1.
Australian Army
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The Australian Army is Australias military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy, while the Chief of the Defence Force commands the ADF, the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army. The CA is therefore subordinate to the CDF, but is directly responsible to the Minister for Defence. Although Australian soldiers have been involved in a number of minor and major conflicts throughout its history, Australias largest peacekeeping deployment began in 1999 in East Timor, while other ongoing operations include peacekeeping on Bougainville, in the Sinai, and in the Solomon Islands. Humanitarian relief after 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in Aceh Province, Indonesia, Operation Sumatra Assist, the 1st Division comprises a deployable headquarters, while 2nd Division under the command of Forces Command is the main home-defence formation, containing Army Reserve units. 2nd Divisions headquarters only performs administrative functions, the Australian Army has not deployed a divisional-sized formation since 1945 and does not expect to do so in the future. 1st Division carries out training activities and deploys to command large-scale ground operations. It does not have any combat units permanently assigned, Forces Command controls for administrative purposes all non-special-forces assets of the Australian Army. It is neither an operational nor a deployable command,1 Brigade – Multi-role Combat Brigade based in Darwin and Adelaide. 3 Brigade – Multi-role Combat Brigade based in Townsville,6 Brigade – Mixed brigade based in Sydney. 7 Brigade – Multi-role Combat Brigade based in Brisbane,16 Aviation Brigade – Army Aviation brigade based in Enoggera, Brisbane. 17 Combat Service Support Brigade – Logistic brigade based in Sydney, 2nd Division administers the reserve forces from its headquarters located in Sydney. 4 Brigade – based in Victoria,5 Brigade – based in New South Wales. 8 Brigade – based in New South Wales,9 Brigade – based in South Australia and Tasmania. 11 Brigade – based in Queensland,13 Brigade – based in Western Australia. Special Operations Command comprises a command formation of equal status to the commands in the ADF. It includes all of Armys special forces assets, the force will be known as the Amphibious Ready Element and will be embarked on the Navys new Canberra-class amphibious assault ships. Infantry, and some combat units of the Australian Army carry flags called the Queens Colour
2.
Mounted infantry
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Mounted infantry were infantry who rode horses instead of marching, but, as infantry does in general, fought on foot. In contrast, cavalry fought on horseback, the original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry. According to the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Mounted rifles are half cavalry, today, with motor vehicles having replaced horses for military transport, the motorized infantry are in some respects successors to mounted infantry. The origins of mounted infantry go back to at least the beginnings of organised warfare, with the weight of ancient bronze armour national champions would travel to battle on chariots before dismounting to fight. With the evolution of warfare, some hoplites would travel to battle on horseback. Early pre-Marian Roman military had units consisting of mounted infantry with units clinging to the saddles of the cavalry to take them to battle and then dismounting to fight. Gallic and Germanic warbands were reported to use double-riders, with a second warrior joining a horseman only for a distance before dismounting to fight on foot. The Han Dynasty also extensively used mounted infantry in their campaigns against the Xiongnu confederation, during many of the Han campaigns, the vast majority of the army rode on horseback, either as mounted cavalry or mounted infantry who fought dismounted. Dragoons originally were mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills, however, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel. Dragoon regiments were established in most European armies during the late 17th century, the name is possibly derived from a type of firearm carried by dragoons of the French Army. There is no distinction between the dragon and dragoon in French. The title has been retained in modern times by a number of armoured or ceremonial mounted regiments, with the invention of accurate and quick firing repeating rifles in the middle of the 19th century, cavalry started to become increasingly vulnerable. Many armies started to use troops which could fight on horseback or on foot as circumstances dictated. The first mounted infantry units to be named as such were raised during the Mexican–American War and others followed, terms such as mounted rifles were often used. The French Foreign Legion used mule-mounted companies from the 1880s, each mule was shared by two legionnaires, who took turns riding it. This arrangement allowed faster and more prolonged marches that could cover 60 miles in one day, in the British Army, infantry units in some parts of the British Empire had a mounted platoon for scouting and skirmishing. In addition, many locally raised units such as the Ceylon Mounted Rifles, Cape Mounted Rifles, Natal Carbineers, in the Second Boer War, the British copied the Boers and raised large forces of their own mounted infantry. Among various ad hoc formations, the Imperial Yeomanry was raised from volunteers in Britain in 1900 and 1901, as part of the lessons learned from that war, British regular cavalry regiments were armed with the same rifle as the infantry and became well-trained in dismounted tactics
3.
