1.
British Raj
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The British Raj was the rule by the British Crown in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947. The rule is also called Crown rule in India, or direct rule in India, the resulting political union was also called the Indian Empire and after 1876 issued passports under that name. It lasted until 1947, when the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two sovereign states, the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The British Raj extended over almost all present-day India, Pakistan and this area is very diverse, containing the Himalayan mountains, fertile floodplains, the Indo-Gangetic Plain, a long coastline, tropical dry forests, arid uplands, and the Thar desert. In addition, at times, it included Aden, Lower Burma, Upper Burma, British Somaliland. Burma was separated from India and directly administered by the British Crown from 1937 until its independence in 1948, among other countries in the region, Ceylon was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. Ceylon was part of Madras Presidency between 1793 and 1798, the kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan, having fought wars with the British, subsequently signed treaties with them and were recognised by the British as independent states. The Kingdom of Sikkim was established as a state after the Anglo-Sikkimese Treaty of 1861, however. The Maldive Islands were a British protectorate from 1887 to 1965, India during the British Raj was made up of two types of territory, British India and the Native States. In general, the term British India had been used to also to the regions under the rule of the British East India Company in India from 1600 to 1858. The term has also used to refer to the British in India. The terms Indian Empire and Empire of India were not used in legislation, the monarch was known as Empress or Emperor of India and the term was often used in Queen Victorias Queens Speeches and Prorogation Speeches. The passports issued by the British Indian government had the words Indian Empire on the cover, in addition, an order of knighthood, the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, was set up in 1878. At the turn of the 20th century, British India consisted of eight provinces that were administered either by a Governor or a Lieutenant-Governor, during the partition of Bengal the new provinces of Assam and East Bengal were created as a Lieutenant-Governorship. In 1911, East Bengal was reunited with Bengal, and the new provinces in the east became, Assam, Bengal, Bihar, there were 565 princely states when India and Pakistan became independent from Britain in August 1947. The princely states did not form a part of British India, the larger ones had treaties with Britain that specified which rights the princes had, in the smaller ones the princes had few rights. Within the princely states external affairs, defence and most communications were under British control, the British also exercised a general influence over the states internal politics, in part through the granting or withholding of recognition of individual rulers. Although there were nearly 600 princely states, the majority were very small
2.
Bombay Army
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The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. In 1895 all three armies were merged into the Indian Army. In the early stages of HEIC rule Bombay was rated as a unhealthy, accordingly only a small garrison was maintained while emphasis was placed on creating a local navy to control piracy. In 1742 the Bombay Army consisted of eight companies of European and Eurasian garrison troops and these had evolved from independent companies dating back as far as 1668 when the Company took over control of the city of Bombay. By 1783 the Bombay Army had grown to 15,000 men, recruitment from the 1750s on had however been expanded to include a majority of indigenous sepoys, initially employed as irregulars for particular campaigns. The first two regular battalions were raised in 1768, a third in 1760 and a fourth ten years later. The non-Indian element was organized in a single Bombay European Regiment, in 1777 a marine battalion was created to serve on the HEIC warships based on the port of Bombay. In 1796 the Bombay Native Infantry was reorganized into four regiments, the Bombay Foot Artillery, which traced its history back nearly 50 years prior to this date, was brought up to six companies in strength in 1797. The Bombay Army was heavily involved in the First Maratha War, the Bombay native infantry establishment continued to expand until it reached 26 regiments in 1845. Three Bombay Light Cavalry regiments were raised after 1817, plus a few troops of irregular horse, one brigade of Bombay Horse Artillery comprising both British and Indian personnel had been established by 1845, plus three battalions of foot artillery. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was almost entirely confined to the Bengal Army, of the thirty-two Bombay infantry regiments in existence at the time only two mutinied. Some Bombay units saw service during the repression of the rebellion in Central India. Following the transfer of HEIC rule to that of the British government in 1861 the Bombay Army underwent a series of changes and these included the disbandment of three regiments of Bombay Native Infantry and the recruitment of replacement units from the Beluchi population. Originally created as units, the three Belooch regiments in their red trousers were to remain a conspicuous part of the Bombay Army for the remainder of its separate existence. During the remainder of the 19th century Bombay Army units participated in the 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia, the Second Afghan War of 1878-80, in 1895 the three separate Presidency Armies were abolished and the Army of India was divided into four commands, each commanded by a lieutenant-general. These comprised Madras, Punjab, Bengal and Bombay, prestigious units of the Bombay Army include the 1st Bombay Grenadiers raised in 1784 from grenadier companies of existing regiments, and the Maratha Light Infantry. Belasis Commanding Major-General R. Jones Commanding Lieutenant-General John Abercromby Major-General W. Wilkinson Commanding Major-General C, the Victorians at War, 1815-1914, An Encyclopedia of British Military History. Presidency armies Bengal Army Madras Army
3.
British Indian Army
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The Indian Army was the principal army of India before independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of both British India and the Princely states, which could also have their own armies. The Indian Army was an important part of the British Empires forces, the term Indian Army appears to have been first used informally, as a collective description of the Presidency armies of the Presidencies of British India, particularly after the Indian Rebellion. The first army officially called the Indian Army was raised by the government of India in 1895, however, in 1903 the Indian Army absorbed these three armies. The Indian Army should not be confused with the Army of India which was the Indian Army itself plus the British Army in India, before 1858, the precursor units of the Indian Army were units controlled by the Company and were paid for by their profits. These operated alongside units of the British Army, funded by the British government in London. Many of these took part in the Indian Mutiny, with the aim of reinstating the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II at Delhi. The meaning of the term Indian Army has changed over time, The officer commanding the Army of India was the Commander-in-Chief, the title was used before the creation of a unified British Indian Army, the first holder was Major General Stringer Lawrence in 1748. By the early 1900s the Commander-in-Chief and his staff were based at GHQ India, Indian Army postings were less prestigious than British Army positions, but the pay was significantly greater so that officers could live on their salaries instead of having to have a private income. Accordingly, vacancies in the Indian Army were much sought after and generally reserved for the higher placed officer-cadets graduating from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. British officers in the Indian Army were expected to learn to speak the Indian languages of their men, prominent British Indian Army officers included Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, Claude Auchinleck and William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim. Commissioned officers, British and Indian, held identical ranks to commissioned officers of the British Army, Kings Commissioned Indian Officers, created from the 1920s, held equal powers to British officers. Viceroys Commissioned Officers were Indians holding officer ranks and they were treated in almost all respects as commissioned officers, but had authority over Indian troops only, and were subordinate to all British Kings Commissioned Officers and KCIOs. They included Subedar Major or Risaldar-Major, equivalents to a British Major, Subedar or Risaldar equivalents to Captain, recruitment was entirely voluntary, about 1.75 million men served in the First World War, many on the Western Front and 2.5 million in the Second. Soldier ranks included Sepoys or Sowars, equivalent to a British private, British Army ranks such as gunner and sapper were used by other corps. In the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny. The three Presidency armies remained separate forces, each with its own Commander-in-Chief, overall operational control was exercised by the Commander-in-Chief of the Bengal Army, who was formally the Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies. From 1861, most of the manpower was pooled in the three Presidential Staff Corps
4.
Rajputana Rifles
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The Rajputana Rifles is the most senior rifle regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally raised in 1921 as part of the British Indian Army, in 1945 the numeral designation was dropped from the title and in 1947 the regiment was transferred to the newly independent Indian Army. The name Rajputana Rifles is derived from the Rajput a Hindu clan and it is based on the Sanskrit word Rajaputra meaning son of a king. Rajputana is a region in NW India, roughly coextensive with the modern Indian state of Rajasthan. The name means land of the Rajputs, Rajput tribal power rose here between the 7th and 13th centuries, and the princes resisted the early Muslim incursions, which began in the 11th century. Rajput power reached its peak in the early 16th century, from their seat at Ajmer the Mughals ruled Rajputana until the early 18th century. The Marathas held feudatories in the region from c.1750 to 1818, under the British, Rajputana included more than 20 princely states, notably Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, and Ajmer. The internal autonomy of many of the states was guaranteed, most of these states were incorporated into Rajasthan after India gained independence in 1947. Region of northwestern India that now comprises Rajasthan state and small sections of Madhya Pradesh, the Aravalli Range crosses the southern part of the region from northeast to southwest. The northwestern part is largely the Thar desert, but to the southeast the land is extremely fertile, the Rajput princely states came under British protection by treaties in the early 19th century, most of the area was formed into Rajasthan state in 1948. The catchment area or recruitment area for the regiment is mostly from Rajputs from all over the state of Rajasthan, Jats are also recruited in the same strength. Nearly, 80% of the Regiments strength is of Rajputs and Jats, others recruited are Ahir, Sikh, Gurjar and Muslims. The regiments origins lie in the 18th century when the East India Company recruited Rajputs to protect its operations, the impressive performance of French local units which were composed of local recruits mixed with French officers, helped the HEIC to decide that it needed to do something similar. In January 1775, it raised its first local infantry units included the 5th Battalion, Bombay Sepoys. It thus became the first rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, in 1899 the battalion was once more renamed as 4th Regiment Bombay Infantry and again in 1901 as 4th Bombay Rifles. In Kitcheners 1903 reorganisation of the Indian Army, 4th Bombay Rifles became 104th Wellesley’s Rifles, in 1945 the regiments of the British Indian Army dropped the numeral in their titles and so the Rajputanas assumed their current name. In 1947 the regiment was allocated to India and the newly formed Indian Army when the sub-continent became independent from the British Empire, in 1949, the 1st Battalion was elevated to the status of guards, becoming 3rd Battalion, Brigade of the Guards. In 1817 the 4th Battalion met the Marathas at the Battle of Khadki, the defence earned the regiment the battle honor of Khadki
5.
East India Company
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The company also ruled the beginnings of the British Empire in India. The company received a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I on 31 December 1600, wealthy merchants and aristocrats owned the Companys shares. Initially the government owned no shares and had only indirect control, during its first century of operation the focus of the Company was trade, not the building of an empire in India. The company eventually came to rule large areas of India with its own armies, exercising military power. Despite frequent government intervention, the company had recurring problems with its finances, the official government machinery of British India had assumed its governmental functions and absorbed its armies. Soon after the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, London merchants presented a petition to Queen Elizabeth I for permission to sail to the Indian Ocean, one of them, Edward Bonventure, then sailed around Cape Comorin to the Malay Peninsula and returned to England in 1594. In 1596, three ships sailed east, however, these were all lost at sea. Two days later, on 24 September, the Adventurers reconvened and resolved to apply to the Queen for support of the project, the Adventurers convened again a year later. For a period of fifteen years the charter awarded the newly formed company a monopoly on trade with all countries east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of the Straits of Magellan. Anybody who traded in breach of the charter without a licence from the Company was liable to forfeiture of their ships and cargo, the governance of the company was in the hands of one governor and 24 directors or committees, who made up the Court of Directors. They, in turn, reported to the Court of Proprietors, ten committees reported to the Court of Directors. According to tradition, business was transacted at the Nags Head Inn, opposite St Botolphs church in Bishopsgate. Sir James Lancaster commanded the first East India Company voyage in 1601, in March 1604 Sir Henry Middleton commanded the second voyage. Early in 1608 Alexander Sharpeigh was appointed captain of the Companys Ascension, thereafter two ships, Ascension and Union sailed from Woolwich on 14 March 1607–8. Initially, the company struggled in the trade because of the competition from the already well-established Dutch East India Company. The company opened a factory in Bantam on the first voyage, the factory in Bantam was closed in 1683. During this time belonging to the company arriving in India docked at Surat. In the next two years, the company established its first factory in south India in the town of Machilipatnam on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal
6.
First Anglo-Afghan War
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The First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between British imperial India and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. Initially, the British successfully intervened in a dispute between emir Dost Mohammad and former emir Shah Shujah, whom they installed upon conquering Kabul in August 1839. The main British Indian and Sikh force occupying Kabul, having endured harsh winters as well, was almost completely annihilated while retreating in January 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century was a period of diplomatic competition between the British and Russian empires for spheres of influence in Asia known as the Great Game. The Russian Empire was slowly extending its domain into Central Asia, the Company sent an envoy to Kabul to form an alliance with Afghanistans Amir, Dost Mohammad Khan against Russia. Dost Mohammad had recently lost Afghanistans second capital of Peshawar to the Sikh Empire and wanted support to retake it, for this reason, Lord Auckland preferred an alliance with the Punjab over an alliance with Afghanistan, which had nothing equivalent to the Dal Khalsa. The British could have an alliance with the Punjab or Afghanistan, British fears of a Russian invasion of India took one step closer to becoming a reality when negotiations between the Afghans and Russians broke down in 1838. The Qajar dynasty of Persia, with Russian support, attempted the Siege of Herat, Lord Aucklands plan was to drive away the besiegers and replace Dost Mohammad with Shuja Shah Durrani, who had once ruled Afghanistan and was considered pro-British. Shuja Shah had been deposed in 1809 and been living in exile in British India since 1818, collecting a pension from the East India Company, the British denied that they were invading Afghanistan, claiming they were merely supporting its legitimate Shuja government against foreign interference and factious opposition. But this point, Auckland was committed to putting Afghanistan into the British sphere of influence, the Army of the Indus. which included 21,000 British and Indian troops under the command of John Keane, 1st Baron Keane set out from Punjab in December 1838. With them was William Hay Macnaghten, the chief secretary of the Calcutta government. It included a train of 38,000 camp followers and 30,000 camels. By late March 1839 the British forces had crossed the Bolan Pass, reached the Baloch city of Quetta and they advanced through rough terrain, across deserts and 4, 000-metre-high mountain passes, but made good progress and finally set up camps at Kandahar on 25 April 1839. After reaching Kandahar, Keane decided to wait for the crops to ripen before resuming his march, Keane left behind his siege engines in Kandahar, which turned out to be a mistake as he discovered that the walls of the Ghazni fortress were far more powerful than he expected. A deserter, Abdul Rashed Khan, a nephew of Dost Mohammad Khan, informed the British that one of the gates of the fortress was in bad state of repair and might be blasted open with a gunpowder charge. The British took fifty prisoners who were brought before Shuja, where one of them stabbed a minister to death with a hidden knife. On 22 July 1839, in an attack, the British-led forces captured the fortress of Ghazni. The British troops blew up one city gate and marched into the city in a euphoric mood, in taking this fortress, they suffered 200 men killed and wounded, while the Afghans lost nearly 500 men
7.
