Poll: What faction will you play as first?

Page 2 of 8 FirstFirst 123456 ... LastLast
Results 31 to 60 of 219

Thread: EUROPEAN WARS 1 - general discussion

  1. #31

    Default Re: Europa pod bronią- FIRST PREVIEW: SWEDEN (Empire TW period mod)

    Quote Originally Posted by [SVK]Jakob
    BTW: Here's a link to our (SVK=Svenska Armen) website.

    http://z6.invisionfree.com/La_Junta/index.php?act=idx :)
    Uh oh, J is beating the recruiting drums!

    If I wasn't a Napoleonic's Officer I'd jump in tbh tho...

    A little something for the Ruskies
    Major Sir Horton III, ADC, Royal American Rifles, The King's Own.

  2. #32

    Default Re: Europa pod bronią- SECOND PREVIEW: RUSSIA (Empire TW period mod)

    I've noticed that the Russian Fusiliers are carrying swords. If I'm not mistaken, the Average Russian Infantryman of the period carried a bayonette. In fact, only Swedish infantry practiced fighting with swords. The rest of Europe were fighting souly with bayonettes for their infantry.

  3. #33

    Default Re: Europa pod bronią- FIRST PREVIEW: SWEDEN (Empire TW period mod)

    Haha, hey Horton. Don't worry, the SVK will have a Ruskie campaign and you'll be the first in line to get in on it.


    Any chance that other nations like Denmark and Poland getting in some action?

  4. #34
    Member Member General_Someone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Billings, Montana
    Posts
    44

    Default Re: EUROPEAN WARS - general discussion

    yeah my mistake lol. Sorry. But then CA may be implying that the campaign in Empires will start earlier becauser they were talking about the boyonet being invented in their time frame.
    Last edited by General_Someone; 11-17-2007 at 00:05.
    It is well that war is so terrible — otherwise we should grow too fond of it- Robert E. Lee

    Then, Sir, we will give them the bayonet!- Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson


  5. #35
    REX POLONIAE Moderator KLAssurbanipal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Poland
    Posts
    758

    Default Re: Europa pod bronią- FIRST PREVIEW: SWEDEN (Empire TW period mod)

    Quote Originally Posted by [SVK]Jakob
    BTW: Here's a link to our (SVK=Svenska Armen) website.

    http://z6.invisionfree.com/La_Junta/index.php?act=idx :)


    Any chance that other nations like Denmark and Poland getting in some action?
    Thank You. :)

    Polish units I will make in next week.
    Last edited by KLAssurbanipal; 02-18-2008 at 16:16.

  6. #36
    REX POLONIAE Moderator KLAssurbanipal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Poland
    Posts
    758

    Default Re: EUROPEAN WARS - general discussion

    I will add bayonet for some units later.

  7. #37
    REX POLONIAE Moderator KLAssurbanipal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Poland
    Posts
    758

    Default Re: EUROPEAN WARS - screens from battle

    If I will give permission from NTW2 team I will add better animations. :)

  8. #38
    REX POLONIAE Moderator KLAssurbanipal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Poland
    Posts
    758

    Default Random UNITS preview! :)

    Today I will posted Scottish Higlander:


  9. #39
    REX POLONIAE Moderator KLAssurbanipal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Poland
    Posts
    758

    Default Re: EUROPEAN WARS - random UNITS preview! :)

    French Line Cavalry:


  10. #40
    REX POLONIAE Moderator KLAssurbanipal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Poland
    Posts
    758

    Default Re: EUROPEAN WARS - random UNITS preview! :)

    Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth faction. :)
    Preview of Polish units will be in next week.

    POLISH WINGED HUSSAR:



    Winged Hussar (in early 18th century, Polish Winged Hussars had winged helmets):




    For Winged Hussar I used elemnts from 'Ogniem I mieczem' mod. :)

  11. #41
    Honorary Argentinian Senior Member Gyroball Champion, Karts Champion Caius's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    I live in my home, don't you?
    Posts
    8,114

    Default Re: EUROPEAN WARS - general discussion

    I love the idea that RTW modding never stopped.




    Names, secret names
    But never in my favour
    But when all is said and done
    It's you I love

  12. #42
    Member Member Arngrim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Southern Swedish Highlands. In a small house surrounded by conifer djungles.
    Posts
    33

    Default Re: Europa pod bronią- FIRST PREVIEW: SWEDEN (Empire TW period mod)

    Some comments; There should only be one line of buttons/buttonholes. The coattails should be fixed together like later continental armies-showing the yellow inside. Hair on ordininary soldiers were never unbound, but always in ponytails with the "tail" part in a black hair pouch. The camisole undercoat should be parted in the front. The ammunition bag should be black with broad brown leather straps.
    Swordbelt = brown leather. Swordhilts; ordinary soldiers black, non commissioned officers silvered, officers gilded. Pikeneers: no ammo bags. Grenadiers; extra grenade bag on left hip - black. No yellow facings on the chest, thats from the 1765 model uniform. The whole front of the mithra caps should be covered with a brass plate.

    Thats what i could think of out of hand.

    Thanks for a good initiative.
    Survival of the fittest is a question of NOT being selected for military service! Where are the Spartans today?

  13. #43
    REX POLONIAE Moderator KLAssurbanipal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Poland
    Posts
    758

    Default Re: EUROPEAN WARS - screens from battle

    Polish Winged Hussars and Musketeers in action (figth with Swedish Trabants):

























    and Prussian Grenadiers...










