1.
Shoulder sleeve insignia
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A shoulder sleeve insignia, is an embroidered patch used by major formations of the United States Army. Each formation has a unique formation patch, and the U. S. Army is unique among the U. S, armed Forces in that all soldiers are required to wear the patch of their headquarters as part of their military uniforms. Shoulder sleeve insignia worn on the right shoulders on Army uniforms denote former wartime service. These combat patches are worn on the Army Combat Uniform but are not worn on the Army Service Uniform, instead a 2 inch metal replica is worn on the right breast pocket and is officially known as the Combat Service Identification Badge. Shoulder sleeve insignia were designed with intricate designs including bright colors. However, with the retirement of the Army Green Uniform in 2015, for combat uniforms, subdued versions have been created for wear on the battlefield. Full color SSI were only worn on the green Class A uniform, however, with the ACU, the MP brassard was replaced by a rectangular patch made of fabric or infrared-reflective material, reading MP. The subdued version of the SSI created for the Battle Dress Uniform features patches that are primarily olive, dark brown and black, in general, this version is obsolete because the Army phased out the BDU in favor of the Army Combat Uniform. A few examples remain, as older accessories, such as BDU winter weather jackets and coats are still in use by some units. These jackets still use the subdued BDU SSI, the subdued version created for the Desert Camouflage Uniform is primarily tan and Spice brown, to match the uniforms design. This version is obsolete, as the Army phased out DCUs in favor of ACUs. The subdued version created for the Army Combat Uniform is the widely used in the field today. Since the Army-wide adoption of the ACU, SSI for the ACU have been developed and these SSI are primarily foliage green, light brown, and black, though a few patches also feature red and maroon colors for some details. Unlike previous patches, the ACU SSI are velcro, designed to attach to the velcro pockets on the shoulder of the uniform and this makes them easier to remove and replace. Since the development of the Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern uniform new SSI have been procured where the Foliage green of the ACU SSI is replaced by Bagby green, velcro remains the method for attaching the SSI to the uniform. Well-recognized examples are the shoulder insignia for the 1st Infantry Division. In the U. S. Army, the SSI is worn on the upper arm, just below the uniforms shoulder seam on all. On the Army Combat Uniform the SSI is attached to a backing and is then centered on rectangle of velcro on the arm
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
United States Army
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
4.
Airborne forces
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Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and dropped into battle, typically by parachute. Thus, they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have the capability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning. The formations are limited only by the number and size of their aircraft, so given enough capacity a huge force can appear out of nowhere in minutes, Major Lewis H. Brereton and his superior Brigadier General Billy Mitchell suggested dropping elements of the U. S. 1st Division behind German lines near Metz, the operation was planned for February 1919 but the war ended before such an attack could be seriously planned. Mitchell conceived that US troops could be trained to utilize parachutes. Following the war, the United States Army Air Service experimented with the concept of having carried on the wings of aircraft pulled off by the opening of their parachutes. The first true paratroop drop was by Italy in November 1927, within a few years several battalions had been raised and were eventually formed into two Folgore and Nembo divisions. Although these would fight with distinction in World War II. Men drawn from the Italian parachute forces were dropped in a special operation in North Africa in 1943 in an attempt to destroy parked aircraft of the United States Army Air Forces. Subsequently, on May 10,1928, Second Lieutenant César Álvarez War Palmas Las voluntarily jumped from a height of 3,000 meters, then on May 16,1928, Major Fernando Melgar Conde and Sergeant 1st. Jose Pineda Castro, jumped from the famous Las Palmas at altitudes of 2,000 and 4,300 meters, at about the same time, the Soviet Union was also experimenting with the idea, planning to drop entire units complete with vehicles and light tanks. To help train enough experienced jumpers, parachute clubs were organized with the aim of transferring into the armed forces if needed, one of the observing parties, Germany, was particularly interested. In 1936, Major F. W. Immans was ordered to set up a school at Stendal. The military had purchased large numbers of Junkers Ju 52 aircraft which were slightly modified for use as paratroop transports in addition to their other duties. The first training class was known as Ausbildungskommando Immans and they commenced the first course on May 3,1936. Other nations, including Argentina, Peru, Japan, France, France became the first nation to organize women in an airborne unit. Recruiting 200 nurses who during peacetime would parachute into natural disasters, several groups within the German armed forces attempted to raise their own paratroop formations, resulting in confusion. As a result, Luftwaffe General Kurt Student was put in command of developing a paratrooper force to be known as the Fallschirmjäger
5.
Division (military)
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A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. Infantry divisions during the World Wars ranged between 10,000 and 30,000 in nominal strength, in most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. In the West, the first general to think of organising an army into smaller units was Maurice de Saxe, Marshal General of France. He died at the age of 54, without having implemented his idea, victor-François de Broglie put the ideas into practice. He conducted successful practical experiments of the system in the Seven Years War. The first war in which the system was used systematically was the French Revolutionary War. It made the more flexible and easy to manoeuvre. Under Napoleon, the divisions were grouped together into corps, because of their increasing size, napoleons military success spread the divisional and corps system all over Europe, by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, all armies in Europe had adopted it. In modern times, most military forces have standardized their divisional structures, the peak use of the division as the primary combat unit occurred during World War II, when the belligerents deployed over a thousand divisions. With technological advances since then, the power of each division has increased. Divisions are often formed to organize units of a particular type together with support units to allow independent operations. In more recent times, divisions have mainly been organized as combined arms units with subordinate units representing various combat arms, in this case, the division often retains the name of a more specialized division, and may still be tasked with a primary role suited to that specialization. For the most part, large cavalry units did not remain after World War II, in general, two new types of cavalry were developed, air cavalry or airmobile, relying on helicopter mobility, and armored cavalry, based on an autonomous armored formation. The former was pioneered by the 11th Air Assault Division, formed on 1 February 1963 at Fort Benning, on 29 June 1965 the division was renamed as the 1st Cavalry Division, before its departure for the Vietnam War. After the end of the Vietnam War, the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganised and re-equipped with tanks, the development of the tank during World War I prompted some nations to experiment with forming them into division-size units. Many did this the way as they did cavalry divisions, by merely replacing cavalry with AFVs. This proved unwieldy in combat, as the units had many tanks, instead, a more balanced approach was taken by adjusting the number of tank, infantry, artillery, and support units. A panzer division was a division of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS of Germany during World War II
6.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
7.
Parachutist Badge
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It is difficult to assess which country was the first to introduce such award. During World War II most belligerent countries used such badges or awards, the School of Airborne Troops oversees different courses. The Military Parachute Trainee Badge is a badge created in 1965 and aimed at reservists, the laureates of the Badge could serve in airborne units and eventually train at the Airborne School for the Military Parachute Badge in a short course. Since the end of the conscription in France, the PMP Badge is awarded to soldiers in airborne units after a 4 weeks course. The Military Parachuting Initiation Badge was created in 1980 and aimed at military personnel outside of airborne units and it was awarded for four daytime jumps. The BIMP course was closed in 1994 for French personnel, the Military Parachute Badge is the standard course for every personnel in airborne units and all graduates of the école spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr. The Parachutist Monitor Badge is awarded to long-serving NCO in airborne units and its graduates can teach the basics of parachute jumping to trainees, act as technical advisors on parachute matters and be jumpmasters both in units or at the Airborne Schools. The Operational Free Fall Badge is awarded to graduates of courses in Military Free Fall techniques. All graduates must have at least finished the Military Parachute Course and have years of experience in airborne units. The Operational Free Fall Badge is part of the training for special forces. The High-altitude Parachute Instructor is awarded to long-serving NCO in airborne units wishing to become jumpmasters in Free Fall jumping, all graduates must have finished the Operational Free Fall course and serve some years in an airborne unit using HALO/HAHO techniques. There is no Airborne School in the Air Force, jump training is held at the Airborne School, the Military Parachuting Initiation Badge is awarded to graduates of a short course at the Airborne School, where the only students are Air Force cadets. It is awarded after four daytime jumps, the Military Parachute Badge is awarded to Air Force personnel, already graduates of the Airborne School, serving in the Fusiliers Commandos de lAir, the airborne infantry units of the Air Force. A minimum of 30 jumps is required for the award of the Air Force badge, the Special Parachute Badge is the Free Fall badge of the Air Force. It is awarded after long courses at both the Airborne School and the Fusiliers Commandos Training Squadron, the parachute course are done by the Defensie Para School. The Armed Forces of the Netherlands know 9 types of para wings, prerequisite,4 jumps, and normally the certificate was given for the so-called grensverleggende Activiteiten A brevet, Operational Parachutist, Static Line. Prerequisite,8 jumps, and the last 3 have to be done with gear and weapon, the course is done by members of 11th Airmobile Brigade and Royal Netherlands Marine Corps. SLS brevet, Operational Parachutist, Static Line, Square, the same as the A certificate, with the last one with gear and weapon, and the last one needs to be made at night
8.
Glider Badge
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The Glider Badge was a qualification badge of the United States Army. The badge was authorized on 22 July 1944 A cloth circle with a similar to the parachute cap insignia was worn on the overseas cap. Following the close of the Second World War, the Glider Badge was authorized to any member who had completed glider unit training at the Airborne School. Glider-borne soldiers wore a wing trimming behind their Glider Badges to signify assignment to glider units, the color pattern of the trimming varied depending upon the unit. In the post-World War II years, the US Army converted its remaining units to parachute. Although glider units had ceased to exist, the badge was not formally rescinded until 3 May 1961, however, by 1949 glider training still took place but was included in the basic Airborne course, which was then five weeks long. The first week of the course covered air transportability training, which included glider training, during late summer of that year, a glider crashed, killing many of those on board, and glider training came to an end
9.
88th Infantry Regiment (United States)
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The 88th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army. It was created as the 88th Airborne Infantry Battalion on 10 October 1941 during World War II as the U. S. Armys first glider infantry unit. Attached to the U. S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, in May 1942 it was moved to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and expanded into the 88th Glider Infantry Regiment. All equipment and personnel assigned to the regiment were designed to be carried in the Waco CG-4A glider, in April 1943 the regiment was assigned to the 1st Airborne Infantry Brigade along with the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment and the 326th Glider Infantry Regiment. Both the 88th and the 326th were organized as two-battalion regiments, the 88th was assigned to the 13th Airborne Division in December 1943 and moved to France in February 1945 but saw no combat. In March 1945 the 88th was combined with the 326th Glider Infantry Regiment to form a three-battalion 326th Glider Infantry Regiment and this was in line with the reorganization previously completed by the 17th, 82nd, and 101st Airborne Divisions. Description A Silver color metal and enamel device 1 1/4 inches in height consisting of a shield blazoned, Azure. Attached below and to the sides of the shield a Silver tripartite scroll inscribed RIDE THE STORM in Blue letters, symbolism The shield is blue for Infantry. The symbol produces the effect of two crossed 8’s, which may be alluded to as canting heraldry and it also has the appearance of a propeller, indicating connection with aviation. Background The distinctive unit insignia was approved for the 88th Infantry Airborne Battalion on 17 December 1941. It was redesignated for the 88th Infantry Regiment on 29 September 1942, the insignia was rescinded on 10 February 1959. Blazon Shield, Azure, a cross pendal saltirewise Argent, symbolism Shield, The shield is blue for Infantry. The symbol produces the effect of two crossed 8’s, which may be alluded to as canting heraldry and it also has the appearance of a propeller, indicating connection with aviation. Background, The coat of arms was approved for the 88th Infantry Airborne Battalion on 17 December 1941. It was amended to correct the history on 23 January 1942, the insignia was redesignated for the 88th Infantry Regiment on 30 September 1942. It was rescinded on 10 February 1959
10.
