1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
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
3.
Iraq War
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The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces. An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3–4 years of conflict and it became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition, the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue. The invasion began on 20 March 2003, with the U. S. joined by the United Kingdom and several allies, launching a shock. Iraqi forces were overwhelmed as U. S. forces swept through the country. The invasion led to the collapse of the Baathist government, President Hussein was captured during Operation Red Dawn in December of that same year, the United States responded with a troop surge in 2007. The winding down of U. S. involvement in Iraq accelerated under President Barack Obama, the U. S. formally withdrew all combat troops from Iraq by December 2011. Select U. S. officials accused Saddam of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, while others cited the desire to end a repressive dictatorship, after the invasion, no substantial evidence was found to verify the initial claims about WMDs. The rationale and misrepresentation of pre-war intelligence faced heavy criticism within the U. S. in the aftermath of the invasion, Iraq held multi-party elections in 2005. Nouri al-Maliki became Prime Minister in 2006 and remained in office until 2014, the al-Maliki government enacted policies that were widely seen as having the effect of alienating the countrys Sunni minority and worsening sectarian tensions. The Iraq War caused hundreds of thousands of civilian, and thousands of military casualties, the majority of casualties occurred as a result of the insurgency and civil conflicts between 2004 and 2007. A1990 Frontline report on The arming of Iraq said, Officially, most Western nations participated in an arms embargo against Iraq during the 1980s. Western companies, primarily in Germany and Great Britain, but also in the United States, sold Iraq the key technology for its chemical, missile, any Western governments seemed remarkably indifferent, if not enthusiastic, about those deals. N Washington, the government consistently followed a policy which allowed and perhaps encouraged the growth of Saddam Husseins arsenal. The Western arming of Iraq took place in the context of the Iran-Iraq War, prior to September 2002, the CIA was the George W. Bush administrations main provider of intelligence on Iraq. The agency was out to disprove linkage between Iraq and terrorism the Pentagon adviser told me, the U. N. had prohibited Iraq from developing or possessing such weapons after the Gulf War and required Iraq to permit inspections confirming compliance. This was confirmed by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, during 2002, Bush repeatedly warned of military action against Iraq unless inspections were allowed to progress unfettered. In accordance with U. N. Security Council Resolution 1441, Iraq agreed to new inspections under United Nations Monitoring, as part of its weapons inspection obligations, Iraq was required to supply a full declaration of its current weapons capabilities and manufacturing
4.
13th Cavalry Regiment
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The 13th Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army. The 1st and 2nd Squadrons are currently stationed at Fort Bliss, the regiment was constituted 2 February 1901 in the Regular Army as Troop K, 13th Cavalry. The regiment was organized on 26 July 1901 in Fort Meade, the first task of the regiment was in the Philippines from 1903 to 1905 and from 1909 to 1910 where they engaged rebels as part of the Philippine–American War. The 13th Cavalry was transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1911, on 30 August 1915 the 13th Cavalry was part of a posse that killed Pascual Orozco. On 9 March 1916, the 13th Cavalry was in Columbus, New Mexico, eight soldiers and ten civilians were killed. Under General John J. Pershing, the regiment fought in the Mexican Expedition from 1916 to 1917, on 12 April 1916, about 100 men of the 13th Cavalry engaged Mexican federal troops in the Battle of Parral. During the fighting, two Americans were killed and six others were wounded, however, they defeated the Mexicans, killing at least a dozen of them or possibly many more. The 13th Cavalry remained ready near the Mexican border until 1921, in 1936, the 13th Cavalry became a part of the 7th Cavalry Brigade, formed officially in 1940. The 13th Cavalry was re-formed 15 July 1940 as the 13th Armored Regiment under the 1st Armored Division, on 8 November 1942, the 13th Armored regiment, combined under Combat Command B, landed in Oran, Algeria to augment fighting in North Africa. From 1946 to September 1947, the 13th Armored regiment was a part of the US Constabulary in Germany and it became inactive in Coburg, West Germany, on 20 September 1947. In 1951 the 13th Tank Battalion was reactivated with the 1st Armored Division at Fort Hood and it remained with the division throughout the 50s and 60s until 1971, when it became part of the 1st Cavalry Division for 3 years. On 20 June 1974, 13th Tank rejoined the 1st Armored Division at Illesheim, Germany until 20 February 1987, 13th Tank remained here until 1988, when it was inactivated and re-designated to 2nd Battaion, 13th Armor at Fort Knox, Kentucky. From 1996–2008, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Armored Division was stationed at Fort Riley, lieutenant Colonel Richard G. Jung Sr. commanded the Dakota battalion from 1996–98, honoring the regiments history with the battalion name and call sign. Called 13th Tank by those who served in the unit, 1-13 AR was one of two battalions in the Bulldog Brigade. The company operated near the Bosnian-Serbian towns of Sekovici, Bratunac, a/1-13 AR consisted of 2 M1A1 tank platoons and 1 M2A2 Bradley platoon. Ironhorse company returned to the 1st Battalion, 13th Armored Regiment in December,1997 upon redeployment to Fort Riley at the completion of their mission. In February 2003 the 3rd BCT began deploying units to Kuwait for the anticipated Invasion of Iraq. As the US led invasion began, the 2-70 Armor and 1-41 Infantry Battalions, as part of the 3rd BCT, the 1st Battalion, 13th Armor Regiment, began deployment to Iraq 1 April 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom
5.
15th Cavalry Regiment
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The 15th Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment of the United States Army. It was one of the Expansion Units originally established for the Spanish–American War, the 15th Cavalry Regiment was formed in 1901 at the Presidio of San Francisco, California. Immediately upon its organization in 1901, the 15th Cavalry embarked for the Philippines to quell an insurrection in the United States newly acquired territory. The regiments next action was part of the Cuban Pacification from 1906 to 1909, followed by duty along the Mexican border, when the United States entered World War I, the regiment sailed for France as one of the four mounted regiments on duty with the Allied Expeditionary Force. The fighting had already bogged down into trench warfare and the role of cavalry was nearly over. The 15th was called upon to dismount and relieve exhausted units in the trenches. It was the tank that finally broke the lines to end both the war and the role of the horse soldier. The 15th served occupation duty after the war until June 1919 when it returned to the United States. Sadly after 20 years of active service, the regiment was deactivated on 18 October 1921 as part of the massive cutbacks in the Regular Army following the war to end all wars. With the advent of the Second World War, the 15th was again called to service in March 1942, this time with new mounts, the armored car and tank. After undergoing training at the Desert Training Center in California, the regiment sailed for the European Theater of Operations, here, the 15th was reorganized as the 15th Cavalry Group. The group was composed of the 15th and 17th Reconnaissance Squadrons, the 15th Cavalry Group landed on Utah Beach on 5 July 1944 as part of Pattons Third Army. The 15th served in four campaigns in Europe, Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland. The 15th Cavalry Group and its two squadrons fought as part of the Third Army, Ninth Army and was assigned as a security force for several different divisions. The end of the war found the 15th deep inside Germany, when the war ended, the 15th Cavalry Group and its two squadrons had taken nearly 7,000 German prisoners and had destroyed 78 guns and 495 enemy vehicles. Following the war, the 15th was redesignated the 15th Constabulary Regiment, the 17th Reconnaissance Squadron was deactivated in January 1947, but the 15th Squadron, redesignated as the 15th Constabulary Squadron, continued serving. As the cold war began in earnest, the regiments duty shifted to patrolling the border between West Germany and East Germany, as well as the border with Czechoslovakia, the Constabulary Force guarded the border until 1952. From 1952 to 1987, the regiment went through a series of redesignations, inactivations and reactivations, elements of the regiment served across the Army from Korea, Germany, and the United States
6.
Cavalry
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Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the most mobile of the combat arms, an individual soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations such as cavalryman, horseman, dragoon or trooper. The designation of cavalry was not usually given to any military forces that used animals, such as camels. Cavalry had the advantage of improved mobility, and a man fighting from horseback also had the advantages of greater height, speed, another element of horse mounted warfare is the psychological impact a mounted soldier can inflict on an opponent. In Europe cavalry became increasingly armoured, and eventually became known for the mounted knights, in the period between the World Wars, many cavalry units were converted into motorized infantry and mechanized infantry units, or reformed as tank troops. Most cavalry units that are horse-mounted in modern armies serve in purely ceremonial roles, modern usage of the term generally refers to specialist units equipped with tanks or aircraft. The shock role, traditionally filled by heavy cavalry, is filled by units with the armored designation. Before the Iron Age, the role of cavalry on the battlefield was largely performed by light chariots, the chariot originated with the Sintashta-Petrovka culture in Central Asia and spread by nomadic or semi-nomadic Indo-Iranians. The power of mobility given by mounted units was recognized early on, Cavalry techniques were an innovation of equestrian nomads of the Central Asian and Iranian steppe and pastoralist tribes such as the Persian Parthians and Sarmatians. The photograph above left shows Assyrian cavalry from reliefs of 865–860 BC, at this time, the men had no spurs, saddles, saddle cloths, or stirrups. Fighting from the back of a horse was more difficult than mere riding. The cavalry acted in pairs, the reins of the archer were controlled by his neighbours hand. Even at this time, cavalry used swords, shields. The sculpture implies two types of cavalry, but this might be a simplification by the artist, Later images of Assyrian cavalry show saddle cloths as primitive saddles, allowing each archer to control his own horse. As early as 490 BC a breed of horses was bred in the Nisaean plain in Media to carry men with increasing amounts of armour. However, chariots remained in use for purposes such as carrying the victorious general in a Roman triumph. The southern Britons met Julius Caesar with chariots in 55 and 54 BC, the last mention of chariot use in battle was by the Caledonians at the Mons Graupius, in 84 AD. During the classical Greek period cavalry were usually limited to citizens who could afford expensive war-horses
7.
United States Army
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
8.