  14. #44
    Member Member Arngrim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Southern Swedish Highlands. In a small house surrounded by conifer djungles.
    Posts
    33

    Default Re: Europa pod bronią- FIRST PREVIEW: SWEDEN (Empire TW period mod)

    More comments;
    The cavalrymen should have a broad yellow strap across their torso for carrying their carbines, hanging from their right hips when mounted. A small yellow ammunition pouch with a two finger wide yellow strap over the left hip, just above the swordhilt. All officers, infantry, cavalry, artillery et c. had yellow swordbelts.

    Artillery uniforms; Prior to 1711 grey with blue collars, cuffs and facings. After1711 all blue.

    Finnish infantry wore more commonly grey uniforms with blue collars, cuffs and facings. Locally recruited Ingrian, Estonian and Livonian infantry blue with red collars, cuffs and facings. Thats propably the case for Pommeranian, Wismar and Bremen-Werden troops also.
    Survival of the fittest is a question of NOT being selected for military service! Where are the Spartans today?

  15. #45
    Member Member Arngrim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Southern Swedish Highlands. In a small house surrounded by conifer djungles.
    Posts
    33

    Default Re: EUROPEAN WARS - general discussion

    The Great Northern War was not a usual catfight jus between Sweden and Russia. The enemies of Sweden was from 1700 Russia, Denmark-Norway and Saxony-Poland. From 1715 also Brandenburg-Prussia and the United Kingdoms.
    The Allies of Sweden was the Duchy of Schlesvig-Holstein, Polish insurgents, the Ukrainians under Mazepa, and occasionally Turkey. Later in the war also Hessia. If the war had continued, Spain would have joined. Advanced plans to have the pirates of Madagascar given full pardons and letters of marquee, or even incorporation in the Swedish navy. They would have operated from Gothenburg. Some even came to the Baltic and pirated for a short while.
    Survival of the fittest is a question of NOT being selected for military service! Where are the Spartans today?

  16. #46
    Member Member Arngrim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Southern Swedish Highlands. In a small house surrounded by conifer djungles.
    Posts
    33

    Default Re: EUROPEAN WARS - general discussion

    Regarding bayonets contra swords.
    All infantry carried swords, and did so until after the Napoleonic wars. The bayonet was never intended for CQB between infantrymen. It was intended for protection against cavalry, making every musket into a mini-pike. A sword is far more efficient in fighting opposing infantry. Compare with WW2 infantry, who would rather fight with spades than bayonets. The reason for abolishing infantry swords in 19 century was economics. Since real CQB was relatively rare, it was considered an unnecessary cost to equip infantry with swords and soldiers had to make do with their bayonets on those rare occasions when the defenders didn't ran of.

    Swedish infantry always drew swords before charging. I suppose the other armies did to - they werent stupid.
    Survival of the fittest is a question of NOT being selected for military service! Where are the Spartans today?

  17. #47
    REX POLONIAE Moderator KLAssurbanipal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Poland
    Posts
    758

    Default Re: EUROPEAN WARS - random UNITS preview! :)

    Here is Prussian Grenadier from mid-18th century:


  18. #48
    REX POLONIAE Moderator KLAssurbanipal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Poland
    Posts
    758

    Default Re: EUROPEAN WARS - random UNITS preview! :)

    Today I have made French Cuirassier from early 18th century:
    Last edited by KLAssurbanipal; 07-14-2011 at 07:47.

  19. #49

    Wink Re: EUROPEAN WARS - general discussion bayonets

    the first bayonets were pluged into the barrel witched would stop the gun from shooting (make fix bayonet a specal abilty) and remained that way for a while not sure when the stared using bayonets fitted to side of gun but i think it was before nepolionic war

    you should have cannons with grape shot(like shotgun its a shell made of paper with musket balls in it the paper would burn away when it was fired and musked balls would go every wair devastating at close range )


    you should also have grainades made of clay pots with musket balls and nails and stones and gun powder (just modifie the look of naffamen and chainge look of explosion )


    so i think thats it so far,
    any way good luck on the mod

  20. #50
    REX POLONIAE Moderator KLAssurbanipal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Poland
    Posts
    758

    Default Re: EUROPEAN WARS - random UNITS preview! :)

    British Redcoat:




    Mousquetaire, First Company, mid-18th century:




    Prussian Musketeer, mid-18th century:




    more here: http://twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=533

  21. #51
    Member Member Arngrim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Southern Swedish Highlands. In a small house surrounded by conifer djungles.
    Posts
    33

    Default Re: EUROPEAN WARS - general discussion bayonets

    Quote Originally Posted by pvt ryan
    the first bayonets were pluged into the barrel witched would stop the gun from shooting (make fix bayonet a specal abilty) and remained that way for a while not sure when the stared using bayonets fitted to side of gun but i think it was before nepolionic war
    The Swedish army adopted side-mounted(?) bayonets in the 1690´s, and we weren´t first. So it was at least 100 years before the Napoleonic wars.
    Survival of the fittest is a question of NOT being selected for military service! Where are the Spartans today?

