DOCSLIB.ORG

BELGIAN ARMOURED CARS in WORLD WAR ONE Words by Carl De Roo

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
BELGIAN ARMOURED CARS in WORLD WAR ONE Words by Carl De Roo Belgium - Positive Demons:Layout 1 31/7/08 14:13 Page 1 BELGIAN ARMOURED CARS IN WORLD WAR ONE Words by Carl De Roo Right: When war came to the kingdom of A Belgian machine- gun post. The Bel- Belgium in 1914, its army was gian uniform being totally unprepared. The uniforms of so unsuited for ac- tive service, it was the soldiers were colourful but quickly replaced by the ‘Yser’ uniform totally outdated. The infantry looked (named from its use as if they had just stepped out of the by the troops fight- ing on the River action in the Franco Prussian war of Yser). The old Shako was replaced 1870. As a small concession to by a blue or green modern warfare, the crack regiment soft kepi with arm- of-service piping of grenadiers left their bearskins in (blue-grey for in- fantry), the 1913- their barracks. The cavalry where not pattern tunic by a so quick to concede; the, self- single-breasted dark blue or grey tunic proclaimed, elite regiments of with seven grey metal buttons and Guides wore a uniform closely based coloured piping on on the Guides regiment in the the cuffs, and the blue grey trousers Imperial Guard of Napoleon III. The replaced by wine red corduroy with blue training of soldiers was equally poor, puttees and ankle- not helped by the late introduction of boots, shortages being made up from conscription in 1913. In short the French stocks. Belgian army was ill equipped and ill prepared to weather the storm of the Great War. In one area however the Belgian army was streets ahead of its rivals. Belgium before the war was a very prosperous country. Among other Opposite left: DRESS DISTINCTIONS: BELGIAN ARMY, 1914 things the country had a very well Charles Henkart’s armoured car. developed road network and several The following basic uniform-colours were worn by the Belgian Army at the outbreak of war: world leading car manufacturers. Opposite right: Unit Head-dress Tunic Trousers Before the western Front stabilised Henkart manning the into the quagmire of the trenches, the gun of his Minerva. Generals Kepi Dark blue piped crimson Dark blue, Dark blue stripe Belgian armed forces built and Staff Kepi Green piped crimson Green piped crimson despatched about 30 armoured cars Infantry Shako Dark blue piped blue grey on 1913 Blue grey piped black into service. These cars were used uniform; otherwise piped scarlet both aggressively and efficiently. Grenadiers Bearskin cap Dark blue piped scarlet Dark blue, scarlet stripe David Fletcher uses the term Chasseurs á Pied Shako Green piped yellow Blue grey piped green “positive demons...” as a description Carabiniers Tyrolean hat Green piped yellow Blue grey piped yellow of Belgian drivers’ cars in his book Carabinier Cyclists Kepi Green piped yellow Blue grey piped yellow War Carsi. As anyone who has ever Guides Colback (busby) Green piped crimson Crimson piped green driven a car in Belgium can testify 1st Lancers Czapka Dark blue piped crimson Blue grey piped crimson this description is still true today! 2nd Lancers Czapka Dark blue piped crimson Blue grey piped crimson 3rd/5th Lancers Czapka Dark blue piped white Blue grey piped white 24 Belgium - Positive Demons:Layout 1 31/7/08 14:15 Page 2 Humble beginnings for an hour and a half. I retreat When, at the outbreak of World War I, when German reinforcements Minerva armoured car (4x2) lieutenant Charles Henkart rejoined arrive. Twenty Germans killed... Engine 38 hp, 4 cylinder Minerva Knight his unit in the regiment of Grenadiers, he brought with him his two private • Patrol on the main road between Dimensions 4,9 m long, 1,75 m wide, vi cars. Very quickly these two cars Mechelen and Leuven. Near 1.80 m height, 4 ton weight where kitted out with arms and Mechelen we encounter a strong Armour 5 mm armourii attached to army German cavalry unit. Twenty Armament Hotchkiss MG with 4500 rounds in headquarters,iii with the cars being one Germans killed, six the vehicle (metal strip feed, 30 used for liaison duties and Germans prisoner… rounds on each feed) reconnaissance. Speed 40 km/h with armour • Patrol in the direction of Crew 4 The following quotes from lt. Hofstade and Elewijt. I