Stryker
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The IAV Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III and based on the Swiss Piranha III 8×8. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems Canada for the United States Army and it has 4-wheel drive and can be switched to all-wheel drive. In October 1999, General Eric Shinseki, then U. S. Army Chief of Staff, the plan, named Objective Force, would have the army adopt a flexible doctrine that would allow it to deploy quickly, and equipped for a variety of operations. On 27 February 2002, the Army formally renamed the Interim Armored Vehicle as the Stryker, the Stryker 105mm M1128 Mobile Gun System moved into low-rate initial production in 2005 for evaluation, and entered full production in 2007. General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada assembles the Stryker for the U. S. Army in a plant in London, the vehicle is employed in Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, light and mobile units based on the Brigade Combat Team Doctrine that relies on vehicles connected by military C4I networks. The Stryker has come under scrutiny from military experts since its introduction in the US Army. General Dynamicss Robotic Systems division was developing autonomous navigation for the Stryker, more than 1,000 Stryker vehicles have been rebuilt by Anniston Army Depot and returned to operations. The upgraded V-hull will be part of the new StrykShield situational awareness kit, allegheny Technologies ATI 500-MIL armor steel was designated the primary armored plating for the StrykShield package in 2008. In March 2010, it was reported that General Dynamics and Army were working to incorporate a double V-hull into the Stryker design, in July 2010 the Army awarded a $30 million contract to GDLS to start production of the new hull. On 9 March 2011, the Department of Defenses director of operational test, the issues are due to the tight drivers compartment and difficulty releasing the seat to extract an incapacitated driver. General Dynamics stated these issues would be corrected before the new Stryker version deploys, the upgrade also adds significant weight to the vehicle, which can cause it to sink into soft ground. In July 2011,450 Double V-Hull variants of the Stryker vehicle were ordered, DVH Strykers include a new hull configuration, increased armor, upgraded suspension and braking systems, wider tires, blast-attenuating seats, and a height management system. By August 2012, the Armys Stryker fleet included over 4,187 vehicles, in Afghanistan, it retained a 96 percent readiness rate. In mid-October 2014, the Army approved the procurement of DVH Strykers for a fourth Stryker brigade, with conversions to 360 vehicles to begin in FY2017. ECP enhancements include a more robust 450 HP engine, a more powerful 910 amp power generator, an upgrade to handle the new engine. Upgrading the fourth brigade also kept the line active through 2018, whereas deciding to upgrade after the line had closed would be more difficult. The Army plans to increase the lethality of Stryker ICVs by having half equipped with a 30 mm cannon, the Stryker is based on the LAV III light-armored vehicle, which in turn was based on the Swiss MOWAG Piranha III 8x8. The vehicle comes in variants with a common engine, transmission, hydraulics, wheels, tires, differentials
9.
Brigade combat team
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The brigade combat team is the basic deployable unit of maneuver in the US Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branch maneuver brigade, the Brigade is normally commanded by a Colonel although in some cases a Brigadier General may assume command. A brigade combat team contains combat support and combat support units necessary to sustain its operations away from its parent division. BCTs contain organic artillery support, formerly received from the division artillery, currently, the U. S. Army is structured around the brigade combat team. In this program, divisions that previously had not deployed individual brigades due to lack of support have now been restructured. The 1st Armored Division, 25th Infantry Division, etc. now have the ability to deploy one or more BCTs anywhere in the world and these BCTs are intended to be able to stand on their own, like a division in miniature. The soldiers assigned to a BCT will stay at their assignment for three years, this is intended to bolster readiness and improve unit cohesion, the infantry brigade combat team, as of 2014, contains 4,413 soldiers and is organized around three battalions of infantry. Each type of brigade has the basic organization. Each infantry brigade is capable of air operations, whether or not it is officially designated as an air assault brigade. Also, most units typically maneuver in HMMWVs when deployed and operate as motorized infantry to facilitate speed of movement, the infantry brigade combat team consists of seven battalions, one cavalry, one brigade support, one engineer, three infantry and one field artillery. A full Stryker brigade was intended to be C-130 Hercules air transportable into theatre within 96 hours, the Stryker brigade is an organic combined arms unit of lightly-armored, medium-weight wheeled vehicles, and is organized differently from the infantry or armored brigade combat teams. The BCT Ground Combat Vehicle Program was the successor of the interim armored vehicle before being cancelled in 2014. The team also receives training in chemical, biological, radiological, a Stryker brigade is made up of more than 300 Stryker vehicles and 4,500 soldiers. M1135 Nuclear, Biological, Chemical, Reconnaissance Vehicle The armored brigade combat team is the primary armored force. It was designed around combined arms battalions that contain both M1 Abrams tanks and M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, other vehicles, such as HMMWVs and variants of the M113 armored personnel carrier, operate in a supporting role. In the future, it also contain vehicles from the Future Fighting Vehicle. An armored brigade combat team consists of seven battalions, three combined arms, one cavalry, one artillery, one engineer and one support battalion. As of 2014, the brigade combat team is the largest brigade combat team formation with 4,743 soldiers
10.
Fort Leavenworth
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Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. Built in 1827, it is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D. C. Fort Leavenworth has been historically known as the Intellectual Center of the Army. Fort Leavenworth was also the base of African-American soldiers of the U. S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on 21 September 1866 at Fort Leavenworth and they became known as Buffalo Soldiers, nicknamed by the Native American tribes whom they fought. This term eventually was applied to all of the African-American regiments formed in 1866, during the countrys westward expansion, Fort Leavenworth was a forward destination for thousands of soldiers, surveyors, immigrants, American Indians, preachers and settlers who passed through. On August 1,1846, a Mormon Battalion, led by Col. James Allen, colonel Allen became ill and died at the fort, his headstone marks his grave at the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery. Today, the garrison supports the U. S. Army Training, cACs mission involves leader development, collective training, Army doctrine and battle command. The fort occupies 5,600 ac and 7,000,000 ft2 of space in 1,000 buildings and 1,500 quarters. It is located on the Frontier Military Scenic Byway, which was originally a road connecting to Fort Scott National Historic Site. The garrison commander is a colonel reporting via IMCOM West to the Installation Management Command, the fort is nicknamed the intellectual center of the Army because much of its mission involves training. S. and allied soldiers and officers. The school trains almost all of the armys majors, all modern five-star army generals have passed through the college including George Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower, Henry “Hap” Arnold, and Omar Bradley. Since 1978 it has been commanded by a Lieutenant General, in 2007, its commander was David Petraeus. It reports to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command, United States Disciplinary Barracks, which is the only maximum security prison for military personnel of all branches. Since a 2007 reorganization, its commander is a colonel who reports to the United States Army Corrections Command, midwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility, a low security prison. Reports to the United States Army Corrections Command, army/ACE Registry Transcript Systems See Fort Leavenworth School District The Fort Leavenworth Lamp newspaper serves the military community living on post. The fort is 10 miles south of the 18th century French Fort de Cavagnal and its commandant was François Coulon de Villiers, a brother to Louis Coulon de Villiers, who was the only military commander to force George Washington to surrender. The French abandoned the fort after ceding its territory to Louisiana at the conclusion of the French, early American explorers on the Missouri River to visit the area of Fort de Cavagnal include Lewis and Clark on 26–29 June 1804 and Stephen Harriman Long in 1819. The fort location had been chosen then because of its proximity to a large Kansa tribe village, the spot being chosen, he will then construct with the troops of his command comfortable, though temporary quarters sufficient for the accommodation of four companies. This movement will be made as early as the convenience of the service will permit, the first army installation in Cantonment Leavenworth was located on Scott Avenue, south of the Post Chapel with initial strength of 14 officers and 174 enlisted men
11.
Philippines
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The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila. The Philippines has an area of 300,000 square kilometers, and it is the eighth-most populated country in Asia and the 12th most populated country in the world. As of 2013, approximately 10 million additional Filipinos lived overseas, multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelagos earliest inhabitants and they were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples. Exchanges with Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Islamic nations occurred, then, various competing maritime states were established under the rule of Datus, Rajahs, Sultans or Lakans. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in Homonhon, Eastern Samar in 1521 marked the beginning of Hispanic colonization, in 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from Mexico City, in 1565, the Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This resulted in Roman Catholicism becoming the dominant religion, during this time, Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific trade connecting Asia with Acapulco in the Americas using Manila galleons. Aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until after World War II, since then, the Philippines has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a dictatorship by a non-violent revolution. It is a member of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. It also hosts the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank, the Philippines was named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, during his expedition in 1542, named the islands of Leyte, eventually the name Las Islas Filipinas would be used to cover all the islands of the archipelago. Before that became commonplace, other such as Islas del Poniente. The official name of the Philippines has changed several times in the course of its history, during the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of the República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the name Philippines began to appear, since the end of World War II, the official name of the country has been the Republic of the Philippines. The metatarsal of the Callao Man, reliably dated by uranium-series dating to 67,000 years ago is the oldest human remnant found in the archipelago to date and this distinction previously belonged to the Tabon Man of Palawan, carbon-dated to around 26,500 years ago. Negritos were also among the archipelagos earliest inhabitants, but their first settlement in the Philippines has not been reliably dated, there are several opposing theories regarding the origins of ancient Filipinos
12.
Glenn Springs, Texas
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Glenn Springs is an uninhabited place in the state of Texas, United States, which is of historical importance. The Glenn Springs area was a spring providing water for Apache. The rural settlement is located 11 miles south-southeast of the Panther Junction visitor center in what is now the Big Bend National Park, the National Park Service maintains a back-country campground at Glenn Springs. The Glenn Springs Raid came 67 days after the attack on Columbus. Wood established a wax factory on the embankment of Glenn Springs employing a population in the mountainous Chihuahuan Desert region. By 1916, the factory was composed of a boiler room with tall smoke stacks, six large extraction vats
13.
Pancho Villa
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Francisco Pancho Villa was a Mexican Revolutionary general and one of the most prominent figures of the Mexican Revolution. As commander of the División del Norte in the Constitutionalist Army, given the areas size and mineral wealth, it provided him with extensive resources. Villa was also provisional Governor of Chihuahua in 1913 and 1914, Villa can be credited with decisive military victories leading to the ousting of Victoriano Huerta from the presidency in July 1914. Villa then fought his erstwhile leader in the coalition against Huerta, Villa was in alliance with southern revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, who remained fighting in his own region of Morelos. The two revolutionary generals briefly came together to take Mexico City after Carranzas forces retreated from it, later, Villas heretofore undefeated División del Norte engaged the military forces of Carranza under Carrancista general Álvaro Obregón and was defeated in the 1915 Battle of Celaya. Villa was again defeated by Carranza,1 November 1915, at the Second Battle of Agua Prieta 1 November 1915, after which Villas army collapsed as a significant military force. Villa subsequently led a hit and run raid against the small U. S. -Mexican border town in the Battle of Columbus 9 March 1916, the U. S. government sent U. S. Army General John J. In 1923, as elections approached, he re-involved himself in Mexican politics. Shortly thereafter he was assassinated, most likely on the orders of Obregón, after his death, he was excluded from the pantheon of revolutionary heroes until the Sonoran generals Obregón and Calles, whom he battled during the Revolution, were gone from the political stage. Villas exclusion from the narrative of the Revolution might have contributed to his continued posthumous popular acclaim. He was celebrated during the Revolution and long afterward by corridos, movies about his life, in 1976, his remains were reburied in the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City in a huge public ceremony not attended by his widow Luz Corral. Villa told a number of conflicting stories about his early life, according to most sources, he was born on 5 June 1878, and named José Doroteo Arango Arámbula at birth. His father was a sharecropper named Agustín Arango, and his mother was Micaela Arámbula and he grew up at the Rancho de la Coyotada, one of the largest haciendas in the state of Durango. The familys residence now houses the Casa de Pancho Villa historic museum in San Juan del Rio, Doroteo later claimed to be the son of the bandit Agustín Villa, but according to at least one scholar, the identity of his real father is still unknown. He wasthe oldest of five children, as a child, he received some education from a local church-run school, but was not proficient in more than basic literacy. He quit school to help his mother after his father died and he became a bandit at some point early on, but also worked as a sharecropper, muleskinner, butcher, bricklayer, and foreman for a U. S. railway company. However, the veracity of this story is questionable, eventually, he became a member of a bandit band headed by Ignacio Parra, one of the most famous bandits in Durango at the time. As a bandit, he went by the name Arango, in 1902, the rurales, the crack rural police force of President Porfirio Díaz, arrested Pancho for stealing mules and for assault
14.