Sindh
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Sindh /sɪnd/ is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, in the southeast of the country. Historically home to the Sindhi people, it is locally known as the Mehran. It was formerly known as Sind until 1956, Sindh is the third largest province of Pakistan by area, and second largest province by population after Punjab. Sindh is bordered by Balochistan province to the west, and Punjab province to the north, Sindh also borders the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan to the east, and Arabian Sea to the south. Sindhs climate is noted for hot summers and mild winters, the provincial capital of Sindh is Pakistans largest city and financial hub, Karachi. Sindh has Pakistans second largest economy with Karachi being its capital hosts the headquarters of several multinational banks. Sindh is home to a portion of Pakistans industrial sector. The remainder of Sindh has an agriculture based economy, and produces fruit, food consumer items, Sindh is also the centre of Pakistans pharmaceutical industry. Sindh is known for its culture which is strongly influenced by Sufism. Several important Sufi shrines are located throughout the province which attract millions of annual devotees, Sindh also has Pakistans highest percentage of Hindu residents. Karachi and other centres of Sindh have seen ethnic tensions between the native Sindhis and the Muhajirs boil over into violence on several occasions. Sindh is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites - the Historical Monuments at Makli, and the Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro, the word Sindh is derived from the Sanskrit language and is adapted from the Sanskrit term Sindhu which literally means river hence a reference to Indus River. Spelling of its name as Sind was discontinued in 1988 by an amendment passed in Sindh Assembly. The Greeks who conquered Sindh in 325 BC under the command of Alexander the Great rendered it as Indós, the ancient Iranians referred to everything east of the river Indus as hind from the word Sindh. When the British arrived in the 17th century in India, then ruled by the Maratha Empire, they applied the Greek version of the name Sindh to all of South Asia, calling it India. The name of Pakistan is actually an acronym in which the letter s is derived from the first letter in Sindh, Sindhs first known village settlements date as far back as 7000 BCE. Permanent settlements at Mehrgarh, currently in Balochistan, to the west expanded into Sindh and this culture blossomed over several millennia and gave rise to the Indus Valley Civilization around 3000 BCE. The primitive village communities in Balochistan were still struggling against a difficult highland environment and this was one of the most developed urban civilizations of the ancient world
8.
Charles James Napier
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Charles James Napier was the eldest son of Colonel George Napier, and his second wife, Lady Sarah Lennox, with this being the second marriage for both parties. Lady Sarah was the great-granddaughter of King Charles II, Napier was born at the Whitehall Palace in London, and he received part of his education at boarding school in Celbridge, Ireland. He joined the 33rd Infantry Regiment of the British Army in January 1794, Napier commanded the 50th Regiment of Foot during the Peninsular War in Iberia against Napoleon Bonaparte. Napiers activities there ended during the Battle of Corunna, in which he was wounded, Napier was rescued, barely alive, by a French Army drummer named Guibert, and taken as a prisoner-of-war. Nevertheless, Napier was awarded an Army Gold Medal after he was returned to British hands, Napier recuperated from his wounds while he was being held near the headquarters of the French Marshall Soult and afterwards Michel Ney. On March 21,1809, a British sloop approached Corunna with a letter for the commandant of the city, for his deeds at Bussaco and at Fuentes de Oñoro, Napier won the silver medal with two clasps. Napier returned to England and became the General Officer Commanding of the Northern District in England in April 1839, in 1842, at the age of 60, Napier was appointed Major General to the command of the Indian army within the Bombay Presidency. His orders had been only to put down the rebels, Napier was supposed to have despatched to his superiors the short, notable message, Peccavi, the Latin for I have sinned. This pun appeared under the title Foreign Affairs in Punch magazine on 18 May 1844, the true author of the pun was, however, Englishwoman Catherine Winkworth, who submitted it to Punch, which then printed it as a factual report. Later proponents of British rule over the East Indians justified the conquest thus, If this was a piece of rascality, it was a noble piece of rascality. On 4 July 1843, Napier was appointed Knight Grand Cross in the division of the Order of the Bath, in recognition of his leading the victories at Miani. He was also in 1843 given the colonelcy of the 97th Regiment of Foot, Napier was appointed Governor of the Bombay Presidency by Lord Ellenborough. Napier was again dispatched to India during the spring of 1849, however upon arriving once again in India, Napier found that this had already been accomplished by Lord Gough and his army. Napier remained for a while as the Commander-in-Chief in India and he also quarrelled repeatedly with Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General of India. The source of the dispute was Dalhousies behaviour on Indias north-west frontier, Dalhousie had requested repeated punitive raids against villagers who had not paid taxes. Napier was opposed to these tactics but accompanied a column of East India Company troops under Sir Colin Campbell, the Punjab troops were not under Napiers command and began burning villages on Lawrences orders. ’. Napier returned home to England for the last time, however his quarrel with Dalhousie was not over. Instead they were pooh-poohed as the emanations of a distempered mind. ’ Napiers former house is now part of Oaklands Catholic School of Waterlooville, Napier died on 29 August 1853 and his remains were buried in the Royal Garrison Church in Portsmouth
9.
Governor-General of India
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The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William. The officer had direct control only over Fort William, but supervised other British East India Company officials in India, complete authority over all of British India was granted in 1833, and the official came to be known as the Governor-General of India. In 1858, the territories of the East India Company came under the control of the British government. The governor-general headed the government of India, which administered the provinces of British India, including the Punjab, Bengal, Bombay, Madras, the United Provinces. To reflect the role as the representative of the monarch to the feudal rulers of the princely states, from 1858 the term Viceroy. Until 1858, the governor-general was selected by the Court of Directors of the East India Company, after 1947, the sovereign continued to appoint the governor-general, but did so on the advice of the Indian government. Governors-General served at the pleasure of the sovereign, though the practice was to have them serve five-year terms, Governors-General could have their commission rescinded and if one were removed or left a provisional governor-general was sometimes appointed until a new holder of the office could be chosen. Provisional governors-general were often chosen from among the provincial governors, many parts of the Indian subcontinent were governed by the East India Company, which nominally acted as the agent of the Mughal Emperor. In 1773, motivated by corruption in the Company, the British government assumed control over the governance of India with the passage of the Regulating Act of 1773. A Governor-General and Supreme Council of Bengal were appointed to rule over the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal, the first Governor-General and Council were named in the Act, their successors were to be elected by the East India Companys Court of Directors. The Act provided for a term for the Governor-General and Council. The Charter Act 1833 replaced the Governor-General and Council of Fort William with the Governor-General, the power to elect the Governor-General was retained by the Court of Directors, but the choice became subject to the Sovereigns approval. After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the East India Companys territories in India were put under the control of the Sovereign. The Government of India Act 1858 vested the power to appoint the Governor-General in the Sovereign, the Governor-General, in turn, had the power to appoint all lieutenant governors in India, subject to the Sovereigns approval. India and Pakistan acquired independence in 1947, but Governors-General continued to be appointed over each nation until republican constitutions were written, Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma remained Governor-General of India for some time after independence, but the two nations were otherwise headed by native Governors-General. India became a republic in 1950, Pakistan became an Islamic one in 1956. The Governor-General originally had power only over the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal, the Regulating Act, however, granted them additional powers relating to foreign affairs and defence. The powers of the Governor-General in respect of foreign affairs were increased by the India Act 1784, while the Governor-General thus became the controller of foreign policy in India, he was not the explicit head of British India
10.
Latin
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Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets, Latin was originally spoken in Latium, in the Italian Peninsula. Through the power of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language, Vulgar Latin developed into the Romance languages, such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Romanian. Latin, Italian and French have contributed many words to the English language, Latin and Ancient Greek roots are used in theology, biology, and medicine. By the late Roman Republic, Old Latin had been standardised into Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin was the colloquial form spoken during the same time and attested in inscriptions and the works of comic playwrights like Plautus and Terence. Late Latin is the language from the 3rd century. Later, Early Modern Latin and Modern Latin evolved, Latin was used as the language of international communication, scholarship, and science until well into the 18th century, when it began to be supplanted by vernaculars. Ecclesiastical Latin remains the language of the Holy See and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Today, many students, scholars and members of the Catholic clergy speak Latin fluently and it is taught in primary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions around the world. The language has been passed down through various forms, some inscriptions have been published in an internationally agreed, monumental, multivolume series, the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Authors and publishers vary, but the format is about the same, volumes detailing inscriptions with a critical apparatus stating the provenance, the reading and interpretation of these inscriptions is the subject matter of the field of epigraphy. The works of several hundred ancient authors who wrote in Latin have survived in whole or in part and they are in part the subject matter of the field of classics. The Cat in the Hat, and a book of fairy tales, additional resources include phrasebooks and resources for rendering everyday phrases and concepts into Latin, such as Meissners Latin Phrasebook. The Latin influence in English has been significant at all stages of its insular development. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers cobbled together huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek words, dubbed inkhorn terms, as if they had spilled from a pot of ink. Many of these words were used once by the author and then forgotten, many of the most common polysyllabic English words are of Latin origin through the medium of Old French. Romance words make respectively 59%, 20% and 14% of English, German and those figures can rise dramatically when only non-compound and non-derived words are included. Accordingly, Romance words make roughly 35% of the vocabulary of Dutch, Roman engineering had the same effect on scientific terminology as a whole
11.
Indian Rebellion of 1857
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The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major, but ultimately unsuccessful, uprising in India in 1857–58 against British rule. For nearly 100 years, that rule had been presided over by the British East India Company, the rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form of a mutiny of sepoys of the Companys army in the garrison town of Meerut,40 miles northeast of Delhi. It then erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions chiefly in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, though incidents of revolt also occurred farther north and east. The rebellion posed a threat to British power in that region. On 1 November 1858, the British granted amnesty to all rebels not involved in murder, though they did not declare the hostilities formally to have ended until 8 July 1859. The rebellion is known by names, including the Sepoy Mutiny, the Indian Mutiny, the Great Rebellion, the Revolt of 1857, the Indian Insurrection. Many Indians did rise against the British, however, very many also fought for the British, after the outbreak of the mutiny in Meerut, the rebels very quickly reached Delhi, whose 81-year-old Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah Zafar, they declared the Emperor of Hindustan. Soon, the rebels had captured large tracts of the North-Western Provinces. The East India Companys response came rapidly as well, with help from reinforcements, Kanpur was retaken by mid-July 1857, and Delhi by the end of September. However, it took the remainder of 1857 and the better part of 1858 for the rebellion to be suppressed in Jhansi, Lucknow. Other regions of Company controlled India—Bengal province, the Bombay Presidency, in the Punjab, the Sikh princes crucially helped the British by providing both soldiers and support. In some regions, most notably in Awadh, the took on the attributes of a patriotic revolt against European presence. However, the rebel leaders proclaimed no articles of faith that presaged a new political system, even so, the rebellion proved to be an important watershed in Indian- and British Empire history. India was thereafter administered directly by the British government in the new British Raj, on 1 November 1858, Queen Victoria issued a proclamation to Indians, which while lacking the authority of a constitutional provision, promised rights similar to those of other British subjects. In the following decades, when admission to these rights was not always forthcoming, the victory was consolidated in 1764 at the Battle of Buxar, when the East India Company army defeated Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. After his defeat, the granted the Company the right to the collection of Revenue in the provinces of Bengal, Bihar. The Company soon expanded its territories around its bases in Bombay and Madras, later, the Anglo-Mysore Wars, in 1806, the Vellore Mutiny was sparked by new uniform regulations that created resentment amongst both Hindu and Muslim sepoys. After the turn of the 19th century, Governor-General Wellesley began what became two decades of accelerated expansion of Company territories and this was achieved either by subsidiary alliances between the Company and local rulers or by direct military annexation
12.