517th Parachute Infantry Regiment
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The 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment was an airborne infantry regiment of the United States Army, formed during World War II. At times the regiment was attached to the 17th Airborne Division, 82nd Airborne Division and later, during most of their combat, the unit was an independent combined force of 17th Airborne troops called the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team or 517th PRCT / PCT / RCT. The unit was formed in early 1943 and trained at Camp Toccoa, following the liberation of France, the 517th was attached to the 82nd Airborne Division and fought with it in Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge. Following the end of the war, the 517th was assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 517th was one of three parachute infantry regiments assigned to the First Airborne Task Force, which was charged with the assault on Southern France. The assault was set for 0800 on 15 August 1944, however and this marked the units first combat jump. After three days of fighting around the towns of Le Muy, Les Arcs, La Motte. For their participation in Operation Dragoon and the subsequent liberation of France, the 517th was attached to the XVIII Airborne Corps following the liberation of France, along with the 82nd, 101st, and 13th Airborne Divisions. Elements of the 517th participated in counter-attacks near the Belgian towns of Soy, Sur-Les-Hys, Hotton, following the Battle of the Bulge, the 517th PIR was assigned to the 13th Airborne Division, to take part in Operation Varsity, the airborne crossing of the Rhine river. However, prior to the operation, the 13ths participation in the attack was called off. The 517th, then attached to the 17th Airborne Division, was slated to take part in Operation Coronet, the invasion of the Japanese Home Islands. The 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team accumulated over 150 combat days during five campaigns on battlefields in Italy, France, Belgium, the battalion casualty rate was 81.9 percent. The team suffered 1,576 casualties and had 247 men killed in action, PFC Melvin E. Biddle B/1/517th PIR was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroic actions during the Soy-Hotton engagement. On 15 February 1945, elements of the RCT were assigned to the 13th Airborne Division, the 13th was inactivated in February 1946. He later went on to become a Lt. General, commanding Fort Bragg, the 82nd Airborne Division, Melvin Zais, commanded the 3rd Battalion and then became executive officer for the Regimental Combat Team. He went on to become Commanding General of the U. S, Boom Boom Alicki, a veteran of Pearl Harbor, handled the indoctrination of the 517th recruits at Camp Toccoa. Melvin E. Biddle, B Company, Medal of Honor recipient, george W. Dunaway became the 2nd Sergeant Major of the Army from 1968 to 1970, the highest ranking enlisted man in the Army. He later became state legislator, lawyer, author of books, Governor of North Carolina, U. S. senator, Duke University president. Joseph High School of Cleveland, OH from 1950 to 1990 and also Gilmour Academy of Gates Mills and he is the 3rd all-time winningest coach in Ohio High School Football with 310 wins
11.
Major general (United States)
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In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general, a major general typically commands division-sized units of 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers. Major general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy. The United States Code explicitly limits the number of general officers that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active duty general officers is capped at 231 for the Army,61 for the Marine Corps, some of these slots are reserved or finitely set by statute. This promotion board then generates a list of officers it recommends for promotion to general rank and this list is then sent to the service secretary and the Joint Chiefs of Staff for review before it can be sent to the President, through the Secretary of Defense for consideration. The President nominates officers to be promoted from this list with the advice of the Secretary of Defense, the secretary, and if applicable. The President may nominate any eligible officer who is not on the recommended list if it serves in the interest of the nation, the Senate must then confirm the nominee by a majority vote before the officer can be promoted. Once confirmed, the nominee is promoted to rank on assuming a position of office that requires an officer to hold the rank. For positions of office that are reserved by statute, the President nominates an officer for appointment to fill that position, since the grade of major general is permanent, the rank does not expire when the officer vacates a two-star position. Tour length varies depending on the position, by statute, and/or when the officer receives a new assignment or a promotion, in the case of the Air National Guard, they may also serve as The Adjutant General for their state, commonwealth or territory. Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement of general officers, all major generals must retire after five years in grade or 35 years of service, whichever is later, unless appointed for promotion or reappointed to grade to serve longer. Otherwise, all officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday. However, the Secretary of Defense may defer a general officers retirement until the officers 66th birthday, because there are a finite number of General Officer positions, one officer must retire before another can be promoted. As a result, general officers typically retire well in advance of the age and service limits. The rank of general was abolished in the U. S. Army by the Act of March 16,1802. Major general has been a rank in the U. S. Army ever since, to address this anomaly, Washington was posthumously promoted by Congress to the rank of General of the Armies of the United States in 1976. The position of Major General Commanding the Army was entitled to three stars according to General Order No.6 of March 13,1861
12.
Fort Bragg
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Fort Bragg is an installation of the United States Army and is the largest military base in the world with more than 50,000 active duty personnel. The base is located within Cumberland, Hoke, Harnett and Moore counties, Fort Bragg borders the towns of Fayetteville, Spring Lake and Southern Pines. It was also a place in the 2010 Census, during which a population of 39,457 was identified. The fort is named for Confederate general Braxton Bragg and it covers over 251 square miles. It is also home to the U. S. Army Forces Command, U. S. Army Reserve Command, Camp Bragg was established in 1918 as an artillery training ground. The Chief of Field Artillery, General William J. Camp Bragg was named to honor a native North Carolinian, Braxton Bragg, the aim was for six artillery brigades to be stationed there and $6,000,000 was spent on the land and cantonments. There was an airfield on the used by aircraft and balloons for artillery spotters. The airfield was named Pope Field on April 1,1919, in honor of First Lieutenant Harley H. Pope, the work on the camp was finished on November 1,1919. The original plan for six brigades was abandoned after World War I ended, the artillery men, their equipment and material from Camp McClellan, Alabama, were moved over to Fort Bragg and testing began on long-range weapons that were a product of the war. The six artillery brigades were reduced to two cantonments and a garrison was to be built for Army troops as well as a National Guard training center, in early 1921 two field artillery units, the 13th and 17th Field Artillery Brigades, began training at Camp Bragg. The same year, the Long Street Church and six acres of property were acquired for the reservation, the church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Due to the cutbacks, the camp was nearly closed for good when the War department issued orders to close the camp on August 7,1921. General Albert J. Bowley was commander at the camp and after much campaigning, and getting the Secretary of War to visit the camp, the Field Artillery Board was transferred to Fort Bragg on February 1,1922. Camp Bragg was renamed Fort Bragg, to becoming a permanent Army post. From 1923 to 1924 permanent structures were constructed on Fort Bragg, by 1940, during World War II, the population of Fort Bragg had reached 5,400, however, in the following year, that number ballooned to 67,000. The population reached a peak of 159,000 during the war years, following World War II, the 82nd Airborne Division was permanently stationed at Fort Bragg, the only large unit there for some time. In July 1951, the XVIII Airborne Corps was reactivated at Fort Bragg, Fort Bragg became a center for unconventional warfare, with the creation of the Psychological Warfare Center in April 1952, followed by the 10th Special Forces Group. In 1961, the 5th Special Forces Group was activated at Fort Bragg, also in 1961, the Iron Mike statue, a tribute to all Airborne soldiers, past, present and future, was dedicated
13.
North Carolina
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North Carolina is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west, Virginia to the north, North Carolina is the 28th most extensive and the 9th most populous of the U. S. states. The state is divided into 100 counties, the most populous municipality is Charlotte, which is the second largest banking center in the United States after New York City. The state has a range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to 6,684 feet at Mount Mitchell. The climate of the plains is strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the falls in the humid subtropical climate zone. More than 300 miles from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a highland climate. North Carolina is bordered by South Carolina on the south, Georgia on the southwest, Tennessee on the west, Virginia on the north, the United States Census Bureau places North Carolina in the South Atlantic division of the southern region. So many ships have been lost off Cape Hatteras that the area is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, the most famous of these is the Queen Annes Revenge, which went aground in Beaufort Inlet in 1718. The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, the Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the states most populous region, containing the six largest cities in the state by population. It consists of rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. The Piedmont ranges from about 300 feet in elevation in the east to about 1,500 feet in the west, the western section of the state is part of the Appalachian Mountain range. Among the subranges of the Appalachians located in the state are the Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, the Black Mountains are the highest in the eastern United States, and culminate in Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet, the highest point east of the Mississippi River. North Carolina has 17 major river basins, the five basins west of the Blue Ridge Mountains flow to the Gulf of Mexico, while the remainder flow to the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 17 basins,11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the states border – the Cape Fear, the Neuse, the White Oak, and the Tar-Pamlico basin. Elevation above sea level is most responsible for temperature change across the state, the climate is also influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream, especially in the coastal plain. These influences tend to cause warmer winter temperatures along the coast, the coastal plain averages around 1 inch of snow or ice annually, and in many years, there may be no snow or ice at all. North Carolina experiences severe weather in summer and winter, with summer bringing threat of hurricanes, tropical storms, heavy rain
14.
