1.
Greece
–
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country in southeastern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015. Athens is the capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine regions, Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace, Crete. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in length, featuring a vast number of islands, eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as polis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming a part of the Roman Empire and its successor. The Greek Orthodox Church also shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World, falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greeces rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe, Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the member to join the European Communities and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. Greeces unique cultural heritage, large industry, prominent shipping sector. It is the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor, the names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the names used in other languages, locations and cultures. The earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern Balkans, dated to 270,000 BC, is to be found in the Petralona cave, all three stages of the stone age are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave. Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC, are the oldest in Europe by several centuries and these civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script known as Linear A, and the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek. The Mycenaeans gradually absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently around 1200 BC and this ushered in a period known as the Greek Dark Ages, from which written records are absent. The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundational texts of Western literature, are believed to have been composed by Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. With the end of the Dark Ages, there emerged various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, in 508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted the worlds first democratic system of government in Athens
2.
Hellenic Army
–
The Hellenic Army, formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. Along with the Hellenic Air Force and the Hellenic Navy, it makes up the Hellenic Armed Forces and it is currently the largest branch of the three. The army is headed by the chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff, the motto of the Hellenic Army is Ἐλεύθερον τὸ Εὔψυχον, Freedom Stems from Valour, from Thucydidess History of the Peloponnesian War. The Hellenic Army Emblem is the eagle with a Greek Cross escutcheon in the centre. The Hellenic Army is also the main contributor to, and lead nation of, the Balkan Battle Group, the contribution to international security and peace. The contribution to activities of social aid and the support of services for the confrontation of emergency situations. The Hellenic Army traces its origin to the regular units established by the Greek provisional government during the Greek War of Independence, the first of these, an infantry regiment and a small artillery battery, were established in April 1822, and were commanded by European Philhellenes. Lack of funds however forced its disbandment soon after, and it was not until July 1824 that regular units were reformed, in May 1825, the first law on conscription was passed, and the command of the entire regular forces entrusted to the French Colonel Charles Fabvier. Under Fabvier, the corps expanded, and for the first time came to include cavalry, military music detachments. After Kapodistrias assassination in 1831 and in the subsequent internal turmoil over the two years, however, the regular army all but ceased to exist. The first king of the newly independent Greek kingdom, the Bavarian prince Otto, initially relied on a 4, the royal government re-established the regular army and dissolved the irregular forces that had largely fought the War of Independence. Following the ousting of Otto in 1862, the Army continued relying on the Army Organization Statute of 1833, the first major reforms were undertaken in 1877, in response to the Balkan Crisis that eventually led to the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. Among other measures, for the first time the Hellenic Army was briefly subdivided into divisions and brigades. The Army also underwent its first mobilizations, in July 1880 – April 1882 due to the Greek annexation of Thessaly, and again in September 1885 – May 1886, when Bulgaria annexed Eastern Rumelia. The great financial burden of long periods of mobilization, however, exhausted the public treasury. As a result, the superior, better organized, equipped and led Ottoman forces pushed the Greek forces south out of Thessaly. The dismal performance of the Hellenic Army in the war of 1897 led to a major reform programme under the administration of Georgios Theotokis. A new Army Organization Statute was issued in 1904, purchases of new material and of the Mannlicher–Schönauer rifle were made
3.
