Battle of Vigo Bay

The Battle of Vigo Bay, also known as the Battle of Rande (; ), was a naval engagement fought on 23 October 1702 during the opening years of the War of the Spanish Succession. The engagement followed an Anglo-Dutch attempt to capture the Spanish port of Cádiz in September in an effort to secure a naval base in the Iberian Peninsula. From this station the Allies had hoped to conduct operations in the western Mediterranean Sea, particularly against the French at Toulon. The amphibious assault, however, had proved a disaster, but as Admiral George Rooke retreated home in early October, he received news that the Spanish treasure fleet from America, laden with silver and merchandise, had entered Vigo Bay in northern Spain. Philips van Almonde convinced Rooke to attack the treasure ships, despite the lateness of the year and the fact that the vessels were protected by French ships-of-the-line.
The engagement was an overwhelming naval success for the Allies: the entire French escort fleet, under the command of Château-Renault, together with the Spanish galleons and transports under Manuel de Velasco, had either been captured or destroyed. Yet because most of the treasure had been off-loaded before the attack, capturing the bulk of the silver cargo had eluded Rooke. Nevertheless, the victory was a welcome boost to Allied morale and had helped persuade the Portuguese King, Peter II, to abandon his earlier treaty with the French, and join the Grand Alliance.
Background.
The accession of the Bourbon Philip V to the Spanish throne in 1700 had aroused little opposition in Spain. In the Spanish American empire, however, officials and colonists resisted French attempts to take over their trade. Dutch and English traders – though officially illegal – were accepted by the Spanish, but in the Caribbean, French admirals who had come to "protect" Spanish silver home to Europe were regarded with intense suspicion. The first French squadron sailed in April 1701 under the Marquis de Coëtlogon, but the Spanish governors would not even permit him to buy victuals, and he returned empty handed. Nevertheless, the weakness of the Spanish navy left the government in Madrid little choice but to rely on French warships for escort duty. Every effort was made to ensure that the bullion was landed in Spain rather than France, from where it might never return.
The naval campaign of 1702 was therefore played out in two distant theatres of America and Spain, linked together by the trail of the Spanish treasure ships across the Atlantic. The American theatre became a scene long remembered in popular English tradition following Admiral Benbow's running battle in August off Santa Marta. However, the Royal Navy's main effort was not off the Spanish Main, but off the Spanish coasts in Europe. Under the leadership of King William III, the Maritime Powers – England and the Dutch Republic – had resolved upon a Mediterranean strategy for the Allied fleets, a policy continued under William's successors following his death in March 1702. It was hoped that this strategy would encourage Portugal to join the Allies, open the Strait of Gibraltar, and secure English naval power in the Mediterranean. Their allies, the Austrians, were also clamouring for a naval presence in the Mediterranean to assist them in achieving their own primary ambitions – the capture of Spain's provinces in Italy. To meet these ends, the Anglo-Dutch fleets would first need to seize a port in the Iberian Peninsula from which their ships could operate. The Allies, therefore, resolved upon an expedition, led by Admiral George Rooke, to capture the southern Spanish port of Cádiz, and at a stroke cut off Spain's transatlantic trade.
Prelude.
Silver fleet from America.
On 11 June 1702, the Spanish silver fleet from New Spain left Veracruz under escort of a French squadron commanded by Admiral Château-Renault. The Spanish vessels were commanded by Manuel de Velasco in his armed galleon, the "Jesús María y José", one of three ships forming the "Armada de Barlovento" whose task it was to protect the fleet. The whole convoy arrived at Havana on 7 July, before striking out across the Atlantic on the 24th. The fleet comprised 56 vessels: 22 were Spanish, the rest French, including a large number of merchantmen which, by the end of the voyage, had sailed for France as soon as their safety across the Atlantic had been assured.
When Château-Renault had set out for the Caribbean in 1701, war between France and the Maritime Powers had not yet been declared; but the convoy had since received news of the outbreak of hostilities and of Rooke's blockade of Cádiz, the usual destination of the silver fleet from America. It was clear, therefore, a new harbour would be needed. Valesco considered the small port of Los Pasajes, but Château-Renault favoured Brest or La Rochelle, or even Lisbon. A compromise was put forward, and on 23 September the Franco-Spanish fleet entered Vigo Bay in Galicia. There was, however, considerable delay in unloading the cargo. The whole administrative apparatus normally present at unloading (inspectors, valuers, royal officials, etc.), was in Seville and Cádiz, and had to be awaited before anything could be put ashore. When the unloading eventually began, it was found that means of transporting the goods were lacking. As a result, priority was given to the silver, which was unloaded first and despatched inland to Lugo.
Allied pursuit.
By mid-October the English government had learnt of the Spanish presence in Vigo Bay, and immediately sent off messengers to scour the seas for Rooke and Admiral Cloudesley Shovell, the latter of whom had been cruising with his squadron off Ushant. By now Rooke was returning home from the disastrous campaign against Cádiz, which, due to ill-discipline and poor co-operation, had forced the admiral to abandon the enterprise at the end of September. Fortuitously, however, Rooke had already learnt the news of the Spanish convoy from one of his own ships – Captain Thomas Hardy in the "Pembroke" who had stayed behind to water in the Portuguese port of Lagos. "Pembroke's" chaplain, a Jersey man named Beauvoir, had learned from the boastful French consul of the treasure ships in the harbour, news of which had been confirmed to Beauvoir by a messenger from the Imperial Embassy in Lisbon. At once, Hardy gave chase, and caught Rooke on 17 October in time to prevent him crossing the Bay of Biscay. Admiral Rooke recorded in his journal:
Under consideration of the intelligence brought to Captain Hardy of the "Pembroke" … It is resolved that we make best our way to the port of Vigo, and insult them immediately with our whole line, if not by such detachments as shall render the attempt most effectual.
Rooke sent ships to explore the mouth of Vigo Bay. A landing party had gleaned information from a captured friar that King Philip's part of the treasure had already been landed, but that much wealth was still left on board the Spanish vessels.
Battle.
On the evening of 22 October the Anglo-Dutch fleet entered the Ria de Vigo, and sailed past the two forts of the city of Vigo that fired at them as they passed by. At the end of the bay the French fleet and Spanish treasure ships lay in the harbour of Redondela, surrounded by the Galician mountains. Château-Renault had taken charge of the defensive measures, and had blocked the narrow entrance, across the Rande Strait, with a boom made largely of timber and chain tightly bound together. At the north end of the boom was positioned a gun battery which, according to Rooke's journal, comprised "fifteen or sixteen" guns; at the south end sat Fort Rande sitting a little way up from the sea, consisting of a strong stone tower with platforms constructed for cannon. The space between the tower and the water's edge consisted of a fortified enclosure, at the bottom of which stood a battery commanding the straits. In total, the Rande fortifications had been armed with more than 30 guns. To supplement the French troops from the fleet, a number of levies were raised by the Prince of Barbançon, governor and captain-general of Galicia.
Aboard the "Royal Sovereign" an Allied council of war discussed the options for the attack. The plan was to destroy the boom with English and Dutch ships, whilst the troops from the fleet would silence the shore defences. But the naval encounter would not be a conventional line-of-battle engagement: Vigo Bay allowed no room for the deployment of a battle line, so Rooke had to adapt his tactics to the exigencies of the situation. Rooke recorded in his journal:
Upon consideration of the present position of Monsieur Château-Renault's squadron … and in regard the whole fleet cannot, without great hazard of being in a huddle, attempt them where they are: it is resolved to send in a detachment of fifteen English and ten Dutch ships of the line of battle with all the fireships, to use their best endeavours to take or destroy the aforesaid ships of the enemy …
Breaking the boom.
Early in the morning on 23 October, Vice Admiral Thomas Hopsonn in the led the attack on the boom, closely followed by a strong squadron of his English ships, and of Dutch vessels under Vice Admiral Van der Goes. Near each end of the boom Château-Renault had moored two of his largest men-of-war: the "Bourbon", and the "Esperance". Within the boom he had moored five other large men-of-war with their broadsides bearing upon the entrance.
Meanwhile, Ormonde with some 2,000 men, had landed on the shore near Teis and marched on Fort Rande. Ormonde sent Lord Shannon with the vanguard of grenadiers to assault the position, defended by several hundred troops. The wall enclosing the outer ward was stormed, and the seaward battery silenced in time to assist the breaking of the boom by the ships. The tower, defended by approximately 300 Franco-Spanish troops, held out a little longer, but this also fell to the Allied grenadiers. As the southern shore guns were being assailed by Ormonde's men, the 90 gun "Association" attacked and silenced the smaller northern battery on the other side of the bay.
The "Torbay", favoured by a breath of wind, crashed at the boom; it cracked, and the ship floated through in amongst the French squadron beyond. However, a sudden drop in the breeze prevented any other Allied vessel following, and Hopsonn found himself temporarily outnumbered. A fireship was laid alongside the "Torbay", setting it alight. Fortunately for Hopsonn the fireship, laden with snuff from the Spanish Indies, suddenly blew up, and a great cloud enveloped the English vessel, partly extinguishing the flames thus enabling the crew to control the blaze. According to Rooke's journal 53 men were drowned in the incident, but as the breeze picked up the other Allied ships managed to traverse the boom and engage with the enemy.
With the boom broken, and the forts silenced, the Franco-Spanish fleet was lost. Offering little resistance, Château-Renault's men set fire to their own ships in the harbour, and sought safety on shore. The Allied seamen worked throughout the night to save their prizes, and by morning there was not a single French or Spanish vessel that had not been either captured or destroyed.
Aftermath.
Losses and Gains.
Vigo Bay was a major naval disaster for the French: of the 15 ships of the line, 2 frigates and one fireship, not a single vessel escaped. Five ships were captured by the English, and one by the Dutch; the rest were burnt, either by the Allies or the French themselves. ("See table below"). The Spanish suffered as badly: of the three galleons and 13 trading vessels in their fleet, all were destroyed, save five which were taken by the Allies (at least three of these were captured by the English). By 24 October most of the damage was complete; what remained of the ships and the fortifications were destroyed by Admiral Shovell's squadron on 27 October.
Spanish naval losses meant a total dependence on the French navy to keep up communications with the Americas. However, the Spanish government felt no financial blow: it owned only two of the three large galleons, and none of the trading vessels. Those who suffered most, not just from the losses of the ships but also from the immense merchandise on board (pepper, cochineal, cocoa, snuff, indigo, hides, etc.) were the private traders. The news that the treasure fleet had got safely to Vigo was initially the cause of celebration for the merchants of Holland but the subsequent reports of the battle were received with mixed feelings in Amsterdam as the wealth captured or destroyed belonged as much to the English and Dutch traders as it did to the Spanish. What the Spanish government did own was the silver, most of which had already been unloaded from the ships before the Allied attack, and was ultimately deposited in the castle of Segovia.
The Allies, therefore, did not capture as much silver for themselves as was often supposed. The Master of the Mint, Isaac Newton, stated in June 1703 that the total metal handed in to him by that date was 4504 lb 2 oz of silver (~2,043 kg), and 7 lb 8 oz and 13 dwt of gold (~3.4 kg), estimated at a value of just £14,000. Coins subsequently struck from these metals bore the word "VIGO" below Anne's bust, and are rare and valuable.
In February 1703, Philip V issued a decree, by way of reprisal, to confiscate all the silver that had come with the treasure fleet belonging to the English and Dutch, totalling four million pesos. In addition, the King decided to borrow two million pesos from what had come for the Spanish traders and the Consulate of Seville. In total, Philip managed to keep nearly seven million pesos, representing over half the silver from the fleet, amounting to the biggest sum in history obtained from the American trade by any Spanish king. The result was an immense financial windfall for Philip V.
Methuen Treaties.
The naval success at Vigo had considerable implications for the Grand Alliance. On the accession of the Bourbon Philip V to the Spanish throne, King Peter II of Portugal, anxious to remain friends with his more powerful neighbour, had signed an alliance with France in June 1701. But it was the security of Portugal's overseas empire that was more important than its inland frontier. To protect Portugal's trade routes from South America, the ministers in Lisbon knew the importance of aligning themselves with the dominant naval power in the Atlantic. After Rooke's success at Vigo, it was clear that that naval strength reposed in the Maritime Powers.
In May 1703, the Portuguese signed the Methuen Treaties with England. "The preservation of our overseas colonies makes it indispensable for us to have a good intelligence with the powers which now possess the command of the sea," commented José da Cunha Brochado, the Portuguese minister in London, "the cost is heavy, but for us such an understanding is essential." It was an Allied triumph to detach Portugal from her French alliance: with Lisbon as a base the Allied fleet could dominate the Strait of Gibraltar and cripple French action in the Mediterranean. But the alliance with Portugal forced a major change in Allied strategy: the Maritime Powers now found themselves committed to extensive campaigning in Spain, with one army based in Lisbon, another based to the east in Catalonia. The policy was ultimately to prove a heavy burden and the cause of a disastrous campaign in the peninsula, but in the long term, the commercial provisions of the treaties were to prove an essential component of Britain's wealth. The naval victory at Vigo, therefore, made an indirect but powerful contribution to Britain's 18th century prosperity.
Sunken treasure.
On 10 August 1990 after being surveyed by sonar side scan on behalf of '5º Centenario' (Spanish Government 500th anniversary of America's discovery) remains of the wreckage 'Santo Cristo de Maracaibo' were found off the Cíes Islands by R.O.V submarine at 79 metres depth, Contractor: Hidrografic S.A., Tarragona, Surveyor and R.O.V. Pilot: Olaf Hingst, Vessel: 'Potela Seis', Vigo.
In popular culture.
The battle is referred to in Jules Verne's novel "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea". The book's protagonist, Captain Nemo, draws his wealth and the funding for his submarine "Nautilus" from the cargoes of the ships sunk by the Grand Alliance fleet during the battle, which are depicted as never having offloaded their treasure and as being easily accessible to divers.


