“Kerbal Space Program”, a recently released computer game, is something in a league of its own. It puts you in the shoes of an engineer designing and constructing rockets, satellites, rovers, landers, capsules, space stations, and an array of other vehicles and crafts for the imaginary “Kerbal space program”. It also allows you to serve as the pilot of these crafts, letting you travel and explore the deeply detailed and complex “Kerbal” solar system. What makes this game so fantastic is the level of complexity, and also the simplicity, involved in it. The physics of space, and all of the complex gravitational maneuvers required to land a probe on another planet from ours, are fully simulated and represented. Yet you don’t need to be an astrophysicist to play this game to its fullest (though it wouldn’t hurt to be one, either!). There are many shortcuts and assistants which the game provides to allow someone without even the slightest grasp of astrophysics and rocketry procedures (myself included) to quickly jump into the game, build some rockets, slap on some probes, and begin exploring the universe.

I’ve been playing this game a lot recently, and it continues to blow me away. I want to share my experience in this game, and allow others to see the incredible things it allows you to do, by detailing a mission from start to finish. I’ll begin by building my rocket, guide you through the entire rocket building process, take you along on my journey to my destination, demonstrate the complexities of space travel and how the game represents them and aids you along, and we’ll finally end our journey together when my probe completes its mission. Let’s begin!

Welcome to the rocket assembly plant. This is where all the action before the mission takes place. It’s here where you pick and choose parts to build your rocket, your probe, your space station, whatever you want. For our mission, I want to land a probe on the moon. The ‘Curiosity’ rover’s landing on Mars this summer has given me some inspiration, and I want to replicate that amazing accomplishment in this game of mine. While some people playing this game actually have designed and flown rovers and probes which function and look like Curiosity, the complexity of that rover is a bit too much for me at the current moment. We’re going to have to settle for something a little more simple.

(Click on images for full size)

How about this? I’ve put together a nice little landing probe. Attached are some solar panels, to provide it with a source of energy for when its deep in its journey and when it lands on the moon, some instruments and scientific gizmos to conduct research and take measurements, some light fixtures to illuminate our landing zone, some landing legs to provide us with a stable landing platform, and finally a nice little rocket and some fuel tanks to slow us on our final descent.

This lander will do a great job landing on the moon (I hope), but it won’t be able to get us there. For that we need to start attaching some rockets. I’m going to add to this probe a decoupler, which when activated will detach the probe from the parts below it, and then add a fuel tank and a rocket engine. Also included in the parts I’m throwing on the rocket are some RCS thrusters, which will allow me to make minute adjustments to my craft’s facing and direction while in space, and a SAS piece, which should provide my rocket with some stability while lifting off and prevent gyrations and other aerodynamic ‘wobbles’ which could ruin my liftoff. This stage should hopefully be powerful enough to transfer me from an orbit around our home planet into an orbit around the moon.This stage still isn’t enough to get us off the ground and into space. For that we’re going to need to pull out the big rockets. I’m attaching a major fuel tank to our smaller stage and the largest engine available to that fuel tank. I’m then attaching two other tanks and engines alongside the side of this fuel tank to provide us with even more thrust and fuel for liftoff. These extra tanks are attached with a decoupler, which will detach them from my rocket when they run out of fuel. To get an idea of what this will do, think about the Space Shuttle and its rocket boosters and how they detach after burning out. Something like that should happen for these fuel tanks. For good measure I’m also going to throw on some canards, which should hopefully provide us with some aerodynamic stability and lift while we’re on our way up into space. I reinforce all of the rocket with some metal rods, which should keep our rocket together in one piece, and we’re ready to go!

This is where it all happens. We’re sitting on the launch pad, waiting to lift off. On the left side of the screen is the information about my stages. Each of the separate stages are shown in a separate box, and each require separate activation to turn on. So, for example, I have to activate my two side engines first, followed by my central engine, and then, once they’re done burning, I need to activate the decouplers. The staging system in this game is really quite simple but allows for complex rocket functionality (as we’ll find out soon enough). The bottom of the screen shows my navigation ball; this provides me with all the navigation information I need to take my rocket and navigate it anywhere in the solar system. It’s quite intimidating at first, but once you get used to it it’s very straight-forward and incredibly useful. Finally, at the top of the screen is my altimeter, a gauge representing my vertical lift (which is useful in telling me if I’m going against the pull of gravity or being drug down) and a scale which shows how much atmosphere I’m still in (atmosphere slows a rocket considerably, so its useful to know when you’re still in or out of it).

