1.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
2.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
3.
Royal Armoured Corps
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The Royal Armoured Corps provides the armour capability of the British Army, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It was created as an association of armoured regiments, both the Royal Tank Regiment and those converted from old horse cavalry regiments. Today it comprises fourteen regiments - ten Regular and four Yeomanry, the RAC was created on 4 April 1939, just before World War II started, by combining regiments from the cavalry of the line which had mechanised with the Royal Tank Corps. As the war went on and other cavalry and Territorial Army Yeomanry units became mechanised. A significant number of infantry battalions converted to the armoured role as RAC regiments. In addition, the RAC created its own training and support regiments, finally, in 1944, the RAC absorbed the regiments of the Reconnaissance Corps. The Royal Armoured Corps is divided into regiments which operate main battle tanks, those in vehicles. Of these, three regiments are designated Dragoon Guards, two as Hussars, one as Lancers and one as Dragoons, the remaining regiment is the Royal Tank Regiment. In the regular army, there are three armoured regiments, three armoured regiments and three light cavalry regiments. In the army reserve, there is one armoured regiment and three cavalry regiments. Through this, operational and training cycles are aligned, resources shared, in the Royal Armoured Corps this manifests with each yeomanry unit being paired with a regular unit of the same role. Thus, The 1st Queens Dragoon Guards is paired with Royal Yeomanry, the Scots Dragoon Guards are paired with the Scottish & North Irish Yeomanry. The Light Dragoons with the Queens Own Yeomanry, the Royal Wessex Yeomanry, uniquely as the lone armoured reserve regiment, is paired with the Kings Royal Hussars, the Queens Royal Hussars and the Royal Tank Regiment. Regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps are based in the UK and this was formed in 2014 by the amalgamation of the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band, and the Light Cavalry Band. The Band of the Royal Armoured Corps is stationed at Catterick, additonally the Royal Yeomanry operates an Army Reserve Band, which, alongside the bands of the Household Division, and The Honourable Artilley Regimental Band, form the state bands. The reorganisation of the Army announced in 2004 led to significant changes to the Royal Armoured Corps, reorganisation that began in 2003 would see three armoured regiments removed from Germany to the UK, with one re-roled as an FR regiment. In addition, three Challenger 2 squadrons will be converted to Interim Medium Armour Squadrons, while each FR regiment will gain a Command and these proposals were intended to reduce the size of the army to around 82,000. Armoured regiments would consist of Type 56 regiments, each with three Sabre Squadrons and a command and recce squadron, jackal regiments will be part of the Adaptable Force, comprising three Sabre Squadrons
4.
Anne, Princess Royal
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Anne, Princess Royal, KG KT GCVO GCStJ QSO GCL CD is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. At the time of her birth, she was third in the line of succession, behind her mother – then Princess Elizabeth – and elder brother and she rose to second after her mothers accession, but is currently 12th in line. Anne is known for her work, and is patron of over 200 organisations. Princess Anne has held the title of Princess Royal since 1987 and is its seventh holder, Anne was married to Captain Mark Phillips in 1973, they divorced in 1992. They have two children and three grandchildren, in 1992, within months of her divorce, Anne married Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, whom she had met while he served as her mothers equerry between 1986 and 1989. Anne was born at Clarence House on 15 August 1950 at 11,50 am, as the child and only daughter of Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh. She was the grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Anne was baptised in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace on 21 October 1950, by Archbishop of York, after the death of George VI, Annes mother ascended the throne as Queen Elizabeth II. Given her young age at the time, she did not attend the coronation, the Company was active until 1963, when Anne went to boarding school. Anne enrolled at Benenden School in 1963, in 1968 she left school with six GCE O-Levels and two A-Levels. In the next couple of years, Anne started dating, in 1970 her first boyfriend was Andrew Parker Bowles, who later became the first husband of Camilla Shand. Following the wedding, Anne and her husband lived at Gatcombe Park and he was made acting captain by the start of 1974 when he was appointed a personal aide-de-camp to Queen Elizabeth II. By 1989, however, Princess Anne and Mark Phillips announced their intention to separate, the couple divorced on 23 April 1992. The Queen had offered Phillips an earldom on his wedding day, the couple had two children, Peter Phillips and Zara Phillips. As female-line descendants of royalty, the children have no title despite being the grandchildren of a monarch, Anne became a grandmother on 29 December 2010 when Peter and his wife Autumn had a daughter, Savannah. On 29 March 2012, the couple had daughter, Isla. Annes third granddaughter, Mia Grace, was born on 17 January 2014 to Zara and her husband Mike Tindall. As Princess Anne and Mark Phillips were returning to Buckingham Palace on 20 March 1974, from a charity event on Pall Mall, the driver of the Escort, Ian Ball, jumped out and began firing a pistol
5.
Chieftain (tank)
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The FV4201 Chieftain was the main battle tank of the United Kingdom during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. It was the most formidable main battle tank in the world at the time of its introduction in 1966 with the most powerful main gun and this was further improved while in service with Chobham armour upgrades. A development of the Centurion, the Chieftain introduced the supine position to British design enabling a heavily sloped hull with reduced height. A new powerpack and improved transmission gave it higher speed than the Centurion despite being due to major upgrades to armour protection. It remained in service until replaced by the Challenger 1 which shared a number of the Chieftains features. The Chieftain was a development of the successful cruiser line of tanks that had emerged at the end of the Second World War. Its predecessor the Centurion main battle tank is considered to be one of the most successful of post-war MBT designs. However, the introduction of the Soviet IS-3 heavy tank along with Soviet T-54/T-55 forced the introduction of their own Conqueror heavy tank armed with a 120 mm gun. A single design combining the firepower of the Conquerors 120 mm gun with the mobility, Leyland, who had been involved in the Centurion tank had built their own prototypes of a new tank design in 1956 and these led to a War Office specification for a new tank. The General Staff specification drew on the experience of Centurion tanks in the Korean War as well as that of the Conqueror tank, the tank was expected to be able to engage the enemy at long range, from defensive positions, and be proof against medium artillery. To this end the gun was to have an angle of depression than the 8 degrees of Conqueror. The tank was expected to achieve a rate of 10 rounds per minute in the first minute. The first few prototypes were provided for troop trials from 1959 which identified a number of changes, improvements to address engine vibration and cooling resulted in redesign of the rear hull. This increased the weight to nearly 50 tons and accordingly the suspension was strengthened. Track pads had to be fitted to protect roads from damage, the design was accepted in the early 1960s. Britain and Israel had collaborated on the development in its latter stages with a view to Israel purchasing, two prototypes were delivered as part of a four-year trial. However, it was decided not to sell the marque to the Israelis. In 1957, NATO had specified that its forces should use multi-fuel engines, the early BL Engine delivered around 450 bhp to the sprocket, which meant a top road speed of around 25 mph and cross country performance was limited
6.
West Berlin
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West Berlin was an enclave which comprised the western part of the city of Berlin during the Cold War. It was formally controlled by the Western Allies and formed a de facto part of West Germany, and was entirely surrounded by the Soviet-controlled East Berlin and East Germany. West Berlin had great significance during the Cold War, as it was widely considered by westerners as an island of freedom. A wealthy city, West Berlin was noted for its liberal and cosmopolitan character. With about two million inhabitants, West Berlin had the biggest population of any city in Cold War Germany and it was 100 miles east of the Inner German border and only accessible by land from West Germany by narrow rail and highway corridors. It consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors established in 1945 and was de facto part of West Germany and it had a special and unique legal status because its administration was formally conducted by the Western Allies. East Berlin, de jure occupied and administered by the Soviet Union, was the de facto capital of East Germany, the Berlin Wall, built in 1961, physically divided West Berlin from its East German surroundings until it fell in 1989. The Potsdam Agreement established the framework for the occupation of Germany in the wake of World War II. The territory of Germany, as it existed in 1937, would be reduced by most of Eastern Germany thus creating the former territories of Germany. The remaining territory would be divided into four zones, each administered by one of the allied countries, according to the agreement, the occupation of Berlin would end only as a result of a quadripartite agreement. The Western Allies were guaranteed three air corridors to their sectors of Berlin, and the Soviets also informally allowed road, at first, this arrangement was intended to be only a temporary administrative structure, with all parties declaring that Germany and Berlin would soon be reunited. However, as the relations between the allies and the Soviet Union soured and the Cold War began, the joint administration of Germany. Soon, Soviet-occupied Berlin and western-occupied Berlin had separate city administrations, in 1948, the Soviets tried to force the Western Allies out of Berlin by imposing a land blockade on the western sectors—the Berlin Blockade. The West responded by using its air corridors for supplying their part of the city with food, in May 1949, the Soviets lifted the blockade, and West Berlin as a separate city with its own jurisdiction was maintained. Following the Berlin Blockade, normal contacts between East and West Berlin resumed, however, in cases this proved only temporary. In 1952, the East German government began sealing its borders, as a direct result the electrical grids were separated and phone lines were cut. However, the culmination of the schism did not occur until 1961 with the construction of the Berlin Wall. From the legal theory followed by the Western Allies, the occupation of most of Germany ended in 1949 with the declaration of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic
7.