  22. #52
    Member Member Arngrim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Southern Swedish Highlands. In a small house surrounded by conifer djungles.
    Posts
    33

    Default Re: EUROPEAN WARS - general discussion

    Quote Originally Posted by Arngrim
    Regarding bayonets contra swords.
    All infantry carried swords, and did so until after the Napoleonic wars. The bayonet was never intended for CQB between infantrymen. It was intended for protection against cavalry, making every musket into a mini-pike. A sword is far more efficient in fighting opposing infantry. Compare with WW2 infantry, who would rather fight with spades than bayonets. The reason for abolishing infantry swords in 19 century was economics. Since real CQB was relatively rare, it was considered an unnecessary cost to equip infantry with swords and soldiers had to make do with their bayonets on those rare occasions when the defenders didn't ran of.

    Swedish infantry always drew swords before charging. I suppose the other armies did to - they werent stupid.
    Sorry, all! I seem to have posted this in the wrong forum. This was meant to be a reply to some-one who claimed that only the Swedes was equipped with and trained with swords in the Great Northern War. My Bad!
    Survival of the fittest is a question of NOT being selected for military service! Where are the Spartans today?

  23. #53
    Member Member Arngrim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Southern Swedish Highlands. In a small house surrounded by conifer djungles.
    Posts
    33

    Default Re: EUROPEAN WARS - screens from battle

    I´m starting to feel bad about my comments on your fantastic work. It´s not my intention to diss you... but here it goes;

    The Swedish pikeneers and grenadiers never fought as independent unit as depicted. They were integrated into the infantry battallions. The pikeneers made up the center third of the battallions, and the grenadiers made up the extreme end of the wings - 24 men to each. On very rare occasions the 48 grenadiers of each battallion were compiled as temporary shock-troops against especially tough field fortifications.

    Also, the standard depth of the 600 man strong battallion was four ranks. But this of course varies during the game, i suppose.

    Maybee its not possible to organize mixed battallions in the mod? if so, its more historically correct not to have grenadieers and pikeneers at all.

    The Drabant Corps was a combined bodyguard / officers school / officers pool of a two-company squadron. The minimum rank of its members were lieutanents and it should be a one-only unit. I was almost always commanded by the king himself. Standard cavalry formation was the plow-formation, with the riders riding knee behind knee, to make the formation more compact and tougher than the opposing cavalries linear formations,
    Last edited by Arngrim; 01-24-2008 at 20:02.
    Survival of the fittest is a question of NOT being selected for military service! Where are the Spartans today?

  24. #54
    Member Member the greek's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    in the mighty kingdom of New Yorkshire
    Posts
    69

    Default Re: EUROPEAN WARS - screens from battle

    thats probobly hard to do with total war engine,
    where there actually units like winged hussars cos they look crazy!!
    " its funny when you think that if no war had existed there could be no peace ,without war, peace has no oppsite,but in the end it means nothing but what is a idea but words that blossoms in the minds of fickle or brilliant men that give them purpose and to them a meaning ." William Anderson 1781

  25. #55
    Member Member Arngrim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Southern Swedish Highlands. In a small house surrounded by conifer djungles.
    Posts
    33

    Default Re: Europa pod bronią- FIRST PREVIEW: SWEDEN (Empire TW period mod)

    For pictures of exact replicas of Swedish Carolean uniforms, you can visit the website http:\\caroliner.nu. They were modeled on the only two surviving uniforms of the period. The equipment is also exact copies, except for the musquets, who actually are Brown Bess replicas. The culotte trosers depicted are blue instead of yellow, because historically, the companies depicted ran out of yellow cloth, and had make do with blue.
    Survival of the fittest is a question of NOT being selected for military service! Where are the Spartans today?

  26. #56
    Member Member Arngrim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Southern Swedish Highlands. In a small house surrounded by conifer djungles.
    Posts
    33

    Default Re: Europa pod bronią- FIRST PREVIEW: SWEDEN (Empire TW period mod)

    Quote Originally Posted by Arngrim
    For pictures of exact replicas of Swedish Carolean uniforms, you can visit the website http:\\caroliner.nu. They were modeled on the only two surviving uniforms of the period. The equipment is also exact copies, except for the musquets, who actually are Brown Bess replicas. The culotte trosers depicted are blue instead of yellow, because historically, the companies depicted ran out of yellow cloth, and had make do with blue.

    Shazbath!!!

    the link should be http://caroliner.nu, of course.

    My Bad!
    Survival of the fittest is a question of NOT being selected for military service! Where are the Spartans today?

  27. #57
    REX POLONIAE Moderator KLAssurbanipal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Poland
    Posts
    758

    Default List of battles in mod

    list of battles in mod:

    1683

    Battle of Vienna
    September 12 Polish King Jan Sobieski defeats Ottomans, lifts siege of Vienna

    1700
    Battle of Narva
    November 30 Charles XII of Sweden defeats Russians

    1704
    Battle of Schellenberg
    July 2 - Duke of Marlborough defeats French and Bavarian forces during War of the Spanish Succession

    1704
    Battle of Blenheim
    August 14 - Duke of Marlborough defeats French and Bavarian forces during War of the Spanish Succession

    1706
    Battle of Fraustadt
    February 3 - Sweden defeats Saxony

    1706
    Battle of Ramillies
    May 23 - Duke of Marlborough defeats the French in the War of Spanish Succession

    1707
    Battle of Almanza
    April 25 French forces defeat Portuguese

    1708
    Battle of Holowczyn
    July 4 Swedish defeat two Russian forces

    1709
    Battle of Poltava
    June 28 - Peter the Great of Russia soundly defeats Charles XII of Sweden

    1710
    Battle of Almenara
    July 27 - Austrian-British-Dutch allies defeat the Spanish in the War of Spanish Succession

    1712
    Battle of Denain
    July 24 - French defeat Austrians and Dutch

    1712
    Battle of Gadebusch
    December 9 - Sweden defeats Denmark and Saxony

    1715
    Battle of Preston
    (November 9 - 14) - Rebel victory during First Jacobite Rising

    1716
    Battle of Petrovaradin
    August 3 - Austria defeats the Ottomans

    1746
    Battle of Culloden Moor (or Battle of Culloden)
    April 16 - Jacobites lose to English


    Soon I will posted battles of Seven Years' War.

