UNIT DESCRIPTION
Eagle: The F-15 Eagle is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It can penetrate enemy defense and outperform and outfight current or projected enemy aircraft.
Fokker: The Dutchmen Anthony Fokker sold his expertise to the Germans in WW1. One authority noted about the Fokker D.VII, that it had "an apparant ability to to make a good pilot out of mediocre material." When equipped with the BMW engine, the D.VII could outclimb any Allied opponent it encountered in combat. Highly maneuverable at all speeds and altitudes, it
proved to be more than a match for any of the British or French fighter planes of 1918. The last Fokker warplane produced was the Fokker G.V. Fighter, build in 1936 and fought in WW2. They had a kill ratio of 16:1 during the brief fight between Germany and Holland in 1940.
U-boat: Probably the single most important contributor to present day submarines and the tactics used today can be attributed to the German Navy's skill and technological breakthroughs of the First and Second World Wars. The infamous U-boats were a real plague to allied shipping lines.
Enterprise: The first nuclear powered aircraft carrier in the world and one of the first nuclear powered surface warship. The "Big E" or "Starship Enterprise" is the longest warship in the world, and after her latest refit is among the heaviest as well.
Man-o-War: The most powerfull warships of the pre-ironclad age. Loaded with cannons and troops, these ships were feared by all but the most the powerfull warships.
Yamato: By far the largest warships of W.W.II. They were also the heaviest armed and armored of all battleships. These great ships were built in complete secrecy and it was not until very late in the war that it was found out how large and powerful they really were.
Ilmarinen: Finland's Väinämöinen and Illmarinen were two of the most concentrated naval artillery units ever built. They where designed and optimized for operations in the arcipelago areas of the Baltic.
War Galleon: Spanish shipwrights developed the war galleon, a modified, enlarged version of the carrack that became the premier ocean-going ship of the 16th and 17th centuries. Although developed as a warship, the galleon proved to be a fast and able sailer with a large cargo capacity. War galleons were the principal fighting ships of the Spanish Armada.
Privateer: The great era of privateering was the period from 1589 to 1815, when privateers became auxiliaries to or substitutes for regular navies, and when weaker naval powers used privateers as an effective method of injuring a more powerful maritime rival.
Longboat: Viking longships with 80 oars or more and a single removable mast with a square sail carried warriors into battle. The sailors lowered and stored the mast when traveling under oar power. Longships had a shallow draft, a design that enabled Vikings to navigate rivers and streams. This design permitted them to take many inland settlements by surprise because the inhabitants did not expect an attack from the water.
Carrack: Carracks were commonly used for trade and war in the Mediterranean and northern seas.On previous ships, fighters stood on elevated decks to fire cannons and other weapons down onto the decks of enemy ships. The Carrack featured gun ports with hinged lids on each side. During battle,
fighters opened the lids, rolled out the cannons, and fired at the enemy ship's hull instead of its deck.
Virginia: The Virginia, originally a wooden steam frigate called the Merrimack, had been sunk and abandoned by Union forces in the Elizabeth River off Norfolk, Virginia, in the spring of 1861. It was raised by Confederate forces a few months later and rebuilt as an ironclad vessel and renamed the Virginia. Two months after the inconclusive battle with the Monitor, the Virginia was destroyed by Confederate forces when they evacuated the Norfolk Navy Yard.
Hussaria: The pride and glory of the cavalry, its mailed first, was the Husaria, the winged cavalry. Operating in regiments of about 300, the front rank carried an astonishing lance of up to twenty feet in length (thus outreaching infantry pikes and allowing the Husaria to cut straight through an enemy square). They also carried a sabre or rapier with a six - foot blade, as well as a pair of pistols, a short carbine, a bow and arrows and a
variety of other weapons, the most lethal of which was the "czekan", a long steel hammer. For over a century, the Husaria were the lords of the battlefield, delivering the decisive blow in many an important engagement; at Kircholm (1605) 4,000 Poles accounted for 14,000 Swedes, at Klushino (1610) 6,000 Poles (of only 200 were infantry) defeated 30,000 Muscovite and
5,000 German and Scottish mercenaries, at Gniew (1656) 5,500 Polish cavalry defeated 13,000 Swedes and outside Vienna (1683) the Husaria saved Europe from the, until then, unstoppable might of the Ottoman Empire.
