War and Game

"All textures and ship models are from vanilla standard ETW. I did improve the firepower, hull strength, accuracy, reloading, morale and a lot of other values. I added more Marines and Seaman to all AUM ships for boarding actions." Swiss Halberdier

British 1st Rate "HMS Royal Sovereign" - Britische 1. Klasse "HMS Royal Sovereign" - 106 guns(British home regions) :

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• British 1st Rate "HMS Royal George" - Britische 1. Klasse "HMS Royal George" - 106 guns (British home regions) :
  

• British 1st Rate "HMS Britannia" - Britische 1. Klasse "HMS Britannia" - 106 guns (British home regions):
  

• British 1st Rate "HMS Neptune" - Britische 1. Klasse "HMS Neptune" - 106 guns (British home regions) :
  

• British 3rd Rate "HMS Elizabeth" - Britische 3. Klasse "HMS Elizabeth" - 74 guns (Britain home regions) :
  

• Spanish Over 1st Rate "Santisima Trinidad" - Spanische Schwere 1. Klasse "Santisima Trinidad" - 122 guns (Spain) :
  

• Spanish Over 1st Rate "Real Felipe" - Spanische Schwere 1. Klasse "Real Felipe" - 122 guns (Spain) :
  

• Spanish 1st Rate "Principe de Asturias" - Spanish 1. Klasse "Principe de Asturias" - 106 guns (Spain) :
  

• Spanish 1st Rate "Salvador del Mundo" - Spanish 1. Klasse "Salvador del Mundo" - 106 guns (Spain) :
  

• Spanish Heavy War Galleon - Spanische Schwere Kriegsgaleone - 60 guns (Peninsula) :
  

• French 1st Rate "Ocean" - Französische 1. Klasse "Ocean" - 106 guns (France) :
  

• French 1st Rate "Orient" - Französische 1. Klasse "Orient" - 106 guns (France) :
  

• French 2nd Rate "Bucentaure" - Französische 2. Klasse "Bucentaure" - 86 guns (France) :
  

• French 3rd Rate "Amerique" - Französische 3. Klasse "Amerique" - 74 guns (France) :
  

• Netherlands 2nd Rate "Vrijheid" - Holländische 2. Klasse "Vrijheid" - 86 guns (Netherlands home regions) :
  

• Netherlands 3rd Rate "De Delft" - Holländische 3. Klasse "De Delft" - 74 guns (Netherlands home regions) :
  

• Netherlands Indiaman Amsterdam Class - Holländischer Ost-Indienfahrer Amsterdam Klasse - 12 guns (Netherlands home regions) :
  

• War Fluyt - Kriegsfleute - 42 guns (global) - The "trading ability" is removed. Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
  
  
  

• Russian 1st Rate "Piotr" - Russische 1. Klasse "Piotr" - 106 guns (global) Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
  

• Russian 1st Rate "Imperatritsa Anna" - Russische 1. Klasse "Imperatritsa Anna" - 106 guns (global) Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
  

• Russian 1st Rate "Rostislav" - Russische 1. Klasse "Rostislav" - 106 guns (global) Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
  

• Heavy Frigate - Schwere Fregatte - 48 guns (global) Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
  

• War Galleon - Kriegsgaleone - 60 guns (global) - The "trading ability" is removed. Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
  

• Heavy Privateer - Schwere Kaperfregatte - 48 guns (global) Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
  

• Privateer - Kaperfregatte - 32 guns (global) Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
  

• Brig of War - Kriegsbrigg - 26 guns (global) Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
  

• Sloop of War - Kriegsschaluppe - 18 guns (global) Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
  

• East Indiaman (improved) - Ost-Indienfahrer (verbessert) - 12 guns (global) Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
  

• Light Merchant Galleon - Leichte Handelsgaleone - 16 guns (global) Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
  

• Merchantman (armed) - Handelsschiff (bewaffnet) - 12 guns (global) - this ship can trade Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
  

• Heavy Xebec - Schwere Schebecke - 28 guns (Mediterranean Coast) Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
  

• Heavy Dhow - Schwere Dau - 3 guns (global) Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
  

Date June 5, 1967
Location Airfields in eastern Egypt
Opponents (* winner)
*Israelis
Egyptians; Syrians; Jordanians
Commander
*Israelis Major General Mordechai Hod
Egyptians; Major General Abdel Nasr
Syrians; Jordanians
Approx. # Troops
*Israelis Nearly 200 aircraft
Egyptians; Syrians; Jordanians Nearly 450 aircraft
Importance This preemptive strike secures Israeli air supremacy and virtually decides the war at its very beginning.

