Kings and Generals

We have always been fascinated with tactics of the past and the ways generals were able to win the battles against the overwhelming odds. In this video we list 10 antique and medieval tactics and formations that we consider most interesting.

After the long wait, Kings and Generals Animated Historical Documentary Series is back! We spend considerable time learning new tricks and creating new effects and assets, so we really hope that you will like our new direction. This video is dedicated to the war of 602 - 628 between the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) and Sassanid Shahdom. This conflict was the very last that happened between these two empires, as shortly after it ended, Sasanians were conquered by the Caliphate. The sheer devastation and meaninglessness of this war allowed it to be a turning point in the human history.

A new week and a new documentary. This time we make a big step towards the modern era with the War of 1600-1611 between the Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania and the Kingdom of Sweden. Although this war has some impressive and memorable engagements, we decided to focus on the battle of Kirchholm (Salaspils) of 1605. This battle proved the tactical genius of the leader of Poland, the Grand Hetman of Lithuania Jan Karol Chodkiewicz and the dominance of the Winged Hussars who demonstrated that fearsome tercios can be defeated by the cavalry.

In our previous video, we covered the Byzantine – Sasanian War of 602–628. As that conflict and Initial Muslim Invasion are connected, we decided to make the video on the Battle of Yarmouk that took place in 636 between Byzantine Empire (Vahan) and Rashidun Caliphate (Khalid ibn Al Walid). Although it was the Byzantine - Sasanian War that allowed Islamic Invasion to happen, the battle of Yarmouk was decisive for Roman attempts to defend, and its results are still felt in the region.

Reconquista is one of the most remarkable events in history. By 718 Islamic Invasion reached and then took over most of the Pyrenees, save for a remote region in the north. Spanish and Portuguese people fought for almost 800 years to reconquer the Christian lands, and that long struggle built them up and allowed to grow into empires that dominated the world for a few more centuries. This is a documentary on the general events of Reconquista and the decisive battle of Las Navas De Tolosa that took place in 1212 between the alliance of Aragon, Castile, Portugal, Navarre, knightly orders of Santiago, Calatrava, Templars and the Almohad Caliphate.

Welcome to the newest edition of the Kings and Generals! In this video we are going to cover the Final war of the Roman Republic between general Mark Antony (Marcus Antonius) and queen of Egypt Cleopatra on one side and Gaius Octavian (Octavius) Caesar on the other. This war ended the republic and made Octavian the first emperor of Rome. The naval battle of Actium (31 BC) was central in this conflict - it was one of the largest naval engagements of the ancient times and probably one of the most decisive.

Fertile Crescent was one of the first regions human civilization started. Cultures of the Bronze Age fought over it for centuries and conflicts in this region now called the Middle East are still continuing. The war between Egypt and Hittites was one of the first recorded in history, and the battle of Kadesh of 1274 BC is probably the first we have a detailed account of. Both empires were vying for the dominance over this ancient city, and the engagement was bloody. Neither Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II or Hittite king Muwatalli II are considered great generals, but both them implemented some very interesting tactical maneuvers during this battle.

The Ottoman invasion of Europe was truly challenged for the first time during the Battle of Kosovo of 1389. The Serbs and other Balkan peoples alongside their allies from Western and Eastern Europe fought valiantly against overwhelming odds and although they lost, the foundation of the future resistance, that continued until the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, was set. This battle was also remarkable due to the fact that leaders of both armies were killed during it. Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović died in the battle and Sultan Murad I was assassinated by the Serbian knight Miloš Obilić, who was killed shortly after. All three are considered martyrs by their people and the spirit of this battle is still part of the bitter animosity…

Two of the very first civilizations - Greek and Persian - fought for millennia, so it is not a surprise that some of the most memorable battles of the ancient era were between them. The battle of Salamis of 480 BC was central in defence of free Greece against the Persian invasion and can be considered a focal point the history of mankind. Enjoy the video and then join us in the comments section!

Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the most talented military leaders in the history, so every battle he fought is fascinating, as well as his complete knowledge of tactical and strategic aspects of the war. He was part of the French Revolution and ended it, he was the biggest conqueror of Europe, but also brought its unity closer. The battle of Marengo of 1800, which took place during the War of the Second Coalition between Napoleon and Austrian troops under Baron Michael von Melas is interesting, as French leader committed a big mistake, but was able to score a big victory through sheer will and tactical acumen.

The Ottoman invasion that was ramping up despite heavy losses in the battle of Kosovo in 1389, was met with growing resistance. The King of Hungary Sigismund called for one of the last a crusade in history and the Crusader army consisting of forces from France, Burgundy, Hungary, Wallachia, Bulgaria, England, Aragon, Germany, Bohemia, Poland, Teutonic Order and Knights Hospitaller fought the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I (Yıldırım Bayezid) and the Prince of Serbia Stefan Lazarević at Nicopolis in Bulgaria (Никопол | Niğbolu).

The fall of the Western Roman Empire prompted a response from the Eastern Empire. Emperor Justinian was eager to restore Rome to its former glory, but he first needed to deal with the Sassanid Empire to the East. Iberian War of 526-532 gave him this chance, ashis new commander Belisarius showed his mettle and talent in the battle of Dara and other engagements.

Commanders always look for a way to get an advantage and so they choose the best possible location for the battles. And as such locations usually have a suitable terrain or are in the vicinity of the economic or political center, historically decisive battles had a tendency to happen in the same places over and over. We know about half-dozen battles of Thermopylae and Kosovo, and so many other geographical locations had multiple battles. For India it is the city of Panipat, just under 100 kilometers away from the capital Delhi. Three crucial fights happened here and they decided the fate of the entire subcontinent for centuries. In this documentary we are covering two of these battles that happened in 1526 and 1556. The Mughal Empire led by Babur and Akbar had to fight against the Delhi Sultanate of Ibrahim Lodi and the armies of the Sur Empire under the command of Hemu at Panipat to prove its dominance. Let's see how these events unfolded.

Despite heavy casualties during the battle of Kosovo (1389) against a broad alliance of the Balkan peoples led by Serbian lord Lazar and battle of Nicopolis (1396) against European Crusaders led by Jean of Never, Sigismund I of Hungary and Mircea I of Wallachia, Ottoman empire continued to expand under the leadership of sultan Yildirim Bayezid I. To the east new empire under amir Timur (Tamerlane) was on the rise and as the borders of two empires touched, the war was inevitable. The battle of Ankara of 1402 was one of the biggest fought between the Muslim empires. At the same time, results of this massive battle impacted Ottoman, Timurid, Byzantine empires and changed the course of the history of Europe, Asia, Middle East and Balkans.

Napoleon Bonaparte fought all his battles on land, but no other battle influenced his military and political decisions as the battle of Trafalgar that was fought in 1805 off the coast of Spain between the allied Franco-Spanish fleet lead by the admirals Pierre-Charles Villeneuve and Federico Gravina and the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom commanded by the admirals Horatio Nelson and Cuthbert Collingwood. This is our first video on the War of the Third Coalition and second video in this series. We hope to have much more and cover all the Napoleonic Wars.

We decided to slowly remake all of our old documentaries, as current quality of narration and animation is much higher than the one we had before. We want our viewers to know that we will always strive to produce the best quality videos. This documentary is on Roman - Seleucid Syrian War of 192-188 BC (also known as War of Antiochus) and the battles of Thermopylae and Magnesia. Both the Roman Republic and the Seleucid empires were vying for control over Greece and Eastern Mediterranean and their war reshaped the map of the region in the II century BC and was the most significant conflict of its time with a quarter of a million warriors taking part in the hostilities on both sides.

Although the best general of the Roman Emperor Justinian Belisarius earned a significant victory over the Sassanids during the battle of Dara in 530, the restoration of the Empire was just starting. Empires western lands were under Germanic control, and Justinian was eager to get them back. He sent Belisarius to Africa to deal with the Vandals. Two battles - Ad Decimum and Tricamarum were central in this campaign.

The Roman era came to a complete end more than 5 centuries ago, but it still one of the most discussed historical periods. One of the discussions is on the prominent figures of Rome and Byzantium. Some of them are called the Last Romans - Ultimus Romanorum, which signifies their deeds and exploits. This is our, highly opinionated list of the Last Romans.