have to Henkart’s log book give the flavour retreat as the road is under of his early encounters. strong German artillery fire. I return by road to Leuven. • Patrol in the direction of Three Germans killed. We find Laroche Houffalize, Bastogne, artillery and trenches near Durbuy. Reconnaissance of Campenhout. I cover the retreat German positions on the rivers of 2 companies of Chasseurs à Ourthe and Amblève, rescue pied left as a rear guard… two prisoners of war (a French cuirassier and a French Chasseur On 5 September (or possibly 14, à cheval) killed 3 Germans, accounts differ) Henkart and his unit wounded one… (which included such Belgium notables as Count Louis de Villermont • Patrol in the direction Haelen, and Prince Baudouin de Ligne) laid an Diest, Tessenderlo and ambush at Zammel (nr Antwerp), in Leopoldsburg. No contact with which they confronted a German the enemy… cavalry squadron of some 450 men. After a fierce two hour battle, Henkart • Patrol in the direction of and his men were killed, but not before Jodoigne, Jauche, Jeandrain and they had killed 25 Germans and Orp Le Grand. Cars fall into a inflicted heavy casualties. German cavalry ambush near Jauche. Escape. Seven Germans New Cars killed… Henkart’s ad hoc unit had proved its effectiveness and the Belgian • Patrol in the direction of authorities commissioned the Westerlo and Herenthout. I am production of armoured cars in larger able to push two companies of numbers. Two manufacturers in the German jäger and a squadron large industrial city of Antwerp were of hussars back towards involved. These were SAVA carsiv Westerlo and to keep them there and MINERVA cars. 25 Belgium - Positive Demons:Layout 1 31/7/08 14:16 Page 3 number 7. When this unit finds that the main road into Werchter is blocked by a barricade, the decision is made to dismount the machine gun. On the other side of the barricade the Belgian soldiers are met by heavy German fire coming from the houses along the main road.vii After a while the group decides to withdraw. The Hotckiss is reinstalled in the Minerva. Slowly retreating the Minerva gives covering fire for the carabiniers who move back towards the bridge over the Laak. Near the bridge there is an open field of fire Left: A SAVA but the barrel of the Hotchkiss is armoured car. overheating and needs to be replaced. The armoured car stays and holds off SAVA produced an armoured car in Action the advancing Germans for about September 1914 armed with a The following action report is typical forty minutes before it has to retreat Hotchkiss machine gun in a partially of how the Belgium armoured cars through lack of ammunition (all 4500 enclosed turret. Armour plating was where employed. rounds were used). Carrying several provided by the Cockerill steel yards wounded carabiniers, Minerva in Hoboken (near Antwerp). “The date is 8 September 1914. number 7 retreats in the direction of Elsewhere the Franco-British Tremelo. German losses in Werchter Before the fall of Antwerp MINERVA counter-attack on the Marne has were 200 killed.” produced between 25 and 30 started. To support this attack King armoured cars in its Antwerp factory.v Albert of the Belgians launches a Stalemate sortie from Antwerp. The sole By October 1914 the stalemate of Beofre the war Minerva had Belgian cavalry division is on the left trench warfare was beginning to set produced highly sought after luxury of the line. Second lieutenant Thiery in and the usfulness of the armoured cars, driven by European Royalty of the Guides cavalry, is in charge of car began to wain. The Belgian army and American movie stars. Charles S. Minerva number 7 and attached to the did however continued to use its Rolls sold Minerva cars in London headquarters of the cavalry division. Minervas until the end of the war. By before joining with Henry Royce to 1918 each “division d’armée”viii had produce Rolls Royce. French car The battalion of Carabiniers-cyclistes a “groupement leger” for Below: giant, André Citroën was a member (2 companies strong, 250 men) is This vehicle was reconnaissance. This consisted of of the board of Minerva. charged with the recapture of the operated by the two cavalry squadrons, a company Royal Naval Air village of Werchter which is Service under Flight- of cyclists and an “escadrille” of Commander