The Arab-Israeli war of 1967, known to history as the Six-Day War, began on the morning of June 5, 1967. For all intents and purposes, it was over by noon on the first day as a result of the preemptive attack by the Israeli Air Force. This aerial offensive remains one of the most stunning successes in modern warfare. In a mere three hours, the Israelis achieved air superiority by destroying much of the Egyptian Air Force on the ground. Attacks against Egypt were followed by sorties against targets in Syria, Jordan, and western Iraq, thus ensuring that Israeli ground operations could go forward unimpeded.

The Six-Day War resulted from Israeli alarm over bellicose moves by the Arab states of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. Syria stepped up border clashes with Israeli forces in 1966, and Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser ordered a blockade of the Strait of Tiran, massed troops on the Egyptian-Israeli border, and secured the removal of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping troops. Syria and Jordan had also mobilized their forces, and Iraqi forces had begun moving to Jordan.

Israel had previously announced that it would go to war under any of those conditions. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was heavily outnumbered in terms of men and equipment, however. Figures vary widely, but one estimate is as follows: manpower, mobilized strength of 230,000 for Israel to 409,000 for Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq; tanks, 1,100 for Israel to 2,437 for the Arab states; artillery, 260 for Israel to 649 for the Arab states; naval vessels, 22 for Israel to 90 for the Arab states; and aircraft (all types), 354 for Israel to 969 for the Arab states. The Arab states were handicapped by not having any unified plan, however.

Israeli minister of defense Moshe Dayan, IDF chief of staff Lieutenant General Itzhak Rabin, and Premier Levi Eshkol determined that war was inevitable and decided that Israel should launch a preemptive attack. Defense against an Arab air attack would be difficult because Israel was so small that early warning systems would not provide sufficient time for Israeli fighters to scramble. Tel Aviv was 25 minutes flying time from Cairo but only 4.5 minutes from the nearest Egyptian airbase at El Arish. For whatever reason, Nasser did not believe that the Israelis would strike first, despite his announced eagerness for battle.

The Israeli air attack relied on accurate, timely, and precise intelligence information. The plan called for a first strike against Egypt, the most formidable of Israel’s opponents. IDF fighters would take off from airfields all over Israel and fly under radio silence and at low altitude to avoid radar west out over the Mediterranean, and they would then turn south to strike Egyptian airfields as simultaneously as possible. Rather than attacking at dawn, the IDF strikes were timed to coincide with the return of Egyptian pilots to base from their morning patrols, when most Egyptian pilots would be having breakfast.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF), one of the best-trained air forces in the world, was well prepared for its mission. Aircrews had been thoroughly briefed as to objectives and procedures. IAF ground crews were also highly trained and able to reduce turnaround time between missions to a minimum. The operation was daring in that it would employ almost all Israeli bomber and fighter aircraft, leaving only a dozen fighters behind to fly defensive combat air patrols.

The IAF achieved complete tactical surprise. Commanded by Major General Mordechai Hod, its aircraft went into action at 7:45 a.m. (8:45 a.m. Cairo time). One unexpected development was that Field Marshal Ali Amer, the United Arab Republic (UAR) commander in chief, and his deputy, General Mamoud Sidky, were in the air, flying from Cairo to inspect units in the Sinai, when the attacks occurred. Unable to land in the Sinai they returned to Cairo, and for 90 minutes two key UAR commanders were out of touch with their units and unable to give orders.

The first wave struck 10 Egyptian airfields, hitting all of them within 15 minutes of the scheduled time. On their final approach to the targets, the Israeli aircraft climbed to become suddenly visible on radar and induce Egyptian pilots to attempt to scramble in the hopes of catching the pilots in their aircraft on the ground. Only four Egyptian aircraft, all trainers, were in the air at the time of the first strikes, and all were shot down.

Subsequent waves of Israeli attacking aircraft, about 40 per flight, arrived at 10 minutes intervals. These met increased Egyptian opposition, mostly antiaircraft fire. Only 8 Egyptian MiGs managed to take off during the strikes, and all were shot down. In all, the IAF struck 17 major Egyptian airfields with some 500 sorties in just under three hours, destroying half of Egyptian Air Force strength. Most of the Egyptian aircraft were destroyed by accurate Israeli cannon fire, but the Israeli planes also dropped 250=, 500-, and 1,000-pound bombs. Special bombs with 365- pound warheads, developed to crack the hard-surface concrete runways, were dropped on Egyptian airfields west of the Suez Canal, but none of these were employed against the Sinai airfields, which the Israelis planned for subsequent use by their own aircraft. During the war Egypt lost a total of 286 aircraft: 30 Tupolev Tu-16 heavy bombers, 27 Ilyusian medium bombers, 12 Sukhoi Su-7 fighter bombers, 90 MiG-21 fighters, 20 MiG-19 fighters, 75 MiG-17/15 fighters, and 32 transport planes and helicopters.