Brainerd Mission

The Brainerd Mission was a Christian mission to the Cherokee in present-day Chattanooga, Tennessee. The associated Brainerd Mission Cemetery is the only part that still remains, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
History.
Brainerd Mission was established in 1817 by Cyrus Kingsbury, working on behalf of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). The site was a tract on South Chickamauga Creek, near present-day Chattanooga. It was previously owned by John McDonald, a former Scots trader and grandfather of John Ross, the future principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. Originally named Chickamauga Mission, it was renamed Brainerd Mission several months later, in honor of David Brainerd, an early New England missionary to Indians.
When the site was acquired, it contained only a dilapidated gristmill and a few other buildings. Within a short time, the missionaries, assisted by Cherokee living nearby, had added separate schoolhouses and dwellings for boys and girls, a cemetery, sawmill, blacksmith shop, wash house, meat house (smokehouse), corn house, and stables. They also built a missionary residence. By the end of the year, they had also cleared and fenced about to create a farm.
The mission was intended to provide a basic education to Cherokee children, while also instilling Christian religious values. Specifically, this included learning to read and write the English language, and to read the bible in English. The missionaries also taught life skills: for the girls, spinning, knitting, and sewing. The boys were taught animal husbandry, farming, and mechanical skills.
Before the end of 1818, the ABCFM withdrew Kingsbury and sent him to Mississippi as a missionary to the Choctaw Nation. Kingsbury continued serving the Choctaw for the rest of his active career.
Notable missionaries.
Several prominent missionaries served at Brainerd Mission at various times; people such as Samuel Worcester, Ainsworth Blunt and Cephas Washburn. On May 27, and 28, 1819, President James Monroe visited Brainerd Mission with General Edmund Pendleton Gaines. His was the first presidential visit to the Hamilton County area. He donated $1,000 to the work of the Mission.
The mission officially closed on October 2, 1838 because of Cherokee removal to Indian Territory. In total, the Brainerd Mission served over 300 male and female Cherokee over its 21 years of operation. It was modestly successful in reaching its stated goals, providing many of its students with a basic level of English proficiency. It was less successful in its goal of religious conversion, as only a few Cherokee joined the church.
All that remains of the mission is the cemetery. The former site of the mission has been redeveloped most recently as the Eastgate Shopping Center. The cemetery is one of the oldest in Hamilton County and consists of 60 graves, most of which are missionary workers. The Daughters of the American Revolution has been integral to preservation of the site. They continue to own and maintain the cemetery.
Notable students.
A relatively small number of students who had graduated from Brainerd Mission became notable figures later in life. The number includes:


Revolt of Ahmet Anzavur

The Revolt of Ahmet Anzavur () was a series of revolts led by the Ottoman gendarme officer Ahmet Anzavur against the Turkish national movement during the Turkish War of Independence. The revolt was coordinated by the monarchist Ottoman government against the republican Turkish nationalist forces. The forces under Anzavur's command were made up of various ethnic groups with the bulk of the forces (including Anzavur) belonging to the Circassian ethnicity. The "revolt" occurred October 1, 1919 to November 25, 1920 and occurred in the regions of Biga, Bandırma, Karacabey, and Kirmastı. Despite some difficulty, the revolts were decisively put down by the Çerkes Ethem forces, another Circassian force.
Background.
The Revolt of Ahmet Anzavur was a series of revolts from October 1919 to November 1920. These revolts were by those loyal to the monarchy of the Ottoman Empire and opposed the nationalist revolutionary government. Each of these revolts were put down by nationalist commanders soon after they broke out.
First revolt and suppression.
The first uprising of Ahmet Anzavur occurred in Manyas in October 1919. Anzavur's declaration to the people of Manyas was that he intended to capture or kill Hacim Muhittin Çarıklı, the Nationalist commander in the region of Balıkesir. The forces he raised would be used to defend the power of the sultanate, located in Istanbul, from the growing threat of Nationalist forces, based in Ankara. Anzavur sent two telegrams the following day, one to the sultan and the other to Karesi Mustarrif Ali Riza, stating, "It is the duty of all true Muslims to defeat the Nationalists". The threat was well understood by the Nationalists in the country, who immediately began to make preparations to counter Ahmet Anzavur's movements.
Following up on his threats, Anzavur took a cohort of his followers to carry out attacks on the provisional Turkish government offices and troops, all the while bringing in more men into his ranks during November 1919. After avoiding talks with Nationalists about cessation of hostilities, Anzavur and his men were labeled common criminals and tools of the British and the palace.
The first actual battle of the rebellion occurred on November 15 north of Balıkesir. Anzavur's forces took heavy losses and were forced to retreat north through Susurluk, whilst being pursued by Köprülülü Hamdi. By the twentieth, fighting had broken out around Gönen, Manyas, Karacabey, Biga, and Susurluk. By the end of November, Anzavur's forces had to flee from Çerkes Ethem's forces. As winter approached, Anzavur disbanded his forces who melted into surrounding areas.
Ahmet Fevzi Paşa, also a Circassian, was sent to prevent Anzavur's influence in the region from growing. He attempted to recruit local Circassians for the nationalist Kuva-yi Milliye, but scholars believe that he was unsuccessful.
Second revolt and suppression.
After the harsh winter of 1920, Anzavur began recruiting for another campaign. This army would be known as The Army of Muhammad. Hostilities began again on February 16, 1920. As the vanguard of Anzavur's motley army entered Biga, shots rang out. Hamidi fled to a nearby weapons depot as the town fell to Anzavur, the men of the army and town embracing each other. His men refused to return to the town and shoot their fellow citizens. He then ordered his second in command, Kani Bey, to return to town and execute Kara Hasan. Kani carried out the order and gunned down Hasan and 13 others in cold blood. Hasan's death angered the citizens of Biga. A mob of citizens attacked Kani Bey's home; he escaped initially with the help of a neighbor but was cut down by the mob's bullets shortly after his flight. Hamidi was cornered, trying to link up with other military officers in the area, by Pomaks and tied, beaten, and killed by having his neck snapped.
Anzavur's ranks began to swell as the victory in Biga was consolidated over the following month. A committee of three local notables and paramilitary leaders was organized to handle local issues. Shortly after a former regional inspector named Samih Rıfat Horozcu was sent to plead with locals to rejoin the nationalists, his pleas fell on deaf ears.
By the middle of March, a column of 500 nationalist troops was organized and sent to recapture Biga and the surrounding area. Anzavur led the defense against these troops. Those who followed him, largely Circassians and Pomaks, were mostly armed with sticks and axes. After this defeat, Nationalist officers and soldiers began to desert their posts. Anzavur used this victory to recruit more fighters from the Gönen area. On April 4, troops led by Anzavur and Gavur Imam entered Gönen executing and pillaging with little resistance. By the 6th, Bandırma, Karacabey, and Kirmasti had fallen in rapid succession to The Army of Muhammad.
As Anzavur pushed Nationalist leaders in Southern Mamara, he knew the end was near. As the noose tightened, Çerkes Ethem was called upon to bring the rebellion to heel. Ethem was given 2,000 soldiers to do so. On April 16, Anzavur was dealt a resounding defeat near the village of Yahyaköy. By April 19, Bandırma had fallen to Ethem, marking the gradual defeat of Anzavur and his forces. By the end of April, The Army of Muhammad had melted away, as at the end of the first rebellion, and Anzavur had returned to Istanbul on an English vessel.
Third revolt and death of Ahmet Anzavur.
With Anzavur's defeat at Yahyaköy, another revolt had broken out in the Adapazarı region. The leaders of this rebellion were (Berzeg) Safer, (Maan) Koc, and (Maan) Ali. The missteps of nationalist forces allowed the scenario to play out similarly to the events of South Marmara. The danger of the situation was recognized by the Nationalist government and ordered to be put down. Ethem was called upon to do so, fresh from putting down Anzavur's rebellion. His forces retook Adapazarı and Sapanca without a fight. On May 26, Ethem entered the town of Düzce and executed both (Berzeg) Safer, and (Maan) Koc; (Maan) Ali however managed to escape.
With the outbreak of a revolt in Düzce, the Ottoman government announced the creation of a new army, the Kuva-i Inzibatiye to put down the nationalist Kuva-yi Milliye. This army was to be composed of 1,000 unemployed soldiers under the command of Süleyman Şefik Pasha. It was announced on April 26 that Ahmet Anzavur would be given a command in the area. On May 4, Süleyman Şefik Pasha arrived in Izmit with Anzavur arriving four days later with 500 men he had recruited from Biga.
Anzavur's contributions to the fight were negligible, as he suffered a broken leg in a week of fighting with locals and nationalist forces. His forces continued to fight a while longer but were forced to retreat by the end of June. Anzavur faded into obscurity for about a year, until he began recruiting again. In May 1921, a group of pro-Nationalist paramilitary leaders found out about Anzavur's movements. The leader of the paramilitary groups was Arnavud Rahman. Rahman and his men ambushed and killed Ahmet Anzavur outside of Karabiga.


Royal Serbian Army

The Army of the Kingdom of Serbia ( / ), known in English as the Royal Serbian Army, was the army of the Kingdom of Serbia that existed between 1882 and 1918, succeeding the Armed forces of the Principality of Serbia and preceding the Royal Yugoslav Army.


Battle of White Plains

The Battle of White Plains was a battle in the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought on October 28, 1776, near White Plains, New York. Following the retreat of George Washington's Continental Army northward from New York City, British General William Howe landed troops in Westchester County, intending to cut off Washington's escape route. Alerted to this move, Washington retreated farther, establishing a position in the village of White Plains but failed to establish firm control over local high ground. Howe's troops drove Washington's troops from a hill near the village; following this loss, Washington ordered the Americans to retreat farther north.
Later British movements chased Washington across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania. Washington then crossed the Delaware and surprised a brigade of Hessian troops in the December 26 Battle of Trenton.
Background.
British General William Howe, after evacuating Boston in March 1776, regrouped in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and embarked in June on a campaign to gain control of New York City. The campaign began with an unopposed landing on Staten Island in early July. British troops made another unopposed landing on Long Island on August 22, south of the areas where General George Washington's Continental Army had organized significant defenses around Brooklyn Heights.
After losing the Battle of Long Island on August 27, General Washington and his army of 9,000 troops escaped on the night of August 29–30 to York Island (as Manhattan was then called). General Howe followed up with a landing on Manhattan on September 15, but his advance was checked the next day at Harlem Heights. After an abortive landing at Throg's Neck, he landed troops with some resistance at Pell's Point on October 18 to begin an encircling maneuver that was intended to trap Washington's army between that force, his troops in Manhattan, and the Hudson River, which was dominated by warships of the Royal Navy. Howe established a camp at New Rochelle, but advance elements of his army were near Mamaroneck, only from White Plains, where there was a lightly defended Continental Army supply depot.
Prelude.
On October 20, General Washington sent Colonel Rufus Putnam out on a reconnaissance mission from his camp at Harlem Heights. Putnam discovered the general placement of the British troop locations and recognized the danger to the army and its supplies. When he reported this to Washington that evening, Washington immediately dispatched Putnam with orders to Lord Stirling, whose troops were furthest north, to immediately march to White Plains. They arrived at White Plains at 9 am on October 21, and were followed by other units of the army as the day progressed. Washington decided to withdraw most of the army to White Plains, leaving a garrison of 1,200 men under Nathanael Greene to defend Fort Washington on Manhattan. General Howe's army advanced slowly, with troops from his center and right moving along the road from New Rochelle to White Plains, while a unit of Loyalists occupied Mamaroneck. The latter was attacked that night by a detachment of Lord Stirling's troops under John Haslet, who took more than thirty prisoners as well as supplies, but suffered several killed and 15 wounded. As a result, Howe moved elements of his right wing to occupy Mamaroneck. On October 22, Howe was reinforced by the landing at New Rochelle of an additional 8,000 troops under the command of Wilhelm von Knyphausen.
Washington established his headquarters at the Elijah Miller House in North White Plains on October 23, and chose a defensive position that he fortified with two lines of entrenchments. The trenches were situated on raised terrain, protected on the right by the swampy ground near the Bronx River, with steeper hills further back as a place of retreat. The American defenses were long. Beyond that, on the right, was Chatterton's Hill, which commanded the plain over which the British would have to advance. The hill was initially occupied by militia companies numbering several hundred, probably including John Brooks' Massachusetts militia company.
On October 24 and 25, Howe's army moved from New Rochelle to Scarsdale, where they established a camp covering the eastern bank of the Bronx River. This move was apparently made in the hopes of catching Charles Lee's column, which had to alter its route toward White Plains and execute a forced march at night to avoid them. Howe remained at Scarsdale until the morning of October 28, when his forces marched toward White Plains, with British troops on the right under General Henry Clinton, and primarily Hessian troops on the left under General von Heister.
Composition of Forces.
British & Hessians.
British
British troops involved included:
Hessians
Americans.
American (continental) forces in the battle included:
Battle.
While Washington was inspecting the terrain to determine where it was best to station his troops, messengers alerted him that the British were advancing. Returning to his headquarters, he ordered the 2nd Connecticut Regiment under Joseph Spencer out to slow the British advance, and sent Haslet and the 1st Delaware Regiment, along with Alexander McDougall's brigade (Rudolphus Ritzema's 3rd New York Regiment, Charles Webb's 19th Continental Regiment, William Smallwood's 1st Maryland Regiment, and the 1st New York Regiment and 2nd New York Regiments) to reinforce Chatterton Hill.
Spencer's force advanced to a position on the old York road at Hart's corners (Hartsdale, New York) and there exchanged fire with the Hessians led by Colonel Johann Rall that were at the head of the British left column. When Clinton's column threatened their flank, these companies were forced into a retreat across the Bronx River that was initially orderly with pauses to fire from behind stone walls while fire from the troops on Chatterton Hill covered their move, but turned into a rout with the appearance of dragoons. Rall's troops attempted to gain the hill, but were repelled by fire from Haslet's troops and the militia, and retreated to a nearby hilltop on the same side of the river. This concerted defense brought the entire British Army, which was maneuvering as if to attack the entire American line, to a stop.
While Howe and his command conferred, the Hessian artillery on the left opened fire on the hilltop position, where they succeeded in driving the militia into a panicked retreat. The arrival of McDougall and his brigade helped to rally them, and a defensive line was established, with the militia on the right and the Continentals arrayed along the top of the hill. Howe finally issued orders, and while most of his army waited, a detachment of British and Hessian troops was sent to take the hill.
The British attack was organized with Hessian regiments leading the assault. Rall was to charge the American right, while a Hessian battalion under Colonel Carl von Donop (consisting of the Linsing, Mingerode, Lengereck, and Kochler grenadiers, and Donop's own chasseur regiment) was to attack the center. A British column under General Alexander Leslie (consisting of the 5th, 28th, 35th, and 49th Foot) was to attack the right. Donop's force either had difficulty crossing the river, or was reluctant to do so, and elements of the British force were the first to cross the river. Rall's charge scattered the militia on the American right, leaving the flank of the Maryland and New York regiments exposed as they poured musket fire onto the British attackers, which temporarily halted the British advance. The exposure of their flank caused them to begin a fighting retreat, which progressively forced the remainder of the American line, which had engaged with the other segments of the British force, to give way and retreat. Haslet's Delaware regiment, which anchored the American left, provided covering fire while the remaining troops retreated to the north, and were the last to leave the hill. The fighting was intense, and both sides suffered significant casualties before the Continentals made a disciplined retreat.
Casualties.
John Fortescue's "History of the British Army" says that Howe's casualties numbered 214 British and 99 Hessians. However, Rodney Atwood points out that Fortescue's figure for the Hessians includes the entire Hessian casualties from 19–28 October and that in fact only 53 of these casualties were incurred at the Battle of White Plains. This revised figure would give a total of 267 British and Hessians killed, wounded or missing at White Plains. Henry Dawson, on the other hand, gives Howe's loss as 47 killed, 182 wounded and 4 missing.
The American loss is uncertain. Theodore Savas and J. David Dameron give a range of 150-500 killed, wounded and captured. Samuel Roads numbers the casualties of 47 killed and 70 wounded. Henry Dawson estimates 50 killed, 150 wounded and 17 missing for McDougall's and Spencer's commands but has no information on the losses in Haslet's regiment.
Aftermath.
The two generals remained where they were for two days, while Howe reinforced the position on Chatterton Hill, and Washington organized his army for retreat into the hills. With the arrival of additional Hessian and Waldeck troops under Lord Percy on October 30, Howe planned to act against the Americans the following day. However, a heavy rain fell the whole next day, and when Howe was finally prepared to act, he awoke to find that Washington had again eluded his grasp.
Washington withdrew his army into the hills to the north on the night of October 31, establishing a camp near North Castle. Howe chose not to follow, instead attempting without success to draw Washington out. On November 5, he turned his army south to finish evicting Continental Army troops from Manhattan, a task he accomplished with the November 16 Battle of Fort Washington.
Washington eventually crossed the Hudson River at Peekskill with most of his army, leaving New England regiments behind to guard supply stores and important river crossings. Later, British movements chased him across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania, and the British established a chain of outposts across New Jersey. Washington, seeing an opportunity for a victory to boost the nation's morale, crossed the Delaware and surprised Rall's troops in the December 26 Battle of Trenton.
Legacy.
Each year on or near the anniversary date, the White Plains Historical Society hosts a commemoration of the event at the Jacob Purdy House in White Plains, New York. Two ships in the United States Navy were named for the Battle of White Plains. CVE-66 was an escort carrier in World War II. AFS-4 was a combat stores ship that was decommissioned in 1995.
According to some historians, the Headless Horseman depicted in Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was inspired by a real-life Hessian soldier who lost his head by cannon fire during this battle.


Camilo Alonso Vega

Camilo Alonso Vega (29 May 1889 – 1 July 1971) was a Spanish military officer and minister.
Early life.
A childhood friend of Francisco Franco, as a Captain he entered in the Foreign Legion and fought in the Rif War. He was initially assigned as commander of the 9th machinegun company of the 3rd Bandera of the Legion. Later he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the Spanish Army in 1935 and full Colonel in December 1936 due to performance on the battlefield.
Spanish Civil War.
In July 1936, he supported the 17–18 July "coup d’etat" and helped conquer Vitoria, the capital city of the province of Alava for the rebels. In December 1936, he led the defense of the town of Villareal against an offensive of the Basque forces. In March 1937 he was appointed as commander of the 4th Brigade of the newly organized Mola’s Navarrese division and, he led this brigade in the Biscay Campaign, in the Battle of Brunete in July 1937, in the Battle of Santander in August, and in the Aragon Offensive, and on April 15 he took the town of Vinaròs (in the province of Castellón) cut in a half the Republican held zone. Later, he led a division in the Battle of the Ebro.
Francoist Spain.
After the war in January 1940, he became Sub-Secretary of the Ministry of the Army, which included supervising of the concentration camps and later the head of the Civil Guard (1943-1955). He was the Minister of the Interior of the Francoist Spain from 1956 to 1969. He retired from the military in 1959, remaining as Minister of the Interior nonetheless. He led the opposition inside the francoist government against the Fraga's Press Law. In 1969 he crushed the university demonstrations, because of this, he was nicknamed "Don Camulo" by the students (a portmanteau of his given name and mule).


Royal Order of Spain

The Royal Order of Spain, originally founded as Ordre royal d'Espagne is an extinct order of knighthood of the Kingdom of Spain founded by Joseph Bonaparte.
History.
 The Royal Order of Spain was founded by King Joseph of Spain on 20 October 1808, under the name of royal and military order (’"ordre royal et militaire") to be awarded for bravery on the battlefield as well as for civilian accomplishments.


Battle of Poniec

The Battle of Poniec took place on October 28, 1704 in Poniec, Poland, during the Great Northern War. The Swedish Army under Charles XII unsuccessfully dislodged the Saxon Army under Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg through several cavalry charges. The Saxons had deployed in a massive square formation near the village of Janiszewo, west of Poniec.
Background.
In August 1704, Charles XII of Sweden marched to Lwów, Poland, which was taken after a brief siege. Augustus II the Strong, who camped in Sandomierz, took advantage of this by marching to Warsaw, where he occupied the city and captured 1,500 Swedes. When Charles XII returned to the city in October, Augustus II fell back to Kraków. General Schulenburg tried to cross the river Oder and flee to Saxony with 4,000 infantry and 900 cavalry, but these were chased by Charles XII, who with 3,000 cavalry pursued them to the city of Poniec on October 28.
The battle.
Schulenberg had twelve battalions of infantry and four squadrons of cavalry, a total of 4,900 soldiers whom he was in a hurry to mobilize. He took position on a field in front of the village of Janiszewo west of Poniec. The Saxons' left wing was protected by Poniec and the right wing was protected by an impassable swamp. The center was protected by a ditch with a wagon fort behind it by which Schulenburg placed his cannons. Charles XII had four dragoon regiments. Five additional regiments could not reach the battlefield in time, which meant that the king could only command 3,000 out of the 7,000 cavalry in his army.
The battle began when the Swedes attacked the Saxon cavalry, which was quickly chased away. The Saxon infantry managed to hold back the Swedes' initial attack, thanks to Schulenburg lining up his soldiers in a large square formation. When the five Swedish regiments arrived in the battlefield during the evening, the Swedes attacked again. The Saxons were attacked from all directions, and the Swedes concentrated on attacking the gaps in enemy lines. The Swedes broke up the Saxon division, but the Saxons answered this with their powerful musket volleys. On this occasion, the Swedes retreated to Poniec in the protection of the darkness. The Saxons were then able to successfully withdraw from the battle.


Battle of Shenkursk

The Battle of Shenkursk, in January 1919, was a major battle of the Russian Civil War. Following the Bolshevik loss at the Battle of Tulgas, the Red Army's next offensive action was against the Allied garrison of Shenkursk; located on the Vaga River. Allied forces in Shenkursk and the surrounding villages included men primarily from the United States and the United Kingdom with support from the White Russians. The battle ended with an Allied retreat from Shenkursk ahead of a superior Bolshevik army.
Battle.
Company A, of the United States Army 339th Infantry made up the bulk of Allied forces protecting the Vaga River. American Captain Otto "Viking" Odjard was in command of about 200 men of the 339th and a remaining 900 British and White Russian troops. Odjard's headquarters was at Shenkursk though the majority of Americans, including a section of field artillery consisting of two three-inch 18-pounders, were positioned in the nearby village of Vysokaya Gora. A small force of forty-seven Americans, under Lieutenant Harry Mead, was stationed eighteen miles south of Shenkursk at the village of Nizhnyaya Gora. Half a mile east of Nizhnyaya Gora, a company of White Russian Cossacks were stationed in the village of Ust Padenga.
Nizhnyaya Gora.
At dawn on January 19, concealed Bolshevik artillery opened up "a terrific bombardment" on Nizhnyaya Gora. After an hour the shelling ceased and approximately 1,000 Bolsheviks assaulted the village with fixed bayonets. Lieutenant Meade knew he would have to retreat; he telephoned Captain Odjard to alert him. Odjard ordered Meade to put up a delaying fire as long as possible, and promised that the artillery section would cover the retreat from Nizhnyaya Gora. The Americans opened fire as the Bolsheviks drew into range. A platoon of Cossacks arrived from Ust Padenga, but their officer was wounded and they quickly retreated. Finally, Meade ordered the retreat, only to find that the village's main street was covered by enemy machine gun fire, so using them meant certain death. Meade later wrote: "To withdraw we were compelled to march straight down the side of this hill, across an open valley some eight-hundred yards or more in the terrible snow, and under the direct fire of the enemy. There was no such thing as cover, for this valley of death was a perfectly open plain, waist deep in snow. To run was impossible, to halt was worse yet and so nothing remained but to plunge and flounder through the snow in mad desperation, with a prayer on our lips to gain the edge of our fortified positions. One by one, man after man fell wounded or dead in the snow, either to die from grievous wounds or terrible exposure." The Americans got no artillery support as they retreated; the White Russian gunners had abandoned their posts, and by the time Captain Odjard forced them back at pistol point, it was too late to provide support to Meade's retreating troops.
Vysokaya Gora.
Only seven men of the forty-seven men reached Vsyokaya Gora, including Meade. The Bolsheviks did not immediately continue the attack, allowing the Americans to recover many of their wounded. By evening only 19 Americans were missing, and six of these were known to be dead. Two more Americans showed up that night, having hidden out in a Russian log house for several hours before sneaking past the Bolsheviks. Also that night, Lieutenant Douglas Winslow arrived from Shenkursk with men of the Canadian Field Artillery to take over the two three-inch guns from the White Russians who fled the battle earlier. The Cossack company retreated from Ust Padenga to Vsyokaya Gora, managing to do so without alerting the Bolsheviks. Over the next three days the outnumbered Americans held Vysokaya Gora against repeated attacks from an enemy which now numbered over 3,000 men. The fighting took the form of heavy skirmishing and eventually the Russians began employing snipers to harass the American lines instead of launching more bayonet charges against well defended fortifications. The snipers inflicted many additional casualties on the Allied soldiers, as well as shrapnel from repeated artillery bombardments. On January 20 and 21, the Bolsheviks attacked repeatedly, suffering heavy casualties from the Canadian guns; they occupied the empty village of Ust Padenga, but made no progress against Vsyokaya Gora. On the evening of January 22, orders came through that Vysokaya Gora was to be abandoned. As the Allies began their retreat, a Soviet incendiary round hit the town and set it ablaze. One of the two Canadian three inch guns fell into a ditch, and the gunners had no choice but to disable the gun and leave it.
The Allies reached the village of Sholosha at 7a.m. on January 23 and rested briefly before continuing to the village of Spasskoe, four miles from Shenkursk, where they planned to fight a delaying action. When they arrived they were met by Captain O. A. Mowat of the Canadian field artillery, with a detachment of men and a single three-inch gun. (The gun that was at Vysokaya Gora had been sent ahead to Shenkursk.) In the morning of the 24th, the Soviets began firing artillery on the Allies in the town. In the afternoon Captain Mowat was struck by a shell and badly wounded; he was evacuated to the Shenkursk hospital, where he later died. Later that day a Soviet shell struck the lone remaining field gun, destroying it, killing a gunner, and injuring Captain Odjard, who was evacuated to Shenkursk. The Allied Lieutenants decided they could not hold Sholosha without artillery, so they ordered a withdraw to Shenkursk.
Shenkursk.
By 4 p.m. on January 24, the survivors of CompanyA reached Shenkursk. Some of the Americans were so weary of battle that they fell asleep as soon as they stopped marching. The Red Army was not far behind them though and they surrounded Shenkursk with the apparent intention of attacking the following morning. Captain Odjard then requested instructions from his commanding officer, British General Edmund Ironside in Arkhangelsk, who ordered Odjard to withdraw before being destroyed. There was only one avenue of escape that had not been occupied by the Bolsheviks, an old logging trail that lead north through the forest towards the village of Vystavka. So at midnight on January 24, the garrison evacuated Skenkursk.
About 100 of the most seriously wounded left first. They were fastened to sleds and sent down the road, pulled by horses. Those who could walk made the march on foot. Captain Odjard, who was wounded himself, feared that the Bolsheviks had placed snipers along the trail but there proved to be none and the garrison successfully escaped from Shenkursk without alerting the enemy. At this point the battle was over, the last shots fired were heard some ten miles away by the Allies at 8:00 am on January 25. The fire was from Bolshevik artillery which was shelling Shenkursk, unaware that the Allies had already retreated. When the garrison finally reached Vystavka on January 27, they prepared defenses and withstood several Red Army attacks over the course of the next several weeks. The result of the engagement was important to the overall Bolshevik victory in the war. The Allies having been pushed away to the north, they were unable to launch offensive actions or combine their strength with a large army of White Russians heading west from Siberia. Instead the Allies were obligated to defend Vystavka.
References.
Wright, Damien. "Churchill's Secret War with Lenin: British and Commonwealth Military Intervention in the Russian Civil War, 1918-20", Solihull, UK, 2017


Mainz Citadel

The Mainzer Zitadelle (Citadel of Mainz) is situated at the fringe of , near Mainz Römisches Theater station. The fortress was constructed in 1660 and was an important part of the Fortress Mainz.
History.
The Jakobsberg hill, where the citadel was constructed, had been occupied by a Benedictine abbey during the Middle Ages (since 1050). Halfway up the hill, the amphitheater of the Roman settlement of Mogontiacum, must also have been visible at that time. The Jakobsberg hill, however, had not been integrated in the ring of the defensive city walls of the town and this flank of the city was therefore only slightly protected. This position immediately at the gates of the town opened a strategic gap, as an aggressor could use the hill for a raid into Mainz or for a cannonade. The construction of the "Schweickhardtsburg" fortress under the supervision of cathedral vicar Adolph von Waldenburg during the years 1620-29 provisionally filled this gap and integrated the hill into the system of city walls. The name of the irregularly pentagonal fortification honors the reigning monarch of that time, the prince-elector Johann Schweikhard von Kronberg.
Around 1655 prince-elector Johann Philipp von Schönborn initiated an improvement of the fortification of the entire town comprising bastions according to French type. Within this modification of the fortress, the Schweickhardtsburg was converted into the regular, quadrangular citadel, as it is today. St. Jacobs abbey and the Roman cenotaph, the Drususstein, remained untouched within the fortress.
Above the gate in direction to the town, a building for the commander of the citadel was erected in 1696 by the order of Lothar Franz von Schönborn. The gateway, existing since 1660 was skillfully integrated in the new building.
During the siege of Mainz (1793) St. Jacobs abbey was destroyed largely by Prussian shelling. The remainings of the abbots and guest house had been used only for military purposes since then. In the south of the courtyard a baroque garden existed, which can be seen on a map dated 1804.
After the Napoleonic Wars Mainz became in 1816 a fortress of the German Confederation. Prussians and Austrians settled in the citadel and used it as barracks. For this purpose, the Austrians erected 1861 the shellproof Citadel Barracks; the small side building was used as casino and kitchen.
Even in 1914 a double company barracks was erected. Due to this, the last remainings of the abbey declined. However numerous architectural elements of the abbot and guest houses had been integrated in the new buildings. During World War I and World War II the citadel was used as prisoner-of-war camp (Oflag XII-B).
According to the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 - and the slighting of the fortifications in and around Mainz as effect of it- the military history of the citadel of Mainz ended. Nevertheless, during the last days of World War II, the population of Mainz took shelter in the casemates of bastion Drusus, which had been turned into air raid shelters.
After World War II.
After the Second World War the French army seized the premises until 1955. The Paul Tirard School, named after the chair of the Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission (1919–1930), was opened by the French administration in 1950 for education of the children of French military and civilian personnel civil during the occupation.
The citadel today.
Today the citadel is owned by the city of Mainz and accommodates numerous municipal offices. Mainz Citadel has been administered as part of the city's cultural heritage since 1907. The trench in the southern part of the citadel had been considered part of the city's natural heritage since the 1980s. One of the buildings near the Drususstein today houses the Mainz historical museum.
The citadel and its surroundings bear witness to the entire history of Mainz concentrated in one spot, going from the Roman cenotaph, the "Drususstein" (Drusus monument) via the fortress barracks and up to the World War II air raid shelters.
Since 1975, an annual youth festival, the "Open-Ohr" festival, has taken place at the citadel during Pentecost weekend.