Samson It is not known who actually designed supposedly lightly held. Early in the RN, and was crewed three armoured cars. The cavalry and commissioned the “ auto morning, the cyclists leave their by a mixture of division also had a similar naval and Royal mitrailleuse Minerva”. But the actual bicycles near the bridge over the Laak, Marine personnel, “escadrille”. The remaining under the aegis of designing and producing of 30 an affluent of the river Dyle, and the Royal Flying Minervas soldiered on and where armoured cars in such a small period divide into three groups. The group Corps. Its sides were joined by a number of other cars; protected by steel (August 1914 until late September on the left is supported by a dozen plates, and it had a from Great Britain came some Maxim gun mounted 1914) remains a quite extraordinary Lanciers of the 2nd regiment. The on the ‘conning Sheffield Simplex and Lanchester feat.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • La Bataille De Jena 1806© (4 Maps)
    La Bataille pour la Prusse 1806 Rev. 1 b 1 /2018 La Bataille de Jena 1806© (4 maps) Battle Two Largely Historical This is the historic battle for Jena, a decisive victory for the French. Therefore, the French player must be equally decisive and keep to an aggressive time table. The Prussians may be out- numbered but their mission is to delay the French for a time, and then withdraw to the next defensive line. Start 8:00 and finish at the end of the 15:40 turn Boundary – All four Jena maps Movement suggestions – with 4 players: 10 minutes for the French and 8 minutes for the Coalition No units may start or enter in Road March. French units rout in the direction toward their entry points. Prussian units rout in the direction of Weimar. Fog Between 8:00 and the end of the 9:20 turn in the morning, conditions include fog. During this time frame: Artillery is limited to medium or short range only Infantry may form Carre in their movement phase, only. Infantry movement is reduced by 2 movement points Artillery movement is reduced by 2 movement points, except on roads in Road March Cavalry and horse artillery movement is reduced by 5 movement points except in Road March Cavalry may not Charge, Reaction Charge, or Opportunity Charge All fire attacks are modified to reflect 2/3 of their normal value Units may always move one if restriction of terrain and fog would not allow them to do so. Jena 1806 Page 1 of 6 Marshal Enterprises La Bataille pour la Prusse 1806 Rev.
    [Show full text]
  • Failure in 1813: the Decline of French Light Infantry and Its Effect on Napoleon’S German Campaign
    United States Military Academy USMA Digital Commons Cadet Senior Theses in History Department of History Spring 4-14-2018 Failure in 1813: The eclineD of French Light Infantry and its effect on Napoleon's German Campaign Gustave Doll United States Military Academy, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usmalibrary.org/history_cadet_etd Part of the European History Commons, and the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Doll, Gustave, "Failure in 1813: The eD cline of French Light Infantry and its effect on Napoleon's German Campaign" (2018). Cadet Senior Theses in History. 1. https://digitalcommons.usmalibrary.org/history_cadet_etd/1 This Bachelor's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of History at USMA Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Cadet Senior Theses in History by an authorized administrator of USMA Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. United States Military Academy USMA Digital Commons Cadet Senior Theses in History Department of History Spring 4-14-2018 Failure in 1813: The eclineD of French Light Infantry and its effect on Napoleon's German Campaign Gustave Doll Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usmalibrary.org/history_cadet_etd UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY FAILURE IN 1813: THE DECLINE OF FRENCH LIGHT INFANTRY AND ITS EFFECT ON NAPOLEON’S GERMAN CAMPAIGN HI499: SENIOR THESIS SECTION S26 CPT VILLANUEVA BY CADET GUSTAVE A DOLL, ’18 CO F3 WEST POINT, NEW YORK 19 APRIL 2018 ___ MY DOCUMENTATION IDENTIFIES ALL SOURCES USED AND ASSISTANCE RECEIVED IN COMPLETING THIS ASSIGNMENT. ___ NO SOURCES WERE USED OR ASSISTANCE RECEIVED IN COMPLETING THIS ASSIGNMENT.
