1.
Cuirassier
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Cuirassiers were cavalry equipped with armour and firearms, first appearing in late 15th-century Europe. This French term means one with a cuirass, the armour which they wore. The first cuirassiers were produced as a result of armoured cavalry, such as the man-at-arms and demi-lancer, discarding their lances, in the later 17th century, the cuirassier lost his limb armour and subsequently employed only the cuirass, and sometimes a helmet. By this time, the sword was the weapon of the cuirassier. Cuirassiers achieved increased prominence during the Napoleonic Wars and were last fielded in the stages of World War I. Cuirassiers continue to be employed as ceremonial troops by a number of countries, the first cuirassiers were similar in appearance to the fully armoured Late Medieval man-at-arms. They wore three-quarter armour that covered the upper body as well as the front half of the legs down to the knee. The head was protected by a helm, burgonet or lobster-tailed pot helmet. The torso was protected by a breast and back plate, sometimes reinforced by a placate, the arms and shoulders were fully armoured with pauldrons, rerebraces, elbow couters and vambraces. Armoured gauntlets were often abandoned, particularly for the right hand, long tassets, instead of a combination of short tassets with cuisses, protected the front of the thighs and knees, Riding boots were substituted for lower leg armour. Weapons included a pair of pistols in saddle holsters, sometimes a pick. The armour of a cuirassier was very expensive, in England, in 1629, during the latter half of the 16th century, the heavy knightly lance gradually fell out of use perhaps because of the widespread adoption of the infantry pike. Also, the lance required an amount of practice to perfect its use. The lancer or demi-lancer, when he had abandoned his lance, following some initial successes, this tactic proved to be extremely ineffective as infantry, with superior firearms and numbers could easily outgun the cuirassiers. The change from cavalry being reliant on firearms, to close combat cavalry reliant mainly on the sword was often attributed to Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in the 1620s and 1630s. Only two cuirassier regiments were raised during the English Civil War, the Lifeguard of the Earl of Essex, with the refinement of infantry firearms, especially the introduction of the powerful musket, the usefulness of the protection afforded by full armour became greatly lessened. By the mid 17th century, the fully armoured cuirassier was becoming increasingly anachronistic, the cuirassier lost his limb armour and entered the 18th century with just the breast and backplate. Cuirassiers played a prominent role in the armies of Austria, by the time of the French Revolutionary War, few heavy cavalry regiments, excepting those of Austria, wore the cuirass on campaign
2.
War of the Polish Succession
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The slight amount of fighting in Poland resulted in the accession of Augustus III, who in addition to Russia and Saxony, was politically supported by the Habsburgs. The wars major military campaigns occurred outside Poland, the Bourbons, supported by Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia, moved against isolated Habsburg territories. Great Britains unwillingness to support Habsburg Austria demonstrated major cracks in the Anglo-Austrian Alliance, Francis Stephen, the duke of Lorraine, was given the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in compensation for the loss of Lorraine. The Duchy of Parma went to Austria whereas Charles of Parma took the crowns of Naples and Sicily, after Sigismund II Augustus, each King of Poland was elected by the Szlachta in the Sejm. As a result, the kings had little formal power, but the Sejm was often paralyzed by the Liberum Veto, the right of any member of the Sejm to block its decisions. Polands neighbors often influenced the Sejm, and by the early 18th century the system was in decline. Elector Augustus the Strong of Saxony had become king in 1697, in 1705, during the Great Northern War, Charles XII of Sweden deposed Augustus and installed Stanisław I as king. After Charles defeat by Russia at Poltava in 1709, Stanisław fled to France, in 1725, his daughter Maria married King Louis XV of France. Augustus tried to make the Polish crown hereditary in his family, so when he died in 1733, Stanisław hoped to regain the throne. He was backed by his son-in-law Louis XV, who wanted to counter Russian and Austrian power by renewing Frances traditional alliance with Poland. Frances prime minister, Cardinal Fleury, saw the Polish struggle as a chance to strike at the Austrian monarchy in the west without seeming to be the aggressor. While he cared little for who should become King of Poland and their marriage would bring Austrian power dangerously close to France. Augustus II died on February 1,1733, the Marquis de Monti, Frances ambassador in Warsaw, convinced the rival Potocki and Czartoryski families to unite behind Stanisław. Teodor Potocki, Primate of Poland and interrex following the death of Augustus, Frederick August negotiated agreements with Austria and Russia in July 1733. To the Austrian emperor he promised recognition of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, in August, Polish nobles gathered for the election sejm. On August 11,30,000 Russian troops under Field Marshal Peter Lascy entered Poland in a bid to influence the sejms decision. On September 4, France openly declared its support for Leszczyński, a group of nobles, led by Lithuanian magnates including Duke Michael Wiśniowiecki, crossed the Vistula River to Praga and the protection of Russian troops. This group, numbering about 3,000, elected Frederick August II King of Poland as Augustus III on October 5, despite the fact that this group was a minority, Russia and Austria, intent on maintaining their influence within Poland, recognised Augustus as king
3.