Chanderi
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Chanderi is a town of historical importance in Ashoknagar District of the state of Madhya Pradesh in India. It is situated at a distance of 127 km from Shivpuri,37 km from Lalitpur,55 km from Ashok Nagar and it is surrounded by hills southwest of the Betwa River. Chanderi is surrounded by hills, lakes and forests and is spotted with several monuments of the Bundela Rajputs, the Chanderi area has been a major center of Jain culture. It was a center of the Parwar Jain community. There are a number of Jain places nearby- Gurilagiri, Aamanachar, Bithala, Bhamon, Khandargiri, Thuvanji and Bhiyadant, at a distance of 19 km from present Chanderi town is situated the Buddhi Chanderi. Buddhi Chanderi is situated on the banks of Urvashi river and it is believed that the Chaidnagar mentioned in Puranas is same as Buddhi Chanderi. There is a myth that when Raja Nala left Damayanti asleep in the forests of Narwar she moved through dense forests, the route through forests from Narwar to Chanderi is very short. A number of 9th and 10th century Jain temples are there in Buddhi Chanderi attracting thousands of Jain pilgrims from all over the country, the Jain Bhattarakas of Mula Sangh, Balatkara Gana had a center at Chanderi that flourished for several centuries. The lineage, as constructed by Pt, as suggested by inscription this temple was built around year 1293. This temple was renovated in 13th to 18th century and this temple has 24 idols for 24 tirthankars and these idols are made by the stones of actual colors as the Teerthankar. All idols are same in dimensions, which is difficult in real. Shri Khandargiri Jain temple, It is one of the most famous site in Chanderi. This temple is famous for 45 feet carved idol of Rishabhnatha, inscriptions suggest that this statue is over 700 years old. Six caves have been cut out of the hillside, inside there are a number of religious carvings of Jain saints and decorations carved into the existing hillside. The oldest cave is cave 6 that dates back to 1236, shri thobonji Jain temple, This temple belongs to 9th century. Moolnayak of this temple is light blue colored idol colossal of Adinath of height 36 feet 8 inches, the other colossal idols in this temple are Bhagwan Parshwanatha of height 13 feet 4 inches and Bhagwan Parshwanath of height 12 feet 6 inches. Shri Chandraprabha digambar Jain temple, This temple is dedicated to Chandraprabha, oldest inscription date back to year 967 AD. Chanderi is located strategically on the borders of Malwa and Bundelkhand, consequently, Chanderi became an important military outpost
13.
Gwalior
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Gwalior is a major city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located 319 kilometres south of Delhi, the city of India. The city and its fortress have been ruled by several historic northern Indian kingdoms, from the Tomars in the 13th century, it was passed on to the Mughal Empire, then to the Maratha in 1754, followed by the Scindia in 18th century. Besides being the headquarters of Gwalior district and Gwalior division. Several administrative and judicial organisations, commissions and boards have their state, Gwalior was the winter capital of the state of Madhya Bharat which later became a part of the larger state of Madhya Pradesh. Prior to Indian independence on 15 August 1947, Gwalior remained a state of the British Raj with the Scindia as the local rulers. High rocky hills surround the city from all sides, on the north it just forms the border of the Ganga- Yamuna Drainage Basin, the city however is situated in the valley between the hills. Gwaliors metropolitan area includes Lashkar Gwalior, Morar Gwalior, Thatipur, Gwalior was one of the major sites of rebellion during the 1857 uprising. Post-independence, Gwalior has emerged as an important tourist attraction in central India while many industries, before the end of the 20th century it became a million plus agglomeration and now it is a metropolitan city in central India. Gwalior is surrounded by industrial and commercial zones of neighbouring districts on all three main directions, a 2016 report of the World Health Organization found Gwalior to be the second-most air-polluted city in the world and the most polluted city in India. Gwalior has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a city under PM Narendra Modis flagship Smart Cities Mission. According to local tradition, Gwalior owes its name to a sage of former times, Suraj Sen, a prince of the gurjar-pratihar clan of the eighth century, is said to have lost his way in the forest. On a secluded hill, he met an old man, the sage Gwalipa, upon asking the sage for some drinking water, he was led to a pond, where the waters not only quenched his thirst but cured him of leprosy. Suraj Sen later built a palace inside the fort, which was named Gwalior after the sage, after being founded by Maharaj Suraj Sen, Gwalior Fort saw many different rulers ruling the city and suburbs around it. Gwalior became a prominent place for religious practices, cultures and other disciplines coming up during that time in the country, during the 6th century BC Gwalior was ruled by the Nanda dynasty of Pataliputra. During the first century AD, Gwalior came under Naga Dynasty, from the carving found at Pawaya, it has been discovered that the kushanas ruled the city till the 3rd century AD. After that, it came under the Guptas till 467 AD, during the 5th century, The Kannauj of Gurar-Pratihara Dynasty ruled Gwalior and played a prominent role in shaping its history. From 700–740 AD Gwalior became the capital of Kannauj, a Magnificent Sun Temple was created at the fort hill during that period
14.
William Francis Frederick Waller
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Waller was born at Dagoolie, India, on 20 August 1839. He was the son of Thomas Waller & his wife Alicia Ann née Gilbert and he married Mary Anna Grierson on 16 June 1864 at Bombay, India. Waller was eighteen years old, and a lieutenant in the 25th Bombay Light Infantry during the Indian Mutiny. On 20 June 1858 at Gwalior, British India, Waller and another officer who was killed during the action, Rose was killed, but for his part in the action Waller was awarded the Victoria Cross. His citation read, For great gallantry at the capture by storm of the fortress of Gwalior, however, the award was not gazetted until 25 February 1862. He later achieved the rank of colonel and he died at Bath, Somerset, on 29 January 1885 and is buried there in the Locksbrook Cemetery. His VC is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum, william Francis Frederick Waller at Find a Grave Location of grave and VC medal biographical details VC medal auction details
15.
Victoria Cross
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The Victoria Cross is the highest award of the United Kingdom honours system. It is awarded for gallantry in the face of the enemy to members of the British armed forces and it was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857 and these investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War, since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Only 15 medals,11 to members of the British Army, the traditional explanation of the source of the metal from which the medals are struck is that it derives from Russian cannon captured at the Siege of Sevastopol. Some research has suggested a variety of origins for the material, research has established that the metal for most of the medals made since December 1914 came from two Chinese cannons that were captured from the Russians in 1855. Owing to its rarity, the VC is highly prized and the medal has fetched over £400,000 at auction, a number of public and private collections are devoted to the Victoria Cross. The private collection of Lord Ashcroft, amassed since 1986, contains over one-tenth of all VCs awarded, following a 2008 donation to the Imperial War Museum, the Ashcroft collection went on public display alongside the museums Victoria and George Cross collection in November 2010. These are unique awards of honours system, recommended, assessed, gazetted and presented by each country. In 1854, after 39 years of peace, Britain found itself fighting a war against Russia. The Crimean War was one of the first wars with modern reporting, before the Crimean War, there was no official standardised system for recognition of gallantry within the British armed forces. This structure was limited, in practice awards of the Order of the Bath were confined to officers of field rank. Brevet promotions or Mentions in Despatches were largely confined to those who were under the notice of the commanders in the field. Other European countries had awards that did not discriminate against class or rank, France awarded the Légion dhonneur and The Netherlands gave the Order of William. There was a feeling among the public and in the Royal Court that a new award was needed to recognise incidents of gallantry that were unconnected with a mans lengthy or meritorious service. Queen Victoria issued a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual on 29 January 1856 that officially constituted the VC, the order was backdated to 1854 to recognise acts of valour during the Crimean War. Queen Victoria had instructed the War Office to strike a new medal that would not recognise birth or class, the medal was meant to be a simple decoration that would be highly prized and eagerly sought after by those in the military services
16.
Bijapur
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For namesakes, see Vijaypur Bijapur officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur District of Karnataka state. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluka, Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural importance built during the rule of the Adil Shahi dynasty. Bijapur is located 530 km northwest of the State Capital Bengaluru and about 550 km from Mumbai, Bijapur urban population as per 2011 census is 326,000, perhaps the 9th biggest city in Karnataka. Vijayapura Mahanagara Palike is the newest Municipal Corporation formed under the KMC act along with Shivamogga, the other existing city corporations in Karnataka state in descending order of population are Bengaluru, Hubballi-Dharawada, Mysuru, Kalaburgi, Belagavi, Mangaluru, Davangere and Ballari. Administratively, Bijapur district comes under Belgaum division along with Bagalkote, Belgaum, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Bijapur, the land of five rivers and the domain of different cultures, is an ancient city. The city established in the 10th and 11th centuries by the Chalukyas of Kalyani was known as Vijayapura, the city was established in the 10th-11th centuries by the Kalyani Chalukyas and was known as Vijayapura. The city was passed to Yadavas after Chalukyas demise, the city came under the influence of the Khilji Sultanate in Delhi by the late 13th century. In 1347, the area was conquered by the Bahmani Sultanate of Gulbarga, by this time, the city was being referred as Bijapur. In 1518, the Bahmani Sultanate split into five splinter states known as the Deccan sultanates, one of which was Bijapur, the city of Vijayapura owes much of its greatness to Yusuf Adil Shah, the founder of the independent state of Bijapur. The rule of this dynasty ended in 1686, when Bijapur was conquered during the reign of Mughal badshah Aurangzeb, in 1724 the Nizam of Hyderabad established his independence in the Deccan, and included Bijapur within his dominions. In 1760, the Nizam suffered a defeat by the Marathas, Bijapur district is historically, traditionally and legendarily, one of the richest districts in the state. The evidence found here reveals that it was a place since the Stone Age. Many places of this district have legendary history, the history of this district is divided into four periods, from the Chalukya acquisition of Badami till the Muslim invasion. Early Western Chalukya period lasting from about A. D.535 to about A. D.757. Rastrakuta period from A. D.757 to A. D.973 Kalachuri, Bijapur came under Muslim influence, first under Allaudin Khilji, the Sultan of Delhi, towards the end of the 13th century, and then under the Bahamani kings of Bidar in 1347. In 1347, when the Bahamani dynasty was established, it included southern and eastern parts of Bijapur district, the supremacy of the Bahamans may be said to have ceased by 1489. At that time five Shahi Dynasties were born and one of them was Bijapur‟, the Mughal emperor Aurangajeb conquered Bijapur in 1686 and it was under Mughal rule up to 1723. In 1724 the Nizam of Hyderabad established his independence in the Deccan, however, his acquisition on this portion was of brief duration, in 1760 it went into the hands of Marathas
17.
Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala
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Field Marshal Robert Cornelius Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala GCB, GCSI, FRS was an Indian Army officer. He fought in the First Anglo-Sikh War and the Second Anglo-Sikh War before seeing action as chief engineer during the relief of Lucknow in March 1858 during the Indian Mutiny. He subsequently led the expedition to Abyssinia July 1867, defeating the Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia with minimal loss of life among his own forces. He attended the Royal Engineer Establishment at Chatham with the rank of ensign from 7 June 1827 before being promoted to lieutenant on 28 September 1827 and being sent to India in November 1828. After commanding a company at Delhi, he was employed in the works of the Public Works Department until 1836 when he returned to England for leave on account of his poor health. Promoted to captain on 25 January 1841, he was appointed garrison engineer at Sirhind in 1842, Napier served under Sir Hugh Gough during the First Anglo-Sikh War and commanded the Bengal Engineers at the Battle of Mudki in December 1845. He was severely wounded at the Battle of Ferozeshah in December 1845 while storming the Sikh camp and was present at the Battle of Sobraon in February 1846. Promoted to brevet major on 3 April 1846, he was engineer at the siege of the fortress of Kote Kangra in the Punjab by Brigadier-General Wheeler in May 1846. He took part in the Battle of Gujrat in February 1849 and he was promoted to brevet lieutenant-colonel on 7 June 1849 and became chief engineer to the Board of Administration of Punjab Province at the end of the War. In December 1852 Napier took command of a column in the first Hazara expedition and he was promoted to the brevet rank of colonel on 28 November 1854 and the substantive rank of lieutenant colonel on 15 April 1856. Napier was appointed secretary and adjutant general to Sir James Outram. He remained as engineer until the second relief in November 1857. He recovered sufficiently to be present at the capture of Lucknow in March 1858, Napier then joined Sir Hugh Rose as second-in-command for the march on Gwalior and commanded the 2nd Brigade at the Battle of Morar in June 1858. After Gwalior fell, Napier and his 700 men pursued, caught and he was promoted to brevet major-general on 15 February 1861 and to the substantive rank of colonel on 18 February 1861. Napier became the member of the Council of the Governor-General of India in 1861. Napier achieved his greatest fame as an officer when he led the expedition of 1868 against Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian ruler was holding a number of Protestant missionaries hostage, in his capital of Magdala. The expedition involved crossing 400 miles of mountainous terrain lacking roads or bridges occupied by people with a known history of hostility towards outsiders
18.