Glenn Springs raid
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The Glenn Springs raid occurred on the night of May 5–6,1916, when Mexican Villistas and Carrancistas attacked the towns of Boquillas and Glenn Springs, Texas. In Glenn Springs, the raiders burned several buildings and fought a battle with a small force of American soldiers who were stationed there. At the same time, a party of rebels robbed a general store. Four Americans were killed and the rebels took two hostages to Coahuila, in response to the attack, the United States Army launched a short punitive expedition into Mexico, fought with the rebels, and rescued the captives. Following the Mexican federal victory at the Battle of Celaya in April 1915, by 1916, Villa and his men were in desperate need of food and provisions to continue their revolution, so they devised a plan to raid the American border town of Columbus, New Mexico. On the early morning of March 9,1916, approximately 500 mounted Villistas attacked and burned the town, after a pitched battle, the Villistas were defeated and pursued back into Mexico, having lost nearly 200 killed, wounded, or captured. The Pancho Villa Expedition, as it known, was under the command of Gen. John J. Pershing and it lasted from March 14,1916. Starting from various camps and forts along the border, Pershing headed into Chihuahua where his men engaged the Villistas on multiple occasions. Pershing was able to capture or kill several rebel commanders but Pancho Villa got away, tension along the international border between Texas and Mexico was high during the Mexican Revolution. Raids into southern Texas were very common, so to protect the Big Bend region. Boquillas and Glenn Springs were just small settlements at the time, about 12 miles apart, Glenn Springs was located just south of Chilicotal Mountain and centered around a small spring named after the first settler in the area who was killed at the site by Comanches. The town was home to some 80 people, who were employed mainly by a wax factory. The Ellis family also owned the store, which was managed by C. G. The inhabitants, who were mostly Mexican-Americans, lived in a neighborhood of about 50 jacales concentrated at one end of town. Boquillas was even smaller than Glenn Springs, located along the Rio Grande, across from the mining town of Del Carmen, Boquillas had a general store, owned by Jesse Deemer, and several jacales. On May 5,1916, just 57 days after the Battle of Columbus, though Col. Alvarez was a follower of Pancho Villa, on the march from Torreón to Texas he recruited both Carrancistas and fellow Villistas. Alvarez divided his command into two prongs, he led the first against Boquillas while at the same time Rodriguez Ramirez led the second against Glenn Springs. Because it was Cinco de Mayo, the Mexicans living in Glenn Springs were holding a celebration for themselves, One of the rebels knocked on the door and asked if there were any soldiers in town, to which Compton said there wasnt
15.
John J. Pershing
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American forces first saw serious battle at Cantigny, Chateau-Thierry, Belleau Wood, and Soissons. To speed up the arrival of the doughboys, they embarked for France leaving the heavy equipment behind, the Allied Hundred Days Offensive, which the Argonne fighting was part of, contributed to Germany calling for an armistice. Pershing was of the opinion that the war should continue and that all of Germany should be occupied in an effort to permanently destroy German militarism. Allowed to select his own insignia, Pershing chose to use four stars to distinguish himself from those officers who held the rank of General. Some of his tactics have been criticized both by commanders at the time and by modern historians. His reliance on costly frontal assaults, long after other Allied armies had abandoned such tactics, has blamed for causing unnecessarily high American casualties. Pershing was born on a farm near Laclede, Missouri, to businessman John Fletcher Pershing, Pershings mother was of English descent. He also had five siblings, brothers James F. and Ward, when the Civil War began, his father supported the Union and was a sutler for the 18th Missouri Volunteer Infantry. Pershing attended a school in Laclede that was reserved for students who were also the children of prominent citizens. Completing high school in 1878, he became a teacher of local African American children, in 1880, Pershing entered the North Missouri Normal School in Kirksville, Missouri. Two years later, he applied to the United States Military Academy, Pershing later admitted that serving in the military was secondary to attending West Point, and he had applied because the education offered was better than that obtainable in rural Missouri. Pershing was sworn in as a West Point cadet in the fall of 1882 and he was selected early for leadership and became successively First Corporal, First Sergeant, First Lieutenant, and First Captain, the highest possible cadet rank. Pershing also commanded, ex officio, the West Point Honor Guard that escorted the funeral procession of President Ulysses S. Grant. Pershing graduated from West Point in the summer of 1886 and was commended by the Superintendent of West Point, General Wesley Merritt, for leadership skills. Pershing briefly considered petitioning the Army to let him study law and he applied for a furlough from West Point, but soon withdrew the request in favor of active Army duty. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army in 1886, at age 26, graduating 30th in a class of 77. Pershing reported for duty on September 30,1886, and was assigned to Troop L of the 6th U. S. Cavalry stationed at Fort Bayard. While serving in the 6th Cavalry, Pershing participated in several Indian campaigns and was cited for bravery for actions against the Apache, during his time at Fort Stanton, Pershing and close friends Lt. Julius Penn and Lt. Richard B
16.
Pancho Villa Expedition
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The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition but originally referred to as the Punitive Expedition, U. S. The expedition was launched in retaliation for Villas attack on the town of Columbus, New Mexico, the declared objective of the expedition by the Wilson administration was the capture of Villa. The Constitutionalist forces used arms at the town of Parral to resist passage of a U. S. Army column, the U. S. mission was changed to prevent further attacks on it by Mexican troops and to plan for war in the eventuality it broke out. When war was averted diplomatically, the expedition remained in Mexico until February 1917 to encourage Carranzas government to pursue Villa, feeling betrayed, Villa began attacking U. S. nationals and their property in northern Mexico. On November 26,1915, Villa sent a force to attack the city of Nogales and in the course of the ensuing battle, engaged with American forces before withdrawing. On January 11,1916, sixteen American employees of the American Smelting and Refining Company were removed from a train near Santa Isabel, Chihuahua, brigadier General John J. Raids were so commonplace, however, that the rumor was not seen as credible. Ten civilians and eight soldiers were killed in the attack, the raiders burned the town, stole horses and mules, and seized machine guns, ammunition and merchandise, before fleeing back to Mexico. However, Villas soldiers had suffered losses, with at least sixty-seven dead. Many of the casualties were inflicted when the machine gun troop of the 13th Cavalry led by 2nd Lt. John P, about thirteen of Villas wounded later died of their wounds, and five wounded Villistas taken prisoner by the Americans were tried and hanged for murder. Local lore in Columbus holds that the attack may have been caused by a merchant in Columbus who supplied Villa with arms and ammunition. Villa is said to have several thousand dollars in cash for the weapons. The next day, acting on the recommendations of the commanders of his cavalry regiments and this can and will be done in entirely friendly aid to the constituted authorities in Mexico and with scrupulous respect for the sovereignty of that Republic. The 2nd Provisional Cavalry Brigade reached Colonia Dublán after dark on March 17, the entire squadron flew to the advanced camp at Colonia Dublán on March 19–20, losing two aircraft in the process. Pershing immediately sent the 7th Cavalry south just after midnight on March 18 to begin the pursuit, persistent winter weather through early April, particularly bitterly cold nights at high altitude, made both pursuit and logistics more difficult. An additional regiment of cavalry and two of infantry were added to the expedition in late April, bringing its size to 4,800 men. This was the first use of convoys in a U. S. military operation. His headquarters advanced as far as the 1st Aero Squadrons field at Satevó, southeast of Chihuahua City, before falling back at the end of April. Villa had a head start on the pursuit, all but ensuring that his forces would successfully break up into smaller bands
17.
Texas
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Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Other major cities include Austin, the second most populous state capital in the U. S. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the states struggle for independence from Mexico. The Lone Star can be found on the Texan state flag, the origin of Texass name is from the word Tejas, which means friends in the Caddo language. Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, although Texas is popularly associated with the U. S. southwestern deserts, less than 10 percent of Texas land area is desert. Most of the centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, the term six flags over Texas refers to several nations that have ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas, Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state, the states annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846. A slave state before the American Civil War, Texas declared its secession from the U. S. in early 1861, after the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. One Texan industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle, due to its long history as a center of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The states economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century, when oil discoveries initiated a boom in the state. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy, as of 2010 it shares the top of the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with California at 57. With a growing base of industry, the leads in many industries, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace. Texas has led the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product. The name Texas, based on the Caddo word tejas meaning friends or allies, was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves, during Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas, La Provincia de Texas. Texas is the second largest U. S. state, behind Alaska, though 10 percent larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan, it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size. If it were an independent country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile, Texas is in the south central part of the United States of America. Three of its borders are defined by rivers, the Rio Grande forms a natural border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south
18.
Europe
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Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
19.