M1 Garand
–
The M1 Garand is a.30 caliber semi-automatic rifle that was the standard U. S. service rifle during World War II and the Korean War and also saw limited service during the Vietnam War. Most M1 rifles were issued to U. S. forces, the Garand is still used by drill teams and military honor guards. It is also used by civilians for hunting, target shooting. The M1 rifle was named after its Canadian-American designer, John Garand and it was the first standard-issue semi-automatic military rifle. By all accounts the M1 rifle served with distinction, General George S. Patton called it the greatest battle implement ever devised. The M1 replaced the bolt action M1903 Springfield as the standard U. S. service rifle in the mid 1930s, although the name Garand is frequently pronounced /ɡəˈrænd/, the preferred pronunciation is /ˈɡærənd/, according to experts and people who knew John Garand, the weapons designer. French Canadian-born Garand went to work at the United States Armys Springfield Armory, in 1924, twenty-four rifles, identified as M1922s, were built at Springfield. At Fort Benning during 1925, they were tested against models by Berthier, Hatcher-Bang, Thompson, and Pedersen and this led to a further trial of an improved M1924 Garand against the Thompson, ultimately producing an inconclusive report. As a result, the Ordnance Board ordered a. 30-06 Garand variant, in March 1927, the cavalry board reported trials among the Thompson, Garand, and 03 Springfield had not led to a clear winner. This led to a gas-operated.276 model, in early 1928, both the infantry and cavalry boards ran trials with the.276 Pedersen T1 rifle, calling it highly promising. The.30 Garand, however, was dropped in favor of the.276.30 gas-operated Garand be resumed, twenty gas-operated.276 T3E2 Garands were made and competed with T1 Pedersen rifles in early 1931. The.276 Garand was the winner of these trials. The.30 caliber Garand was also tested, in the form of a single T1E1, a 4 January 1932 meeting recommended adoption of the.276 caliber and production of approximately 125 T3E2s. Meanwhile, Garand redesigned his bolt and his improved T1E2 rifle was retested, on 25 February 1932, Adjutant General John B. On 3 August 1933, the T1E2 became the semi-automatic rifle, caliber 30, in May 1934,75 M1s went to field trials,50 were to infantry,25 to cavalry units. The first production model was successfully proof-fired, function-fired, and fired for accuracy on July 21,1937, production difficulties delayed deliveries to the army until September 1937. Machine production began at Springfield Armory that month at a rate of ten rifles per day, despite going into production status, design issues were not at an end. The barrel, gas cylinder, and front sight assembly were redesigned and entered production in early 1940, production of the Garand increased in 1940 despite these difficulties, reaching 600 a day by 10 January 1941, and the army was fully equipped by the end of 1941
4.
Heckler & Koch G3
–
The G3 is a 7. 62×51mm NATO battle rifle developed in 1956 by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME. It was realized that with careful attention to the mechanical ratios, the resultant weapon, the Gerät 06H was assigned the designation StG45 but was not produced in any significant numbers and the war ended before the first production rifles were completed. The German technicians involved in developing the StG45 were taken to work in France at CEAM, the StG45 mechanism was modified by Ludwig Vorgrimler and Theodor Löffler at the Mulhouse facility between 1946 and 1949. Three versions were made, chambered in.30 Carbine,7. 92×33 mm Kurz as well as the experimental 7. 65×35 mm French short cartridge developed by Cartoucherie de Valence in 1948, a 7. 5×38 mm cartridge using a partial aluminium bullet was abandoned in 1947. Löfflers design, designated the Carabine Mitrailleuse Modèle 1950, was retained for trials among 12 different prototypes designed by CEAM, MAC, engaged in the Indochina War and being the second NATO contributor, France canceled the adoption of these new weapons for financial reasons. In 1950, Vorgrimler moved to Spain where he created the LV-50 rifle chambered for the Kurz cartridge and later, at this point, the rifle was renamed the Modelo 2. The Modelo 2 drew the attention of the West German Border Guards, not willing to accept a cartridge outside of the NATO specification, the Germans asked CETME to develop a 7. 62×51mm version of the rifle. The resulting CETME Model A was chambered for the 7. 62×51mm CETME cartridge which was identical in dimensions but had a reduced-power load compared to the 7. 62×51mm NATO round. In 1958, this rifle was accepted into service with the Spanish Army as the Modelo 58, in 1956, the Bundesgrenzschutz canceled their planned procurement of the CETME rifles, adopting the Belgian-made FN FAL instead. However, the newly formed West German Army now showed interest, the CETME, known as the Automatisches Gewehr G3 according to German nomenclature, competed successfully against the Swiss SIG SG510 and the American AR-10 to replace the previously favored G1 rifle. In January 1959, the Bundeswehr officially adopted the CETME proposal, the West German government wanted the G3 rifle to be produced under license in Germany, purchase of the G1 had previously fallen through over FNs refusal to grant such a license. In the case of the G3, the Dutch firm Nederlandse Wapen en Munitiefabriek held production, to acquire production rights, the West German government offered NWM contracts to supply the German Air Force with 20mm ammunition. Production of the G3 was then assigned to Rheinmetall and H&K, the latter company already had ties to CETME, and had worked to further optimize the CETME rifle for use with the full-power 7. 62×51mm NATO cartridge. In 1969, Rheinmetall gave up rights to the G3 in exchange for H&Ks promise not to bid on MG3 production. Later in 1977, the West German government ceded ownership of G3 production, the weapon was modernized during its service life, resulting in the most recent production models, the G3A3 and the G3A4. The rifle proved successful in the market, being adopted by the armed forces of over 40 countries. Of that figure,18 countries undertook domestic production of the G3 under license. Known manufacturers of the included, France, Greece, Iran, Luxembourg, Mexico, Myanmar, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey
5.