Indian Order of Merit
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The Indian Order of Merit was a military and civilian decoration of British India. For a long period of time the IOM was the highest decoration that a member of the British Indian Army could receive. This was changed in 1911 when Indian servicemen became eligible for the Victoria Cross, a civilian division of the IOM also existed between 1902 and 1939, however, it was only conferred very rarely. The medal was first introduced by the East India Company in 1837, under the name Order of Merit and was taken over by the Crown in 1858, the name of the medal was changed in 1902 to avoid confusion with a British Order of the same name. Both divisions of the order were removed when India became independent in 1947, recipients receive the post nominal letters IOM. The recipients of the order received increased pay and pension allowances and were highly regarded. A civil division was available in two classes between 1902 and 1939, when it was reduced to one class, the civil medal was rarely awarded. Eight pointed dull silver star with blue circle, surrounded by laurels, in the middle, with crossed swords and the words Awarded for Valour. Conspicuous act of gallantry on the part of any Native Officers or Soldiers, in the Field or in the attack or defence of a Fortified place. Eight pointed shiny silver star with blue circle, surrounded by gold laurels in the middle, with crossed swords and the words Awarded for Valour, to be obtained by those who already possess the third and for similar services. Eight pointed gold star with blue circle, surrounded by gold laurels in the middle, with crossed swords and the words Awarded for Valour, to be obtained in like manner only by those who possess the third and second classes. Lieutenant Sardar Bahadur Ahmadullah Khan, Khan Bahadur, IOM, OBI, IMD Khillat Sword of Honour, Jagirdar, good and Meritorious Service rendered with Waziristan delimitation escort were recognized by the P. M. O. in India in his Letter No.3106 Dated 03-10-1895. Dark Blue ribbon flanked by two red stripes of about a sixth of the width, subedar Mir Dast VC, IOM Bahadur Risaldar Major Ganda Singh Datt IOM Maharajadhiraja Bahadur Sir Bijay Chand Mahtab GCIE, KCSI, IOM Duckers, Peter. Indian Order of Merit, Historical Records, 1837-1860 Vol I, further volumes of this comprehensive work are in the process of compilation and will bring the records up to 1947, ultimately. Search recommendations for the Indian Order of Merit on The UK National Archives website, the Website of the Indian Military Historical Society
19.
Light infantry
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Light infantry are soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry, heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight formations that were the core of large battles. Heavy infantry originally had heavier arms and more armour than light infantry, as with so called light infantry of later periods, the term more adequately describes the role of such infantry rather than the actual weight of their equipment. Peltast equipment, for example, grew steadily heavier at the time as hoplite equipment grew lighter. It was the fact that peltasts fought in order as skirmishers that made them light infantry. Early regular armies of the era frequently relied on irregulars to perform the duties of light infantry skirmishers. In the 18th and 19th centuries most infantry regiments or battalions had a company as an integral part of its composition. Its members were often smaller, more men with high shooting ability and capability of using initiative. They did not usually fight in disciplined ranks as did the infantry but often in widely dispersed groups. They were expected to avoid melee engagements unless necessary, and would fight ahead of the line to harass the enemy before falling back to the main position. Light infantry sometimes carried lighter muskets than ordinary infantrymen while others carried rifles and these became designated as rifle regiments in Britain and Jäger regiments in German speaking Europe. In France, during the Napoleonic Wars, light infantry were called voltigeurs and chasseurs, the Austrian army had Grenzer regiments from the middle of the 18th century, who originally served as irregular militia skirmishers recruited from mountainous frontier areas. Light infantry officers sometimes carried muskets or rifles, rather than pistols, orders were sent by bugle or whistle instead of drum. Some armies, including the British and French, recruited whole regiments of light infantry, by the late 19th century the concept of fighting in formation was on the wane due to advancements in weaponry and the distinctions between light and heavy infantry began to disappear. Essentially, all infantry became light infantry in operational practice, some regiments retained the name and customs, but there was in effect little difference between them and other infantry regiments. On the eve of World War I the British Army included seven light infantry regiments, today the term light denotes, in the United States table of organization and equipment, units lacking heavy weapons and armor or with a reduced vehicle footprint. At its height, this included the 6th Infantry Division, 7th Infantry Division, 10th Mountain Division, 25th Infantry Division, operation Just Cause is often cited as proof of concept. Almost 30,000 U. S. Forces, mostly light, during the 1990s, the concept of purely light forces in the US military came under scrutiny due to their decreased lethality and survivability
20.
Hyderabad
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Hyderabad is the capital of the southern Indian state of Telangana and de jure capital of Andhra Pradesh. At an average altitude of 542 metres, much of Hyderabad is situated on hilly terrain around artificial lakes, established in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, Hyderabad remained under the rule of the Qutb Shahi dynasty for nearly a century before the Mughals captured the region. In 1724, Mughal viceroy Asif Jah I declared his sovereignty and created his own dynasty, the Nizams dominions became a princely state during the British Raj, and remained so for 150 years, with the city serving as its capital. The city continued as the capital of Hyderabad State after it was brought into the Indian Union in 1948, since 1956, Rashtrapati Nilayam in the city has been the winter office of the President of India. In 2014, the formed state of Telangana split from Andhra Pradesh. Relics of Qutb Shahi and Nizam rule remain visible today, the Charminar—commissioned by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah—has come to symbolise Hyderabad, Golconda fort is another major landmark. The influence of Mughlai culture is evident in the regions distinctive cuisine. The Qutb Shahis and Nizams established Hyderabad as a cultural hub, the Telugu film industry based in the city is the countrys second-largest producer of motion pictures. Hyderabad was historically known as a pearl and diamond trading centre, many of the citys traditional bazaars remain open, including Laad Bazaar, Begum Bazaar and Sultan Bazaar. Special economic zones dedicated to technology have encouraged companies from India. The emergence of pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in the 1990s led to the naming as Indias Genome Valley. With an output of US$74 billion, Hyderabad is the fifth-largest contributor to Indias overall gross domestic product, according to John Everett-Heath, the author of Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Place Names, Hyderabad means Haydars city or lion city, from haydar and ābād. It was named to honour the Caliph Ali Ibn Abi Talib, andrew Petersen, a scholar of Islamic architecture, says the city was originally called Baghnagar. One popular theory suggests that Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the founder of the city, named it Bhagyanagar or Bhāgnagar after Bhagmati and she converted to Islam and adopted the title Hyder Mahal. The city was renamed Hyderabad in her honour, French traveller Jean de Thévenot visited the Deccan region in 1666–1667 refers to the city in his book Travels in India as Bagnagar and Aiderabad. Archaeologists excavating near the city have unearthed Iron Age sites that may date from 500 BCE, the region comprising modern Hyderabad and its surroundings was known as Golkonda, and was ruled by the Chalukya dynasty from 624 CE to 1075 CE. The Kakatiya dynasty was reduced to a vassal of the Khilji dynasty in 1310 after its defeat by Sultan Alauddin Khilji of the Delhi Sultanate and this lasted until 1321, when the Kakatiya dynasty was annexed by Malik Kafur, Allaudin Khiljis general. During this period, Alauddin Khilji took the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which is said to have mined from the Kollur Mines of Golkonda
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Pune
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Pune is the second largest city in the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ninth most populous city in the country. In the 18th century, Pune was the centre of the Indian subcontinent. Considered to be the capital of Maharashtra, Pune is known as Oxford of the East due to the presence of several well-known educational institutions in the city. The city has emerged as an educational hub in recent decades. Since the 1950s and 1960s, Pune has had a traditional old-economic base as most of the old industries continue to grow, a few college in the Europe have also actively engaged in Student-exchange programs with several colleges in Pune. Pune is also one of the fastest growing cities in the Asia-Pacific region, the ‘Mercer 2015 Quality of Living rankings’ evaluated local living conditions in more than 440 cities around the world where Pune ranked at 145, second in India after Hyderabad. It also highlights Pune among evolving business centres and emerging nine cities around the world with citation Hosts IT, the oldest reference to the place is found inscribed on a Rashtrakuta Dynasty copper plate dated AD937, which refers to the town as Punya-Vishaya meaning Sacred News. By the 13th century, it had come to be known as Punawadi, copper plates dated 858 AD and 868 AD show that by the 8th century an agricultural settlement known as Punnaka existed where Pune is today. The plates indicate that this region was ruled by the Rashtrakuta dynasty, the Pataleshwar rock-cut temple complex was built during this era. Pune was part of the territory ruled by Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri from the 9th century to 1327, in 1595, Maloji Raje Bhosale was granted the jagirdari of Pune by the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. Pune was ruled by the Ahmadnagar Sultanate until it was annexed by the Mughals in the 17th century, Pune was part of the Jagir granted to Maloji Bhosale in 1599 for his services to the Nizamshahi of Ahmadnagar. His grandson, Shivaji, the founder of Maratha Empire, was born in Shivneri fort not far from Pune, Shivaji was brought up by his mother in Pune. Pune changed hands several times between the Mughals and the Marathas in the period between 1660 and 1705 and he stabilised the revenue collection and administrative systems of areas around Pune and in neighbouring area of the Maval region. In addition, he developed methods to manage disputes and to enforce law. Construction on the Lal Mahal began in 1631 AD, the Lal Mahal was completed in 1640 AD. Jijabai is said to have commissioned the building of the Kasba Ganapati temple, the Ganesha idol consecrated at this temple has been regarded as the presiding deity of the city. Shivaji encouraged the development of dams in the Parvati and Kondhwa regions of Pune for agricultural purposes, Pune and its surrounding villages were the major recruitment areas for Shivajis army between 1645 AD and 1680 AD. Between 1660 AD and 1670 AD the town was captured by Mughal General Shahista Khan, Shivaji often used Pune as his transit base during his major campaigns such as Varhad-Karanja, AhemadaNagar District, Karnataka, and Jalna
22.
Aurangabad, Maharashtra
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Aurangabad is a city in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state in India. Aurangabad is named after the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, the city is a tourism hub, surrounded by many historical monuments, including the Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves, which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as well as Bibi Ka Maqbara and Panchakki. Aurangabad is the Tourism Capital of Maharashtra, Khadki was the original name of the village which was made a capital city by Malik Ambar, the Prime Minister of Murtaza Nizam, Shah of Ahmadnagar. Within a decade, Khadki grew into a populous and imposing city and he was succeeded by his son Fateh Khan, who changed the name of Khadki to Fatehnagar. With the capture of Daulatabad by the troops in 1633. In 1653 when Mughal prince Aurangzeb was appointed the viceroy of the Deccan for the time, he made Fatehnagar his capital. Aurangabad is sometimes referred to as Khujista Bunyad by the Chroniclers of Aurangzebs reign and his son and successor, Nizam Ali Khan Asaf Jah II transferred his capital from Aurangabad to Hyderabad in 1763. During the period of the British Raj, the city was known as Aurungábád, in 1956 it became a part of newly formed bilingual Bombay state and in 1960 it became a part of Maharashtra state. The co-ordinates for Aurangabad are N 19°5347 – E 75°2354, the city is surrounded by hills on all directions. Climate Classification, Aurangabad features a semiarid climate under the Köppen climate classification, temperature, Annual mean temperatures in Aurangabad range from 17 to 33 °C, with the most comfortable time to visit in the winter – October to February. The highest maximum temperature recorded was 46 °C on 25 May 1905. The lowest recorded temperature was 2 °C on 2 February 1911, rainfall, Most of the rainfall occurs in the monsoon season from June to September. Thunderstorms occur between November to April. Average annual rainfall is 710 mm. The city is often cloudy during the monsoon season, the daily maximum temperature in the city often drops to around 22 °C due to the cloud cover and heavy rains. The entire area is covered by the Deccan Traps lava flows of Upper Cretaceous to Lower Eocene age, the lava flows are overlain by thin alluvial deposits along the Kham and Sukhana river. The basaltic lava flows belonging to the Deccan Trap is the major geological formation occurring in Aurangabad. The lava flows are horizontal and each flow has two distinct units, the difference in the productivity of groundwater in various flows arises as a result of their inherent physical properties such as porosity and permeability. The groundwater occurs under water table conditions and is controlled by the extent of its secondary porosity i. e. thickness of weathered rocks and spacing of joints. The highly weathered vesicular trap and underlying weathered jointed and fractured massive trap constitutes the main water yielding zones, the soil is mostly formed from igneous rocks and are black, medium black, shallow and calcareous types having different depths and profiles
23.
Mhow
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Mhow, officially known as Dr Ambedkar Nagar, is a cantonment in the Indore District in Madhya Pradesh state of India. It is located 23 kilometres south of Indore city towards Mumbai on the Mumbai-Agra Road, the town was renamed as Dr Ambedkar Nagar in 2003, by the Government of Madhya Pradesh. There is total lack of unanimity on how Mhow got its name, one possible source of the name might be the Mahua tree, which grows in profusion in the forests around Mhow. Some articles in popular literature state that MHOW stands for Military Headquarters Of War, however, this is a backronym, and there is no proof to support the theory that the name of the village comes from the acronym. The village near Mhow was called Mhow Gaon in the pre-British era, the Cantonment which came up in 1818 came to be known as Mhow Cantt after the name of this village. Sir John Malcolm spelt the name of town as MOW in his writings. The 1918 edition of Encyclopædia Britannica also mentions MAU, however, the Cantonment was referred to by British officers as Mhow at least as early as the end of 1823. In 2003, the town was renamed Dr. Ambedkar Nagar in honour of B. R. Ambedkar, the renaming has not been without controversy. Many claim that it has been due to the compulsions of vote bank politics. The new name is used for purposes and has not been widely accepted. This cantonment town was founded in 1818 by John Malcolm as a result of the Treaty of Mandsaur between the English and the Holkars who were the Maratha Maharajas of Indore, John Malcolms forces had defeated the Holkars of the Maratha Confederacy at the Battle of Mahidpur in 1818. It was after this battle that the capital of the Holkars shifted from the town of Maheshwar on the banks of the Narmada to Indore, Mhow used to be the headquarters of the 5th Division of the Southern Command during the British Raj. Mhow was a gauge railway district headquarters during the British Raj. The irony is that Mhow finally has a gauge connection with Indore. According to Hindu religious texts, Janapav Kuti near Mhow is said to be the birthplace of Parashurama, Mhow has a pleasant climate more often than not, however the peak summer and winter periods may get extremely hot and cold, respectively. Temperatures may go as high as 43 degrees Celsius during summers and 4 degrees Celsius during winter, as of 2011 India census, Mhow had a population of 85,023. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%, Mhow has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59. 5%, male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 65%. Population of Children with age of 0-6 is 9308 which is 11. 39% of total population of Mhow Cantt, in Mhow Cantt Cantonment Board, Female Sex Ratio is of 862 against state average of 931
24.
