The Gang of Five
Beyond the Mysterious Beyond => The Party Room => Brain Food => Topic started by: Myrkin on June 02, 2009, 03:39:34 PM
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It is like all other historic games here and it is about Poland (my country ;) ). I will start it with rather easy question.
In which year the Constitution of Third May was adopted and what is it generally regarded as?
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The year was 1791 and it stands out as Europe's first modern national constitution (Revolution was still going on "unconstitutionalized" in France at the time).
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That is right answer. It is your turn now (or should I keep asking questions?).
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No, don't worry, here is my question:
Which Polish king was considered the savior of the occident in 17th century and why was he?
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John III Sobieski, because he was instrumental in beating the Turks at Vienna.
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Aye, that's right. Your turn.
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What is the Great Emigration?
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This was an emigration of political elites in years from 1831 to 1870. The people left mainly after the failure of November Uprising and third partition, which resulted in erasing Poland from political maps.
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Correct. Your turn, Myrkin.
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Which king is known for "founding Poland in wood and lefting her in brick" and why?
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Casimir III the Great, because of his many building projects.
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Correct. Your turn.
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There's probably nothing I can ask that you don't know the answer to... heh. Yes, as someone of half-Polish descent (my other half is Italian), I find this to be an interesting quiz.
What four-legged animal genus does the USA and Poland have in common that was nearly driven to extinction in both lands by the late 1800's?
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Is it a bos?
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Yes, that answer will do. I was looking for "bison", but "bos" or "bos bison" works as well.
Your turn, Myrkin.
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Which king regained Livonia for the Poland from Russia in XVI century and how he did it?
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After 24 years of war between Russia on the one and a union of Poland and Lithauania on the other side the war was ended with the truce of Jam Zapolski in 1582. Stephen B·thory represented Poland and Lithauania in the negotiations over the truce. Russian Czar Ivan IV (better known by his nickname "the terrible") gave up Russian claims to Livonia and Polotsk but in return the Polish and Lithauanians gave up some territories they had occupied in the course of the war and lifted the siege of Pskov. The truth was (after it had been extended in 1600) broken when Poland attacked Muscovy in 1605.
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This is the right answer. Your turn, Malte.
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From the 16th to the 18th century Poland's army included a kind of cavalry which was named after a peculiar piece of their equipment. What was their name, what was the equipment and what was the use of that equipment?
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Would that be the "Towarzysz pancerny"; named after their chainmail armor, called a "pancerz", which protected them?
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Nope, the equipment we are talking about was a bit more peculiar and special than chainmail.
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Would the unit be the Hussars?
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A kind of Hussars, but the Polish Hussars of that kind had a unique piece of equipment which contributed to their name. What was that equipment, what was their name, and what was the use of that equipment (there are in fact several uses of it).
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Would that be their ceremonial wings?
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We are talking of the "Winged Hussars", but their wings were by no means ceremonial only but were worn in battle too and had several concrete purposes.
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It is said that the sound made by these wings (when rider was moving) was supposed to scare enemy's horses. Another theory is that these wings helped the rider to keep his balance during the charge.
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Aye, I guess first it must have been an intimidating sight to have all those riders "enhanced" by their wings coming at you (crest and plumes found in military dress all around the world basically serve that purpose (it would frighten not only the horses of the enemy). The effect is of course much more pronounced if it is a mass of people with that dress rather than an individual), then there is that whistling noise which those wings gave. Furthermore the poles of the wings worked as a kind of protection of the riders back against slashes (most of them wore armour but mostly on their front, often a cuirass which however did not offer much protection to the back), finally the wings also worked as a protection against the lassos which were sometimes used by Tatars to unhorse and / or strangle their opponents.
Your turn Myrkin.
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Right. What was the tactic usualy used by winged hussars against infantry (armed with muskets and pikes) and why it was so efficient?
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Approaching the enemy formations slowly and spread out far but picking up speed and closing ranks while approaching the enemy? Their heavy armor provided good protection even in the early modern period and by massing the attackers only very late at the spot where the main weight of the attack was to fell they didn't allow the enemy infantry (spread out to meet the initially spread out line of approaching cavalry) to mass at the critical point in time. This way such an attack had a good chance of breaking the lines of the infantry and send them in a rout (the most dangerous state for infantry to be in against cavalry).