← Military & Defence

Historical Battles and Invasions

Illustrations depicting significant battles and invasions throughout history, highlighting strategy and combat between various factions.

The Battle of Taillebourg, Illustration from John Cassell's Illustrated History of England, Vol. I from the earliest period to the reign of Edward the Fourth, Cassell, Petter and Galpin, 1857

Horatius defends the Pons Sublicius during the war between Rome and Clusium. There were a series of wars between the Romans and Etruscans, the War with Clusium happening circa 508 BC. When Lars Pors

British Army on the march transporting weapons and supplies during their 1868 expedition to Abyssinia, Ethiopia. Old 19th century engraved, Narrative of a Journey through Abyssinia by Guillaume Lejean from El Mundo en La Mano 1879

War of Africa (1859-1860). Conflict between Spain and Morocco. Entrance of the Spanish troops in Tetouan, February 6, 1860. Take of the city of Tetouan by the Spanish artillery and infantry. Three-color lithography by Bernardo Blanco y Perez (1828-1876). Stamp number 13 of Episodes of the War of Africa. Museum of Romanticism, Madrid, Spain.

Die Kaiserparade auf Longchamp bei Paris am 3. März 1871, Frankreich, Historisch, digital restaurierte Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. ...

Guerra Ruso-Japonesa (1904-1905). Charanga rusa que acompañó a los combatientes en la batalla del río Yalú y que acabó con victoria japonesa. Cromo de Chocolates Amatller. Año 1905. Author: Apel·les Mestres Oñós.

Battle of Marston Moor, drawn by Emile Bayard, Illustration, Ridpath's History of the World, Volume III, by John Clark Ridpath, LL. D., Merrill & Baker Publishers, New York, 1897

The recapture of Baghdad by the Ottoman Empire from the Safavids in 1638 during the Ottoman-Safavid War, 1623-1639. After an 18th century work by Caspar Luyken.

Party at the camp of Boulogne, vintage engraving. Party at the camp of Boulogne, vintage engraved illustration. History of France 1885. Copyright: xZoonar.com/PatrickxGuenettex 10656436

Juliusz Kossak, John III at Vienna. Zorza (Kraków ; zakład fotograficzny), photo studio

Catalunya. Siglo XV. Cerco y asalto de Barcelona por las tropas del rey Juan II de Aragón en octubre de 1472. Grabado de 1881.

The killing of three Spaniards and the torture of Juan Ortiz, 1543. Ortiz was captured by the Uzita while searching for a lost expedition and managed to escape to Mocoso. He served Hernando de Soto as interpreter as he travelled to Apalachee.

Ancient Age. Grecian warriors on foot. Engraving. Iconographic Encyclopaedia of science, Literature and Art. 19th century. Author: HENRY WINKLES. Johan George Heck.

The Triumph of Constantine over Maxentius. It took place at the Battle of Milvian Bridge, one of the bridges over the River Tiber in Rome, on 28 October 312. Constantine I the Great (272-337) engaged and defeated the army of Maxentius (276-312). Engraving by Huyot after an illustration by Charles Le Brun (1619-1690), engraved by Gérard Audran (1640-1703) in 1666. Colorised.

Harold II, King of England, fights for his life in vain at the Battle of Hastings, where he is defeated and killed by the invading Norman forces under the command of William the Conqueror Date: 14 October 1066

Amusements in the camp of the London Scottish regiment, Wimbledon, south-west London, 1871. Entertainment during '...the twelfth annual meeting of volunteers on Wimbledon-common for competition in shooting, under the direction of the National Rifle Association'. From "Illustrated London News", 1871.

Death of Count William IV, 1345, 1853 - 1855 print Count William IV van Holland and Hainaut is killed by the Frisians in an ambush at Stavoren, September 26, 1345. The count stands with the sword above the shoulder in the middle of a wild fight. On the right in the background a church tower with clouds of smoke. Netherlands paper Stavoren

World War Two: Patriotic Russian war postcard depicting Russian forces were at the gates of Berlin 1760

The fall of Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick, 1815, Anonymous, Friedrich Campe, 1815

Iberian Peninsula. Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, El Cid, (ca. 1048-1099) and the Count of Barcelona, Berenguer Ramón II (ca. 1053-1097), were in conflict because of the Count's involvement in Taifa disputes. El Cid took Berenguer Ramon II prisoner on two occasions. Count Berenguer Ramón II before El Cid. Engraving by Serra Pausas. "Glorias Españolas" (Glories of Spain). Volume II. Published in Barcelona, 1890. Author: Joan Serra Pausas (active 1861-1902).

Vercingetorix Throwing His Arms at the Feet of Julius Caesar, Vercingetorix, 82 B. C. 46 B. King and chieftain of the Arverni tribe, united the Gauls in a revolt against Roman troops during the final phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars, History of Ancient Rome, Roman Empire, Italy, Historical, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, Europe

The defeat of the Iroquois by Champlain and his party on Lake Champlain. From a drawing in Champlain's Voyages, 1613.