Indore
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Indore /ɪnˈdɔər/, is the largest and most populous city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division, Indore was described by the Economic Times as the commercial capital of the state. It is also considered as a hub of the state. With a census-estimated 2011 population of 1,994,397 and 2,170,295, the city is distributed over a land area of just 530 square kilometers making Indore the most densely populated major city in the central province. It comes under Tier 2 cities in India, Indore traces its roots to its 16th century founding as a trading hub between the Deccan and Delhi. The city and its surroundings came under Hindu Maratha Empire on 18 May 1724 after Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao I assumed the control of Malwa. During the days of the British Raj, Indore State was a 19 Gun Salute princely state ruled by the Maratha Holkar dynasty, Indore served as the capital of the Madhya Bharat from 1950 until 1956. Indores financial district, anchored by central Indore, functions as the capital of the Madhya Pradesh and is home to the Madhya Pradesh Stock Exchange. It has also qualified the first round of Smart Cities Mission and has selected as one of the first twenty cities to be developed as Smart Cities. By 1720, the headquarters of the local pargana were transferred from Kampel to Indore, on 18 May 1724, the Nizam accepted the rights of the Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao I to collect chauth from the area. In 1733, the Peshwa assumed the control of Malwa. Nandlal Chaudhary accepted the suzerainty of the Marathas, on 29 July 1732, Bajirao Peshwa-I granted Holkar State by merging 28 and half parganas to Malhar Rao Holkar, the founder ruler of Holkar dynasty. His daughter-in-law Ahilyabai Holkar moved the capital to Maheshwar in 1767. In 1818, the Holkars were defeated by the British during the Third Anglo-Maratha War, a residency with British resident was established at Indore, but Holkars continued to rule Indore State as a princely state mainly due to efforts of their Dewan Tatya Jog. During that time, Indore was established the headquarters of British Central Agency, Ujjain was originally the commercial centre of Malwa. But the British administrators such as John Malcolm decided to promote Indore as an alternative to Ujjain, because the merchants of Ujjain had supported anti-British elements. In 1906 electric supply was started in the city, fire brigade was established in 1909 and in 1918, first master-plan of city was made by noted architect and town planner, Patrick Geddes. During the period of Maharaja Tukoji Rao Holkar II efforts were made for the planned development, with the introduction of Railways in 1875, the business in Indore flourished till the reign of Maharaja Shivaji Rao Holkar, Maharaja Tukoji Rao Holkar III and Maharaja Yeshwant Rao Holkar
25.
Dhar
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Dhār is a city located in the Malwa region of western Madhya Pradesh state in central India. It is the headquarters of Dhar District, and was the capital of the Rajput Dhar State as Dharanagar from 1732. The town is located 33 miles west of Mhow,559 m above sea level, the most ancient parts of Dhār visible are the massive earthen ramparts which are best preserved on the western and southern sides of the town. These were probably built beginning in the century and show that the city was circular in plan and surrounded by a series of tanks. The layout is similar to the city of Warangal in the Deccan. The circular ramparts of Dhār, unique in north India and an important legacy of the Paramāras, is being destroyed by brick-makers and others using the material for construction purposes. On the north-east side of the town, the rampart and moat have disappeared beneath modern homes, the historic parts of the town are dominated by an impressive sandstone fortress on a small hill. It is thought to have built by Muhammad bin Tughluq. One of the gateways, added at a time, dates to 1684-85 in the time of Ālamgīr. In the palace area is a museum with a small collection of temple fragments. On the overgrown ramparts of the city, overlooking the old moat, is the tomb of Shaykh ‘Abdullah Shāh Changāl. The tomb has been rebuilt, but the inscription, now incorporated into the gate, is written in Persian. The Lat Masjid or Pillar Mosque, to the south of the town like the tomb of Shaykh Changāl, was built as the Jami Mosque by Dilawar Khan in 1405. It derives its name from the pillar of Dhar, which is believed to have been set up in the 11th century. The pillar, which was nearly 13.2 m high according to the most recent assessment, is fallen and broken and it carries a later inscription recording a visit of the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1598 while on campaign towards the Deccan. The pillars original stone footing is also displayed nearby, the Kamāl Maula is a spacious enclosure containing four tombs, the most notable being that of Shaykh Kamāl Maulavi or Kamāl al-Dīn. He was a follower of Farīd al-Dīn Gaṅj-i Shakar and the famous Chishti saint Nizamuddin Auliya, some details about Kamāl al-Dīn are recorded in Muḥammad Ghauthis Azkar-i Abrar, a reliable hagiography of Sufi saints composed in 1613. The cloak presented to Kamāl al-Dīn by Nizam al-Dīn is still displayed inside the tomb, the custodians of Kamāl al-Dīn’s tomb have served in an unbroken lineage for 700 years and are still resident
26.
Bombay Presidency
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The Bombay Presidency, also known as Bombay and Sind from 1843 to 1936 and the Bombay Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India. The English East India Company transferred its Western India headquarters from Surat, its first colony in that region, the Presidency was brought under British Parliament control along with other parts of British India through Pitts India Act. Aden was annexed in 1839, while Sind was annexed by the Company in 1843 after defeating the Talpur dynasty in the Battle of Hyderabad and it was made a part of the Bombay Presidency. The districts and provinces of the presidency were directly under British rule, while the administration of the native or princely states was in the hands of local rulers. The presidency, however, managed the defence of princely states, the Bombay Presidency along with the Bengal Presidency and Madras Presidency were the three major centres of British power. In 1661 Bombay was ceded to the Kingdom of England as part of the dowry of the infanta Catherine of Braganza on her marriage to King Charles II, as English trade in Bombay increased, Surat began its relative decline. In 1687, Bombay was made the headquarters of all the East India Companys possessions in India, however, in 1753 the governor of Bombay became subordinate to that of Calcutta. During the 18th century, the Hindu Maratha Empire expanded rapidly, claiming Konkan, in western Gujarat, including Kathiawar and Kutch, the loosening of Mughal control allowed numerous local rulers to create virtually independent states. The British annexed Surat in 1800, British territory was enlarged in the Second Anglo-Maratha War which ended in 1803. The East India Company received the districts of Bharuch, Kaira, etc. in 1803 the Bombay Presidency included only Salsette, the islands of the harbour, Surat and Bankot, but between this date and 1827 the framework of the presidency took shape. The Gujarat districts were taken over by the Bombay government in 1805, in 1858, under the terms of Queens Proclamation issued by Queen Victoria, the Bombay Presidency, along with the rest of British India, came under the direct rule of the British crown. Henry Bartle Frere was the first Governor appointed by the Crown, under Sir Bartle Frere agricultural prosperity reached its highest point, as a result of the American Civil War and the consequent enormous demand for Indian cotton in Europe. The money thus poured into the country produced an epidemic of speculation known as the Share Mania, which ended in a commercial crisis, but the peasantry gained on the whole more than they lost, and the trade of Bombay was not permanently injured. However, the important portfolios like finance, police and irrigation were reserved with members of the Governors Executive Council, in 1932, Aden was separated from Bombay and made a separate province, and Sindh became a separate province on 1 April 1936. The Government of India Act 1935 made the Bombay Presidency into a regular province and it enlarged the elected provincial legislature and expanded provincial autonomy vis a vis the central government. In the 1937 elections, the Indian National Congress won the elections in Bombay, the Cooper ministry did not last long and a Congress ministry under B. G. Kher was sworn in. Council of Ministers in Khers Cabinet, In 1939, all of the Congress ministries in British Indian provinces resigned and Bombay was placed under the Governors rule. After the end of World War II, the Indian National Congress re-entered politics, the Bombay Presidency became the Bombay State when India was granted independence on 15 August 1947 and Kher continued as the Chief Minister of the state, serving until 1952
27.
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
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His term as Commander-in-Chief of the Army in India saw him quarrel with another eminent proconsul, the Viceroy Lord Curzon, who eventually resigned. Kitchener then returned to Egypt as British Agent and Consul-General, in 1914, at the start of the First World War, Kitchener became Secretary of State for War, a Cabinet Minister. Kitchener died on 5 June 1916 when HMS Hampshire sank west of the Orkney Islands and he was making his way to Russia in order to attend negotiations when the ship struck a German mine. He was one of more than 600 killed on board the ship, Kitchener was born in Ballylongford near Listowel, County Kerry, in Ireland, son of army officer Henry Horatio Kitchener and Frances Anne Chevallier. His father had recently bought land in Ireland under a scheme to encourage the purchase of land after selling his commission. They then moved to Switzerland where the young Kitchener was educated at Montreux, then at the Royal Military Academy, pro-French and eager to see action, he joined a French field ambulance unit in the Franco-Prussian War. His father took him back to England after he caught pneumonia after ascending in a balloon to see the French Army of the Loire in action. Commissioned into the Royal Engineers on 4 January 1871, his service in France had violated British neutrality, and he was reprimanded by the Duke of Cambridge, the commander-in-chief. He served in Palestine, Egypt, and Cyprus as a surveyor, learned Arabic, Sir Walter Kitchener, had also entered the army, and was Governor of Bermuda from 1908 to 1912. In 1874, at age 24, Kitchener was assigned by the Palestine Exploration Fund to a mapping-survey of the Holy Land, replacing Charles Tyrwhitt-Drake, who had died of malaria. Conder and Kitchener’s expedition became known as the Survey of Western Palestine because it was confined to the area west of the Jordan River. The survey collected data on the topography and toponymy of the area, as well as local flora, the results of the survey were published in an eight-volume series, with Kitchener’s contribution in the first three tomes. This survey has had an effect on the Middle East for several reasons, The ordnance survey serves as the basis for the grid system used in the modern maps of Israel. The collection of data compiled by Conder and Kitchener are still consulted by archaeologists, the survey itself effectively delineated and defined the political borders of the southern Levant. For instance, the border between Israel and Lebanon is established at the point in upper Galilee where Conder and Kitchener’s survey stopped. In 1878 having completed the survey of Western Palestine, Kitchener was sent to Cyprus to undertake a survey of newly acquired British protectorate. Then in 1879 he became vice-consul in Anatolia, in 1883 Kitchener became a Freemason. On 4 January 1883 Kitchener was promoted to captain, given the Turkish rank bimbashi, Egypt had recently become a British puppet state, its army led by British officers, although still nominally under the sovereignty of the Khedive and his nominal overlord the Sultan of Turkey
28.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
29.
Middle-Eastern theatre of World War I
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The Middle Eastern theatre of World War I saw action between 29 October 1914 and 30 October 1918. There were five main campaigns, the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, the Mesopotamian Campaign, the Caucasus Campaign, the Persian Campaign, there were also several minor campaigns, the Senussi Campaign, Arab Campaign, and South Arabia Campaign. Both sides used local asymmetrical forces in the region, in addition, the Assyrians joined the Allies following the Assyrian genocide, instigating the Assyrian war of independence. The Turkish Ottomans had the support of Kurds, Turcomans, Circassians, Chechens, the theatre covered the largest territory of all theatres in the war. The Armenians attended the Trabzon Peace Conference which resulted in the Treaty of Batum on 4 June 1918. The Ottomans accepted the Armistice of Mudros with the Allies on 30 October 1918, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers through the secret Ottoman-German Alliance, which was signed on 2 August 1914. Success in this region would force the Russians to divert troops from the Polish, German advisors with the Ottoman armies supported the campaign for this reason. From an economic perspective, the Ottoman, or rather German, Germany established an Intelligence Bureau for the East on the eve of World War I. The bureau was involved in intelligence-gathering and subversive missions to Persia and Egypt, if these nations were to be removed from Western influence, Enver envisioned a cooperation between these newly established Turkic states. Envers project conflicted with European interests which played out as struggles between several key imperial powers, the Ottomans also threatened Britains communications with India and the East via the Suez Canal. The Germans hoped to seize the Canal for the Central Powers, the British feared that the Ottomans might attack and capture the Middle East oil fields. The British Royal Navy depended upon oil from the deposits in southern Persia. Marriott summarizes the British debates on strategy for the Near East and Balkan theatre, The War in that presents many problems. The Russians viewed the Caucasus Front as secondary to the Eastern Front and they feared a campaign into the Caucasus aimed at retaking Kars which had been taken from the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish War, and the port of Batum. The Russian Imperial government planned to replace the Muslim population of Northern Anatolia, the Armenian national liberation movement sought to establish an Armenian state within the Armenian Highlands. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation achieved this goal later in the war, none of these entities were long lasting. The Caucasus Campaign extended from the Caucasus to eastern Asia Minor, reaching as far as Trabzon, Bitlis, Mush, the warfare on land was accompanied by actions undertaken by the Russian Navy in the Black Sea region of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire and German Empire fought each other at Batumi after the arrival of the German Caucasus Expedition whose prime aim was to secure oil supplies
30.