14th King's Hussars
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The 14th Kings Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated with the 20th Hussars to form the 14th/20th Kings Hussars in 1922 and it took part in the Battle of Preston in November 1715 after which it escorted some of the rebels to Lancaster Gaol. The regiment was sent to Ireland in 1717 and remained there until 1742, the regiment returned to Ireland in 1747 and it was formally renamed as the 14th Regiment of Dragoons in 1751. The regiment was renamed for Princess Frederica in 1798 as the 14th Regiment of Dragoons, the regiment was dispatched to Lisbon in December 1808 to join Sir Arthur Wellesleys Army which was engaged in the Peninsular War. The regiment fought at the Second Battle of Porto in May 1809 during which one of the French brigade commanders, the regiment advanced into France performing a supporting role at the Battle of Orthez in February 1814 and at the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814. The regiment served in Ireland between January 1816 and June 1819 and between April 1825 and March 1828. The regiment was renamed in July 1830, to mark the coronation of William IV as the 14th Regiment of Dragoons and it was dispatched to India in May 1841. The regiment marched from Kirkee in the west of the country to Ambala in the north of the country through the winter of 1845 during the First Anglo-Sikh War. The commanding officer of the regiment, Colonel William Havelock, led a charge, apparently without orders, Havelock and his leading troopers were surrounded and cut down. After a further charge failed, Brigadier Charles Cureton, the commander of the division to which the troops belonged, galloped up. Cureton himself was killed by musket fire. The regiment were routed at the Battle of Chillianwala in January 1849 and it also took part in an expedition under Lieutenant-General Sir James Outram against Persia in spring 1857 during the Anglo-Persian War. The regiment returned to India in May 1857 and took part in the Central Indian campaign during 1858 in the stages of the Indian Rebellion. Major James Leith was awarded the Victoria Cross during this campaign, the title of the regiment was simplified in August 1861 to the 14th Hussars. The regiment arrived in South Africa in January 1900 and took part in the relief of Kimberley in February 1900 during the Second Boer War. The regiment, which was serving in Mhow in India as part of the Meerut Cavalry Brigade in the Meerut Divisional Area at the start of the First World War landed in Mesopotamia in November 1915. It was involved in most of the actions during the Mesopotamian campaign before moving to Persia in May 1918, the regiment retitled as the 14th Kings Hussars in January 1921 and was amalgamated with the 20th Hussars to form the 14th/20th Kings Hussars in October 1922. James OHara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley 14th Regiment of Dragoons 1752–1757, John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll 1765–1772, Gen. Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton 1772–1773, Lt-Gen
8.
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
9.
King's Royal Hussars
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The Kings Royal Hussars is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It is part of the Royal Armoured Corps, the regiment was formed in 1992 and is based at Tidworth. It serves as the regiment of the 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Under Army 2020 Refine, it will exchange its Challenger 2 tanks for Ajax vehicles, the regiment was formed on 4 December 1992 by the amalgamation of two other regiments, The Royal Hussars and 14th/20th Kings Hussars. The regiment deployed units to Bosnia and Herzegovina again in June 1997, the regiment also deployed on Operation Herrick 7 in September 2007 and Operation Herrick 16 in April 2012. The regiment currently serves in the role, equipped with Challenger 2 tanks. It is planned to continue this role and retain its base under the Army 2020 reforms, the regiment wears crimson trousers when in ceremonial, No.1 or No,2 dress, and mess dress. They may also appear in shirt sleeve order as worn by officers and this distinctive feature, which is unique in the British Army, derives from the honour accorded to the 11th Hussars by Prince Albert, the future consort of Queen Victoria. The regiment, then based at Canterbury, formed the escort for the Prince from his arrival at Dover en route to his wedding in London. The Prince was so impressed with the bearing and turnout of the troops that he ordered that they should wear his livery as a mark of distinction. The regiment wears a brown beret. This practice began when the 11th Hussars were mechanized in 1928 and it was found that the traditional forage cap with a peak was inconvenient when peering through an armoured sight, so it was decided to adopt a beret. It is believed that the colour was selected by the then quartermasters wife as a practical choice for working with dirty, oily vehicles, rather than nice. The beret was worn without a cap badge but with a broad crimson band. Since 2003 the Royal Wessex Yeomanry has also worn the brown beret, the regiment wear the crossed kukri of the Gurkhas as an arm badge. In commemoration of this action the 14th/20th Kings Hussars adopted the crossed kukri badge, the regiment gained the regimental nickname of The Emperors Chambermaids and retained the chamber pot as a loving cup known as The Emperor. The Kings Royal Hussars, as the successor to the 14th Light Dragoons, still retain The Emperor, horsePower, The Museum of the Kings Royal Hussars is the regiments museum, which is part of Winchesters Military Museums in Winchester, Hampshire
10.
Regiment
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A regiment is a military unit. Their role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, in Medieval Europe, the term regiment denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted in one geographical area, by a leader who was often also the feudal lord of the soldiers. By the 17th century, a regiment was usually about a thousand personnel. In many armies, the first role has been assumed by independent battalions, battlegroups, task forces, brigades and other, similarly-sized operational units. By the beginning of the 18th century, regiments in most European continental armies had evolved into permanent units with distinctive titles and uniforms, when at full strength, an infantry regiment normally comprised two field battalions of about 800 men each or 8–10 companies. In some armies, an independent regiment with fewer companies was labelled a demi-regiment, a cavalry regiment numbered 600 to 900 troopers, making up a single entity. With the widespread adoption of conscription in European armies during the nineteenth century, the regimental system underwent modification. Prior to World War I, a regiment in the French, German, Russian. As far as possible, the battalions would be garrisoned in the same military district, so that the regiment could be mobilized. A cavalry regiment by contrast made up an entity of up to 1,000 troopers. Usually, the regiment is responsible for recruiting and administering all of a military career. Depending upon the country, regiments can be either combat units or administrative units or both and this is often contrasted to the continental system adopted by many armies. Generally, divisions are garrisoned together and share the same installations, thus, in divisional administration, soldiers and officers are transferred in and out of divisions as required. Some regiments recruited from specific areas, and usually incorporated the place name into the regimental name. In other cases, regiments would recruit from an age group within a nation. In other cases, new regiments were raised for new functions within an army, e. g. the Fusiliers, the Parachute Regiment, a key aspect of the regimental system is that the regiment or battalion is the fundamental tactical building block. This flows historically from the period, when battalions were widely dispersed and virtually autonomous. For example, a regiment might include different types of battalions of different origins, within the regimental system, soldiers, and usually officers, are always posted to a tactical unit of their own regiment whenever posted to field duty
11.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
12.
Iraq
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The capital, and largest city, is Baghdad. The main ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds, others include Assyrians, Turkmen, Shabakis, Yazidis, Armenians, Mandeans, Circassians, around 95% of the countrys 36 million citizens are Muslims, with Christianity, Yarsan, Yezidism, and Mandeanism also present. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish, two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land, the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, historically known as Mesopotamia, is often referred to as the cradle of civilisation. It was here that mankind first began to read, write, create laws, the area has been home to successive civilisations since the 6th millennium BC. Iraq was the centre of the Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian and it was also part of the Median, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Ayyubid, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires. Iraqs modern borders were mostly demarcated in 1920 by the League of Nations when the Ottoman Empire was divided by the Treaty of Sèvres, Iraq was placed under the authority of the United Kingdom as the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. A monarchy was established in 1921 and the Kingdom of Iraq gained independence from Britain in 1932, in 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Iraqi Republic created. Iraq was controlled by the Arab Socialist Baath Party from 1968 until 2003, after an invasion by the United States and its allies in 2003, Saddam Husseins Baath Party was removed from power and multi-party parliamentary elections were held in 2005. The American presence in Iraq ended in 2011, but the Iraqi insurgency continued and intensified as fighters from the Syrian Civil War spilled into the country, the Arabic name العراق al-ʿIrāq has been in use since before the 6th century. There are several suggested origins for the name, one dates to the Sumerian city of Uruk and is thus ultimately of Sumerian origin, as Uruk was the Akkadian name for the Sumerian city of Urug, containing the Sumerian word for city, UR. An Arabic folk etymology for the name is rooted, well-watered. During the medieval period, there was a region called ʿIrāq ʿArabī for Lower Mesopotamia and ʿIrāq ʿajamī, for the region now situated in Central and Western Iran. The term historically included the south of the Hamrin Mountains. The term Sawad was also used in early Islamic times for the region of the plain of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. In English, it is either /ɪˈrɑːk/ or /ɪˈræk/, the American Heritage Dictionary, the pronunciation /aɪˈræk/ is frequently heard in U. S. media. Since approximately 10,000 BC, Iraq was one of centres of a Caucasoid Neolithic culture where agriculture, the following Neolithic period is represented by rectangular houses. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gypsum, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations
13.
