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New Order Regiments
"New order regiments" ''(Russian: "Полки иноземного (нового) строя")'', also known in the literature as "foreign formation regiments", were professional military units formed in Russian Tsardom in the 17th century, armed and trained in line with the Western European armies. Prelude First attempts with Western military training in Russia were made by Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky in 1609, during De la Gardie Campaign. In 1630 the Muscovite government began to hire mercenary officers in Sweden, the Netherlands, and Scotland to train a new, "foreign formation force" ("inozemskii stroi") in the new tactics. Six regiments of infantry ("soldaty"), a regiment of heavy cavalry pistoleers ("reitary"), and a regiment of dragoons ("draguny") were formed from Muscovite peasant militiamen, Cossacks, service class cavalrymen and free volunteers from various social categories. Unlike the traditional formation troops, the new regiments were outfitted and salaried at treas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russian Language
Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the First language, native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of four living East Slavic languages, and is also a part of the larger Balto-Slavic languages. Besides Russia itself, Russian is an official language in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, and is used widely as a lingua franca throughout Ukraine, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and to some extent in the Baltic states. It was the De facto#National languages, ''de facto'' language of the former Soviet Union,1977 Soviet Constitution, Constitution and Fundamental Law of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 1977: Section II, Chapter 6, Article 36 and continues to be used in public life with varying proficiency in all of the post-Soviet states. Russian has over 258 million total speakers worldwide. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Service Class People
Service class people (russian: служилые люди, sluzhilyye lyudi) were a class of free people in the Tsardom of Russia in the 14th to the 17th centuries, obliged to perform military or administrative service on behalf of the state. Background There were two main groups of service people: * ''hereditary servitors'' ''("servitors by birth")'', included Boyars, noblemen and "Boyars' children". They served in the "Landed army", and received land and serfs for their service. * ''chosen servitors ("servitors by contract"),'' included Streltsy, Cossacks and clerks. They served in the infantry or administration, and were paid in coin. ;In Siberia In early Siberia, service-men and ''promyshlenik''s (promyshlenniki) were the two main classes of the Russian population. Service-men were nominally servants of the tsar, had certain legal rights and duties and could expect pay if they were lucky. ''Promyshlenik''s were free men who made their living any way they could. A minor g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pistol
A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, and is derived from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife. In colloquial usage, the word "pistol" is often used to describe any type of handgun, inclusive of revolvers (which have a single barrel and a separate cylinder housing multiple chambers) and the pocket-sized derringers (which are often multi-barrelled). The most common type of pistol used in the contemporary era is the semi-automatic pistol, while the older single-shot and manual repeating pistols are now rarely seen and used primarily for nostalgic hunting and historical reenactment, and the fully automatic machine pistols are uncommon in civilian usage due to generally poor recoil-controllability and strict laws and regulations governing their manufa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polish Hussars
The Polish hussars (; pl, husaria ), alternatively known as the winged hussars, were a heavy cavalry formation active in Poland and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1503 to 1702. Their epithet is derived from large rear wings, which were intended to demoralize the enemy during charge. The hussars ranked as the elite of Polish cavalry until their official disbanding in 1776. The hussar dress was ostentatious and comprised plated body armour (cuirass, spaulders, bevors, and arm bracers) adorned by gold ornaments, a burgonet or lobster-tailed pot helmet and jackboots as well as versatile weaponry such as lances, koncerz, sabres, backswords, pistols, maces, and hatchets. It was customary to maintain a red-and-white colour scheme, and to be girded with tanned animal hide. The wings were traditionally assembled from the feathers of raptors, and the angel-like frame was fastened onto the armour or saddle. The early hussars were light cavalry units of exiled Balkan warr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hussar
A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry regiments in European armies in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. By the 19th century, hussars wore jackets decorated with braid and shako or busby hats and they developed a romanticized image of being dashing and adventurous. A small number of modern armies retain the designation of hussars for some armored (tank) units. As well, some modern armies have ceremonial mounted units which wear historical hussar uniforms on parades or to provide a VIP escort to national leaders. Historically, the term derives from the cavalry of late medieval Hungary, under Matthias Corvinus, with mainly Serb warriors. Etymology Etymologists are divided over the derivation of the word ''hussar''. Several alternative theorie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breastplate