Western Front (World War I)
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The Western Front or Western Theater was the main theatre of war during World War I. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, the tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne. Following the Race to the Sea, both sides dug in along a line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France. This line remained unchanged for most of the war. Between 1915 and 1917 there were several major offensives along this front, the attacks employed massive artillery bombardments and massed infantry advances. However, a combination of entrenchments, machine gun emplacements, barbed wire, as a result, no significant advances were made. In an effort to break the deadlock, this front saw the introduction of new technology, including poison gas, aircraft. But it was only after the adoption of improved tactics that some degree of mobility was restored, the German Armys Spring Offensive of 1918 was made possible by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that marked the end of the conflict on the Eastern Front. In spite of the stagnant nature of this front, this theatre would prove decisive. The terms of peace were agreed upon with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, belgiums neutrality was guaranteed by Britain under the 1839 Treaty of London, this caused Britain to join the war at the expiration of its ultimatum at 11 pm GMT on 4 August. Armies under German generals Alexander von Kluck and Karl von Bülow attacked Belgium on 4 August 1914, Luxembourg had been occupied without opposition on 2 August. The first battle in Belgium was the Siege of Liège, which lasted from 5–16 August, Liège was well fortified and surprised the German Army under von Bülow with its level of resistance. German heavy artillery was able to demolish the main forts within a few days. Following the fall of Liège, most of the Belgian field army retreated to Antwerp, leaving the garrison of Namur isolated, with the Belgian capital, Brussels, although the German army bypassed Antwerp, it remained a threat to their flank. Another siege followed at Namur, lasting from about 20–23 August, for their part, the French had five armies deployed on their borders. The pre-war French offensive plan, Plan XVII, was intended to capture Alsace-Lorraine following the outbreak of hostilities, on 7 August the VII Corps attacked Alsace with its objectives being to capture Mulhouse and Colmar. The main offensive was launched on 14 August with 1st and 2nd Armies attacking toward Sarrebourg-Morhange in Lorraine, in keeping with the Schlieffen Plan, the Germans withdrew slowly while inflicting severe losses upon the French. The French advanced the 3rd and 4th Armies toward the Saar River and attempted to capture Saarburg, attacking Briey and Neufchateau, before being driven back
31.
Mesopotamian campaign
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The Ottoman Empire had conquered the region in the early 16th century, but never fully gained complete control. Regional pockets of Ottoman control through local rulers maintained the Ottomans reach throughout Mesopotamia. With the turn of the 19th century came reforms, work began on a Baghdad Railway in 1888, by 1915 it had only four gaps, and travel time from Istanbul to Baghdad had fallen to 21 days. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company had obtained rights to petroleum deposits throughout the Persian Empire, except in the provinces of Azerbaijan, Ghilan, Mazendaran, Asdrabad. In 1914, before the war, the British government had contracted with the company for oil for the navy, the operational area of the Mesopotamian campaign was limited to the lands watered by the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. The main challenge was moving troops and supplies through the swamps, shortly after the European war started, the British sent a military force to protect Abadan, the site of one of the worlds earliest oil refineries. British operational planning included landing troops in the Shatt-al-Arab, the reinforced 6th Division of the British Indian Army was assigned the task, designated as Indian Expeditionary Force D. At first the campaign was run by the India Office and Indian Army, the Ottoman Fourth Army was located in the region. It was composed of two corps, the XII Corps, with the 35th and 36th Divisions at Mosul, and XIII Corps, on 29 October 1914, after the pursuit of Goeben and Breslau, Breslau bombarded the Russian Black Sea port of Theodosia. On 30 October the High Command in Istanbul changed the force distribution, on 2 November Grand Vizier Said Halim Pasha expressed regret to the Allies for the actions of the navy. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Sazonov said it was too late, the Cabinet tried to explain that hostilities were begun without its sanction by German officers serving in the navy. The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progresss official Declaration of War came on 14 November, when the Caucasus Campaign became a reality with the Bergmann Offensive, Enver Pasha sent the 37th Division and XIII Corps Headquarters to the Caucasus in support of the Third Army. The entire XII Corps was deployed to the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, Fourth Army Headquarters was sent to Syria, to replace the Second Army Headquarters, which was sent to Istanbul. In place of the Fourth Army was the Iraq Area Command with only the 38th Division under its command, Mesopotamia was a low priority area for the Ottomans, and they did not expect any major action in the region. Regiments of the XII and XIII Corps were maintained at low levels in peacetime, lieutenant Colonel Süleyman Askerî Bey became the commander. He redeployed portions of the 38th Division at the mouth of Shatt-al-Arab, the rest of the defensive force was stationed at Basra. The Ottoman General Staff did not even possess a proper map of Mesopotamia and they tried to draw a map with the help of people who had worked in Iraq before the war, although this attempt failed. Enver Pasha bought two German maps scaled 1/1,500,000, on 6 November 1914, British offensive action began with the naval bombardment of the old fort at Fao, located at the point where the Shatt-al-Arab meets the Persian Gulf
32.
Egyptian Expeditionary Force
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Formed in the British protectorate of the Sultanate of Egypt, the initially small force was raised to guard the Suez Canal and Egypt. On 31 October two corps captured Beersheba defended by the Turkish III Corps, which weakened their defences stretching almost continually from Gaza to Beersheba, serious losses on the Western Front in March 1918 during the German Spring Offensive, forced the British Empire to send reinforcements from the EEF. The British Mandate of Palestine, and the French Mandate for Syria, L Squadron, A. F. C. and No.14 Squadron, R. F. C. were the sole flying units east of the Suez Canal. General Headquarters General Headquarters Troops No.1 Section No.2 Section No.3 Section Western Frontier Force Northwestern Section Southwestern Section L. of C, palin 23rd Pioneers 57th Rifles Patiala Infantry No.10 Co. The force was commanded by Lieutenant General C. M. Dobell, by January 1917 there were three smaller commands directly under GHQ EEF. Supply Depot No.303 Company ASC Camel Transport H and O Companies, G. H.12 Pack W/T Sections ASC Mechanical transport HQ, ASC Motor Boat Company Two Advanced M. T. C. de S. Barrow 6th Mounted Brigade 8th Mounted Brigade 22nd Mounted Brigade 20th Brigade, at the end of June 1917 General Allenby took command. The air component was the Palestine Brigade of the Royal Flying Corps, on establishment in 1916 and 1917, the first two mounted divisions had been supplied with 18–pounder artillery guns. In September 1917 these guns were replaced with 13-pounders, making the divisions even more capable, General Headquarters Troops Army Cavalry Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade Jodhpur Lancers Mysore Lancers 1st Hyderabad Lancers Kathiwar Signal Troop 124th Indian Cavalry Field Ambulance. 40th Wing Headquarters at Deir el Belah No.11 Squadron RFC at Deir el Belah No.67 Squadron at Shiekh Nuran, Aircraft Park – X Aircraft Park at Abbassia with an advanced stores section at Kantara was responsible for the supplies to the RFC in Palestine. Also in General Headquarters Troops were the VIII Mountain Brigade RGA IX Mountain Brigade RGA of A and B Batteries of 2.75 inch howitzers and the 12th Battery of 3.7 inch howitzers. The force initially consisted mostly of British and Egyptian troops, in the meantime, new troops were then dispatched from India, Australia, and New Zealand, in particular who made up a large portion of the army. The force also included a contingent of French and Italian troops. The forces of the Arab Revolt, led by Prince Feisal of Mecca, were also unofficially attached during Allenbys Damascus offensive, the forces successes ultimately led to Turkeys exit from the war and the creation of the British Mandate of Palestine. Deiran Anzac Mounted Division at Richon le Zion Australian Mounted Division at Deir el Belah Yeomanry Mounted Division at Deir el Belah XX Corps at Mount of Olives 10th Division at O99, P.20. d. 53rd Division at Ram Allah 60th Division at Jerusalem 74th Division at Latron XXI Corps at Jaffa 52nd Division at Jaffa, 4/11th Gurkhas, 3/153rd and 154th Indian Inf. 159th Brigade 4/5th Welsh Regt. 3/152nd, 1/153rd and 2/153rd Indian Inf. 160th Brigade 1/7th R. Welsh Fus, 1/21st Punjabis, 1st Cape Corps 265th, 266th, 267th Brigades RFA each with three batteries of twelve 18-pdrs. and four 4. 5-inch hows. 39th Indian Mountain Battery Troop Corps Cavalry Regiment 10th Division 29th Brigade 1st Leinsters, 1/101st Grenadiers, 1/54th Sikhs, Rifles, 38th Dogras, 46th Punjabis 31st Brigade 2nd Royal Irish Fus
33.
Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby
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Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, GCB, GCMG, GCVO was an English soldier and British Imperial Governor. The British succeed in capturing Beersheba, Jaffa, and Jerusalem from October to December 1917, subsequently, the EEF Pursuit by Desert Mounted Corps captured Damascus and advanced into northern Syria. During this pursuit, he commanded T. E and he continued to serve in the region as High Commissioner for Egypt and Sudan from 1919 until 1925. Allenby was born in 1861, the son of Hynman Allenby and he had no great desire to be a soldier, and tried to enter the Indian Civil Service but failed the entry exam. He sat the exam for the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in 1880, was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 6th Dragoons on 10 May 1882, and joined his regiment in South Africa later that year. After serving at the depot in Canterbury, he was promoted to captain on 10 January 1888. Allenby returned to Britain in 1890 and he sat – and failed – the entry exam for the Staff College in Camberley, not deterred, he sat the exam again the next year and passed. Captain Douglas Haig of the 7th Hussars also entered the Staff College at the same time, Allenby was more popular with fellow officers, even being made Master of the Draghounds in preference to Haig who was the better rider, Allenby had already developed a passion for polo. He was promoted to major on 19 May 1897 and was posted to the 3rd Cavalry Brigade, then serving in Ireland, as the Brigade-Major in March 1898. At the outbreak of the Second Boer War, Allenby was returned to his regiment, while camped beside the Australian Light Horse outside Bloemfontein with Lord Roberts army, the New South Wales Lancers with the rest of Frenchs cavalry, waited to move. At this time men and horses suffered continuously rainy weather and cases of enteric were taken away every day. Major Allenby, appointed to command the squadron of New South Wales Lancers and he was about to walk in on a rum soaked officers mess, when he was intercepted by an acquaintance, who informed Allenby the mess were just drinking his health. But thats no excuse for keeping the whole camp awake and you tell them to be in bed with all lights out, in five minutes, or Ill have to do something about it. He was promoted to local lieutenant-colonel on 1 January 1901, in a despatch dated 23 June 1902, Lord Kichener, Commander-in-Chief during the latter part of the war, described him as a popular and capable Cavalry Brigadier. For his services during the war, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the South Africa honours list published on 26 June 1902 and he was promoted to the substantive rank of colonel and to the temporary rank of brigadier general on 19 October 1905. He assumed command of the 4th Cavalry Brigade in 1906 and he was promoted again to the rank of major-general on 10 September 1909 and was appointed Inspector-General of Cavalry in 1910 due to his extensive cavalry experience. He was nicknamed The Bull due to a tendency for sudden bellowing outbursts of explosive rage directed at his subordinates. Allenby stood 62 with a barrel chest and his bad temper made The Bull a figure who inspired much consternation under those who had to work under him
34.
Jerusalem
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Jerusalem is a city located on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is considered a city in the three major Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, the part of Jerusalem called the City of David was settled in the 4th millennium BCE. In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent, today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters—known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger, Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old Citys boundaries. These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, the sobriquet of holy city was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Septuagint which Christians adopted as their own authority, was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesuss crucifixion there, in Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. As a result, despite having an area of only 0, outside the Old City stands the Garden Tomb. Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it into Jerusalem, one of Israels Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the countrys undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset, the residences of the Prime Minister and President, the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital, and the city hosts no foreign embassies. Jerusalem is also home to some non-governmental Israeli institutions of importance, such as the Hebrew University. In 2011, Jerusalem had a population of 801,000, of which Jews comprised 497,000, Muslims 281,000, a city called Rušalim in the Execration texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt is widely, but not universally, identified as Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called Urušalim in the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba, the name Jerusalem is variously etymologized to mean foundation of the god Shalem, the god Shalem was thus the original tutelary deity of the Bronze Age city. The form Yerushalem or Yerushalayim first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua, according to a Midrash, the name is a combination of Yhwh Yireh and the town Shalem. The earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961. The inscription states, I am Yahweh thy God, I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem, or as other scholars suggest, the mountains of Judah belong to him, to the God of Jerusalem
35.