Regiment
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A regiment is a military unit. Their role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, in Medieval Europe, the term regiment denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted in one geographical area, by a leader who was often also the feudal lord of the soldiers. By the 17th century, a regiment was usually about a thousand personnel. In many armies, the first role has been assumed by independent battalions, battlegroups, task forces, brigades and other, similarly-sized operational units. By the beginning of the 18th century, regiments in most European continental armies had evolved into permanent units with distinctive titles and uniforms, when at full strength, an infantry regiment normally comprised two field battalions of about 800 men each or 8–10 companies. In some armies, an independent regiment with fewer companies was labelled a demi-regiment, a cavalry regiment numbered 600 to 900 troopers, making up a single entity. With the widespread adoption of conscription in European armies during the nineteenth century, the regimental system underwent modification. Prior to World War I, a regiment in the French, German, Russian. As far as possible, the battalions would be garrisoned in the same military district, so that the regiment could be mobilized. A cavalry regiment by contrast made up an entity of up to 1,000 troopers. Usually, the regiment is responsible for recruiting and administering all of a military career. Depending upon the country, regiments can be either combat units or administrative units or both and this is often contrasted to the continental system adopted by many armies. Generally, divisions are garrisoned together and share the same installations, thus, in divisional administration, soldiers and officers are transferred in and out of divisions as required. Some regiments recruited from specific areas, and usually incorporated the place name into the regimental name. In other cases, regiments would recruit from an age group within a nation. In other cases, new regiments were raised for new functions within an army, e. g. the Fusiliers, the Parachute Regiment, a key aspect of the regimental system is that the regiment or battalion is the fundamental tactical building block. This flows historically from the period, when battalions were widely dispersed and virtually autonomous. For example, a regiment might include different types of battalions of different origins, within the regimental system, soldiers, and usually officers, are always posted to a tactical unit of their own regiment whenever posted to field duty
4.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
5.
Sinai and Palestine Campaign
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The Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I was fought between the British Empire and the Ottoman Empire, supported by the German Empire. It started with an Ottoman attempt at raiding the Suez Canal in 1915, fighting began in January 1915, when a German-led Ottoman force invaded the Sinai Peninsula, then part of the British Protectorate of Egypt, to unsuccessfully raid the Suez Canal. After the Gallipoli Campaign, veterans from each side formed the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, after a period of stalemate in Southern Palestine from April to October 1917, General Edmund Allenby captured Beersheba from the III Corps. Serious losses on the Western Front in March 1918, during Erich Ludendorffs German Spring Offensive, Damascus and Aleppo were captured during the subsequent pursuit, before the Ottoman Empire agreed to the Armistice of Mudros on 30 October 1918, ending the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. The British Mandate of Palestine and the French Mandate for Syria, the campaign was generally not well known or understood during the war. Australia did not have a war correspondent in the area until Captain Frank Hurley, Henry Gullett, the first Official War Correspondent, arrived in November 1917. The Republic of Turkey came into existence in 1923 after the Turkish War of Independence ended the Ottoman Empire, the Suez Canal was of vital strategic importance to the British, reducing the sailing time from India, New Zealand and Australia to Europe. As a result Egypt became a base during the war. To Germany and the Ottoman Empire the canal was the closest and weakest link in British communications, Defence of the canal posed a number of problems, with its sheer size alone making it hard to control. There was no road from Cairo, while only one railway track crossed the 30 miles of desert from Cairo to Ismaïlia on the Canal before branching north to Port Said and south to Suez. At the beginning of hostilities between Britain and the Ottoman Empire in November 1914 the 30,000 strong British defence force evacuated the Sinai Peninsula, instead they concentrated their defences on the western side of the canal. These were supported by the guns of Allied ships in the canal, opposing them were around 25,000 men, including the 25th Division. The Ottoman Empire demonstrated its interest in being reinstated in Egypt in 1915 when Ottoman forces attacked British forces in Egypt, the Germans also helped to foment unrest among the Senussi in what is now Libya, when they attacked western Egypt and threatened the Sudan during the Senussi Campaign. Egypt was neither an independent ally nor a member of the British Empire, the recently appointed High Commissioner Sir Reginald Wingate and Murray agreed that Egypts contributions would be restricted to the use of the countrys railway and Egyptian personnel. However, Maxwell had proclaimed on 6 November 1914 that Egypt would not be required to aid Britains war effort, martial law allowed the British administration to control foreign European residents, monitor foreign agents and intern dangerous persons who were the subjects of hostile nations. The powers were used to police prostitution and the sale of alcohol. The Capitulations, however provided some protection to the Europeans who controlled both these industries, in the autumn of 1917 GHQ was transferred from Cairo to the front leaving garrison battalions. This move took the commander in chief of the EEF, who was responsible for law, out of touch with the civil authorities
6.