Later that same day, June 5, Israeli aircraft struck Syria and Jordan. Israeli leaders had urged King Hussein of Jordan to stay out of the war. He desired to do so but was under heavy pressure to act and hoped to satisfy his allies with minimum military action short of all-out war. Jordanian 155-millimeter “Long Tom” guns therefore went into action against Tel Aviv, and Jordanian aircraft attempted to strafe a small airfield near Kfar Sirkin. The Israeli government then declared war on Jordan.

Following an Iraqi air strike on Israel, IAF aircraft also struck Iraqi air units based in the Mosul area. In all during the war, the Arabs lost a total of 390 aircraft of their prewar strength of 969 aircraft of all types (Egypt, 286 of 580; Jordan, 28 of 56; Syria, 54 of 172; Iraq, 21 of 149, and Lebanon 1 of 12). IAF losses were only 32 aircraft shot down of 354 at the beginning of the war; only 2 of these were lost in aerial combat.

With its opposing air forces largely neutralized, the IAF could turn to close air support and other missions in support of Israeli mechanized ground forces, which had begun operations in the Sinai simultaneously with the initial air attacks. Israeli’s success in the war was complete. On June 7 Israel and Jordan accepted the UN Security Council call for a cease-fire. The UN also brokered a cease-fire on June 9 between Israel and Egypt. Israel accepted immediately, while Egypt accepted the next day. A cease-fire was also concluded with Syria on June 10.

On the Israeli side the Six-Day War claimed some 800 dead, 2,440 wounded, and 16 missing or taken prisoner. Arab losses, chiefly Egyptian, were estimated at 14,300 dead, 23,800 wounded, and 10,500 missing or taken prisoner. Tank losses were 100 for Israel and 950 for the Arabs.

The war immensely increased the territory controlled by Israel. Israel now possessed all of the Sinai east of the Suez Canal from Egypt, the east bank of the Jordan River and the city of Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Whether these acquisitions would enhance or impede the chances for peace in the Middle East remained to be seen.

References Hammel, Eric. Six Days in June: How Israel Won the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. New York: Scribner, 1992. Oren, Michael. Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Rubenstein, Murray, and Richard Goldman. Shield of David: An Illustrated History of the Israeli Air Force. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1978. Van Creveld, Martin. The Sword and the Olive: A Critical History of the Israeli Defense Force. New York: Public Affairs, 1998. Weizman, Ezer. On Eagle’s Wings: The Personal Story of the Leading Commander of the Israeli Air Force. New York: Macmillan, 1976.

There are two accounts regarding the battle of Shanhaiguan at the end of the Ming Dynasty; The more popular romanticised version states: during the end of Ming Dynasty, Shanhaiguan general Wu Sangui was about to surrender and join the rebel forces of Li Zicheng when he heard that his concubine Chen Yuanyuan was taken by Li Zicheng. Enraged, he contacted the Qing and the leader Dorgon. Afterwards, Wu Sangui opened the gates of Shanhaiguan for Qing soldiers and together fought a decisive battle against Li Zicheng. The victory by the Qing Dynasty hastened the foundering of Li Zicheng’s political powers and firmly established Qing as the dominant power in China.

The second account of events is that Wu Sanggui (A general of the defeated dynasty) surrendered to Li Zicheng (The leader of the rebellion against the Ming dynasty), but on his way to Beijing, he heard of the disorderly state of the capital and massacres perpetrated by Li’s forces, as well as the murder of his own father. Enraged he returned to Shanhaiguan and surrendered to the Qing. Sanggui’s forces then fought in the front lines against Li’s deceiving them into believing the Qing had not broken through. Then the Qing decimated Li’s forces, distinguishing them by cloths attached to the uniforms of Sanggui’s troops.

Date May 28, 1644
Location Shanhaiguan, Hebei Province, northeast China
Opponents (* winner)
*Manzhu Ming forces
Rebels
Commander
*Manzhu Ming forces Dorgon (Manzhu commander); Wu Sangui (Ming army)
Rebels Li Zicheng
Approx. # Troops
*Manzhu Ming forces 60,000 Manzhus; 40,000Mings
Rebels 60,000
Importance Brings establishment of the Qing Dynasty

The Battle of Shanhaiguan (Shanhaikuan, or the Battle of Shanhai Pass) on May 28, 1644, pitted Manzhu (Manchu) and imperial Chinese troops against a force of rebel Chinese. It was the decisive event in the replacement of the Ming dynasty by that of the Qing (Ch’ing).

The Ming period (1368–1644) saw major military and administrative accomplishments and a great flowering in the arts, but by the 17th century the dynasty was under increasing pressure from the Japanese and the Dutch and from rebellions within China, especially by the Manzhu. Descended from the Mongols who had invaded China in the l2th century, the Manzhu in Manchuria had become tributaries to the Ming dynasty.

