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The article analyses the military themes present in Russian paintings of the 19 th century. The battle paintings under discussion underlined the heroism of the tsarist soldiers who participated in the multiple campaigns that Russia fought on land and at sea. They also glorified the governing elites for expanding the territory of the state. At the same time, the most important message conveyed through the canvases, which were commissioned most often by Russia’s rulers, was the might of the Russian Empire.
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The military service of Jewish soldiers during World War I caused controversies, with the term “Jew” itself being problematic. In Austria-Hungary, a Jewish nationality was not recognized, and the only criterium of identification was a declaration of practicing religion (Judaism). This is not a problem for establishing the number of Jewish privates, but it disrupts the statistics of the officer corps, where it was common to abandon Judaism. In the Austro-Hungarian Army, Jews had the ability to acquire higher officer ranks (general), but in practice, this was only applicable to Jews assimilated to German culture. The percentage of Jews among reserve officers was higher than average due to their high level of education. According to data from 1910, Jews constituted 3.1% of all privates in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. World War I took the lives of about 25,000 Austro-Hungarian Jews, i.e. about 8.3% of all followers of Judaism mobilized to the army. This was a percentage slightly lower than for Christians, which became fodder to anti-Semitism. Jewish soldiers showed loyalty to the state and did not engage in military rebellions in 1918. After the war, the memory of Jewish soldiers was not cultivated in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy’s successor states. In contrast to Germany, however, they were not accused of acting to undermine the empire’s military potential during World War I.
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Apart from million fold death and suffering, the battle of Stalingrad is also a testament to the failure of the military elite who did not oppose the criminal Nazi regime even when its unscrupulous actions were directed against subordinate soldiers and their own person. This happened upon the Volga not for the first and by far not the last time. On the contrary, Stalingrad was to become the writing on the wall for a German warfare that increasingly lacked military sensibility and ideological alternatives. In this respect, it is not completely without justification that today the historical place is generally regarded as a code for the turn of World War II in the European theatre The efficacy of the Battle of Stalingrad in the German culture of remembrance has various causes. The course of military events was just one of them. In particular, because the German military planning and conduct of operations needs to be viewed with scepticism, the staging of the collapse of the 6th Army became all the more important. From the very beginning, “Stalingrad” was more of a “felt” turn of the war than an actual one. This was another reason why the perishing of an entire German army put the Nazi regime under pressure for an explanation which they wanted to solve primarily with pathos. The heroisation of “fighting to the last” worked surprisingly well until 1945 and was reflected in the Germans persevering until the end of the war despite the increasingly obvious defeat.
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The study of the Italian campaign in Russia finds many gaps in the Italian historiography due mainly to the subsequent political elaboration of the events. The work of the Historical Bureau of the General Staff of the Army, reflected in the Official Reports, partially fills in these shortcomings, providing a narrative based exclusively on the original documentation produced by Commands and departments during the war. Among the strictly military aspects neglected by historiography, the logistic field is the least studied. Regarding the Battle of Stalingrad, for example, little is known about the direct support provided to the German 6th Army by the ARMIR (Armata italiana in Russia/Italian Army in Russia) detachments.
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This study analyses the Romanian viewpoint on the Battle of Stalingrad, focusing on some relevant issues, such as: the decision taken by Ion Antonescu to participate with large numbers in the Wehrmacht campaign of 1942; the reactions to reject this decision by some of the high-level political and military leaders; the movement of the expeditionary troops to the front; the organization of the deployment, equipment and training of the two armies deployed in the great bend of the Don and the Kalmyk Steppe; the defence operation carried out by the Romanian forces, etc. It is clearly mentioned that the plan for the “Uranus” operation was established by the Soviet General Staff before the deployment of the 3rd and 4th Armies, which invalidates the widely circulated thesis in historiography according to which the enemy’s main strikes had as start point the disposition of the Romanian troops on the flanks of the 6th German Army, the main group operating in town. At the same time, the study concludes that the main responsibility for the serious failure in this confrontation fell on the German High Command, under whose authority the big Romanian units acted under. It did not fulfil its commitment made in the winter of 1942 – that of equipping the Romanian troops on the front –, it drastically limited the freedom of movement of the Romanian commands, and did not take into account the multiple information indicating the preparation for a counter-offensive from the enemy’s side.