A breastplate or chestplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury, as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status. A breastplate is sometimes worn by mythological beings as a distinctive item of clothing. It is also a term for a piece of clothing used by drag queens and cross-dressing performers, which mimics a woman's cleavage or breasts. European In medieval weaponry, the breastplate is the front portion of plate armour covering the torso. It has been a military mainstay since ancient times and was usually made of leather, bronze or iron in antiquity. By around 1000 AD, solid plates had fallen out of use in Europe and knights of the period were wearing mail in the form of a hauberk over a padded tunic. Plates protecting the torso reappeared in the 1220s as plates directly attached to a knightly garment known as the surcoat. Around 1250 this developed into the coat of plates which continued to be in use for about a century. True breastplates re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pike (weapon)
A pike is a very long thrusting spear formerly used in European warfare from the Late Middle Ages and most of the Early Modern Period, and were wielded by foot soldiers deployed in pike square formation, until it was largely replaced by bayonet-equipped muskets. The pike was particularly well-known as the primary weapon of Swiss mercenary and German Landsknecht units. A similar weapon, the sarissa, had been used in antiquity by Alexander the Great's Macedonian phalanx infantry. Design The pike was a long weapon, varying considerably in size, from long. Generally, a spear becomes a pike when it is too long to be wielded with one hand in combat. It was approximately in weight, with the 16th century military writer Sir John Smythe recommending lighter rather than heavier pikes. It had a wooden shaft with an iron or steel spearhead affixed. The shaft near the head was often reinforced with metal strips called "cheeks" or langets. When the troops of opposing armies both c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bardiche
A bardiche , berdiche, bardische, bardeche, or berdish is a type of polearm used from the 14th to 17th centuries in Europe. Ultimately a descendant of the medieval sparth or Danish axe, the bardiche proper appears around 1400, but there are numerous medieval manuscripts that depict very similar weapons beginning c. 1250. The bardiche differs from the halberd in having neither a hook at the back nor a spear point at the top. The use of bardiches started in early 14th century Austria and in Scandinavia in the late 15th century. In the 16th century the bardiche became a weapon associated with streltsy (Russian guardsmen armed with firearms). Description he broad-headed axewas succeeded by the ''berdiche'', a pole-axe, longer in shaft and having the narrow lower end of tall blade rounded inward and braced against the shaft. At first this lower end of the blade merely touched the wooden shaft; it then became fastened to it; next it embraced the shaft, developing for this purpose an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musketeer
A musketeer (french: mousquetaire) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare particularly in Europe as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a precursor to the rifleman. Muskets were replaced by rifles as the almost universal firearm for modern armies during the period 1850 to 1860. The traditional designation of "musketeer" for an infantry private survived in the Imperial German Army until World War I. Asia China The hand cannon was invented in China in the 12th century and was in widespread use there in the 13th century. It spread westward across Asia during the 14th century. Arquebusiers and musketeers were utilized in the armies of the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing dynasties (1644–1911). Zhao Shizhen's book of 1598 AD, the ''Shenqipu'', contains illustrations of Ottoman Turkish and European musketeers together with detailed diagrams of their muskets.Needham, Volume 5, Par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Pistol
A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, and is derived from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife. In colloquial usage, the word "pistol" is often used to describe any type of handgun, inclusive of revolvers (which have a single barrel and a separate cylinder housing multiple chambers) and the pocket-sized derringers (which are often multi-barrelled). The most common type of pistol used in the contemporary era is the semi-automatic pistol, while the older single-shot and manual repeating pistols are now rarely seen and used primarily for nostalgic hunting and historical reenactment, and the fully automatic machine pistols are uncommon in civilian usage due to generally poor recoil-controllability and strict laws and regulations governing their manufa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carbine
A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighter weight of carbines make them easier to handle. They are typically issued to high-mobility troops such as special operations soldiers and paratroopers, as well as to mounted, artillery, logistics, or other non-infantry personnel whose roles do not require full-sized rifles, although there is a growing tendency for carbines to be issued to front-line soldiers to offset the increasing weight of other issued equipment. An example of this is the U.S. Army's M4 carbine, which is standard issue. Etymology The name comes from its first users — cavalry troopers called "carabiniers", from the French ''carabine'', from Old French ''carabin'' (soldier armed with a musket), whose origin is unclear. One theory connects it to an "ancient engine of w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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