  28. #58
    REX POLONIAE Moderator KLAssurbanipal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Poland
    Posts
    758

    Default Historical figures in mod - Kazimierz Pułaski (Casimir Pulaski)

    from wikipedia:

    Kazimierz Pułaski of Clan Ślepowron ([ka'ʑimʲɛʐ pu'waski] (help·info), often written Casimir Pulaski in English in the USA (March 4, 1746October 11, 1779), was a Polish soldier and politician who has been called "the father of American cavalry."
    A member of the Polish landed gentry, (Polish):szlachta, he was a military commander for the Bar Confederation and fought against Russian domination of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. When this uprising failed, he emigrated to North America, where he became a General in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He died of wounds suffered at the Battle of Savannah.



    Kazimierz Michał Wacław Wiktor Pułaski herbu Ślepowron, as was his full name, was born March 4, 1746 (some sources cite March 6) in Winiary, near Warka. His father, Józef Pułaski, was the Starost of the area and one of its most notable inhabitants of the time. Early in his youth, Kazimierz Pułaski was sent to Warsaw, where he studied at the local college of Theatines.
    In 1762, he started his career as a page of Charles Christian Wettin, Duke of Courland and a vassal of the Polish king. However, soon after his arrival at Mitau, the ducal court was expelled from the palaces by the Russian forces occupying the area. Pułaski returned to Warsaw, where in 1764 he took part in the election of the new Polish monarch, Stanisław II August.
    A skilled military commander and a son of one of the notable families, Pułaski became one of the co-founders of the Bar Confederation, together with his father, on February 29, 1768. The confederation, aimed to curtail Russian hegemony over the Commonwealth, was actively opposed by the Russian forces stationed in Poland. As the Marshal of Nobility of the Land of Łomża, Pułaski became one of the best commanders of the confederate forces. That year he was besieged in a monastery in Berdyczów, which he defended for two weeks against overwhelming odds. Taken captive by the Russians, he was set free after being forced to pledge that he would not return to the confederates.
    However, he did not consider such a forced pledge binding and fought against the Russian forces for four more years. In 1769, he was again besieged by numerically superior forces, this time in the old fortress of Okopy Świętej Trójcy. However, after a brave defense, he was able to break through the Russian siege and defect with his men to the Ottoman Empire, from where they returned to Lithuania. There Pułaski incited yet another revolt against Russia, with many local nobles joining the Confederation.
    Between September 10, 1770, and January 9, 1771, Pułaski also commanded the Polish forces in the siege of Jasna Góra monastery, which he successfully defended. In November 1771, he was also the main organizer of an attempt to take the king hostage. However, the attempt failed, and the Confederation was disbanded soon afterwards. Pułaski was made a public enemy and sentenced to death in absentia for attempted regicide. He fled the country, but no European state accepted him. After a brief stay in Turkey, he moved illegally to France, where he was recruited by Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette for service in America.
    From 1777 until his death, Pułaski fought in the American Revolutionary War for the independence of the United States. He was a noted cavalryman and, as the "Father of the American Cavalry," created Pulaski's Legion, one of the few cavalry regiments in the American Continental Army. He took part in the Battle of Brandywine, the Siege of Charleston (South Carolina), and the Battle of Savannah (Georgia).
    On October 9, 1779, Pułaski — during a cavalry charge, while probing for a weak point in the British lines at the Battle of Savannah — was wounded in the groin by grapeshot. He was carried from the field by several comrades, including Colonel John C. Cooper, and taken aboard the privateer merchant brigantine Wasp. Two days later, without having regained consciousness, he died of his wounds.
    According to several contemporary witnesses, including Pułaski's aide-de-camp, he was buried at sea. A long-standing rumor, however, has it that the wounded Pułaski was actually taken to Greenwich plantation near Savannah, where he died and was buried. In 2004, an eight-year examination of remains buried at the plantation ended inconclusively.

    One of the first tributes to Pułaski was paid when George Washington on November 17, 1779, issued a challenge-and-password set for identifying friend and foe when crossing military lines: "Query: Pulaski, Response: Poland".
    The United States has long commemorated Pułaski's contributions to the American War of Independence, but Polish immigration in the 20th century accelerated the interest. By presidential proclamation, every October 11 is "General Pulaski Memorial Day," dedicated to Pułaski's memory and to the heritage of Polish-Americans. Each October Grand Rapids, Michigan, celebrates "Pulaski Days". There is also a statue of Pułaski in Detroit, Michigan, in the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Michigan Avenue.
    The State of Kentucky has by law, since before 1942, recognized General Pulaski's Day. The State of Illinois has since 1977 celebrated Casimir Pulaski Day on the first Monday of March, doubtless due to the large Polish population of Chicago. (Pulaski Road, one of Chicago's major arteries, is named for him.) Wisconsin and Indiana extend similar recognition, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, also holds an annual parade and school holiday. On his day there is a Pulaski Day parade on Fifth Avenue in New York City.
    "Pulaski Park" sits on Main Street between City Hall and the historic Academy of Music Theater, in the town of Northampton, Massachusetts. Northampton and the surrounding area is home to many Polish American immigrants and their descendants.