Treaty of Versailles
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The Treaty of Versailles was the most important of the peace treaties that brought World War I to an end. The Treaty ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers and it was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of World War I signed separate treaties, although the armistice, signed on 11 November 1918, ended the actual fighting, it took six months of Allied negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty. The treaty was registered by the Secretariat of the League of Nations on 21 October 1919 and this article, Article 231, later became known as the War Guilt clause. The treaty forced Germany to disarm, make substantial territorial concessions, in 1921 the total cost of these reparations was assessed at 132 billion marks. On the other hand, prominent figures on the Allied side such as French Marshal Ferdinand Foch criticized the treaty for treating Germany too leniently, although it is often referred to as the Versailles Conference, only the actual signing of the treaty took place at the historic palace. Most of the negotiations were in Paris, with the Big Four meetings taking place generally at the Quai dOrsay, the First World War was fought across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Countries beyond the war zones were also affected by the disruption of trade, finance. In 1917, two revolutions occurred within the Russian Empire, which led to the collapse of the Imperial Government, the American war aim was to detach the war from nationalistic disputes and ambitions after the Bolshevik disclosure of secret treaties between the Allies. The existence of these treaties tended to discredit Allied claims that Germany was the power with aggressive ambitions. On 8 January 1918, United States President Woodrow Wilson issued a statement that became known as the Fourteen Points and this speech outlined a policy of free trade, open agreements, democracy and self-determination. After the Central Powers launched Operation Faustschlag on the Eastern Front and this treaty ended the war between Russia and the Central powers and annexed 1,300,000 square miles of territory and 62 million people. During the autumn of 1918, the Central Powers began to collapse, desertion rates within the German army began to increase, and civilian strikes drastically reduced war production. On the Western Front, the Allied forces launched the Hundred Days Offensive, sailors of the Imperial German Navy at Kiel mutinied, which prompted uprisings in Germany, which became known as the German Revolution. The German government tried to obtain a settlement based on the Fourteen Points. Following negotiations, the Allied powers and Germany signed an armistice, the terms of the armistice called for an immediate evacuation of German troops from occupied Belgium, France, and Luxembourg within fifteen days. In addition, it established that Allied forces would occupy the Rhineland, in late 1918, Allied troops entered Germany and began the occupation. Both the German Empire and Great Britain were dependent on imports of food and raw materials, primarily from the Americas, the Blockade of Germany was a naval operation conducted by the Allied Powers to stop the supply of raw materials and foodstuffs reaching the Central Powers
20.
Iowa
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Iowa is a U. S. state in the Midwestern United States, bordered by the Mississippi River on the east and the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River on the west. Surrounding states include Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Missouri to the south, Nebraska and South Dakota to the west, in colonial times, Iowa was a part of French Louisiana and Spanish Louisiana, its state flag is patterned after the flag of France. After the Louisiana Purchase, people laid the foundation for an economy in the heart of the Corn Belt. Iowa is the 26th most extensive in area and the 30th most populous of the 50 United States. Its capital and largest city by population is Des Moines, Iowa has been listed as one of the safest states in which to live. Its nickname is the Hawkeye State, Iowa derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many Native American tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa is bordered by the Mississippi River on the east, the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River on the west, Iowa is the only state whose east and west borders are formed entirely by rivers. Iowa has 99 counties, but 100 county seats because Lee County has two, the state capital, Des Moines, is in Polk County. Iowas bedrock geology generally increases in age from west to east, in northwest Iowa, Cretaceous bedrock can be 74 million years old, in eastern Iowa Cambrian bedrock dates to c.500 million years ago. Iowa is generally not flat, most of the consists of rolling hills. Iowa can be divided into eight landforms based on glaciation, soils, topography, Loess hills lie along the western border of the state, some of which are several hundred feet thick. Northeast Iowa along the Mississippi River is part of the Driftless Zone, consisting of steep hills, several natural lakes exist, most notably Spirit Lake, West Okoboji Lake, and East Okoboji Lake in northwest Iowa. To the east lies Clear Lake, man-made lakes include Lake Odessa, Saylorville Lake, Lake Red Rock, Coralville Lake, Lake MacBride, and Rathbun Lake. The states northwest area has remnants of the once common wetlands. Iowas natural vegetation is tallgrass prairie and savanna in areas, with dense forest and wetlands in flood plains and protected river valleys. Most of Iowa is used for agriculture, crops cover 60% of the state, grasslands cover 30%, as of 2005 Iowa ranked 49th of U. S. states in public land holdings. Endangered or threatened plants include western prairie fringed orchid, eastern prairie fringed orchid, Meads milkweed, prairie bush clover, the explosion in the number of high-density livestock facilities in Iowa has led to increased rural water contamination and a decline in air quality. Iowa has a continental climate throughout the state
21.
Omaha Beach
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Omaha Beach was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II. On D-Day, the untested 29th Infantry Division, along with nine companies of U. S. Army Rangers redirected from Pointe du Hoc, were to assault the western half of the beach, the battle-hardened 1st Infantry Division was given the eastern half. The initial assault waves, consisting of tanks, infantry, and combat forces, were carefully planned to reduce the coastal defenses. Opposing the landings was the German 352nd Infantry Division, of the 12,020 men of the division,6,800 were experienced combat troops, detailed to defend a 53-kilometer front. The Germans were largely deployed in strongpoints along the coast—the German strategy was based on defeating any seaborne assault at the water line, very little went as planned during the landing at Omaha. Difficulties in navigation caused the majority of landing craft to miss their targets throughout the day, the defenses were unexpectedly strong, and inflicted heavy casualties on landing U. S. troops. Under heavy fire, the engineers struggled to clear the beach obstacles, weakened by the casualties taken just in landing, the surviving assault troops could not clear the heavily defended exits off the beach. This caused further problems and consequent delays for later landings, small penetrations were eventually achieved by groups of survivors making improvised assaults, scaling the bluffs between the most heavily defended points. Omaha was bounded at either end by large rocky cliffs, the crescent-shaped beach presented a gently sloping tidal area averaging 300 m between low and high-water marks. Above the tide line was a bank of shingle 2.5 m high, at the western end, the shingle bank rested against a stone sea wall which ranged from 1. 5–4 m in height. For the remaining two thirds of the beach after the seawall ended, the shingle lay against a low sand embankment, the German defensive preparations and the lack of any defense in depth indicated that their plan was to stop the invasion at the beaches. Four lines of obstacles were constructed in the intertidal zone,30 meters behind these was a continuous line of logs driven into the sand pointing seaward, every third one capped with an anti-tank mine. The final line of obstacles was a line of hedgehogs 150 meters from the shoreline. The area between the bank and the bluffs was both wired and mined, and mines were also scattered on the bluff slopes. Positions within each strongpoint were interconnected by trenches and tunnels, as well as the basic weaponry of rifles and machine guns, more than 60 light artillery pieces were deployed at these strongpoints. The heaviest pieces were located in eight gun casemates and four open positions while the guns were housed in 35 pillboxes. A further 18 anti-tank guns completed the disposition of artillery targeting the beach, areas between the strongpoints were lightly manned with occasional trenches, rifle pits, and 85 machine-gun emplacements. No area of the beach was left uncovered, and the disposition of weapons meant that flanking fire could be brought to bear anywhere along the beach, Allied intelligence had identified the coastal defenders as a reinforced battalion of the 716th Infantry Division
22.
2nd Infantry Division (United States)
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The 2nd Infantry Division is a formation of the United States Army. Its current primary mission is the defense of South Korea in the stages of an invasion from North Korea until other American units can arrive. There are approximately 17,000 soldiers in the 2nd Infantry Division, with 10,000 of them stationed in South Korea, accounting for about 35% of the United States Forces Korea personnel. The 2nd Infantry Division is unique in that it is the only U. S. Army division that is made up partially of South Korean soldiers and this program began in 1950 by agreement with the first South Korean president, Syngman Rhee. Some 27,000 KATUSAs served with the U. S. forces at the end of the Korean War, as of May 2006, approximately 1,100 KATUSA soldiers serve with the 2ID. There were also more than 3,000 Dutch soldiers assigned to the division between 1950 and 1954, combined Division, the division is augmented by rotational BCTs from the rest of the U. S. Armys divisions. The 2nd Division was first constituted on 21 September 1917 in the Regular Army and it was organized on 26 October 1917 at Bourmont, Haute Marne, France. The division spent the winter of 1917–18 training with French and Scottish veterans, though judged unprepared by French tacticians, the American Expeditionary Force was committed to combat in the spring of 1918 in a desperate attempt to halt a German advance toward Paris. Major General Edward Mann Lewis Commanded the 3rd Brigade as they deployed to reinforce the battered French along the Paris to Metz road, the Division first fought at the Battle of Belleau Wood and contributed to shattering the four-year-old stalemate on the battlefield during the Château-Thierry campaign that followed. On 28 July 1918, Marine Corps Major General Lejeune assumed command of the 2nd Division and remained in that capacity until August 1919, the division went on to win hard-fought victories at Soissons and Blanc Mont. Finally the Indianhead Division participated in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive which ended any German hope for victory, on 11 November 1918 the Armistice was declared, and the 2nd Division entered Germany, where it assumed occupation duties until April 1919. 2nd Division returned to U. S. in July 1919, the 2nd Division was three times awarded the French Croix de guerre for gallantry under fire at Belleau Wood, Soissons, and Blanc Mont. This entitles current members of the division and of those regiments that were part of the division at time to wear a special lanyard, or fourragère. The division lost 1,964 killed in action and 9,782 wounded in action, third Battle of the Aisne Belleau Wood Château-Thierry campaign St. S. Government Printing Office,1950, pp. 510–592 and it remained there for the next 23 years, serving as an experimental unit, testing new concepts and innovations for the Army. Indianhead soldiers pioneered concepts of air mobility and anti-tank warfare, which served the army for the two decades on battlefields in every corner of the globe. The 2nd Division started participated in maneuvers at Christine, Texas between 3 and 27 January 1940 and it then moved to Horton, Texas for maneuvers from 26 April to 28 May 1940, followed by maneuvers at Cravens, Louisiana from 16 to 23 August 1940. It returned to Fort Sam Houston, where it continued training and refitting, until it moved to Brownwood, Texas for the VIII Corps maneuvers from 1 June through 14 June 1941 at Comanche, Texas
23.