82nd Airborne Division
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The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army, specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areas. Based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division is part of the XVIII Airborne Corps, the 82nd Airborne Division is the U. S. Armys most strategically mobile division. Some sources consider the 82nd Airborne Division the most highly trained light infantry division in the world, recently the 82nd Airborne has been conducting operations in Iraq. The 82nd Airborne has been assigned to advise and assist Iraqi Security Forces, since its initial members came from all 48 states, the unit acquired the nickname All-American, which is the basis for its famed AA shoulder patch. Famous soldiers of the division include Sergeant Alvin C, York, General James M. Colonel Chris Gibson, Brigade Commander 325 Airborne Infantry, New York Congressman. The 82nd Division was first constituted on 5 August 1917 during World War I in the National Army and it was organized and formally activated on 25 August 1917 at Camp Gordon, Georgia. The division consisted entirely of conscripted soldiers. The citizens of Atlanta held a contest to give a nickname to the new division, Major General Eben Swift, the commanding general, chose All American to reflect the unique composition of the 82nd—it had soldiers from all 48 states. The bulk of the division was two infantry brigades, each commanding two regiments, the 163rd Infantry Brigade commanded the 325th Infantry Regiment and the 326th Infantry Regiment. The 164th Infantry Brigade commanded the 327th Infantry Regiment and the 328th Infantry Regiment and it sailed to Europe to join the American Expeditionary Force, commanded by General John Pershing, on the Western Front. William P. Burnham, who had commanded the 164th Brigade, led the division during most of its training. In early April, the division embarked from the ports in Boston, New York and Brooklyn to Liverpool, England, on 16 June it moved by rail to Toul, France to take position on the front lines in the French sector. Its soldiers were issued French weapons and equipment to simplify resupply, the division was briefly assigned to I Corps before falling under the command of IV Corps until late August. It was then moved to the Woëvre front, in the Lagney sector, the division relieved the 26th Division on 25 June. Though Lagney was considered a defensive sector, the 82nd Division actively patrolled and raided in the region for several weeks, from there it moved to the Marbache sector in mid-August, where it relieved the 2nd Division under the command of the newly formed US First Army. There it trained until 12 September, when the division joined the St. Mihiel offensive, once the First Army jumped off on the offensive, the 82nd Division engaged in a holding mission to prevent German forces from attacking the right flank of the First Army. On 15 September, the 328th Infantry, in order to protect the 90th Divisions flank, resumed the advance, and reached Vandières, on 17 September, the St-Mihiel Operation stabilized, and the 90th Division relieved the 82nds troops west of the Moselle River. During this operation, the division suffered casualties from enemy artillery
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101st Airborne Division
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The 101st Airborne Division is an elite modular specialized light infantry division of the United States Army trained for air assault operations. It is the most potent and tactically mobile of the U. S. Armys divisions and these particular operations are conducted by highly mobile teams and they are quite often executed behind enemy lines. Its unique battlefield mobility and high level of training have kept the Division in the vanguard of Americas land combat forces in recent conflicts, more recently, the 101st Airborne has been performing foreign internal defense and counter-terrorism operations within Iraq and Afghanistan. The 101st Airborne Division has a nearly century-long history, during the Vietnam War, the 101st Airborne Division fought in several major campaigns and battles including the Battle of Hamburger Hill in May 1969. In mid-1968 it was reorganized and redesignated as an airmobile division and these titles reflect the divisions shift from airplanes as the primary method of delivering troops into combat, to the use of helicopters. Many current members of the 101st are graduates of the U. S. Army Air Assault School, Division headquarters is at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. In recent years, the division has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, the division is one of the most highly decorated units in the United States Army and has been featured prominently in military fiction. The 101st is currently the only air assault division, capable, in a single lift, of a 4. It is supported by more than 280 helicopters and this includes three battalions of Apache attack helicopters. At times, additional air assets are assigned to the 101st Airborne during deployment, the 101st Airborne also comprises intelligence support, maintenance and operations elements, support personnel, and artillery specialists. Assisting the 101st Airborne Division is an array of support elements, equipment. The 101st is considered a versatile, very flexible. The 101st has the capability to move long distances, the 101st can put soldiers down on top of mountains, ridge lines, and behind the enemy forces and can sling-load in artillery pieces for indirect fire. It is considered a unit of choice and it has the ability to secure sites, airfields. The 101st Division headquarters was organized 2 November 1918 at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, World War I ended 9 days later, and was demobilized on 11 December 1918. In 1921, the headquarters was reconstituted in the Organized Reserves. It was at time that the Screaming Eagle became associated with the division. As part of the reorganization of the 101st as a division in the Army of the United States
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European Theater of Operations, United States Army
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The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed US Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and it was bordered to the south by the North African Theater of Operations, US Army, which later became the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. As the armies advanced, both these zones and the areas into which they were divided would shift forward to new areas of control. Major General James E. Chaney, an Army Air Corps officer, arrived in the United Kingdom on 18 May 1941, SBOPS also had the role of studying British use of Lend Lease supplies. His formal title was the Special Army Observer in the United Kingdom, after the United States entered the war, SPOBS was succeeded by United States Army Forces in the British Isles, actually SPOBS under a new name. At the time of the ARCADIA Conference, December 1941 – January 1942, daley, and make him in turn responsible to General Chaney, designated as CG, USAFBI. Lt. Gen. John C. H. Lee became Chief, Services of Supply, U. S. Army Forces British Isles, on June 8,1942, the United States Department of War officially established ETOUSA in its place. Its mission was to conduct planning for the retaking of Europe and to exercise administrative. The 133rd Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Division was the first United States Army unit sent to Europe in World War II, the first battalion arrived in Belfast in late January 1942, followed by the rest of the regiment in February. These units were designated as U. S. Army Northern Ireland Forces, the 133rd and 168th Infantry Regiments trained in the peat bogs, and performed border guard patrols between British Northern Ireland and the neutral Irish Free State. The remaining unit of the division, the 135th Infantry Regiment, until SHAEF was operational ETOUSA liaised closely with the British in the planning and organising of Operation Overlord. General Dwight D. Eisenhower had multiple command appointments, he replaced Chaney in late June 1942 and he then relinquished command of ETOUSA to Lt. Gen. Frank M. Andrews in February 1943, who was killed in an air crash in May. He was replaced by Lt. Gen. Jacob L. Devers, in December 1943 it was announced that Eisenhower would be Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. In January 1944 he resumed command of ETOUSA and the month was officially designated as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. He served in a role until the end of hostilities in Europe in May 1945. From February 1944, SHAEF was the command and ETOUSA administrative command. Some units were transferred between operational commands and administrative commands at different times, by the end of 1944, Eisenhower, through SHAEF, commanded three powerful Allied army groups. The British 21st Army Group and French elements of the 6th Army Group were not part of ETOUSA, the ETOUSA planning staff in London was usually referred to by its Army Post Office number, APO887
17.
Western Front (World War II)
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The Western Front of the European theatre of World War II encompassed Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany. World War II military engagements in Southern Europe and elsewhere are generally considered under separate headings, the Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale combat operations. The second phase consisted of ground combat, which began in June 1944 with the Allied landings in Normandy. The Phoney War was a phase of World War II marked by a few military operations in Continental Europe in the months following the German invasion of Poland. Although the great powers of Europe had declared war on one another, neither side had yet committed to launching a significant attack and this was also the period in which The United Kingdom and France did not supply significant aid to Poland, despite their pledged alliance. While most of the German Army was fighting against Poland, a much smaller German force manned the Siegfried Line, there were only some local, minor skirmishes. The British Royal Air Force dropped propaganda leaflets on Germany and the first Canadian troops stepped ashore in Britain, while Western Europe was in a strange calm for seven months. In their hurry to re-arm, Britain and France had both begun to buy large numbers of weapons manufacturers in the United States at the outbreak of hostilities. The non-belligerent United States, contributed to the Western Allies by discounted sales of military equipment, German efforts to interdict the Allies trans-Atlantic trade at sea ignited the Battle of the Atlantic. However, when the Allies made a counter-landing in Norway following the German invasion, the Kriegsmarine, nonetheless, suffered very heavy losses during the two-months of fighting required to seize all of mainland Norway. In May 1940, the Germans launched the Battle of France, the Western Allies soon collapsed under the onslaught of the so-called blitzkrieg strategy. The majority of the British and elements of the French forces escaped at Dunkirk, with the fighting ended, the Germans began to consider ways of resolving the question of how to deal with Britain. If the British refused to agree to a treaty, one option was to invade. However, Nazi Germanys Kriegsmarine, had suffered losses in Norway. With the Luftwaffe unable to defeat the RAF in the Battle of Britain and these were built in anticipation of an Allied invasion of France. Because of the massive logistical obstacles a cross-channel invasion would face, on 19 August 1942, the Allies began the Dieppe Raid, an attack on Dieppe, France. Most of the troops were Canadian, with some British contingents, the raid was a disaster, almost two-thirds of the attacking force became casualties. However, much was learned as a result of the operation – these lessons would be put to use in the subsequent invasion
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First Allied Airborne Army
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The First Allied Airborne Army was an Allied formation formed on 2 August 1944 by the order of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. The formation was part of the Allied Expeditionary Force and controlled all Allied airborne forces in Western Europe from August 1944 to May 1945 and these included the U. S. IX Troop Carrier Command, the U. S. The First Allied Airborne Army was activated on 2 August 1944, by order of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. However, the 21st Army Group and the Allied Expeditionary Air Force both agreed to the recommendation, only suggesting a few changes to be made. Creating such an organization, however, was complicated by the position of the Royal Air Force, arnold asking for the assignment of an Air Corps officer as commander of the unified headquarters. Having solved the problems of what the commander of the headquarters would control, and when. In addition, the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe would allocate ten officers, the new organization was then assigned operational control over a number of airborne and troop carrier units. As commander of First Allied Airborne Army, Brereton was directly responsible to the Supreme Commander Allied Force, General Eisenhower, for a number of functions. On 2 August 1944, First Allied Airborne Army was officially activated by the orders of General Eisenhower, several more airborne operations were planned for First Allied Airborne Army in late August and early September, after the cancellation of Transfigure. The genesis for Operation Market-Garden was an operation planned by the staff of the 1st Airborne Division. By March 1945, the Allied armies had advanced into Germany and had reached the River Rhine, field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, commanding the British 21st Army Group devised a plan to allow the forces under his command to breach the Rhine, which he entitled Operation Plunder. Plunder envisioned the British Second Army, under Lieutenant-General Sir Miles Dempsey, ninth Army under Lieutenant General William Simpson crossing the Rhine at Rees, Wesel, and an area south of the Lippe Canal. One of these formations, the British 6th Airborne Division, was a veteran division, it had taken part in Operation Overlord. However, the 17th Airborne Division had only been activated in April 1943 and had arrived in Britain in August 1944, the plan for the operation was therefore altered to accommodate the two remaining airborne divisions, the British 6th Airborne and the US 17th Airborne Division. This avoided risking the same type of disaster that had befallen the British 1st Airborne Division when it had isolated and practically annihilated by German infantry. It was also decided by General Brereton that the two divisions would be dropped simultaneously in a single lift, instead of being dropped several hours apart. Supply drops for the forces would also be made as soon as possible to ensure adequate supplies were available to the airborne troops as they fought. Several airborne operations were planned for the divisions under the control of First Allied Airborne Army after the end of Operation Varsity
19.
Allies of World War II
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The Allies of World War II, called the United Nations from the 1 January 1942 declaration, were the countries that together opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War. The Allies promoted the alliance as seeking to stop German, Japanese, at the start of the war on 1 September 1939, the Allies consisted of France, Poland and the United Kingdom, and dependent states, such as the British India. Within days they were joined by the independent Dominions of the British Commonwealth, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Poland was a minor factor after its defeat in 1939, France was a minor factor after its defeat in 1940. China had already been into a war with Japan since the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937. The alliance was formalised by the Declaration by United Nations, from 1 January 1942, however, the name United Nations was rarely used to describe the Allies during the war. The leaders of the Big Three – the UK, the Soviet Union, in 1945, the Allied nations became the basis of the United Nations. The origins of the Allied powers stem from the Allies of World War I, Germany resented signing Treaty of Versailles. The new Weimar republics legitimacy became shaken, by the early 1930s, the Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler became the dominant revanchist movement in Germany and Hitler and the Nazis gained power in 1933. The Nazi regime demanded the cancellation of the Treaty of Versailles and made claims to German-populated Austria. The likelihood of war was high, and the question was whether it could be avoided through strategies such as appeasement, in Asia, when Japan seized Manchuria in 1931, the League of Nations condemned it for aggression against China. Japan responded by leaving the League of Nations in March 1933, after four quiet years, the Sino-Japanese War erupted in 1937 with Japanese forces invading China. The League of Nations condemned Japans actions and initiated sanctions on Japan, the United States, in particular, was angered at Japan and sought to support China. In March 1939, Germany took over Czechoslovakia, violating the Munich Agreement signed six months before, Britain and France decided that Hitler had no intention to uphold diplomatic agreements and responded by preparing for war. On 31 March 1939, Britain formed the Anglo-Polish military alliance in an effort to avert a German attack on the country, also, the French had a long-standing alliance with Poland since 1921. The Soviet Union sought an alliance with the powers. The agreement secretly divided the independent nations of eastern Europe between the two powers and assured adequate oil supplies for the German war machine, on 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, two days later Britain and France declared war on Germany. Then, on 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, a Polish government-in-exile was set up and it continued to be one of the Allies, a model followed by other occupied countries. After a quiet winter, Germany in April 1940 invaded and quickly defeated Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Britain and its Empire stood alone against Hitler and Mussolini
20.