Siege of Philippsburg (1734)
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The Siege of Philippsburg was conducted by French forces against forces in the fortress of Philippsburg in the Rhine River valley during the War of the Polish Succession. The Duke of Berwick led 100,000 men up the Rhine Valley in opposition to Austrian forces, of which 60,000 were detached to invest the fortress at Philippsburg, beginning on 1 June 1734. A relief column of 35,000 under the aging Prince Eugene of Savoy was unsuccessful in actually relieving the siege, on 12 June Berwick was killed by a cannonball while inspecting the trenches, and command of the besiegers fell to Marshals dAsfeld and Noailles. The fortress surrendered one month later, and the garrison withdrew to the fortress of Mainz with the honours of war, dAsfeld was promoted to Marshal of France for his role in the campaign, Wuttgenau was promoted to lieutenant general for his spirited defense of the fortress. On the death of Augustus II on 1 February 1733, the Polish throne was claimed by both his son, Augustus III, and by Stanislas I, father in law of King Louis XV of France. Whilst a body double ostensibly left Brest by sea, Stanislas crossed Germany incognito, on 12 September Stanislas was elected king of Poland by the diet. On his election Russia and Austria, both of whom backed Augustus III, invaded Poland, by 22 September Stanislas, who did not have a proper army, had to take refuge in Danzig, there to await the French help he had been promised. On 5 October, Augustus III was proclaimed king, protected by Russian forces at Warsaw, great Britain, the Dutch Republic, Sweden, Denmark and the Republic of Venice recognised that Austro-Russian aggression against Poland was the casus belli and pledged to remain neutral. Spain, coveting the Kingdom of Naples and Sardinia, which the Duke of Milan wanted, sided with France, in the fall of 1733 the French army crossed the Rhine and besieged Kehl, near Strasbourg. Although they captured and occupied the fortress, most of the army was withdrawn to the west bank of the Rhine due to the onset of winter in December. During the winter, Austrian field marshal Prince Eugene of Savoy began gathering forces of the empire at a camp near Heilbronn to oppose the French. By the spring of 1734 these forces were significantly smaller than those of France. Freiherr Gottfried Ernst von Wuttgenau was given command of the fortress at Philippsburg in December 1733, the fortress was in deplorable condition, and its moat had in places been filled to the point where the ramparts could easily be approached. By the spring of 1734 these preparations were complete, although the garrison was short of ammunition and experienced artillery personnel. In late May 1734, the French began surrounding the fortress at Philippsburg, a total of 46 battalions were deployed, with 14 on the left bank of the Rhine, and the balance on the right bank, cutting the land approaches to the fortress. Of the troops on the bank, half were dedicated to the siege. On May 26 they began digging the outer trench surrounding the fortress with a complement of 12,000 men, the siege works progressed under Berwick until June 12, when he was felled by a lucky shot while examining siege works at a forward position. Command of the army then came to dAsfeld
4.