Imperial Camel Corps
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The Imperial Camel Corps Brigade was a camel-mounted infantry brigade that the British Empire raised in December 1916 during the First World War for service in the Middle East. From a small beginning the unit grew to a brigade of four battalions, one battalion each from Great Britain and New Zealand. Support troops included an artillery battery, a machine gun squadron, Royal Engineers, a field ambulance. The ICC became part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force and fought in battles and engagements, in the Senussi Campaign, the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. The brigade suffered 246 men killed, the ICC was disbanded in May 1919 after the end of the war. The advantages of camels in an environment are well known. However the British Army forces serving in Egypt at the start of the First World War did not possess their own camel formation, the first units of what became the Imperial Camel Corps were four company-sized formations that conducted long-range patrols around the Suez Canal and the Sinai Desert. The companies were raised in Egypt in January 1916 from Australians returning from the failed Gallipoli Campaign, the Indian princely state of Bikaner supplied the first camels as the Bikaner Camel Corps already used camels. These camels were later used as draught animals and the lighter Egyptian camel became the mount chosen for carrying troops. The camels could cover a distance of 3 miles an hour, or 6 miles an hour trotting, while carrying a soldier, his equipment. The camel companies consisted of a headquarters and four sections. The establishment of a company was 130 men, all armed with Lee–Enfields, however the move from patrol to a more active combat role in August 1916 led to a re-organisation. Each company added a section of fifteen men with three Lewis guns, the company headquarters also received extra staff. All this increased strength to 184 men. The four companies were expected to operate as independent units that travelled by camel, following the practise of cavalry and mounted infantry units, one man of each group of four held the camels when the team was in action, which reduced a teams firepower by a quarter. In March 1916 six new companies were raised from British yeomanry regiments, then in June another four Australian companies were raised from reinforcements intended for the Australian Light Horse regiments. Reinforcements from New Zealand intended for the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade formed two companies, one created in August and the second in November, the Imperial Camel Brigade was formed on 19 December 1916, under the command of Brigadier General Clement Leslie Smith VC. The brigade originally comprised three battalions, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, plus supporting units, each of the battalions had an authorised strength of 770 men and 922 camels
7.
Ottoman Empire
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After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, while the empire was once thought to have entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer supported by the majority of academic historians. The empire continued to maintain a flexible and strong economy, society, however, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian Empires. While the Empire was able to hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent. Starting before World War I, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. The word Ottoman is an anglicisation of the name of Osman I. Osmans name in turn was the Turkish form of the Arabic name ʿUthmān, in Ottoman Turkish, the empire was referred to as Devlet-i ʿAlīye-yi ʿOsmānīye, or alternatively ʿOsmānlı Devleti. In Modern Turkish, it is known as Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti, the Turkish word for Ottoman originally referred to the tribal followers of Osman in the fourteenth century, and subsequently came to be used to refer to the empires military-administrative elite. In contrast, the term Turk was used to refer to the Anatolian peasant and tribal population, the term Rūmī was also used to refer to Turkish-speakers by the other Muslim peoples of the empire and beyond. In Western Europe, the two names Ottoman Empire and Turkey were often used interchangeably, with Turkey being increasingly favored both in formal and informal situations and this dichotomy was officially ended in 1920–23, when the newly established Ankara-based Turkish government chose Turkey as the sole official name. Most scholarly historians avoid the terms Turkey, Turks, and Turkish when referring to the Ottomans, as the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum declined in the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman, osmans early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, many but not all converts to Islam. Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River and it is not well understood how the early Ottomans came to dominate their neighbours, due to the scarcity of the sources which survive from this period. One school of thought which was popular during the twentieth century argued that the Ottomans achieved success by rallying religious warriors to fight for them in the name of Islam, in the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over Anatolia and the Balkans. Osmans son, Orhan, captured the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa in 1326 and this conquest meant the loss of Byzantine control over northwestern Anatolia. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, the Ottoman victory at Kosovo in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe
8.