Presidential Mansion, Athens
–
The Presidential Mansion in Athens, Greece, is the official residence of the President of the Hellenic Republic. It served previously as the Royal Palace, until the abolition of the monarchy by referendum in 1974, the decision to construct the building which currently is used as the Presidential Mansion was made in 1868. That year, King George Is son, Constantine, the heir to the throne, was born and the Greek state decided to present him with a private dwelling, when he came of age. Twenty-one years later when Constantine married princess Sophia of Prussia, the assigned the planning of The Crown Princes Palace, as the building became known. Building began in 1891 and was completed six years later in 1897, on Christmas Eve,1909, a fire destroyed a large part of the Royal Palace, with the result that the Crown Princes Palace was used temporarily as the residence of the royal family. After the assassination of George I in 1913 and the accession of Constantine to the throne, the use of the building as a Palace was interrupted in 1924 when the monarchy was ended and a Republic was declared. It was then used as the Presidential Mansion until 1935 when the monarchy was restored, since 1974, when democracy was restored after a seven-year military dictatorship, the building has been used as the Presidential Mansion and the residence of the President. The land on which the Presidential Mansion was built was, until the decades of the nineteenth century. The eastern limit of the town was the Royal Palace, beyond that, there were fields and small farms. The only buildings appearing on the maps of the period were the manor of the Duchess of Plaisance, the limited significance of the area at the time may be revealed by the fact that a girls orphanage was built there in 1854. Furthermore, the land along Kifissias Avenue also remained unbuilt and was reserved by the state for the construction of ministry buildings, in early 1870 the State allowed the sale of land to private individuals which resulted in the construction of mansions to house the wealthy families of Athens. About 1890, the architect Ernst Ziller was entrusted with the construction of the Crown Princes Palace and this palace later became the residence of the Royal Family and is used now as the Presidential Mansion. During modern times, with the city of Athens extending over many square miles, the Presidential Mansion with its garden occupies a total area of about 27,000 square metres. The official entrance to the Mansion is on Herodou Attikou Street, the design of the palace was entrusted to architect Ernst Ziller. He became the Official Court Architect of King George I and designed an estimated 700 buildings all over Greece for both official and private use. It is said the King George I ordered Ziller not to make the building too pretentious, so it would blend with the mansions on the street. Following these guidelines, Ziller designed a three-story, symmetrical, neoclassical mansion, construction of the palace took six years. The palaces main reception room was the large salon on the second floor, however, when the palace became the main royal residence, a large ballroom became needed
6.
