Danish Soldiers in the Trenches of Dybbøl (1864)

Title: Kampene ved Dybbøl, 1864 (The Battle of Dybbøl, 1864)
Artist: Jørgen Valentin Sonne
Date: 1871

The Battle of Dybbøl (Danish: Slaget ved Dybbøl; German: Erstürmung der Düppeler Schanzen) was the key battle of the Second Schleswig War and occurred on the morning of 18 April 1864 following a siege starting on 7 April. Denmark suffered a severe defeat against Prussia, which decided the war. Dybbøl was also a battlefield in the First Schleswig War.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dybb%C3%B8l

Danish Attack at Dybbøl (1864)

Title: Ottende brigades angreb ved Dybbøl 18. april 1864 (Eighth Brigade's attack at Dybbøl 18 April 1864)
Artist: Vilhelm Rosenstand
Date: 1894

On the morning of 18 April 1864 at Dybbøl, the Prussians moved into their positions at 2.00. At 10.00 the Prussian artillery bombardment stopped and the Prussians charged through shelling from the Rolf Krake which did not prove enough to halt them. Thirteen minutes after the charge, the Prussian infantry had already seized control of the first line of defence of the redoubts.

A total massacre of the retreating troops was avoided and the Prussian advance halted by a counter-attack by the 8th Brigade, until a Prussian attack threw them back; that attack advanced about 1 km and reached Dybbøl Mill. In that counter-attack the 8th Brigade lost about half their men, dead or wounded or captured. This let the remnants of 1st and 3rd Brigades escape to the pier opposite Sønderborg. At 13.30 the last resistance collapsed at the bridgehead in front of Sønderborg. After that there was an artillery duel across the Alssund.

During the battle around 3,600 Danes and 1,200 Prussians were either killed, wounded or disappeared. A Danish official army casualty list at the time said: 671 dead; 987 wounded, of whom 473 were captured; 3,131 unwounded captured and/or deserters; total casualties 4,789. The 2nd and 22nd Regiments lost the most. Also, the crew of the Danish naval ship Rolf Krake suffered one dead, 10 wounded.

The Battle of Dybbøl was the first battle monitored by delegates of the Red Cross: Louis Appia and Charles van de Velde. Following the battle, the Prussians used the fort area as a starting point to attack Als in June 1864.

Source :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dybb%C3%B8l

Prince Alfred of England

Title: Prince Alfred of England
Artist: Franz Xaver Winterhalter
Date: 1865

Oil on canvas, 74.4 x 61.4 cm. Winterhalter was born in the Black Forest where he was encouraged to draw at school. In 1818 he went to Freiburg to study under Karl Ludwig Schüler and then moved to Munich in 1823, where he attended the Academy and studied under Josef Stieler, a fashionable portrait painter. Winterhalter was first brought to the attention of Queen Victoria by the Queen of the Belgians and subsequently painted numerous portraits at the English court from 1842 till his death. Prince Alfred (1844–1900), aged 21, is wearing naval uniform with the star of the Garter. He was the second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and joined the navy when he was 14 years old, in August 1858. He served on the Euryalus and sailed to the Mediterranean, South Africa, and the West Indies, returning home in August 1861. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1863 and, after a career in the navy, was made Admiral of the Fleet in 1893. Signed and dated: Fr Winterhalter / 1865. Inscribed on the back with the names of the artist and sitter and as painted at the Rosenau, August 1865.

Source :
https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/404833/prince-alfred-1844-1900-later-duke-of-edinburgh

Albert, Prince of Wales (Later Edward VII of Great Britain)

Title: Albert, Prince of Wales
Artist: Franz Xaver Winterhalter
Date: 1864

Oil on canvas, 161.8 x 114.1 cm. Winterhalter was born in the Black Forest where he was encouraged to draw at school. In 1818 he went to Freiburg to study under Karl Ludwig Schüler and then moved to Munich in 1823, where he attended the Academy and studied under Josef Stieler, a fashionable portrait painter. Winterhalter was first brought to the attention of Queen Victoria by the Queen of the Belgians and subsequently painted numerous portraits at the English court from 1842 till his death. Prince Albert Edward, Queen Victoria’s eldest son, is dressed in the uniform of Colonel of the 10th Hussars and holds his shako which, from 1800 onwards, became a common military head-dress in most armies. He wears the ribbon and star of the Garter, the badge of the Golden Fleece, and the Star of India. The portrait was commissioned by Queen Victoria along with that of Princess Alexandra (RCIN 402351) whom he had married in 1863. Signed and dated: Fr Winterhalter 1864.

Source :
https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/402352/edward-vii-1841-1910-when-prince-of-wales

Paramedic of the British UKSF in Afghanistan

Title: Battle Mist
Artist: Stuart Brown
Date: 2007

Commissioned by the UK Special Forces Medical Group. A role one Paramedic from the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) Medical Group hands over a casualty, following advanced resuscitation, to colleagues for onward evacuation. The casualty will be moved, via the waiting CH47 from 7 Squadron Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing, to a deployed UKSF Medical Group role two facility; where life saving damage control surgery will take place.

Source :

http://skipperpress.com/portfolio/gallery-prints/battle-mist/

Panzer IV Ausf.F1/G/H Medium Tank in Battle

Title: Panzer IV Ausf.F1/G/H medium tank
Artist: Unknown
Date: Unknown

Whilst the propaganda headlines may well have gone to the big cats such as the Panther and the Tiger, the Panzer IV was the backbone of German armoured capability throughout the war. The iconic German tank of the Second World War, the Panzer IV fought from the invasion of Poland to the fall of Berlin. The Panzer IV was constantly updated, with its sound design giving it a longevity well beyond that of its contemporaries. By mid-war it was packing a deadly long-barrelled 75mm gun, giving it great hitting power and better mobility and its armour had been doubled in places greatly increasing its survivability.