In 1616 Manzhu leader Nurhachi, after uniting the Jurchen (Nüzhen, Nü-chen) Mongolian tribes, proclaimed a new dynasty, the Later Jin (Chin), at his capital of Liaoyang. For the next decade he waged war against the Ming dynasty, capturing most of southern Manchuria and much of Mongolia. Nurhachi, known by his successors as Emperor Taizu (Ch’ing T’ai-tsu), died in 1626. He was succeeded by his son Huang Taiji (Hung Taiji, sometimes erroneously known in Western literature as Abahai). Huang Taiji ruled during 1626–1643. A highly effective administrator who was also respected for his military abilities, he was also determined to expand the empire.

Huang Taiji established a base in Korea and repeatedly raided into China. He also improved his army’s weapons, adding significant numbers of gunpowder artillery to counter that of the Ming; his cavalry came to be regarded as the best in Asia. In 1634 the Manzhus conquered inner (southern) Mongolia and absorbed large numbers of the inhabitants into their forces.

At the same time, using the justification of nonpayment of tribute and the failure of the Koreans to contribute troops against the Ming, in 1636 Emperor Huang Taiji sent a large army into Korea and the next year compelled the Joseon dynasty to formally renounce the Ming dynasty. During 1636–1644 a series of expeditions established Manzhu control over the Amur River region. In 1636 at Mukden, Huang Taiji proclaimed the establishment of a new imperial dynasty, the Qing, which was merely a renaming of the Later Jin proclaimed by Nurhachi earlier. In 1643, however, Huang Taiji died, possibly at the hands of one of his officials. His five-year-old son Shunzhi (Shun-chih) became emperor (r. 1643–1661), although real authority was exercised by his uncle, Prince Dorgon, as regent.

Meanwhile, from 1635 the Ming dynasty had been further weakened by a number of internal rebellions. The greatest threat came from rebel chieftain Li Zicheng (Li Tzu-ch’eng). In 1640 Li seized control of Henan (Honan) and Shaanxi (Shensi) provinces south and southwest of Beijing, respectively. In 1644 Li moved against the imperial capital of Beijing. Ming emperor Chongzhen (Chu’ung-chen) then recalled two of his frontier armies, including the one at Shanhaiguan commanded by Wu Sangui (Wu San-kuei). Sources differ as to whether Wu refused to come to the aid of the emperor or his forces simply arrived too late; in any case, Li seized control of Beijing on April 25, 1644. Just before the rebel troops took Beijing, Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide.

Wu learned of Emperor Chongzhen’s death while on his way to Beijing and evidently considered surrendering to Li, in part because the rebel had taken Wu’s father hostage. Nevertheless, Wu returned to Shanhaiguan. After pillaging Beijing, on May 18 Li set out after Wu.

Wu meanwhile had decided that he would rather treat with the Manzhus than with Li, so he called on Prince Dorgon to assist him in overthrowing the rebel regime.

Li passed his army of some 100,000 men through Yongping (Yang-p’ing) and almost to Shanhaiguan. Accounts differ as to what happened next, but apparently on May 25, 1644, Wu appealed to Dorgon for immediate assistance. Dorgon promptly responded, arriving at the strategic Shanhai Pass at Shanhaiguan at the eastern end of the Great Wall on the next day with 100,000 men. Li may not have known the true strength of the forces against him until the actual battle on May 28. Had he known that he was confronted by a much larger and more experienced force, he probably would have refused battle. The allies were also aided by a large sandstorm that morning that masked their deployment. The Sino-Manzhu forces probably numbered 50,000 Manzhus and 40,000 Chinese. Wu may have been able to raise upwards of another 80,000 men in local Chinese militia, but there is no proof that they participated in the battle. Li probably commanded something on the order of 60,000 men.

The allies turned the battle when Wu’s veterans attacked the rebel left. Sheer numbers told. Li’s army then fled the field. The allies broke off the pursuit after a dozen miles. Li withdrew to Beijing but had neither the supplies nor the forces to resist a siege. He had himself hastily proclaimed as emperor on June 3 and then executed Wu’s father. Li stripped Beijing bare of supply animals and anything of value and then withdrew the next day, leaving behind a city in flames.

Wu hoped to establish himself as viceroy in a continuation of the Ming dynasty, but Dorgon’s force was simply too powerful. Wu bowed to the inevitable, agreeing to serve the Manzhus. Dorgon gave him the assignment of hunting down Li, which Wu accomplished in 1645, executing Li.

Dorgon moved the Manzhu capital to Beijing and there established the new dynasty of the Qing (1644–1911). The Manzhus adopted most of the Ming administrative system and culture, and the new dynasty became one of the greatest in Chinese history.

References Hsu, Immanuel C. Y. The Rise of Modern China. New York: Oxford University Press, 1970. Parsons, James Bunyan. Peasant Rebellions of the Late Ming Dynasty. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1970.