German Army (German Empire)
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The Imperial German Army was the name given to the combined land and air forces of the German Empire. The term Deutsches Heer is also used for the modern German Army, the German Army was formed after the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership in 1871 and dissolved in 1919, after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I. When operating together, the units were known as the Federal Army, Prussia formed the North German Confederation and the treaty provided for the maintenance of a Federal Army and a Federal Navy. Further laws on military duty also used these terms, through these conventions and the 1871 Constitution of the German Empire, an Army of the Realm was created. The contingents of the Bavarian, Saxon and Württemberg kingdoms remained semi-autonomous, the Constitution of the German Empire, dated April 16,1871, changed references in the North German Constitution from Federal Army to either Army of the Realm or German Army. After 1871, the armies of the four kingdoms remained relatively distinct. German Army was used in legal documents, such as the Military Penal Code. Württemberg and Saxon units were numbered according to the Prussian system, the commander of the Imperial German Army, less the Bavarian contingent, was the Kaiser. He was assisted by a Military Cabinet and exercised control through the Prussian Ministry of War, the Chief of the General Staff became the Kaisers main military advisor and the most powerful military figure in the Empire. Bavaria kept its own Ministry of War and General Staff, saxony also maintained its own Ministry of War and the Ministry of War of Württemberg also continued to exist. Command of the Prussian Army had been reformed in the wake of the defeats suffered by Prussia in the Napoleonic Wars, the General Staff system, that sought to institutionalize military excellence, was the main result. It provided planning and organizational work during peacetime and wartime, the Prussian General Staff, proven in battle in the Wars of Unification, became the German General Staff upon formation of the German Empire, given Prussias leading role in the German Army. During wartime, the staff of the Army inspectorates formed field army commands, during World War I, a higher command level, the army group, was created. Each army group controlled several field armies, Germany was divided into army inspectorates, each of which oversaw three or four corps. There were five in 1871, with three more added between 1907 and 1913, the corps consisted of two or more divisions and various support troops, covering a geographical area. The corps was responsible for maintaining the reserves and Landwehr in the corps area. By 1914, there were 21 corps areas under Prussian jurisdiction, besides the regional corps, there was also a Guard Corps, which controlled the elite Prussian Guard units. A corps usually included an infantry battalion, a heavy artillery battalion, an engineer battalion, a telegraph battalion
36.
Ottoman Empire
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After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, while the empire was once thought to have entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer supported by the majority of academic historians. The empire continued to maintain a flexible and strong economy, society, however, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian Empires. While the Empire was able to hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent. Starting before World War I, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. The word Ottoman is an anglicisation of the name of Osman I. Osmans name in turn was the Turkish form of the Arabic name ʿUthmān, in Ottoman Turkish, the empire was referred to as Devlet-i ʿAlīye-yi ʿOsmānīye, or alternatively ʿOsmānlı Devleti. In Modern Turkish, it is known as Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti, the Turkish word for Ottoman originally referred to the tribal followers of Osman in the fourteenth century, and subsequently came to be used to refer to the empires military-administrative elite. In contrast, the term Turk was used to refer to the Anatolian peasant and tribal population, the term Rūmī was also used to refer to Turkish-speakers by the other Muslim peoples of the empire and beyond. In Western Europe, the two names Ottoman Empire and Turkey were often used interchangeably, with Turkey being increasingly favored both in formal and informal situations and this dichotomy was officially ended in 1920–23, when the newly established Ankara-based Turkish government chose Turkey as the sole official name. Most scholarly historians avoid the terms Turkey, Turks, and Turkish when referring to the Ottomans, as the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum declined in the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman, osmans early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, many but not all converts to Islam. Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River and it is not well understood how the early Ottomans came to dominate their neighbours, due to the scarcity of the sources which survive from this period. One school of thought which was popular during the twentieth century argued that the Ottomans achieved success by rallying religious warriors to fight for them in the name of Islam, in the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over Anatolia and the Balkans. Osmans son, Orhan, captured the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa in 1326 and this conquest meant the loss of Byzantine control over northwestern Anatolia. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, the Ottoman victory at Kosovo in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe
37.
3rd (Lahore) Division
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The 3rd Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army, first organised in 1852. It saw service during World War I as part of the Indian Corps in France before being moved to the Middle East where it fought against troops of the Ottoman Empire. The Lahore Division first appears in the Indian Army List in 1852, the Cis-Jhelum Division in turn had previously been the Saugor Division, a longstanding formation of the Bengal Army. The Lahore Division absorbed the Lahore Field Force under Brigadier Sir James Tennant, Lahore Fort was occupied by the British after the First Anglo-Sikh War and the city of Lahore was annexed in 1849 at the conclusion of the Second Anglo-Sikh War. In 1852 a military cantonment was established outside the city, general Officer Commanding, Brigadier-General Sir John Cheape, KCB, Bengal Engineers. R. T. Over succeeding decades, the controlled by Lahore Division varied. For example, GOC, Maj-Gen Sir Hugh Henry Gough, VC Aide-de-Camp, in the next round of reforms inaugurated by Lord Kitchener as CinC, they became numbered divisions with their territorial affiliation as a subsidiary title. The title 3rd Division first appears in the Army List between 30 September and 31 December 1904, as part of Northern Command, with the Jullunder, Sirhind and Ambala brigades under command. Lahore District/3rd Division at this time was under the command of Maj-Gen Walter Kitchener, the CinC’s younger brother, in 1914 the division, with HQ at Dalhousie, consisted of the Ferozepore, Jullunder and Sirhind infantry brigades, and the Ambala cavalry brigade. In 1914 the 3rd Division was part of Indian Expeditionary Force A sent to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force fighting in France. The bulk constituted a division as part of Indian Corps. While in France the division was known as the Lahore Division, despatch from India was delayed by the activities of the German raiders Emden and Konigsberg operating in the Indian Ocean, and by the slow speed of the transport vessels. The 3rd Lahore Divisional Area was formed in late 1914 to take over the duties of the 3rd Division when it left for France. The 3rd Lahore Divisional Area was disbanded in May 1917, the responsibilities of the area being taken over by the 16th Division, Order of Battle October 1914 GOC, Lieut-Gen H. B. B. Watkis, CB Ferozepore Brigade GOC, Brig-Gen R. G, egerton, CB 1st Battalion, Connaught Rangers 9th Bhopal Infantry 57th Wildes Rifles 129th Duke of Connaughts Own Baluchis Jullundur Brigade GOC, Maj-Gen P. M. M. S. The degree to which the division was broken up can be gauged by the 29 October entry in the diary kept by the Indian corps commander, Lt-Gen Sir James Willcocks, Ferozepore Brigade, somewhere in the north, split up into three or four bits. Jullunder Brigade, Manchesters gone south to 5 Division 47th Sikhs, Half fighting with some British division, 59th Rifles and 15th Sikhs, In trenches 34th Pioneers also in trenches 15th Lancers, In trenches. Two companies of Sappers and Miners fighting as infantry with British divisions, thank heaven the Meerut Division will get a better chance
38.
Marseille
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Marseille, also known as Marseilles in English, is a city in France. Known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as Massalia, Marseille was the most important trading centre in the region, Marseille is now Frances largest city on the Mediterranean coast and the largest port for commerce, freight and cruise ships. The city was European Capital of Culture, together with Košice, Slovakia and it hosted the European Football Championship in 2016, and will be the European Capital of Sport in 2017. The city is home to campuses of Aix-Marseille University and part of one of the largest metropolitan conurbations in France. Marseille is the second largest city in France after Paris and the centre of the third largest metropolitan area in France after Paris, further east still are the Sainte-Baume, the city of Toulon and the French Riviera. To the north of Marseille, beyond the low Garlaban and Etoile mountain ranges, is the 1,011 m Mont Sainte Victoire. To the west of Marseille is the artists colony of lEstaque, further west are the Côte Bleue, the Gulf of Lion. The airport lies to the north west of the city at Marignane on the Étang de Berre, the citys main thoroughfare stretches eastward from the Old Port to the Réformés quarter. Two large forts flank the entrance to the Old Port—Fort Saint-Nicolas on the south side and Fort Saint-Jean on the north. Further out in the Bay of Marseille is the Frioul archipelago which comprises four islands, one of which, If, is the location of Château dIf, the main commercial centre of the city intersects with the Canebière at rue St Ferréol and the Centre Bourse. To the south east of central Marseille in the 6th arrondissement are the Prefecture and the fountain of Place Castellane. To the south west are the hills of the 7th arrondissement, the railway station—Gare de Marseille Saint-Charles—is north of the Centre Bourse in the 1st arrondissement, it is linked by the Boulevard dAthènes to the Canebière. Marseille has a Mediterranean climate with mild, humid winters and warm to hot, december, January, and February are the coldest months, averaging temperatures of around 12 °C during the day and 4 °C at night. Marseille is officially the sunniest major city in France with over 2,900 hours of sunshine while the average sunshine in France is around 1,950 hours, less frequent is the Sirocco, a hot, sand-bearing wind, coming from the Sahara Desert. Snowfalls are infrequent, over 50% of years do not experience a single snowfall, Massalia, whose name was probably adapted from an existing language related to Ligurian, was the first Greek settlement in France. It was established within modern Marseille around 600 BC by colonists coming from Phocaea on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor. The connection between Massalia and the Phoceans is mentioned in Thucydidess Peloponnesian War, he notes that the Phocaean project was opposed by the Carthaginians, the founding of Massalia has also been recorded as a legend. Protis was invited inland to a banquet held by the chief of the local Ligurian tribe for suitors seeking the hand of his daughter Gyptis in marriage, at the end of the banquet, Gyptis presented the ceremonial cup of wine to Protis, indicating her unequivocal choice
39.
Battle of Neuve Chapelle
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The Battle of Neuve Chapelle took place in the First World War. It was a British offensive in the Artois region of France and broke through at Neuve-Chapelle, more troops had arrived from Britain and relieved some French troops in Flanders, which enabled a continuous British line to be formed, from Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée north to Langemarck. The battle was intended to cause a rupture in the German lines, a French assault at Vimy Ridge on the Artois plateau was also planned, to threaten the road, rail and canal junctions at La Bassée from the south, as the British attacked from the north. The battle was the first deliberately planned British offensive and showed the form which position warfare took for the rest of the war on the Western Front, tactical surprise and a break-through were achieved, after the First Army prepared the attack with great attention to detail. A big German counter-attack by twenty infantry battalions early on 12 March, was a costly failure, Sir Douglas Haig, the First Army commander, cancelled further attacks and ordered the captured ground to be consolidated, preparatory to a new attack further north. An acute shortage of ammunition made another attack impossible, apart from a local effort by the 7th Division. Despite poor weather conditions, the stages of the battle went extremely well for the British. The RFC quickly secured aerial dominance and set about bombarding railways, the remaining fifteen 18-pdr batteries, six 6-inch howitzer siege batteries and six QF4. 5-inch howitzer batteries with sixty howitzers fired on the German front-line trenches. The trenches were 3 feet deep, with breastworks 4 feet high but were unable to withstand a howitzer bombardment, the bombardment was followed by an infantry assault at 8,05 a. m. The Garhwal Brigade of the Meerut Division, Indian Corps attacked with all four battalions on a 600 yards front, on the right the attack quickly collapsed, both companies losing direction and veering to the right. The attack confronted a part of the German defence not bombarded by the artillery, the Indian troops forced their way through the German wire and took 200 yards of the German front trench, despite many casualties. A fresh British attack was arranged from the north, in which the Garhwali troops were to join in with a frontal assault. German troops infiltrated northwards, before being forced back by bombers and bayonet charges, Haig ordered more attacks that day, with similarly disappointing results. The German defences in the centre were quickly overrun on a 1,600 yards front, at Haigs request, the British Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Sir John French, the British commander in France, released the 5th Cavalry Brigade to exploit the expected breakthrough. On the left of the attack, two companies of the German Jäger Battalion 11 delayed the advance for more than six hours until forced to retreat, although aerial photography had been useful, it was unable to efficiently identify the enemys strong defensive points. Primitive communications also meant that the British commanders had been unable to keep in touch with other and the battle thus became uncoordinated. The battle at Neuve Chapelle marked a watershed in trench warfare, the British telephone system proved vulnerable to German artillery-fire and the movement of troops along communication trenches was delayed by far more than the most pessimistic expectations. Small numbers of German troops in strong-points and isolated trenches, had been able to maintain a volume of small-arms fire sufficient to stop the advance of far greater numbers of attackers
40.
Battle of Aubers Ridge
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The Second Battle of Artois from 9 May –18 June 1915 was a battle on the Western Front during the First World War. A German-held salient from Reims to Amiens had been formed in 1914, a reciprocal French advance eastwards in Artois could cut the rail lines supplying the German armies between Arras and Reims. Field Marshal Sir John French, commander of the British Expeditionary Force, co-operated with the French strategy to capture Vimy Ridge, the French attacked Vimy Ridge and the British attacked further north in the Battle of Aubers Ridge and the Battle of Festubert. The battle was fought during the German offensive of the Second Battle of Ypres, the British attack at Aubers Ridge was a costly failure and two German divisions in reserve were diverted south against the Tenth Army. On 18 June, the offensive was stopped and local attacks were ended on 25 June. The French offensive had advanced the front line about 3 kilometres towards Vimy Ridge, on an 8-kilometre front. The failure to break through, despite the expenditure of 2,155,862 shells and the loss of 102,500 casualties, led to recriminations against Joffre, the German 6th Army lost 73,072 casualties. A lull followed until the Second Battle of Champagne, the Third Battle of Artois, the French government accepted that the task facing Joffre and the army was far more difficult than expected, after the winter fighting in Artois and Champagne. Despite costly mistakes, many lessons had been learned, methods had been changed and more weapons, the offensives had failed in their objectives but had become more powerful and better organised, except for the bungled effort at St. Mihiel. The greater amount of heavy artillery gave grounds for confidence, that attacks could break the German front. Eight new divisions were formed in February 1915 and another fourteen in April, nine divisions were transferred to Russia in May, which reduced the Westheer to 97 divisions against 110–112 larger French, British and Belgian divisions. The western armies had c. 4,000 modern and 350 obsolete field guns,825 modern and 510 obsolete heavy guns, a reserve of 276 heavy guns and mortars was also being prepared. The OHL had 7 1⁄2 divisions in reserve, with the 58th and 115th divisions behind the 6th Army, indications of an attack in Artois had been detected but not signs of a general offensive on the Western Front. Should part of the front line be lost, it was to be retaken by counter-attack, behind the line, new defences were to be built and connected by communication trenches, to delay a further attack, until reserves could be assembled for a counter-attack. Enemy reinforcements were to be obstructed by a shell-barrage, on 4 May, Falkenhayn reiterated the need to improve reserve positions and also to build a rear position about 2–3 kilometres behind the front line. The Franco-British offensives in 1915 found the German defences in a state of development, as the building programme was completed slowly. Joffre accepted the proposals on 23 March, with the objective being the seizure of Vimy Ridge, the French army had not completed an adaptation to siege warfare and much of the equipment necessary, particularly heavy artillery, did not exist. It had been impossible to synchronise operations in Artois with the First Battle of Champagne, the document contained instructions on infiltration tactics, rolling barrages and poison gas, which were to be used systematically for the first time
41.