Drorom: The Byzantine dromon was a fast, two-banked sailing galley having 25 oars on a side.
Quinquireme: The Quinquireme was two sizes bigger than the Trireme, but lacked the same speed. At the front was a deck structure in which heavy missile weapons such as catapults were located.
Turtle Boat: The great Korean admiral Yi Sun-Shin defeated the Japanese at sea. One key to the Korean naval victories was their innovative turtle ships, the first cannon-bearing armored ships in history. The Japanese had no answer for these slow but powerful weapons.
*Great Cannoe
Trireme: The desire to increase the speed and ramming power of the galley led to the introduction, sometime before 500 BC, of three-banked galleys, which are called triremes.
Pansarskepp: Originally designed as small Battlecruisers specially suited for the Scandinavian region. The ships where extensively modernized several times and served as the backbone of the Swedish navy from 1922 to 1946. These small but powerful units played a important role as a stabilizing
factor in the Baltic region during the Inter-war and WWII period.
*Templar
*Doryphoren
*Cataphract
Mamluk: A warrior caste dominant in Egypt and influential in the Middle East for over 700 years. The Mamluks successfully resisted invasions by the Crusaders and the Mongols, brought about commercial prosperity, and fostered the arts and architecture, most notably in Cairo.
War Elephant: Elephants were the tanks of the ancient era: massive, hard to kill, and incredibly dangerous.
*Hospitalier
*Camel Rider
*Mangudai
Tarkan: The best of the Hunnic light horsemen were Tarkan warriors. They rode hard, hit with surprise, and could withdraw as quickly if the situation was not advantageous. The mobility of the Tarkan warriors made them devastating raiders, but their light cavalry status put them at a disadvantage against heavily armored horsemen in close combat.
Rider: Once the discovery of the stirrup made its way to China, heavy cavalry soon followed. As the Chinese found out first-hand when the Mongols invaded in the 12th century, it is better to have heavy calvary than to be attacked by them.
Cossack: From the 16th century, as the tsars extended their realm, the Cossacks were subjected to the authority of the Russian government, which tried to incorporate them into the state on the same basis as the other inhabitants of the country. Therefore, as subjects of the tsar, all Cossack males 18 to 50 years of age became liable to military service. They were used most often as cavalry and became famous in the wars of the tsars
against the Tatars in Crimea and the Caucasus.
Spahis: The elite of the Turkish army were regular soldiers, 'spahi' cavalry. The 'spahi' numbered approximately 15,000, they were highly paid, and each man was responsible to recruit and train two to six other men. They were armed with a bow, a sword and a lance and did not wear any armour
thereby retaining their capability of manoeuvring; with this system the Turks produced about 100,000 cavalry.
*War Party
Texas Ranger: mounted fighting force organized (1835) during the Texas Revolution. During the republic they became established as the guardians of the Texas frontier, particularly against Native Americans. Said to "ride like Mexicans, shoot like Tennesseans, and fight like the very devil, the rangers were unique as a police force in that they never drilled, were not required to salute officers, and wore neither uniforms nor any standard gear except the six-shooter. In their first decade of operation, the rangers effectively quelled lawlessness in Texas on frequent occasions, and in the Mexican War (1846-48) they served as scouts and guerrilla fighters, gaining a wide reputation for valor and effectiveness. In the late 1850s the rangers fought
vicious battles with the Comanche, and in the Civil War, Terry's Texas Rangers gained renown.
Panzer: German armored (panzer) divisions, supported by aircraft, proved their worth in Poland and France and later won spectacular successes in the Balkans, the Soviet Union, and Africa.
T-54: The T-54 has been used more than any other tank since the Second World War. The T-55 combines a high velocity gun with exceptional long-range endurance.
War Chariot: The chariot was the centerpiece of the Egyptian army, which dominated the Middle Eastern theatre of war for hundreds of years, until they were supplanted by horse-mounted soldiers, which were cheaper and more durable.