Date July 8, 1709
Location Poltava in eastern Ukraine
Opponents (* winner)
*Russians
Swedes
Commander
*Russians Peter I, Tsar of Russia
Swedes Charles XII, King of Sweden
Approx. # Troops
*Russians 40,000
Swedes 20,000
Importance Marks the turning point in the Great Northern War, the end of Sweden as a major military power, and the rise of Russia.

The Battle of Poltava on July 8, 1709 (N.S.; June 27, O.S.; June 28 by the transitional Swedish calendar) marked the end of Sweden as a major military power and the rise of Russia. In the 18th century small states could play a major role in European politics if they properly mobilized their resources. Field armies in this period were small—on the average only about 40,000 men—and a force of this size was within the reach of a small power. Sweden and Prussia are prime examples of this fact. Under its king, military innovator, and great captain Gustavus Adolphus, Sweden played a major role in the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648). Although Gustavus was killed in battle in 1632, at the peace Sweden secured western Pomerania and the former bishoprics of Bremen and Verden on the Baltic Sea.

A series of confused wars followed in which the rulers of Poland and Sweden each claimed the kingdom of the other, but Sweden went on to control most of the Baltic region. The final Swedish effort came under King Charles XII. Known as the “Alexander of the North” or the “Madman of the North,” he became king in 1697, at age 15, on the death of his father. Russia, Poland, and Denmark then formed the Northern Union, an alliance that sought to take advantage of Charles’s inexperience and end Sweden’s domination of the southern Baltic.

Not waiting to be attacked, Charles invaded the weakest power arrayed against him: Denmark. This began the Great Northern War (1700–1721). After forcing the Danes to conclude peace in August, Charles XII turned his attention to Russia. He landed in Livonia with only 8,000 men to relieve the Russian siege of Riga but then learned that a force of 40,000 Russians was besieging Narva. Charles came on the Russians unawares at Narva in a snowstorm on November 30, 1700, and utterly defeated them. The Russians suffered 10,000 men killed or wounded—more than the strength of Charles’s entire army—and the remainder were scattered. Russian czar Peter I thus learned a hard lesson about the need to modernize his military. Fortunately for Peter, Charles spent the next eight years campaigning in Poland, allowing Peter time to bring in Western military experts and reform his army.

In 1706 Charles managed to place his own candidate on the throne of Poland and forced that country to break its alliance with Russia. Rejecting peace overtures from Peter, Charles departed Saxony on August 22, 1707, and marched east. He entered Polish territory in mid-September. The Swedes waited for the Vistula River to freeze and crossed it on January 1, 1708. Charles invaded Russia from Poland with a well-equipped force of between 36,000 and 44,000 men, almost equally divided between infantry and cavalry. He hoped to ultimately capture Moscow. Charles secured Grodno at the end of January after Peter abandoned it but then halted near Minsk to await spring. The Swedish army then crossed the Berezina River at the end of June and defeated a larger Russian army at Holowczyn (Golovchin) on July 14. The Swedes reached the Dnieper River on July 19.

Peter had adopted scorched-earth tactics that denied the Swedes needed supplies. The Russians also attacked the increasingly long Swedish lines of communication. Charles therefore adopted a southern strategy, turning south and allying himself with the Cossacks of Ukraine under Hetman Ivan Mazeppa. Charles would then drive on Moscow from that direction. This plan collapsed when Mazeppa was ousted from power in October, and a Swedish relief corps of 11,000 men marching from Livonia under General Adam Loewenhaupt met defeat at Lesnaya (present-day Lyasnaya in Belarus) during October 9–10, 1708. Only 6,000 men of this force, including the wounded, were ultimately able to join Charles; 2,000 supply wagons and all their cannon had been lost.

Charles managed, with great difficulty, to hold his army together during the winter (November 1708–April 1709), but his army was reduced to only 20,000 men and 34 guns. With the spring thaw Charles advanced on Voronezh but stopped to besiege Poltava on the Vorskla River in Ukraine. The siege began on May 2. Peter put down a Cossack uprising along the Dnieper, convinced the leaders of the Ottoman Empire not to intervene, and ordered the Crimean Cossacks not to assist the Swedes. He then brought up a large force to relieve Poltava.

The fortress of Poltava proved more difficult to take than Charles had anticipated, and the Swedes were low on both food and gunpowder. Adding to Swedish difficulties, Charles was wounded in the foot and had to be carried about in a litter. Aware of the approach of Peter’s relief force of 80,000 men and more than 100 guns, Charles should have ended the siege and withdrawn east into Poland. Instead, demonstrating both his aggressive nature and his disdain for the Russian soldier, he decided to stand and fight. Learning of Charles’s wound, Peter resolved not to refuse battle. Indeed, to provoke Charles to attack, Peter ordered a fortified Russian camp constructed several miles north of Poltava. Its eastern flank rested on the Vorskla, and its southern flank was on a marsh and small stream.