    [Show full text]
  • French Army of the Rhine, 1800
    French Army of the Rhine l800 Commander-in-Chief: General Moreau Right Wing: Lecorbe Division: Montchoisy Brigades: Chabert & Mainoni 28th Demi-Brigade (3) 44th Demi-Brigade (2) lst Demi-Brigade Légère (l) 9th Demi-Brigade Légère (l) Artillery: 3/2nd Foot Artillery Company 6/2nd Foot Artillery Company 4/6th Horse Artillery Company Division: Lorge Brigades: Goulles & Bontemps 37th Demi-Brigade (3) l05th Demi-Brigade (3) l0th Demi-Brigade Légère (3) lst Swiss Demi-Brigade (l) 7th Hussar Regiment Artillery: l7/lst Foot Artillery Company 5/2nd Horse Artillery Company Elements of 3rd Sapper Battalion Division: Vandamme Brigades: Jardon, Laval, & Molitor 36th Demi-Brigade (3) 44th Demi-Brigade (l) 83th Demi-Brigade (3) 94th Demi-Brigade (3) l02nd Demi-Brigade (3) lst Demi-Brigade Légère (2) 8th Hussar Regiment Artillery: l6/lst Foot Artillery Company 4/2nd Foot Artillery Company 2/6th Horse Artillery Company l/2nd Pontoonier Battalion 7/2nd Pontoonier Battalion 2/3rd Pontoonier Battalion Division: Montrichard Brigades: Daultanne 38th Demi-Brigade (3) 67th Demi-Brigade (3) 84th Demi-Brigade (3) 9th Hussar Regiment Artillery: l5/lst Foot Artillery Company 5/6th Horse Artillery Company l/3rd Pontoonier Battalion 7/3rd Pontoonier Battalion 8/3rd Pontoonier Battalion 1 Reserve Division: Nansouty Brigade: Nansouty & Pelissard 2nd Swiss Battalion lst Converged Grenadier Battalion 2nd Converged Grenadier Battalion llth Dragoon Regiment l2th Chasseur à Cheval Regiment Artillery: l8/lst Foot Artillery Company 5/6th Horse Artillery Company Reserve Corps:
    [Show full text]
  • Clothing Terms from Around the World
    Clothing terms from around the world A Afghan a blanket or shawl of coloured wool knitted or crocheted in strips or squares. Aglet or aiglet is the little plastic or metal cladding on the end of shoelaces that keeps the twine from unravelling. The word comes from the Latin word acus which means needle. In times past, aglets were usually made of metal though some were glass or stone. aiguillette aglet; specifically, a shoulder cord worn by designated military aides. A-line skirt a skirt with panels fitted at the waist and flaring out into a triangular shape. This skirt suits most body types. amice amice a liturgical vestment made of an oblong piece of cloth usually of white linen and worn about the neck and shoulders and partly under the alb. (By the way, if you do not know what an "alb" is, you can find it in this glossary...) alb a full-length white linen ecclesiastical vestment with long sleeves that is gathered at the waist with a cincture aloha shirt Hawaiian shirt angrakha a long robe with an asymmetrical opening in the chest area reaching down to the knees worn by males in India anklet a short sock reaching slightly above the ankle anorak parka anorak apron apron a garment of cloth, plastic, or leather tied around the waist and used to protect clothing or adorn a costume arctic a rubber overshoe reaching to the ankle or above armband a band usually worn around the upper part of a sleeve for identification or in mourning armlet a band, as of cloth or metal, worn around the upper arm armour defensive covering for the body, generally made of metal, used in combat.
    [Show full text]
  • Bodies of Knowledge: the Presentation of Personified Figures in Engraved Allegorical Series Produced in the Netherlands, 1548-1600
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2015 Bodies of Knowledge: The Presentation of Personified Figures in Engraved Allegorical Series Produced in the Netherlands, 1548-1600 Geoffrey Shamos University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Recommended Citation Shamos, Geoffrey, "Bodies of Knowledge: The Presentation of Personified Figures in Engraved Allegorical Series Produced in the Netherlands, 1548-1600" (2015). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 1128. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1128 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1128 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Bodies of Knowledge: The Presentation of Personified Figures in Engraved Allegorical Series Produced in the Netherlands, 1548-1600 Abstract During the second half of the sixteenth century, engraved series of allegorical subjects featuring personified figures flourished for several decades in the Low Countries before falling into disfavor. Designed by the Netherlandsâ?? leading artists and cut by professional engravers, such series were collected primarily by the urban intelligentsia, who appreciated the use of personification for the representation of immaterial concepts and for the transmission of knowledge, both in prints and in public spectacles. The pairing of embodied forms and serial format was particularly well suited to the portrayal of abstract themes with multiple components, such as the Four Elements, Four Seasons, Seven Planets, Five Senses, or Seven Virtues and Seven Vices. While many of the themes had existed prior to their adoption in Netherlandish graphics, their pictorial rendering had rarely been so pervasive or systematic.