Iran
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Iran, also known as Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2, it is the second-largest country in the Middle East, with 82.8 million inhabitants, Iran is the worlds 17th-most-populous country. It is the country with both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline. The countrys central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran is the countrys capital and largest city, as well as its leading economic and cultural center. Iran is the site of to one of the worlds oldest civilizations, the area was first unified by the Iranian Medes in 625 BC, who became the dominant cultural and political power in the region. The empire collapsed in 330 BC following the conquests of Alexander the Great, under the Sassanid Dynasty, Iran again became one of the leading powers in the world for the next four centuries. Beginning in 633 AD, Arabs conquered Iran and largely displaced the indigenous faiths of Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism by Islam, Iran became a major contributor to the Islamic Golden Age that followed, producing many influential scientists, scholars, artists, and thinkers. During the 18th century, Iran reached its greatest territorial extent since the Sassanid Empire, through the late 18th and 19th centuries, a series of conflicts with Russia led to significant territorial losses and the erosion of sovereignty. Popular unrest culminated in the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906, which established a monarchy and the countrys first legislative body. Following a coup instigated by the U. K. Growing dissent against foreign influence and political repression led to the 1979 Revolution, Irans rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 21 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the third-largest number in Asia and 11th-largest in the world. Iran is a member of the UN, ECO, NAM, OIC. Its political system is based on the 1979 Constitution which combines elements of a democracy with a theocracy governed by Islamic jurists under the concept of a Supreme Leadership. A multicultural country comprising numerous ethnic and linguistic groups, most inhabitants are Shia Muslims, the largest ethnic groups in Iran are the Persians, Azeris, Kurds and Lurs. Historically, Iran has been referred to as Persia by the West, due mainly to the writings of Greek historians who called Iran Persis, meaning land of the Persians. As the most extensive interactions the Ancient Greeks had with any outsider was with the Persians, however, Persis was originally referred to a region settled by Persians in the west shore of Lake Urmia, in the 9th century BC. The settlement was then shifted to the end of the Zagros Mountains. In 1935, Reza Shah requested the international community to refer to the country by its native name, opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, and Professor Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, propagated a move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably
14.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
15.
Catterick Garrison
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Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and town three miles south of Richmond in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. On 12 August 1914, the order was issued for the construction of the camp, the original intention for Catterick was to be a temporary camp to accommodate two complete divisions with around 40,000 men in 2,000 huts. The base was originally named Richmond Camp until being changed to Catterick Camp in 1915, construction was undertaken by John Laing & Son and by the mid-1930s most of the camps facilities were complete. During the Second World War the camp was again used to house prisoners of war. The town is divided between two civil parishes, the southern part of the town, south of a small stream known as Leadmill Gill, is in the civil parish of Scotton. The northern part forms the part of the civil parish of Hipswell. Each parish has its own parish council, the town is also within the Richmond parliamentary constituency, which has been represented since 2015 by Conservative Rishi Sunak. Catterick Garrison is located on the A6136 road, connecting Richmond with the A1 road at Catterick Village,4.7 miles to the east. Regular bus services to Richmond and Darlington are operated by Arriva North East, duchess of Kent Hospital is the local military hospital and medical centre that was opened on 6 October 1976. It was a replacement to the old hospital that was in existence before the Second World War, foxglove Covert, a local nature reserve was the first of its kind in North Yorkshire and the first to be located on Ministry of Defence land in the UK. It covers 100 acres of moorland edge, and was opened in 1992, in 2013 a £25 million development scheme for a new town centre was unveiled, to be built on a former sports ground, owned by the MoD. The plan includes space for retail outlets, a cinema, a 60-bedroom hotel and several dining establishments and bars, Primary education is provided by Carnagill Community Primary School, built in 1966, Wavell School and Le Cateau Community Primary School. There are other schools, not within the garrison area itself such as Colburn Community Primary School. Pupils then receive education at Risedale Sports and Community College. Alternatively, children may attend school at Richmond School and Sixth Form College. Darlington College also has a campus at Catterick Garrison, the three garrison churches are dedicated to St. Joan of Arc, St Aidan, and the Garrison Memorial Church of St Martin and St Oswald. Catterick Garrison Cemetery, located on the side of St Johns Churchyard in Hipswell, was opened by the War Office in 1930 to serve the camp. Among its graves are 42 Commonwealth service personnel of the Second World War and they include, Under Army 2020, the list will be modified and the units based at Catterick will be, 4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East The Light Dragoons – Light Cavalry
16.
Church Crookham
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Church Crookham is a large suburban village and civil parish contiguous with the town of Fleet, in northeast Hampshire, England, located 39 miles southwest of London. Formerly a separate village and now considered as a southern suburb of Fleet. The southwest of the village incorporates the Zebon Copse housing development constructed in the late-1980s, Crookham dates back at least as far as the Domesday Book, though Church Crookham and Crookham Village did not become distinct entities until the founding of the Christ Church in 1840. It is this church for which Church Crookham is named, motorists entering Fleet from the south and west are met with signs welcoming them to Church Crookham, whereas those entering the town from the north and east are welcomed to Fleet instead. The Basingstoke Canal passes through Church Crookham, vertu mobile phones are made at the company headquarters, located in Church Crookham. The HSES Group headquarters are located in Church Crookham, the head office of Ferranti Thomson Sonar Systems was on the Redfields Industrial Estate, to the south of the town. John Keble was a visitor to Church Crookhams Christ Church. Queen Elizabeth Barracks – Crookham – was built in 1938 and it was originally named Boyce Barracks, but was renamed in 1948 following the visit of Queen Elizabeth. This large barracks complex was built to act as the Depot for the Royal Army Medical Corps, from 1965 until 1970 it was used by Training Regiments of the Royal Corps of Transport. From 1970 until 2000 it was used by Gurkha Regiments, the wooden hutted camp, with single storey barrack blocks arranged as spiders, could accommodate 2500 men in peacetime. There were stores and administration buildings, as well as a large area, gymnasium. The site was sold by the Ministry of Defence for redevelopment as housing, the headquarters administration building was moved and preserved at the Aldershot Military Museum. Bryant Homes bought the site in 2002, and planning permission has been sought for an estate which will include a medical centre, school. Tweseldown race course was a point-to-point horse racing track, the first steeplechase was held here in 1847. This race track was used for the steeplechase in the 1948 London Olympics. Church Crookham has been used as a location for several films. Church Crookham was also one of several English towns and villages served as filming locations for the 2006 movie Children of Men. Church Crookham was the location for the commercially successful tobacco plantation in Britain
17.
Libya
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The three traditional parts of the country are Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica. With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres, Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa, Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world. The largest city and capital, Tripoli, is located in western Libya, the other large city is Benghazi, which is located in eastern Libya. Libya has been inhabited by Berbers since the late Bronze Age, the Phoenicians established trading posts in western Libya, and ancient Greek colonists established city-states in eastern Libya. Libya was variously ruled by Carthaginians, Persians, Egyptians and Greeks before becoming a part of the Roman Empire, Libya was an early center of Christianity. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the area of Libya was mostly occupied by the Vandals until the 7th century, in the 16th century, the Spanish Empire and the Knights of St John occupied Tripoli, until Ottoman rule began in 1551. Libya was involved in the Barbary Wars of the 18th and 19th centuries, Ottoman rule continued until the Italian occupation of Libya resulted in the temporary Italian Libya colony from 1911 to 1943. During the Second World War Libya was an important area of warfare in the North African Campaign, the Italian population then went into decline. Libya became an independent kingdom in 1951, a military coup in 1969 overthrew King Idris I, beginning a period of sweeping social reform. Since then, Libya has experienced a period of instability, the European Union is involved in an operation to disrupt human trafficking networks exploiting refugees fleeing from wars in Africa for Europe. At least two political bodies claim to be the government of Libya, the Council of Deputies is internationally recognized as the legitimate government, but it does not hold territory in the capital, Tripoli, instead meeting in the Cyrenaica city of Tobruk. Parts of Libya are outside of either governments control, with various Islamist, rebel, the United Nations is sponsoring peace talks between the Tobruk and Tripoli-based factions. An agreement to form an interim government was signed on 17 December 2015. Under the terms of the agreement, a nine-member Presidency Council, the leaders of the new government, called the Government of National Accord, arrived in Tripoli on 5 April 2016. Since then the GNC, one of the two governments, has disbanded to support the new GNA. The name Libya was introduced in 1934 for Italian Libya, reviving the name for Northwest Africa. The name was based on use in 1903 by Italian geographer Federico Minutilli. It was intended to supplant terms applied to Ottoman Tripolitania, the region of what is today Libya having been ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1551 to 1911
18.