We are continuing our documentary series on the Napoleonic Wars and this time we are covering the land portion of the War of third Coalition (1805) in which Napoleon faced the forces of Britain, Russia, Austria and Naples. This video depicts the overall campaign and the battles of Ulm and Austerlitz, both of which are considered some of the finest in the career of the French Emperor. The strategic and tactical moves made during these battles are still learned in the military schools and rightly so - Napoleon Bonapart proved that he was the best general of his time.

The Crisis of the Third Century was one of the events that brought the Roman empire to the brink of collapse: Economic crisis, internal strifes and foreign incursions continued for decades, while around 50 emperors and pretenders competed for the throne. A number of political and military leaders, among them Odaenathus, Aurelian, and Diocletian attempted to keep the territory of the Empire intact, while a number of Germanic tribes and the newly formed Sassanid Empire attacked it relentlessly. New states called the Palmyran Empire, and Gallic empire wer founded and the Roman Empire was truly divided.

A new week and a new documentary. We are continuing our series on the Napoleonic wars. This time we are covering the twin battles of Jena and Aurstedt between France and Prussia. It was the start of the War of the Fourth Coalition, and Napoleon and his marshals were tested once again.

The Hundred Years' War of 1337-1453 between France and England is one of the most crucial conflicts in the history of Europe. It changed the social, political and cultural outlook of the countries involved, influenced the change in warfare, brought the end of feudalism closer. The first phase of this war is called the Edwardian War, and one of the most decisive engagements of this conflict was the battle of Crecy (1346).

The defeat at Ankara in 1402 was the first real setback for the Ottoman empire. Its sultan - Bayezid became a hostage of the new conqueror Timur, and soon sons of the sultan started fighting each other in order to get to the throne. This period is called Ottoman Interregnum, but it was basically a Civil War between 6 princes. Eventually, this civil war came to an end, and as the agressive invasion of the South and Central Europe continued, Hungary, Poland, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Transylvania, Lithuania, Wallachia, Bohemia, Ruthenia and others started a crusade called the Crusade of Varna against the Ottoman sultan Murad II. The crusade was concluded in 1444 with the battle of Varna between Murad II on one side, king of Poland and Hungary Wladyslaw III and voivode of Transylvania John Hunyadi on the other.

Despite his decisive victories over Austria and Russia at Austerlitz in 1805 and over Prussia at the twin battles of Jena-Auerstedt in 1806, Napoleon Bonaparte wasn't able to end the war. In 1807 a new Russian army under the generals Bennigsen, Barclay de Tolly and Bagration supported by the Prussian forces of L'Estocq challenged the emperor and his marshals Ney, Davout, Murat, Augereau, Soult at the battle of Eylau during the War of the Fourth Coalition.

Previously we covered the first two battles of Panipat during which the Mughal Empire and its emperors Babur and Akbar fought against the Lodhi dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate and Hemu of the Sur Empire. Although these victories were decisive in their nature, the Mughals continued facing new enemies, as their incursion into the central and western India was met with the resistance of the local Rajput states. The prolonged conflict led to one of the most iconic engagements in the Indian history - the battle of Haldighati of 1576 between Akbur's general Man Singh and the Maharana (King) of Mewar Pratap.

The Baltic tribes were the last pagans of Europe and both the Pope and the Holy Roman Empire were interested in baptizing them. However, this process was not peaceful and two knightly orders were tasked with bringing the new faith to the Baltics - Teutonic and Livonian. Their activity, that would be later known as the Northern Crusades, led to a number of wars with the Kingdom of Poland and the Great Duchy of Lithuania. Eventually, these states entered a union. The ensuing war between the Polish-Lithuanian alliance and the Teutonic Order culminated in the battle of Grunwald in 1410.

After three years of the constant campaigning and the battles of Ulm, Austerlitz, Jena-Auerstedt and Eylau the Grand Army of emperor Napoleon had to face the Russian troops of Bennigsen one last time during the War of the Fourth Coalition. The battle of Friedland decided the fate of the conflict and reshaped the map of Europe.