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Against the backdrop of Ion Antonescu’s decision to participate with large expeditionary troops in the campaign of the summer of 1942, the mobilisation of the Romanian air force was also required. To this end, on September 6, 1942, the Air Staff established the Air Combat Group (referred to as GAL), commanded by aviator general Ermil Gheorghiu. It was a structure similar to that of the 1941 campaign. At the same time, a logistic structure was also established after German model – the Forward Air Region. On October 1, 1942, the means of the Romanian Air Force in the region of military operations at Stalingrad and at the great bend of the Don included 26 aviation squadrons (out of which 6 fighters, 2 fighter-bombers, 7 bombers, 6 surveillance, 2 reconnaissance, 2 transport, 1 medical). The Soviet counter-offensive (on November 19-25, 1942) represented, for many reasons, a difficult test for the Romanian Air Force, also taking place in unfavourable weather conditions for flying. However, GAL flew 64 aircrafts (3 reconnaissance ones, 24 fighters, and 37 bombers) on missions that operated in the Bolshoi-Kletskaya area, attacking (with the bombers) troops, vehicles and tanks, while fighter aircrafts ensured freedom of action of the bombing formations. 2 AA batteries of the enemy were destroyed, along with 10 tanks and 15 cars. According to the documents found in the military archives, between September 16 and December 20, 1942, on the Stalingrad front, the Romanian combat aviation carried out 2,728 aircraft missions (1,430 – fighter aircrafts, 1,299 – bomber aircrafts), with a total of 4,324 hours of flight (1,763 – fighter aircrafts, 2,561 – bomber aircrafts). Bomber and fighter-bomber aircrafts launched 1,479,279 tons of bombs of various calibres on the enemy, mainly in the Stalingrad area. During this period, in the air battles and through the action of the AA artillery, 76 enemy planes were shot down, out of which 58 were clear victories (30 in air battles). The loss in personnel (dead, missing, wounded) suffered by the Romanian Air Force on the Stalingrad and Don-bend front was of 653 military men, out of which 57 were officers, 55 non-commissioned officers, 11 warrant officers, 530 troops.
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The Second World War was a global confrontation of unparalleled complexity. Understandably, the plans, strategies and courses of action of the commanders involved in the war were put under intense scrutiny. Every single event generatef a lot of lessons on how to achieve success in battle. But one, embodied by the Fall-Gelb Plan, was about to prove itself as one of the best offensive plans in the whole history. The paper presents in a brief manner how some decisions could easily lead to success despite difficult circumstances.
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The issue of determining the location of the main events of the Battle of Zhovti Vody in 1648 is considered. The Battle of Zhovti Vody, which changed the course of history not only in Ukraine and Poland but also in other European countries, is still poorly studied. There is no definitive answer to some key questions, such as the location of the « Urochishche Zhovti Vody», the place where the registered Cossacks joined Bohdan Khmelnitsky. Based on the analysis of sources and cartographic information, as well as a personal study of the area, the author draws conclusions about the location of the besieged Polish camp, the location of Kamenny Zaton. The author draws attention for the first time to special marks on one of the versions of the General Map of Ukraine by Guillaume Levasseur de Beauplan published by Willem Hondius in 1648, related to the Battle of Zhovti Vody. The study used a comparative analysis of historical maps and critical analysis of sources, regardless of the influence and authority of the authors. Identification and analysis of contradictions in the available empirical material led to the search for effective ways to eliminate them. As a result of the research, it became possible for the first time to locate the places of the main events of the beginning of the national liberation struggles of the Ukrainian people in the middle of the 17th century.