Johan de Witt attacked and seriously injured, 1672.Art pensioner Johan de Witt is attacked on the street by a group of armed men led by Jacob de Graef and gets badly injured, June 1672

events Eighty Years' War 1568 - 1648 execution of the Counts of Egmond and Hoorn Brussels 5.6.1568 contemporary copper with portraits,

The arrest of Guy Fawkes (1570-1606), c1902. Artist: Unknown

An engraving depicting a scene during the French Revolution of February 1848. Dated 19th century

Peninsular War (1808-1814). French troops under the command of General Lechi occupied the castle of Montgat on June 16, 1808. On July 31, an attack was launched to recapture the castle. A Spanish and an English frigate lined up with the castle and began a maneuver. Simultaneously the companies of miqueletes intervened, helped by the somatenes of the area of Montgat and Premiá. The French troops were captured inside the castle by an English detachment that had disembarked from one of the frigates. Capture of the castle of Mongat by the Sometent. Illustration by Serra Pausas. "Glorias Españolas" (Glories of Spain). Volume IV. Published in Barcelona, 1890. Author: Joan Serra Pausas (active 1861-1902). Spanish artist.

France, 1500-1575. Louis XII, Francis I, Henry II, Charles IX. 1910. Vinkhuijzen, Hendrik Jacobus. still image. Illustrations. General Research Division. Military uniforms , History, France

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez / 'The Surrender of Breda or The Lances', 1635, Spanish School, Oil on canvas, 307 cm x 367 cm, P01172. Museum: MUSEO DEL PRADO, MADRID, SPAIN.

Massacre of the conspirators in the Tcheragan Palace during the Russo-Turkish War, 1878. The conspirators planned to carry off Murad and proclaim him Sultan. Notice of the plot having been given, thre

15th century French representation of battle between Bacchides, general of Demetrius I Soter (c187-150 BC) Seleucid King of Syria, and Jonathan during 160 BC campaign crushing Jewish rebellion (Maccabean Revolt). Soldiers in 15th century armour and mail fighting with swords, battleaxes and spears with infantry armed with pikes in background. Chromolithograph

Louis II de la Tremoille (1460-1525). French General. Mad War (1485-1488). La Tremoille deciding to kill the accomplices of the Duke of Orleans. Engraving by E. Deschamps. Universal Library. Popular Publications, 1851. Colored.

Historia Antigua. Grecia. Caza del oso. Grabado alemán de 1865.

Entry of King Henry IV into Paris on March 22, 1594

Dramatic process-litho of the charge of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaklava, Crimean War focusing on the horses, made 20 years after the event. This image was originally entitled 'While Horse and Hero Fell'. Date: 1875

The defensive wall with field artillery cannons of the Sikh Empire, Battle of Ferozeshah, First Anglo-Sikh War, 1845 The defensive wall with field artillery cannons of the Sikh Empire, Battle of Ferozeshah, First Anglo-Sikh War, 1845 Copyright: xZoonar.com/Heinz-DieterxFalkensteinx 21664962

Protestants attacking Bourges, December 1569, engraving by Franz Hogenberg (1535-1590). Wars of Religion, France, 16th century.

Field Marshal Salytkov's victory over the Prussian army at Frankfurt an der Oder on August 12, 1759.

Spanish conquest of Mexico (1520). Hernàn Cort_s in the battle of Otumba (7th July 1520). Anonymous author. Oil on canvas. SPAIN. CASTILE-LA MANCHA. Toledo. Army Museum.

Guerra de Marruecos (1911-1927). Ofensiva Franco-Española. Tropas españolas desembarcando en Morro Nuevo. Dibujo de A. Mestres.

Guerra de Troya. Aquiles arrastra en su carro de guerra el cadáver de Héctor. Grabado de 1886.

German Peasants' War, 1524-1526, The Court of Blood at Schorndorf, Germany, Historical, digitally restored reproduction of an original from the 19th c...

1400S Famous Albrecht Durer Woodcut Four Horsemen Of Apocalypse Circa 1498 Death Famine War Plague Revelations 6 1

Beginning of the Russian conquest of Siberia, 1580 (c1900). Artist: Unknown

Thirty Years War: Battle of Rocroi (Rocroy), 19 May 1643, Spanish defeated by French under Duc d'Enghien, Prince de Conde (1621-1686) known as the Great (Grand) Conde.

Guerra Ruso-Japonesa (1904-1905). Combate de Mukden. Un oficial ruso desesperado tras una cruenta batalla perdida contra los japoneses. Cromo de Chocolates Amatller. Año 1905. Author: Apel·les Mestres Oñós.