Allotment system

The allotment system (; ) was a system used in Sweden for keeping a trained army at all times. This system came into use in around 1640, and was replaced in the early 1900s by the Swedish Armed Forces conscription system. Two different allotment systems have been in use in Sweden; they are the old allotment system ("äldre indelningsverket") and the new allotment system ("yngre indelningsverket"), the latter often referred to as just "the allotment system". The soldiers who were part of these systems were known as "croft soldiers" ("indelta soldater", the Swedish term, does not have the same meaning) due to the small crofts allotted to them.
Originally, the allotment system was a name for a system used to pay servants of the state, like officers and clergy. It was introduced because of an often felt shortage of money, and the allotment system tried to solve this by localizing taxes; meaning that payment consisted of an individual's right to collect certain taxes. Later on it referred to an organization created to provide soldiers to the armed forces, properly known as "det ständiga knektehållet" (literally "the permanent soldier household"). The reason for this development of the term is that a large part of the allotment system was used to support "det ständiga knektehållet".
Background.
After the Swedish secession from the Kalmar Union in 1523, the infantry of the Swedish Army consisted of conscripted soldiers and enlisted mercenaries, both of whom would be called up in wartime only. The units were disbanded in peacetime to reduce costs, and only a few garrison units were present in towns and fortresses. This made it impossible to quickly mobilize a trained army. At the same time, land tax exemption ("frälse") was given to those who equipped horsemen for cavalry service, according to the Decree of Alsnö. Coastal defence was provided by several "skeppslag" (literally "ship teams"), a number of farms located in a coastal district that had to furnish both ships and shipmen for service. After the birth of the Swedish Navy in 1522, the system for recruiting shipmen was changed to rely on forced conscription.
Old system.
In the 16th century, the system was changed with regard to both cavalry (1536) and infantry (1544), to provide an army that could be quickly mobilized. This was still done through impressment for the infantry, and tax exemptions for those who financed horsemen. The new system gave the conscripted soldiers a means of subsistence between campaigns, by making a whole group of farmers responsible for the keep of each soldier. While the soldiers would be hired and salaried full-time if at war, they lived at home and off duty in peacetime. This meant that it would always be possible to raise a trained army in case of war.
The impressment of the foot soldiers was called "utskrivning" (literally "writing out"), and was based on a grouping, called a "rote" (similar to an English "file" or "ward"; in the eastern parts of the Swedish realm, this became the Finnish "ruotu"), of ten men from an estate or a few farms, fit for military service and between the ages of 15 and 40. One randomly chosen man from each rote was forced to serve in the province's or county's regiment in case of war.
The organization of the cavalry was based on a slightly different grouping. This grouping was known as a "rusthåll" (literally "arm household"), a bigger farm or estate (practically a peasant manor) that could support a horseman with his horse and equipment in exchange for tax exemption. The horseman who volunteered for service was often the estate master himself or a close relative. This option resembled the medieval origin of knighthood but no longer carried the Swedish noble status with it, as the cavalryman was not permanently stationed in war, but was allowed to remain home at peacetime. In particular cases, the estate owner received some taxes from neighbors to augment his own tax exemption: as the burden of a cavalryman with horse and equipment was deemed considerable, compensation needed to be commensurate.
The infantry was organized in units of 525 (later 300) men called a "landsfänika" and the cavalry in units of 300 horsemen called a "landsfana". Later on, this was changed to a company—battalion—regiment organization. The system, used and refined by Gustav Vasa and Gustavus Adolphus, was later to be known as the old allotment system. Many people disliked forced conscription, though, and the peasantry in some provinces soon wrote contracts with the state to provide a certain number of soldiers in exchange for being spared from conscription.
There were a number of reasons for the dislike of the system. First, any of the ten men in each rote could be picked to serve in case of war, which made it hard for the generals to estimate the knowledge and level of practice their soldiers would have. Secondly, the richest of the men in the rote could buy their way out, which in turn sometimes led to the "10th man" being the poorest or weakest in the rote, which of course was not good for the army. The system of forced conscription also often led to desertions.
New system.
Foot.
A complete reorganization of the military system was made at the end of the 17th century. In 1682 Charles XI decided to reorganize the army, and introduced the new allotment system, often referred to as just "the allotment system". The system was to remain in effect for over 200 years. One of the main reasons for the reorganization was the bad condition the army had been in during the Scanian War (1674–1679). In this system, the overall structure of the old system was retained, but contracts such as those described above were used instead of forced conscription. Contracts were written with counties and provinces, stating that they would have to raise and supply a regiment of 1,000 or 1,200 men in both wartime and peacetime. Usually, four farms (there were exceptions) were to join forces and equip a soldier. Those farms were the "rote", and they also provided a croft ("soldattorp"), farmland, and equipment for one volunteer soldier who could then make a military career, while the rest of the men in the rote escaped conscription. The soldier's duty was to attend military drills, and in time of war was to report for duty, wherever that might be. Royal manors, farms owned by the nobility, and farms used as salary to government officials were exempted and did not need to provide soldiers to the system. While most regiments were "allotted" in the late 17th century—Dalarna Regiment and a few others allotted earlier
Horse.
The cavalry was conscripted in the same way as in the old system, with each "rusthåll" providing a horse and horseman. In later years, contrary to the early times when the rider was often the farmer himself, the horseman was a volunteer in the same way as in the infantry, and he was also supplied with a croft ("ryttartorp") and pay from the farmer, who in turn gained a large tax reduction and also did not need to serve in the army. This was mainly done because it was easier to replace a fallen horseman than replace the master of the estate. Usually, the rusthåll was made up of only one estate, and possibly another supporting farmer. In exceptional cases, one rusthåll could support as many as seven horsemen.
Enlisted regiments.
The guards regiments, the garrison regiments, and the artillery recruited its soldiers through volunteer enlistment by the regiment itself. Many new regiments of enlisted mercenaries were also raised in wartime; for example, only one-fifth of soldiers in the Swedish army at the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1631 were of Swedish or Finnish origin. The rest of the army was made up of German, Scottish and other European mercenaries. This would however change during the Great Northern War, in which a majority of the regiment's soldiers were from Sweden (including Finland) or its dominions.
Allotment for the army was only applied to the countryside and not to the towns, where people were exclusively recruited to the navy. Each province had its own regiment consisting of 1,200 soldiers (and thus also 1,200 rotar, not counting officers) for an infantry regiment, or 1,000 horsemen (and 1,000 rusthåll) for a cavalry regiment. Thus, a "rote" did not necessarily consist of ten men fit for military service as in the old system; it could instead consist of a single wealthy estate or several small farms, all depending on the tax amount and the number of soldiers the farms or estates would be able to provide.
Navy system.
The Swedish Navy recruited their seamen using the same system as the army, but from coastal provinces and towns (including non-coastal towns). As with the infantry, the farms in coastal areas were organized into "rotar", which would each provide a croft ("båtmanstorp") for a navy volunteer. Recruits only had duties on board the ships, for example as artillerymen or sailors, and were not used for other combat duties, such as boardings and landings, which were executed by army units transported on the ships. The seamen often served in the navy six months over the summer of every third year. Later, from the middle of the 18th century, some of the "rotar" in the cities would pay a fee equal to the approximate cost of providing a boatsman, instead of providing one from among themselves.
There were several problems with this system, relating to the fact that a large proportion of the seamen did not live anywhere near the largest naval ports of Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Karlskrona. Many seamen had their crofts along the coast of Norrland and Finland, and thus had several hundred kilometres to travel when called into service. Originally, the seamen had to walk the long way to the nearest port; later, they were transported by horse and carriage. Even the latter method of transport, however, took a long time, and soon the state began to provide tools and materials, excepting the actual timber, to the "rote" so that the farmers could build a large rowing/sailing boat called a "lodja". These boats could transport up to 25 men, and could ease the transport to the naval ports.
Crofts and soldiers.
