax coffee palace at
Pest in the 1840s
Hungarian revolution of 1848
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The recitation of the National Song at the National Museum
Hungarian revolution of 1848
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Members of the Batthyány government
26.
Crimean War
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The Crimean War was a military conflict fought from October 1853 to March 1856 in which the Russian Empire lost to an alliance of France, Britain, the Ottoman Empire, and Sardinia. The immediate cause involved the rights of Christian minorities in the Holy Land, the French promoted the rights of Roman Catholics, while Russia promoted those of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The longer-term causes involved the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the unwillingness of Britain and France to allow Russia to gain territory and power at Ottoman expense. While the churches eventually worked out their differences and came to an agreement, Nicholas I of Russia, Nicholas issued an ultimatum that the Orthodox subjects of the Empire be placed under his protection. Britain attempted to mediate and arranged a compromise that Nicholas agreed to, when the Ottomans demanded changes, Nicholas refused and prepared for war. Having obtained promises of support from France and Britain, the Ottomans declared war on Russia in October 1853. The war started in the Balkans, when Russian troops occupied the Danubian Principalities, until then under Ottoman suzerainty and now part of modern Romania, led by Omar Pasha, the Ottomans fought a strong defensive campaign and stopped the advance at Silistra. A separate action on the town of Kars in eastern Anatolia led to a siege. Fearing an Ottoman collapse, France and Britain rushed forces to Gallipoli and they then moved north to Varna in June, arriving just in time for the Russians to abandon Silistra. Aside from a skirmish at Köstence, there was little for the allies to do. Karl Marx quipped that there they are, the French doing nothing, after extended preparations, the forces landed on the peninsula in September 1854 and fought their way to a point south of Sevastopol after a series of successful battles. The Russians counterattacked on 25 October in what became the Battle of Balaclava and were repulsed, a second counterattack, ordered personally by Nicholas, was defeated by Omar Pasha. The front settled into a siege and led to conditions for troops on both sides. Smaller actions were carried out in the Baltic, the Caucasus, Sevastopol fell after eleven months, and neutral countries began to join the Allied cause. Isolated and facing a bleak prospect of invasion from the west if the war continued and this was welcomed by France and Britain, as their subjects were beginning to turn against their governments as the war dragged on. The war was ended by the Treaty of Paris, signed on 30 March 1856, Russia was forbidden from hosting warships in the Black Sea. The Ottoman vassal states of Wallachia and Moldavia became largely independent, Christians there were granted a degree of official equality, and the Orthodox Church regained control of the Christian churches in dispute. The Crimean War was one of the first conflicts to use technologies such as explosive naval shells, railways
Crimean War
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Detail of
Franz Roubaud 's
panoramic painting The
Siege of Sevastopol (1904)
Crimean War
Crimean War
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Russian siege of
Kars,
Russo-Turkish War of 1828–29
Crimean War
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Two French
Zouaves officers and one private
27.