*War Wagon
Genoese Crossbowmen: Genoese mercenary cross bow men were employed by almost all European armies except England
*Persian Cavalry
*Mongol Horsemen
*Mtd. Braves
*Songhay Cavalry
*Fast Galley
*Eagle Warrior
*Tracker
*Berzerker
*Woad Raider
Jaguar Warrior :As a militaristic society, the Aztecs placed a very high emphasis on honor and battlefield skill. After an Aztec warrior captured four or five enemy soldiers, he could advance to the rank of Eagle or Jaguar Warrior. These ranks provided unique benefits, such as exemption from taxes. Jaguar Warriors were fearsome combatants who wore colorful costumes including elaborately plumed headgear and Jaguar pelts, and wielded
war shields (chimalli) and obsidian-tipped weapons such as war hammers and swords.
*Macana
Hoplite: The Hoplite was one of the first soldiers of the ancient world to fight in formation. The well-known "phalanx" formation that has become synonymous with the Greek hoplite was actually first used by the Sumerians as early as 2500 B.C, but the Greeks made it famous. Armed with a sword and
a 6 foot-long pike, clad in a helmet, breastplate, greaves, and a shield, the Hoplite was a fighting unit to be reckoned with.
Impi: a band of armed Zulu warriors or soldiers in precolonial times.
*Halberd
*Javalin
*Nubian Guards
*Huskarl
Legion: large unit of the Roman army. It came into prominence c.400 B.C. Marcus Furius Camillus is traditionally regarded as the great organizer of the legion. A legion was composed of 10 cohorts and comprised about 5,000 men. Training
was hard, with much difficult drilling to prepare the men especially in shock tactics and for rapid marches. The standard weapons
were the spear (pilum) and (after Scipio Africanus Major conquered Spain) the short thrusting sword (gladius). The characteristic emblems of the legions were eagles inscribed SPQR [Senatus Populusque Romanus-the Senate and the people of Rome], and they carried the eagles in triumph over the far
reaches of the empire for hundreds of years. Upon the legions rested to a large extent the glory of Rome. They were primarily heavy infantry and were vulnerable to quickly moving cavalry and archers (e.g., the defeat of Marcus Lucinius Crassus at Carrhae) and to guerrilla fighters (e.g., the famous defeat of Varus by the Germans). With the Germanic invasions the legion proved unable to match the barbarian horsemen, rendering it obsolete.
Eagle: The F-15 Eagle is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It can penetrate enemy defense and outperform and outfight current or projected enemy aircraft.
Fokker: The Dutchmen Anthony Fokker sold his expertise to the Germans in WW1. One authority noted about the Fokker D.VII, that it had "an apparant ability to to make a good pilot out of mediocre material." When equipped with the BMW engine, the D.VII could outclimb any Allied opponent it encountered in combat. Highly maneuverable at all speeds and altitudes, it
proved to be more than a match for any of the British or French fighter planes of 1918. The last Fokker warplane produced was the Fokker G.V. Fighter, build in 1936 and fought in WW2. They had a kill ratio of 16:1 during the brief fight between Germany and Holland in 1940.
U-boat: Probably the single most important contributor to present day submarines and the tactics used today can be attributed to the German Navy's skill and technological breakthroughs of the First and Second World Wars. The infamous U-boats were a real plague to allied shipping lines.
Enterprise: The first nuclear powered aircraft carrier in the world and one of the first nuclear powered surface warship. The "Big E" or "Starship Enterprise" is the longest warship in the world, and after her latest refit is among the heaviest as well.
Man-o-War: The most powerfull warships of the pre-ironclad age. Loaded with cannons and troops, these ships were feared by all but the most the powerfull warships.
Yamato: By far the largest warships of W.W.II. They were also the heaviest armed and armored of all battleships. These great ships were built in complete secrecy and it was not until very late in the war that it was found out how large and powerful they really were.
Ilmarinen: Finland's Väinämöinen and Illmarinen were two of the most concentrated naval artillery units ever built. They where designed and optimized for operations in the arcipelago areas of the Baltic.
War Galleon: Spanish shipwrights developed the war galleon, a modified, enlarged version of the carrack that became the premier ocean-going ship of the 16th and 17th centuries. Although developed as a warship, the galleon proved to be a fast and able sailer with a large cargo capacity. War galleons were the principal fighting ships of the Spanish Armada.
Privateer: The great era of privateering was the period from 1589 to 1815, when privateers became auxiliaries to or substitutes for regular navies, and when weaker naval powers used privateers as an effective method of injuring a more powerful maritime rival.