By the time of massive battles in Russia in middle of the war the Pz IV was also carrying the detachable screen side armour known as schürzen. This was in response to the threat posed by Russian anti-tank rifles and, latterly, by Allied hollow charge bazooka style weapons.

This is the backbone of the Panzer regiments!

Source :
http://store.warlordgames.com/products/panzer-iv-plastic-box-set

Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria (1830-1916)

Title: Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria (1830-1916)
Artist: Franz Xaver Winterhalter
Date: 1865

Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria wearing the dress uniform of an Austrian Field Marshal (scarlet trousers and white summer undress tunic) with the Great Star of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. The Golden Fleece suspended from the base of his collar. His hairline was already in full retreat, but his most remarkable features were a wide 'tash and a set of cavalry whiskers that reached down to his sloping shoulders.

Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1803-73) was the outstanding court portraitist of mid-19th century Europe. For Queen Victoria alone he painted over 120 works, and he was also portrait painter to the French court, first to Louis-Philippe, and later to Napoleon III and the Empress Eugenie. Over his long career Winterhalter painted an array of the crowned heads of Europe, and the most beautiful women of the day, many of them dressed in the spectacular silk and tulle confections of the Parisian couturier, Worth.

Source :
http://www.amazon.com/Franz-Winterhalter-Courts-Europe-1830-70/dp/0904017842
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Franz_joseph1.jpg

Portrait of Maximilian I of Mexico (1832-1867)

Title: Portrait of Maximilian I of Mexico (1832-1867)
Artist: Franz Xaver Winterhalter
Date:1864

Portrait of Maximilian I of Mexico in coronation robes. At the behest of Mexican monarchists and French Emperor Napoleon III, Austrian Prince Maximilian agreed to serve as Emperor of Mexico. Original in Chapultepec Castle, Mexico City. Monarchs have often worn ceremonial robes at their coronations and investitures. The mantles of the emperors and kings are called coronation mantles. Some monarchs have taken an oath but were not crowned. Their mantles are of the same design as those of the crowned monarchs. There are also the less costly mantles that were used for other ceremonies. They are made after the fashion of the coronation mantles. Monarchs that were not crowned, petty rulers (such as Grand Dukes in Germany) and members of royal families are often depicted in this way. These ceremonial regal robes, "Prunkmäntel" in German, may be called "ceremonial regal robes" to distinguish them from the robes that were worn at coronations.

Source :
http://blog.fords.org/2014/05/05/matias-romero/emperador_maximiliano_i_de_mexico/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Coronation_and_royal_robes

The Delaware Regiment at the Battle of Long Island (1776)

Title: The Delaware Regiment at the Battle of Long Island
Artist: Domenick D'Andrea
Date: 2004

The battle of Long Island, a British victory, began just after the Siege of Boston. As the British fled after their defeat in that siege, General George Washington guessed that they would head south and try to take New York. Therefore, he and his army went there and prepared for the British to attack. As it turns out, the British had in fact gone North to Halifax, Nova Scotia. They reached the Hudson River on June 29, 1776, and on July 3, British General William Howe arrived on Stanton Island. The next day (July 4, 1776) was the day that the America's Continental Congress announced the independence of America.

While all of this was happening, George Washington had been preparing for battle in New York. He had created a wall of men with guns to defend the city from any attacks from the sea and placed 10,000 men on Brooklyn Heights to defend Manhattan. He was ready for anyone who would attack New York. There was just one problem: the British would be attacking Long Island, not New York.

On August 27, 1776 the British landed on Long Island, which is south of New York. Two days later, General Howe learned that the Americans had no one guarding the road leading North from Long Island into New York, but had defenses set up on all the other roads. Using this information, Howe led his men up the North road. He then proceeded around to attack the Americans Guarding the left road, who were led by General John Sullivan. While Howe's army attacked Sullivan's from the back, a German troop, which was allied with the British, attacked from the front. Sullivan fought as well as he could, but he was soon overpowered and forced to retreat behind the Brooklyn walls. Howe, feeling proud of his victory, led his men and attacked the men guarding the right road, using the same technique. They, like Sullivan's men, fought hard but were forced to retreat to Brooklyn.

Source :

http://www.revolutionary-war.net/battle-of-long-island.html

The Battle of Lexington (1775)

Title: The Battle of Lexington (1775)
Artist: William Barnes Wollen
Date: 1910

A painting of the battle of Lexington (April 19, 1775) by William Barnes Wollen (1857–1936). Courtesy of the Council, National Army Museum, London, UK. The disposition of the British troops and American colonists in the painting represents the prevailing image of closely ranked British engaging a loosely formed enemy. The colonists were drawn up in a formal line on the village green at Lexington where, after refusing to disperse, they were fired upon by British regulars deployed in a three-rank, close-order formation. While some of the colonists that engaged in the running battle with the British on April 19, 1775 may have been veterans of the French and Indian War, they had little organization or training. After that initial exchange of musketry the American tactics largely involved hit-and-run attacks on the British column returning to Boston. The Colonists made extensive use of available cover, stone walls, and fences, and repeatedly forced the British to deploy from march column into line, only to find the Americans had dispersed.

Source :

Book "Continental versus Redcoat: American Revolutionary War" by David Bonk