Liftoff!

A few seconds later I activate my main, center rocket. By now we’re steadily gaining speed and lifting into the air. My engines are beginning to overheat, but that’s alright; so long as they aren’t pushed to the max, they won’t suffer any damage or lessened performance. I try to keep my rocket pointed straight up by following the alignment of my navigation ball.

Once we’ve hit a considerable altitude (for this rocket, about 30,000 meters), I begin to roll my rocket towards the east by navigating down the navigation ball towards the 90 degree marker. By doing this, I’ll be setting up an orbit which follows the rotation of the planet. This allows me to gain some extra momentum when trying to transfer to the moon. It’s complicated astrophysics stuff, but even a beginner like me, with enough experience, can pick up on some of these rocketry tricks.  turn the engines off. My engines are almost out of fuel, so I turn them off. We’re still gaining altitude, as we’re coasting towards the highest point of our orbit, the apoapsis. It is at the apoapsis where I will throttle my engines back up and try to circularize my orbit; the apoapsis is the point where the least energy and fuel is expended in return for the greatest adjustment to my orbit. Welcome to the map screen. Once you’re off the ground, this is where you spend much of your time. The line in blue is my current path; you can see that it will crash back into the ocean. I need to circularize my orbit, and by doing so actually create an orbit around the planet, by thrusting at my apoapsis. In order to do this, I create a maneuver at the apoapsis. The new orbit produced by this maneuver comes up in orange around my planet, and next to my navigation ball I’m given information about how far away I am from my maneuver point, where I will need to point my rocket during my maneuver, and how long I’ll need to burn my engines in order to accomplish my new orbit. It’s very intuitive, and even though I’m simply making a circular orbit right now using this process, I’m using the same tool which I would use to plan interplanetary transfers, land on other planets, and other very complex things.

After coasting for about a minute (which is how long it takes for my rocket to reach apoapsis), I align myself along the guideline presented to me on my navigation ball and begin to burn my engine for 20 seconds, the amount of time I’m told I need to burn in order to accomplish my new orbit. As I burn, the yellow bar next to my navigation ball begins to decline; this bar tells me how much more thrust I need to expend to achieve my new orbit.

Halfway through my burn, my two side engines run out of fuel. I detach them from my rocket, leaving me with just my center engine.  The discarded engine and fuel tanks will fall back to our planet, where they will be collected by the Kerbal Space Agency for reuse. To compensate for the decreased thrust I’m now putting out, I’m told I need to burn for a little bit longer.

A little bit longer into my burn, and my main engine runs out of fuel. I was hoping to be able to use it during my entire circularization burn, but I have enough fuel left in my upper stage to complete the burn. I detach the main fuel tank, which falls back to our planet, and continue my burn. Because my upper stage puts out much less thrust than the engines on the earlier stage, I need to burn for much longer.

As I expected though, I was still able to complete my maneuver, and I’m now in a fantastic orbit around my planet. Now I need to set up a maneuver to get us to the moon!

I do this by setting up another maneuver on my orbit (I told you this tool was incredibly handy!) This new maneuver will require me to burn my engines for 20 seconds once I’ve gone slightly passed my current orbit’s apoapsis. By doing this, as the new orange orbit line demonstrates, I’ll be in a path which will intersect the gravity of the moon. Once I’m in the moon’s gravity well, I’ll plan another maneuver to circularize my orbit around the moon and then bring my lander down to its surface.

As I maneuver my rocket into the position I need to be once I begin my burn by using my RCS thrusters, I also deploy my solar panels. This game simulates the electrical components of my spacecraft with much detail, meaning that I need to be sure my spacecraft gets energy or else it will power off in mid-flight and be unusable (which has happened to me before, and is quite annoying).

A dozen or so minutes go by, and we approach the point where we need to conduct our next burn. I retract the solar panels, because I don’t want them to get damaged during my burn, and because they’ve provided my batteries with enough energy stores to last us for a while. I’ll reactivate them once we’re on our way to the moon. The burn lasts 20 some seconds, and once it is complete we are on a trajectory which will bring us to the moon!

We’re on our way to the moon!

This game is also quite beautiful, and presents many opportunities for some fantastic photographs. Here our lander is on route to the moon, which stands small in the distance but is getting ever closer.