Operation Varsity
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Operation Varsity was a successful airborne forces operation launched by Allied troops that took place toward the end of World War II. Involving more than 16,000 paratroopers and several aircraft, it was the largest airborne operation in history to be conducted on a single day. Varsity was part of Operation Plunder, the Anglo-American-Canadian assault under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery to cross the northern Rhine River, the U. S. 17th Airborne Division was to capture the village of Diersfordt and clear the rest of the Diersfordter Wald of any remaining German forces. The two divisions would hold the territory they had captured until relieved by advancing units of 21st Army Group, and then join in the general advance into northern Germany. However, the operation was a success, with both divisions capturing Rhine bridges and securing towns that could have used by Germany to delay the advance of the British ground forces. The two divisions incurred more than 2,000 casualties, but captured about 3,500 German soldiers, the operation was the last large-scale Allied airborne operation of World War II. By March 1945, the Allied armies had advanced into Germany and had reached the River Rhine, Plunder envisioned the British Second Army, under Lieutenant-General Miles C. Ninth Army, under Lieutenant General William Simpson, crossing the Rhine at Rees, Wesel, the division did not participate in Operation Market Garden. It did, however, participate in the Ardennes campaign but had yet to take part in a combat drop, the plan for the operation was therefore altered to accommodate the two remaining airborne divisions, the British 6th and U. S. 17th Airborne Divisions. It was also decided by the commander of the First Allied Airborne Army, General Lewis H. Brereton, supply drops for the airborne forces would also be made as soon as possible to ensure adequate supplies were available to the airborne troops as they fought. By this period of the conflict, the number of German divisions remaining on the Western Front was rapidly declining, both in numbers and quality, a fact in the Allies favour. By the night of 23 March, Montgomery had the equivalent of more than 30 divisions under his command, while the Germans fielded around 10 divisions, all weakened from constant fighting. First Parachute Army had three corps stationed along the river, 2nd Parachute Corps to the north, 86th Corps in the centre, and 63rd Corps in the south. After their retreat to the Rhine both divisions were under-strength and did not number more than 4,000 men each, with 84th Infantry Division supported by only 50 or so medium artillery pieces. The mobile reserves that the Germans did possess consisted of some 150 armoured fighting vehicles under the command of 1st Parachute Army, intelligence also pointed to the possibility of a heavy anti-tank battalion being stationed in the area. The situation of the German defenders, and their ability to any assault effectively, was worsened when the Allies launched a large-scale air attack one week prior to Operation Varsity. The air attack involved more than 10,000 Allied aircraft and concentrated primarily on Luftwaffe airfields and the German transportation system. Operation Plunder began at 9 pm on the evening of 23 March, the airlift consisted of 541 transport aircraft containing airborne troops, and a further 1,050 troop-carriers towing 1,350 gliders
21.
21st Army Group
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Commanded by General Sir Bernard Montgomery, 21st Army Group initially controlled all ground forces in Operation Overlord. The Germans lacked the ability to prevent the American breakout at the end of the Normandy beachhead in early August 1944. After the successful landings in the south of France by the U. S. 6th Army Group and it was therefore responsible for securing the ports upon which Allied supply depended, and also with overrunning German V-1 and V-2 launching sites along the coasts of western France and Belgium. By 29 August, the Germans had largely withdrawn across the Seine River without their heavy equipment. The advance was so rapid,250 miles in four days, that Antwerp, Belgium was captured undefended on 4 September 1944, on 1 September 1944, the 21st Army Group was relieved of operational control of the American armies, and those armies formed the 12th Army Group. By mid-September, elements of 21st Army Group had reached the Dutch border, but were halted due to lack of supplies, after the break-out from Normandy, there were high hopes that the war could be ended in 1944. In order to do so, the last great natural barrier of Germany in the west. Operation Market Garden was orchestrated to attempt just this, however, the British armoured forces had only one main highway to operate on, and crucial information about the German forces in the operational area was either missing or ignored. Thus an operation was needed to clear the approaches and thereby ease the supply problem, the island of Walcheren was strongly held by German forces and commanded the estuary of the Scheldt which flows through Antwerp. Operations by II Canadian Corps cleared the approaches to Antwerp both north and south of the water during the Battle of the Scheldt, Walcheren itself was captured in late 1944 by the last major amphibious assault in Europe in the Second World War. A combination of British and Canadian forces and Royal Marines undertook the operation, after the capture of Walcheren came the last great German offensive of the war. In a repeat of their 1940 attack, German formations smashed through weak Allied lines in the Ardennes in Belgium, the Battle of the Bulge presented a command problem to General Eisenhower. It had sliced through US lines, leaving some American formations north and south of the new German salient. However, the headquarters of U. S. 12th Army Group lay to the south and they, with the US Third Army under General George S. Patton, reduced the salient. After the battle, control of the First US Army which had placed under Field Marshal Montgomerys temporary command was returned to Bradleys 12th Army Group. The US Ninth Army remained under Montgomery longer, before being returned to American command in Germany, prior to the Rhineland Campaign the enemy had to be cleared from the Roer Triangle during Operation Blackcock. This large methodical mopping up operation took place between 14 and 27 January 1945 and it was not planned to make any deep thrust into the enemy defences or capture large numbers of prisoners. It proceeded from stage to stage almost entirely as planned and was completed with minimal casualties, Allied forces closed up to the Rhine by March 1945
22.
Rhine
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The largest city on the river Rhine is Cologne, Germany, with a population of more than 1,050,000 people. It is the second-longest river in Central and Western Europe, at about 1,230 km, with an average discharge of about 2,900 m3/s. The Rhine and the Danube formed most of the inland frontier of the Roman Empire and, since those days. The many castles and fortifications along the Rhine testify to its importance as a waterway in the Holy Roman Empire, in the modern era, it has become a symbol of German nationalism. The variant of the name of the Rhine in modern languages are all derived from the Gaulish name Rēnos, spanish is with French in adopting the Germanic vocalism Rin-, while Italian, Occitan and Portuguese retain the Latin Ren-. The Gaulish name Rēnos belongs to a class of river names built from the PIE root *rei- to move, flow, run, the grammatical gender of the Celtic name is masculine, and the name remains masculine in German, Dutch and French. The Old English river name was variously inflected as masculine or feminine, the length of the Rhine is conventionally measured in Rhine-kilometers, a scale introduced in 1939 which runs from the Old Rhine Bridge at Constance to Hoek van Holland. The river length is shortened from the rivers natural course due to a number of canalisation projects completed in the 19th and 20th century. The total length of the Rhine, to the inclusion of Lake Constance and its course is conventionally divided as follows, The Rhine carries its name without distinctive accessories only from the confluence of the Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein near Tamins-Reichenau. Above this point is the catchment of the headwaters of the Rhine. It belongs almost exclusively to the Swiss Canton of Graubünden, ranging from Gotthard Massif in the west via one valley lying in Ticino, traditionally, Lake Toma near the Oberalp Pass in the Gotthard region is seen as the source of the Vorderrhein and the Rhine as a whole. The Hinterrhein rises in the Rheinwald valley below Mount Rheinwaldhorn, the Vorderrhein, or Anterior Rhine, springs from Lai da Tuma, near the Oberalp Pass and passes the impressive Ruinaulta formed by the largest visible rock slide in the alps, the Flims Rockslide. A multiday trekking route is signposted along the young Rhine called Senda Sursilvana, the Hinterrhein/Rein Posteriur, or Posterior Rhine, starts from the Paradies Glacier, near the Rheinwaldhorn. One of its tributaries, the Reno di Lei, drains the Valle di Lei on politically Italian territory, after three main valleys separated by the two gorges, Roflaschlucht and Viamala, it reaches Reichenau. The Vorderrhein arises from numerous source streams in the upper Surselva, one source is Lai da Tuma with the Rein da Tuma, which is usually indicated as source of the Rhine, flowing through it. Into it flow tributaries from the south, some longer, some equal in length, such as the Reno di Medel, the Rein da Maighels, and the Rein da Curnera. The Cadlimo Valley in the Canton of Ticino is drained by the Reno di Medel, all streams in the source area are partially, sometimes completely, captured and sent to storage reservoirs for the local hydro-electric power plants. In its lower course the Vorderrhein flows through a gorge named Ruinaulta through the Flims Rockslide, the whole stretch of the Vorderrhein to the Rhine confluence near Reichenau-Tamins is accompanied by a long-distance hiking trail called Senda Sursilvana
23.
Western Allied invasion of Germany
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The Western Allied invasion of Germany was coordinated by the Western Allies during the final months of hostilities in the European theatre of World War II. This is known as the Central Europe Campaign in United States military histories, by early 1945, events favored the Allied forces in Europe. The failure of this offensive exhausted Germanys strategic reserve, leaving it ill-prepared to resist the final Allied campaigns in Europe, additional losses in the Rhineland further weakened the German Army, leaving shattered remnants of units to defend the east bank of the Rhine. On 7 March, the Allies seized the last remaining bridge across the Rhine at Remagen. During Operation Lumberjack and Operation Plunder in February–March 1945, German casualties are estimated at 400,000 men, on the Eastern Front, the Soviet Red Army had liberated most of Poland and were within striking distance of Berlin. The Soviets also pushed deep into Hungary and eastern Czechoslovakia, and these rapid advances on the Eastern Front destroyed additional veteran German combat units and severely limited German Fuhrer Adolf Hitlers ability to reinforce his Rhine defenses. As such, with the Western Allies making final preparations for their powerful offensive into the German heartland, forty-nine of these divisions were American,12 British, eight French, three Canadian and one Polish. Another seven American divisions arrived during February, along with the British 5th Infantry Division and I Canadian Corps, as the invasion of Germany commenced, General Eisenhower had a total of 90 full-strength divisions under his command, with the number of armored divisions now reaching 25. The Allied front along the Rhine stretched 450 miles from the mouth at the North Sea in the Netherlands to the Swiss border in the south. The Allied forces along this line were organized into three army groups, in the north, from the North Sea to a point about 10 miles north of Cologne, was the 21st Army Group commanded by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. Within 21st Army Group the Canadian 1st Army held the left flank of the Allied line, with the British 2nd Army in the center and the U. S. 9th Army to the south. Holding the middle of the Allied line from the 9th Armys right flank to a point about 15 miles south of Mainz was the 12th Army Group under the command of Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, Bradley had two American armies, the U. S. 1st Army on the left and the U. S. 3rd Army on the right, as these three army groups cleared out the Wehrmacht west of the Rhine, Eisenhower began to rethink his plans for the final drive across the Rhine and into the heart of Germany. Originally, General Eisenhower had planned to all his forces up to the west bank of the Rhine. The main thrust beyond the river was to be made in the north by Montgomerys 21 Army Group, 1st Army as it made a secondary advance northeast from below the Ruhr River. If successful, this movement would envelop the industrial Ruhr area. Facing the Allies was Oberbefehlshaber West commanded by Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring, although Kesselring brought an outstanding track record as a defensive strategist with him from the Italian Campaign, he did not have the resources to make a coherent defense. During the fighting west of the Rhine up to March 1945, busch—whose main unit was the German 1st Parachute Army —was to form the right wing of the German defenses
24.
Victory in Europe Day
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It thus marked the end of World War II in Europe. The term VE Day existed as early as September 1944, in anticipation of victory, on 30 April 1945, Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader, committed suicide during the Battle of Berlin. Germanys surrender, therefore, was authorised by his successor, Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz, the administration headed by Dönitz was known as the Flensburg Government. The act of surrender was signed on 7 May in Reims, France and on 8 May in Berlin. The former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries have historically celebrated the end of World War II on 9 May, however, the Baltic countries now commemorate VE day on 8 May. In Ukraine from 2015,8 May was designated as a day of Remembrance and Reconciliation, upon the defeat of Germany, celebrations erupted throughout the world. From Moscow to Los Angeles, people celebrated, in the United Kingdom, more than one million people celebrated in the streets to mark the end of the European part of the war. Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret were allowed to wander incognito among the crowds, in the United States, the victory happened on President Harry Trumans 61st birthday. He dedicated the victory to the memory of his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, flags remained at half-staff for the remainder of the 30-day mourning period. Truman said of dedicating the victory to Roosevelts memory and keeping the flags at half-staff that his wish was that Franklin D. Roosevelt had lived to witness this day. Later that day, Truman said that the victory made it his most enjoyable birthday, massive celebrations also took place in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and especially in New Yorks Times Square. As the Soviet representative in Reims had no authority to sign the German instrument of surrender, the surrender ceremony was repeated in Berlin on 8 May, where the instrument of surrender was signed by supreme German military commander Wilhelm Keitel, by Georgy Zhukov and Allied representatives. East Germany as Tag der Befreiung, a holiday from 1950 to 1966. Between 1975 and 1990, as Tag des Sieges, France as Victoire 1945 Slovakia as Deň víťazstva nad fašizmom Czech Republic as Den vítězství or Den osvobození Poland as Narodowy Dzień Zwycięstwa – National Victory Day. Norway as Frigjøringsdagen Ukraine День памяті та примирення Ukraine День перемоги над нацизмом у Другій світовій війні — from 2015
25.