20th Armoured Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
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The 20th Light Armoured Brigade was formed on 3 September 1939 as part of the Territorial Army. The Brigade initially served under the Southern Command and its regiments were the 1st Royal Gloucestershire Hussars. On 14 April 1940, it was re-titled the 20th Armoured Brigade, the Brigade played a vital role in the defence of the United Kingdom during the first year of the Second World War, including guarding aerodromes and other vulnerable points. The Brigade subsequently moved to Surrey in June, where it was assigned to the 1st Armoured Division at the end of the month and it finally began to receive modern tanks in September 1940 when the first Valentine tanks began to arrive. On 12 September 1941, King George VI inspected 20th Armoured Brigade at Lakenheath in Suffolk during a parade and march-past of all the fighting vehicles in the Division. It was the first time that an armoured division – at that time over 14,500 men and 4,500 vehicles – had been formed up complete in the same place. The Brigade continued to serve in Home Forces under various commands until 15 January 1943, at this time the Brigade became a training formation and its regiments, on conversion to the armoured reconnaissance role, were posted elsewhere. Many former brigade troops subsequently saw service in North West Europe including operations in Normandy. On 30 April 1943, the 20th Armoured Brigade was disbanded, on 15 September 1950, the 20th Armoured Brigade was reformed in the UK for a strategic reserve role. The 1957 Defence White Paper announced the end of National Service, resulting in a number of reductions, part of this restructuring saw the disbandment of the 6th Armoured Division in April 1958. The Brigade survived as the new 20th Armoured Brigade Group, initially under the command of the 4th Infantry Division and it assumed the insignia of the old Division – the Iron Fist symbol that it wears to this day. Brigade troops frequently found themselves supporting multi-national NATO exercises, often working alongside the fledgling Bundeswehr, in September 1959, The Royal Corps of Signals reorganised all of their independent squadrons into a single numbering system from 200 upwards. This meant that when the Brigade’s Signal Squadron adopted the title 200 in 1962 it automatically became the Senior Signal Squadron in the British Army by precedence, Two years later it amalgamated with the Brigades Headquarters Squadron and took over responsibility for the administration and defence of the HQ. This combined role is still in place today and together the two units are designated as 20th Armoured Brigade Headquarters and Signal Squadron. BAOR experimented with a major restructuring towards the end of the 1970s as it reorganised into four Divisions and these task forces could command any grouping of units from within their division and were designated sequentially Alpha through Hotel. As a result, on 1 December 1977, 20th Armoured Brigade was temporarily renamed Task Force Hotel under the command of the 4th Armoured Division, however, Task Force Hotel reverted to its Brigade designation on 1 January 1980 and its units were realigned under the Brigade Headquarters. Further unit rotations continued throughout this period many famous regiments. Typical were The Life Guards, who served in Detmold during 1971-75, by 1994, the overall troop strength in Germany had been halved and BAOR was replaced by British Forces Germany
19.
Munster
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Munster is one of the provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a king of over-kings Irish, following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into counties for administrative and judicial purposes. In later centuries, local government legislation has seen further sub-division of the historic counties, Munster has no official function for local government purposes. For the purposes of the ISO, the province is listed as one of the provincial sub-divisions of the State, geographically, Munster covers a total area of 24,675 km2 and has a population of 1,246,088 with the most populated city being Cork. Other significant urban centres in the province include Limerick and Waterford, in the early centuries AD, Munster was the domain of the Iverni peoples and the Clanna Dedad familial line, led by Cú Roí and to whom the king Conaire Mór also belonged. In the 5th century, Saint Patrick spent several years in the area and founded Christian churches, during the Early Middle Ages, most of the area was part of the Kingdom of Munster, ruled by the Eóganachta dynasty. Prior to this, the area was ruled by the Dáirine and Corcu Loígde overlords from the early 7th century onwards, later rulers from the Eóganachta who would dominate a greater part of Ireland were Cathal mac Finguine and Feidlimid mac Cremthanin. Notable regional kingdoms and lordships of Early Medieval Munster were Iarmuman, Osraige, Uí Liatháin, Uí Fidgenti, Éile, Múscraige, Ciarraige Luachra, Corcu Duibne, Corcu Baiscinn, around this period Ossory broke away from Munster. The 10th century saw the rise of the Dalcassian clan, who had earlier annexed Thomond and their leaders were the ancestors of the OBrien dynasty and spawned Brian Boru, perhaps the most noted High King of Ireland, and several of whose descendants were also High Kings. By 1118 Munster had fractured into the Kingdom of Thomond under the OBriens, the Kingdom of Desmond under the MacCarthy dynasty, the three crowns of the flag of Munster represent these three late kingdoms. The OBrien of Thomond and MacCarthy of Desmond surrendered and regranted sovereignty to the Tudors in 1543 and 1565, the impactful Desmond Rebellions, led by the FitzGeralds, soon followed. By the mid-19th century much of the area was hit hard in the Great Famine, the province was affected by events in the Irish War of Independence in the early 20th century, and there was a brief Munster Republic during the Irish Civil War. The Irish leaders Michael Collins and earlier Daniel OConnell came from families of the old Gaelic Munster gentry, noted for its traditions in Irish folk music, and with many ancient castles and monasteries in the province, Munster is a tourist destination. During the fifth century, St. Patrick spent seven years founding churches and ordaining priests in Munster, but a fifth century bishop named Ailbe is the patron saint of Munster. In Irish mythology, a number of goddesses are associated with the province including Anann, Áine, Grian, Clíodhna, Aimend, Mór Muman, Bébinn, Aibell. Each is historically associated with certain septs of the nobility, the druid-god of Munster is Mug Ruith. The province has long had trading and cultural links with continental Europe, the tribe of Corcu Loígde had a trading fleet active along the French Atlantic coast, as far south as Gascony, importing wine to Munster. The Eóganachta had ecclesiastical ties with Germany, which show in the architecture of their capital at the Rock of Cashel
20.
11th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters South East
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The Brigade was re-established on 1 August 2014 when 145 Brigade was re-designated as Headquarters 11th Infantry Brigade. In December 2014 the brigade merged with 2 Brigade to form Headquarters 11th Infantry Brigade, the brigade served in both World War I and World War II. Deactivated in 1958, it was reactivated in 2008 to assume command of the planned Operation Herrick deployment to Afghanistan in late 2009, the 11th Infantry Brigade was part of the 4th Division. It was one of the British units sent overseas to France on the outbreak of the Great War in August 1914 and it was part of the British Expeditionary Force and fought on the Western Front for the next four years. The brigade landed in North Africa at Algiers in November 1942 and it then served with 78th Division throughout the campaigns in Sicily and Italy. The Brigade was headquartered in Aldershot and was formed using units from existing formations and it was disbanded in 2010 on its return from Afghanistan, with its component units returning to their previous formations. The brigade is the Regional Point of Command for the South East of England, as well as responsibility for British Forces Brunei
21.
Hohne
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Hohne is a municipality in the state of Lower Saxony in Germany, east of the county town of Celle. It includes the three parishes of Hohne, Helmerkamp and Spechtshorn. It should not be confused with the British Army camp of Hohne near Belsen about 30 km to the northwest, Hohne lies on the River Wiehe, a right-hand tributary of the Schwarzwasser, which itself flows into the River Aller near Schwachhausen. This monastery was founded before 1115 by Margravine Gertrud von Braunschweig of Meissen, the majority of inhabitants in Hohne are Lutheran Protestants and belong to the parish of the Church of the Ascension. Also in the parish of Hohne are the villages of Helmerkamp, Hahnenhorn, Spechtshorn, Pollhöfen and it was probably an earth mound on which a wooden tower formerly stood. To date only wooden remains have been found and these structures were built across Europe from western France to present-day eastern Poland in the 9th and 10th centuries, sometimes even as late as the early 13th century. One archaeologist has suggested that it could be part of a network extending outwards from Beedenbostel. More detailed research into the age of the stakes that have been found on the site has not yet been possible due to financial constraints. As a result it can only be surmised that the castle was built before AD995, the Mundburg itself was built by the old confluence of the rivers Aller and Oker near Wienhausen. Areas of cobbles and large fragments of old foundations can still be found 0.7 metres under the present-day surface of the land. As at Hesleburg castle near Heeßel, and the castles of Depenau and Dachtmissen on the Aue in Flotwedel, in the 20th century part of the building was moved to other locations in the estate. The 1913 neo-romanesque Church of the Ascension in Hohne inherited the altar, organ, pulpit and font of its predecessor church. Hohne is also home to the Hohne Ice House, which is run by one of the oldest ice house societies in Lower Saxony, there is a primary school and a public library. Since 1970 the German Red Cross has run Hohne kindergarten, educational trips are organised by the Hohne Countrywomans Society. The sports club, TuS Hohne/Spechtshorn, is involved in ball sports, track and field athletics. The Hohne/Spechtshorn Woodland Swimming Pool Society looks after the swimming pool. Youth swimming passes can be bought from the branch of the German Lifeguard Association. The Hohne Village History Society has been putting together the history since 2002 under the direction of Rainer Brammer
22.
