Bayonet Charge
A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustrated History'', Iola, WI: Krause Publications, , (2004), pp. 9–10, 83–85. From the 17th century to World War I, it was a weapon for infantry attacks. Today it is considered an ancillary weapon or a weapon of last resort. History The term ''bayonette'' itself dates back to the mid-to-late 16th century, but it is not clear whether bayonets at the time were knives that could be fitted to the ends of firearms, or simply a type of knife. For example, Cotgrave's 1611 ''Dictionarie'' describes the bayonet as "a kind of small flat pocket dagger, furnished with knives; or a great knife to hang at the girdle". Likewise, Pierre Borel wrote in 1655 that a kind of long-knife called a ''bayonette'' was made in Bayonne but does not give any fu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The British Army In Britain, 1941 H10633
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the Most common words in English, most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with pronouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Breech-loading Weapon
A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally breech-loading – except for replicas of vintage weapons. Early firearms before the mid-19th century were almost entirely muzzle-loading. Mortars and the Russian GP-25 grenade launcher are the only muzzleloaders remaining in frequent modern usage. However, referring to a weapon specifically as breech loading is mostly limited to single-shot or otherwise non-repeating firearms, such as double-barreled shotguns. Breech-loading provides the advantage of reduced reloading time, because it is far quicker to load the projectile and propellant into the chamber of a gun/cannon than to reach all the way over to the front end to load ammunition and then push them back down a long tube – especially when the projectile fits tightly and the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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King Louis XIV
Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reigning monarchs, longest of any sovereign in history whose date is verifiable. Although Louis XIV's France was emblematic of the Absolutism (European history), age of absolutism in Europe, the King surrounded himself with a variety of significant political, military, and cultural figures, such as Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, Bossuet, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Colbert, Charles Le Brun, Le Brun, André Le Nôtre, Le Nôtre, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Lully, Cardinal Mazarin, Mazarin, Molière, Jean Racine, Racine, Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne, Turenne, and Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, Vauban. Louis began his personal rule of France in 1661, after the death of his chief minister, the Cardinal Mazarin. An adherent o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Battle Of Fleurus (1690)
The Battle of Fleurus, fought on 1 July 1690, was a major engagement of the Nine Years' War. In a bold and masterful envelopment, Marshal Luxembourg, commanding a French army of some 35,000 men, inflicted a severe defeat on Prince Waldeck’s Allied force of approximately 38,000 men. Waldeck lost 50% of his army and Luxembourg moved ahead to control Flanders. Although the battle was a brilliant tactical feat and the French War Minister, Louvois, wished to press ahead and secure further success, King Louis overruled him and ordered Luxembourg to reinforce the Dauphin’s army on the Rhine and forgo any major siege. The Allies, meanwhile, withdrew to Brussels to recover and rebuild their forces. Background In 1690 the main theatre of the Nine Years' War moved to the Spanish Netherlands. Command of French forces now passed to the talented Marshal Luxembourg (a position he would keep until his death in 1695), superseding Marshal Humières who had suffered defeat at the Battle ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hugh Mackay (general)
Hugh Mackay (c. 1640 – 24 July 1692) was a Scottish military officer who settled in the Netherlands, and spent most of his career in the service of William of Orange (later William III of England). In 1660, Mackay was commissioned into Dumbarton's Regiment, spending the next few years in England and France, then volunteered to fight for the Republic of Venice in the Fifth Ottoman-Venetian War. He rejoined Dumbarton's in 1672 on the outbreak of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, before transferring to the Scots Brigade in 1673. A long established mercenary unit of the Dutch army, Mackay served with the Brigade for the rest of his career. Mackay led the Brigade during the Glorious Revolution and was military commander in Scotland from 1689 to 1690. Despite defeat at Killiecrankie in July 1689, the Highlands had largely been brought under control by the end of 1690 and Mackay was reassigned to Ireland for the 1691 campaign. He returned to the Netherlands in October 1691 after the Tre ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Battle Of Killiecrankie
The Battle of Killiecrankie ( gd, Blàr Choille Chnagaidh), also referred to as the Battle of Rinrory, took place on 27 July 1689 during the 1689 Scottish Jacobite rising. An outnumbered Jacobite force under John Graham, Viscount Dundee and Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel defeated a government army commanded by General Hugh Mackay. James VII went into exile in December 1688 after being deposed by the Glorious Revolution in Scotland. In March 1689, he began the Williamite War in Ireland, with a simultaneous revolt led by Dundee, previously military commander in Scotland. Hampered by lack of men and resources, Dundee gambled on a decisive battle which he hoped would attract wider support. Although Killiecrankie was an unexpected and stunning victory, his army suffered heavy casualties and he was killed in the final minutes. It did little to change the overall strategic position, and the Jacobites were unable to take advantage of their success. Background In February 1685, the Ca ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jacobitism
Jacobitism (; gd, Seumasachas, ; ga, Seacaibíteachas, ) was a political movement that supported the restoration of the senior line of the House of Stuart to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British throne. The name derives from the first name of James II and VII, which in Latin translates as ''Jacobus (name), Jacobus''. When James went into exile after the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, the Parliament of England argued that he had abandoned the Kingdom of England, English throne, which they offered to his Protestant daughter Mary II, and her husband William III of England, William III. In April, the Convention of Estates (1689), Scottish Convention held that he "forfeited" the throne of Scotland by his actions, listed in the Articles of Grievances. The Revolution thus created the principle of a contract between monarch and people, which if violated meant the monarch could be removed. Jacobites argued monarchs were appointed by God, or Divine right of kings, divine right, a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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William III Of England
William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrecht, Guelders, and Lordship of Overijssel, Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the 1670s, and King of England, Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland, and List of Scottish monarchs, Scotland from 1689 until his death in 1702. As King of Scotland, he is known as William II. He is sometimes informally known as "King Billy" in Ireland and Scotland. His victory at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 is The Twelfth, commemorated by Unionism in the United Kingdom, Unionists, who display Orange Order, orange colours in his honour. He ruled Britain alongside his wife and cousin, Queen Mary II, and popular histories usually refer to their reign as that of "William and Mary". William was the only child of William II, Prince of Orange, and Mary, Princess Royal an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Melee
A melee ( or , French: mêlée ) or pell-mell is disorganized hand-to-hand combat in battles fought at abnormally close range with little central control once it starts. In military aviation, a melee has been defined as " air battle in which several aircraft, both friend and foe, are confusingly intermingled". History of the term In the 1579 translation of Plutarch's '' Lives of the noble Grecians and Romanes'', Sir Thomas North uses the term '' to refer to a disorganized retreat. The phrase was later used in its current spelling in Shakespeare's ''Richard III'', 1594: The phrase comes from the French expression ''pêle-mêle'', a rhyme based on the old French ''mesler'', meaning to mix or mingle. The French term ''melee'' was first used in English in c. 1640 (also derived from the old French ''mesler'', but the Old French stem survives in '' medley'' and ''meddle''). Lord Nelson described his tactics for the Battle of Trafalgar as inducing a "pell mell battle" focused o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dragoon
Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat with swords and firearms from horseback. While their use goes back to the late 16th century, dragoon regiments were established in most European armies during the 17th and early 18th centuries; they provided greater mobility than regular infantry but were far less expensive than cavalry. The name reputedly derives from a type of firearm, called a ''dragon'', which was a handgun version of a blunderbuss, carried by dragoons of the French Army. The title has been retained in modern times by a number of armoured or ceremonial mounted regiments. Origins and name The establishment of dragoons evolved from the practice of sometimes transporting infantry by horse when speed of movement was needed. In 1552, Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |