Death hussars, Prussia, 1786
Napoleon Bonaparte and Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
- Benjamin Robert Haydon
georgy-konstantinovich-zhukov:
Private Byrne, one of three members of the 21st Lancers who earned the Victoria Cross for their actions at Omdurman.
(Navy and Army Illustrated)
SIEGE OF DIU: ANTÓNIO DA SILVEIRA INSULTS THE EUNUCH’S BALLS
In 1537, after failed diplomatic talks, some Portuguese sailors at Diu hit Sultan Bahadur of Gujarat over the head with an oar while he was boarding a boat, and he drowned. In retaliation, the Ottoman eunuch Suleiman Pasha, Governor of Egypt, brought 70 galleys and 23,000 soldiers to besiege the Portuguese fort, which had a garrison of 600, commanded by Don António da Silveira. Having taken some Portuguese hostage, Suleiman Pasha sent Don António a letter.
When Don António received the letter, he turned to his companions, saying: ‘Let’s see what the castrated dog has to say.’ Suleiman Pasha promised the Portuguese safe passage if they handed over the fortress and their weapons. He promised to skin them all alive if they did not obey his conditions, mentioning the size of his army, which included men who had captured Belgrade, Hungary, and Rhodes. Finally he asked da Silveira how he would defend the pig-sty with so few pigs!
Da Silveira, in the presence of all, dictated a reply:
“Most honoured Captain Pasha, I have read your letter carefully. If the knights in this pig-sty had been on Rhodes, I assure you, you would have not conquered it. Learn that here are Portuguese, used to killing Moors by the score, commanded by António da Silveira who has a pair of balls stronger than the balls of your cannons! And that all the Portuguese here have balls and don’t fear those who don’t have them.”
The Pasha was furious and ordered the hostages killed, and a titanic battle began. For more than a month the Portuguese fought bravely, till their effective forces dwindled to fewer than 40, but the Turks suffered such casualties that they raised the siege and retired from Diu.
In der Präfektur by José Frappa.
I used to be a king, then I took a dead cat to the shoulder…
From ” The battle that shook Europe - Poltava and the birth of the Russian empire” by Peter Englund, p. 54-55
Courtesy of mmeflamel
SS Nord members with russian prisoner.
Kokkosalmi, Kiestinki 1941.08.04
Wartime sawmill “pit women,” Concord, New Hampshire, 1943. Photograph by John Collier.
(Source: discosherpa)
georgy-konstantinovich-zhukov:
Freikorps In Munich and Upper Silesia
Volunteer, Selbstschutz Oberschlesien; Upper Silesia, May 1921
Typical of the many ‘Self Defence’ organizations which sprang up among the German communities in disputed territories of the former Reich after the Armistice, his appearance tells us something of the nature of this ‘poor man’s army’. With a civilian soft cap he wears an old, well-worn M1915 Bluse, civilian trousers, and home-made blanket puttees tied with string. Lacking pouches, he has his pockets full of five- round Mannlicher-type clips for his old but still serviceable 7.92mm Gewehr 1888. A civilian knapsack carries provisions and personal items. Pinned to his jacket is the shield badge common to all the Selbstschutz Oberschlesien units. This was also worn , often in conjunction with their own badges, by the Freikorps from other regions which came to fight in this campaign.
Volunteer, Bund Oberland; Munich, November 1923
After five years’ struggle in the ranks of the Freikorps Oberland, now officially the ‘Bund Oberland’, this Bavarian veteran is ready for the last act in the military history of the Freikorps: the attempted Munich Putsch of 9 November 1923. A diamond- shaped Edelweiss badge is pinned to the left side of the black wool ski-type cap much favored at that time by the members of his organization. His jacket is the M1915 Bluse stripped of all insignia; he has added his NSDAP armband to the left sleeve. His trousers and puttees are also field-grey. As the ‘ammunition number’ for an MG 08 heavy machine gun he is holding the tag end of a 250-round web belt from the ammunition box.
Volunteer, Ill Sturmfahne, Freikorps Oberland; Upper Silesia, May 1921
This Bavarian volunteer of 2/III. Sturmfahne (2nd Company, Ill Assault Battalion) of the Freikorps Oberland is singing as he marches up to the assembly point for the assault on the Annaberg. With no support from his government, he wears civilian clothing buttoned to give something of a martial look; from his worn-out uniform he retains nothing but his M1916 helmet. The silver Edelweiss painted on this is the badge of the Freikorps Oberland, and the metal shield advertising his attachment to the cause of the Selbschutz Oberschlesien is pinned to his left sleeve. A ten-pocket cotton Patronentragegurte bandolier holds a total of 14 five-round clips, its ends tucked under his M1895 belt; this has an old brass buckle with the Bavarian motto ‘In treue Fest’. The ankle boots and high socks are traditional in the Bavarian highlands.
(Ramiro Bujeiro)
Zewditu I of the House of Solomon, the “Queen of Kings”, Empress of Ethiopia (1876 – 1930)