Benghazi
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Benghazi /bɛnˈɡɑːzi/ is the second most populous city in Libya and the largest in Cyrenaica. The city was also provisional capital of the National Transitional Council and this creates a constant atmosphere of rivalry and sensitivities between Benghazi and Tripoli, and between Cyrenaica and Tripolitania. The population was 670,797 at the 2006 census, on 15 February 2011, an uprising against the government of Muammar Gaddafi occurred in the city. The revolts spread by 17 February to Bayda, Tobruk, Ajdabya, Al Marj in the East and Zintan, Zawiya in the West, Benghazi was taken by Gaddafi opponents on 21 February, who founded the National Transitional Council. The ancient Greek city that existed within the modern day boundaries of Benghazi was founded around 525 BC, at the time, Euesperides was most likely founded by people from Cyrene or Barce, which was located on the edge of a lagoon which opened from the sea. At the time, this area may have been enough to receive small sailing vessels. The oldest coins minted in the city back to 480 BC. One side of coins has an engraving of Delphi. The other side is an engraving of a plant, once the symbol of trade from Cyrenaica because of its use as a rich seasoning. The city was in territory and was surrounded by inhospitable tribes. One of the Cyrenean kings whose fate is connected with the city is Arcesilaus IV and this proved ineffective, since when the king fled to Euesperides during the anticipated revolution, he was assassinated, thus terminating the almost 200-year rule of the Battiad dynasty. After the marriage around the middle of the 3rd century BC of Ptolemy III to Berenice, daughter of the Cyrenean Governor Magas, Euesperides became Berenice and the change of name also involved a relocation. Its desertion was probably due to the silting up of the lagoons, Berenice, the Greek colony had lasted from the 6th to the mid-3rd centuries BC. Modern Benghazi, on the Gulf of Sidra, lies a little southwest of the site of the ancient Greek city of Berenice or Berenicis or Bernici, the new city was later given the name Hesperides, in reference to the Hesperides, the guardians of the mythic western paradise. The name may have referred to green oases in low-lying areas in the nearby coastal plain. Benghazi later became a Roman city and prospered for 600 years, in its more prosperous period, Berenice became a Christian bishopric. The first of its bishops whose name is recorded in extant documents is Ammon, dathes was at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, and Probatius at a synod held in Constantinople in 394. No longer a residential bishopric, Berenice is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see, in the 13th century, the small settlement became an important player in the trade growing up between Genoese merchants and the tribes of the hinterland
23.
Cyprus
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Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean and the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean. It is located south of Turkey, west of Syria and Lebanon, northwest of Israel and Palestine, north of Egypt, the earliest known human activity on the island dates to around the 10th millennium BC. Archaeological remains from this include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia. Cyprus was settled by Mycenaean Greeks in two waves in the 2nd millennium BC, Cyprus was placed under British administration based on Cyprus Convention in 1878 and formally annexed by Britain in 1914. While Turkish Cypriots made up 18% of the population, the partition of Cyprus and creation of a Turkish state in the north became a policy of Turkish Cypriot leaders, following nationalist violence in the 1950s, Cyprus was granted independence in 1960. On 15 July 1974, a coup détat was staged by Greek Cypriot nationalists and elements of the Greek military junta in an attempt at enosis and these events and the resulting political situation are matters of a continuing dispute. The Cyprus Republic has de jure sovereignty over the island of Cyprus, as well as its territorial sea and exclusive economic area, another nearly 4% of the islands area is covered by the UN buffer zone. The international community considers the part of the island as territory of the Republic of Cyprus occupied by Turkish forces. The occupation is viewed as illegal under law, amounting to illegal occupation of EU territory since Cyprus became a member of the European Union. Cyprus is a major tourist destination in the Mediterranean, on 1 January 2008, the Republic of Cyprus joined the eurozone. The earliest attested reference to Cyprus is the 15th century BC Mycenaean Greek
24.
6th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
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The brigade was a part of the Natal Field Force under the command of Major General Sir Geoffrey Barton. At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 the 6th Infantry Brigade was, as in the last war, part of the 2nd Infantry Division, although with a very different composition. In October the brigade, under the command of Brigadier Noel Irwin, the brigade was involved in the short Battle of France fighting at the Battles of The Dyle, St Omer-La Bassée and the retreat to and evacuation from Dunkirk in May–June 1940. It fought in the Arakan and at Kohima and Mandalay, during the 1970s, the brigade was one of two square brigades assigned to 3rd Armoured Division. Orders of Battle, Second World War, 1939-1945, the Royal Corps of Signals, Unit Histories of the Corps, and Its Antecedents
25.
Paderborn
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Paderborn is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and born, the river Pader originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried. Paderborn was founded as a bishopric by Charlemagne in 795, although its history began in 777 when Charlemagne built a castle near the Pader springs. In 799 Pope Leo III fled his enemies in Rome and reached Paderborn, where he met Charlemagne and it was during this time that it was decided that Charlemagne would be crowned emperor. Charlemagne reinstated Leo in Rome in 800 and was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by Leo in return, in 836, St. Liborius became the patron saint of Paderborn after his bones were moved there from Le Mans by Bishop Badurad. St. Liborius is commemorated in Paderborn every year in July with the Liborifest, the bishop of Paderborn, Meinwerk, became a Prince of the Empire in 1100. The bishop had several buildings built, and the area became a place for the emperors to stay. The city was taken by Prussia in 1802, then by the French vassal state Kingdom of Westphalia from 1807 to 1813, native Friedrich Sertürner, a pharmacists apprentice in Paderborn, was the first to isolate morphine from opium in 1804. In 1930, the See of Paderborn was promoted to archdiocese, during World War II, Paderborn was bombed by Allied aircraft in 1944 and 1945, resulting in 85% destruction, including many of the historic buildings. After the city was reconstructed in the 1940s and 1950s, Paderborn became an industrial seat in Westphalia. The British Army has retained a significant presence in the area, Paderborn is situated at the spring of the Pader river, approximately 30 kilometres east of Lippstadt and approximately 50 kilometres south of Bielefeld on the Pader river. The hills of the Eggegebirge are located east of the city, the city of Paderborn consists of the following Stadtteile, Paderborn has a population of over 144,000, of which approximately 10% are students at the local university. Additionally, about 10,000 members or relatives of members of the British armed forces live within Westfalen Garrison, 60% of the population are Catholics, 20% Lutherans and 20% other. Paderborn is the headquarters of the former Nixdorf Computer AG, which was acquired by Siemens in the early 1990s, the company is now known as Wincor Nixdorf which is still located in Paderborn, but Siemens retains a considerable presence in the city. Paderborn has the largest computer museum in the world, the de, from 2001 to 2005 it hosted the RoboCup German Open. The town supports the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie for regular symphony concerts in the Paderhalle, the city is known today for its exhibitions in three museums, the Kaiserpfalz, The Diocesian Museum and the Art Museum - Städtische Galerie. The local baseball team, the Paderborn Untouchables, has won many German championships, and the local American Football team, in 2006 the Paderborn Baskets, the home basketball team of the city achieved the Bundesliga. The Paderborn Baskets played in the playoffs of the 2008-09 German basketball league, SC Paderborn 07 is a German football club based in Paderborn
26.
5th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
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During the Boer War, the 5th Infantry Brigade, known as the Irish Brigade, fought in the Battle of Colenso under Major General Arthur Fitzroy Hart. It consisted of the 1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 1st Inniskilling Fusiliers, 1st Connaught Rangers, the brigade was part of the 2nd Division during the First World War and was one of the first British units to be sent overseas on the outbreak of war. The brigade was part of 2nd Division. I and it did a tour in Northern Ireland during the early part of the Troubles. In the early 1980s, the Field Force concept was dropped in favour of traditional Brigades, the Brigade consisted of the former elements of the Parachute Contingency Force from 6 Field Force, at the time 2 PARA, together with a second Parachute Battalion from 8 Field Force. The Brigade was sent to the Falklands in 1982 as the force to 3rd Commando Brigade. The brigade comprised the two battalions of the Parachute Regiment, together with additional parachute support elements and a small parachute deployable Brigade HQ, the 7th Regiment RHA returned from Germany and was converted to an airborne unit and attached to the brigade. A Brigade Logistic Battalion was formed, the 5th Airborne Brigade Order of Battle was as follows, HQ5 Airborne Brigade 89 Abn Intelligence Section, Intelligence Corps No. Smashing the Atlantic Wall, The Destruction of Hitlers Coastal Fortresses, British Military Operations in Aden and Radfan,100 Years of British Colonial Rule. Gregory Blaxland, The Regiments Depart,19715 Infantry Brigade
27.
Tidworth Camp
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Tidworth Camp is a military installation at Tidworth in Wiltshire. The Camp was established when the War Office acquired Tedworth House, southern Command was established at Tidworth Camp in 1905. Lucknow Barracks and Mooltan Barracks were completed in 1905, Tidworth Military Hospital was finished in 1907, aliwal Barracks, Assaye Barracks, Bhurtpore Barracks, Candahar Barracks, Delhi Barracks and Jellalabad Barracks were added later. A Royal Ordnance depot was established during the First World War, the names of the barracks evoke memories of battles in India and Afghanistan. In the Second World War, the Camp was home in 1944 to formations of the United States Army, first the 9th Armored Division, a branch from the Midland and South Western Junction Railway at Ludgershall was built in 1901 and opened to passengers in 1902. Goods tracks known as Tidworth Military Railway continued from Tidworth station into the military area, the branch returned to military control in 1955 and was closed in 1963. Tidworth Military Cemetery was set up to serve the barracks and it includes the war graves of 417 Commonwealth service personnel of the First World War and 106 of the Second World War. Southern Command left the Camp and moved to Erskine Barracks near Fugglestone St Peter in 1949, the Military Hospital closed in March 1977. The renovation of existing buildings and the construction of new buildings aims to improve the quality of life for living and working on Tidworth Camp. Extensive reconstruction at the Camp involving 160 new or refurbished buildings was carried out between 2006 and 2014
28.