Three days go past as we’re in transit to the moon until we hit the moon’s gravity well. On the map, my current trajectory shows that I’ll smash head first into the moon! I’ve come in too directly, and the gravity of the moon will pull me straight into it. I thus create a maneuver which will bring me into an elliptical orbit around the moon before that happens; I should have enough fuel to be able to complete this burn and still bring us down for a nice landing.

I complete my burn, which takes only a few seconds, and am placed into an orbit around the moon which won’t result in my smashing straight into it. Meanwhile, I create a second maneuver which will bring me down onto the planet in the point of my choice; in this case, I want to land somewhere where my probe will be able to send messages to the home planet, and thus will be in sight of it. Of note is that my current orbit brings me as close as 5,000 meters to the moon at its periapsis, its lowest point. I’ll be hardly skimming its surface! This will allow me to take some fantastic pictures of the moon’s surface as I fly near; the scientists back home will be very pleased.Passing over the moon at our orbit’s lowest point as our planet slips underneath the horizon.

As I approach the point where I need to conduct my burn to get into a landing trajectory, I prepare my lander for landing. I extend the landing legs and retract my solar panels; they’ll be extended again once I land. I also extend my communications relays to send back information about my current journey to mission control. We’re now in landing mode. No longer can I rely upon the game providing me tools to calculate my orbital adjustments. I must do this all on my own. In order to slow my descent, I begin to burn along a guideline provided to me on my navigation ball which tells me where I must burn to decrease my orbit. I make sure that I burn enough to slow myself but not too much so that I quickly run out of fuel. This continues for at least a good minute. Coming down onto the surface is a slow and difficult task which requires careful maneuvering. One slip up, or if I run out of fuel too high, and my lander will become an experiment in impacting the moon’s surface at high speeds. At about 4,000 meters above the moon’s surface, the second stage of my spacecraft runs out of fuel. I detach it from my craft and it drops quickly to the surface of the moon; iIt has served me well. I was expecting it to run out of fuel as I slowed my descent, because one way or another I needed to detach it from my lander before the actual touchdown occurred. I now activate the rocket on my lander; it will do the rest of the work from here. The lander doesn’t have much fuel or much thrust, but in the vacuum of space the little thrust it does provide will be more than capable of doing the job. I slowly bring down my lander to the moon’s surface.

It requires careful maneuvering and a number of adjustments to the direction I’m pointed and the amount of thrust I’m producing, but after 2 minutes or so of landing, I touch down gently on the moon’s surface.

Mission complete! We’ve landed a lander on the moon!

It now begins taking measurements of the conditions on the moon and starts to relay that information back up to our home planet.

I’ve been observing a simulation of the Europe and the Middle-East from 1066 to 1315, using the grand strategy game Crusader Kings 2. The history that has developed is quite fascinating: Crusader Kings is a deep game that simulates and models feudal relationships, dynamics, intrigue and warfare that was prominent in the Middle Ages, and the world that has developed during the period of my simulation is very representative of that.

By 1315 in my simulation, the world is nothing like it was in the real 1315. However, the direction history took in my simulation is nonetheless fascinating and complete, and using tools available to me in the game I can dig through the events and characters of history to see what happened, who it happened to, when it happened and where. Using this information, I’ve created a mini-history which covers most of the regions of Europe and the Middle East and the powerful kingdoms and sultanates within those regions from 1066 to 1315.

It is absolutely fantastic to watch the world develop in this game, because it is an organic history that flows based on the consequences of the choices made by people and countries which are represented in game. It is a believable history, one which sucked me in while writing it and engrossed me in its complexity as I studied it. It is amazing to think that this can all be done using a video game, but it definitely can. I spent the last 10 hours running a simulation, the last 3 studying the history it produced, the last hour writing it down, but covered a (simulated) 249 year period of time. Its amazing how much can change over such a period of time, and how much you can take away from studying it.

Anyways, here is my history, split into the regions of the world and even further into the specific countries within those regions. I’ve given coverage to major events that have happened, dynasty changes, and other things I deemed worthy of historical reference.

The Medieval world in 1315 (click to expand)

Western Europe:

• Harold of Godwin was killed in battle against the Norwegians and Norway took the throne in 1067, but immediately afterwards they were defeated by, and the throne went into the hands of, William de Normandie. About a month or two after there was a massive revolt across England and Harold’s brother took the crown. England has been in the hands of the Godwin dynasty since.