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The German military past is a challenging research area, and one rife with significant problems stemming from social perceptions of this historically charged issue. Although full of notable commanders and brilliant victories, it is also burdened with the baggage of the Wehrmacht crimes, and since the unification also the ballast of the GDR army. This problem has been obvious since the establishment of the Bundeswehr in 1955 and found its outlet in the next so-called Traditionserlass. The main purpose of those documents, adopted in 1965, 1982 and 2018, was to cut off the Wehrmacht tradition. Under the first two regulations, this was only partially achieved, and the infiltration of the armed forces by officers with neo-Nazi views discovered in the barracks in Illkrich prompted Minister Ursula von der Leyen to take radical steps in 2017. In the course of the initiated procedure, compliance with the values of the modern democratic Bundeswehr, including preserving the traditions from the German military past (including the Prussian period), came under particular scrutiny. The course of the debate showed ambiguity in the perception of this tradition and problems with its potential use in the ranks of German armed forces. The purpose of the article is to present the role and importance of subsequent Traditionserlass and to discuss in detail the course of the debate on the relevance of the Prussian military tradition for the modern Bundeswehr. According to the author, the views presented by the participants of the debate are based on insuffi ciently detailed research on this sphere, which is still rooted in the findings from before the end of World War II. This may lead to erroneous conclusions, which most likely in a difficult to predict perspective may result in the need to adopt a new regulation in this matter. The debate held in Germany and the solutions implemented during its course may constitute an interesting clue for attempts to discuss the tradition of the Polish Army.
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Report on Conference "VII Międzynarodowa Konferencja Naukowa „Oblicza Wojny”; edycja pt. Narzędzia wojny", held in Łódź from 9th-10th of June 2022
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The most visible monument in Timisoara, located in the city's Central Park, the work of sculptor Ion Vlad, has been the subject of a civic, political and artistic controversy for several years. Some call for its demolition/relocation, on the grounds that it celebrates the Soviet (Russian) army, others consider that it should be kept in its current location, because it is a monument dedicated to the Romanian army and, moreover, it is the work of a renowned artist. This article, based on a careful analysis of the monument and available documents, leads to the conclusion that, thematically, the work combines Soviet and Romanian elements, but that, since its inauguration in December 1962, it has been considered and celebrated as a monument dedicated to the Romanian army. It is a "transitional" monument, not yet completely detached from the canons of 1950s "Sovietism", but already part of the post-Soviet national trend of the 1960s.
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The purpose of the article is to examine the creative work of the artist Artur Orlionov in the context of the development of contemporary historical and battle painting, focusing on the themes and series of works, general techniques and methods of artistic representation. The research methodology consists in the application of general scientific and special research methods, in particular, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, generalisation and abstraction, rerview and analysis, description and comparison, which helped to analyse the works of A. Orlionov. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that for the first time the work of the contemporary Kyiv artist A. Orlionov became the subject of a scientific study, within which the generalisation and a brief systematisation of the thematic focus of artistic works were carried out, as well as the historical and artistic dominants of the works, stylistic features of the construction were determined. Conclusions. As a result of the conducted research, it was established that A. Orlionov belongs to the generation of contemporary artists of the historical and battle genre, representing the Kyiv school of painting. His creative work reflects a significant chronological range of Ukrainian history, starting with Kyivan Rus, the Ukrainian Middle Ages, the Cossack era, the Liberation Movement and the modern period. According to the plot and number of works, they can be combined into separate series. In terms of the plot, A. Orlionov's works include depictions of battle scenes, thematic paintings of historical significance, portraits of outstanding figures of Ukrainian history. A. Orlionov's work belongs to modern examples of Ukrainian historical and battle painting, which, based on the study of numerous sources and facts, contains the author's understanding and interpretation of important historical events and figures of different periods of Ukrainian history.