Northern Ireland
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Northern Ireland is a constituent unit of the United Kingdom in the north-east of Ireland. It is variously described as a country, province, region, or part of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland. In 2011, its population was 1,810,863, constituting about 30% of the total population. Northern Ireland was created in 1921, when Ireland was partitioned between Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland by an act of the British parliament, Northern Ireland has historically been the most industrialised region of Ireland. After declining as a result of the political and social turmoil of the Troubles, its economy has grown significantly since the late 1990s. Unemployment in Northern Ireland peaked at 17. 2% in 1986, dropping to 6. 1% for June–August 2014,58. 2% of those unemployed had been unemployed for over a year. Prominent artists and sports persons from Northern Ireland include Van Morrison, Rory McIlroy, Joey Dunlop, Wayne McCullough, some people from Northern Ireland prefer to identify as Irish while others prefer to identify as British. Cultural links between Northern Ireland, the rest of Ireland, and the rest of the UK are complex, in many sports, the island of Ireland fields a single team, a notable exception being association football. Northern Ireland competes separately at the Commonwealth Games, and people from Northern Ireland may compete for either Great Britain or Ireland at the Olympic Games. The region that is now Northern Ireland was the bedrock of the Irish war of resistance against English programmes of colonialism in the late 16th century, the English-controlled Kingdom of Ireland had been declared by the English king Henry VIII in 1542, but Irish resistance made English control fragmentary. Victories by English forces in war and further Protestant victories in the Williamite War in Ireland toward the close of the 17th century solidified Anglican rule in Ireland. In Northern Ireland, the victories of the Siege of Derry and their intention was to materially disadvantage the Catholic community and, to a lesser extent, the Presbyterian community. In the context of open institutional discrimination, the 18th century saw secret, militant societies develop in communities in the region and act on sectarian tensions in violent attacks. Following this, in an attempt to quell sectarianism and force the removal of discriminatory laws, the new state, formed in 1801, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, was governed from a single government and parliament based in London. Between 1717 and 1775 some 250,000 people from Ulster emigrated to the British North American colonies and it is estimated that there are more than 27 million Scotch-Irish Americans now living in the US. By the close of the century, autonomy for Ireland within the United Kingdom, in 1912, after decades of obstruction from the House of Lords, Home Rule became a near-certainty. A clash between the House of Commons and House of Lords over a controversial budget produced the Parliament Act 1911, which enabled the veto of the Lords to be overturned. The House of Lords veto had been the unionists main guarantee that Home Rule would not be enacted, in 1914, they smuggled thousands of rifles and rounds of ammunition from Imperial Germany for use by the Ulster Volunteers, a paramilitary organisation opposed to the implementation of Home Rule
29.
The Troubles
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The Troubles is the common name for the ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is described as a guerrilla war or low-level war. The most recent instalment of violence began in the late 1960s and is deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Belfast Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mainly took place in Northern Ireland, violence spilled over at times parts of the Republic of Ireland, England and mainland Europe. The conflict was political and nationalistic, fuelled by historical events. It also had an ethnic or sectarian dimension, although it was not a religious conflict, a key issue was the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. Unionists/loyalists, who are mostly Protestants and consider themselves British, want Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom, Irish nationalists/republicans, who are predominantly Catholics, want Northern Ireland to be reunited with the 26 counties which make up the Republic of Ireland in an independent united Ireland. This campaign was met with violence by loyalists who viewed the campaign as a stalking horse. This eventually led to the deployment of British troops, initially to protect Catholic civilians, the security forces of the Republic played a smaller role. More than 3,500 people were killed in the conflict, of whom 52% were civilians, 32% were members of the British security forces, there has been sporadic violence since the Good Friday Agreement was signed, including a campaign by anti-ceasefire republicans. The Troubles refers to the recent three-decade conflict between nationalists and unionists, the term the Troubles was previously used to refer to the Irish revolutionary period, it was adopted to refer to the escalating violence in Northern Ireland after 1969. The violence was characterised by the campaigns of Irish republican and Ulster loyalist paramilitary groups. It thus became the focus for the longest major campaign in the history of the British Army, nationalists regard the state forces as forces of occupation or partisan combatants in the conflict. One part of the Agreement is that Northern Ireland will remain within the United Kingdom unless a majority of the Northern Irish electorate vote otherwise and it also established the Northern Ireland Executive, a devolved power-sharing government, which must consist of both unionist and nationalist parties. In 1609, Scottish and English settlers, known as planters, were given land escheated from the native Irish in the Plantation of Ulster. As the Penal Laws started to be phased out in the part of the 18th century, there was more competition for land. With Roman Catholics allowed to buy land and enter trades from which they had formerly been banned, tensions arose resulting in the Protestant Peep ODay Boys and Catholic Defenders. This created polarisation between the communities and a reduction in reformers among Protestants, many of whom had been growing more receptive to democratic reform
30.
West Germany
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West Germany is the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation on 23 May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990. During this Cold War era, NATO-aligned West Germany and Warsaw Pact-aligned East Germany were divided by the Inner German border, after 1961 West Berlin was physically separated from East Berlin as well as from East Germany by the Berlin Wall. This situation ended when East Germany was dissolved and its five states joined the ten states of the Federal Republic of Germany along with the reunified city-state of Berlin. With the reunification of West and East Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany, enlarged now to sixteen states and this period is referred to as the Bonn Republic by historians, alluding to the interwar Weimar Republic and the post-reunification Berlin Republic. The Federal Republic of Germany was established from eleven states formed in the three Allied Zones of occupation held by the United States, the United Kingdom and France, US and British forces remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Its population grew from roughly 51 million in 1950 to more than 63 million in 1990, the city of Bonn was its de facto capital city. The fourth Allied occupation zone was held by the Soviet Union, as a result, West Germany had a territory about half the size of the interbellum democratic Weimar Republic. At the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided among the Western and Eastern blocs, Germany was de facto divided into two countries and two special territories, the Saarland and divided Berlin. The Federal Republic of Germany claimed a mandate for all of Germany. It took the line that the GDR was an illegally constituted puppet state, though the GDR did hold regular elections, these were not free and fair. For all practical purposes the GDR was a Soviet puppet state, from the West German perspective the GDR was therefore illegitimate. Three southwestern states of West Germany merged to form Baden-Württemberg in 1952, in addition to the resulting ten states, West Berlin was considered an unofficial de facto 11th state. It recognised the GDR as a de facto government within a single German nation that in turn was represented de jure by the West German state alone. From 1973 onward, East Germany recognised the existence of two German countries de jure, and the West as both de facto and de jure foreign country, the Federal Republic and the GDR agreed that neither of them could speak in the name of the other. The first chancellor Konrad Adenauer, who remained in office until 1963, had worked for an alignment with NATO rather than neutrality. He not only secured a membership in NATO but was also a proponent of agreements that developed into the present-day European Union, when the G6 was established in 1975, there was no question whether the Federal Republic of Germany would be a member as well. With the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989, symbolised by the opening of the Berlin Wall, East Germany voted to dissolve itself and accede to the Federal Republic in 1990. Its five post-war states were reconstituted along with the reunited Berlin and they formally joined the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990, raising the number of states from 10 to 16, ending the division of Germany
31.
Herford
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Herford is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford, the former Hanseatic town of Herford is situated in the chain of hills south of the Wiehen Hills. The highest place is the Dornberg in the Schwarzenmoor district, the lowest point is located in the Werretal in the Falkendiek district, the River Aa joins the river Werre in the centre of the town. The Stuckenberg is located east of the town, the Herforder Ev play in the regionaliga and have been a regular winning team. They draw an average of 800 fans, west, Enger, Hiddenhausen North, Löhne North-East, Vlotho South-East, Bad Salzuflen South-West, Bielefeld. The town was founded in 789 by Charlemagne in order to guard a crossing the narrow Werre river. A century later, Matilda, daughter of Theudebert, duke of Saxony, grew up in the abbey of Herford, in Herford she met Henry the Fowler, who later became king of Germany. In late medieval times Herford was a member of the Hanseatic League and it was a Free Imperial City, i. e. it was directly subordinated to the emperor. This status was lost after the Peace of Westphalia, when Herford was annexed by Brandenburg-Prussia and it was administered within the Province of Westphalia following the Napoleonic Wars, and made part of the new state North Rhine-Westphalia after World War II. The Herford Minster is a late Romanesque hall church, built about 1220-1250 for the Fürstabtei Herford. It is one of the earliest hall churches in Germany St. Jacobs is a late Gothic hall church St. Johns is a late Gothic hall church St. Marys is also a late Gothic hall church, the current artistic director is Roland Nachtigäller. Plans to construct a museum of city history next to the city hall, Herford is the seat of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie which performs regularly in the Stadtpark Schützenhof as well as many neighbouring cities in North Rhine-Westphalia. Eugene Tzigane is the principal conductor designate, the current director is Andreas Kuntze. The Stadttheater provides seats for 706 viewers and it is served by visiting theatre companies, the British Forces Broadcasting Service studio for Germany was located in Wentworth Barracks until 2009 when it moved to Hohne
32.
