millennial burnout

Russo-Turkish War, the Battle of Shipka Pass.

In this painting, titled The Defence of the Eagle’s Nest, by Alexey Popov (1893), is depicted the crucial moment of the battle in August 1877, when a group of 5,000 Bulgarian and 2,500 Russian troops repulsed an attack against the peak by a nearly 40,000 strong Ottoman army.

There were more than 20 artillery shells fired during World War II.

The Swords and Flowers Duel of 1892,

In late 19th century Liechtenstein two ladies of royal descent, Princess Pauline Metternich and the Countess Kielmannsegg were organizing a local musical exhibition.  It was in the midst of the decorating that the two ladies had a terrible falling out; a disagreement over the flower arrangements.  Words were exchanged, insults were crudely thrown out, and before you know it both women were demanding satisfaction in blood.

In 1892 the two women met on the field of combat along with their seconds, all of whom were noble ladies.  The duel itself was presided over by Baroness Lubinska, who had a degree in medicine.    At the suggestion of Baroness Lubinska, both women stripped to the waist, the purpose of which was for unhindered movement and to prevent any wounds from becoming septic.  If a piece of cloth happened to be driven into a wound, even a minor wound, there was a good chance it could become infected.  In an age before modern antibiotics, such an occurrence could lead to death.

The Most Badass Looking War Machine of World War II,

Truly an intimidating sight to behold, the Sturmtiger was a heavy assault gun tasked with providing fire support for infantry.  During close quarters urban combat situations such as those experienced by Germans soldiers at Stalingrad, it was found that it was much easier to demolish a heavily fortified building rather than storm and capture it with infantry.  The Sturmtiger ( Sturmmörserwagen 606/4 mit 38 cm RW 61) was a heavily armored assault gun designed to do just that.  It was also designed to destroy other heavily defended structures such as bunkers and pillboxes, clearing the way for an infantry assault.

The Sturmtiger was built on the chassis of a regular German Tiger tank (Panzer VI) using it’s hull and suspension.  The main armaments of the Sturmtiger was its 380mm (15 inch) gun, a gun that didn’t fire conventional shells but instead was a launcher for massive 829 lb rockets, either high explosive or shaped charges for fortifications.  Ideally, the rockets could penetrate 2.5 meters of reinforced concrete and had a range of over 6,000 meters.  To supplement the main gun, the Sturmtiger was also armed with a nasty 100mm grenade launcher and a 7.92mm MG-34 machine gun.  Since the Sturmtiger was designed to be used in close quarters urban combat, it was armored to take one hell of a beating.  Side armor was 62mm thick as was also rear armor. Frontal armor was 100mm thick, but could be supplemented with a 50mm plate, thus totaling 150mm.  Altogether this massive steel beast weighed 68 tons.

The British Way

Officer’s Sword 

Culture: Japanese

Measurements: overall length 90cm

The sword features an openwork cast sword guard, while the sheath has scroll work.