Bornhoevede. A village of Holstein, where a battle was fought on July 22, 1227, between Woldemar II., king of Denmark, and Adolphus IV. of Holstein; the Danes were totally defeated.
Borodino. A Russian village on the Moskwa, near which a sanguinary battle was fought, September 7, 1812, between the French under Napoleon, and the Russians under Kootoosof, 240,000 men being engaged. Each party claimed the victory; but the Russians retreated, leaving Moscow, which the French entered September 14. The French name it the battle of Moskwa, and it gave Marshal Ney his title of Prince of Moskwa.
Boroughbridge. A town in Yorkshire, England, the site of a battle between the Earls of Hereford and Lancaster and Edward II., March 16, 1322. The latter at the head of 30,000 men pressed Lancaster so closely that he had not time to collect his troops together in sufficient force, and being defeated and made prisoner, was led, mounted on a lean horse, to an eminence near Pontefract, and beheaded by a Londoner.
Boscobel. Near Donington, Shropshire, England, where Charles II. concealed himself after his defeat at Worcester.
Bosnia. In European Turkey, formerly part of Pannonia, was governed by chiefs till a brother-in-law of Louis, king of Hungary, was made king, 1376. He was defeated by the Turks in 1389, and became their vassal. Bosnia was annexed to the Ottoman empire in 1522. Many efforts have been made by the Bosnians to recover their independence; they rebelled in 1849, and were subdued by Omar Pasha in 1851.
Bosniaken. Formerly light cavalry of the Prussians, resembling the present Uhlans. Frederick I. formed this cavalry in 1745.
Bosphorus, or Bosporus, Thracian (now Strait of Constantinople). The ancient name of the strait which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmora. Darius Hystaspes threw a bridge of boats over this strait when about to invade Greece, 493 B.C.
Bosporus. The country on both sides of the Bosporus Cimmerius, or Strait of Yenikalé, formed in ancient times the kingdom of Bosporus. The Scythians conquered Bosporus, 285 B.C.; conquered by Mithridates VI., 80 B.C.; conquered by Cæsar, 47 B.C.; Polemon conquered Bosporus, 14 B.C. A list of obscure kings given by some writers ends with Sauromates VII., 344.
Boss. The apex of a shield.
Bosse, Bosse à Feu (Fr.). A term used in the French artillery to express a glass bottle which is very thin, contains 4 or 5 pounds of powder, and round the neck of which 4 or 5 matches are hung after it has been well corked. A cord 2 or 3 feet in length is tied to the bottle, which serves to throw it. The instant the bottle breaks the powder catches fire, and everything within the immediate effects of the explosion is destroyed.