83rd Infantry Division (United States)
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The 83rd Infantry Division was a formation of the United States Army in World War I and World War II. The division was activated in September 1917, and went overseas in June 1918 and it was designated a depot division. Thus it supplied over 195,000 officers and enlisted men as replacements in France without seeing action as a complete formation, certain division units saw action, such as the 332nd Infantry Regiment, in Italy. Its commanders were Maj. Gen. Edwin F. Glenn, Brig. Gen. Frederick Perkins, Brig. Gen. Willard A. Holbrook and it was inactivated in October 1919. Gen. Frank W. Milburn, Maj. Gen. Robert C, Macon Returned to U. S. Macon, arrived in England on 16 April 1944. After training in Wales, the division, taking part in the Allied invasion of Normandy, landed at Omaha Beach,18 June 1944, and entered the hedgerow struggle south of Carentan,27 June. Taking the offensive, the 83rd reached the St. Lo-Periers Road,25 July, after a period of training, elements of the division took Châteauneuf-dIlle-et-Vilaine,5 August, and Dinard,15 August, and approached the heavily fortified area protecting St. Malo. Intense fighting reduced enemy strong points and an attack against the Citadel Fortress of St. Servan caused its surrender,17 August. While elements moved south to protect the bank of the Loire River. Elements reduced the garrison at Ile de Cézembre, which surrendered,2 September, on 16 September 1944, the only surrender of a German Major General Botho Henning Elster to US-troops with 18,850 men and 754 officers at the Loire bridge of Beaugency. The movement into Luxembourg was completed on 25 September, as the initial movement in operation Unicorn, the division took Le Stromberg Hill in the vicinity of Basse Konz against strong opposition,5 November, and beat off counterattacks. Moving to the Hurtgen Forest, the 83rd Division thrust forward from Gressenich to the west bank of the Roer and it entered the Battle of the Bulge,27 December, striking at Rochefort and reducing the enemy salient in a bitter struggle. The division moved back to Belgium and the Netherlands for rehabilitation, on 1 March, the 83rd Division advanced toward the Rhine in Operation Grenade, and captured Neuss. The west bank of the Rhine from north of Oberkassel to the Erft Canal was cleared and defensive positions established by 2 March, the 83rd Division crossed the Rhine south of Wesel,29 March, and advanced across the Munster Plain to the Weser, crossing it at Bodenwerder. As opposition disintegrated, Halle fell on 6 April, the division crossed the Leine,8 April, and attacked to the east, pushing over the Harz Mountain region and advancing to the Elbe at Barby. That city was taken on the 13 April, the 83rd Division established a bridgehead over the river. On 11 April 1945 the 83rd Division encountered Langenstein, a subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp, at the camp, the troops found approximately 1,100 inmates. The inmates were malnourished and in poor physical condition
24.
Battle of Losheim Gap
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The Losheim Gap is a 5 miles long, narrow valley at the western foot of the Schnee Eifel, on the border of Belgium and Germany. In this region of the border between Belgium and Germany, it is the region conducive to military movement. In 1944, Operation Wacht am Rhein was planned by Hitler to trade space for time by an attack which would advance through the Allied armies to Antwerp. This would be through the Ardennes, a region that had long fascinated Hitler, during 1940 when the Germans invaded Belgium and then France, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s division sped through the Losheim Gap to gain the Meuse River and then push onto the English Channel. Hitler held similar hopes for 1944, however, they didnt succeed because of multiple factors, hitting definite resistance first at the approaches to Losheim and later near the village of Roth. Towards the twin villages of Rocherath and Krinkelt but were held up by the broken railroad overpasses, mostly untried U. S. troops succeeded in severely limiting the Germans advance, halting them at Elsenborn Ridge for most of the first day of the battle. Lanzerath, a village of about 15 homes, lay about 5 kilometres to the east of Losheim, in a calculated risk, the Allies had only a few men stretched very thinly across a wide area. The German forces were located on the edge of the Losheim Gap in Losheim. The Siegfried Line between them divided the Losheim Gap, during their earlier retreat, the Germans had destroyed two key railroad overpasses which they planned to repair on the first day of the counterattack. The 5th Panzer Army was given the task of capturing St. Vith, dietrichs plan was for the 6th SS Panzer Army to advance east through Lanzerath and Bucholz Station and then drive 72 miles through Honsfield and Büllingen. The infantry would continue north through Losheimergraben to push the 2nd and this would allow the 12th SS Panzer Division to advance eastward towards a group of villages named Trois-Ponts, connect to Belgian Route Nationale N-23, and cross the River Meuse. It was then another 53 miles to Antwerp, the Losheim Gap was also the origin of another key route from Germany into Belgium. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division under the command of Generalmajor Günther Hoffmann-Schönborn patrolled the Schnee Eifel area, on December 16 at 4,00 a. m. they took the twenty-two foot macadam road route following the Our River valley towards Manderfield. The route terminated at several vital crossroads in the city of St. Vith, the 5th Panzer Army planned to bypass St. Vith to the north. On the German side of the Siegfried Line, the Germans positioned their troops and armor around, on December 16,1944, at 5,30 a. m. the Germans launched a 90-minute artillery barrage using 1,600 artillery pieces across an 80 miles front. The infantry of the 9th Fallschirmjaeger Regiment, 3rd Fallschirmjaeger Division led the way through the Losheim Gap, to spare the armor, they operated in advance of Kampfgruppe SS Standartenführer Joachim Peipers 1st SS Panzer Division, the spearhead of SS Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich’s Sixth Panzer Army. The infantry would then secure the flank of the attack route near Losheimergraben. The 12th Volksgrenadier Division reached Losheimgraben at 7,00 a. m, Peiper himself tried to sort out the mess at one crossroads
25.
Belgium
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
26.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
27.
Battle of the Bulge
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The Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive campaign of World War II. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in Belgium, France, the surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard. American forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties of any operation during the war, the battle also severely depleted Germanys armoured forces on the Western Front, and they were largely unable to replace them. German personnel and later, Luftwaffe aircraft, also sustained heavy losses, the Germans officially referred to the offensive as Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein, while the Allies designated it the Ardennes Counteroffensive. The phrase Battle of the Bulge was coined by contemporary press to describe the bulge in German front lines on wartime news maps, once that was accomplished, the German dictator Adolf Hitler believed he could fully concentrate on the Soviets on the Eastern Front. The offensive was planned by the German forces with utmost secrecy, with minimal radio traffic and movements of troops, intercepted German communications indicating a substantial German offensive preparation were not acted upon by the Allies. The Germans achieved total surprise on the morning of 16 December 1944, due to a combination of Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with Allied offensive plans, and poor aerial reconnaissance. The Germans attacked a weakly defended section of the Allied line, columns of armor and infantry that were supposed to advance along parallel routes found themselves on the same roads. This, and terrain that favored the defenders, threw the German advance behind schedule, improved weather conditions permitted air attacks on German forces and supply lines, which sealed the failure of the offensive. In the wake of the defeat, many experienced German units were left severely depleted of men and equipment, the Germans initial attack involved 406,000 men,1,214 tanks, tank destroyers, and assault guns, and 4,224 artillery pieces. These were reinforced a couple of later, bringing the offensives total strength to around 450,000 troops. Between 67,200 and 125,000 of their men were killed, missing, for the Americans, out of 610,000 troops involved in the battle,89,000 were casualties. While some sources report that up to 19,000 were killed, British historian Antony Beevor reports the number killed as 8,407. It was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War II, after the breakout from Normandy at the end of July 1944 and the Allied landings in southern France on 15 August 1944, the Allies advanced toward Germany more quickly than anticipated. The Allies were faced with several military logistics issues, - troops were fatigued by weeks of continuous combat supply lines were stretched extremely thin supplies were dangerously depleted. General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his staff chose to hold the Ardennes region which was occupied by the U. S, the Allies chose to defend the Ardennes with as few troops as possible due to the favorable terrain and limited Allied operational objectives in the area. They also had intelligence that the Wehrmacht was using the area across the German border as an area for its troops. The speed of the Allied advance coupled with a lack of deep-water ports presented the Allies with enormous supply problems
28.
Vielsalm
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Vielsalm is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg. The town is part of the Arrondissement of Bastogne and it is the place of origin of the House of Salm. On 1 January 2007 the municipality had 7,339 inhabitants, the total area is 139.76 km2, giving a population density of 52.5 inhabitants per km2. The village, like Salmchâteau, takes its name from the River Salm, the region is also called the Val de Salm, and Salm region. The word Salm comes from the Celtic salwa, meaning black or blurred, Vielsalm means literally Old Salm because, at some point, the Lord moved his castle which became the new town centre. A different popular etymology says Salm and Vielsam are taken from the German Salm, the arms of the ancient house of Salm and those of the town are based on this interpretation. Vielsalm is located in the Ardennes mountain range and the highest point within the boundary is the Baraque de Fraiture,652 metres high and is the third highest peak of Belgium. The town is surrounded by forests and farmland, in the centre is a large lake. The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities, Vielsalm proper, Bihain, Grand-Halleux, other population centers include Commanster, Fraiture, Farnières, Hébronval, Ottré, Provèdroux, Jubiéval, Règné, Rencheux, Ville-du-Bois, Petit-Halleux and Salmchâteau. The town is situated two main motorways, the E25 from Liege to Bastogne and the E42 at St. Vith which leads to Bitburg just across the border in Germany. The modern municipality is the product of the merger of the municipalities of Vielsalm, Grand Halleux, Petit Thier and Bihain along with some parts of Lierneux. There is evidence of habitation from neolithic times in the form of stone polishers, there is a Celtic enclosure and traces of gold mining. There are some evidence of a Middle Age castle near the church in Vielsalm, and the remains of a 14th-century castle near Salmchâteau consisting of two towers with a narrow entrance. In World War II, the 75th Infantry Division of the U. S. Army, 575th Signal Co. maintained its command post in the town from January 19–22,1945, the city has significant mining operations of slate, and a local whetstone, called coticule. The extracted coticule in Vielsalm owes its very fine abrasive properties to spessartine, the coticule is a metamorphic microcristalin schist, very fine grained,35 to 40% of it small crystals of spessartine, of about 5 to 20 µm in diameter. These quarries, which are now almost exhausted, have been operating since the beginning of the 16th century to make razor stones prized for their longevity, the town currently has an industrial zone in Burtonville, in which are located small and medium-sized enterprises. There is an annual Fête de la Myrtille, or Feast of the Blueberries, the local Traders Association wanted a way to attract visitors to stop in the town. So they had people in traditional costume invite visitors stop
29.