Battle honour
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In European military tradition, military units may be acknowledged for their achievements in specific wars or operations of a military campaign. These honours usually take the form of a place and a date, theatre honours could be listed and displayed on regimental property but not emblazoned on the colours. Since battle honours are emblazoned on colours, artillery units. These honour titles were permitted to be used as part of their official nomenclature, similar honours in the same tenor include unit citations. Battle honours, theatre honours, honour titles and their ilk form a part of the variety of distinctions which serve to distinguish military units from each other. For the British Army, the need to adopt a system to recognise military units battlefield accomplishments was apparent since its formation as an army in the later part of the 17th century. Although the granting of battle honours had already been in place at the time, before then, a regiments colours were practical tools for rallying troops in the battlefield and not quite something for displaying the units past distinctions. The first battle honour to be awarded in the British Army was granted to the 15th Hussars for the Battle of Emsdorf in 1760, thereafter, other regiments received battle honours for some of their previous engagements. The battle honour is held by the successor regiment, the Princess of Waless Royal Regiment. During these early years of the British standing army, a regiment needed only to engage the enemy with musketry before it was eligible for a battle honour, thus in 1882, a committee was formed to adjudicate applications of battle honour claims. This committee, later called the Battles Nomenclature Committee, still maintains its function in the British Army today. A battle honour may be granted to infantry/cavalry regiments or battalions, as well as ships and squadrons, they are granted to sub-units such as companies. Battle honours are presented in the form of a name of a country, region, or city where the units distinguished act took place. Not every battle fought will automatically result in the granting of a battle honour, conversely, a regiment or a battalion might obtain more than one battle honour over the course of a larger operation. Similarly, while in Korea, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry earned both Kapyong and Korea 1951–1953, supporting corps/branches such as medical, service, ordnance, or transport do not currently receive battle honours. However and uniquely the Royal Logistic Corps has five battle honours inherited from its previous transport elements, Commonwealth artillery does not maintain battle honours as they carry neither colours nor guidons—though their guns by tradition are afforded many of the same respects and courtesies. However, both the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers were in 1832 granted by King William IV the right to use the Latin Ubique, meaning everywhere and this is worn on the cap badge of both the Corps of Royal Engineers and the Royal Regiment of Artillery. The practice was extended to these same regiments and corps in the successor Commonwealth armed forces
9.
Northern Rivers
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Northern Rivers is a region of the Australian state of New South Wales, located between 590 kilometres and 820 kilometres north of the state capital, Sydney. At its most northern point, the region is 102 kilometres south south–east of the Queensland capital and this area has a mild, sub-tropical climate. The Northern Rivers region is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the east, to the north is the border between New South Wales and Queensland, where the Darling Downs are located to the north–west and South East Queensland directly to the north. The southern boundary is the Dorrigo ranges, which mark the southern boundary for the Clarence River Basin. The defining characteristic of the region are the valleys of the Clarence, Richmond and Tweed rivers and their sources, hence the regions name. The region contains the Southern Cross University, which is headquartered at Lismore and has campuses in Tweed Heads, the North Coast Institute of TAFE has campuses at Lismore, Ballina, Casino, Grafton, Kingscliff, Maclean, Trenayr and Wollongbar. The Northern Rivers has its own based in Murwillumbah the Northern Rivers Symphony Orchestra as well as the Lismore Symphony Orchestra. The region has a history of Italian settlement, the locality of New Italy was settled in 1882 by Italian pioneers who attempted to cultivate the areas difficult interior. Mid North Coast New England South East Queensland The Northern Rivers Vaccination Supporters Northern Rivers Tourism Northern Rivers Geology Blog
10.