Evzones
–
The Evzones, or Evzoni, is the name of several historical elite light infantry and mountain units of the Greek Army. Today, it refers to the members of the Presidential Guard, a ceremonial unit that guards the Greek Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Presidential Mansion. An Evzone is also known, colloquially, as a Tsoliás, though the Presidential Guard is a primarily ceremonial unit, all Evzones are volunteers drawn from the Hellenic Armys Infantry Corps. Prospective Evzones are initially identified at the Infantry Recruit Training Centres during Basic Training, the unit is known for its uniform, which has evolved from the clothes worn by the klephts who fought the Ottoman occupation of Greece. The most visible item of uniform is the fustanella, a kilt-like garment. Their distinctive dress turned them into an image for the Greek soldier. The word evzōnos is first attested in Homers Iliad and derives from εὖ and ζώνη, the word was used by ancient writers for centuries to describe a type of light infantry of unidentified equipment, probably used as a generic term to denote light infantry. In 1833, after the arrival of King Otto, the Greek Army was organized along new lines, the Bavarian soldiers that had come with Otto formed the majority of the European Line Infantry battalions. Each of these included one rifle company, designated as Skirmishers or Evzone. In addition, ten light Skirmisher battalions were formed from Greeks, in 1836 these battalions were reduced to four, and eight Mountain Guard battalions were formed in their stead, they were grouped into four regiments in 1843. These units were engaged in patrolling the frontier, combating insurgents. The Mountain Guard was incorporated in the strengthened Skirmisher battalions in 1854, in December 1867, the first four elite Evzone light battalions were formed, of four companies each, with the task of guarding the frontier. On 12 December 1868, the Royal Guard detachment, initially named Agema, later the Palace Guard, in 1880-1881, the Evzone units were expanded to nine battalions. They participated in the disastrous 1897 war with Turkey as elements of the infantry divisions. At the time of the Balkan Wars, eight Evzone battalions were in existence and they operated independently on the vanguard or the flanks of the army. They distinguished themselves for their fighting spirit suffering high casualties, especially among officers, subsequently the Evzone units were increased to five regiments, which fought with distinction as elite shock troops in the First World War, the Asia Minor Campaign and the Greco-Italian War. The young soldier did so, but refused to hand over the Greek flag to the Germans and they were derisively known as Germanotsoliades or Tagmatasfalites, and were disbanded after liberation in 1944. After the war, the reconstituted Hellenic Army did not re-establish the Evzone regiments, their elite status, several regular Army Infantry units have been given the numbers and names of the post-1913 Evzone Regiments, however, these names are only honorific
7.
Greek War of Independence
–
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution, was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between 1821 and 1832 against the Ottoman Empire. Even several decades before the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, during this time, there were several revolt attempts by Greeks to gain independence from Ottoman control. In 1814, an organization called the Filiki Eteria was founded with the aim of liberating Greece. The Filiki Eteria planned to launch revolts in the Peloponnese, the Danubian Principalities, the first of these revolts began on 6 March 1821 in the Danubian Principalities, but it was soon put down by the Ottomans. The events in the north urged the Greeks in the Peloponnese into action and on 17 March 1821 and this declaration was the start of a spring of revolutionary actions from other controlled states against the Ottoman Empire. By the end of the month, the Peloponnese was in revolt against the Turks and by October 1821. The Peloponnesian revolt was followed by revolts in Crete, Macedonia, and Central Greece. Meanwhile, the makeshift Greek navy was achieving success against the Ottoman navy in the Aegean Sea, tensions soon developed among different Greek factions, leading to two consecutive civil wars. In the meantime, the Ottoman Sultan negotiated with Mehmet Ali of Egypt, although Ibrahim was defeated in Mani, he had succeeded in suppressing most of the revolt in the Peloponnese, and Athens had been retaken. Following years of negotiation, three Great Powers—Russia, Britain and France—decided to intervene in the conflict and each sent a navy to Greece. Following news that combined Ottoman–Egyptian fleets were going to attack the Greek island of Hydra, the battle began after a tense week-long standoff, ending in the destruction of the Ottoman–Egyptian fleet. As a result of years of negotiation, Greece was finally recognized as an independent nation in the Treaty of Constantinople of May 1832, the Revolution is celebrated by the modern Greek state as a national day on 25 March. The Fall of Constantinople on 29 May 1453 and the subsequent fall of the states of the Byzantine Empire marked the end of Byzantine sovereignty. After that, the Ottoman Empire ruled the Balkans and Anatolia, Orthodox Christians were granted some political rights under Ottoman rule, but they were considered inferior subjects. The majority of Greeks were called Rayah by the Turks, a name referred to the large mass of non-Muslim subjects under the Ottoman ruling class. Demetrius Chalcondyles called on Venice and all of the Latins to aid the Greeks against the abominable, monstrous, however, Greece was to remain under Ottoman rule for several more centuries. The Greek Revolution was not an event, numerous failed attempts at regaining independence took place throughout the history of the Ottoman era. Throughout the 17th century there was resistance to the Ottomans in the Morea and elsewhere
8.
