r/BattlePaintings

In the 1800s, Britain imported enormous quantities of Chinese tea, silk, and porcelain but struggled to pay for them because China had little interest in British goods. To reverse this trade imbalance, British merchants exported opium grown in India into China. Despite repeated imperial bans, millions became addicted, prompting the Qing government under Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu to confiscate and destroy over 20,000 chests of opium at Canton in 1839. Britain responded with military force, arguing that British property had been unlawfully seized and demanding expanded trade rights.

The war quickly very clearly demonstrated the technological gap between the two empires. British steamships, modern artillery, disciplined infantry, and naval mobility consistently defeated larger Qing armies (whom were often equipped with outdated weapons and command structures) with often minimal casualties. By 1842, British forces were advancing steadily up China's eastern coast toward the Yangtze River, capturing key ports to force the Qing government into negotiations.

The Battle of Chapu was one of the major coastal engagements during the final British campaign of the war. The fortified port of Chapu (modern Zhapu), located on Hangzhou Bay, protected the approaches to some of China's richest and most strategically important regions. British commanders Hugh Gough and William Parker landed approximately 2,200 troops while warships bombarded the city's defenses. Gough divided his army into multiple columns, allowing British troops to outflank the Qing defenders and cut off their retreat instead of attacking solely from the front.

The initial Qing defenses collapsed under the coordinated assault, but one group of roughly 300 Manchu Banner soldiers refused to retreat. Taking refuge inside a Buddhist temple (described in British accounts as a "joss house"), they fought with remarkable determination despite being surrounded. British troops launched repeated assaults before finally overrunning the position after fierce hand-to-hand combat. Even General Gough, who was leading the British army, praised their "indomitable" resistance. The fighting was costly enough that the British lost one of their senior officers, Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Tomlinson, while leading an assault.

After capturing the city, the British destroyed its military stores and seized its artillery before continuing their campaign toward the mouth of the Yangtze, bringing increasing pressure on the Qing government.

Artist: Malcolm Greensmith

The painting depicts the defense of Monte Negino during the Italian campaign of 1796. At this position, a small French detachment withstood repeated Austrian attacks until reinforcements arrived. The defense of Monte Negino was crucial in enabling Napoleon to launch the offensive that culminated in the French victory at the Battle of Montenotte—the first major victory of his Italian campaign.

The painting depicts the Chasseurs à Cheval of the Imperial Guard during the Battle of Wagram in 1809. In this battle, Napoleon defeated the Austrian army after two days of intense fighting, consolidating French dominance in Central Europe. The charge of the Chasseurs was part of the Imperial Guard cavalry's actions during the French victory.

After destroying the Khwarazmian Empire, the Mongol generals Subutai and Jebe led a long reconnaissance campaign through the Caucasus. There they defeated several regional powers before turning their attention to the Cumans, a nomadic people who fled west and appealed to their Rus' allies for assistance. In response, numerous Rus' princes, including Mstislav III of Kiev and Mstislav the Bold, assembled a large coalition army to confront the invaders. Before hostilities began, the Mongols attempted diplomacy, claiming they sought only to punish the Cumans and had no quarrel with the Rus'. Their envoys were reportedly executed, eliminating any chance of peace and convincing the Mongols to wage war without mercy.

Rather than immediately offering battle, Subutai and Jebe conducted a carefully planned feigned retreat, drawing the Rus' coalition farther into the open steppe. The pursuing princes failed to maintain a unified command, and their forces gradually became scattered over several days of pursuit. When the Mongols finally halted on the banks of the Kalka River, Mstislav the Bold attacked with his own contingent and Cuman allies without waiting for the rest of the coalition to arrive. The Mongols exploited this mistake, crushing the isolated force before turning against the remaining Rus' armies one by one. As panic spread, the retreating Cumans collided with other Rus' formations, creating confusion that the disciplined Mongol cavalry quickly exploited. The coalition collapsed, suffering catastrophic losses while only a handful of leaders managed to escape. Contemporary chronicles suggest that only a small fraction of the army returned home.

Among the few forces that initially remained intact was the army of Mstislav III of Kiev. Retreating to a fortified camp, he successfully resisted Mongol assaults for three days. Eventually, however, he accepted an offer of safe passage after being persuaded to surrender. The promise proved to be a deception. Once the camp was opened, the Mongols massacred many of the surviving soldiers and took Mstislav III along with several other princes and nobles prisoner.

Allegedly, following Mongol custom that royal blood was not to be shed outside of battle, instead of beheading or stabbing their noble prisoners the Mongols bound Mstislav III and several other captured princes, placed wooden boards over them, and held a victory feast atop the platform. The immense weight slowly crushed and suffocated the captives beneath without spilling their blood. Although the Mongols did not immediately invade the Rus' lands after their victory, instead turning east to rejoin the main Mongol army, the Battle of the Kalka River had profound long-term consequences. It destroyed much of the military strength of several Rus' principalities and revealed the devastating effectiveness of Mongol strategy, discipline, and mobility. Fourteen years later, when the Mongols returned under Batu Khan and Subutai during the full-scale Mongol invasion of Rus', many of the princes who might have organized resistance were gone, and the memory of Kalka foreshadowed the catastrophe that would soon engulf Eastern Europe.

Painting by Pavel Ryzhenko

The Battle of Ulm was fought between October 16 and 19, 1805, during the War of the Third Coalition. Through a brilliant enveloping maneuver, Napoleon surrounded General Mack's Austrian army and forced it to surrender, achieving one of his most significant strategic victories without the need for a major pitched battle. In the painting, Napoleon honors the valor of a wounded soldier following the campaign—a gesture reflecting recognition of the courage shown by those who fought in the French victory.

Confederate infantry advanced upon the center of the Union line at Gettysburg on this day in 1863. Known to history as Pickett’s Charge, the Rebel attack proceeded over nearly a mile of open ground before reaching its objective—and being repulsed. Shown here: This Edwin Forbes painting shows the charge from the Union perspective; Confederates are depicted breaching the Union line at the copse of trees, pictured at center-left.

Among the many militia regiments that responded to President Lincoln's call for troops in April 1861 was the First Minnesota Infantry.

As the first Union regiment to volunteer for three years of service, the First Minnesota fought at the Battles of Bull Run, Antietam and Fredericksburg.

It was, however, during the Battle of Gettysburg that the First Minnesota played a significant role in American military history. On the morning of July 2, 1863, the First Minnesota, along with the other units of the II Corps, took its position in the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. Late in the day, the Union III Corps, under heavy attack by the Confederate I Corps, collapsed creating a dangerous gap in the Union line. The advancing Confederate brigades were in position to breakthrough and then envelope the Union forces. At that critical moment, the First Minnesota was ordered to attack.

Advancing at double time, the Minnesotans charged into the leading Confederate brigade with unbounded fury. Fighting against overwhelming odds, the heroic Minnesotans gained the time necessary for the Union line to reform.

But the cost was great. Of the 262 members of the regiment present for duty that morning, only 47 answered the roll that evening. The regiment incurred the highest casualty rate of any unit in the Civil War.

The men of the combined 63rd/69th/88th New York Volunteer Infantry of the famed Irish Brigade, assault the men of BG Joseph Kershaw’s South Carolina Brigade at Stony Hill.

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
2 July 1863