1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
United States Army
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
3.
Normandy
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Normandy is one of the regions of France, roughly corresponding to the historical Duchy of Normandy. Administratively, Normandy is divided into five departments, Calvados, Eure, Manche, Orne and it covers 30,627 km², forming roughly 5% of the territory of France. Its population of 3.37 million accounts for around 5% of the population of France, Normans is the name given to the inhabitants of Normandy, and the region is the homeland of the Norman language. The historical region of Normandy comprised the region of Normandy, as well as small areas now part of the départements, or departments of Mayenne. For a century and a following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, Normandy and England were linked by Norman. Archaeological finds, such as paintings, prove that humans were present in the region in prehistoric times. Celts invaded Normandy in successive waves from the 4th to the 3rd century BC, when Julius Caesar invaded Gaul, there were nine different Celtic tribes living in Normandy. The Romanisation of Normandy was achieved by the methods, Roman roads. Classicists have knowledge of many Gallo-Roman villas in Normandy, in the late 3rd century, barbarian raids devastated Normandy. Coastal settlements were raided by Saxon pirates, Christianity also began to enter the area during this period. In 406, Germanic tribes began invading from the east, while the Saxons subjugated the Norman coast, the Roman Emperor withdrew from most of Normandy. As early as 487, the area between the River Somme and the River Loire came under the control of the Frankish lord Clovis, the Vikings started to raid the Seine Valley during the middle of the 9th century. As early as 841, a Viking fleet appeared at the mouth of the Seine, after attacking and destroying monasteries, including one at Jumièges, they took advantage of the power vacuum created by the disintegration of Charlemagnes empire to take northern France. The fiefdom of Normandy was created for the Norwegian Viking leader Hrólfr Ragnvaldsson, Rollo had besieged Paris but in 911 entered vassalage to the king of the West Franks, Charles the Simple, through the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. In exchange for his homage and fealty, Rollo legally gained the territory which he, the name Normandy reflects Rollos Viking origins. The descendants of Rollo and his followers adopted the local Gallo-Romance language and they became the Normans – a Norman-speaking mixture of Saxons and indigenous Franks and Celts. Besides the Norman conquest of England and the subsequent conquests of Wales and Ireland, Norman families, such as that of Tancred of Hauteville, Rainulf Drengot and Guimond de Moulins played important parts in the Norman conquest of southern Italy and Crusades. They also carved out a place for themselves and their descendants in the Crusader states of Asia Minor, the 14th century Norman explorer Jean de Béthencourt established a kingdom in the Canary Islands
4.
Rhineland
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The Rhineland is the name used for a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine River, chiefly its middle section. In the High Middle Ages, numerous Imperial States along the river emerged from the stem duchy of Lotharingia. The term covered the whole occupied zone west of the Rhine including the bridge-heads on the eastern banks, after the collapse of the French dominated West Bank in the early 19th century, the regions of Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg were annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1822 the Prussian administration reorganized the territory as the Rhine Province, following the First World War, the western part of Rhineland was occupied by Entente forces, then demilitarized under the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. German forces remilitarized the territory in 1936, as part of a diplomatic test of will, stretching down to the North Palatine Uplands in the south, this area, except for the Saarland, more or less corresponds with the modern use of the term. The southern and eastern parts are mainly hill country, cut by valleys, principally the Middle Rhine up to Bingen and its Ahr, Moselle. The border of the North German plain is marked by the lower Ruhr, in the south, the river cuts the Rhenish Massif. The area encompasses the western part of the Ruhr industrial region, toponyms as well as local family names often trace back to the Frankish heritage. The lands on the shore of the Rhine are strongly characterised by Roman influence. In the core territories, large parts of the population are members of the Catholic Church. On the right bank of the Rhine, between the Main and the Lahn, were the settlements of the Mattiaci, a branch of the Germanic Chatti, while farther to the north were the Usipetes and Tencteri. Julius Caesar conquered the tribes on the left bank, and Augustus established numerous fortified posts on the Rhine. The Frankish conquerors of the Rhenish districts were singularly little affected by the culture of the Roman provincials they subdued, by the 8th century the Frankish dominion was firmly established in western Germania and northern Gaul. On the division of the Carolingian Empire at the Treaty of Verdun the part the province to the east of the fell to East Francia. As the central power of the Holy Roman Emperor weakened, the Rhineland split up into small independent principalities, each with its separate vicissitudes. After the Imperial Reform of 1500/12, the territory was part of the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian, Upper Rhenish, aachen was the place of coronation of the German emperors, and the ecclesiastical principalities of the Rhine played a large role in German history. At the Peace of Basel in 1795, the whole of the bank of the Rhine was taken by France. The population was about 1.6 million in small states
5.