Bovington Camp
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Bovington Camp is a British Army military base in Dorset, England. Together with Lulworth Camp it forms part of Bovington Garrison, the camps at Bovington and Lulworth were originally established in 1899 as an infantry training area and ranges. In 1916, they became training camps for the Heavy Branch of the Machine Gun Corps which relocated from Norfolk, the Heavy Branch was responsible for the operation of the tank in the British Army. In 1917 the Heavy Branch split from the Machine Gun Corps to become the Tank Corps, with the Depot and Central Schools being based at Bovington. T. E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, in 1937 the Central Schools became the Armoured Fighting Vehicles School, with driving and maintenance training at Bovington and gunnery at Lulworth. The School became known as the Royal Armoured Corps Centre in 1947, the centre also provides through career, and promotion, training for soldiers and officers. The group delivers course through three operating sections, Communications, Gunnery and Driving & Maintenance, the majority of this training is delivered at Bovington Camp with live gunnery activities taking place at nearby Lulworth Ranges. Media related to Bovington Camp at Wikimedia Commons
33.
1st (United Kingdom) Division
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The 1st Division, formerly the 1st Armoured Division, is a division of the British Army, currently the only British division to be stationed in Germany. Originally formed in November 1937 as the Mobile Division, it saw service during World War II and was disbanded afterwards, reconstituted in 1976. It should not be confused with the 1st Infantry Division, which saw service in World War II as a separate formation, the division was formed in November 1937 on the initiative of General Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff. At the time, it was named The Mobile Division, the choice of General Officer Commanding reflected the tensions within the army. The Secretary of State for War wanted a Royal Tank Corps officer as tanks would be the force of the division. The compromise was the appointment of Major-General Alan Brooke RA, when Brooke was promoted, his replacement was a cavalry officer. The Mobile Division was formed with the 1st and 2nd Light Armoured Brigades and its paper strength was 620 armoured fighting vehicles but 7⁄8 of these were reconnaissance vehicles and some were simulated by trucks. The heavier tanks were in the brigade, which had obsolete medium tanks until cruiser tank deliveries began in December 1938. At the same time, the organization of the division was changed to a Light Armoured Brigade, a Heavy Armoured Brigade, in practice, with insufficient cruiser tanks to equip the division, there was no difference in numbers and type of tanks between the light and heavy brigades. It then embarked for Egypt under the command of Major-General Herbert Lumsden, after Major-General Lumsden was wounded, Major-General Frank Messervy took command in January 1942, retaining command until Major-General Lumsden returned in March. In August 1942, Major-General Raymond Briggs was appointed to command, from the end of the campaign in Tunisia in May 1943, which saw the surrender of almost 250,000 German and Italian soldiers, the 1st Armoured Division remained in North Africa until May 1944. The division, minus the 18th Lorried Infantry Brigade, then transferred to the Italian Front, the division came under command of V Corps, under Lieutenant-General Charles Keightley, of the Eighth Army, commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver Leese. The 1st Armoured Division was the only British division, of six in total, to have fought at Alamein under Eighth Army command, to rejoin the army in Italy. Major-General Richard Hull, aged just 37 and three months who became Chief of the General Staff, took command for this part of the campaign in August 1944. The division was disbanded on 11 January 1945. The 1st Armoured Division was constituted as follows and shows some of the changes that were made to British armoured formations during the war. It was reformed as the 1st Division following the disbandment of the 1st Infantry Division and was based with the British Army of the Rhine at Verden an der Aller in West Germany. During the 1970s, the division consisted of two brigades, the 7th Armoured Brigade and 22nd Armoured Brigade
34.
4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East
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The brigade, now known as the Black Rats, was formed in 1939 and fought in the Second World War in the Western Desert Campaign in North Africa. The Black Rats were subsequently involved in the invasion of Sicily and fighting in Italy before taking part in the Battle of Normandy, more recently, the Brigade took part in the First Gulf War and completed a number of tours to the Balkans during the 1990s. The Black Rats have since deployed twice to Iraq and once before to Afghanistan for Operation Herrick 12 in 2010, the Brigade returned to Helmand Province, Afghanistan in October 2012 for Operation Herrick 17 to take over as the lead formation of British troops. The roulement tour saw the working in support of the Afghan Armys 3/215 Brigade. In September 1939, at the start of the Second World War this brigade changed its title from Heavy Armoured Brigade to 4th Armoured Brigade, on 27 July 1941 it handed over its units to the 1st Army Tank Brigade and received new units from Egypt. It was reformed again when the HQ arrived in Sicily and it took control of new units there, the 4th Armoured Brigade saw service in the North African Campaign, the Allied invasion of Sicily, the Italian Campaign and in North-western Europe. Although it served many different formations it was most famous as part of the 7th Armoured Division. The 4th Armoured Brigade left the 7th Armoured Division in North Africa in 1943 for the Allied Invasion Force for Normandy, in June 1944 Brigade troops landed in Normandy and served with distinction in the Battle of Normandy during the Battle for Caen. The Brigade spent many years in Germany as part of the British Army of the Rhine, the brigade was one of two square brigades assigned to 1st Armoured Division when it was formed in 1976. After being briefly converted to Task Force Charlie in the late 1970s, the Brigade deployed to the First Gulf War on Operation Granby in 1990/91 and was involved in the liberation of Kuwait. It moved to Quebec Barracks at Osnabrück in 1993 to replace 12th Armoured Brigade as part of 1st Armoured Division, 4th Armoured Brigade deployed to Bosnia in October 1995 as UNPROFOR HQ Sector South-West and subsequently as the leading UK element of the NATO Implementation Force. On its return to the United Kingdom in 2007 it was transferred from 1st Armoured Division to 3rd Mechanised Division, the Black Rats have since deployed twice to Iraq and once before to Afghanistan for Operation Herrick 12 in 2010. The Brigade returned to Helmand Province, Afghanistan in October 2012 for Operation Herrick 17 to take over as the formation of British troops. The roulement tour saw the working in support of the Afghan Armys 3/215 Brigade. After the war he started a club, organising trials. British Armoured formations of World War II Brigadier RMP Carter, the History of the 4th Armoured Brigade. 4th Mechanized Brigade on British Army official website Desert Rats Association - Brigade History British Army Locations from 1945
35.
Henry Hodgson (British Army officer)
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Major General Sir Henry West Hodgson KCMG CB CVO was an officer of the British Army. He was born 29 June 1868 and died 5 February 1930 and he was the Regimental Colonel of the 14th Kings Hussars and the commanding officer of the 15th Hussars. He also commanded the Australian Mounted Division during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War, Henry West Hodgson was born 29 June 1868 the second son of Barnard Beckett Hodgson and Mabel Gertrude, married in 1839. Their older son Barnard Thornton Hodgson was a barrister, Justice of the Peace and became a lieutenant-colonel 4th Battalion, Hodgson joined the 15th Hussars a cavalry regiment of the British Army in 1889. He was promoted captain in 1895 and became their adjutant on 17 December 1893 and his was next promoted to major on 29 November 1899, and later became the commanding officer in 1907, during which he was appointed to Royal Victorian Order on 5 November 1910. Following his service as commanding officer Hodgson was put on the half-pay list on 10 October 1911 and this new brigade was still commanded by Hodgson. Following the Allied withdrawal he went to Egypt and fought with the Western Frontier Force in the Senussi Campaign, in February 1917, he was given his first divisional command, the Imperial Mounted Division, later renamed the Australian Mounted Division. His coolness and determination on that occasion, coupled with the bravery of his troops, saved Australia very serious losses, Hodgson was promoted to substantive major general on 1 January 1919, having only been a substantive colonel and a temporary major general beforehand. For his service in the Middle East he was awarded the Order of the Nile in November 1919, by the Sultan of Egypt, and he later became the Regimental Colonel of the 14th Kings Hussars overseeing the amalgamation with the 20th Hussars when they became the 14th/20th Kings Hussars. His last command was the 44th Division before retiring from the army in 1927, Henry West Hodgson died in London 5 February 1930 and was buried at the St Mary Magdalene Church Bolney England. Henry Robert Addison, Charles Henry Oakes, William John Lawson, whos who, Volume 66, Volume 1. The history of the 15th The Kings Hussars, 1914–1922, departed Warriors, The Story of a Family in War
36.
George Barrow (Indian Army officer)
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General Sir George de Symons Barrow, GCB, KCMG was a British Indian Army officer who became General Officer Commanding Yeomanry Mounted Division and the 4th Cavalry Division. Barrow was commissioned into the Connaught Rangers in 1884, having transferred to the 35th Scinde Horse, British Indian Army in 1886, he served in Waziristan on the North West Frontier of India in 1895 and was promoted to captain on 23 August 1895. He became aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies in 1899, in December 1901 he was appointed ADC to General Sir Arthur Palmer, Commander-in-Chief in India, and on 23 August 1902 was promoted to major. He served in the Home Guard during World War II, Barrow came from a Jewish family and was born on 25 October 1864 at Naini Tal in British India. He had three brothers, two of whom were also soldiers, in 1902 he married Sybilla Way, daughter of Colonel G. Way, their son died in 1944 on active service
37.