New South Wales
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New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south and it has a coast line with the Tasman Sea on its east side. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state, New South Wales state capital is Sydney, which is also Australias most populous city. In March 2014, the population of New South Wales was 7.5 million. Just under two-thirds of the population,4.67 million. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen, the Colony of New South Wales was founded as a penal colony in 1788. It originally comprised a more than half of the Australian mainland with its western boundary set at 129th meridian east in 1825, in addition, the colony also included the island territories of New Zealand, Van Diemens Land, Lord Howe Island, and Norfolk Island. During the 19th century, most of the area was detached to form separate British colonies that eventually became New Zealand. However, the Swan River Colony has never administered as part of New South Wales. Lord Howe Island remains part of New South Wales, while Norfolk Island has become a federal Territory, as have the now known as the Australian Capital Territory. The prior inhabitants of New South Wales were the Aboriginal tribes who arrived in Australia about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago, before European settlement there were an estimated 250,000 Aboriginal people in the region. The Wodi Wodi people are the custodians of the Illawarra region of South Sydney. The Bundjalung people are the custodians of parts of the northern coastal areas. The European discovery of New South Wales was made by Captain James Cook during his 1770 survey along the eastern coast of the Dutch-named continent of New Holland. In his original journal covering the survey, in triplicate to satisfy Admiralty Orders, Cook first named the land New Wales, however, in the copy held by the Admiralty, he revised the wording to New South Wales. After years of chaos and anarchy after the overthrow of Governor William Bligh, macquaries legacy is still evident today. During the 19th century, large areas were separated to form the British colonies of Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria. Responsible government was granted to the New South Wales colony in 1855, following the Treaty of Waitangi, William Hobson declared British sovereignty over New Zealand in 1840
11.
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
12.
1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers
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The 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers is a current Australian Army Reserve Light Cavalry Regiment. The regiment is based at Lancer Barracks in Parramatta, a suburb in Western Sydney, Lancer Barracks is the oldest Military Barracks on mainland Australia and dates from 1819. The regiment has recently re-equipped with 4x4 Land Rover patrol vehicles as part of the conversion to a Light Cavalry role, the last of the previously equipped vehicles, the M113A1 APC was handed over in 2006. The 1st/15th RNSWL carries the regiments battle honours, and consequently has 31 collective battle honours, including those from the Boer War, First World War. The Regimental Band of the 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers is one of the few Army regimental bands still in existence, the Band was formed in 1891 and has served with the regiment since, making it the oldest military band in Australia. The Lancer Band consists of Army Musicians who perform for Regimental functions, at public events and its collection includes equipment, uniforms, weapons and vehicles used by the Lancers along its history. australian-armour. com Dalton, Mike. WWII tank found in NSW paddock
13.