Ardennes
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The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges formed by the geological features of the Ardennes mountain range and the Moselle and Meuse River basins. Geologically, the range is a extension of the Eifel. The eastern part of the Ardennes forms the northernmost third of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, also called Oesling, the greater region maintained an industrial eminence into the 20th century after coal replaced charcoal in metallurgy. The region is typified by steep-sided valleys carved by swift-flowing rivers and its most populous cities are Verviers in Belgium and Charleville-Mézières in France, both exceeding 50,000 inhabitants. The Ardennes is otherwise relatively sparsely populated, with few of the cities exceeding 10,000 inhabitants with a few exceptions like Eupen or Bastogne. The Eifel range in Germany adjoins the Ardennes and is part of the geological formation. N. B. the Belgian Province of Luxembourg in the above list is not to be confused with the known as the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The Ardennes is an old mountain formed during the Hercynian orogeny, in France similar formations are the Armorican Massif, the Massif Central, the low interior of such old mountains often contain coal, plus iron, zinc and other metals in the sub-soil. This geologic fact explains the greatest part of the geography of Wallonia, the region was uplifted by a mantle plume during the last few hundred thousand years, as measured from the present elevation of old river terraces. This geological region is important in the history of Wallonia because this old mountain is at the origin of the economy, the history, Wallonia presents a wide range of rocks of various ages. Some geological stages internationally recognized were defined from rock sites located in Wallonia, except for the Tournaisian, all these rocks are within the Ardennes geological area. Before the 19th century industrialization, the first furnaces in the four Walloon provinces and in the French Ardennes used charcoal for fuel and this industry was also in the extreme south of the present-day Belgian province of Luxembourg, in the region called Gaume. Wallonia became the industrial power area of the world in proportion to its territory. The rugged terrain of the Ardennes limits the scope for agriculture, arable, the region is rich in timber and minerals, and Liège and Namur are both major industrial centres. The extensive forests have an abundant population of wild game, the scenic beauty of the region and its wide variety of outdoor activities, including hunting, cycling, walking and canoeing, make it a popular tourist destination. The region took its name from the ancient Silva, a vast forest in Roman times called Arduenna Silva, the modern Ardennes covers a much smaller area. The Song of Roland describes Charlemagne as having a nightmare the night before the Battle of Roncevaux Pass of 778 and this nightmare took place in the Ardennes forest, where his most important battles occurred. Another song about Charlemagne, the Old French 12th-century chanson de geste Quatre Fils Aymon, mentions many of Wallonias rivers, villages and other places
30.
United States Army Central
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The United States Army Central is a military formation of the United States Army, which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf War, and in the coalition occupation of Iraq. It is best known for its campaigns in World War II under the command of General George S. Patton, Third Army is currently denoted USARCENT, headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina with a forward element at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. On the 15th, Major General Joseph T. Dickman assumed command, the third Army consisted of three corps and seven divisions. On 15 November 1918, Major General Dickman was given the mission to move quickly and he was to disarm and disband German forces as ordered by General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces. The march into Germany for occupation duty was begun on 17 November 1918, by 15 December the Third Army Headquarters at Mayen opened at Coblenz. Two days later, on 17 December 1918, the Coblenz bridgehead, consisting of a pontoon bridge, Third Army troops had encountered no hostile act of any sort. In the occupied area, both food and coal supplies were sufficient, the crossing of the Rhine by the front line divisions was effected in good time and without confusion. Troops, upon crossing the Rhine and reaching their assigned areas, were billeted preparatory to occupying selected positions for defense. The strength of the Third Army as of 19 December, the date the bridgehead occupation was completed, was 9,638 officers and 221,070 enlisted men, the southern boundary was as has been previously mentioned. Before the advance, the 1st Division passed to the command of the III Corps, the four bridges available for crossing the river within the Coblenz bridgehead were the pontoon bridge and railroad bridge at Coblenz, the railroad bridges at Engers and Remagen. On 13 December the advance began with the American khaki crossing the Rhine into advanced positions. On the same day the 42d Division passes to the command of the IV Corps, which, in support of the III Corps, continued its march to occupy the Kreise of Mayen, Ahrweiler, Adenau, and Cochem. The VII Corps occupied under the order that portion of the Regierungsbezirk of Trier within army limits. On 15 December, Third Army Headquarters at Mayen opened at Coblenz, III Corps Headquarters at Polch opened at Neuwied and IV Corps Headquarters remained at Cochem, with the VII Corps at Grevenmacher. In crossing the Rhine on the shortened front—from Rolandseck to Rhens on the west bank—the Third Army encountered no hostile act of any sort, in the occupied area both food and coal supplies were sufficient. By the night of 14 December, Third Army troops had occupied their positions on the perimeter of the Coblenz bridgehead, during January 1919, the Third Army was engaged in training and preparing the troops under its command for any contingency. A letter of instruction was circulated to lower commanders prescribing a plan of action in case hostilities were resumed, installations were set up throughout the Army area to facilitate command. On 4 February, the control of the Stadtkreis of Trier was transferred from GHQ to the Third Army
31.
Austria
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Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, the territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2. The terrain is mountainous, lying within the Alps, only 32% of the country is below 500 m. The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene. The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty, from the time of the Reformation, many northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. Following Napoleons defeat, Prussia emerged as Austrias chief competitor for rule of a greater Germany, Austrias defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary, Austria was thus the first to go to war in the July Crisis, which would ultimately escalate into World War I. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919, in 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies, in 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral, today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna, other major urban areas of Austria include Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,724, the country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked 21st in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro currency in 1999. The German name for Austria, Österreich, meant eastern realm in Old High German, and is cognate with the word Ostarrîchi and this word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin Marchia orientalis into a local dialect. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976, the word Austria is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century. Accordingly, Norig would essentially mean the same as Ostarrîchi and Österreich, the Celtic name was eventually Latinised to Noricum after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern-day Austria, around 15 BC. Noricum later became a Roman province in the mid-first century AD, heers hypothesis is not accepted by linguists. Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes, the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was later claimed by the Roman Empire and made a province
32.
St. Vith
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St. Vith is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège, and in the German speaking Community of Belgium. It was named after Saint Vitus, on January 1,2006, St. Vith had a total population of 9,169. The total area is 146.93 km², giving a density of 62 inhabitants per km². The official language of the municipality is German, the municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities, Sankt Vith, Crombach, Lommersweiler, Recht, and Schönberg. St. Vith was an important marketplace of the region by the 12th century, the town was damaged by fires in 1543,1602, and 1689. It was part of the Duchy of Luxemburg until the defeat of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, as a result of the Congress of Vienna it was given to the Kingdom of Prussia. St. Vith was transferred to Belgium on March 6,1925, an important road and railway junction, St. Vith was fought over in the 1944 Battle of the Bulge during World War II. The United States Army defended the town against German assault for a few days, delaying the German attack plan, before eventually being forced to retreat. Once it was captured by German forces, the town was bombed by the US Air Force on 25 and 26 December 1944, St. Vith was mostly destroyed during the ground battle and subsequent air attack. American forces retook the town on January 23,1945, the only remaining pre-war architecture remaining is the Büchel Tower. St. Vith is the setting for Michael Orens novel, Reunion, kerpen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Teiuș, Alba County, Romania List of protected heritage sites in Sankt-Vith Media related to St. Vith at Wikimedia Commons Official website
33.
Infantry
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Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice
34.
Presidential Unit Citation (United States)
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The unit with the most Presidential Unit Citations is the USS Parche with 9 citations. The Army citation was established by Executive Order 9075 on 26 February 1942, superseded by Executive Order 9396 on Dec.2,1943, as with other Army unit citations, the PUC is in a larger frame than other ribbons, and is worn above the right pocket. All members of the unit may wear the decoration, whether or not they participated in the acts for which the unit was cited. Only those assigned to the unit at the time of the action cited may wear the decoration as a permanent award, for both the Army and Air Force, the emblem is a solid blue ribbon enclosed in a gold frame. The Air Force PUC was adopted from the Army Distinguished Unit Citation after the Air Force became a military branch in 1947. By Executive Order 10694, dated Jan,10,1957 the Air Force redesignated the Distinguished Unit Citation as the Presidential Unit Citation. The Air Force PUC is the color and design as the Army PUC but slightly smaller. The Citation is carried on the units colors in the form of a blue streamer,4 ft long and 2.75 in wide. For the Army, only on rare occasions will a larger than battalion qualify for award of this decoration. The Navy citation was established by Executive Order 9050 on 6 February 1942, the Navy version has blue, yellow, and red horizontal stripes, and is the only Navy ribbon having horizontal stripes. These are only worn by persons who meet the criteria at the time it is awarded to the unit, unlike the Army, those who later join the unit do not wear it on a temporary basis. The current decoration is known as the Department of Homeland Security Presidential Unit Citation. A Coast Guard version of the award was awarded to all U. S. Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary personnel responding to Hurricane Katrina by President George W. Bush for rescue, the United States Public Health Service Presidential Citation was established in 2015. The design was finalized by the Army Institute of Heraldry on 17 August 2015, two units of the Free French Forces were awarded Presidential Unit Citations during World War II. On April 22,1986, the 1st Fighter Group Força Aérea Brasileira was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions in the Po Valley region of Italy in World War II. The Brazilians, operating in Italy in support of Allied forces, destroyed in one day over 45 vehicles, strafed pontoon bridges on the River Po, eleven missions of 44 sorties were flown destroying nine motor transports and damaging 17. One Belgian-Luxembourgian battalion of the Belgian United Nations Command was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation once for actions during the Battle of the Imjin River, the Colombia Battalion received the citation while attached to the American 21st Infantry Regiment in 1951. One Dutch unit, the Netherlands Detachment United Nations, part of the Regiment Van Heutsz, was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation twice for actions during the Korean War, the first citation was awarded after the battle near Wonju and Hoengson in February 1951
35.
Rhine
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The largest city on the river Rhine is Cologne, Germany, with a population of more than 1,050,000 people. It is the second-longest river in Central and Western Europe, at about 1,230 km, with an average discharge of about 2,900 m3/s. The Rhine and the Danube formed most of the inland frontier of the Roman Empire and, since those days. The many castles and fortifications along the Rhine testify to its importance as a waterway in the Holy Roman Empire, in the modern era, it has become a symbol of German nationalism. The variant of the name of the Rhine in modern languages are all derived from the Gaulish name Rēnos, spanish is with French in adopting the Germanic vocalism Rin-, while Italian, Occitan and Portuguese retain the Latin Ren-. The Gaulish name Rēnos belongs to a class of river names built from the PIE root *rei- to move, flow, run, the grammatical gender of the Celtic name is masculine, and the name remains masculine in German, Dutch and French. The Old English river name was variously inflected as masculine or feminine, the length of the Rhine is conventionally measured in Rhine-kilometers, a scale introduced in 1939 which runs from the Old Rhine Bridge at Constance to Hoek van Holland. The river length is shortened from the rivers natural course due to a number of canalisation projects completed in the 19th and 20th century. The total length of the Rhine, to the inclusion of Lake Constance and its course is conventionally divided as follows, The Rhine carries its name without distinctive accessories only from the confluence of the Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein near Tamins-Reichenau. Above this point is the catchment of the headwaters of the Rhine. It belongs almost exclusively to the Swiss Canton of Graubünden, ranging from Gotthard Massif in the west via one valley lying in Ticino, traditionally, Lake Toma near the Oberalp Pass in the Gotthard region is seen as the source of the Vorderrhein and the Rhine as a whole. The Hinterrhein rises in the Rheinwald valley below Mount Rheinwaldhorn, the Vorderrhein, or Anterior Rhine, springs from Lai da Tuma, near the Oberalp Pass and passes the impressive Ruinaulta formed by the largest visible rock slide in the alps, the Flims Rockslide. A multiday trekking route is signposted along the young Rhine called Senda Sursilvana, the Hinterrhein/Rein Posteriur, or Posterior Rhine, starts from the Paradies Glacier, near the Rheinwaldhorn. One of its tributaries, the Reno di Lei, drains the Valle di Lei on politically Italian territory, after three main valleys separated by the two gorges, Roflaschlucht and Viamala, it reaches Reichenau. The Vorderrhein arises from numerous source streams in the upper Surselva, one source is Lai da Tuma with the Rein da Tuma, which is usually indicated as source of the Rhine, flowing through it. Into it flow tributaries from the south, some longer, some equal in length, such as the Reno di Medel, the Rein da Maighels, and the Rein da Curnera. The Cadlimo Valley in the Canton of Ticino is drained by the Reno di Medel, all streams in the source area are partially, sometimes completely, captured and sent to storage reservoirs for the local hydro-electric power plants. In its lower course the Vorderrhein flows through a gorge named Ruinaulta through the Flims Rockslide, the whole stretch of the Vorderrhein to the Rhine confluence near Reichenau-Tamins is accompanied by a long-distance hiking trail called Senda Sursilvana
36.