Richard McCreery
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General Sir Richard Loudon McCreery GCB KBE DSO MC, was a career soldier of the British Army, who was decorated for leading one of the last cavalry actions in the First World War. Emilias father had been a major in the 7th Dragoon Guards, McCreery was educated at Bilton Grange, St Michaels Preparatory School, Westgate-on-Sea and Eton College. He sat the examination for the Royal Military College, Sandhurst only days after his seventeenth birthday, the minimum age. On 10 April, the cavalry moved up behind the advancing British infantry near Telegraph Hill and were kept in an exposed position overnight. The next morning, the British cavalry came under heavy German artillery and machine gun fire before they were withdrawn, McCreery was shot in his right thigh, severing his femoral artery. He would have to learn to walk and ride again, and was affected by a limp for the rest of his life. McCreery finally rejoined the 12th Lancers on 11 September 1918, the regiment was back in the cavalry role supporting the advance of the Fourth Army during the Hundred Days Offensive. He was recommended for the Military Cross, which was confirmed on 18 December, for valuable, McCreery was appointed Adjutant of his regiment in December 1921. He attended Staff College, Camberley, from 1928 to 1929 and was appointed Brigade Major of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade in 1930, the inter-war years saw McCreery’s greatest sporting achievements. In 1928 McCreery married Lettice St. Maur, daughter of Major Lord Percy St. Maur, the interwar years were not without tragedy for McCreery. In 1921 one of his brothers, Bob, was killed in Ireland by republican forces. He was serving in the British Army, but off-duty at the time, McCreery’s youngest brother, Jack, who was a playwright with a play running in the West End, took his own life. McCreery was impressed by de Gaulle’s bearing during the direction of a counter-attack at Abbeville. In December 1940 he was appointed General Officer Commanding of the newly created 8th Armoured Division, McCreery was an expert on the use of light armoured vehicles. His next posting overseas during the Second World War was as Adviser, Armoured Fighting Vehicles, Middle East, X Corps, now under command of the U. S. In September 1943, McCreery was responsible for dealing with the Salerno Mutiny, McCreery was knighted in the field in July 1944 by King George VI, at Palazzo del Pero, near Arezzo, Italy. McCreery took over command of the Eighth Army from Lieutenant-General Oliver Leese on 31 December 1944, the achievements of the Eighth Army in this last campaign are perhaps less well remembered than those during the Western Desert Campaign under Montgomery. Doherty sums up this, the campaign of the Eighth Army as follows
38.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
39.
10th Royal Hussars
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The 10th Royal Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army raised in 1715. It saw service for three including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 11th Hussars to form the Royal Hussars in October 1969. The regiment was raised at Hertford by Brigadier-General Humphrey Gore as Humphrey Gores Regiment of Dragoons in 1715 as part of the response to the Jacobite rising. The regiment was involved in cavalry charges at both the Battle of Falkirk Muir in January 1746 and the Battle of Culloden in April 1746 during the next Jacobite rising and it was retitled as the 10th Regiment of Dragoons in 1751. The regiment took part in the Raid on St Malo in June 1758 during the Seven Years War and it also saw action at the Battle of Minden in August 1759, the Battle of Warburg in July 1760 and the Battle of Kloster Kampen in October 1760. At Kloster Kampen the regiments commanding officer, Colonel William Pitt, was badly wounded, the regiment went on to take part in the Battle of Villinghausen in July 1761. In 1779, the troop was detached to form the 19th Regiment of Dragoons. In June 1794 Beau Brummell, who became an arbiter of fashion in regency London. In 1806, the regiment was again re-designated, this becoming a hussar regiment as the 10th Regiment of Dragoons. The regiment saw action at the Battle of Sahagún in December 1808, at Benavente the regiment captured General Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes, the French cavalry commander. The regiment then took part in the Battle of Corunna in January 1809 before returning to England. In 1813, having landed once more in Spain, the regiment fought at the Battle of Morales in June 1813, during the battle the regiment destroyed the 16th French Dragoons between Toro and Zamora, taking around 260 prisoners. As part of the 6th Cavalry Brigade, the regiment charged the French cavalry and infantry at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. The regiment was sent to India in 1846 and then saw action at the Siege of Sevastopol in winter 1854, in 1861, it was renamed the 10th Royal Hussars. The regiment saw action at the Battle of Ali Masjid in November 1878 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War and at the First, with the outbreak of the Second Boer War, the regiment sailed for South Africa in 1899. After fighting at Colesberg, the regiment participated in the relief of Kimberley in February 1900 and it was also involved at the Battle of Diamond Hill in June 1900. The regiment was deployed in action on the North-West Frontier in 1909. After brief service in Ireland after the war, the regiment returned to the UK in 1921 and was retitled the 10th Royal Hussars, deploying to Egypt in 1929 and India in 1930, the regiment returned to the UK in 1936 and began the process of mechanisation. It was assigned to the 2nd Armoured Brigade of the 1st Armoured Division in 1939, at the same time, it became part of the Royal Armoured Corps
40.
11th Hussars
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The 11th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars to form the Royal Hussars in 1969. The regiment was raised by Colonel Philip Honeywood as Colonel Philip Honeywoods Regiment of Dragoons in 1715 as part of the response to the Jacobite rebellion, a troop was detached to form the 19th Dragoons in February 1779. The regiment fought at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746 during the Jacobite rising of 1745 after which it was retitled the 11th Regiment of Dragoons in 1751. The regiment took part in the Raid on St Malo in June 1758 and it then took part in a charge at Battle of Warburg in July 1760 and was present at the Battle of Villinghausen in July 1761. A further name change, to the 11th Regiment of Light Dragoons, the regiment returned to England in autumn 1795. The regiment also saw action at the Battle of Alkmaar in October 1799, the regiment formed part of the covering force at the Siege of Badajoz in April 1812 and drove back the French out-posts at the Battle of Salamanca in July 1812 during the Peninsular War. The regiment were sent to India aboard the Indiamen Atlas. In 1840, the regiment was retitled 11th Hussars after Prince Albert, Queen Victorias consort and its new uniform by coincidence included cherry coloured trousers, unique among British regiments and worn since in most orders of uniform except battledress and fatigues. The regiment next saw action, as part of the brigade under the command of Major General the Earl of Cardigan. The regiment was in the line of cavalry on the left flank during the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava in October 1854. The regiment lost 3 officers and 55 men in the debacle, the regiment was renamed the 11th Hussars in 1861. It provided troops for the Nile Expedition in 1884 and took part in Siege of Ladysmith in winter 1899 during the Second Boer War. The regiment landed in France as part of the 1st Cavalry Brigade in the 1st Cavalry Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front with the British Expeditionary Force. The regiment took part in the Great Retreat and the regiment, working with the 2nd Dragoon Guards, in spring 1918 the commanding officer of the regiment Colonel Rowland Anderson led a bayonet assault at Sailly-Laurette which, taking the Germans by surprise, led to them being completely repulsed. It captured Fort Capuzzo in June 1940 and, in an ambush east of Bardia, captured General Lastucci, the Engineer-in-Chief of the Italian Tenth Army. Following the Italian invasion of Egypt in September 1940, the regiment took part in the British counterattack called Operation Compass, launched against Italian forces first in Egypt, the regiment fought at the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942. The regiment took part in the Allied invasion of Italy in September 1943 and, after the Normandy landings in June 1944 and it deployed to Johor Bahru in Malaya in July 1953 during the Malayan Emergency
41.
Victoria Cross
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The Victoria Cross is the highest award of the United Kingdom honours system. It is awarded for gallantry in the face of the enemy to members of the British armed forces and it was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857 and these investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War, since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Only 15 medals,11 to members of the British Army, the traditional explanation of the source of the metal from which the medals are struck is that it derives from Russian cannon captured at the Siege of Sevastopol. Some research has suggested a variety of origins for the material, research has established that the metal for most of the medals made since December 1914 came from two Chinese cannons that were captured from the Russians in 1855. Owing to its rarity, the VC is highly prized and the medal has fetched over £400,000 at auction, a number of public and private collections are devoted to the Victoria Cross. The private collection of Lord Ashcroft, amassed since 1986, contains over one-tenth of all VCs awarded, following a 2008 donation to the Imperial War Museum, the Ashcroft collection went on public display alongside the museums Victoria and George Cross collection in November 2010. These are unique awards of honours system, recommended, assessed, gazetted and presented by each country. In 1854, after 39 years of peace, Britain found itself fighting a war against Russia. The Crimean War was one of the first wars with modern reporting, before the Crimean War, there was no official standardised system for recognition of gallantry within the British armed forces. This structure was limited, in practice awards of the Order of the Bath were confined to officers of field rank. Brevet promotions or Mentions in Despatches were largely confined to those who were under the notice of the commanders in the field. Other European countries had awards that did not discriminate against class or rank, France awarded the Légion dhonneur and The Netherlands gave the Order of William. There was a feeling among the public and in the Royal Court that a new award was needed to recognise incidents of gallantry that were unconnected with a mans lengthy or meritorious service. Queen Victoria issued a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual on 29 January 1856 that officially constituted the VC, the order was backdated to 1854 to recognise acts of valour during the Crimean War. Queen Victoria had instructed the War Office to strike a new medal that would not recognise birth or class, the medal was meant to be a simple decoration that would be highly prized and eagerly sought after by those in the military services
United Kingdom
British Army