8th Bohemian Dragoons (Count Montecuccoli's)
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The regiment was a cavalry unit raised in the 17th century for the Imperial Habsburg Army. Over the course of time, this became the 8th Bohemian Dragoons within the Common Army that formed part of the Austro-Hungarian Army. From 1888 the unit was to bear this new title in perpetuity, in 1769 the regiment was placed in the order of precedence as the 4th Cavalry Regiment and in 1798 it became the 6th Cuirassier Regiment. By way of classification the unit was subsequently given the following numbers, 1683/1. Until 1798 the regiment was named after its various Inhabers or colonels of the regiment, there was no authoritative naming system. Regiments changed their names each change of colonel. After 1798, the number of the unit took precedence, because of this constant renaming of units, the regimental histories of Austro-Hungarian cavalry are very difficult to trace. In addition, there was a constant, and apparently arbitrary, sometimes repeated,1889 it was allocated to the Military Territorial District of IX Corps. One took part in the campaign under Colonel Gilbert von St. Hilaire when 500 of Dampierres horse went free the Emperor in Vienna, the companies that joined the Regiment later fought in the Battle of Wisternitz and at the capture of Ludenburg 1620 In Moravia and Lower Austria. Later the Regiment went to Hungary, where it fought inter alia in the battles of Freistadtl, Eperies, Palkonya,1645 Deployed to cover Vienna 1646 Campaign against Sweden and the campaign to drive it out of Lower Austria 1647 Battles in Bohemia at Falkenau. Siege of Iglau 1648 With the imperial main army, Battle of Zusmarshausen, Battle of Allern, etc. A company under cavalry captain de La Borde was assigned to the defence of Prague After the wars, periodically sent to Hungary and Moravia Austro-Turkish War 1663 Patrol duties in Hungary, saw no action 1664 Assigned to Souchezs Corps. Fought at Heiligenkreuz and Levencz Franco-Dutch War 1673 Transferred to the Army of the Rhine, then returned to the main army. Saw no action Great Turkish War 1683 With the main army, sent to Hungary, and took part in the 2nd Siege of Ofen. Later at the Battle of Szegedin 1687 Fought with the army in the Battle of Mohács. Battle of Ebernbach, thereafter returned to Hungary 1698 With the main army, capture of Carpi and Battle of Chiari. Detachments under Obristlieutenant Count Mercy took part in the battles of Rontoglio, Cassano d’Adda, Pizzighettone,1702 A detachment took part in the attack on Cremona. The Regiment fought in the Battle of Luzzara 1703 With the main army on the Po in patrol duties 1704 Three squadrons sent with Starhembergs Corps to Piemont, heavy losses in the Battle of Rumersheim 1710-11 In the Reichsarmee, saw no action 1712 In the Spanish Netherlands
5.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
6.
Soldier
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A soldier is one who fights as part of an organised, land-based armed force. A soldier can be a person, a non-commissioned officer. The word soldier derives from the Middle English word soudeour, from Old French soudeer or soudeour, meaning mercenary, from soudee, meaning shillings worth or wage, from sou or soud, the word is also related to the Medieval Latin soldarius, meaning soldier. These words ultimately derive from the Late Latin word solidus, referring to an Ancient Roman coin used in the Byzantine Empire. In most armed forces use of the soldier has taken on a more general meaning due to the increasing specialization of military occupations that require different areas of knowledge. In many countries soldiers serving in specific occupations are referred to by other than their occupational name. For example, military personnel in the British Army are known as red caps because of the colour of their caps. Infantry are sometimes called grunts or squaddies, while US Army artillery crews, or gunners, are referred to as redlegs. U. S. soldiers are often called G. I. s, members of the Marine Corps are typically referred to as marines rather than soldiers. In the United States, the term warfighter is often used to refer collectively to all whose job it is to do the actual fighting, the army has not completely phased out this terminology and still uses warfighter in various contexts such as the Project Manager Warfighter Information Network-Tactical. French Marine Infantry are called marsouins because of their amphibious role, Military units in most armies have nicknames of this type, arising either from items of distinctive uniform, some historical connotation or rivalry between branches or regiments. Some soldiers, such as conscripts or draftees, serve a limited term. Others choose to serve until retirement, then receive a pension. In the United States, military members can retire after 20 years, in other countries, the term of service is 30 years, hence the term 30-year man. Airman Marine Military use of children Seaman Media related to Soldier at Wikimedia Commons
7.