War on Terror
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The War on Terror, also known as the Global War on Terrorism, is a metaphor of war referring to the international military campaign that started after the September 11th attacks on the United States. U. S. President George W. Bush first used the term War on Terror on 20 September 2001 and it was originally used with a particular focus on countries associated with Islamic terrorist organizations including al-Qaeda and like-minded organizations. In 2013, President Barack Obama announced that the United States was no longer pursuing a War on Terror, in 2017 Donald Trump assumed presidency of the United States and vowed that the fight against ISIL is his number one priority. Trump has also agreed to work together and carry joint operations with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the war on terror. The phrase War on Terror has been used to refer to the ongoing military campaign led by the U. S. The conflict has also referred to by names other than the War on Terror. Author Shane Harris asserts this was a reaction to the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, Bush later apologized for this remark due to the negative connotations the term crusade has to people, e. g. of the Muslim faith. The word crusade was not used again, on 20 September 2001, during a televised address to a joint session of Congress, Bush stated that ur war on terror begins with al-Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped, in April 2007, the British government announced publicly that it was abandoning the use of the phrase War on Terror as they found it to be less than helpful. This was explained more recently by Lady Eliza Manningham-Buller, in her 2011 Reith lecture, the former head of MI5 said that the 9/11 attacks were a crime, not an act of war. So I never felt it helpful to refer to a war on terror. U. S. President Barack Obama has rarely used the term, in March 2009 the Defense Department officially changed the name of operations from Global War on Terror to Overseas Contingency Operation. In March 2009, the Obama administration requested that Pentagon staff members avoid the use of the term, basic objectives of the Bush administration war on terror, such as targeting al Qaeda and building international counterterrorism alliances, remain in place. Because the actions involved in the war on terrorism are diffuse, jackson cites among many examples a statement by John Ashcroft that the attacks of September 11 drew a bright line of demarcation between the civil and the savage. Administration officials also described terrorists as hateful, treacherous, barbarous, mad, twisted, perverted, without faith, parasitical, inhuman, Americans, in contrast, were described as brave, loving, generous, strong, resourceful, heroic, and respectful of human rights. The origins of al-Qaeda can be traced to the Soviet war in Afghanistan, a small number of Afghan Arab volunteers joined the fight against the Soviets, including Osama bin Laden, but there is no evidence they received any external assistance. On 7 August 1998, al-Qaeda struck the U. S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 people, the plant produced much of the regions antimalarial drugs and around 50% of Sudans pharmaceutical needs. The strikes failed to kill any leaders of WIFJAJC or the Taliban, next came the 2000 millennium attack plots, which included an attempted bombing of Los Angeles International Airport
6.
112th Cavalry Regiment
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The 112th Cavalry Regiment was a Texas National Guard regiment that served in several Pacific campaigns during World War II. The 112th Cavalry was first organised in 1918 as the 5th Texas Cavalry Regiment in 1918 before being disbanded in 1920, in December 1920 the Texas National Guard was reorganized as the 36th Infantry Division and the 1st Texas Cavalry Brigade less one regiment. On 20 July 1921 the 1st Texas Cavalry Regiment became the 112th Cavalry, in March 1929 the 2nd Squadron and the Machine Gun Squadron of the 112th were reorganized into the 124th Cavalry Regiment. The 112th and 124th Cavalry were brigaded into the 56th Cavalry Brigade in 1940, on 10 November 1940 President Roosevelt federalized the National Guard, and on 18 November 1940 the 112th was posted to Fort Bliss. The 112ths sister regiment in the brigade, the 124th Cavalry was the last of the regiments to give up their horses and was later sent to Burma. The regiment patrolled the Mexican border until being shipped to New Caledonia on 8 July 1942 arriving on 11 August 1942 and they were assigned to the Americal Division under General Alexander Patch. The 112th Cavalry were assigned Australian Waler horses, and ordered to New Caledonia to serve as a horse mounted security force, the Australian horses were shipped to Burma and assigned to Chinese forces who mistreated them. In 1944 the Walers rejoined the American Army being assigned to Merrills Marauders, during the heavy fighting on Guadalcanal, General Alexander Vandegrift of the 1st Marine Division sent an urgent request for machetes for his Marines. General Patch took the sabers of the regiment, cut them down, after extensive training the 112th made its first amphibious landing at Woodlark Island as part of Operation Chronicle on 30 June 1943. The landing was unopposed, and the established a defensible perimeter to protect Seabees building an airstrip on the island. The regiment was sent to Goodenough Island for training and became part of Task Force Director in preparation for its first action, Operation Director the Battle of Arawe. The 112th set sail on the USS Carter Hall, HMAS Westralia, on 15 December 1943 the regiment landed in three separate amphibious operations on New Britain. One of these landings involved Troop A of the 2nd Squadron landing in rubber boats off the USS Sands against fierce defense that sank all, the destroyer USS Shaw sailed close as possible to the enemy defenders to shell them and rescue the survivors of A Troop. Troop B landed at Pilelo Island from the USS Humphreys in 15 rubber boats on the same day, when meeting resistance from Japanese troops in caves, Troop B destroyed one with a bazooka and one with a flamethrower the first use of the weapon in the Southwest Pacific area. The main landings were from amphibious tractors launched from the USS Carter Hall, in this landing the 112th Cavalry were the first to use the 4.5 inch rocket firing DUKWs. After linking up with the 1st Marine Division, the 112th was assigned to the 32nd Infantry Division in Aitape Papua New Guinea, the regiment fought in the Battle of Driniumor River for 51 days taking 62% casualties. Two of the second lieutenants, Dale Eldon Christensen and George W. G. Boyce. On 1 October 1944 the 112th Cavalry was combined with the 114th Field Artillery Battalion became the 112th Regimental Combat Team, the 112th RCT was attached to the 1st Cavalry Division for the Battle of Leyte and Battle of Luzon
7.