Battle of Festubert
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The Battle of Festubert was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I. The offensive formed part of a series of attacks by the French Tenth Army, a continuous three-day bombardment by the British heavy artillery was planned, to cut wire and demolish German machine-gun posts and infantry strong-points. The objectives were 1,000 yards forward, rather than the 3,000 yards depth of advance intended at Aubers Ridge, the battle was the first British attempt at attrition. The Battle of Festubert was the continuation of the Battle of Aubers Ridge, the attack was made by the British First Army under Sir Douglas Haig against a German salient between Neuve Chapelle to the north and the village of Festubert to the south. The assault was planned along a 3-mile front and would initially be made mainly by Indian troops and this would be the first British army night attack of the war. The battle was preceded by a 60-hour bombardment by 433 artillery pieces that fired about 100,000 shells and this bombardment failed to significantly damage the front line defences of the German 6th Army but the initial advance made some progress in good weather conditions. The attack was renewed on 16 May and by 19 May the 2nd Division, on 18 May, the 1st Canadian Division, assisted by the 51st Division, attacked but made little progress in the face of German artillery fire. The British forces dug in at the new front line in heavy rain, the Germans brought up reinforcements and reinforced their defences. From 20–25 May the attack was resumed and Festubert was captured, the offensive had resulted in a 3-kilometre advance. The British lost 16,648 casualties from 15/16–25 May, the German defenders had c. 5,000 casualties, including 800 men taken prisoner. French casualties during the Second Battle of Artois were 102,533 men, the 100th anniversary of the battle saw a range of commemorations held across the world. Some of the most poignant were those held in the Highlands of Scotland, in particular in shinty playing communities, which were affected disproportionately by losses in the battle. A week later, the Beauly Shinty Club renamed their pavilion after the Paterson brothers, Donald and Alasdair, donalds bagpipes were recovered with his other effects in the early 1980s and were played at both commemorations
42.
Battle of Loos
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The Battle of Loos was a World War I battle that took place from 25 September –13 October 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas, the French and British tried to break through the German defences in Artois and Champagne and restore a war of movement. Despite improved methods, more ammunition and better equipment, the Franco-British attacks were contained by the German armies, British casualties at Loos were about twice as high as German losses. The battle was the British part of the Third Battle of Artois, at the Frévent Conference on 27 July, Field Marshal French failed to persuade Ferdinand Foch that an attack further north offered greater prospects for success. The debate continued into August with Joffre siding with Foch and the commanders being over-ruled by Herbert Kitchener, on 3 May, the British decided upon use of poison gas in military operations in France. French was doubtful that a breakthrough would be achieved, Haig was hampered by the shortage of artillery ammunition, which meant the preliminary bombardment, essential for success in trench warfare, was insufficient. Prior to the British attack, about 140 long tons of gas was released with mixed success. Wanting to be closer to the battle, French had moved to a command post at Lilliers. In many places British artillery had failed to cut the German wire in advance of the attack, advancing over open fields, within range of German machine guns and artillery, British losses were devastating. The British were able to break through the weaker German defences and capture the town of Loos-en-Gohelle, supply and communications problems, combined with the late arrival of reserves, meant that the breakthrough could not be exploited. Haig did not hear until 10,00 a. m. that the divisions were moving up to the front, when the battle resumed the following day, the Germans had recovered and improved their defensive positions. British attempts to continue the advance with the reserves were repulsed, twelve attacking battalions suffered 8,000 casualties out of 10,000 men in four hours. A lull fell on 28 September, with the British having retreated to their positions, having lost over 20,000 casualties. The Royal Flying Corps came under the command of Brigadier-General Hugh Trenchard, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd wings under Colonels E. B. Ashmore, John Salmond and Sefton Brancker participated, as the British were short of artillery ammunition, the RFC flew target identification sorties prior to the battle, to ensure that shells were not wasted. During the first few days of the attack, target-marking squadrons equipped with wireless transmitters. Later in the battle, pilots carried out a bombing operation for the first time in history. Aircraft of the 2nd and 3rd wings dropped many 100-pound bombs on German troops, trains, rail lines, as the land offensive stalled, British pilots and observers flew low over German positions, providing target information to the artillery
43.
7th (Meerut) Division
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The 7th Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that saw active service during World War I. The Meerut Division first appeared in the Indian Army List in 1829, under the command of Sir Jasper Nicolls, the outbreak of the rebellion at Meerut was one of the first and most serious of the whole conflict. The division was reconstituted when peace returned, over succeeding decades, the stations controlled by Meerut Division varied, and the forces under command were regularly rotated. For example, GOC, Maj-Gen Sir G. R, in the next round of reforms inaugurated by Lord Kitchener as CinC, they became numbered divisions with their territorial affiliation as a subsidiary title. The title 7th Division first appeared in the Army List between 30 September and 31 December 1904, as part of Western Command. On the eve of World War I, the division had its HQ at Mussoorie, and had the Meerut Cavalry Brigade, in 1914 the 7th Division was part of Indian Expeditionary Force A sent to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force fighting in France. The bulk constituted a division as part of Indian Corps. While in France the division was known as the Meerut Division, despatch from India was delayed by the activities of the German raiders Emden and Konigsberg operating in the Indian Ocean, and by the slow speed of the transport vessels. The division finally got into action at the Battles of La Bassee, anderson, CB GSO1, Col C. W. Jacob Dehra Dun Brigade GOC, Brig-Gen C. E. Johnson 1st Bn. Seaforth Highlanders 6th Jat Light Infantry 2/2nd King Edward’s Own Gurkha Rifles 1/9th Gurkha Rifles Garhwal Brigade GOC, Leicestershire Regiment 1/39th Garhwal Rifles 2/39th Garhwal Rifles 2/3rd Gurkha Rifles Bareilly Brigade GOC, Maj-Gen F. Macbean, CVO, CB 2nd Bn. Anderson, KCB Dehra Dun Brigade GOC, Brig-Gen Col C. W. Jacob 1st Bn, seaforth Highlanders 6th Jat Light Infantry 2nd Bn. 2nd King Edward’s Own Gurkha Rifles 1st Bn. 9th Gurkha Rifles Garwhal Brigade GOC, london Regiment 39th Garhwal Rifles 2nd Bn. 3rd Gurkha Rifles 2nd Bn. 8th Gurkha Rifles Bareilly Brigade GOC, black Watch 41st Dogras 58th Vaughans Rifles 125th Napiers Rifles Divisional Troops As before, with the addition of 30th Battery of XLIII RA. The system for supplying drafts had broken down and the Indian battalions were becoming very weak after the casualties they had suffered. They were to leave behind their attached Territorial Force battalions, 7th Division finally arrived in Mesopotamia in Spring 1917 and joined Tigris Corps, too late to relieve the 6th Division at Kut-al-Amara. The division participated in the battles at the Sheikh Saad, Wadi, Hanna, Dujailia, after the fall of Kut, as part of the reorganization of the British and Indian forces in the region, the division spent much of the summer and fall refitting. The division moved from Mesopotamia to Egypt in December, and then on 1 April 1918 it relieved the 52nd Division, which was on its way to the Western Front. The EEF undertook few operations during the hot weather of Summer 1918, but the Meerut Division captured North Sister and South Sister Hills on 8 June, and raided Piffer Ridge on 27 June
44.
Basra
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Basra, also al-Baṣrah, is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab between Kuwait and Iran. It had an population of 1.5 million in 2012. Basra is also Iraqs main port, although it not have deep water access. The city is part of the location of Sumer, one of the ports from which Sinbad the Sailor journeyed. It played an important role in early Islamic history and was built in 636, Basra is consistently one of the hottest cities in Iraq, with summer temperatures regularly exceeding 50 °C. The city was called by many throughout its history, Basrah being the most common. In Arabic the word means the overwatcher, which might have been an allusion to the citys origin as an Arab military base against the Sassanids. Some sources claim that the name is derived from the Persian word Bas-rah, others have argued that the name is derived from the Aramaic word basratha, meaning place of huts, settlement. During the pre-Islamic era, the area was known to the Arabs as al-Khariba due to the existence of an ancient city called al-Kharba. After the present city was built, it was called by names, including the mother of Iraq, the reservoir of Arabs, the prosperous city. The name Al-Basrah, which in Arabic means the over watching or the seeing everything, was given to it because of its role as a base against the Sassanid Empire. However, other sources claim the name originates from the Persian word Bas-rāh or Bassorāh meaning where many ways come together, in 639 Umar established this encampment as a city with five districts, and appointed Abu Musa al-Ashari as its first governor. Abu Musa led the conquest of Khuzestan from 639 to 642 and was ordered by Umar to aid Uthman ibn Abu al-ʿAs, then fighting Iran from a new, more easterly miṣr at Tawwaj. In 650, the Rashidun Caliph Uthman reorganised the Persian frontier, installed ʿAbdullah ibn Amir as Basras governor, Ibn Amir led his forces to their final victory over Yazdegerd III, the Sassanid King of Kings. In 656, Uthman was murdered and Ali was appointed Caliph, Ali first installed Uthman ibn Hanif as Basras governor, who was followed by ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAbbas. These men held the city for Ali until the death in 661. The Sufyanids held Basra until Yazid Is death in 683, the Sufyanids first governor was Umayyad ʿAbdullah, a renowned military leader, commanding fealty and financial demands from Karballah, but poor governor. In 664, Muʿawiyah I replaced him with Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan, often called ibn Abihi, on Ziyads death in 673, his son ʿUbaydullah ibn Ziyad became governor
45.
Siege of Kut
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The Siege of Kut Al Amara, also known as the First Battle of Kut, was the besieging of an 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut,160 kilometres south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. In 1915 its population was around 6,500, following the surrender of the garrison on 29 April 1916, the survivors of the siege were marched to imprisonment at Aleppo, during which many died. Historian Christopher Catherwood has called the siege the worst defeat of the Allies in World War I, the 6th Division of the Indian Army, under Major-General Charles Townshend, had fallen back to the town of Kut after retreating from Ctesiphon. The British Empire forces arrived at Kut around 3 December 1915 and they had suffered significant losses and were down to around 11,000 soldiers. General Townshend chose to stay and hold the position at Kut instead of continuing the march downriver towards Basra, Kut offered a good defensive position because it was contained within a long loop of the river. The problem was how to get supplies, since Kut was a way from Basra. The pursuing Ottoman forces under Halil Pasha arrived on 7 December 1915, once it became clear the Ottomans had enough forces to lay siege to Kut, Townshend ordered his cavalry to escape south, which it did, led by Lieut. The Ottoman forces numbered around 11,000 men and were increasing steadily with additional reinforcements arriving constantly and they were commanded by the respected but elderly German general and military historian Baron von der Goltz. Goltz knew the Ottoman army well, as he had spent 12 years working on modernizing it, after three attacks in December, Goltz directed the building of siege fortifications facing Kut. He prepared for an attack from Basra, using the Tigris River, after a month of siege, Townshend wanted to break out and withdraw southwards but his commander, General Sir John Nixon saw value in tying down the Ottoman forces in a siege. Nixon ordered transports from London, but none had arrived, the War Office was in the process of reorganizing military command, previously the orders had come from the Viceroy and India Office. However, when Townshend—inaccurately—reported that only one month of food remained, Nixon had ordered this with reinforcements, commanded by his son, but by December they were still only in the Suez Canal. The confusing communications would prove a critical delay, medical facilities in Kut were headed by Major General Patrick Hehir. The first relief expedition comprised some 19,000 men under Lieutenant-General Aylmer, the first attempt to relieve Kut came on 6 January. Aylmers advance force was a division or two, under Major-General George Younghusband, part of the cause of delay was the debate in Cabinet over whether one division would be an adequate force, or whether two divisions should be sent. At least three urgent memoranda were sent from General Nixon demanding transports to evacuate Townshends division, by Christmas his health had broken down, and he requested a return to Bombay. Nixons replacements with additional staff as a mandatory requirement moved forward from Ali Al Gharbi towards Sheikh Saad along both banks of the Tigris, younghusbands column made contact with the Ottomans on the morning of 6 January 5.6 km east of Sheikh Saad. British efforts to defeat the Ottomans were unsuccessful, the following day, on 7 January, Aylmer arrived with the main body of his forces and ordered a general attack