Holy Roman Emperor
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The Holy Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. From an autocracy in Carolingian times the title evolved into an elected monarchy chosen by the Prince-electors, until the Reformation the Emperor elect was required to be crowned by the Pope before assuming the imperial title. The title was held in conjunction with the rule of the Kingdom of Germany, in theory, the Holy Roman Emperor was primus inter pares among the other Catholic monarchs, in practice, a Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances made him. Various royal houses of Europe, at different times, effectively became hereditary holders of the title, after the Reformation many of the subject states and most of those in Germany were Protestant while the Emperor continued to be Catholic. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by the last Emperor as a result of the collapse of the polity during the Napoleonic wars, from the time of Constantine I the Roman emperors had, with very few exceptions, taken on a role as promoters and defenders of Christianity. In the west, the title of Emperor was revived in 800, as the power of the papacy grew during the Middle Ages, popes and emperors came into conflict over church administration. The best-known and most bitter conflict was known as the Investiture Controversy. After Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III, no pope appointed an emperor again until the coronation of Otto the Great in 962. Under Otto and his successors, much of the former Carolingian kingdom of Eastern Francia fell within the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire, the various German princes elected one of their peers as King of the Germans, after which he would be crowned as emperor by the Pope. After Charles Vs coronation, all succeeding emperors were called elected Emperor due to the lack of papal coronation, the term sacrum in connection with the medieval Roman Empire was first used in 1157 under Frederick I Barbarossa. Charles V was the last Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned by the Pope, the final Holy Roman Emperor-elect, Francis II, abdicated in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars that saw the Empires final dissolution. The standard designation of the Holy Roman Emperor was August Emperor of the Romans, the word Holy had never been used as part of that title in official documents. In German-language historiography, the term Römisch-deutscher Kaiser is used to distinguish the title from that of Roman Emperor on one hand, the English term Holy Roman Emperor is a modern shorthand for emperor of the Holy Roman Empire not corresponding to the historical style or title. Successions to the kingship were controlled by a variety of complicated factors, elections meant the kingship of Germany was only partially hereditary, unlike the kingship of France, although sovereignty frequently remained in a dynasty until there were no more male successors. The Electoral council was set at seven princes by the Golden Bull of 1356, another elector was added in 1690, and the whole college was reshuffled in 1803, a mere three years before the dissolution of the Empire. After 1438, the Kings remained in the house of Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine, with the exception of Charles VII. Maximilian I and his successors no longer travelled to Rome to be crowned as Emperor by the Pope, Maximilian therefore named himself Elected Roman Emperor in 1508 with papal approval. This title was in use by all his uncrowned successors, of his successors only Charles V, the immediate one, received a papal coronation
8.