    [Show full text]
  • Les Construct Eurs Automobile S Belges
    LES CONSTRUCT EURS AUTOMOBILE S BELGES REALISATION Diaporama, Recherche documentation : Michel Dossogne Jean-Joseph Étienne Lenoir 1863 - Né à Mussy-la-Ville Luxembourg - Belgique le 12 janvier 1822 et mort à La Varenne-Saint-Hilaire le 4 août 1900, est LENOIR un ingénieur belge qui réalisa notamment en 1859 le premier moteur à combustion interne utilisable ; c’était un moteur à deux temps avec pour carburant du gaz de houille. En 1859, il dépose son « brevet d'un moteur à gaz et à air moteur à combustion interne à deux temps. Il le fabrique en 1860 et en 400 exemplaires qui servirent notamment pour le premier bateau à moteur en 1861 sur la Seine. Ce moteur consommait 18 litres de mélange gazeux pour développer une puissance de deux chevaux. En 1883, il réalise le moteur à quatre temps en se basant sur le principe du cycle de Beau de Rochas. La même année, son automobile avec moteur à gaz parcourt 9 kilomètres de Paris à Joinville-le-Pont en trois heures. Frédéric de La Hault 1887 – DE LA Obtient la concession de réseaux de tramways hippomobiles dans des villes HAULT françaises, notamment Le Havre, Nancy et Marseille qui ouvrent à partir de 1874. Le 8 décembre 1875, M. de la Hault et la Banque Française et Italienne fondent la Compagnie générale française des tramways, qui devient rétrocessionnaire des réseaux nommés ci-dessus (transferts officialisés par décrets l'année qui suivit). Cette compagnie obtint par la suite la concession d'autres réseaux d'abord hippomobiles, comme à Toulon, Saint- Quentin ou Cambrai.
    [Show full text]
  • A Dictionary of Men's Wear Works by Mr Baker
    LIBRARY v A Dictionary of Men's Wear Works by Mr Baker A Dictionary of Men's Wear (This present book) Cloth $2.50, Half Morocco $3.50 A Dictionary of Engraving A handy manual for those who buy or print pictures and printing plates made by the modern processes. Small, handy volume, uncut, illustrated, decorated boards, 75c A Dictionary of Advertising In preparation A Dictionary of Men's Wear Embracing all the terms (so far as could be gathered) used in the men's wear trades expressiv of raw and =; finisht products and of various stages and items of production; selling terms; trade and popular slang and cant terms; and many other things curious, pertinent and impertinent; with an appendix con- taining sundry useful tables; the uniforms of "ancient and honorable" independent military companies of the U. S.; charts of correct dress, livery, and so forth. By William Henry Baker Author of "A Dictionary of Engraving" "A good dictionary is truly very interesting reading in spite of the man who declared that such an one changed the subject too often." —S William Beck CLEVELAND WILLIAM HENRY BAKER 1908 Copyright 1908 By William Henry Baker Cleveland O LIBRARY of CONGRESS Two Copies NOV 24 I SOB Copyright tntry _ OL^SS^tfU XXc, No. Press of The Britton Printing Co Cleveland tf- ?^ Dedication Conforming to custom this unconventional book is Dedicated to those most likely to be benefitted, i. e., to The 15000 or so Retail Clothiers The 15000 or so Custom Tailors The 1200 or so Clothing Manufacturers The 5000 or so Woolen and Cotton Mills The 22000
    [Show full text]
  • Belgian Laces Binder 53
    Belgian Laces Volume 14 #53 December 1992 Belgian Laces Vol14 #53 Dear Members, The end of the year is approaching rapidly in Belgium and in most of Europe, the children are anxiously looking forward to December 6, when St Nicolas will come with gifts for the good children and the “martinet” (whip) for the bad ones. There will also be plenty of speculoos and massepain oranges and apples. Just thinking of the expectations, the fears and joys make us long for the holiday atmosphere of “the old country”. Then come the family reunions of Christmas, the joys of being together and sharing the blessings of the holidays. The New Year too brings special traditions, where the chi1dren will read their specially prepared “New Years Letters”: one for the parents, one for the grandparents and one for their godparents, who each will give them a few francs or a special present The children have worked hard on these letters, wilting them using their most beautiful handwriting and vocabulary! New Year too is the time for resolutions, decisions and promises. Decisions… promises… we asked you last year to help us raise the number of our membership to 400. We are delighted to let you know that we gave membership number to the last subscriber. Thanks and congratulations to you all! We want to do even better for 1993 and hope to reach or pass the 500 mark by the end of the year. With your continuous support, we should be able to do just that. The more we are the more we can help each other.