• Ireland formed in 1194, and has since dominated the Irish isle and much of western Britain. The Athfotla dynasty usurped the Scottish throne from the Dunkleds in 1096 and have since remained seated.

• Following a massive revolt and civil war, France ceased to be on the 31st of October, 1127. The Kingdom title has been unclaimed since, and the Capet dynasty died out within a generation after losing the throne. The territory formerly under French rule has gone back and forth between a number of different duchies and rulers since the collapse of the kingdom. For a while Brittany dominated a large amount of land, and the De Rennes dynasty which ruled Brittany has retained its power in the present by having its members sitting on the thrones of Brittany and Navarra. The powerful duchy of Valois, ruled by the de Valois dynasty, is a recent hegemon that in early 1300 defeated the duchies of Orleans and Champagne to acquire its current boundaries.

Southern Europe:

• Spain was a back-and-forth between the Muslims and the Christians until around 1200, when the Kingdom of Castile centralized all the Christian titles under a single ruler and pushed them out. The Spanish Empire was formed in 1231, but internal instability and a new dynasty (the de Valladolid) on the throne caused the Empire to disintegrate and disappear in 1293. Now Spain is split between the Jimena ruled Kingdoms of Leon, Aragon, and Portugal, the De Valladolid Kingdom of Andalusia, the De Renne kingdom of Navarra, and some remnant Muslim counties in south-eastern Iberia.

• The Kingdom of Sicily formed under the De Hauteville dynasty in 1090, but a successful Egyptian Jihad for Sicily in 1010 pushed them off the throne and an Egyptian sheikh replaced them. The Fatimid Egyptians tenuously ruled Sicily until 1040, when a Crusade led by the Holy Roman Empire won the lands back, and a member of the Staden dynasty, of which a member was the Holy Roman Emperor, was seated on the throne. From 1040 to 1237 they ruled Sicily, waging very successful holy wars through most of North Africa.  A number of Jihads launched against Sicily in that period of time were crushed by the dynastic alliance of Sicily and the Holy Roman Empire, which produced armies numbering in the 20,000s. In 1237 a revolt toppled the Staden dynasty, resulting in some of their Sicilian holdings going to the branch of the family ruling the Holy Roman Empire (hence the HRE’s presence in Sicily) and three other dynasties, the Von Cosenza, the Von Cheiti, and the Von Lecce, holding the kingship until 1290. In 1290 the Staden reclaimed the throne, though they were again overthrown in 1303 by the Von Cheiti. Much of the North African territory held by Sicily was split between the Staden in the Holy Roman Empire, remained in the personal holdings of the Sicilian kings, or revolted to create the independent Christian duchies of Algiers and Fes.

Central and North Europe:

• The Holy Roman Empire experienced a number of revolts through the years, but none have been successful. Indeed, the territory underneath the Emperor has expanded quite significantly since 1066: it came to include much of Southern France and southern Italy. A member of the Staden dynasty, who held the Duchy of Brandenburg, was elected Emperor in 1069, and each of the 8 Emperors elected since have been a Staden. The popularity of the Staden dynasty and their successful rule has enabled them to centralize the power of the Emperor and institute a heavy authority throughout the empire.

• The Republic of Venice has accomplished little, though interestingly of note it has been ruled since 1126 by Christian Doges of the Ashkenazi ethnicity, which is a Judaic culture, and since 1292 by actual Ashkenazi Jews.

• Denmark under the Ylving dynasty did little other than occupy some Pagan lands along the Baltic coast until the latter half of the 12th century. In 1170, however, they pushed a claim on the throne of Norway and won, giving them a massive foothold in Scandinavia. They expanded rapidly afterwards, coming to hold much of Sweden and Finland by 1270 when a revolt in Scandinavia toppled their rule and reduced them to a few scattered holdings and a reduced, though still significant, holding in Finland. In the early 13th century, prior to the collapse of Danish power and the Scandinavian revolt, the Ylving lost the throne to the af Bornholm dynasty.

• Poland expanded throughout the Baltic Pagan lands from 1066 to about 1180, when the last Pagan territories in the Baltic were conquered. Since then, Polish territory has remained basically static. The Piast dynasty lost the throne in 1204 to the Poraj, who in turn lost it in 1305 to a cadet branch of the Trpimirovic dynasty, which has ruled  the Kingdom of Croatia in an unbroken succession from 1066 to the present.