Early modern period
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The early modern period of modern history follows the late Middle Ages of the post-classical era. Historians in recent decades have argued that from a worldwide standpoint, the period witnessed the exploration and colonization of the Americas and the rise of sustained contacts between previously isolated parts of the globe. The historical powers became involved in trade, as the exchange of goods, plants, animals, and food crops extended to the Old World. The Columbian Exchange greatly affected the human environment, New economies and institutions emerged, becoming more sophisticated and globally articulated over the course of the early modern period. This process began in the medieval North Italian city-states, particularly Genoa, Venice, the early modern period also included the rise of the dominance of the economic theory of mercantilism. The European colonization of the Americas, Asia, and Africa occurred during the 15th to 19th centuries, the early modern trends in various regions of the world represented a shift away from medieval modes of organization, politically and economically. Historians typically date the end of the modern period when the French Revolution of the 1790s began the modern period. Early modern themes Other In 16th century China, the Ming Dynastys economy was stimulated by trade with the Portuguese, Spanish. China became involved in a new trade of goods, plants, animals. Trade with Early Modern Europe and Japan brought in massive amounts of silver, during the last decades of the Ming the flow of silver into China was greatly diminished, thereby undermining state revenues and the entire Chinese economy. This damage to the economy was compounded by the effects on agriculture of the incipient Little Ice Age, natural calamities, crop failure, the ensuing breakdown of authority and peoples livelihoods allowed rebel leaders such as Li Zicheng to challenge Ming authority. The Ming Dynasty fell around 1644 to the Qing Dynasty, which was the last ruling dynasty of China, during its reign, the Qing Dynasty became highly integrated with Chinese culture. The Azuchi-Momoyama period saw the unification that preceded the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate. The Edo period from 1600 to 1868 characterized early modern Japan, the Tokugawa shogunate was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period gets its name from the city, Edo. The Tokugawa shogunate ruled from Edo Castle from 1603 until 1868, in 1392, General Yi Seong-gye established the Joseon Dynasty with a largely bloodless coup. Joseon experienced advances in science and culture, King Sejong the Great promulgated hangul, the Korean alphabet. The period saw various other cultural and technological advances as well as the dominance of neo-Confucianism over the entirety of Korea, during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, invasions by the neighboring Japanese and Qing Chinese nearly overran the Korean peninsula
9.
Army of the Holy Roman Empire
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The Army of the Holy Roman Empire was created in 1422, and came to an end even before the Holy Roman Empire was wound up in 1806, as the result of the Napoleonic Wars. It must not be confused with the Imperial Army of the Emperor, the Army of the Empire did not constitute a permanent standing army which was always at the ready to fight for the Empire. When there was danger, an Army of the Empire was mustered from among the elements constituting it, in practice, the imperial troops often had stronger local allegiances than their loyalty to the Emperor. The Hussite Wars continued from 1420 to 1434, by point the army had proved its worth. Over the next hundred years, the size of the Army was controlled either by the number of serving men being strictly regulated or by limits on the money paid for it. At the Diet of Worms in 1521 a commitment was made to keep the strength at 20,063 infantry and 4,202 cavalry and this was later simplified to 20,000 and 4,000. The monthly cost of paying for an army of this size was known as the Römermonat, the Imperial Register determined the contributions of the individual states making up the Empire, the first being the Register of 1422. Contrary to popular belief, the Army of the Empire did not take part in the Thirty Years War of 1618 to 1648, the Emperor participated in this war with the Imperial Army instead. The Constitution of the Army of the Empire of 1681 finally determined the composition of the army, the simple total strength was now fixed at 40,000 men, consisting of 28,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry, including 2,000 dragoons. In emergencies, the size of the army could be increased by doubling or tripling the contingents, such multiples were called in Latin the duplum and the triplum. The figures for the contingents to be supplied by each Imperial Circle were little altered until the demise of the Empire, in practice, they were organized into a number of separate regiments. In some cases, money was provided instead of men to fulfil these obligations to the Emperor. The army came to an end even before the Holy Roman Empire was wound up in 1806, in 1806 the victorious French organized much of the former empire into the Confederation of the Rhine, a grouping of client states of the French Empire, with a common federal army. Hofkriegsrat List of Lieutenant Field Marshals of the Holy Roman Empire Vladimir Brnardic, Darko Pavlovic, Imperial Armies of the Thirty Years War John G