Caucasian War
–
The Caucasian War of 1817–1864 was an invasion of the Caucasus by the Russian Empire which resulted in Russias annexation of the areas of the North Caucasus, and the Ethnic cleansing of Circassians. It consisted of a series of military actions waged by the Empire against the peoples of the Caucasus including the Adyghe, Abkhaz–Abaza, in Dagestan, resistance to the Russians was described as jihad. Russian control of the Georgian Military Highway in the center divided the Caucasian War into the Russo-Circassian War in the west, other territories of the Caucasus were incorporated into the Russian empire at various times in the 19th century as a result of Russian wars with Persia. The remaining part, western Georgia, was taken by the Russians from the Ottomans during the same period, the war took place during the administrations of three successive Russian Tsars, Alexander I, Nicholas I, and Alexander II. The leading Russian commanders included Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov in 1816–1827, Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov in 1844–1853, the writers Mikhail Lermontov and Leo Tolstoy, who gained much of his knowledge and experience of war for his book War and Peace from these encounters, took part in the hostilities. The Russian poet Alexander Pushkin referred to the war in his Byronic poem The Prisoner of the Caucasus, the Russian invasion encountered fierce resistance. The first period of the invasion ended coincidentally with the death of Alexander I and it achieved surprisingly little success, especially compared with the then recent Russian victory over the Great Army of Napoleon in 1812. Between 1825 and 1833, little activity took place in the Caucasus against the native North Caucasians as wars with Turkey. After considerable successes in wars, Russia resumed fighting in the Caucasus against the various rebelling native ethnic groups in the North Caucasus. Russian units again met resistance, notably led by Ghazi Mollah, Gamzat-bek and he led the mountaineers from 1834 until his capture by Dmitry Milyutin in 1859. In 1843, Shamil launched an offensive aimed at the Russian outposts in Avaria. On 28 August 1843,10,000 men converged, from three different directions, on a Russian column in Untsukul, killing 486 men. In the next four weeks, Shamil captured every Russian outpost in Avaria except one and he feigned an invasion north to capture a key chokepoint at the convergence of the Avar and Kazi-Kumukh rivers. In 1845, Shamils forces achieved their most dramatic success when they withstood a major Russian offensive led by Prince Vorontsov, during the Crimean War of 1853–1856, the Russians brokered a truce with Shamil, but hostilities resumed in 1855. Warfare in the Caucasus finally ended between 1856 and 1859, when a 250,000 strong army under General Baryatinsky broke the mountaineers resistance. The war in the Eastern part of the North Caucasus ended in 1859, the Russians captured Shamil, forced him to surrender, to swear allegiance to the Tsar, however, the war in the Western part of the North Caucasus resumed with the Circassians resuming the fight. A manifesto of Tsar Alexander II declared hostilities at an end on June 2,1864,1864. Among post-war events, a page in the history of the indigenous peoples of the North Caucasus, was Muhajirism
Caucasian War
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Franz Roubaud 's A Scene from the Caucasian War
Caucasian War
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Karte des Kaukasischen Isthmus. Entworfen und gezeichnet von J. Grassl, 1856.
Caucasian War
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Construction of the
Georgian Military Road through disputed territories was a key factor in the eventual Russian success
Caucasian War
–
Assault of Gimry, by
Franz Alekseyevich Roubaud
28.
Imam Shamil
–
Imam Shamil also spelled Shamyl, Schamil, Schamyl or Shameel was an Avar political and religious leader of the Muslim tribes of the Northern Caucasus. He was a leader of resistance in the Caucasian War and was the third Imam of the Caucasian Imamate. Imam Shamil was born in 1797, in the village of Gimry. He was originally named Ali, but following local tradition, his name was changed when he became ill and his father, Dengau, was a free landlord, and this position allowed Shamil and his close friend Ghazi Mollah to study many subjects including Arabic and logic. Shamil established himself as a well-respected and educated man of Quran, Shamil was born at a time when the Russian Empire was expanding into the territories of the Ottoman Empire and Persia. Following the Russian invasion, many Caucasian nations united in resistance to harsh Tsarist rule in what known as the Caucasian War. Some of the leaders of Caucasian resistance were Sheikh Mansur. Shamil was actually friends with the Mollah, and would become his disciple. Shamils favorite wife, Anna Ivanovna Ulykhanova, was an ethnic Armenian Christian from Mozdok who had been abducted as a teenager by Muslim rebels in the early 1840s. During her captivity, she converted to Islam and adopted the name Shuanet, remaining loyal to Shamil even after his capture, after Shamils death in 1871, she moved to the Ottoman Empire where she was assigned a pension from the sultan. In 1832, Ghazi Mollah died at the battle of Gimry, during this fight he was stabbed with a bayonet. After jumping from an elevated stoop clean over the heads of the line of soldiers about to fire on him. Landing behind them, whirling his sword in his hand he cut down three of them, but was bayoneted by the fourth, the steel plunging deep in his chest. He seized the bayonet, pulled it out of his own flesh, cut down the man and he went into hiding and both Russia and Murids assumed him dead. Once recovered, he emerged from hiding and rejoined the Murids, led by the second Imam and he would wage unremitting warfare on the Russians for the next quarter century and become of the legendary guerrilla commanders of the century. When Gamzat-bek was murdered by Hadji Murad in 1834, Shamil took his place as the leader of the Caucasian resistance. This epic siege lasted eighty days, finally resulting in a Russian victory, the Russians suffered about 3000 casualties taking the stronghold, while the rebels were slaughtered in extremely bitter fighting. Shamil and a party of his closest followers, including some family, managed to escape down the cliffs
Imam Shamil
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Imam Shamil
Imam Shamil
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Capture of Shamil, by
Theodor Horschelt
Imam Shamil
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Karte des Kaukasischen Isthmus. Entworfen und gezeichnet von J. Grassl, 1856.
