r/BattlePaintings

More Suicide paintings of Soldiers in the War right now in Ukraine. All pictures are mostly painted of Drone footage from various Subreddits like r/war or r/dronecombat or from other pictures documenting the War.

Still working on my series of Paintintgs dedicated to this desperation. I made these roughly over the last year.

I often feel like I don’t give the footage enough justice, but I sincerely always try to do my best.

I wish all the best! And to a better world!

Painting from the 15th Century Chronicles by Jean Froissart. Sluys was a decisive naval battle at the start of the Hundred Years' War. 190 French ships and 16-20,000 men were lost compared to 2 ships and 4-600 men for the English. Sluys ensured that the English Channel remained under English control.

It is an icon of Christ wearing the helmet of knyaz Yaroslav, with the number of eye slits corresponding to the number of eyes of the Lamb of the Apocalypse. Conceptually, this icon represents the Ukrainian army, serving as an analogue to the "To the Invincible Voivode" (Vzbrannoy Voyevode) icon. I hold the original in my private collection.

Artist is Edouard Groult

Ming soldiers (left) vs Japanese pirates (right) (Wōkòu Scorll, 倭寇圖卷, Institute of Historiography, University of Tokyo)

The Japanese piracy in East Asia had a long history, beginning from as early as 50 B.C. all the way up to as late as the 16th century. The atrocities the pirates perpetrated throughout 1,600 years were indescribable.

>賊掠得二三歲女兒，剃髮剖腹淨洗，兼奠米酒祭天。分左右，張樂羅拜。祭畢，掬分其米而食，飮酒三鍾，焚其兒，槍柄忽折。
Japanese pirates kidnapped a two or three year-old girl, shaved her head, split her stomach, washed her thoroughly in water, placed her on an altar with rice and alcohol, and held a rite to heaven. The pirates stood on the left and right sides, blew wind music, and bowed. After the rite, they grabbed the rice with hands, shared it, drank three cups of alcohol, and burned the child, and the javelin was broken.
- Japanese piracy in the 1370s, Goryeo History

>時賊勢蔓延, 江浙無不蹂躪. 新倭來益衆, 益肆毒. 每自焚其舟, 登岸劫掠. 自杭州 北新關西剽淳安, 突徽州 歙縣, 至績溪·旌德, 過涇縣, 趨南陵, 遂達蕪湖. 燒南岸, 奔太平府, 犯江寧鎭, 徑侵南京. 倭紅衣黃蓋, 率衆犯大安德門, 及夾岡, 乃趨秣陵關而去, 由溧水流劫溧陽·宜興. 聞官兵自太湖出, 遂越武進, 抵無錫, 駐惠山. 一晝夜奔百八十餘里, 抵滸墅. 爲官軍所圍, 追及於楊林橋, 殲之. 是役也, 賊不過六七十人, 而經行數千里, 殺戮戰傷者幾四千人, 歷八十餘日始滅, 此三十四年九月事也.
As the banditry spread, it ravaged the Jiangnan region. New Japanese pirates arrived in increasing numbers, their cruelty intensifying. They would burn their own boats before landing and looting.
From Hangzhou, they raided Chun'an west of Beixin Pass, then stormed Shexian in Huizhou, reaching Jixi and Jingde, passing Jingxian, heading towards Nanling, and finally reaching Wuhu. They burned the south bank, fled to Taiping Prefecture, attacked Jiangning Town, and then directly invaded Nanjing. Japanese pirates in red robes and yellow canopies led their troops to attack Da'ande Gate and Jiagang, then headed towards Moling Pass, plundering Liyang and Yixing along the Lishui River.
Hearing that government troops had emerged from Taihu Lake, they crossed Wujin, reached Wuxi, and camped at Huishan. They marched over 180 li in a day and night, reaching Hushu. They were surrounded by government troops, but were caught at Yanglin Bridge and annihilated.
In this battle, the bandits numbered only sixty or seventy, yet they traveled thousands of li, killing and wounding nearly four thousand. It took more than eighty days to be destroyed; this occurred in the ninth month of the thirty-fourth year.
- September. 1555, Ming History

These are only two accounts. Imagine what had happened all throughout the years. Of course, Mongols, Chinese, and even Koreans invaded Japan in retaliation. Some endeavors succeeded. Some completely botched, but brutal nonetheless.

That was how East Asia used to be when unstable.

This campaign was one of the most important conflicts of the late Han dynasty and a major turning point in the struggle that eventually led to the Three Kingdoms period. It took place in 200 AD between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, two of the most powerful warlords in northern China. Although Yuan Shao commanded a far larger army and controlled richer territory, Cao Cao held the strategic advantage through better organization, discipline, and leadership.

The campaign began with a series of clashes along the Yellow River, where Cao Cao scored early successes by defeating Yuan Shao’s generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou. These victories weakened Yuan Shao’s forces and gave Cao Cao momentum before the main confrontation. The decisive struggle unfolded at Guandu, where both armies settled into a long stalemate. Yuan Shao tried to break Cao Cao’s defenses through repeated assaults and siege tactics, but Cao Cao focused on holding his position and conserving supplies.

The turning point came when Cao Cao learned that Yuan Shao’s grain stores were kept at Wuchao. In a bold surprise attack, Cao Cao sent forces to burn the supply depot. Once Yuan Shao’s food supplies were destroyed, his army fell into confusion and panic. The collapse of his logistics proved more damaging than battlefield losses, and Cao Cao emerged victorious despite being outnumbered from the start.

Yuan Shao never fully recovered from his defeat, and after his death, his sons fought among themselves, weakening the Yuan family’s power. Cao Cao then expanded his control over northern China, laying the foundation for the state of Wei.

This art is from the Xuchang City Museum in Henan Province