126th Infantry Regiment (United States)
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The 126th Cavalry Regiment is a United States military unit of the Michigan Army National Guard. The 126th Infantry existed for its first 144 years as an infantry unit, the 126th Infantry dates back as early as 12 July 1855 when the Grand Rapids Light Guard and Grand Rapids Artillery companies were organized. The first officers of the Grand Rapids Light Guard included Wright L. Coffinberry as captain, Frederick W. Worden, E. T. Nelson, gage as lieutenants, Milton S. Littlefield, Benjamin B. Other charter members of the Light Guard included Edward A. Earle, later that year Ringgold’s Light Artillery was organized, and four years later in 1859, the Grand Rapids Rifles came into existence. These companies along with others from Ionia formed the 51st Volunteer Uniformed Michigan Militia Regiment prior to the American Civil War. The four companies formed the core of the 3rd Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment that joined the Civil War on 13 June 1861, the regimental commander at the time was Colonel Daniel McConnell. The Third Michigan fought in twelve campaigns before it was mustered out in June 1864, besides five Grand Rapids companies, the Third included companies from Boston and Lyons in Ionia County, Lansing, Muskegon, and Georgetown. While attached to Richardson’s brigade of Colonel Miles’s Division, the Third participated in its first engagement against Confederate forces just thirty-eight days after being federalized and it began as a part of a reconnaissance in force towards Blackburn’s Ford along Bull Run. On 21 July, the Third marched with Richardson’s brigade back to Blackburn’s ford to keep the rebels occupied while the rest of McDowell’s army hit the Confederate’s left flank. After desultory firing at the ford, Richardson learned of the Federal rout on the right and was recalled to Centreville, what they saw was utter chaos and confusion as the Confederate forces, now reinforced, literally cut through the advancing and then retreating Union forces. Morale by the close of that first summer was presumably low in the Third Michigan, during the next few months a number of officers including Colonel McConnell resigned and returned home to Grand Rapids. That next March, the Third Michigan was assigned to General Berry’s Brigade of the Third Red Diamond Division, a few months later at Fair Oaks, the regiment’s losses were severe—thirty killed, one hundred and twenty-four wounded, and fifteen missing. Included among the dead was Captain Samuel Judd, and Colonel Champlin had been severely wounded, several months following Lees surrender in April 1865, a great homecoming by the citizens of Grand Rapids was held for the returning heroes. On 4 July 1865, tables were set the length of the Pearl Street Bridge for a welcome-home celebration. Two soldiers in the Third earned the Medal of Honor, when they did, they elected Colonel Edwin S. Pierce, president, John H. Sumner, secretary, and Colonel George E. Judd, treasurer. In Grand Rapids, the earliest of the new, independent companies was the Valley City Zouaves, organized first in 1866, however, this company did not remain in existence for long and was never actually mustered into state service. Several years after the end of the Civil War, the Grand Rapids Guard company was organized by veterans of the Third, the company was mustered into state service in 1872 as part of the Michigan State Troops. It was called out to aid authorities during a riot at the Muskegon County jail in 1873 and that year the Grand Rapids Guard became Company B 2nd Infantry Regiment when the regiment was organized at Grand Rapids
8.