Each "rote" in the new allotment system had the responsibility to recruit a soldier for the army, provide his croft with a patch of land, a cow, a few chickens and few pigs or sheep so he could support a family, pay him his salary, and supply him with necessities such as hay and seed. The rote also had to provide the soldier with the uniform. The croft and land, located on the land of the rote, only belonged to the soldier as long as he was fit for service. If he died or had to retire, the croft would have to be returned to the "rote", even if it made his family homeless; the rote in turn had to find a new recruit. It sometimes happened that a widow of a dead soldier married the rote's new recruit, as the rote was regarded as responsible to take care also of the remaining family of its fallen serviceman. The soldier lived at his croft for large parts of his life, mostly working at the farms that supported his household, and went away to a few training camps a year, honing his tactics and skills with his regiment. When at war, the soldier could be away for years at a time, leaving all of the chores to his wife and children, if he had any. Otherwise, the rote farmers would take over the work themselves.
Recruits in the early 18th century had to be physically and mentally fit, between 18 and 36 years old (18–30 years from 1819, 18–25 years from 1871) and at least 172 centimeters tall (175 cm from 1775, lowered to 167 cm from 1788 as the army was in dire need of soldiers during Gustav III's Russian War). Many soldiers served in the army for more than 30 years, as there was no service time stated in the contract; instead, being discharged required a reason, such as old age, injury, sickness, or the commission of a crime. Discharges were generally only given at general musters, held once a year, or even more sparsely, even though an interim discharge could be given by the regimental commander if the discharge was supported by the soldier. The interim discharge had to be confirmed at the next general muster.
From the 1680s (army) and early 18th century (navy), all soldiers in a given company were required to have a unique name, to make it easier to give specific orders. This could be problematic when several soldiers had the same name (being usually from rural background, they generally had just a patronymic, and such were often very common, e.g. Andersson, Eriksson, Olsson or Persson), giving rise to the Swedish soldier names. When a soldier appeared before the military scribe, he was given a soldier's name (often, a rote's new soldier received his predecessor's name), which he kept during his service. Those surnames also tended to become hereditary, as the soldier often retained it when he was pensioned or left the service, and his children were also registered under it in census lists and church books—this is the origin of many present-day Swedish surnames. The name was usually short, consisting of only one syllable—to make it easy and rapid to say. The names could be taken from a trait, such as the surname Stolt ("Proud") or from military terms, such as Svärd ("Sword"), but were often related to the rote. A soldier from a rote located in the village of Sundby, for example, could be given the surname Sundin. This meant that surnames often stayed with the croft, rather than with the soldier. Common practice amongst discharged soldiers in the 18th century was to reassume their original name. This changed in the 19th century, and many soldiers kept their old soldier names, passing it on to their children. Each soldier in the regiment also had a unique number, between 1 and 1,200, the number of the rote and croft he belonged to (for example "nummer 15 Stolt", number 15 Stolt).
Officers.
Officers were provided with a large farm or a small manor house directly from the Crown, not from a rote. They did not, however, receive a salary from the state, but were instead paid by the rotar around the province, as part of the rote members' tax payments, and by farmers who worked the land belonging to the officer's farm. The officers' homes were loans, rather than outright gifts, and their size and quality was proportionate to the occupants' military rank. It was this system that was originally called the "allotment system". A condition for the system to work was the reductions carried through by the state, expropriating land and farms from the nobles, which were then provided to the officers. The officers' homesteads would be located in the same part of the province as the soldiers whom the officer would command in battle, often close to the rote. The officer thus knew the men he would lead, contrary to the practice in many other countries where the army officers would live on estates that were separated from the soldiers by both distance and lifestyle.
Military impact.
The Swedish military had a unique position in Northern Europe at the time of the new system, being the only army that did not rely only on enlisted soldiers, mercenaries or conscripted soldiers. In relation to population size, the Swedish army was also the largest in Europe. Because of the allotment system, mobilization was quick. It took time, weeks and months, to enlist, equip, train and organize a unit of mercenaries, while the Swedish croft soldiers gathered at the company meeting place in a couple of days, and then at the regimental meeting place in around a week. The soldiers were already trained and equipped, and knew their precise spot in the formation. Marching routes to the borders or to harbours had already been prepared, and supplies had been gathered at important places.
Swedish battle tactics relied on a high level of organization and the large-scale use of swords and pikes. Other armies had stopped using pikemen in the late 17th century, solely relying on the bayonet of the musketeer to protect against cavalry attacks. Reasons for the Swedish obstinacy in keeping the pikes and making large use of swords in battle include the Swedish loss in the Battle of Kircholm in 1605, where a modernized Swedish army was severely beaten by Polish hussars—partly due to being equipped with the latest muskets which were hard to handle—and the fact that pikemen were very expensive to hire to armies that were formed by mercenaries; however, as Sweden had the allotment system and thus did not pay a higher salary to pikemen, they were kept.
The high level of organization and morale made it possible to base the combat tactics on close combat, rather than long-range shooting. A regular attack would look like the following: When the enemy musketeers started firing, at ranges up to 100 metres, the Swedish infantry would not answer but keep a swift marching pace, not stopping until the range was as little as 40 metres, where the musketeers in the back of the formation would fire their only salvo. At an even closer range, the musketeers in the front would fire their only salvo, and immediately after that, break into the enemy lines—musketeers using their swords, and pikemen using their pikes. This tactic would often result in a fleeing enemy force, which probably stood terrified when their opponent's companies were not stopped by continuous musket fire, but kept marching on towards them in sinister silence.
Civil impact.
During the time of the old allotment system, Sweden's involvement in the Thirty Years' War and the Northern Wars did not have a very large impact on the population in general. The armies of Sweden under Gustavus Adolphus and later Charles X had relatively large success due to the superior tactics used, and foreign mercenaries comprised large parts of the armies. Gustavus Adolphus had, when he entered the Thirty Years' War, an army of 14,500 Swedish and Finnish conscripts and more than 20,000 enlisted foreigners, and deaths in the latter group did not affect the Swedish population. Charles XI's new allotment system did not have to see use in the first 20 years of its existence, which was also the longest time of peace Sweden had seen since its independence. Thus, the population continued to grow at a steady rate between 1620 and 1700.
The new system was put to the test for the first time in 1700, when Sweden, under the reign of Charles XII, was attacked by a coalition of its neighbours Russia, Denmark-Norway and Saxony-Poland in the Great Northern War. The mobilization of the soldiers worked well thanks to the new system, with Sweden mobilizing 43,000 men in allotted regiments, and another 33,000 men from various enlisted regiments. The army was one of the largest in Europe at the time, having modern equipment and being very well-trained and organized. However, three enemies were too much, even though Charles XII forced Denmark to leave the war the same year it started, and forced Saxony to leave the war in 1706. After these successful blows to the coalition, Charles XII had the opportunity to sign a peace with the remaining opponent, Russia. He did not, and this decision would have immense effects on the population. Russia's vast plains did not give Charles XII the possibility to beat his enemy with his superior army; instead, he was forced into a war of attrition, a war he could not win.
As the war finally ended in 1721, Sweden had lost an estimated 200,000 men, 150,000 of those from present-day Sweden and 50,000 from the Finnish part of Sweden. This made a huge impact on a population that before the war had barely reached 2 million. The total population did not grow during the 21 years of the war; it was even reduced, according to some sources, as the massive losses outnumbered overall births. For example, the province of Östergötland was supposed to support 2,200 croft soldiers, making up one infantry and one cavalry regiment. Losses had to be replaced, and during the first years of the war, another 2,400 men were conscripted. After the Battle of Poltava in 1709, both regiments had to be completely reraised. At the end of the war, a total of 10,400 soldiers had been conscripted from the province that was meant to support only a fifth, or 2,200. Another regiment, Hälsinge Regiment, had to be completely raised three times during the war. The lack of soldiers became so critical that in the period 1714–1715, the army had to return to the old method of conscripting men by force.
Conscription.
In 1812, a new system was introduced, requiring all males between age 20 and 25 to serve in the armed forces twelve days a year, changing in 1858 to four weeks per two years. At the same time, the new allotment system remained in use up until 1901, when mandatory conscription, with 8–9 months of military service, was introduced. The allotment system was finally abolished in 1901. From that time, regiments began to be garrisoned in towns instead of being spread all over the province with a training ground as the only common meeting place. As croft soldiers were contracted by the government for as long as they wanted and were fit for service, and as they could not be dismissed, some soldiers lived under the allotment system long after 1901, the last one retiring as late as 1961. Through the reform, the regiments' local connections were partially lost, as conscripts were not necessarily from the regiments' respective provinces. Before the reform, soldiers of the same company generally stemmed from the same village and region.
References.
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