Operation Downfall
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Operation Downfall was the codename for the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of Japan near the end of World War II. The planned operation was abandoned when Japan surrendered following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The operation had two parts, Operations Olympic and Coronet, later, in the spring of 1946, Operation Coronet was the planned invasion of the Kantō Plain, near Tokyo, on the Japanese island of Honshu. Airbases on Kyūshū captured in Operation Olympic would allow land-based air support for Operation Coronet, if Downfall had taken place, it would have been the largest amphibious operation in history. The Japanese planned an all-out defense of Kyūshū, with left in reserve for any subsequent defense operations. Casualty predictions varied widely, but were extremely high, depending on the degree to which Japanese civilians would have resisted the invasion, estimates ran up into the millions for Allied casualties. Leahy, and Generals of the Army George Marshall and Hap Arnold, at the time, MacArthur was also being considered for promotion to a special super rank of General of the Armies, so as to be granted operational authority over other five-star officers. However, the proposal to promote MacArthur was only at the level of discussion by the time World War II ended. Once the atomic bomb became available, General Marshall envisioned using it to support the invasion if sufficient numbers could be produced in time, throughout the Pacific War, the Allies were unable to agree on a single Commander-in-Chief. A unified command was deemed necessary for an invasion of Japan, interservice rivalry over who it should be was so serious that it threatened to derail planning. Ultimately, the Navy partially conceded, and MacArthur was to be given command of all forces. The primary considerations that the planners had to deal with were time, prior to the Quebec Conference,1943, a joint British-American planning team produced a plan which did not call for an invasion of the Japanese home islands until 1947–48. The American Joint Chiefs of Staff believed that prolonging the war to such an extent was dangerous for national morale, instead, at the Quebec conference, the Combined Chiefs of Staff agreed that Japan should be forced to surrender not more than one year after Germanys surrender. The United States Navy urged the use of a blockade and airpower to bring about Japans capitulation, the Army, on the other hand, argued that such a strategy could prolong the war indefinitely and expend lives needlessly, and therefore that an invasion was necessary. They supported mounting a large-scale thrust directly against the Japanese homeland, physically, Japan made an imposing target, distant from other landmasses and with very few beaches geographically suitable for sea-borne invasion. Only Kyūshū and the beaches of the Kantō plain were realistic invasion zones, the Allies decided to launch a two-stage invasion. Operation Olympic would attack southern Kyūshū, airbases would be established, which would give cover for Operation Coronet, the attack on Tokyo Bay. While the geography of Japan was known, the US military planners had to estimate the forces that they would face
26.
Pacific War
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The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in the Pacific and East Asia. It was fought over a vast area that included the Pacific Ocean and islands, the South West Pacific, South-East Asia, and in China. The Pacific War saw the Allied powers pitted against the Empire of Japan, the formal and official surrender of Japan took place aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. In Allied countries during the war, The Pacific War was not usually distinguished from World War II in general, or was known simply as the War against Japan. Japan used the name Greater East Asia War, as chosen by a decision on 10 December 1941. Japanese officials integrated what they called the Japan–China Incident into the Greater East Asia War, in Japan, the Fifteen Years War is also used, referring to the period from the Mukden Incident of 1931 through 1945. The Phayap Army sent troops to invade and occupy northeastern Burma, also involved were the Japanese puppet states of Manchukuo and Mengjiang, and the collaborationist Wang Jingwei regime. The official policy of the U. S. Government is that Thailand was not an ally of the Axis, Japan conscripted many soldiers from its colonies of Korea and Formosa. To a small extent, some Vichy French, Indian National Army, Germany and Italy both had limited involvement in the Pacific War. The German and the Italian navies operated submarines and raiding ships in the Indian, the Italians had access to concession territory naval bases in China, while the Germans did not. After Japans attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declarations of war, mexico, Free France and many other countries also took part, especially forces from other British colonies. Between 1942 and 1945, there were four main areas of conflict in the Pacific War, China, the Central Pacific, South East Asia, U. S. sources refer to two theaters within the Pacific War, the Pacific theater and the China Burma India Theater. However these were not operational commands, in the Pacific, the Allies divided operational control of their forces between two supreme commands, known as Pacific Ocean Areas and Southwest Pacific Area. In 1945, for a period just before the Japanese surrender. By 1937, Japan controlled Manchuria and was ready to move deeper into China, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937 provoked full-scale war between China and Japan. In August 1937, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed his best army to fight about 300,000 Japanese troops in Shanghai, the Japanese continued to push the Chinese forces back, capturing the capital Nanking in December 1937 and committed which was known as Nanking Massacre. In March 1938, Nationalist forces won their first victory at Taierzhuang, but then the city of Xuzhou was taken by Japanese in May. In June 1938, Japan deployed about 350,000 troops to invade Wuhan, the Japanese achieved major military victories, but world opinion—in particular in the United States—condemned Japan, especially after the Panay incident
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98th Infantry Division (United States)
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The 98th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in the closing months of World War I and during World War II. The unit is now one of the U. S. Army Reserves training divisions, the 98th Training Divisions current primary mission is to conduct Initial Entry Training for new soldiers. It is one of three training divisions subordinate to the 108th Training Command, since 1959, however, the 98th Training Division has been a unit of the U. S. Army Reserve with the primary mission of training Soldiers. S. as well as Puerto Rico. The 98th was activiated as one of the Armys infantry divisions on 15 Sep,1942 at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, filling its ranks primarily with soldiers from the New York and New England regions. Slated as a participant in Operation Olympic, scheduled for 1 November 1945 one of two planned invasions of Japan, the war drew to a close before the 98th was deployed to a combat zone. Instead, the 98th Division arrived in Japan on 27 Sep 1945 and served in Osaka, awards earned by 98th Division soldiers during this period include, Legion of Merit-1, Soldiers Medal-8, Bronze Star −146. Commanding Generals during the World War II era were Major General Paul L. Ransom, Major General George W. Griner, Jr. Major General Ralph C. Smith and Major General Arthur McK. On 18 April 1947, the Iroquois Division was reactivated in Rochester, New York on reserve status and it had been previously planned to be an airborne division. A note on the troop list nevertheless indicated that the unit was to be reorganized and redesignated as an airborne unit upon mobilization and was to train as such. The reorganization of 1 May 1959, redesignated the 98th Infantry Division as the 98th Division, the changes of 1968 also ushered in the designation and training of Army Reserve Drill Sergeants, a significant and enduring innovation. S. The 98th would maintain this basic organization and mission for the next 14 years, on 3 September 2004, the 98th Division received mobilization orders for Operation Iraqi Freedom. This mobilization was to be the first overseas deployment for the unit since World War II, the mission, known as the Foreign Army Training Assistance Command, consisted primarily of training the new Iraqi Army and Iraqi security forces. An expeditionary force of more than 700 Iroquois warriors were trained and equipped at four sites, Camp Atterbury, Fort Bliss, Fort Hood, the demands of Operation Iraqi Freedom required an accelerated training schedule which crammed as many warfighting skills as possible into a forty-one-day period. The 98th made full use of the 33,000 acres at Camp Atterbury and it was at Camp Atterbury that the advisory support teams, the heart of the FA-TRAC mission, transformed to cohesive units in long days. Instruction and support teams spread out across all points in Iraq from Al Kasik in the north to as far south as Umm Qasr and they established contact with Iraqi security units with the help of interpreters and helped build the six divisions of the new Iraqi Army. They also established officer and noncommissioned officer education schools at the Kirkush Military Training Base and they trained Iraqi police, the Highway Patrol, the special Police Commandos and the Iraqi Border Police. The division also fielded soldiers to other locations as Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Five 98th Training Division soldiers were killed in action during the deployment to Iraq in 2004-05
28.
Lieutenant colonel (United States)
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In the United States Army, U. S. Marine Corps, and U. S. Air Force, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the rank of commander in the other uniformed services. The pay grade for the rank of lieutenant colonel is O-5, in the United States armed forces, the insignia for the rank consists of a silver oak leaf, with slight stylized differences between the Army/Air Force version and the Navy/Marine Corps version. While often written as Lt. Colonel in orders and signature blocks, as a courtesy, lieutenant colonels are addressed simply as colonel verbally, the U. S. Army uses the three letter abbreviation LTC. The United States Marine Corps and U. S. Air Force use the abbreviations LtCol and Lt Col respectively. The U. S. Government Printing Office recommends the abbreviation LTC for U. S. Army usage, LtCol for Marine Corps usage, the Associated Press Stylebook recommends the abbreviation Lt. Col. for the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force. Slang terms for the historically used by the U. S. military include light colonel, short colonel, light bird, half colonel, bottlecap colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel has existed in the British Army since at least the 16th century and was used in both American colonial militia and colonial regular regiments. The Continental Army continued the British and colonial use of the rank of lieutenant colonel, the lieutenant colonel was sometimes known as lieutenant to the colonel. In British practice, regiments were commanded by their lieutenant colonels. The conversion was never completely effected and some regiments remained commanded by colonels throughout the war, from 1784 until 1791, there was only one lieutenant colonel in the US Army, who acted as the armys commanding officer. In the Continental Army aides to the Commander in Chief, viz, Lieutenant General George Washington, were lieutenant colonels. Additionally, certain officers serving under the Adjutant General, Inspector General, such was the case of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who commanded a Maine regiment as both a lieutenant colonel and later as a colonel. Such was the case with George A. Custer, who was a lieutenant colonel in the regular army, a lieutenant colonel may also serve as a brigade/brigade combat team, regiment/regimental combat team, Marine Aviation Group, Marine Expeditionary Unit, or battalion task force executive officer. These staff positions may include, G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, G-5, usage of The G-n may refer to either a specific staff section or the staff officer leading a section. Lieutenant colonels may also be junior staff at a variety of higher echelons, Lieutenant colonels may also serve on general staffs and may be the heads of some wing staff departments. Senior Lieutenant colonels occasionally serve as group commanders, in US Army and Air Force ROTC detachments, the commanding officer is typically a lieutenant colonel, along with several majors, captains, and non-commissioned officers serving as assistants. However, some detachments are commanded by full colonels, the rank of lieutenant colonel is also used by many large American police departments for officers in senior administrative positions
29.
Unicorn
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The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. The Bible also describes an animal, the reem, which some versions translate as unicorn, in European folklore, the unicorn is often depicted as a white horse-like or goat-like animal with a long horn and cloven hooves. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, it was described as an extremely wild woodland creature, a symbol of purity and grace. In the encyclopedias its horn was said to have the power to render poisoned water potable, in medieval and Renaissance times, the tusk of the narwhal was sometimes sold as unicorn horn. The earliest description is from Ctesias, who in his book Indika described them as wild asses, fleet of foot, having a horn a cubit and a half in length, and colored white, red and black. Aristotle must be following Ctesias when he mentions two one-horned animals, the oryx and the so-called Indian ass, strabo says that in the Caucasus there were one-horned horses with stag-like heads. Cosmas Indicopleustes, a merchant of Alexandria who lived in the 6th century, made a voyage to India and he gives a description of a unicorn based on four brass figures in the palace of the King of Ethiopia. He states, from report, that it is impossible to take this ferocious beast alive, and that all its strength lies in its horn. When it finds itself pursued and in danger of capture, it throws itself from a precipice, and turns so aptly in falling, that it all the shock upon the horn. A one-horned animal is found on seals from the Indus Valley Civilization. Seals with such a design are thought to be a mark of social rank. Medieval knowledge of the fabulous beast stemmed from biblical and ancient sources, the predecessor of the medieval bestiary, compiled in Late Antiquity and known as Physiologus, popularized an elaborate allegory in which a unicorn, trapped by a maiden, stood for the Incarnation. As soon as the unicorn sees her, it lays its head on her lap and this became a basic emblematic tag that underlies medieval notions of the unicorn, justifying its appearance in every form of religious art. Interpretations of the myth focus on the medieval lore of beguiled lovers, whereas some religious writers interpret the unicorn. The myths refer to a beast with one horn that can only be tamed by a virgin, subsequently, with the rise of humanism, the unicorn also acquired more orthodox secular meanings, emblematic of chaste love and faithful marriage. The Throne Chair of Denmark is made of unicorn horns – almost certainly narwhal tusks, the same material was used for ceremonial cups because the unicorns horn continued to be believed to neutralize poison, following classical authors. The unicorn, tamable only by a woman, was well established in medieval lore by the time Marco Polo described them as scarcely smaller than elephants. They have the hair of a buffalo and feet like an elephants and they have a single large black horn in the middle of the forehead
30.
United States Army Air Corps
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The United States Army Air Corps was the military aviation arm of the United States of America between 1926 and 1941. The USAAC was renamed from the earlier United States Army Air Service on 2 July 1926, the Air Corps became the United States Army Air Forces on 20 June 1941, giving it greater autonomy from the Armys middle-level command structure. The separation of the Air Corps from control of its combat units caused problems of unity of command that became more acute as the Air Corps enlarged in preparation for World War II. This was resolved by the creation of the Army Air Forces, the U. S. Army Air Service had a brief but turbulent history. In early 1926 the Military Affairs Committee of the Congress rejected all bills set forth before it on both sides of the issue. They fashioned a compromise in which the findings of the Morrow Board were enacted as law, while providing the air arm a five-year plan for expansion and development. The legislation changed the name of the Air Service to the Air Corps, thereby strengthening the conception of military aviation as an offensive, the Air Corps Act became law on 2 July 1926. Two additional brigadier generals would serve as assistant chiefs of the Air Corps, previous provisions of the National Defense Act of 1920 that all flying units be commanded only by rated personnel and that flight pay be awarded were continued. The Air Corps also retained the Prop and Wings as its branch insignia through its disestablishment in 1947, patrick became Chief of the Air Corps and Brig. Gen. James E. Fechet continued as his first assistant chief. The Air Corps Act of 2 July 1926 effected no fundamental innovation, the change in designation meant no change in status, the Air Corps was still a combatant branch of the Army with less prestige than the Infantry. The Air Corps Act gave authorization to carry out an expansion program. However, a lack of appropriations caused the beginning of the program to be delayed until 1 July 1927. The act authorized expansion to 1,800 airplanes,1,650 officers, none of the goals were reached by July 1932. Organizationally the Air Corps doubled from seven to fifteen groups, but the expansion was meaningless because all were seriously understrength in aircraft and pilots. Air Corps groups added 1927–1937 ¹Inactivated on 20 May 1937 ²Redesignated 17th Attack Group, 17th Bomb Group As units of the Air Corps increased in number, so did higher command echelons. The 1st Bomb Wing was activated in 1931, followed by the 3rd Attack Wing in 1932 to protect the Mexican border, the three wings became the foundation of General Headquarters Air Force upon its activation in 1935. In 1927 the Air Corps adopted a new scheme for painting its aircraft. The wings and tails of aircraft were painted yellow, with the words U. S
31.
Tabs of the United States Army
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In the United States Army, tabs are small cloth and/or metal arches displaying a word or words signifying a special skill that are worn on U. S. Army uniforms. Individual tabs are worn as small metal arches above or below medals or ribbons on the Army Service Uniform. Tabs are valued uniquely in the U. S. Army because images rather than words are used for the symbolism of the shoulder patch worn to identify a soldiers unit. It is only to identify an individual soldiers or a whole units special skill that an additional shoulder patch is worn that uses words rather than images to symbolize this skill. Some tabs are awarded to recognize an individual soldiers combat related skills or marksmanship and are worn by a soldier permanently. These tabs are also considered special skill badges and have metal equivalents that are worn on the soldiers chest if their uniform does not have a place for shoulder patches. Other tabs recognize a whole units special skill and are considered to be part of a specific units shoulder sleeve patch and are worn by a soldier only while they belong to that unit. The Jungle Expert Tab is unique in that while it is awarded to recognize an individual soldiers skill, similarly, tabs awarded at the state level by the US Army National Guard can only be worn by soldiers while they are on state-level orders. There are currently four permanent individual tabs authorized for wear by the U. S. Army. In order of precedence, they are the Special Forces Tab, the Ranger Tab, the Sapper Tab, Soldiers who are awarded the Special Forces Tab are authorized to wear it for the remainder of their military careers, even when not serving in a Special Forces command. The Special Forces Tab can be revoked by the Chain of Command for significant violations of conduct considered contrary to the standards expected of a Special Forces Soldier. The Special Forces Tab was created in 1983 and is an embroidered quadrant patch worn on the left sleeve of a military uniform. The cloth tab is 3¼ inches wide and is blue with yellow embroidered letters. The Ranger Tab is a qualification tab authorized upon completion of the U. S. Armys Ranger School by a member of the U. S. military, civilian personnel, the Ranger Tab was approved by the Chief of Staff, Army, on October 30,1950. The Ranger Tab can be revoked IAW AR 600-8-22, Section 1-31, the full color tab is worn 1/2 inch below the shoulder seam on the left sleeve of the Army green coat. The subdued tab is worn 1/2 inch below the shoulder seam on the sleeve of utility uniforms, field jackets. The full color tab is 2⅜ inches long, 11/16 inch wide, with a 1/8 inch yellow border, the subdued tab is identical, except the background is olive drab and the word RANGER is in black letters. The Sapper Tab is a tab which is authorized for graduates of the U. S. Armys Sapper School
32.
11th Airborne Division (United States)
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The 11th Airborne Division was a United States Army airborne formation, first activated on 25 February 1943, during World War II. Consisting of one parachute and two infantry regiments, with supporting troops, the division underwent rigorous training throughout 1943. Held in reserve in the United States for the first half of 1944, upon arrival it entered a period of intense training and acclimatization, and by November was judged combat-ready. The 11th Airborne saw its first action on the island of Leyte in the Philippines, in January 1945 the division took part in the invasion of Luzon. The two glider infantry regiments again operated as infantry, securing a beachhead before fighting their way inland. The parachute infantry regiment was held in reserve for several days before conducting the divisions first airborne operation, on 30 August 1945 the division was sent to southern Japan as part of the occupation force. Four years later it was recalled to the United States, where it became a training formation, one parachute infantry regiment was detached for service in the Korean War, but on 30 June 1958 the division was inactivated. It was briefly reactivated on 1 February 1963 as the 11th Air Assault Division to explore the theory and practicality of helicopter assault tactics, the divisions personnel and equipment were transferred to the newly raised 1st Cavalry Division. S. Infantry division of World War II, the division initially remained in the United States for training, which in common with all airborne units was extremely arduous to befit their elite status. The washout rate was high, but there was never a shortage of candidates, before training was complete a debate developed in the U. S. Army over whether the best use of airborne forces was en masse or as small, compact units. The 82nd Airborne Division had been inserted by parachute and glider and had suffered high casualties, Eisenhower reviewed the airborne role in Operation Husky and concluded that large-scale formations were too difficult to control in combat to be practical. Lieutenant General Leslie J. However, other high-ranking officers, including the Army Chief of Staff George Marshall, Marshall persuaded Eisenhower to set up a review board and to withhold judgement until the outcome of a large-scale maneuver, planned for December 1943, could be assessed. When Swing returned to the United States to resume command of the 11th Airborne in mid-September 1943, as the 11th Airborne Division was in reserve in the United States and had not yet been earmarked for combat, the Swing Board selected it as the test formation. The 11th Airborne, as the force, was assigned the objective of capturing Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield near Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The force defending the airfield and its environs was a team composed of elements of the 17th Airborne Division. The entire operation was observed by Army Ground Forces commander Lt. Gen. McNair, the transport aircraft were divided into four groups, two of which carried paratroopers while the other two towed gliders. Each group took off from a different airfield in the Carolinas, the four groups deployed a total of 4,800 troops in the first wave. The exercise was judged by observers to be a great success, McNair, pleased by its results, attributed this success to the great improvements in airborne training that had been implemented in the months following Operation Husky
33.
17th Airborne Division (United States)
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The 17th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the United States Army during World War II, and was commanded by Major General William M. Miley. It was officially activated as a division in April 1943 but was not immediately sent to a combat theater. However, after the end of Operation Market Garden the division was shipped to France, the 17th gained its first Medal of Honor during its time fighting in the Ardennes, and was then withdrawn to Luxembourg to prepare for an assault over the River Rhine. The division then advanced through Northern Germany until the end of World War II, there, it was officially inactivated in September 1945, although it was briefly reactivated as a training division between 1948 and 1949. The Allied governments were aware of the success of these operations and this decision would eventually lead to the creation of five American and two British airborne divisions, as well as many smaller units. The 17th Airborne Division was activated on 15 April 1943 at Camp Mackall in North Carolina, once activated, the division remained in the United States for training and exercises. As the division, like all airborne units, was intended to be an elite formation, as the division trained, a debate developed in the U. S. Army over whether the best use of airborne forces was en masse or as small compact units. On 9 July 1943, the first large-scale Allied airborne operation–the Allied invasion of Sicily –was carried out by elements of the U. S. 82nd Airborne Division and the British 1st Airborne Division. The U. S. 82nd Airborne Division had been deployed by parachute and glider and had suffered high casualties, leading to a perception that it had failed to achieve many of its objectives. General Eisenhower had reviewed the role in Operation Husky, and had concluded that large-scale formations were too difficult to control in combat to be practical. However, other high-ranking officers believed otherwise, notably the U. S. Army Chief of Staff and he persuaded Eisenhower to set up a review board and to withhold judgement on the effectiveness of divisional-sized airborne forces until a large-scale maneuver could be tried in December. When Swing returned to the United States to resume command of the 11th Airborne Division in mid-September 1943, the objective for the 11th as the attacking force was to capture Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield near Fort Bragg in North Carolina, after which the maneuver was named. The defending forces were to try to defend the airport and the surrounding area, the entire operation would be observed by Lieutenant General McNair. His observations and reports to the U. S, War Department, and ultimately General Eisenhower, would do much to decide the success or failure of the exercise. These airborne troops then seized the Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield from the troops and secured the area in which the rest of the division landed. The exercise was judged to be a success by those who observed it. Due to the success of the units of the 11th Airborne Division during the exercise, the division also participated in the Second Army maneuvers in the Tennessee Maneuver Area from 6 February 1944. It finished its training on 27 March 1944, and transferred to Camp Forrest on 24 March 1944, the division staged at Camp Myles Standish on 12 August 1944 before departing Boston Port of Embarkation on 20 August 1944
34.
