|
Choke Point
In military strategy, a choke point (or chokepoint), or sometimes bottleneck, is a geographical feature on land such as a valley, defile or bridge, or maritime passage through a critical waterway such as a strait, which an armed force is forced to pass through in order to reach its objective, sometimes on a substantially narrowed front and therefore greatly decreasing its combat effectiveness by making it harder to bring superior numbers to bear. A choke point can allow a numerically inferior defending force to use the terrain as a force multiplier to thwart or ambush a much larger opponent, as the attacker cannot advance any further without first securing passage through the choke point. Historical examples Some historical examples of the tactical use of choke points are King Leonidas I's defense of the Pass of Thermopylae during an invasion led by Xerxes I of Persia; the Battle of Stamford Bridge in which Harold Godwinson defeated Harald Hardrada; William Wallace' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
STS059-238-074 Strait Of Gibraltar
STS, or sts, may refer to: Medicine * Secondary traumatic stress, a condition which leads to a diminished ability to empathize * Sequence-tagged site, a gene-reference in genomics * Soft-tissue sarcoma * Staurosporine, an antibiotic * STS (gene), which codes for steroid sulfatase * Superior temporal sulcus * Sinus tarsi syndrome, a foot condition Places * Semipalatinsk Test Site for Soviet nuclear weapons * Staffordshire, county in England, Chapman code Transport * Cadillac STS, a luxury car * NASA Space Transportation System, the system in which the NASA shuttle is part of and only surviving component of; starting as a 1969 NASA proposal system for reusable space vehicles ** NASA Space Shuttle program, the shuttle program itself, whose mission were referred to with STS-numbering * Sail training ship, a ship prefix * Satellite Transit System, now called the SEA Underground, airport transit in Seattle-Tacoma International Airport * Ship-to-ship transfer, between seagoing s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Thermopylae
The Battle of Thermopylae ( ) was fought in 480 BC between the Achaemenid Empire, Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Polis, Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I. Lasting over the course of three days, it was one of the most prominent battles of both the second Persian invasion of Greece and the wider Graeco-Persian Wars. The engagement at Thermopylae occurred simultaneously with the naval Battle of Artemisium: between July and September during 480 BC. The second Persians, Persian invasion under Xerxes I was a delayed response to the failure of the first Persian invasion of Greece, first Persian invasion, which had been initiated by Darius the Great, Darius I and ended in 490 BC by an Classical Athens, Athenian-led Ancient Greece, Greek victory at the Battle of Marathon. By 480 BC, a decade after the Persian defeat at Marathon, Greece, Marathon, Xerxes had amassed a massive land and naval force, and subsequently set out to conquer all of Gree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Azincourt
Azincourt ( ; ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is situated north-west of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise on the D71 road between Hesdin and Fruges. The Late Medieval Battle of Agincourt between the English and the French took place in the commune in 1415. Toponym The name is attested as ''Aisincurt'' in 1175, derived from a Germanic masculine name Aizo, Aizino and the early Northern French word ''curt'' (which meant a farm with a courtyard; derived from the Late Latin ''cortem''). It is often known as Agincourt in English. There is a village that is named "Agincourt", located in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in Eastern France. The name has no etymological link with Azincourt, and is derived separately from another male name ''*Ingin-''. History Azincourt is known for being near the site of the battle fought on 25 October 1415 in which the army led by King Henry V of England defeated the forces led by Charles d'Albret on behalf of Charle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charge (warfare)
A charge is an offensive maneuver in battle in which combatants advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in a decisive close combat. The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic and decisive moment of many battles throughout history. Modern charges usually involve small groups of fireteams equipped with weapons with a high rate of fire and striking against individual defensive positions (such as a concertainer or bunker), instead of large groups of combatants charging another group or a fortified line. Ancient charges It may be assumed that the charge was used in prehistoric warfare, but clear evidence only comes with later literate societies. The tactics of the classical Greek phalanx included an ordered approach march, with a final charge to contact. Highland charge In response to the introduction of firearms, Irish and Scottish troops at the end of the 16th century developed a tactic that combined a volle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heavy Cavalry
Heavy cavalry was a class of cavalry intended to deliver a battlefield charge and also to act as a Military reserve, tactical reserve; they are also often termed ''shock cavalry''. Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the region and historical period, heavy cavalry were generally mounted on large powerful warhorses, wore body armor, and armed with either lances, swords, Mace (bludgeon), maces, flail (weapon), flails (disputed), battle axes, or war hammers; their mounts may also have been protected by barding. They were distinct from light cavalry, who were intended for raid (military), raiding, reconnaissance, screening (tactical), screening, skirmishing, patrolling, and tactical communications. History Persian Empires Iranian tribes such as the Massagetae were believed to be the originator of the class of heavy cavalry known as cataphract. During the time of Achaemenid Empire, Achaemenid Persia cavalry was the elite arm of service (as was the case in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Longbowmen