Longboat: Viking longships with 80 oars or more and a single removable mast with a square sail carried warriors into battle. The sailors lowered and stored the mast when traveling under oar power. Longships had a shallow draft, a design that enabled Vikings to navigate rivers and streams. This design permitted them to take many inland settlements by surprise because the inhabitants did not expect an attack from the water.
Carrack: Carracks were commonly used for trade and war in the Mediterranean and northern seas.On previous ships, fighters stood on elevated decks to fire cannons and other weapons down onto the decks of enemy ships. The Carrack featured gun ports with hinged lids on each side. During battle,
fighters opened the lids, rolled out the cannons, and fired at the enemy ship's hull instead of its deck.
Virginia: The Virginia, originally a wooden steam frigate called the Merrimack, had been sunk and abandoned by Union forces in the Elizabeth River off Norfolk, Virginia, in the spring of 1861. It was raised by Confederate forces a few months later and rebuilt as an ironclad vessel and renamed the Virginia. Two months after the inconclusive battle with the Monitor, the Virginia was destroyed by Confederate forces when they evacuated the Norfolk Navy Yard.
Hussaria: The pride and glory of the cavalry, its mailed first, was the Husaria, the winged cavalry. Operating in regiments of about 300, the front rank carried an astonishing lance of up to twenty feet in length (thus outreaching infantry pikes and allowing the Husaria to cut straight through an enemy square). They also carried a sabre or rapier with a six - foot blade, as well as a pair of pistols, a short carbine, a bow and arrows and a
variety of other weapons, the most lethal of which was the "czekan", a long steel hammer. For over a century, the Husaria were the lords of the battlefield, delivering the decisive blow in many an important engagement; at Kircholm (1605) 4,000 Poles accounted for 14,000 Swedes, at Klushino (1610) 6,000 Poles (of only 200 were infantry) defeated 30,000 Muscovite and
5,000 German and Scottish mercenaries, at Gniew (1656) 5,500 Polish cavalry defeated 13,000 Swedes and outside Vienna (1683) the Husaria saved Europe from the, until then, unstoppable might of the Ottoman Empire.
Drorom: The Byzantine dromon was a fast, two-banked sailing galley having 25 oars on a side.
Quinquireme: The Quinquireme was two sizes bigger than the Trireme, but lacked the same speed. At the front was a deck structure in which heavy missile weapons such as catapults were located.
Turtle Boat: The great Korean admiral Yi Sun-Shin defeated the Japanese at sea. One key to the Korean naval victories was their innovative turtle ships, the first cannon-bearing armored ships in history. The Japanese had no answer for these slow but powerful weapons.
*Great Cannoe
Trireme: The desire to increase the speed and ramming power of the galley led to the introduction, sometime before 500 BC, of three-banked galleys, which are called triremes.
Pansarskepp: Originally designed as small Battlecruisers specially suited for the Scandinavian region. The ships where extensively modernized several times and served as the backbone of the Swedish navy from 1922 to 1946. These small but powerful units played a important role as a stabilizing
factor in the Baltic region during the Inter-war and WWII period.
*Templar
*Doryphoren
*Cataphract
Mamluk: A warrior caste dominant in Egypt and influential in the Middle East for over 700 years. The Mamluks successfully resisted invasions by the Crusaders and the Mongols, brought about commercial prosperity, and fostered the arts and architecture, most notably in Cairo.
War Elephant: Elephants were the tanks of the ancient era: massive, hard to kill, and incredibly dangerous.
*Hospitalier
*Camel Rider
*Mangudai
Tarkan: The best of the Hunnic light horsemen were Tarkan warriors. They rode hard, hit with surprise, and could withdraw as quickly if the situation was not advantageous. The mobility of the Tarkan warriors made them devastating raiders, but their light cavalry status put them at a disadvantage against heavily armored horsemen in close combat.
Rider: Once the discovery of the stirrup made its way to China, heavy cavalry soon followed. As the Chinese found out first-hand when the Mongols invaded in the 12th century, it is better to have heavy calvary than to be attacked by them.