    The American Civil War Fort Pulaski National Monument is named in honor of Kazimierz Pułaski.
    A US Navy submarine, USS Casimir Pulaski, has been named for him, as was a 19th-century Coast Guard cutter .

    Several cities and counties in US states are named after Pulaski, including the city of Pulaski, Tennessee, counties in Arkansas (of which Arkansas' state capital is the county seat), Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Virginia, as well as villages in Wisconsin and New York. A bridge on Interstate 65 over the Kankakee River in Indiana is named after him. The Pulaski Skyway in northern New Jersey and the Pulaski Bridge in New York City are dedicated to him. A section of U.S. Highway 40 from New Castle, Delaware to Baltimore, Maryland is named the Pulaski Highway. There are also Casimir Pulaski elementary schools in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Meriden, Connecticut, and an industrial park is named for him in nearby Wallingford, Connecticut. Within the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia, Pulaski House is the name for a student residential building. Additionally, there is Pulaski Square in downtown Savannah and Fort Pulaski National Monument outside Savannah. There is also a Pulaski Street and park in the historically Polish city of Hamtramck, Michigan. Streets named for Pulaski also exist in Chicago, Illinois, in downtown Columbia, South Carolina, and Northampton, Massachusetts. A section of the 5/8/12 arterial in Utica, New York, is named the Casimir Pulaski Highway.
    In the movie Year of the Dragon, a drug-smuggling ship crucial to the finale is called the Kazimierz Pułaski.
    American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens titled a song "Casimir Pulaski Day" on his album, Illinois, in which the singer's adolescent love succumbs to cancer on Casimir Pulaski Day. Similarly, but using a different spelling, heavy rock band Big Black include a song, Kasimir S. Pulaski Day, on their album Songs About ****ing.
    There is a technical university in Poland known as Casimir Pulaski Technical University of Radom.
    On March 19, 2007, the United States Senate agreed unanimously to posthumously recognize Casimir Pulaski as an Honorary Citizen of the United States. If the United States House of Representatives follows suit, and the President of the United States signs the resultant bill into law, Pulaski will become only the seventh person so honored.



  29. #59
    REX POLONIAE Moderator KLAssurbanipal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Poland
    Posts
    758

    Default Historical figures in mod - Peter The Great

    Peter The Great:





    from wikipedia:

    Peter the Great or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov (Russian: Пётр I Алексеевич Pyotr I Alekse`yevich, Пётр Великий Pyotr Veli`kiy) (9 June 16728 February 1725 [30 May 167228 January 1725 O.S.]) ruled Russia from 7 May (27 April O.S.) 1682 until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his weak and sickly half-brother, Ivan V. Peter carried out a policy of "Westernization" and expansion that transformed the Tsardom of Russia into the Russian Empire, a major European power.

    Peter, the son of Alexei Mikhailovich (Alexis I of Russia) and his second wife, Nataliya Kyrillovna Naryshkina, was born in Moscow. Alexei had previously married Maria Miloslavskaya, having five sons and eight daughters by her, although only two of the sons—Feodor III and Ivan V—were alive when Peter was born. Alexei I died in 1676, and was succeeded by his oldest surviving son, Feodor.

    Feodor III's uneventful reign ended within six years; as Feodor did not leave any children, a dispute over the succession between the Naryshkin and Miloslavskyi families broke out. Ivan was the next for the throne, but he was chronically ill and of infirm mind. Consequently, the Boyar Duma (a council of Russian nobles) chose the ten-year old Peter to become Tsar, his mother becoming regent. But one of Alexei's daughters by his first marriage, Sophia Alekseyevna, led a rebellion of the Streltsy (Russia's élite military corps). In the subsequent conflict, many of Peter's relatives and friends were murdered—Peter even witnessed the butchery of one of his uncles by a mob. The memory of this violence may have caused trauma during Peter's earlier years.

    The Streltsy uprising of April-May 1682 made it possible for Sophia, the Miloslavskys (the clan of Ivan), and their allies, to insist that Peter and Ivan be proclaimed joint Tsars, with Ivan being acclaimed as the senior of the two. Sophia acted as regent during the minority of the two sovereigns and exercised all power. Peculiarly, a large hole was cut in the back of the dual-seated throne used by Ivan and Peter. Sophia would sit behind the throne and listen as Peter conversed with nobles, also feeding him information and giving him responses to questions and problems. This throne can be seen in the Kremlin museum in Moscow. For seven years, she ruled as an autocrat.
    Throughout the ages it has been the habit of many historians to portray Sophia as an ambitious, Machiavellian woman who would do whatever it took to achieve power. By early middle age, Peter himself came to associate Sophia with the dark forces of opposition, forgetting as do many historians that in the seven years of her regency that Peter and his mother, while pushed out of the scene, were never threatened or harmed. Indeed, the often overlooked fact that Peter lived, busy and content, through the regency speaks volumes.
    Peter, meanwhile, was not particularly concerned that others ruled in his own name. He engaged in such pastimes as shipbuilding and sailing, as well as mock battles with his toy army. Peter's mother sought to force him to adopt a more conventional approach and arranged his marriage to Eudoxia Lopukhina in 1689. The marriage was an utter failure, and ten years later Peter forced her to become a nun and thus freed himself from the marriage.