• Hungary was ruled by the Arpad dynasty from 1066 to 1134, during which time it experienced a number of revolts but also significant expansion eastward into Wallachia and even further into the Crimea through victorious holy wars against the Terteroba Khanate. In 1146, the Arpad were overthrown and replaced by the Poth dynasty, though they retained much of their holdings and using their still significant power rebelled and regained their throne in 1165. Following the Arpad restoration Hungary consolidated its holdings, though it lost some of its northern territory to the Kingdom of Poland. In 1225 a cadet branch of a French noble family with meager holdings in the quagmire that was disintegrated France, the de Bourgogne, came to inherit the throne. A foreign family on the throne was unpopular with the Hungarian nobility, and by 1281 the de Bourgogne were overthrown again by the Poth. The Poth did not manage to hold onto power for long, however, and in 1281 the de Bourgogne pressed their lost claims in Hungary and regained the kingdom. During this civil war, many of the Hungarian holdings in Wallachia and the Crimea secured their independence, creating new duchies and a Kingdom of Crimea ruled by ethnic Hungarians.

Eastern Europe:

• The Grand Principality of Kiev, ruled by the Russian Rurikovich dynasty, quickly consolidated power by incorporating smaller duchies held by other members of the family.  The Grand Principality of Muscowy, also ruled by the Rurikovich, was formed in 1086 from the lands to the east of Kiev which had not yet been incorporated. These two principalities struggled for power back and forth, but rapidly expanded through the remaining Orthodox lands until they were the only two political entities in the Christian East. Kiev had completely conquered the Pagan lands in Siberia and the Russian North by the end of the 13th century. The Rurikovich have remained seated securely on thrones of both principalities since 1066, and almost every duke in Kiev and Muscowy has a dynastic tie to the Grand Princes. Although the ruling nobility of Kiev and Muscowy practice traditional Orthodox Christianity, there is a significant Iconoclast movement in eastern Kiev.

• From 1066 until the second half of the 13th century, a significant Pagan kingdom existed in Estonia. Ruled by Baltic Chiefs of the Suomensuko Pagan religion, the Chiefdom of Estonia at its greatest extent ruled a territory stretching across the Baltic coast, incorporating almost all of the land in Estonia and Livonia, and extending into Finland. The combined forces of Poland, Kiev, and Denmark eventually drained the strength of the Pagan Chiefdom, and its territories were finally all conquered by 1254. This chiefdom was ruled unbroken by the Parn dynasty. Interestingly, from 1174 to 1193 the ruling Chief practiced Orthodox Christianity, having been converted by his tutor during his early childhood. He did not manage to Christianize his lands, however, and his Pagan son reverted any religious conversion he made upon his death.

• The Kotyan Khanate came to being in 1288, when the Terteroba dynasty of the Terteroba Khanate was overthrown and their lands incorporated into the Kotyan Khanate. The Terteroba ruled from 1066 to 1288, and once possessed an empire which stretched from the Russian steppes into Wallachia and along the border of Hungary. Though much of their central European possessions were captured in holy wars by the Hungarian, the Terteroba were able to capture a significant portion of territory in Russia held by the Principality of Muscowy and the Muslim Bulgars around the middle of the 12th century.  In the middle of the 13th century, they expanded south into Seljuk Turk territory once held by the Kingdom of Georgia but captured in the 1160s. The Kotyan, like their Terteroba predecessors, are followers of the  North Pagan Tengri faith, and much of the territory held by the Kotyan Khanate practices Tengri.

• The Byzantine Empire has experienced a number of ups and downs during the years between 1066 and 1315. They lost the Seljuk-Byzantine war against the Seljuk Turks in 1070, and with it most of their territorial possessions in Eastern Anatolia. In the period of time between 1070 and the 1240s, the Muslim neighbors of the Byzantines engaged in a number of border wars with them, but very little territorial concessions were given. Though strong when operating as a cohesive political entity, the Byzantine Empire had been severely weakened over the years by a number of revolts and political instability. During one such revolt in 1101 the Doukas dynasty was forced off the throne and replaced by the Pleustes dynasty. Under the rule of the new dynasty, the Byzantine Empire captured territories to its west, conquering portions of Croatia and the independent Duchy of Duklja. Imperial integrity was also largely restored, and the authority of the emperor was greatly expanded. The Pleustes ruled the Byzantine Empire until 1248, when another massive revolt against the tyranny of Empress Markia I removed them from the throne and replaced them with Makrembolites dynasty. This revolt also shattered the Byzantine Empire, with much of its territory declaring independence and splitting from the ruler in Constantinople. The Muslims to the East exploited this shattered political landscape, and captured large portions of Anatolia in the period between 1248 and 1270. Cognizant of their relative weakness and tenuous position, many of the rulers who had declared independence in 1248 returned to Empire near the end of the 13th century. The Byzantine Empire is now once again a single political entity, and the Makrembolites enjoy relative stability and popularity. The Kingdom of Epirus in Greece, however, has yet to be reincorporated into the Empire, and the Basiliakos dynasty which rules it does not appear to be willing to return to Imperial domination.