Cossack: From the 16th century, as the tsars extended their realm, the Cossacks were subjected to the authority of the Russian government, which tried to incorporate them into the state on the same basis as the other inhabitants of the country. Therefore, as subjects of the tsar, all Cossack males 18 to 50 years of age became liable to military service. They were used most often as cavalry and became famous in the wars of the tsars
against the Tatars in Crimea and the Caucasus.
Spahis: The elite of the Turkish army were regular soldiers, 'spahi' cavalry. The 'spahi' numbered approximately 15,000, they were highly paid, and each man was responsible to recruit and train two to six other men. They were armed with a bow, a sword and a lance and did not wear any armour
thereby retaining their capability of manoeuvring; with this system the Turks produced about 100,000 cavalry.
*War Party
Texas Ranger: mounted fighting force organized (1835) during the Texas Revolution. During the republic they became established as the guardians of the Texas frontier, particularly against Native Americans. Said to "ride like Mexicans, shoot like Tennesseans, and fight like the very devil, the rangers were unique as a police force in that they never drilled, were not required to salute officers, and wore neither uniforms nor any standard gear except the six-shooter. In their first decade of operation, the rangers effectively quelled lawlessness in Texas on frequent occasions, and in the Mexican War (1846-48) they served as scouts and guerrilla fighters, gaining a wide reputation for valor and effectiveness. In the late 1850s the rangers fought
vicious battles with the Comanche, and in the Civil War, Terry's Texas Rangers gained renown.
Panzer: German armored (panzer) divisions, supported by aircraft, proved their worth in Poland and France and later won spectacular successes in the Balkans, the Soviet Union, and Africa.
T-54: The T-54 has been used more than any other tank since the Second World War. The T-55 combines a high velocity gun with exceptional long-range endurance.
War Chariot: The chariot was the centerpiece of the Egyptian army, which dominated the Middle Eastern theatre of war for hundreds of years, until they were supplanted by horse-mounted soldiers, which were cheaper and more durable.
*War Wagon
Genoese Crossbowmen: Genoese mercenary cross bow men were employed by almost all European armies except England
*Persian Cavalry
*Mongol Horsemen
*Mtd. Braves
*Songhay Cavalry
*Fast Galley
*Eagle Warrior
*Tracker
*Berzerker
*Woad Raider
Jaguar Warrior :As a militaristic society, the Aztecs placed a very high emphasis on honor and battlefield skill. After an Aztec warrior captured four or five enemy soldiers, he could advance to the rank of Eagle or Jaguar Warrior. These ranks provided unique benefits, such as exemption from taxes. Jaguar Warriors were fearsome combatants who wore colorful costumes including elaborately plumed headgear and Jaguar pelts, and wielded
war shields (chimalli) and obsidian-tipped weapons such as war hammers and swords.
*Macana
Hoplite: The Hoplite was one of the first soldiers of the ancient world to fight in formation. The well-known "phalanx" formation that has become synonymous with the Greek hoplite was actually first used by the Sumerians as early as 2500 B.C, but the Greeks made it famous. Armed with a sword and
a 6 foot-long pike, clad in a helmet, breastplate, greaves, and a shield, the Hoplite was a fighting unit to be reckoned with.
Impi: a band of armed Zulu warriors or soldiers in precolonial times.
*Halberd
*Javalin
*Nubian Guards
*Huskarl
Legion: large unit of the Roman army. It came into prominence c.400 B.C. Marcus Furius Camillus is traditionally regarded as the great organizer of the legion. A legion was composed of 10 cohorts and comprised about 5,000 men. Training
was hard, with much difficult drilling to prepare the men especially in shock tactics and for rapid marches. The standard weapons
were the spear (pilum) and (after Scipio Africanus Major conquered Spain) the short thrusting sword (gladius). The characteristic emblems of the legions were eagles inscribed SPQR [Senatus Populusque Romanus-the Senate and the people of Rome], and they carried the eagles in triumph over the far
reaches of the empire for hundreds of years. Upon the legions rested to a large extent the glory of Rome. They were primarily heavy infantry and were vulnerable to quickly moving cavalry and archers (e.g., the defeat of Marcus Lucinius Crassus at Carrhae) and to guerrilla fighters (e.g., the famous defeat of Varus by the Germans). With the Germanic invasions the legion proved unable to match the barbarian horsemen, rendering it obsolete.
Comment