    [Show full text]
  • France's War in Mali: Lessons for an Expeditionary Army
    CHILDREN AND FAMILIES The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and EDUCATION AND THE ARTS decisionmaking through research and analysis. ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE This electronic document was made available from www.rand.org as a public service INFRASTRUCTURE AND of the RAND Corporation. TRANSPORTATION INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS LAW AND BUSINESS Skip all front matter: Jump to Page 16 NATIONAL SECURITY POPULATION AND AGING PUBLIC SAFETY Support RAND SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Browse Reports & Bookstore TERRORISM AND Make a charitable contribution HOMELAND SECURITY For More Information Visit RAND at www.rand.org Explore the RAND Corporation View document details Limited Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law as indicated in a notice appearing later in this work. This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for non- commercial use only. Unauthorized posting of RAND electronic documents to a non-RAND website is prohibited. RAND electronic documents are protected under copyright law. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please see RAND Permissions. This report is part of the RAND Corporation research report series. RAND reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity. C O R P O R A T I O N France’s War in Mali Lessons for an Expeditionary Army Michael Shurkin Prepared for the United States Army Approved for public release; distribution unlimited For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/rr770 Published by the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif.
    [Show full text]
  • The Battle of the Ardennes 22 August 1914
    This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ The Battle of the Ardennes 22 August 1914 House, Simon Awarding institution: King's College London The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works - You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you receive permission from the author. Your fair dealings and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 02. Oct. 2021 This electronic theses or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ The Battle of the Ardennes 22 August 1914 Title: Author: Simon House The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement.
    [Show full text]
  • The Use of the Saber in the Army of Napoleon
    Acta Periodica Duellatorum, Scholarly Volume, Articles 103 DOI 10.1515/apd-2016-0004 The use of the saber in the army of Napoleon Bert Gevaert Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) Hallebardiers / Sint Michielsgilde Brugge (Belgium) [email protected] Abstract – Though Napoleonic warfare is usually associated with guns and cannons, edged weapons still played an important role on the battlefield. Swords and sabers could dominate battles and this was certainly the case in the hands of experienced cavalrymen. In contrast to gunshot wounds, wounds caused by the saber could be treated quite easily and caused fewer casualties. In 18th and 19th century France, not only manuals about the use of foil and epee were published, but also some important works on the military saber: de Saint Martin, Alexandre Muller… The saber was not only used in individual fights against the enemy, but also as a duelling weapon in the French army. Keywords – saber; Napoleonic warfare; Napoleon; duelling; Material culture; Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA); History “The sword is the weapon in which you should have most confidence, because it rarely fails you by breaking in your hands. Its blows are the more certain, accordingly as you direct them coolly; and hold it properly.” Antoine Fortuné de Brack, Light Cavalry Exercises, 18761 I. INTRODUCTION Though Napoleon (1769-1821) started his own military career as an artillery officer and achieved several victories by clever use of cannons, edged weapons still played an important role on the Napoleonic battlefield. Swords and sabers could dominate battles and this was certainly the case in the hands of experienced cavalrymen.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae
    Curriculum Vitae Gianmarco Ireo Paolo OTTAVIANO Born in Milan (Italy) on Sept.29,1967. Italian citizenship. Professional address: London School of Economics and Political Science Department of Economics and Centre for Economic Performance Houghton Street London WC2A 2AE United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20-7955 6856. Fax: +44(0)20-7955 7595. E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.lse.ac.uk/researchAndExpertise/Experts/profile.aspx?KeyValue=g.i.ottaviano@ls e.ac.uk CURRENT POSITIONS Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK. Honorary Professor of Economics (Studioso di chiara fama), Department of Economics, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. Director of the Globalisation Programme, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK. Senior Non-Resident Fellow, Bruegel, Brussels, Belgium. Research Fellow, Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), International Trade Programme, London, U.K. Research Fellow, Center for Financial Studies (CFS), Frankfurt, Germany. Research Fellow, Fondazione ENI Enrico Mattei (FEEM), Milan, Italy. Research Fellow, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IFW), Kiel, Germany. Research Affiliate, Institut de Analisi Economica, C.S.I.C., Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain. External Research Fellow, Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM), University College London, U.K. External Fellow, Leverhulme Centre for Research on Globalisation and Economic Policy (GEP), University of Nottingham, U.K. 1 PAST POSITIONS 2008-2013. Full Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy. Taught courses: International Economics, Macroeconomics. 2009-2011. Coordinator of the PhD Degree Program in Economics. 2011-2013.
    [Show full text]