Battle of Remagen
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The Battle of Remagen during the Allied invasion of Germany resulted in the unexpected capture of the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine and possibly shortened World War II in Europe. After capturing the Siegfried Line, the 9th Armored Division of the U. S, First Army had advanced unexpectedly quickly towards the Rhine. They were very surprised to see one of the last bridges across the Rhine still standing, the Germans had wired the bridge with about 2,800 kilograms of demolition charges. When they tried to blow it up, only a portion of the explosives detonated, U. S. forces captured the bridge and rapidly expanded their first bridgehead across the Rhine, two weeks before Operation Plunder. The GIs actions prevented the Germans from regrouping east of the Rhine, the battle for control of the bridge caused both the American and German forces to employ new weapons and tactics in combat for the first time. Over the next 10 days, the Germans used virtually every weapon at their disposal to try to destroy the bridge and this included infantry and armor, howitzers, mortars, floating mines, mined boats, a railroad gun, and a giant 540 mm super-heavy mortar. They also attacked the bridge using the newly developed Arado Ar 234 B-2 turbojet bombers, the Americans counted 367 different German Luftwaffe aircraft attacking the bridge over the next 10 days. The Americans claimed to have shot down nearly 30% of the aircraft dispatched against them, on 14 March, German Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler ordered Schutzstaffel General Hans Kammler to fire V2 rockets to destroy the bridge. This marked the first time the missiles had been used against a tactical objective, the 11 missiles launched killed six Americans and a number of German citizens in nearby towns, but failed to damage the bridge. When the Germans sent a squad of seven naval demolition swimmers wearing Italian underwater breathing apparatus, for the first time in combat, they had deployed the top-secret Canal Defence Lights which successfully detected the frogmen in the dark, and they were all killed or captured. The sudden capture of a bridge across the Rhine was front page news in American newspapers, the Allies were able to rapidly transport five divisions across the Rhine into the Ruhr, Germanys industrial heartland. The bridge had endured months of bombing, direct artillery hits, near misses. It finally collapsed at 3,00 PM on 17 March, twenty-eight American Engineers were killed and 63 were wounded. But by then U. S. Army combat engineers had finished building a tactical steel treadway bridge, over 25,000 troops crossed into Germany before the Americans broke out of the bridgehead on 25 March 1945. This was 18 days after the bridge had been captured, German and American military authorities agreed that capturing the bridge shortened the war. The Ludendorff Bridge was not rebuilt following World War II, romans originally built a settlement at Remagen in the first century AD. Over that long period of time, it had been destroyed multiple times by invading armies from several nations, the town was rebuilt each time. In March,1945 about 5,000 people lived in the resort town
37.
Ludendorff Bridge
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At the end of Operation Lumberjack, the troops of the American 1st Army approached Remagen and were surprised to find that the bridge was still standing. Its capture enabled the U. S. Army to establish a bridgehead on the side of the Rhine. After the U. S. forces captured the bridge, German forces tried to destroy it multiple times until it collapsed on March 17,1945, ten days after it was captured, killing 28 U. S. Army Engineers. While it stood, the bridge enabled the U. S. Army to deploy 25,000 troops, six Army divisions, with tanks, artillery pieces and trucks. The towers on the west bank were converted into a museum, Remagen is located close to and south of the city of Bonn. The town of Remagen had been founded by the Romans about 2,000 years earlier, the town had been destroyed multiple times and rebuilt each time. Under the Schlieffen Plan, a bridge was planned to be there in 1912, as well as bridges in Engers. German General Erich Ludendorff was a key advocate for building this bridge during World War I and it was designed to connect the Right Rhine Railway, the Left Rhine Railway and the Ahr Valley Railway and carry troops and supplies to the Western Front. It was designed by Karl Wiener and it was constructed between 1916 and 1919, using Russian prisoners of war as labor, and carried two railway lines and two pedestrian catwalks on either side. Work on the pillars and arches was done by leading construction companies Grün & Bilfinger with the steel bridge built by MAN-Werk Gustavsburg. The railway bridge had three spans, two on either side 85 metres long and an arch span of 156 metres. It had dual tracks that could be covered with planks to allow vehicular traffic, the steel section was 325 metres long, and it had an overall length of 398 metres. On the eastern bank the railway passed through Erpeler Ley, a rising hill over 500 feet high. The tunnel was 383 metres long, the arch at its highest measured 28.5 metres above the water. It was normally about 48 feet above the Rhine, the 4,640 tonnes structure cost about 2.1 million marks when it was built during World War I. The towers were designed with fighting loopholes for troops, from the flat roof of the towers troops had a good view of the valley. To protect the bridge, both a unit and a military police unit were assigned to the site. The designers had also built cavities into the piers where demolition charges could be placed
38.
Remagen
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Remagen is a town in Germany in the Land Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one-hour drive from Cologne, just south of Bonn and it is situated on the left bank of the River Rhine. There is a ferry across the Rhine from Remagen every 10–15 minutes in the summer, Remagen has many beautiful and well-maintained buildings, churches, castles and monuments. It also has a pedestrian zone with plenty of shops. Overlooking the west bank of the Rhine just north of the city centre is the Apollinariskirche and it has a great observation deck that is only open to parishioners on Sundays. Pedestrians reach the church via a trail that passes a series of roadside monuments representing each of the fourteen Stations of the Cross. The church grounds contain an outdoor crypt and an abbey, further down the river is one of the many castles along the River Rhine, perched even higher than the Apollinariskirche. The Roman Empire built a fort at Rigomagus, west of the Rhine. This was about 12 miles north of the site of the first bridge built across the Rhine. This bridge fought the river current by being built on timbers which were driven into the bed at a slant, caesars troops spent nearly three weeks on the east side of the river, then crossed back over, destroying the bridge to prevent its use by German raiders. A second bridge was destroyed by the builders once they were through with it. The fort was one of a built by Drusus, commander of the Roman army along the Rhine. Other Roman construction survived the centuries, including a gateway and Remagen became a tourist destination, Remagen appears on the 4th century Peutinger Map. The remains of Saint Apollinaris were put ashore, and the ship was able to sail onward. These remains were interred in a chapel which had part of the Roman fort, which became the basis for a church which bore his name. The Ludendorff Bridge was originally built during World War I as a means of moving troops, the bridge was designed by Karl Wiener, an architect from Mannheim. It was 325 metres long, had a clearance of 14.8 metres above the water level of the Rhine. The bridge was designed to be defended by troops with towers on each bank with machine gun slits in the towers, the bridge carried two railway tracks and a pedestrian walkway
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Pontoon bridges
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A pontoon bridge, also known as a floating bridge, uses floats or shallow-draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the limits the maximum load they can carry. Most pontoon bridges are temporary, used in wartime and civil emergencies, permanent floating bridges are useful for sheltered water-crossings where it is not considered economically feasible to suspend a bridge from anchored piers. Such bridges can require a section that is elevated, or can be raised or removed, a pontoon bridge is a collection of specialized, shallow draft boats or floats, connected together to cross a river or canal, with a track or deck attached on top. The water buoyancy supports the boats, limiting the load to the total. The supporting boats or floats can be open or closed, temporary or permanent in installation, the decking may be temporary or permanent, and constructed out of wood, modular metal, or asphalt or concrete over a metal frame. The spelling ponton in English dates from at least 1870, the use continued in references found in U. S. patents during the 1890s. It continued to be spelled in that fashion through World War II, U. S. combat engineers commonly pronounced the word ponton rather than pontoon and U. S. military manuals spelled it using a single o. The original word was derived from Old French ponton, from Latin ponto, when designing a pontoon bridge, the civil engineer must take into consideration the Archimedes principle looking at the maximum amount of load that it is intended to support. Each pontoon can support an equal to the mass of the water that it displaces. If the maximum load of a section is exceeded, one or more pontoons become submerged. The roadway across the pontoons must also be able to support the load, survey to determine the best location. The connection to shore often causes problems, requiring the design of approaches that are not too steep, keep the bank from crumbling, Floating bridges were typically constructed using wood. Such a wooden floating bridge could be built in a series of sections, Pontoons were formed using boats, several barrels lashed together, rafts of timbers, or some combination of these. Each bridge section consisted of one or more pontoons, which were maneuvered into position and then anchored, using underwater and these pontoons were then linked together using wooden stringers called balks. The balks were then covered by a series of cross planks called chesses to form a surface. Some bridges have been designed and survived much longer, in Hobart a long pontoon bridge built in 1943 was only replaced after 21 years. The fourth Galata Bridge that spans the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey was built in 1912, precautions are needed to protect a pontoon bridge from becoming damaged
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Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
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The Distinguished Service Cross is equivalent to the Navy Cross, the Air Force Cross, and the Coast Guard Cross. The Distinguished Service Cross was first awarded during World War I, in addition, a number of awards were made for actions before World War I. Others were belated recognition of actions in the Philippines, on the Mexican Border, the Distinguished Service Cross is only awarded for actions in combat, while the Distinguished Service Medal has no such restriction. A cross of bronze,2 inches in height and 1 13⁄16 inches in width with an eagle on the center, on the reverse side, the center of the cross is circled by a wreath with a space for engraving the name of the recipient. The act or acts of heroism must have been so notable and have involved risk of life so extraordinary as to set the individual apart from his or her comrades, the following are authorized components of the Distinguished Service Cross, Decoration, MIL-D-3943/4. NSN 8455-00-246-3827 for individual replacement medal, additional awards of the Armys Distinguished Service Cross are denoted with oak leaf clusters. The Distinguished Service Cross was established by President Woodrow Wilson on January 2,1918, the request for establishment of the medal was forwarded from the Secretary of War to the President in a letter dated December 28,1917. The Act of Congress establishing this award, dated July 9,1918, is contained in 10 U. S. C, the establishment of the Distinguished Service Cross was promulgated in War Department General Order No. The Distinguished Service Cross was originally designed by J. Andre Smith, the Distinguished Service Cross was first cast and manufactured by the United States Mint at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The die was cast from the design prepared by Captain Aymar E. Embury II. Upon examination of the first medals struck at the Mint, it was considered advisable to make minor changes to add to the beauty. Due to the importance of the element involved in furnishing the decorations to General Pershing. These medals were furnished with the provision that these crosses be replaced when the supply of the design was accomplished. 10 U. S. C. §3991 provides for a 10% increase in retired pay for enlisted personnel who have retired more than 20 years of service if they have been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Order of precedence and wear of decorations is contained in Army Regulation 670-1, Policy for awards, approving authority, supply, and issue of decorations is contained in AR 600-8-22. During World War I,6,309 awards of the Distinguished Service Cross were made to 6,185 recipients, several dozen Army soldiers, as well as eight Marines and two French Army officers, received two Distinguished Service Crosses. A handful, mostly aviators, were decorated three or more times, fellow aviators Douglas Campbell, also of the 94th, and Frank ODriscoll Monk Hunter of the 103rd Aero Squadron each received five. Another 94th aviator, Reed McKinley Chambers, was awarded four Distinguished Service Crosses, Edward Peck Curtis, also of the 95th Aero Squadron received the Distinguished Service Cross as a First Lieutenant