American airborne landings in Normandy
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The American airborne landings in Normandy were the first American combat operations during Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by the Western Allies on June 6,1944, during World War II. Around 13,100 American paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions made night parachute drops early on D-Day, June 6, as the opening maneuver of Operation Neptune the two American airborne divisions were delivered to the continent in two parachute and six glider missions. Both divisions were part of the U. S. VII Corps, V Corps in merging the two American beachheads. The assault did not succeed in blocking the approaches to Utah for three days, numerous factors played a part, most of which dealt with excessive scattering of the drops. Despite this, German forces were unable to exploit the chaos, many German units made a tenacious defense of their strong-points, but all were systematically defeated within the week. The actual size, objectives, and details of the plan were not drawn up until after General Dwight D. Eisenhower became Supreme Allied Commander in January 1944. In mid-February Eisenhower received word from Headquarters U. S. Army Air Forces that the TO&E of the C-47 Skytrain groups would be increased from 52 to 64 aircraft by April 1 to meet his requirements. Lee, who suffered from an attack and returned to the United States. Bradley insisted that 75 per cent of the assault be delivered by gliders for concentration of forces. Because it would be unsupported by naval and corps artillery, Ridgway, commanding the 82nd Airborne Division, the use of gliders was planned until April 18, when tests under realistic conditions resulted in excessive accidents and destruction of many gliders. On April 28 the plan was changed, the assault force would be inserted by parachute drop at night in one lift. Just ten days before D-Day, a compromise was reached, because of the heavier German presence, Bradley, the First Army commander, wanted the 82nd Airborne Division landed close to the 101st Airborne Division for mutual support if needed. Major General J. Lawton Collins, commanding the VII Corps, however, on May 27 the drop zones were relocated 10 miles east of Le Haye-du-Puits along both sides of the Merderet. At the initial point the 82nd Airborne Division would continue straight to La Haye-du-Puits, the plan called for a right turn after drops and a return on the reciprocal route. Over the reluctance of the commanders, exit routes from the drop zones were changed to fly over Utah Beach, then northward in a 10 miles wide safety corridor. As late as May 31 routes for the missions were changed to avoid overflying the peninsula in daylight. IX Troop Carrier Command was formed in October 1943 to carry out the airborne mission in the invasion. Brigadier General Paul T. Williams, who had commanded the troop carrier operations in Sicily and Italy, the TCC command and staff officers were an excellent mix of combat veterans from those earlier assaults, and a few key officers were held over for continuity
35.
Lieutenant general (United States)
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In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and the United States Air Force, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general, Lieutenant general is equivalent to the rank of vice admiral in the other uniformed services. The United States Code explicitly limits the number of generals that may be concurrently active to 230 for the Army,60 for the Marine Corps. For the Army and Air Force, no more than about 25% of the active duty general officers may have more than two stars. Some of these slots can be reserved by statute, officers serving in certain intelligence positions are not counted against either limit, including the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The President may also add three-star slots to one if they are offset by removing an equivalent number from other services. Finally, all statutory limits may be waived at the presidents discretion during time of war or national emergency, the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy is almost always a U. S. Army lieutenant general, either upon appointment or shortly thereafter. The three-star grade goes hand-in-hand with the position of office to which it is linked, officers may only achieve three-star grade if they are appointed to positions that require the officer to hold such a rank. Their rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, the nominee must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate before the appointee can take office and thus assume the rank. The standard tour length for most lieutenant general positions is three years but some are set four or more years by statute, some statutory limits under the U. S. Code can be waived in times of national emergency or war. Three-star ranks may also be given by act of Congress but this is extremely rare, other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement. Lieutenant generals must retire after 38 years of service unless appointed for promotion or reappointed to grade to serve longer, otherwise all general officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday. However, the Secretary of Defense can defer a three-star officers retirement until the officers 66th birthday, General officers typically retire well in advance of the statutory age and service limits, so as not to impede the upward career mobility of their juniors. Since there is a number of three-star slots available to each service. Additionally, lieutenant generals of all services serve as staff officers at various major command headquarters and The Pentagon. Currently, five women serve as lieutenant generals in the US Army, in theory, a general vacates their three or four-star rank at termination of their assignment unless placed in an equal ranking billet. Douglas MacArthur, who served as general and Army Chief of Staff. Even with the status, such officers are also almost always granted permanent retirement in the last grade they held with the satisfactory completion of at least two or three years in grade
36.
Lesley J. McNair
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Lesley James McNair was a senior United States Army officer who served during World War I and World War II. He attained the rank of lieutenant general during his life, he was killed in action during World War II, a Minnesota native and 1904 graduate of the United States Military Academy, McNair was a Field Artillery officer with a background in the Ordnance Department. His outstanding performance resulted in his promotion to brigadier general, at age 35. McNair was born in Verndale, Minnesota on May 25,1883 and he was the second-born of their six children, and the first son. His siblings who lived to adulthood were, sister Nora, the wife of Harry Jessup, brother Murray Manz McNair, and sister Irene, the wife of Harry R. Naftalin. McNair attended school in Verndale through the grade, the highest available locally, his parents then relocated to Minneapolis so McNair. After graduating from South High School, he competed successfully for an appointment to the United States Naval Academy, frustrated with the wait to start at the Naval Academy, in 1900 McNair applied for admission to the United States Military Academy. Selected as an alternate in July 1900, he was accepted as a member of the class that began that August. While at West Point, his fellow students nicknamed him Whitey for his ash blond hair, McNair graduated in 1904, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. The top five or six graduates usually chose the Engineer branch, McNairs high class standing earned him a place in the choice of most graduates. McNair was first assigned as a leader with the 12th Battery of Mountain Artillery at Fort Douglas. While there, he requested duty with the Ordnance Department, after approval of his transfer request, he was first assigned to Sandy Hook Proving Ground, New Jersey, where he began a lifelong interest in testing and experimenting with new equipment and weapons. In addition, he gained first hand experience with the uses and applications of several used in foundries, including forges, steam hammers, lathes, planing machines. He was promoted to first lieutenant in June 1905 and temporary captain May 1907, in 1909, McNair returned to the Artillery branch and was assigned to the 4th Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Russell, Wyoming. Assigned to command of Battery C, he earned accolades for his leadership skills, while carrying out this assignment in 1913, he also spent seven months in France to observe and gather information on the French Armys artillery training, education, and employment. In April 1914, he was promoted to permanent captain, from April to November 1914, McNair took part in the Veracruz Expedition as the 4th Field Artillery Regiments commissary officer. During 1915 and 1916, he was assigned to the Field Artillery School. In May 1917, he was promoted to major, from May to August, he was assigned as an instructor for the officer training camp at Leon Springs, Texas
37.
Army Ground Forces
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The Army Ground Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Service Forces. Throughout their existence, Army Ground Forces were the largest training organization ever established in the United States and its strength of 780,000 troops on 1 May 1942 grew to a peak of 2,200,000 by 1 July 1943. Thereafter its strength declined as units departed for overseas theaters, Army Ground Forces traces their origins back to General Headquarters, United States Army, which were activated on 26 July 1940. This was not realized in practice because the war was fought in many theaters, nor did GHQ become the equivalent of a theater command for the Zone of Interior, administrative authority was exercised by G-4 of the War Department General Staff through the Corps Area Commands. Instead, GHQ was drawn into the task of raising and training a mass army. Nominally, the U. S. Army Chief of Staff, Marshall, was the commanding general of GHQ, while his Chief of Staff was Lieutenant General Lesley J. McNair, who had been Commandant of the Command and General Staff School. However, since Marshall saw him infrequently and seldom visited GHQ, located at the Army War College, in March 1942, there was a sweeping reorganization of the Army that reduced the number of officers reporting to the Chief of Staff. McNair also became responsible for four new pseudo-arms – airborne, armor, anti-aircraft and he had the power to reorganize the ground army, cutting across traditional lines without branch rivalries. In 1942, it was estimated that between 200 and 350 divisions would be required to defeat Germany and Japan, however, only 89 divisions were ultimately readied. This was partially because requirements for service troops and overhead was greater than anticipated, Army strength was fixed at 7,500,000 enlisted men in 1942 and was subsequently cut to 7,004,000 enlisted men in 1943. Further cuts of 433,000 men were made by March 1945, as a result, divisions scheduled for activation in the second half of 1943 were postponed to 1944, then canceled entirely, and no new divisions were formed after June 1943. By May 1945, 96% of all troops were overseas. No new units were forming and there were no reserves, fortunately, these sufficed to bring about the defeat of Germany and Japan, largely because the Soviet Union carried most of the burden of fighting the German Army on the Eastern Front. However, it meant that divisions were kept in the line longer than anticipated. In three months of combat, an infantry division could expect 100% casualties in its three infantry regiments. Units were maintained by a flow of individual replacements. Such conditions placed great strain on the soldier who remained in action until he became a casualty. Energetic and painstaking efforts were made by Army Ground Forces to optimize the divisions for combat operations, non-essential troops and equipment were eliminated
38.
Camp Mackall
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Camp Mackall is an active U. S. Army training facility located in eastern Richmond County and northern Scotland County, North Carolina, south of the town of Southern Pines. The facility is in proximity to and is a sub-installation of Fort Bragg. Camp Mackall is the setting of primary training to become a member of U. S. Army Special Forces, originally named Camp Hoffman, on February 8,1943, General Order Number 6 renamed the facility Camp Mackall in honor of Private John Thomas Mackall. He was born May 17,1920 in Ohio and grew up in Wellsville and he served in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Seven paratroopers died at the scene and several were wounded, including Mackall and he was evacuated by air to a British hospital at Gibraltar where he died on November 12,1942. He had been wounded on November 8, the day construction began at the camp. He is buried in Glenview Cemetery in East Palestine, Ohio, the Mackall Army Airfield has two runways, 4/22 is 5,001 by 150 feet with an asphalt surface and 11/29 is 4,740 by 150 feet with a concrete surface. The Colonel James Nick Rowe Training Compound hosts SERE, SFAS and it is named for Col. James N. Rowe. The obstacle course at the camp, arguably the hardest obstacle course in the U. S. Army, is named the Nasty Nick in honor of Rowe
39.