Fustanella
–
Fustanella is a traditional pleated skirt-like garment that is also referred to as a kilt worn by men of many nations in the Balkans. In modern times, the fustanella is part of Balkan folk dresses, in Greece, a short version of the fustanella is worn by ceremonial military units like the Evzones, while in Albania it was worn by the Royal Guard in the interbellum era. Both Greece and Albania claim the fustanella as a national costume, some scholars state that the fustanella was derived from a series of ancient Greek garments such as the chiton and the chitonium. Although the pleated skirt has been linked to an ancient statue located in the area around the Acropolis in Athens, the Roman toga may have also influenced the evolution of the fustanella based on statues of Roman emperors wearing knee-length pleated skirts. Folklorist Ioanna Papantoniou considers the Celtic kilt, as viewed by the Roman legions, sir Arthur Evans considered the fustanella of the female peasants living near the modern Bosnian-Montenegrin borders as a preserved Illyrian element among the local Slavic-speaking populations. In the Byzantine Empire, a skirt known as the podea was worn. The wearer of the podea was either associated with a hero or an Akritic warrior. On Byzantine pottery sherds, warriors are shown bearing weapons and wearing the heavy pleated fustanella, in his Lexicon of Medieval Latin, Charles du Fresne suggests that fustanum originates from the Roman palla. Cotton fustana was among the belongings of Pope Urban V, archaeological evidence shows that the fustanella was already in common use in Greek lands as early as the 12th century. Byzantine warriors, in particular the Akritai, wearing fustanella are depicted in contemporary Byzantine art and this is also confirmed by the Medieval Greek acritic songs of the 12th century. The full-pleated fustanella was worn from the Byzantine Akritic warriors originally as a military outfit and it was frequently worn in conjunction with bows, swords, or battle-axes and frequently shown covered with a jointed corselet, or with a vest of chain mail. The fustanella is thought originally to have been a Tosk Albanian costume introduced into Greek territories during the Ottoman period, during the Ottoman period, the fustanella was also worn by the klephts and the armatoloi. It subsequently became part of the dress of Greece as a consequence of the migration. In the early 19th century, the popularity rose among the Greek population. It became difficult thereafter to distinguish the fustanella as clothing worn by male Arvanites from clothing worn by wider parts of Greek society. According to Helen Angelomatis-Tsougarakis, its popularity in the Morea was attributed to the influence of the Arvanite community of Hydra, the Hydriotes however could not have played a significant role in its development since they did not wear the fustanella, but similar costumes to the other Greek islanders. In those areas, its design and manageability in comparison to the clothing of the Greek upper classes of the era also made it fashionable amongst them in adopting the fustanella. The fustanella worn by the Roumeliotes was the chosen as the national costume of Greece in the early 19th century
9.
Kilt
–
A kilt is a knee-length non-bifurcated skirt-type garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century, it has associated with the wider culture of Scotland. It is most often made of cloth in a tartan pattern. Particularly in North America kilts are now made for wear in a variety of materials. Alternative fastenings may be used and pockets inserted to avoid the need for a sporran, kilts have been adopted as female wear for some sports. The kilt first appeared as the kilt, the breacan or belted plaid, during the 16th century. The filleadh mòr or great kilt was a full-length garment whose upper half could be worn as a cloak draped over the shoulder, or brought up over the head. A version of the filleadh beag, or small kilt, similar to the kilt was invented by an English Quaker from Lancashire named Thomas Rawlinson some time in the 1720s. He felt that the belted plaid was cumbrous and unwieldy, and his solution was to separate the skirt and convert it into a garment with pleats already sewn. From there its use spread in the shortest space amongst the Highlanders and it has been suggested there is evidence that the philibeg with unsewn pleats was worn from the 1690s. Organisations that sanction and grade the competitions in Highland dancing and piping all have rules governing acceptable attire for the competitors and these rules specify that kilts are to be worn. The Scottish kilt displays uniqueness of design, construction, and convention which differentiate it from other garments fitting the general description. It is a garment that is wrapped around the wearers body at the natural waist starting from one side, around the front and back. A kilt covers the body from the waist down to the centre of the knees, the overlapping layers in front are called aprons and are flat, the single layer of fabric around the sides and back is pleated. A kilt pin is fastened to the front apron on the free corner, underwear may or may not be worn, as the wearer prefers, although tradition has it that a true Scotsman should wear nothing under his kilt. The Scottish Tartans Authority, however, warns that in some circumstances the practice could be childish and unhygienic, the typical kilt as seen at modern Highland games events is made of twill woven worsted wool. The twill weave used for kilts is a 2–2 type, meaning that each weft thread passes over and under two warp threads at a time, the result is a distinctive diagonal-weave pattern in the fabric which is called the twill line. This kind of twill, when according to a given sett or written colour pattern is called tartan
10.
