Do you know the story of Jeanne de Clisson, the Lioness of Britanny? When her husband Olivier de Clisson IV, a wealthy Breton nobleman, was executed by French king for treason in 1343, she sold all his estates, raised an army, and started attacking French forces in Brittany!
Her husband Olivier de Clisson IV had fought on the French side during the War of the Breton Succession which started in 1341. However during 1342 Siege of Vannes, the French king suspected Olivier of treason. He lured him to Paris on pretense of tournament and had him executed!
Jeanne the Clisson swore vengeance and raised an army after selling her estates. With the support of the English king she even built her own fleet which was painted black with red sails and attacked French ships in the English channel. Her flagship was named My Revenge!
Jeanne de Clisson went on a brutal campaign against French with her mercenaries. Her warships with experience sailors captured many French ships and she killed almost entire enemy crew, leaving only few survivors to report back to the French of her brutal attacks!
Jeanne did not spare the noblemen either, but the opposite. Instead of demanding ransom for them, she had all the captured nobles who were loyal to the French king beheaded! Her campaign lasted for 13 years until she "retired", married again and settled in Hennebont in Brittany.
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Hussite war wagons proved so effective that within 100 years this tactic spread from Bohemia all the way to India!
In 1526 Mughal Emperor Babur employed war wagons to win the First Battle of Panipat.
A short thread on how this style of warfare spread over the world. 🧵
The tactic of "wagenburg" (wagon fort) was adopted in the Hussite Wars (1419-1434) by the Hussites, a religious movement which fought armies of crusader knights from all over Europe.
The use of such war wagons enabled them to withstand the cavalry charges of armored knights.
The purpose of these war wagons was not just to present an obstacle for the cavalry but also to give handgunners protection to fire their weapons at the enemy.
The main weakness of handguns at the time was the long reloading time, during which handgunners were vulnerable.
There was a scene in the movie Lord of the Rings where they light signal fires to warn of an attack.
But this is how the defense system of Habsburg lands actually worked against the Ottoman threat!
A network of bonfires was in place to warn people of incoming Ottoman raids. 🧵
In the Lord of the Rings these are called the Beacon-hills of Gondor.
They are permanently manned stations across the hills where great fireplaces are kept in the state of readiness.
In this manner, people all over the kingdom can be informed of an attack quickly.
People might think this is something that belongs to the fictional world, but in 15-16th centuries the Habsburgs actually established a similar system like this.
The mountainous regions of Carniola and Styria offered many good strategic positions!
In 1927 Benito Mussolini ordered to drain the Lake Nemi south of Rome to recover the wrecks of the Nemi ships, two large pleasure barges built under the reign of the Roman emperor Caligula.
Unfortunately the remains of the ships were destroyed by fire in 1944 during WWII.
It is speculated that Nemi ships were elaborate floating palaces, with mosaic floors, heating and plumbing, baths, galleries and saloons, as well as a large variety of vines and fruit trees, similar to other Caligula's galleys described by Suetonius!
Lake Nemi is a volcanic lake which was popular by wealthy Romans due to clean air and uncontaminated water and cooler temperatures during the hot summer months.