Imam Shamil
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"Shamil's family". Left to right: Gazi Muhammad's confident, murid Hajio; Shamil's son Muhammad-Shafi; Shamil's sons-in-law: Abdurrahim and Abdurrahman" photo, Kaluga, 1860
29.
Battle of Gravelotte
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The Battle of Gravelotte on 18 August 1870 was the largest battle during the Franco-Prussian War, named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine between Metz and the former French–German frontier. The battlefield extended from the woods border the Moselle above Metz to Roncourt. Other villages which played an important part in the battle of Gravelotte were Saint Privat, Amanweiler or Amanvillers and Sainte-Marie-aux-Chênes, the combined German forces, under Field Marshal von Moltke, were the Prussian First and Second Armies of the North German Confederation. The French Army of the Rhine, commanded by Marshal Bazaine, dug in along high ground with their left flank at the town of Rozerieulles. On 18 August, the battle began when at 08,00 Moltke ordered the First, by 12,00, General Manstein opened up the battle before the village of Amanvillers with artillery from the Hessian 25th Infantry Division. But the French had spent the night and early morning digging trenches and rifle pits while placing their artillery, finally aware of the Prussian advance, the French opened up a massive return fire against the mass of advancing Germans. The battle at first appeared to favor the French with their superior Chassepot rifle, however, the Prussian artillery was superior with the all-steel Krupp breech-loading gun. At 15,00, the guns of the VII and VIII Corps opened fire to support the attack. But by 16,00, with the attack in danger of stalling, Steinmetz ordered the VII Corps forward, at 17,15, the Prussian 4th Guards Infantry Brigade joined the advance followed at 17,45 by the Prussian 1st Guards Infantry Brigade. All of the Prussian Guard attacks were pinned down by lethal French gunfire from the rifle pits, by 18,30, a considerable portion of the VII and VIII Corps disengaged from the fighting and withdrew towards the Prussian positions at Rezonville. With the defeat of the First Army, Prince Frederick Charles ordered an artillery attack against Canroberts position at St. Privat to prevent the Guards attack from failing too. At 20,00, the arrival of the Prussian 4th Infantry Division of the II Corps and with the Prussian right flank on Mance Ravine, the line stabilised. By then, the Prussians of the 1st Guards Infantry Division, with the Prussians exhausted from the fighting, the French were now able to mount a counter-attack. General Bourbaki, however, refused to commit the reserves of the French Old Guard to the battle because, by that time, by 22,00, firing largely died down across the battlefield for the night. The battle was a Prussian and Hessian strategic victory in that it succeeded in blocking Bazaines way to Verdun, in a short time the Prussians trapped Bazaine in the city and the siege of Metz ensued. The casualties were severe, especially for the attacking Prussian forces, casualties for the combined Prussian and Hessian force were 20,163 troops killed, wounded or missing in action during the 18 August battle. The French losses were 7,855 killed and wounded along with 4,420 prisoners of war, while most of the Prussians fell to the French Chassepot rifle, most French fell under the Prussian Krupp shells. Losses of the Prussian Guards Corps were even more staggering, with 8,000 casualties out of 18,000 men, the Guards Jäger Battalion lost 19 officers, a surgeon and 431 men killed, wounded, or missing out of a total of 700
Battle of Gravelotte
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Massacre of Prussian
Cuirassiers at Gravelotte. Drawing by
Juliusz Kossak, 1871
Battle of Gravelotte
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The "Rifle Battalion 9 from Lauenburg" at Gravelotte, painting by Ernst Zimmer