    By the summer of 1689, Peter had planned to take power from his half-sister Sophia, whose position had been weakened by the two unsuccessful Crimean campaigns. When she learned of his designs, Sophia began to conspire with the leaders of the streltsy, who were somewhat like hooligans continually arousing disorder and dissent of the tsar's rule. Unfortunately for Sophia, Peter, warned by the Streltsy, escaped in the middle of the night to the impenetrable monastery of Troitsky; there he slowly gathered his adherents and others, who perceived he would win the power struggle. She was therefore overthrown, with Peter I and Ivan V continuing to act as co-tsars. Peter forced Sophia to enter a convent, where she gave up her name and position as a member of the royal family.
    Still, Peter could not acquire actual control over Russian affairs. Power was instead exercised by his mother, Nataliya Naryshkina. It was only when Nataliya died in 1694 that Peter became truly independent. Formally, Ivan V remained a co-ruler with Peter, although he was still ineffective. Peter became the sole ruler when Ivan died in 1696.

    Peter grew to be a giant of a man. Standing at nearly two metres (six feet seven inches) he was literally head and shoulders above his contemporaries both in Russia and throughout Europe. However Peter lacked the overall proportional heft and bulk generally found in a man that size. Both Peter's hands and feet were small, and his shoulders narrow for his height; likewise, his head was also small for his tall body. Added to this were Peter's noticeable facial tics, and, judging by descriptions handed down, he almost certainly suffered from petit mal, a light form of epilepsy.

    Filippo Baltari, a young Italian visitor to Peter's court, wrote:
    "Tsar Peter was tall and thin, rather than stout. His hair was thick, short, and dark brown; he had large eyes, black with long lashes, a well-shaped mouth, but the lower lip was slightly disfigured...For his great height, his feet seemed very narrow. His head was sometimes tugged to the right by convulsions."
    Centuries later, the artist Valentin Serov gave a less flattering description of Peter:
    "He was frightful: long, on weak, spindly little legs and with a head so small in relation to the rest of his body...he looked more like a sort of dummy with a badly stuck on head than a live person. He suffered from a constant tic and was always making faces: wrinkling, screwing up his mouth, twitching his nose, wagging his chin."
    Otherwise, judging by documents—or lack thereof—that have managed to survive to the present day, few contemporaries, either in or outside of Russia, commented on Peter's great height or appearance.

    Peter implemented sweeping reforms aimed at modernizing Russia. Heavily influenced by his western advisors, Peter reorganized the Russian army along European lines and dreamt of making Russia a maritime power. He faced much opposition to these policies at home, but brutally suppressed any and all rebellions against his authority, the rebelling of streltsy, Bashkirs, Astrakhan and including the greatest civil uprising of his reign, the Bulavin Rebellion. Further, Peter implemented social westernization in an absolute manner by implementing policies such as a "beard tax."
    To improve his nation's position on the seas, Peter sought to gain more maritime outlets. His only outlet at the time was the White Sea at Arkhangelsk. The Baltic Sea was at the time controlled by Sweden in the north, while the Black Sea was controlled by the Ottoman Empire in the south. Peter attempted to acquire control of the Black Sea, but to do so he would have to expel the Tatars from the surrounding areas. He was forced, as part of an agreement with Poland, which ceded Kiev to Russia, to wage war against the Crimean Khan and against the Khan's overlord, the Ottoman Sultan. Peter's primary objective became the capture of the Ottoman fortress of Azov, near the Don River. In the summer of 1695 Peter organized the Azov campaigns in order to take the fortress, but his attempts ended in failure. Peter returned to Moscow in November of that year, and promptly began building a large navy. He launched about thirty ships against the Ottomans in 1696, capturing Azov in July of that year. On September 12, 1698, Peter The Great officially founded the first Russian Navy base, Taganrog.

    Peter knew that Russia could not face the Ottoman Empire alone. In 1697, he traveled to Europe incognito with a large Russian delegation–the so-called "Grand Embassy"—to seek the aid of the European monarchs. Peter's hopes were dashed; France was a traditional ally of the Ottoman Sultan, and Austria was eager to maintain peace in the east whilst conducting its own wars in the west. Peter, furthermore, had chosen the most inopportune moment; the Europeans at the time were more concerned about who would succeed the childless Spanish King Charles II than about fighting the Ottoman Sultan.
    The "Great Embassy", although failing to complete the mission of creating an anti-Ottoman alliance, still continued to travel across Europe. In visiting Holland, Peter learned much about Western culture. He studied shipbuilding in Zaandam and Amsterdam. Thanks to the mediation of Nicolaas Witsen, mayor of Amsterdam and expert on Russia par excellence, the czar was given the opportunity to gain practical experience in the largest shipyard in the world, belonging to the Dutch East India Company, for a period of four months. The Tsar helped with the construction of an East Indiaman especially laid down for him: Peter and Paul. During his stay the tsar engaged many skilled workers such as builders of locks, fortresses, shipwrights and seamen. Cornelis Cruys, a vice-admiral who became under Franz Lefort the Tsar's advisor in maritime affairs. Besides Peter paid a visit to Frederik Ruysch, who taught him how to draw teeth and catch butterflies. Also Ludolf Bakhuysen, a painter of seascapes and Jan van der Heyden the inventor of the fire hose, received Peter, who was keen on learning and bringing home what he had seen.