Middle East:

• The Elesbaam Sultanate stretches from the center of North Africa across Egypt, into the Arabian Peninsula and into Syria and the Levant. It was originally ruled by the Fatimid dynasty, who expanded the borders of the Sultanate into Syria and Arabia following a number of successful wars against a splintered Seljuk Sultanate and weak Arabian tribes. They also managed to fight and win a Jihad in Sicily, where they would rule until a Crusade expelled them 1040. In 1134 the Fatimids were overthrown and the Bardawilid dynasty took the throne. The sultanate was weakened from internal instability during the rule of the Bardawilid, however, and their reign did not last long: following a number of revolts during the 1150s the Elesbaam dynasty came into power in 1163. Under Elesbaam rule the sultanate was consolidated, the power of the sultan was centralized, and his authority increased. During the 1280s, the Elesbaam recaptured much of North Africa which had been earlier lost to Sicily, exploiting the instability and civil war which was paralyzing Sicily during that decade. The Elesbaam Sultanate stretched the domain of Shi’ism, and the Fatimid Shia Caliphs still enjoy a high position in the Elesbaam court. However, much of Arabia at present is  Mu’tazilite, which is a Sunni heresy.

• The Persian Sultanate, which stretched across Persia and into Anatolia, experienced a number of advances and setbacks from the period of 1066 to 1180 under the rule of the Seljuk dynasty. The Seljuks captured large swaths of Byzantine territory throughout the 11th century and in the early 12th century expanded northward into the Caucasus to capture and destroy the Kingdom of Georgia. They also spread Sunni Islam throughout the region. The expansion of the authority of the Seljuk Sultans, however, was highly unpopular with the ruling nobility of the Sultanate, and political instability was rife during the middle and towards the end of the 12th century. In 1180, a massive revolt against Seljuk rule overthrew them and replaced them with the Abolhassan dynasty, but they too were unable to quell the anger of the Persian nobility and were themselves overthrown in 1189 and replaced by the Hussain dynasty. The Hussain ruled a much weakened and unstable Persia until 1220, when the Mongol Ilkhanate appeared from the East and swiftly captured much of its territory. As the Persian sultanate disintegrated, its Western holdings were either incorporated into the Elesbaam Sultanate or declared independence. The Al-Shami Sultanate in Anatolia was the largest and most prominent of these successor states, though a number of revolts against Al-Shami rule in the later 13th century saw a number of smaller sultanates, such as the Kartli Sultanate in the Caucasus and the Orhan Sultanate just South of that declare their independence. When the Byzantine Empire experienced its period of disintegration through the latter half of the 13th century, the Al-Shami Sultanate exploited the situation and expanded quite significantly farther West into Anatolia.

• The Golden Horde appeared in 1228, and soon incorporated and captured much of the territory won by the Mongol Ilkhanate early in the 13th century. They spread rapidly across Persia, destroying any of political entities that they crossed. However, they were halted in the latter half of the 13th century when confronted with the borders of the Elesbaam Sultanate and Kotyan Khanate, which were both significant military adversaries and which could cause the Mongols many military and strategic setbacks. In  1280, facing internal pressures from the Muslim population it dominated, the ruling class of the Golden Horde converted to Sunni Islam. The Golden Horde continues its expansion Westward in the present day, albeit at a slower pace and with more caution facing the large political entities right on its border.

In early January, 1805, near the Alpine town of Trient, a small skirmish was fought between the Empire of France and the Austrian Empire. The French army, lead by Jean-Andre Massena, consisted of an artillery battery, two regiments of foot, and a cavalry regiment. Massena was an incredible military general who had fought brilliantly in Napoleon’s Italian campaign. The Austrian army attacking him was composed of a larger infantry force, more cavalry regiments, and an artillery battery. It was led by Karl Von Osterreich, considered one of Napoleon’s most formidable opponents.