Charles was equally ready for battle, and he attacked early on the morning of July 8, 1709. The initial Swedish assault was successful, but there was little coordination between the major elements of the army, and Peter was able to rally his forces to meet the final Swedish attack by 7,000 men, carried out against frightful odds. The Russians had 40,000 fresh troops and, with 102 guns, a crushing superiority in artillery. (Most of Charles’s guns were still at Poltava.) The czar took personal command of an infantry division, riding among his men and shouting encouragement. Charles’s wound prevented him from similarly rallying his men. The Swedes were cut down in large numbers by the Russian guns.
The battle was over by noon. It claimed some 3,000 Swedish dead and a like number captured. Russian losses were given as 1,345 killed and 3,290 wounded. Charles, removed from his litter, fled by horse with Ukrainian Cossack leader Ivan Mazeppa and about 1,500 Cossacks and Swedes into Ottoman Moldavia. Loewenhaupt surrendered the remaining 12,000 Swedes at Perevolchina on July 30. Total Swedish losses were 9,234 killed or wounded and 18,794 taken prisoner.

The Battle of Poltava marked the turning point in the Great Northern War. Its immediate impact was to revive the coalition of powers against Sweden. Charles XII found refuge at Bendery in Ottoman Moldavia, and two years later he induced Turkey to enter the war against Russia. He returned to Sweden in 1714 and made a last effort against his many enemies but was killed in 1718. Three years later the Treaty of Nystad ended the Great Northern War and gave Russia control of the Baltic shore. It also granted Peter the warm water ports and “windows on the west” that he so desperately sought.

References Anderson, M. S. Peter the Great. New York: Longman, 1996. Cracroft, James E., ed. Peter the Great Transforms Russia, Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath, 1991. Konstam, Angus. Poltava 1709: Russia Comes of Age. New York: Praeger, 2005.

Poltava 2009 is a project of recreating the battle of Poltava 1709, using Gå På rules.

“It was superb to fly, tough, simple and easy to build in large numbers...” IVAN RENDALL commenting on the MIG-21 in ROLLING THUNDER. Fast and agile. Despite having only one engine, the MiG-21 is still an exceptionally agile aircraft that is not easily matched in dogfights. However, it is sometimes susceptible to snaking, which causes stalls and surges in the turbojet engine.


THE MIG-21, known to NATO by the codename “Fishbed”, is an aircraft that benefits from a design focused on limited, attainable objectives. It was conceived in the aftermath of the Korean War, when the Soviet military decided they needed a new-generation short-range interceptor and air-superiority fighter. The aircraft had to be fast – capable of flying at Mach 2 – and manoeuvrable, with all other features sacrificed to high performance. It also needed to be simple, reliable, easy to maintain, and cheap enough to be manufactured in large numbers.

The design produced by the Mikoyan and Gureyvich bureau was a “no frills”, stripped-down, classic dogfighter and bomber-killer. In 1959, at the same time as the US was developing the F-4 Phantom – which was heavy enough to require two engines and needed an Electronic Warfare Officer to operate its array of electronic gadgetry – the MiG-21 emerged as a single-seat, single-engine, lightweight fighter, with a simple radar, two heat-seeking missiles, and a cannon. When F-4 pilots first encountered MiG-21s over North Vietnam, their craft’s advanced electronics and extra engine power did not necessarily translate into combat victories. In fact the MiG was more nimble and tighter in a high-speed turn, and its gun gave a definite advantage over the US fighters, which initially did not feature a gun.

Over the years, the MiG-21 evolved away from its original lightness and simplicity. Later models had more sophisticated radar and an extra fuel tank to give the aircraft a greater range. The engine was modified to allow the aeroplane to carry more missiles as well as the extra fuel load. But the virtues of cheapness, reliability, and high performance remained. Over 13,000 MiG-21s were produced. They went into service with air forces around the world and saw action not only in Vietnam but also in other areas, such as the Middle East. Many were still operational at the start of the third millennium.

The experience of air combat in Korea forced the Mikoyan design bureau to draw up radical plans for a new air-superiority fighter. This machine would have to be lightweight, be relatively simple to build, and possess speed in excess of Mach 2. The prime design prerequisite entailed deletion of all unnecessary equipment not related to performance. No less than 30 test models were built and flown through the mid- to late 1950s before a tailed-delta configuration was settled upon. The first MiG 21s were deployed in 1959 and proved immediately popular with Red Air Force pilots. They were the first Russian aircraft to routinely operate at Mach 2 and were highly maneuverable. Moreover, the delta configuration enabled the craft to remain controllable up to high angles of attack and low air speed. One possible drawback, as with all deltas, was that high turn rates yielded a steep drag rise, so the MiG 21 lost energy and speed while maneuvering. This was considered a fair trade-off in terms of overall excellent performance.