A longbow is a type of tall bow that makes a fairly long draw possible. Longbows for hunting and warfare have been made from many different woods in many cultures; in Europe they date from the Paleolithic era and, since the Bronze Age, were made mainly from yew, or from wych elm if yew was unavailable. The historical longbow was a self bow made of a single piece of wood, but modern longbows may also be made from modern materials or by gluing different timbers together. History Europe Prehistory A longbow was found in 1991 in the Ötztal Alps with a natural mummy known as Ötzi. His bow was made from yew and was long; the body has been dated to around 3300 BC. A slightly shorter bow comes from the Scottish parish of Tweedsmuir in a peat bog known as Rotten Bottom. The bow, made from yew, has been given a calibrated radiocarbon date of 4040 BC to 3640 BC. Another bow made from yew, found within some peat in Somerset, England has been dated to 2700–2600 BC. Forty longbows ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of France
The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from the High Middle Ages to 1848 during its dissolution. It was also an early French colonial empire, colonial power, with colonies in Asia and Africa, and the largest being New France in North America geographically centred around the Great Lakes. The Kingdom of France was descended directly from the West Francia, western Frankish realm of the Carolingian Empire, which was ceded to Charles the Bald with the Treaty of Verdun (843). A branch of the Carolingian dynasty continued to rule until 987, when Hugh Capet was elected king and founded the Capetian dynasty. The territory remained known as ''Francia'' and its ruler as ('king of the Franks') well into the High Middle Ages. The first king calling himself ('King of France') was Philip II of Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry V Of England
Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the Hundred Years' War against Kingdom of France, France made Kingdom of England, England one of the strongest military powers in Europe. Immortalised in Shakespeare's "Henriad" plays, Henry is known and celebrated as one of the greatest warrior-kings of medieval England. Henry of Monmouth, the eldest son of Henry IV of England, Henry IV, became heir apparent and Prince of Wales after his father seized the throne in 1399. During the reign of his father, the young Prince Henry gained military experience fighting the Welsh during the Welsh Revolt, revolt of Owain Glyndŵr, and against the powerful Percy family of Northumberland. He played a central part at the Battle of Shrewsbury despite being just sixteen years of age. As he entered adulthood, Henry played an increasing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt ( ; ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected victory of the vastly outnumbered English troops against the numerically superior French army boosted English morale and prestige, crippled France, and started a new period of English dominance in the war that would last for 14 years until England was defeated by France in 1429 during the Siege of Orléans. After several decades of relative peace, the English had Hundred Years' War (1415–53), resumed the war in 1415 amid the failure of negotiations with the French. In the ensuing campaign, many soldiers died from disease, and the English numbers dwindled; they tried to withdraw to Pale of Calais, English-held Calais but found their path blocked by a considerably larger French army. Despite the numerical disadvantage, the battle ended in an overwhelming victory for the English. King Henry V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Stirling Bridge
The Battle of Stirling Bridge () was fought during the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined English forces of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, and Hugh de Cressingham near Stirling, on the River Forth. Background In 1296, John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, defeated John Comyn, Earl of Buchan in the Battle of Dunbar. King John Balliol surrendered to King Edward I of England at Brechin on 10 July, and the Scottish landholders were made to acknowledge Edward's overlordship. In 1297, Moray initiated a revolt in northern Scotland and by the late summer, controlled Urquhart, Inverness, Elgin, Banff and Aberdeen. Wallace joined Moray in September near Dundee, and they marched to Stirling. Stirling, in the words of Stuart Reid, was "traditionally regarded as the key to Scotland." Meanwhile, Surrey had joined Cressingham in July and both had arrived at Stirling by 9 September 1297 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Wallace
Sir William Wallace (, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297. He was appointed Guardian of Scotland and served until his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk in July 1298. In August 1305, Wallace was captured in Robroyston, near Glasgow, and handed over to King Edward I of England, who had him hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason and crimes against English civilians. Since his death, Wallace has obtained a legendary status beyond his homeland. He is the protagonist of Blind Harry's 15th-century epic poem '' The Wallace'' and the subject of literary works by Jane Porter and Sir Walter Scott, and of the Academy Award-winning film ''Braveheart''. Background William Wallace was a member of the lesser nobility, but little is definitely known of his family history ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harald Hardrada
Harald Sigurdsson (; – 25 September 1066), also known as Harald III of Norway and given the epithet ''Hardrada'' in the sagas, was List of Norwegian monarchs, King of Norway from 1046 to 1066. He unsuccessfully claimed the Monarchy of Denmark, Danish throne until 1064 and the List of English monarchs, English throne in 1066. Before becoming king, Harald spent 15 years in exile as a mercenary and military commander in Kievan Rus' and chief of the Varangian Guard in the Byzantine Empire. In his Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum, chronicle, Adam of Bremen called him the "''Thunderbolt of the North''". In 1030, the fifteen-year-old Harald fought in the Battle of Stiklestad along-side his half-brother Saint Olaf, Olaf Haraldsson. Olaf sought to reclaim the Norwegian throne, which he had lost to Danish king Cnut two years previously. Olaf and Harald were defeated by forces loyal to Cnut, and Harald was forced into exile to Kievan Rus'. Thereafter, he was in the army of Gra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