Cavalry
–
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the most mobile of the combat arms, an individual soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations such as cavalryman, horseman, dragoon or trooper. The designation of cavalry was not usually given to any military forces that used animals, such as camels. Cavalry had the advantage of improved mobility, and a man fighting from horseback also had the advantages of greater height, speed, another element of horse mounted warfare is the psychological impact a mounted soldier can inflict on an opponent. In Europe cavalry became increasingly armoured, and eventually became known for the mounted knights, in the period between the World Wars, many cavalry units were converted into motorized infantry and mechanized infantry units, or reformed as tank troops. Most cavalry units that are horse-mounted in modern armies serve in purely ceremonial roles, modern usage of the term generally refers to specialist units equipped with tanks or aircraft. The shock role, traditionally filled by heavy cavalry, is filled by units with the armored designation. Before the Iron Age, the role of cavalry on the battlefield was largely performed by light chariots, the chariot originated with the Sintashta-Petrovka culture in Central Asia and spread by nomadic or semi-nomadic Indo-Iranians. The power of mobility given by mounted units was recognized early on, Cavalry techniques were an innovation of equestrian nomads of the Central Asian and Iranian steppe and pastoralist tribes such as the Persian Parthians and Sarmatians. The photograph above left shows Assyrian cavalry from reliefs of 865–860 BC, at this time, the men had no spurs, saddles, saddle cloths, or stirrups. Fighting from the back of a horse was more difficult than mere riding. The cavalry acted in pairs, the reins of the archer were controlled by his neighbours hand. Even at this time, cavalry used swords, shields. The sculpture implies two types of cavalry, but this might be a simplification by the artist, Later images of Assyrian cavalry show saddle cloths as primitive saddles, allowing each archer to control his own horse. As early as 490 BC a breed of horses was bred in the Nisaean plain in Media to carry men with increasing amounts of armour. However, chariots remained in use for purposes such as carrying the victorious general in a Roman triumph. The southern Britons met Julius Caesar with chariots in 55 and 54 BC, the last mention of chariot use in battle was by the Caledonians at the Mons Graupius, in 84 AD. During the classical Greek period cavalry were usually limited to citizens who could afford expensive war-horses
11.
Colonel
–
Colonel is a senior military officer rank below the general officer ranks. However, in small military forces, such as those of Iceland or the Vatican. It is also used in police forces and paramilitary organizations. Historically, in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of a regiment in an army, the rank of colonel is typically above the rank of lieutenant colonel. The rank above colonel is typically called brigadier, brigade general or brigadier general, equivalent naval ranks may be called captain or ship-of-the-line captain. In the Commonwealth air force rank system, the equivalent rank is group captain, the word colonel derives from the same root as the word column and means of a column, and, by implication, commander of a column. The word colonel is therefore linked to the column in a similar way that brigadier is linked to brigade. By the end of the medieval period, a group of companies was referred to as a column of an army. Since the word is believed to derive from sixteenth-century Italian, it was presumably first used by Italian city states in that century. The first use of colonel as a rank in an army was in the French National Legions created by King Francis I by his decree of 1534. Building on the reforms of Louis XIIs decree of 1509. Each colonel commanded a legion with a strength of six thousand men. With the shift from primarily mercenary to primarily national armies in the course of the seventeenth century, the Spanish equivalent rank of coronel was used by the Spanish tercios in the 16th and 17th centuries. Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, nicknamed the Great Captain, divided his armies in coronelías or colonelcies, however, the Spanish word probably derives from a different origin, in that it appears to designate an officer of the crown, rather than an officer of the column. This makes the Spanish word coronel probably cognate with the English word coroner and this regiment, or governance, was to some extent embodied in a contract and set of written rules, also referred to as the colonels regiment or standing regulation. By extension, the group of companies subject to a colonels regiment came to be referred to as his regiment as well, the position, however, was primarily contractual and it became progressively more of a functionless sinecure. By the late 19th century, colonel was a military rank though still held typically by an officer in command of a regiment or equivalent unit. As European military influence expanded throughout the world, the rank of colonel became adopted by every nation
Greece
Hellenic Army