The two armies met at an opening near a small village. The Austrian infantry line marched towards the French, who had made their line near the village. Massena sent his cavalry to flank around and engage the Austrian battery. It was guarded by Hungarian Hussars enlisted into the Austrian army. They made up a formidable cavalry regiment.

Click on pictures to enlargeThe French cavalry flanked around and charged the Austrian battery, which had not yet unlimbered. The Austrian cavalry rushed to the defense, charging the French.  In the clash which ensued, the French overpowered and defeated the Austrians, and annihilated the artillery battery.

Meanwhile, the French had their own battery set up and engaging the Austrian force. It had deployed on a hill to the left of the French line, and had a good line of sight on the Austrians as they marched towards the French line. The bombardment of the Austrian troops was deadly, taking them down as they crossed the field.  In response, they swung a regiment round to move against the battery.

The two forces met and clashed. The French line waited until the Austrians came into range and then opened up with full force. The Austrian lines responded in kind, and many troops fell on both sides. Massena sat saddled in his horse behind his line, shouting words of encouragement and passing orders to officers.

The Austrians, larger in size, decided to try to overwhelm the French and charged their lines. The melee was brutal, hand to hand combat with bayonets is a deadly and gory business. The French Fusiliers, through courage and valor, managed to overcome the assault and push back the Austrian assault. As the Austrians fled, they formed into defensive formations and prepared for further attack.

While the Austrian infantry was in melee battle, their cavalry charged the French lines, trying to weaken the defense and send into disarray. The charge was powerful, and the thrust broke one of the lines. The Hungarian Hussars were courageous in their assault, but the French, secure in the square, were still stronger and repulsed the attack.

Protect the colors!

The Austrian infantry reform against the French, and engage them with musket. The French force is strong, however, and manages to withstand the incoming fire. They return fire, and after some back and forth of volleys the Austrian force was again shattered. It fled from the battle.

The Austrian assault was repulsed. The Hussars attacking the French were retreating, and the Austrian foot infantry was as well. The French cavalry, which had down the fleeing battery troops, had now returned to catch the Austrians in flight. They rounded up surrendering prisoners, and cut down those who refused to put down arms. The battlefield was covered in the fallen.

Massena saw the Austrian rout and wanted to get in on the action. He ordered his bodyguard detachment forward from behind the lines and into the thick of battle. As he rushed in, he helped bring down the fleeing enemy. Not all the Austrians were caught in disarray, and one of them brought down Massena’s horse with a bayonet thrust as it passed. Massena, knocked senseless from the crash, was seized by some of the enemy and killed.

The bodyguard, having fought for and recovered Massena’s body, now fled the battle. The Austrians had more cavalry to bring up, and the French infantry, cocky from the recent victory, was charged by another Hungarian regiment. As the charging horses approached, the French let off volleys of fire that brought some of their enemy down.

This fresh regiment of cavalry put up a fight, and they brought down a number of Frenchmen with their swords. The infantry not engaged in melee took upon their musket to shoot down the horsemen, and the Hussars were soon depleted in numbers and disengaged from the battle. The French cavalry attacked the Austrian bodyguard, which had moved close to the fight.

The horsemen fought brutally with each other, slashing with sword and shooting with pistol, Karl von Osterreich was in the middle of it. A bullet from a French pistol caught the general in the shoulder, and he was knocked off his horse. A bodyguard of his nearby immediately rushed to the fallen general, hoisted him upon his horse, and rode off from the battle. The French tried to follow in pursuit, but could not disengage from battle.

The French infantry brought down any stragglers and fleeing troops which passed within range. The battlefield was a bloody scene. For the French, the day had been won. The fleeing Austrian troops were in full retreat, and their troops were dispersing across the Alpine countryside and into the forests.

The day was a victory for France. In a battle which placed 2500 Austrian troops  against 2000 French, the French had killed or captured 1300 of their enemy while the Austrians only 400. The Austrian force was in flight, and would no longer pose a threat in the region. Its general, a man of quite some military renown and a considerable threat, was placed out of action for the considerable future. His injuries were of quite severe extent. However, the loss of Jean-Andre Massena was an enormous loss for the French, who lamented heavily over their slain hero. He was a man who would have contributed heavily to the future campaigns Napoleon intended, and his loss was a serious setback.