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 variants

The Nazi puppet state in Slovakia sent small ground and air units to fight against the Soviet Union. Formerly a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, after World War I Slovakia shared the twists and turns of the history of the Czech state. But during World War II the two provinces were split when a Nazi protectorate was set up in Slovakia under a local priest and fascist leader, Josef Tiso (1887–1947). Slovakia adhered to the Tripartite Pact and Axis alliance on November 23, 1940. In June 1941, it declared war on the Soviet Union. There followed declarations of war against the Western Allies in tandem with the German declarations of December 11, 1941. The Slovak population did not so readily embrace these pro-German policies. At the end of August 1944, the Slovak Uprising broke out. Like the Warsaw Rising in Poland, the Slovak rebellion was savagely crushed by the Germans by the end of October: it was as hard for small powers to leave the Axis at the end of the war as it was to resist annexation at its beginning. Slovakia was defended against the assaulting Red Army by German 1st Panzer Army. That was a misnamed force without any tanks which had no chance against the combat power it faced in Soviet 1st and 4th Ukrainian Fronts. Three Soviet armies broke part way into the Carpathians in September–October during what Russian historians call the “East Carpathian operation.” After a two-month pause, a complimentary “West Carpathian operation” was launched in January–February, 1945. It was temporarily blocked by a stiffened defense by 600,000 Axis troops led by General Ferdinand Schörner . Stalin and the Stavka sacked the original Soviet commander, replacing him with General Andrei Yeremenko . He also had trouble with Slovakia’s terrain: mountain fighting was new to much of the Red Army, while in Slovakia the Soviets faced German and Waffen-SS bitterenders. Yeremenko was reinforced and attacked again from March to May, 1945. His “ Bratislava-Brno operation ” went around the German flanks and up the Danube valley. Bratislava fell on April 4. Brno was taken on the 28th. Tiso was found hiding in a cellar. He was hanged as a traitor in 1947.


Prime Minister Winston Churchill urged the new American President, Harry Truman, to send American forces to take Prague. American 3rd and 7th Armies had advanced through Bavaria against light resistance and reached the border of western Bohemia on April 25, 1945. By Allied agreement, liberation of Prague was left to the Red Army. Citizens of the city had other ideas and rose on May 4, though perhaps more in celebration of expected liberation than in violent determination to liberate themselves. The rising cut off remnants of Army Group Center from escape to the west or back to Germany, so German troops tried to retake Prague. The Red Army arrived five days later, one day after a formal ceasefire and surrender agreement at Reims went into effect across Germany. The Soviets took down the last German resistance after a blistering artillery barrage. There was heavy fighting in other parts of Czechoslovakia by bitterenders in Army Group Center, especially among Waffen-SS units. More famously, there was some fighting with a demoralized division of the Russian Liberation Army that lasted until May 11. All that made Czechoslovakia the first territory invaded by German troops and the last from which they were violently expelled.


When the fighting ended, almost 720,000 Germans were marched off to Soviet POW camps. Most remained in harsh captivity for years, working as forced laborers in the Soviet Union. The Red Army put its losses for nine months of the Czech and Slovak campaigns at 140,000 men. When the Soviets withdrew their armed forces from the country, Beneš returned as president of a restored Czechoslovakia.

The Taiping Rebellion referred to as the Tai Ping Tian Guo in Chinese 太平天囯 ( 太 Tai-'Great' ,平 Ping - 'Peace', 天 Tian-"Heaven', 囯 Guo-'Country or Kingdom' ) the 'Kingdom of Heavenly Peace', was one of the bloodiest civil wars in history between the Qing Dynasty and the Chinese 'Christian' rebels, led by Hong Xiuquan ( old spelling Hung Hsiu-ch'uan ) who believed he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, chosen by God to establish a heavenly kingdom upon earth and replace the corrupt Manchu Qing dynasty.The conflict, which took place mostly in south China , the Yangtze valley and in the Shanghai and Nanjing area, killed an estimated from 20,000,000 to 100,000,000 people killed (largely due to famine and wholesale slaughter of captured armies and cities which resisted ) . According to the census of 1851 there were 432 million in China. The next census of 1911 shows 375 to 400 million, which shows the staggering impact of the rebellions and natural disasters that beset China . There were other rebellions against the Qing such as the Nian and Muslim rebellions,but the Taiping rebellion was the largest in scale and came closest to toppling the Qing Dynasty.

via The Taiping Rebellion 1850-1871 Tai Ping Tian Guo.

The Centurion first saw combat during the Korean War with the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars, attached as armour support to the 29th British Independent Brigade. The regiment, under the command of Lt. Col. Sir W. Lowther, landed in November 1950 and travelled by train to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. While the tanks were being unloaded, news came of a heavy defeat farther north following the Chinese intervention in the war. All further movement northward ceased; within days, the United Nations Forces were in headlong retreat. Before they had even sighted the enemy, the 8th Hussars were ordered to withdraw.