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Fulda
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Fulda is a city in Hesse, Germany, it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district. In 1990, the hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. In 744 Saint Sturm, a disciple of Saint Boniface, founded the Benedictine monastery of Fulda as one of Bonifaces outposts in the reorganization of the church in Germany. It later served as a base from which missionaries could accompany Charlemagnes armies in their political and military campaign to fully conquer, the initial grant for the abbey was signed by Carloman, the son of Charles Martel. The support of the Mayors of the Palace and later, the early Pippinid, Fulda also received support from many of the leading families of the Carolingian world. Sturm, whose tenure as abbot lasted from 747 until 779, was most likely related to the Agilolfing dukes of Bavaria. Fulda also received large and constant donations from the Etichonids, a family in Alsace. Under Sturm, the donations Fulda received from these and other important families helped in the establishment of daughter-houses -Johannesberg and Petersberg - near Fulda, after his martyrdom by the Frisians, the relics of Saint Boniface were brought back to Fulda. Because of the stature this afforded the monastery, the donations increased, meanwhile, Saint Lullus, successor of Boniface as archbishop of Mainz, tried to absorb the abbey into his archbishopric, but failed. This was one reason that he founded Hersfeld Abbey - to limit the attempts of the enlargement of Fulda, between 790 and 819 the community rebuilt the main monastery church to more fittingly house the relics. The crypt of the abbey church still holds those relics. A small, 9th-century chapel remains standing within walking distance of the church, rabanus Maurus served as abbot at Fulda from 822 to 842. Prince-abbot Balthasar von Dernbach adopted a policy of counterreformation, in 1571 he called in the Jesuits to found a school and college. He insisted that the members of the chapter should return to a form of life. The foundation of the abbey Fulda and its territory originated with an Imperial grant, Fulda became a bishopric in 1752 and the prince-abbots were given the additional title of prince-bishop. The prince-abbots ruled Fulda and the region until the bishopric was forcibly dissolved by Napoleon in 1802. The city went through a building campaign in the 18th century. This included a remodeling of Fulda Cathedral and of the Stadtschloss by Johann Dientzenhofer, the city parish church, St. Blasius, was built between 1771–85
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Bad Kissingen
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Bad Kissingen is a spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and seat of the district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale river, it is one of the health resorts, the town was first documented in the year 801 as chizzicha and was renowned above all for its mineral springs, which are recorded from as early as 823. Kissingen was first mentioned as oppidum in 1279, the town developed to a spa in the 1500s and recorded its first official spa guest in 1520. Kissingen grew to be a resort in the 19th century. On 10 July 1866 during the Mainfeldzug of the Austro-Prussian War, imperial Chancellor Otto von Bismarck visited Kissingens spas many times, and in 1874 narrowly avoided assassination by Eduard Franz Ludwig Kullmann there. In 1877 the Kissingen Dictation was written here, in which Bismarck explained the principles of his foreign policy, bismarck’s former home in Kissingen is now the Bismarck Museum. Other well-known visitors to the resort included author Leo Tolstoy and artist Adolph von Menzel, the resorts clientele changed in the 20th century, with ordinary people increasingly replacing nobility as guests. The spa suffered a one-year interruption in 1945, the closure in its history. Shortly prior to World War II Manteuffel Kaserne was established at the edge of the Bad Kissingen town center by the German military as part of Hitlers program to expand the German Wehrmacht. In 1945, the American military entered the town peacefully, and took over the Kaserne, the barracks were closed in the 1990s after the fall of the iron curtain when the american troops were withdrawn. After the war, the Department of Social Security built clinics in the town, a change in health legislation in the 1990s reduced the opportunities for German health insurance contracts to fund spa visits, which led to job losses. As a result, efforts were made to attract a new kind of clientele, in 2015, about 1.5 million overnight stays of more than 238000 visitors were registratet in the town. In addition there is one representative for Kleinbrach who has no right to vote in the council, Kissinger Piano Olympics, a competition of young pianistes, relatet to the Kissinger Sommer, is held in autumn. Another music festival called the ‘Kissinger Winterzauber’ takes place each winter, the national German brass band contest has been hosted in Bad Kissingen in 2014 and 2016. The annual festivity ‘Rakoczy Fest’ at the last weekend of July is held to all historical figures whose lives were connected to Bad Kissingen. The highlight is a parade on the Sunday afternoon, historical figures are represented by citizens of the town during the entire weekend, and take part in town life. The Kissinger Kabarettherbst is a series of performances of artists in autumn. The old town hall is a Renaissance design from 1577, the medieval chapel Marienkapelle was renewed and enlarged by Balthasar Neumann
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Bad Hersfeld
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The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld is the district seat of the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southeast of Kassel. Bad Hersfeld is known countrywide above all for the Bad Hersfelder Festspiele and these themselves are said to be Europe’s biggest Romanesque church ruin. In 1967, the hosted the seventh Hessentag state festival. The town lies in the Hersfeld Basin formed here by the forks of the Fulda, the inner town lies on the Fulda’s left bank. Furthermore, the Geisbach and the Solz empty into the Fulda in the municipal area, in the southwest lie the Vogelsberg Mountains, in the northwest the Knüllgebirge and in the northeast the Seulingswald. The town can be said to both to Northern Hesse and Eastern Hesse. The nearest cities are Kassel,52 km to the north, Gießen,79 km to the southwest, Fulda,36 km to the south, through Bad Hersfeld runs the Deutsche Fachwerkstraße, a holiday road that showcases many of Germany’s timber-frame houses and buildings. The Old Town stands on an alluvial or fluvial fan made of gravel and pebbles, also in the Fulda valley are found gravel and pebbles from the Holocene that are mostly of alluvial origin. There are layers of flood-deposited loess and loam of Pleistocene origin running through them, the gravel and pebbles are to a great extent made up of Middle Bunter, the most widespread stone here. In the west and east, this layer reaches from the Germanic Triassic on the Stellerskuppe, in the east, on the Wippershainer Höhe, the layer reaches up to 440 m above sea level. The Middle Bunter’s lower limit is found at about 110 m above sea level, newer mineral layers from the Triassic are found only in sporadic deposits and discontinuous layers within town limits. This is the Röt formation, which crops up in the headwaters of the many small brooks around the town, the Lower or Middle Muschelkalk that overlies it can only be found in a narrow, west-to-east running rift stretching between Heenes and Oberrode, north of the inner town. The newest mineral layer from the Triassic – the Lower Keuper – is only preserved in the region under a lava flow, owing to uplift in the Jurassic and Cretaceous, there are no mineral layers from these geological time periods. Volcanic rock from the Miocene can be found on the Haukuppe, from this layer come the two mineral springs in Bad Hersfeld. This layer is used in underground mining from the 400-metre level on down on the Werra and on the Fulda. Today’s main town spreads over the slopes of the Tageberg, the Frauenberg, the Wehneberg and the Wendeberg, further reaching into the valleys of the Meisebach, from southwest to northeast it stretches some 4.5 km, and from northeast to southwest some 3.5 km. The Old Town in the Fulda valley has an oval shape, from west to east it stretches some 960 m and from south to north some 570 m. This can still clearly be seen today, as where the town moat once led around the town there is today a ringroad that leads traffic around it, further subdivisions in the main town are not officially Stadtteile
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NATO
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party, three NATO members are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and are officially nuclear-weapon states. NATOs headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons. NATO is an Alliance that consists of 28 independent member countries across North America and Europe, an additional 22 countries participate in NATOs Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the global total, Members defence spending is supposed to amount to 2% of GDP. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, politically, the organization sought better relations with former Warsaw Pact countries, several of which joined the alliance in 1999 and 2004. N. The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, the treaty and the Soviet Berlin Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Unions Defence Organization in September 1948. However, participation of the United States was thought necessary both to counter the power of the USSR and to prevent the revival of nationalist militarism. He got a hearing, especially considering American anxiety over Italy. In 1948 European leaders met with U. S. defense, military and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon, marshalls orders, exploring a framework for a new and unprecedented association. Talks for a new military alliance resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty and it included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the goal was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in. Popular support for the Treaty was not unanimous, and some Icelanders participated in a pro-neutrality, the creation of NATO can be seen as the primary institutional consequence of a school of thought called Atlanticism which stressed the importance of trans-Atlantic cooperation. The members agreed that an attack against any one of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. The treaty does not require members to respond with military action against an aggressor, although obliged to respond, they maintain the freedom to choose the method by which they do so. This differs from Article IV of the Treaty of Brussels, which states that the response will be military in nature. It is nonetheless assumed that NATO members will aid the attacked member militarily, the treaty was later clarified to include both the members territory and their vessels, forces or aircraft above the Tropic of Cancer, including some Overseas departments of France. The creation of NATO brought about some standardization of allied military terminology, procedures, and technology, the roughly 1300 Standardization Agreements codified many of the common practices that NATO has achieved