ABANDERADO ESPINGARDERO ...EDAD MEDIA S XV - ORDEN DEL TEMPLE. Author: JOSE RUBIO DE VILLEGAS. Location: ARCHIVO HISTORICO MILITAR. MADRID. SPAIN.

ABANDERADO ESPINGARDERO ...EDAD MEDIA S XV - ORDEN DEL TEMPLE. Author: VILLEGAS. Location: ARCHIVO HISTORICO MILITAR, MADRID, SPAIN.

Charles II Processing from the Tower of London to Westminster, 22 April 1661. Artist: Dirck Stoop

King Olaf defeats Erling Skjalgasson in sea battle. Olaf pardons him, but Aslak, one of the kings men slays him thus destroying trust in Olaf.

Arnold Winkelried or Arnold von Winkelried, 1386 in the Battle of Sempach, Switzerland, ca. 1885, Historical, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original.

The Great Boston Fire: The Heroic Fight of the Firemen, November 9, 1872

Gideon's Selection of the Fighters, Book of Judges, Chapter 7, Verses 1-7, Old Testament, Bible, Jerubbaal, Gideon, God, water, test, soldiers, weapons, spears, shields, helmet, landscape, trees, Midianites, three hundred, lances, historical illustration 1890

A man in 17th century dress on horseback, is leading an army and stamping on two men with his horse. Colour lithograph by Tom Merry, 6 March 1886.

John of Bohemia in the Battle of Crécy, Barvitius, Viktor (1834-1902)

The Battle of Dreux, March 1590, engraving by Franz Hogenberg (1535-1590). France, 16th century.

Historia de España. Alfonso I el Batallador (1073-1134), rey de Aragón y Pamplona. Grabado de 1872.

Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War (1409-1411). Conflict between Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania against the Teutonic Knights. Painting depicting the Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg) (15 July, 1410), 1878, by Jan Matejko (1838-1893). Detail, Vytautas the Great (1350-1430) Grand Duke of Lithuania. National Museum. Warsaw. Poland.

The French army, under Louis XII, prepares to attack Genova Date: 28 April 1507

Wallenstein in front of Stralsund, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, siege, destruction, fire, war, horseman, cannon, knight, historical illustration 1880, Europe

Siege of Saragossa, vintage engraved illustration. History of France 1885.

Henry IV of France watching the departure of the Spaniards from Porte Saint-Denis, Paris 22 March 1594

During the Romanian peasants' revolt which began in March 1907, a cavalry patrol sabres the rioters in the streets of Comanesti. The Illustrated London News reports that 'the patrol arrived just in time to save the inhabitants of the Manor of Comanesti, outside the town of Botoshani'. Date: 1907

Counts Egmont and Horn beheaded on scaffold before the Town Hall on the Grand-Place at Brussels in 1568.

Death of Lieutenant Grivart. Killed by inhabitants of a village on the banks of the River Niger. Mort du Lieutenant Grivart. Illustration for Le Petit Journal, 23 April 1899

Battle of Poitiers 1356 Jean Froissart (ca.1337-ca.1405/French) Manuscript

Roman Empire. Siege engine. Battering ram and testudo formation. Engraving. Iconographic Enclyclopaedia of science, Literature and Art. 19th century. Author: HENRY WINKLES. Johan George Heck.

The torture of Poltrot in Paris, March 1563, engraving by Franz Hogenberg (1535-1590). France, 16th century.

Patriotic Greek Card from the First World War showing the Greeks triumphing over the Turks - likely to be in Thessaloniki. Date: 1916

Colonel John Platt killed by the mutineers at Mhow, India, Asia Copyright: xKenxGraham/DinodiaxPhotox

Answer by the Saporoger Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire, 1880-91. Oil on canvas. Ilja Repin 1844-1930, Russian artist. Political and military power from the 16th century to their dissolution by Russia in the 18th century.

Troops in Rancagua, detail from a painting by Juan Manuel Blanes with General San Martin. Argentina, 19th century.

Louis XII (1462-1515). King of France (1498-1515). Louis XII of France at the Battle of Agnadello (14 May 1509). French troops defeated the army of the Republic of Venice. Chromolithography. "Historia Universal" (Universal History), by César Cantú. Volume VII. Published in Barcelona, 1886.

Spain, Catalonia. Peninsular War (1808-1814). Siege of Tarragona (1811). It confronted the French troops under the command of General Suchet against the Spanish troops led by Juan Senen de Contreras, military governor of the city. The fighting took place between 5 May and 29 June 1811, ending with the French occupation of the city. Tarragona remained under French control until Suchet's retreating on 13 August 1813. Engraving by Cibera. Historia General de Espana by Father Mariana. Madrid, 1853.

Engraving depicting judicial combat: a duel between unmounted armoured knights. Dated 16th Century

Illustration depicting a battle during the First World War. Circa 1914-1918. Illustrating the destruction and brutality of the battles.