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In the post-war period, the Yugoslav Navy had three classic destroyers: Split (1958-1984), Kotor and Pula (1960-1970) and four escort destroyers: Triglav and Biokovo (1949-1965), Durmitor (1950-1957) and Učka (1951-1967). Split, Kotor and Pula made up the 4th destroyer division (4.DR) and Triglav, Biokovo, Durmitor and Učka the 6th destroyer escort division. The paper gives a brief overview of the history of Yugoslav escort destroyers.
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Red Crescent Society began to be formed in Sivas at the beginning of the World War I. The activities of the Society in Sivas were shaped by the developments of the Caucasus Front. At the beginning of the war, a Red Crescent Hospital was established in the city to assist the front. The significance of Sivas expressed itself right after the occupation of Erzurum and Trabzon in the second half of 1916. Transferring the Red Crescent Hospital from Erzurum to Sivas and the ceasing trading of Trabzon port made Sivas the health base of the Caucasian Front. In addition, the Red Crescent Society established a laboratory producing cholera, dysentery ,typhoid and typhus vaccines, a vaccination laboratory producing smallpox vaccine and a rabies treatment centre in Sivas, and tried to meet the needs of the army and civilian people in this regard. These production of vaccine in Sivas also formed the basis of vaccine production in the Republican period. The activities of the Red Crescent Society in Sivas decreased at the beginning of 1918 in parallel with the developments of the Caucasian Front. This article aims to examine the activities of the Red Crescent Society in Sivas during the World War I by using especially the Red Crescent Archive, the Ottoman Archive and related literature.
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The five-volume work called Our Martyrs, published by the Ministry of National Defense in 1998, is among the most basic works used as the main source on the subject in terms of being prepared according to archive records. However, the data on the war records kept during the wars and the martyrs reflected in other military and official documents are also the main source; provides first-hand refined information. In this article, the differences were revealed by comparing the data in the work titled Our Martyrs, published by the Ministry of National Defense, about those who were martyred while serving in the İntepe-Çakaltepe region of the Çanakkale Front during the First World War, and the newly emerged data in the Ottoman military archive documents of 1915; In this way, it is aimed to eliminate missing or erroneous information. In addition, new historical military data are presented about a Battery Martyrdom that does not exist in the aforementioned area today, but was found to be present in 1915.
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This text addresses issues related to the outbreak of the conflict for the Polish throne from 1733–1735. It deals directly with the first weeks of the 1733 campaign, i.e. the entry of General Piotr Lacy’s Russian corps into the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The outbreak of the war of the Polish succession is a subject which still requires further study. The text contains an in-depth analysis of the Russian army’s march and Polish delaying actions. The question of the organisation and composition of Lacy’s troops is also addressed. Moreover, the article is enriched with maps developed by the author showing the route of the corps’ march.
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The text is devoted to the Krakow Academic Legion (Guard) and the Academic Battalion of the Polish Army, from November 1918 to March 1919. The article discusses their formation, the organization of the battalion, its tasks, the course of its service in Krakow and on the Polish-Ukrainian war front, uniforms, equipment, and military experience.
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The article describes the life and military career of General Albin Jasiński. Initially, he served in the Russian army, and then in the 1st Polish Corps in Russia. Later he came to Poland, where in November 1918 he took the position of the commander of the Lodz Military District, and then in June 1919 he was the commander of the 2nd Greater Poland Rifle Division (later the 15th Infantry Division). In July 1920, he became the District Inspector of the Volunteer Army in Lublin, and then he took command of the 11th Infantry Division. He commanded it for almost five years, after which he took the position of commander of the 25th Infantry Division. In 1929, he retired and be- came a military settler in the Nowogródek Voivodship. After the Soviet Union’s aggres- sion against Poland, the Russians arrested him. In April 1940, he was murdered in the NKVD prison in Minsk. For participation in the Polish-Russian war in 1920, he was awarded the Order of Virtuti Militari (5th class).
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