In the terrible cold the tanks trundled south along narrow frozen roads streaming with refugees. As few bridges could bear the weight of the 50-ton tanks, the rivers had to be forded, coating the hulls with sheets of ice. Although the Centurions were brand new and barely run in, they performed remarkably well, covering 130 miles in 24 hours.

A line was eventually formed north of Seoul, with the Centurions in defensive positions on the south bank of the Han River, covering the main road from the north. With the temperatures well below freezing, they awaited the enemy attack, standing the tanks on rice straw to prevent the tracks freezing to the ground. The Chinese, however, decimated by frostbite and disease, were incapable of sustaining their offensive.

It was not until February 1951 that the Centurions first fired their guns in anger. Two Centurions, supporting an American patrol along the Han River, came under fire from a tank hidden in a railway cutting. The tank was engaged at a range of 3,000 yards, and destroyed with the second shot. It was identified as a Cromwell of the Reconnaissance Troop of the 8th Hussars, captured by the Chinese during an earlier battle. It is perhaps ironic that the Centurion's first action was against the tank it was designed to replace.

On the night of 22 April 1951, the Chinese spring offensive fell upon the 29th Brigade, sparking one of the great battles of British military history. The Brigade, with the Belgian battalion under command, was deployed along a 13,000-yard front overlooking the Imjin River, astride one of the classic invasion routes to the south. Within hours the infantry battalions were heavily engaged; the Belgians, fighting north of the river, were cut off. On the following morning, the Centurions of "C" Squadron (Major P.H. Huth) moved forward. Throughout the day, they lashed out at the enemy with high explosive and machine-gun fire in support of the Northumberland Fusiliers and the Ulster Rifles.

They were, however, unable to reach the Belgians or the Gloucester battalion, who were also under heavy attack. During that night the Belgians fought their way back across the river and rejoined the brigade, but the Gloucesters were still completely surrounded. Next morning half of "COO Squadron, together with a Filipino force, tried to break through to the encircled battalion but were forced to turn back when the leading Filipino tank was knocked out, blocking the road. The other half of the squadron was in continuous action that day, holding open the valley road leading to the Fusiliers and Ulsters. As night fell on the second day of the battle, the plight of the Brigade was becoming desperate. The Gloucesters were under furious and repeated attack within their ever-decreasing perimeter, while the Northumberlands and the Ulsters were in imminent danger of being cut off. At first light on the 25th, three troops of "COO Squadron again moved up the valley to support the hard-pressed infantry. Heavy mortar fire forced the commanders to close down; two tanks, shedding their tracks, ran off the mist-shrouded road into the mire of the rice paddies.

As the Centurions advanced through the pass into the valley, they were attacked by swarms of Chinese infantry with sticky bombs and bazookas. Clambering onto the tanks, the Chinese tried to force open the turret hatches and drop in grenades, but were shot off by machine-gun fire from the other tanks. The Centurions' firepower soon routed the Chinese completely.

For the next 7 1/2 hours, the Centurions pounded enemy positions in the hills, while the exhausted Northumberlands and Ulsters fell back. As the last of the infantry withdrew through the pass, another wave of Chinese swept down from the hills cutting the road behind the tanks. Once more, the Centurions were forced to run the gauntlet of the bomb-throwing hordes. One tank commander, discovering a Chinese soldier battering at his cupola lid, removed him by driving his tank through the side of a house.

The tanks moved back under continuous fire, covering the withdrawal of the Belgian battalion which had been holding the road below the pass throughout the day. Two tanks, under the command of the squadron leader, remained as a rearguard to continue the delaying action. The two Centurions raked the Chinese with close-range machine-gun fire. Each time the enemy was about to outflank the lead tank it fell back under the covering fire of the other. Not until the infantry reached safety did the Centurions withdraw from the action.

Without the support of the Centurions at the battle of the Imjin, both the Northumberland and Ulster battalions would almost certainly have been overrun. As it was, they suffered heavy casualties - and the Gloucester battalion, out of water and ammunition, was forced to surrender - but the Chinese offensive was halted.

The 1st British Commonwealth Division was formed toward the end of July 1951 by integrating all the Commonwealth units in Korea. During Operation Commando in October, the division advanced some 1,000 yards to establish positions north of the Imjin River before the coming winter. The attack was over extremely difficult terrain; nevertheless, the Centurions proved equal to the task. The tanks climbed seemingly impossible hills to bring direct fire to bear against the enemy - an ability much envied by the crews of the American Pattons and M4A3E8 Shermans.

After Operation Commando the line became static, remaining so for the next two years, while the protracted peace negotiations at Panmanjon thrashed out an armistice agreement.  As little further could be achieved by offensive action, the United Nations Forces established positions on the most commanding features overlooking the Chinese lines.