Asiatic-Pacific Theater
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The Asiatic-Pacific Theater, was the area of operations of U. S. forces during World War II in the Pacific War during 1941-45. From mid-1942 until the end of the war in 1945, there were two U. S. operational commands in the Pacific. The Pacific Ocean Areas, divided into the Central Pacific Area, the North Pacific Area, the South West Pacific Area, including New Guinea, Philippines, Borneo, and the Dutch East Indies, was commanded by General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander South West Pacific Area. During 1945, the United States added the U. S. Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific, commanded by General Carl Spaatz. Because of the roles of the United States Army and the United States Navy in conducting war in the Pacific Theater. There was no command, rather, the Asiatic-Pacific Theater was divided into the SWPA, the POA. The Official Chronology of the U. S. Navy in World War II, in the Service of the Emperor, Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army. Kafka, Roger, Pepperburg, Roy L. Warships of the World, the Campaigns of the Pacific War. A History of Us, War, Peace and all that Jazz, joint Operational Warfare, Theory and Practice. Newport, Rhode Island, United States Naval War College, the Battle for Leyte,1944, Allied and Japanese Plans, Preparations, and Execution
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Battle of the Bulge
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The Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive campaign of World War II. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in Belgium, France, the surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard. American forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties of any operation during the war, the battle also severely depleted Germanys armoured forces on the Western Front, and they were largely unable to replace them. German personnel and later, Luftwaffe aircraft, also sustained heavy losses, the Germans officially referred to the offensive as Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein, while the Allies designated it the Ardennes Counteroffensive. The phrase Battle of the Bulge was coined by contemporary press to describe the bulge in German front lines on wartime news maps, once that was accomplished, the German dictator Adolf Hitler believed he could fully concentrate on the Soviets on the Eastern Front. The offensive was planned by the German forces with utmost secrecy, with minimal radio traffic and movements of troops, intercepted German communications indicating a substantial German offensive preparation were not acted upon by the Allies. The Germans achieved total surprise on the morning of 16 December 1944, due to a combination of Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with Allied offensive plans, and poor aerial reconnaissance. The Germans attacked a weakly defended section of the Allied line, columns of armor and infantry that were supposed to advance along parallel routes found themselves on the same roads. This, and terrain that favored the defenders, threw the German advance behind schedule, improved weather conditions permitted air attacks on German forces and supply lines, which sealed the failure of the offensive. In the wake of the defeat, many experienced German units were left severely depleted of men and equipment, the Germans initial attack involved 406,000 men,1,214 tanks, tank destroyers, and assault guns, and 4,224 artillery pieces. These were reinforced a couple of later, bringing the offensives total strength to around 450,000 troops. Between 67,200 and 125,000 of their men were killed, missing, for the Americans, out of 610,000 troops involved in the battle,89,000 were casualties. While some sources report that up to 19,000 were killed, British historian Antony Beevor reports the number killed as 8,407. It was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War II, after the breakout from Normandy at the end of July 1944 and the Allied landings in southern France on 15 August 1944, the Allies advanced toward Germany more quickly than anticipated. The Allies were faced with several military logistics issues, - troops were fatigued by weeks of continuous combat supply lines were stretched extremely thin supplies were dangerously depleted. General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his staff chose to hold the Ardennes region which was occupied by the U. S, the Allies chose to defend the Ardennes with as few troops as possible due to the favorable terrain and limited Allied operational objectives in the area. They also had intelligence that the Wehrmacht was using the area across the German border as an area for its troops. The speed of the Allied advance coupled with a lack of deep-water ports presented the Allies with enormous supply problems
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Ardennes
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The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges formed by the geological features of the Ardennes mountain range and the Moselle and Meuse River basins. Geologically, the range is a extension of the Eifel. The eastern part of the Ardennes forms the northernmost third of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, also called Oesling, the greater region maintained an industrial eminence into the 20th century after coal replaced charcoal in metallurgy. The region is typified by steep-sided valleys carved by swift-flowing rivers and its most populous cities are Verviers in Belgium and Charleville-Mézières in France, both exceeding 50,000 inhabitants. The Ardennes is otherwise relatively sparsely populated, with few of the cities exceeding 10,000 inhabitants with a few exceptions like Eupen or Bastogne. The Eifel range in Germany adjoins the Ardennes and is part of the geological formation. N. B. the Belgian Province of Luxembourg in the above list is not to be confused with the known as the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The Ardennes is an old mountain formed during the Hercynian orogeny, in France similar formations are the Armorican Massif, the Massif Central, the low interior of such old mountains often contain coal, plus iron, zinc and other metals in the sub-soil. This geologic fact explains the greatest part of the geography of Wallonia, the region was uplifted by a mantle plume during the last few hundred thousand years, as measured from the present elevation of old river terraces. This geological region is important in the history of Wallonia because this old mountain is at the origin of the economy, the history, Wallonia presents a wide range of rocks of various ages. Some geological stages internationally recognized were defined from rock sites located in Wallonia, except for the Tournaisian, all these rocks are within the Ardennes geological area. Before the 19th century industrialization, the first furnaces in the four Walloon provinces and in the French Ardennes used charcoal for fuel and this industry was also in the extreme south of the present-day Belgian province of Luxembourg, in the region called Gaume. Wallonia became the industrial power area of the world in proportion to its territory. The rugged terrain of the Ardennes limits the scope for agriculture, arable, the region is rich in timber and minerals, and Liège and Namur are both major industrial centres. The extensive forests have an abundant population of wild game, the scenic beauty of the region and its wide variety of outdoor activities, including hunting, cycling, walking and canoeing, make it a popular tourist destination. The region took its name from the ancient Silva, a vast forest in Roman times called Arduenna Silva, the modern Ardennes covers a much smaller area. The Song of Roland describes Charlemagne as having a nightmare the night before the Battle of Roncevaux Pass of 778 and this nightmare took place in the Ardennes forest, where his most important battles occurred. Another song about Charlemagne, the Old French 12th-century chanson de geste Quatre Fils Aymon, mentions many of Wallonias rivers, villages and other places
42.
United States Department of War
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The Secretary of War, a civilian with such responsibilities as finance and purchases and a minor role in directing military affairs, headed the War Department throughout its existence. Retired senior General Henry Knox, then in civilian life, served as the first United States Secretary of War, forming and organizing the department and the army fell to Secretary Knox. On November 8,1800 the War Department building with its records, foundation of the new military academy at West Point along the Hudson River upstream from New York City in 1802 was important to the future growth of the American army. The multiple failures and fiascos of the War of 1812 convinced Washington that thorough reform of the War Department was necessary, winfield Scott became the senior general until the start of the American Civil War in 1861. The bureau chiefs acted as advisers to the Secretary of War while commanding their own troops, the bureaus frequently conflicted among themselves, but in disputes with the commanding general, the Secretary of War generally supported the bureaus. Congress regulated the affairs of the bureaus in detail, and their chiefs looked to that body for support, during the American Civil War, the War Department responsibilities expanded. It handled the recruiting, training, supply, medical care, transportation, a separate command structure took charge of military operations. In the late stages of the war, the Department took charge of refugees and freedmen in the American South through the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, during Reconstruction, this bureau played a major role in supporting the new Republican governments in the southern states. When military Reconstruction ended in 1877, the U. S. Army removed the last troops from military occupation of the American South, and the last Republican state governments in the region ended. The Army comprised hundreds of small detachments in forts around the West, dealing with Indians, the United States Army, with 39,000 men in 1890 was the smallest and least powerful army of any major power in the late 19th century. By contrast, France had an army of 542,000, temporary volunteers and state militia units mostly fought the Spanish–American War of 1898. This conflict demonstrated the need for effective control over the department. Elihu Root enlarged the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and established the United States Army War College and he changed the procedures for promotions and organized schools for the special branches of the service. He also devised the principle of rotating officers from staff to line, indeed, Secretary Taft exercised little power, President Theodore Roosevelt made the major decisions. In 1911, Secretary Henry L. Stimson and Major General Leonard Wood, his chief of staff, the general staff assisted them in their efforts to rationalize the organization of the army along modern lines and in supervising the bureaus. Assisted by industrial advisers, they reorganized the system of the army. General March reorganized the general staff along similar lines and gave it authority over departmental operations. After the war, the Congress again granted the bureaus their former independence, in the 1920s, General John J. Pershing realigned the general staff on the pattern of his American Expeditionary Force field headquarters, which he commanded
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Italian Campaign (World War II)
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The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. It is estimated that between September 1943 and April 1945, some 60, 000–70,000 Allied and 60, overall Allied casualties during the campaign totaled about 320,000 and the corresponding German figure was well over 600,000. Fascist Italy, prior to its collapse, suffered about 200,000 casualties, mostly POWs taken in the Allied invasion of Sicily, including more than 40,000 killed or missing. Besides them, over 150,000 Italian civilians died, as did 15,197 anti-Fascist partisans and 13,021 troops of the Italian Social Republic. The campaign ended when Army Group C surrendered unconditionally to the Allies on May 2,1945, the independent states of San Marino and the Vatican, both surrounded by Italian territory, also suffered damage during the campaign. Even prior to victory in the North African Campaign in May 1943, the British, especially the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, advocated their traditional naval-based peripheral strategy. The United States, with a larger army, favoured a more direct method of fighting the main force of the German Army in Northern Europe. The ability to such a campaign depended on first winning the Battle of the Atlantic. There was even pressure from some Latin American countries to stage an invasion of Spain, the British argued that the presence of large numbers of troops trained for amphibious landings in the Mediterranean made a limited-scale invasion possible and useful. A contributing factor was Franklin D. Roosevelts desire to keep US troops active in the European theatre during 1943 and it was hoped that an invasion might knock Italy out of the conflict, or at least increase the pressure on them and weaken them further. A combined Allied invasion of Sicily began on 10 July 1943 with both amphibious and airborne landings at the Gulf of Gela, the land forces involved were the U. S. Seventh Army, under Lieutenant General George S. Patton, the original plan contemplated a strong advance by the British northwards along the east coast to Messina, with the Americans in a supporting role along their left flank. The defending German and Italian forces were unable to prevent the Allied capture of the island, but succeeded in evacuating most of their troops to the mainland, the Allied forces gained experience in opposed amphibious operations, coalition warfare and mass airborne drops. Forces of the British Eighth Army, still under Montgomery, landed in the toe of Italy on 3 September 1943 in Operation Baytown, the armistice was publicly announced on 8 September by two broadcasts, first by General Eisenhower and then by a proclamation by Marshal Badoglio. Although the German forces prepared to defend without Italian assistance, only two of their divisions opposite the Eighth Army and one at Salerno were not tied up disarming the Royal Italian Army, on 9 September, forces of the U. S. Fifth Army, under Lieutenant General Mark W, although none of the northern reserves were made available to the German 10th Army, it nevertheless came close to repelling the Salerno landing, due mainly to the cautious command of Clark. As the Allies advanced, they encountered increasingly difficult terrain, the Apennine Mountains form a spine along the Italian peninsula offset somewhat to the east, the rivers were subject to sudden and unexpected flooding, which constantly thwarted the Allied commanders plans. This would make the most of the natural geography of Central Italy, whilst denying the Allies the easy capture of a succession of airfields
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Operation Dragoon
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Operation Dragoon was the code name for the Allied invasion of Southern France on 15 August 1944. By July 1944 the landing was reconsidered, as the ports in Normandy did not have the capacity to adequately supply the Allied forces. Concurrently, the French High Command pushed for a revival of the operation that would include large numbers of French troops, as a result, the operation was finally approved in July to be executed in August. The goal of the operation was to secure the ports on the French Mediterranean coast. After some preliminary commando operations, the US VI Corps landed on the beaches of the Côte dAzur under the shield of a naval task force. Hindered by total Allied air superiority and an uprising by the French Resistance. The Germans decided to withdraw towards the north through the Rhône valley, Allied mobile units were able to overtake the Germans and partially block their route at the town of Montélimar. The ensuing battle led to a stalemate, with neither able to achieve a decisive breakthrough, until the Germans were finally able to complete their withdrawal. While the Germans were retreating, the French managed to capture the important ports of Marseille and Toulon, the Germans were not able to hold Dijon and ordered a complete withdrawal from Southern France. Army Group G retreated further north, pursued by Allied forces, the fighting ultimately came to a stop at the Vosges mountains, where Army Group G was finally able to establish a stable defense line. After meeting with the Allied units from Operation Overlord, the Allied forces were in need of reorganizing and, facing stiffened German resistance, Operation Dragoon was considered a success by the Allies. The captured French ports were put into operation, allowing the Allies to solve their supply problems soon after, during planning stages, the 1942 operation was known as Anvil, to complement Operation Sledgehammer, at that time the code name for the invasion of Normandy. Subsequently, both plans were renamed, Sledgehammer becoming Operation Overlord, and Anvil becoming Operation Dragoon, the original idea of an invasion of Southern France had come from General George Marshall, the U. S. Army Chief of Staff already in 1942. Operation Dragoon was controversial from the time it was first proposed, the American military leadership and its British counterparts disagreed on the operation. When first planned, the landings were to take place simultaneously – Overlord in Normandy and it soon became clear that a dual landing was impossible to conduct with the available forces. The expansion of Overlord from a three- to a five-division front required many additional LSTs, at the same time, another Allied amphibious landing in Italy at Anzio had gone badly. All of these resulted in the postponing of Anvil by the Allies, after the landing at Normandy, a revival of Anvil became increasingly attractive to the Allied planners. These factors led to a reconsideration of the plan, despite Churchills objections, the operation was authorized by the Allied Combined Chiefs of Staff on 14 July and then renamed Dragoon on 1 August
United States
United States Army