    In England he met with King William III, visited Greenwich, Oxford, was painted by sir Godfrey Kneller and saw a Fleet Review, Royal Navy in Deptford. Then the Embassy went to Leipzig, Dresden and Vienna. He spoke with August the Strong and Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. The Embassy did not make it to Venice. The visit of Peter was cut short in 1698, when he was forced to rush home by a rebellion of the streltsy. The rebellion was, however, easily crushed before Peter returned home from England; of the Tsar's troops, only one was killed. Peter nevertheless acted ruthlessly towards the mutineers. Over 1200 of them were tortured and executed, with Peter acting as one of the executioners. The streltsy were disbanded, and the individual they sought to put on the Throne—Peter's half-sister Sophia—was forced to become a nun.
    Also, upon his return from his European tour, Peter sought to end his unhappy marriage. He divorced the Tsaritsa, Eudoxia Lopukhina. The Tsaritsa had borne Peter three children, although only one—the Tsarevich Alexei—had survived past his childhood.
    In 1698, Peter sent a delegation to Malta under boyar Boris Petrovich Sheremetyev, to observe the training and abilities of the Knights of Malta and their fleet. Sheremetyev also investigated the possibility of future joint ventures with the Knights, including action against the Turks and the possibility of a future Russian naval base.

    Peter's visits to the West impressed upon him the notion that European customs were in several respects superior to Russian traditions. He commanded all of his courtiers and officials to cut off their long beards—causing his Boyars, who were very fond of their beards, great upset—and wear European clothing. Boyars who sought to retain their beards were required to pay an annual beard tax of one hundred rubles. He also sought to end arranged marriages, which were the norm among the Russian nobility, because he thought of such a practice was not only barbaric but also led to domestic violence since the partners usually resented each other in this forced union.
    In 1699, Peter also changed the celebration of new year from 1st September to 1 January. Traditionally, the years were reckoned from the purported creation of the World, but after Peter's reforms, they were to be counted from the birth of Christ.


    Peter made a temporary peace with the Ottoman Empire that allowed him to keep the captured fort of Azov, and turned his attention to Russian maritime supremacy. He sought to acquire control of the Baltic Sea, which had been taken by Sweden a half-century earlier. Peter declared war on Sweden, which was at the time led by King Charles XII. Sweden was also opposed by Denmark, Norway, Saxony, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

    Russia turned out to be ill-prepared to fight the Swedes, and their first attempt at seizing the Baltic coast ended in disaster at the Battle of Narva in 1700. In the conflict, the forces of Charles XII used a blinding snowstorm to their advantage. After the battle, Charles XII decided to concentrate his forces against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, giving Peter I time to reorganize the Russian army.
    As the Poles and Lithuanians on one side and Swedes on the other, fought each other, Peter founded the great city of Saint Petersburg (Germanically named after Saint Peter the Apostle) in Izhora (which he had re-captured from Sweden) in 1703. He forbade the building of stone edifices outside Saint Petersburg — which he intended to become Russia's capital — so that all the stonemasons could participate in the construction of the new city. He also took Martha Skavronskaya as a mistress. Martha converted to the Russian Orthodox Church and took the name Catherine, allegedly marrying Peter in secret in 1707.

    Following several defeats, the Polish King August II abdicated in 1706. Charles XII turned his attention to Russia, invading it in 1708. After crossing into Russia, Charles defeated Peter at Golovchin in July. In the Battle of Lesnaya, however, Charles suffered his first loss after Peter crushed a group of Swedish reinforcements marching from Riga. Deprived of this aid, Charles was forced to abandon his proposed march on Moscow.

    Charles XII refused to retreat to Poland or back to Sweden, instead invading Ukraine. Peter withdrew his army southward, destroying any property that could assist the Swedes along the way. Deprived of local supplies, the Swedish army was forced to halt its advance in the winter of 17081709. In the summer of 1709, they nevertheless resumed their efforts to capture Ukraine, culminating in the Battle of Poltava on 27 June. The battle was a decisive defeat for Swedish forces, ending Charles' campaign in Ukraine and forcing him into exile in the Ottoman Empire. In Poland, August II was restored as King.
    Peter foolishly attacked the Ottomans in 1711. Normally, the Boyar Duma would have exercised power during his absence. Peter, however, mistrusted the Boyars; he abolished the Duma and created a Senate of ten members. Peter's campaign in the Ottoman Empire was disastrous; in the ensuing peace treaty, Peter was forced to return the Black Sea ports he had seized in 1697. In return, the Sultan expelled Charles XII.

    Peter's northern armies took the Swedish province of Livonia (the northern half of modern Latvia, and the southern half of modern Estonia), driving the Swedes back into Finland. Most of Finland was occupied by the Russians in 1714. In 1716 and 1717, the Tsar revisited the Netherlands, and went to see Herman Boerhaave. He continued his travel to the Austrian Netherlands and France. The Tsar's navy was so powerful that the Russians could penetrate Sweden. Peter also obtained the assistance of Hanover and the Kingdom of Prussia. Still, Charles XII refused to yield, and not until his death in battle in 1718 did peace become feasible. Sweden made peace with all powers but Russia by 1720. In 1721, the Treaty of Nystad ended what became known as the Great Northern War. Russia acquired Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and a substantial portion of Karelia. In turn, Russia paid two million Riksdaler and surrendered most of Finland. The Tsar was, however, permitted to retain some Finnish lands close to Saint Petersburg, which he had made his capital in 1712. He gained access to a warm-water-port during his reign for easier trading with the Western world.