Almogavars. 13th-14th centuries. Catalan and Aragonese's mercenaries who fight in the Spanish Reconquest (Reconquista) and participated in the expedition to the Eastern Empire and Greece.

Lithographs General Bird s Eye View of the Imperial Durbar at Delhi India Copyright: xJehangirxSorabjee/DinodiaxPhotox

'An Episode from the Battle of Tetuán', 1868, Oil on canvas, 75 x 125 cm, P04615. Author: EDUARDO ROSALES GALLINAS. Location: CASON DEL BUEN RETIRO-PINTURA. MADRID. SPAIN.

'The Execution Of Lord Strafford', 1641, (c1850). Artist: Unknown

Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War (1409-1411). Conflict between Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania against the Teutonic Knights. Painting depicting the Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg) (15 July, 1410), 1878, by Jan Matejko (1838-1893). Detail, Vytautas the Great (1350-1430) Grand Duke of Lithuania. National Museum. Warsaw. Poland.

death of Qutb al Din Aibak result of fall from horse while playing Chaugan Copyright: xKenxGraham/DinodiaxPhotox

Battle scene from the time of the Battle of Muehldorf, also called Battle of Ampfing, on 28 September 1322 the Wittelsbach Louis IV the Bavarian, Duke of Upper Bavaria, defeated the Habsburg Frederick the Fair, Duke of Austria, Historical, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, exact date unknown

Rebellious peasant in the Peasants' War, 1525, digital improved reproduction of an original print from the 19th century

Battle of Tours or Battle of Poitiers. Octuber 732. Miniature of Great Chronicle of France. Chateau of Chantilly. France.

Abel Janszoon Tasman (1603-1659), Dutch seafarer, explorer and merchant, is attacked by native New Zealanders at Massacre Bay (now known as Golden Bay).

Gustav II Adolphus, 9 December 1594, 6 November 1632, widely known in English by his Latinised name Gustavus Adolphus or as Gustav II Adolph or as Gus...

Bombardment and storming of a city by the troops of Maximilian I. Facsimile from the woodcut of the great Column of Honour Maximilian by Albrecht Duerer, Germany, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, exact original date unknown, Europe

Medieval tournament. Colored engraving. 19th century.

Battle of Sluys, also called Battle of l'Ecluse, sea battle; 24 June 1340. one of the opening conflicts of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. miniature of the battle from Jean Froissart's Chronicles, 15th century

Haarlem, Wüppermann, WEA, Emrik & Binger, Procession held in Haarlem, 1 April 1872., Procession in Haarlem, 1872 (plate 7), Festive procession held in Haarlem during the April festivities on 1 April 1872 on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the independence of the Netherlands. Seventh plate with the groups numbered 50-54. Part of the series of twelve sheets pasted together., print, books, Frederik Muller Historieplaten, height 280 mm, width 670 mm, printer, drukker, 1872 - 1872, paper, papier, chromolithografie, Nederlands, intermediary draughtsman

Capture of Constantinople by Crusaders. Delacroix.

The Spanish governor of Porto Bello, Panama, dies heroically, trying to defend the town against Morgan's buccaneers Date: 1668

Astronomy: various apocalyptic scenes, including Napoleon III, a weeping Queen Victoria, an assassination ?, and a battle in Russia. Coloured lithograph, c.1861?.

General Goffe repelling the Indians in Hadley, Massachusetts, USA 1675 General William Goffe, ca. 1605 to 1679 English soldier, parliamentarian and regicide, historical, digitally restored reproduction from an original from the 19th century, record date not stated..

One of Garibaldi's lancers carrying a despatch. Date: June 1849

The caption reads: Follow my white plume cried henryHenry IV the Great Protestant King. On March 14, 1590, at the Battle of Ivry, Henry IV wore a large white plume on his helmet. The night before he had told his supporters to follow the distinctive white plume of feathers in his helmet if their standards were captured. TheBattle of Ivrywas fought on 14 March 1590, during the French Wars of Religion. Thebattlewas a decisive victory for Henry IV of France, leading Huguenot and English forces against the Catholic League by the Duc de Mayenne and Spanish forces under the Count of Egmont. Fol

Havelock's column attacking the mutineers off Cawnpoor Major General Sir Henry Havelock 1795 to 1857 British General From the History of the Indian Mutiny, published 1858, India, Historical, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original, Record date not stated, Asia

Battle of Kosovo 1389, old Russian miniature

Charles V Spanish Carlos I French Charles Quint, 1500, 1558, a member of the ruling house of Habsburg and Holy Roman Emperor, on the battlefield of Muehlberg, Historical, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original

Germany. Saxony. Knights 1910. Vinkhuijzen, Hendrik Jacobus. still image. Illustrations. General Research Division. Military uniforms , History, Germany

of 3