Cavalry
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Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the most mobile of the combat arms, an individual soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations such as cavalryman, horseman, dragoon or trooper. The designation of cavalry was not usually given to any military forces that used animals, such as camels. Cavalry had the advantage of improved mobility, and a man fighting from horseback also had the advantages of greater height, speed, another element of horse mounted warfare is the psychological impact a mounted soldier can inflict on an opponent. In Europe cavalry became increasingly armoured, and eventually became known for the mounted knights, in the period between the World Wars, many cavalry units were converted into motorized infantry and mechanized infantry units, or reformed as tank troops. Most cavalry units that are horse-mounted in modern armies serve in purely ceremonial roles, modern usage of the term generally refers to specialist units equipped with tanks or aircraft. The shock role, traditionally filled by heavy cavalry, is filled by units with the armored designation. Before the Iron Age, the role of cavalry on the battlefield was largely performed by light chariots, the chariot originated with the Sintashta-Petrovka culture in Central Asia and spread by nomadic or semi-nomadic Indo-Iranians. The power of mobility given by mounted units was recognized early on, Cavalry techniques were an innovation of equestrian nomads of the Central Asian and Iranian steppe and pastoralist tribes such as the Persian Parthians and Sarmatians. The photograph above left shows Assyrian cavalry from reliefs of 865–860 BC, at this time, the men had no spurs, saddles, saddle cloths, or stirrups. Fighting from the back of a horse was more difficult than mere riding. The cavalry acted in pairs, the reins of the archer were controlled by his neighbours hand. Even at this time, cavalry used swords, shields. The sculpture implies two types of cavalry, but this might be a simplification by the artist, Later images of Assyrian cavalry show saddle cloths as primitive saddles, allowing each archer to control his own horse. As early as 490 BC a breed of horses was bred in the Nisaean plain in Media to carry men with increasing amounts of armour. However, chariots remained in use for purposes such as carrying the victorious general in a Roman triumph. The southern Britons met Julius Caesar with chariots in 55 and 54 BC, the last mention of chariot use in battle was by the Caledonians at the Mons Graupius, in 84 AD. During the classical Greek period cavalry were usually limited to citizens who could afford expensive war-horses
9.
American Indian Wars
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These conflicts occurred in the current boundaries of the United States from the time of earliest colonial settlements until 1924. In many cases, wars resulted from competition for resources and land ownership as Europeans, Warfare and raiding also took place as a result of conflicts between European governments and later the United States. These governments enlisted Native Americans tribes to help them conduct warfare against each others settlements, after 1776, many conflicts were local, involving disputes over land use, and some entailed cycles of reprisal. In the 1800s, conflicts were spurred by ideologies such as Manifest Destiny, in the years leading up to the Indian Removal Act of 1830 there were many armed conflicts between settlers and Native Americans. Prior to the Act of 1830, some conflicts were resolved through sale or exchange of territory through treaties between the government and specific tribes. The 1830 act authorized the removal of indigenous peoples who lived East of the Mississippi River to the West. As United States citizens continued to settle areas towards the Pacific, the policy of removal was refined to move some indigenous peoples to very specific reservations. The 2010 census found 2,932,248 Americans who identified themselves as being Native American, no consensus exists on how many native people lived in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus, but extensive research has been and continues to be conducted. Estimates on the population of pre-Colombus North America range from a low of 2.1 million to 7 million people to 18 million, scholars believe that the overwhelming main causes were new infectious diseases carried by European explorers and traders. Native Americans had no acquired immunity to diseases, which had been chronic in Eurasian populations for over five centuries. For instance, some estimates indicate case fatality rates of 80–98% in Native American populations during smallpox epidemics. They have cost the lives of about 19,000 white men, women and children, including those killed in individual combats, the actual number of killed and wounded Indians must be very much higher than the number given. Fifty percent additional would be a safe estimate, from about 1600 onwards, the process of European colonization of North America by the English, French, Spanish, Dutch and Swedish was contested by various indigenous tribes. Similarly, in the American Revolution and the War of 1812, the British planned to set up an Indian nation in what is now the Ohio-Wisconsin area to block further American expansion. The U. S. protested and finally, in 1812, most Indian tribes, especially those allied with Tecumseh, supported the British and were ultimately defeated by General William Henry Harrison. The latter were defeated by General Andrew Jackson, during and after such warfare, many refugees from defeated tribes went over the border to Canada, those in the South went to Florida while it was under Spanish control. During the early 19th century, the government was under pressure by settlers in many regions to expel Native Americans from their areas. Some resisted fiercely, most notably the Seminoles in a series of wars in Florida and they were never finally defeated, although some Seminole did remove to Indian Territory
United States
United States Army
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