    Peter I's last years were marked by further reform in Russia. On 22 October 1721, soon after peace was made with Sweden, he was acclaimed Emperor of All Russia. Some proposed that he take the title Emperor of the East, but he refused. Gavrila Golovkin, the State Chancellor, was the first to add "the Great, Father of His Country, Emperor of All the Russias" to Peter's traditional title Tsar following a speech by the archbishop of Pskov in 1721.
    Peter's imperial title was recognized by Augustus II of Poland, Frederick William I of Prussia and Frederick I of Sweden, but not by the other European monarchs. In the minds of many, the word emperor connoted superiority or pre-eminence over "mere" kings. Several rulers feared that Peter would claim authority over them, just as the Holy Roman Emperor had once claimed suzerainty over all Christian nations.
    Peter also reformed the government of the Russian Orthodox Church. The traditional leader of the Church was the Patriarch of Moscow. In 1700, when the office fell vacant, Peter had refused to name a replacement, allowing the Patriarch's Coadjutor (or deputy) to discharge the duties of the office. Twenty-one years later, in 1721, Peter followed the advice of Feofan Prokopovich and erected the Holy Synod, a council of ten clergymen, to take the place of the Patriarch and Coadjutor.Peter also implemented a law which stipulated that no Russian man can join a monastery before the age of 50. He felt that too many able Russian men were being wasted away by clerical work when they could be joining his new and improved army. And in 18th century Russia, few people (men and women) rarely lived to over a half century, therefore very few men became monks during Peter's reign, much to the dismay of the Russian Church.

    In 1722, Peter created a new order of precedence, known as the Table of Ranks. Formerly, precedence had been determined by birth. In order to deprive the Boyars of their high positions, Peter directed that precedence should be determined by merit and service to the Emperor. The Table of Ranks continued to remain in effect until the Russian monarchy was overthrown in 1917.In addition, Peter decided that all of the children of the nobility should have some early education, especially in the areas of sciences. Therefore, on February 28th 1714, he introduced the decree on compulsory education which dictated that all Russian children of the nobility, of government clerks and even lesser ranked officials between the ages of 10 and 15 must learn basic mathematics and geometry and that they should be tested on it at the end of their studies.

    Peter also introduced new taxes to fund improvements in Saint Petersburg. He abolished the land tax and household tax, and replaced them with a capitation. The taxes on land on households were payable only by individuals who owned property or maintained families; the new head taxes, however, were payable by serfs and paupers.
    In 1724, Peter had his second wife, Catherine, crowned as Empress, although he remained Russia's actual ruler. All of Peter's male children had died—the eldest son, Alexei, had been tortured and killed on Peter's orders in 1718 because he had disobeyed his father and opposed official policies. At the same time, Alexei's mother Eudoxia had also been punished; she was dragged from her home and tried on false charges of adultery. A similar fate befell Peter's beautiful mistress, Anna Mons, in 1724.
    In 1725, construction of Peterhof, a palace near St Petersburg, was completed. Peterhof (Dutch for "Peter's Court") was a grand residence, becoming known as the "Russian Versailles".

    In the winter of 1723, Peter, whose overall health was never robust, began having problems with his urinary tract and bladder. In the summer of 1724 a team of doctors performed the necessary surgery releasing upwards of four pounds of blocked urine. Peter remained bedridden till late autumn. Then in the first week of October, restless and certain he was cured, Peter began a lengthy inspection tour of various projects. According to tradition, it was in November, while at Lakhta along the Finnish Gulf to inspect some ironworks, that Peter saw a group of soldiers drowning not far from shore and, wading out into near-waist deep water, came to their rescue.

    This icy water rescue is said to have exacerbated Peter's bladder problems and caused his death on January 28, 1725. The story, however, has been viewed with skepticism by some historians, pointing out that the German chronicler Jacob von Stählin is the only source for the story, and it seems unlikely that no one else would have documented such an act of heroism. This, plus the interval of time between these actions and Peter's death seems to preclude any direct link. However, the story may still, in part, contain some grain of truth.
    In early January 1725, Peter was struck once again with uremia. Legend has it that before lapsing into unconsciousness Peter asked for a paper and pen and scrawled an unfinished note that read: "Leave all to...." and then, exhausted by the effort, asked for his daughter Anna to be summoned.[7]
    Peter died between four and five in the morning January 28, 1725. An autopsy revealed his bladder to be infected with gangrene. He was fifty-two years, seven months old when he died, having reigned forty-two years.

    Many emotions swept through Russia, indeed throughout all of Europe, on the news of Peter's death, but genuine grief was not shared by all. In the words of Russian historian P. Kovalevsky:
    "We could enthuse forever about the greatness of Peter's actions and still not depict in all its fullness, brilliance and worth everything that he accomplished...But in creating, he destroyed. He caused pain to all in whom he came into contact. He disturbed the safety, peace, prosperity, interests, strength, well-being, rights and dignity of everyone he touched. He made things unpleasant for everyone. He did harm to everyone. He touched intellectual, political, social, financial, family, moral and spiritual interests. Is it possible to love such a statesman? In no way. Such men are hated."

  30. #60
    REX POLONIAE Moderator KLAssurbanipal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Poland
    Posts
    758

    Default Friendly team - '18th century'


Page 2 of 8 FirstFirst 123456 ... LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Single Sign On provided by vBSSO