Palestine (region)
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Palestine is a geographic region in Western Asia between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. It is sometimes considered to include adjoining territories, the name was used by Ancient Greek writers, and was later used for the Roman province Syria Palaestina, the Byzantine Palaestina Prima, and the Islamic provincial district of Jund Filastin. The region comprises most of the claimed for the biblical regions known as the Land of Israel. Historically, it has known as the southern portion of wider regional designations such as Canaan, Syria, ash-Sham. The boundaries of the region have changed throughout history, today, the region comprises the State of Israel and the Palestinian territories in which the State of Palestine was declared. Modern archaeology has identified 12 ancient inscriptions from Egyptian and Assyrian records recording likely cognates of Hebrew Pelesheth, the term Peleset is found in five inscriptions referring to a neighboring people or land starting from c.1150 BCE during the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. Neither the Egyptian nor the Assyrian sources provided clear regional boundaries for the term, approximately a century later, Aristotle used a similar definition for the region in Meteorology, in which he included the Dead Sea. The term is accepted to be a translation of the Biblical name Peleshet. The term is used in the Septuagint, who used a transliteration Land of Phylistieim different from the contemporary Greek place name Palaistínē. Following the Muslim conquest, place names that were in use by the Byzantine administration generally continued to be used in Arabic, Modern archaeologists and historians of the region refer to their field of study as Levantine archaeology. The region was among the earliest in the world to see human habitation, agricultural communities, during the Bronze Age, independent Canaanite city-states were established, and were influenced by the surrounding civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Minoan Crete, and Syria. Between 1550–1400 BCE, the Canaanite cities became vassals to the Egyptian New Kingdom who held power until the 1178 BCE Battle of Djahy during the wider Bronze Age collapse. The region became part of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from c.740 BCE, in 539 BCE, the Babylonian empire was replaced by the Achaemenid Empire. In the 330s BCE, Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great conquered the region and it ultimately fell to the Seleucid Empire between 219–200 BCE. In 116 BCE, a Seleucid civil war resulted in the independence of certain regions including the Hasmonean principality in the Judaean Mountains, from 110 BCE, the Hasmoneans extended their authority over much of Palestine, creating a Judaean–Samaritan–Idumaean–Ituraean–Galilean alliance. The Judaean control over the region resulted in it also becoming known as Judaea. Between 73–63 BCE, the Roman Republic extended its influence into the region in the Third Mithridatic War, conquering Judea in 63 BCE, and splitting the former Hasmonean Kingdom into five districts. The three-year Ministry of Jesus, culminating in his crucifixion, is estimated to have occurred from 28–30 CE, in 70 CE, Titus sacked Jerusalem, resulting in the dispersal of the citys Jews and Christians to Yavne and Pella
14.
Other ranks (UK)
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In the Royal Navy, these personnel are called ratings. Non-commissioned member is the equivalent term for the Canadian Armed Forces, colloquially, members of the other ranks are known as rankers. The term is considered to exclude warrant officers, and occasionally also excludes NCOs. In the standard rank scale maintained by NATO, other ranks are coded from OR1 to OR9, in British India, a distinction was made between British other ranks and Indian other ranks
15.
Squadron (army)
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A squadron was historically a cavalry subunit, a company sized military formation. The term is used to refer to modern cavalry units but can also be used as a designation for other arms. In some countries, like Italy, the cavalry unit is called Squadron Group. Prior to the revisions in the US Army structure in the 1880s, US Cavalry regiments were divided into companies, the reorganizations converted companies to troops and battalions to squadrons, and made squadrons tactical formations as well as administrative ones. In the British Army and many other Commonwealth armies, a squadron is the Royal Armoured Corps counterpart of a company or artillery battery. A squadron is a sub-unit of a formation, and is usually made up of two or more troops. Squadrons are commonly designated using letters or numbers, in some British Army units it is a tradition for squadrons to also be named after an important historical battle in which the regiment has taken part. For example, the Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment assigns trainees to Waterloo Squadron, in some special cases, squadrons can also be named after a unique honour which has been bestowed on the unit. The modern French Army is composed of troupes à pied and troupes à cheval, nowadays, the term escadron is used to describe a company of mounted soldiers but, for a long time, a cavalry escadron corresponded to an infantry battalion, both units grouping several companies. The term compagnie has been discontinued and replaced by escadron in cavalry units since 1815, in the mounted arms a captain in charge of an escadron is thus called a chef descadron. However, his superior in the hierarchy has the rank of chef descadrons. After 1815, the army began to write chef descadrons with an s in cavalry units to reflect the fact that this officer who used to be in charge of one squadron was now in charge of several squadrons. In other mounted branches, chef descadron is still spelled without s, the Norwegian army operates with units called eskadroner, typically a company-equivalent unit, generally in armoured cavalry units although not always. The 2nd Battalion, Brigade Nord, has a company-equivalent unit called kavalerieskadronen and it serves as the main reconnaissance unit in the battalion. Like the mechanized units, it wears the distinct khaki-coloured beret of the battalion instead of the normal black for cavalry units. The Armoured Battalion has the majority of its constituents labeled eskadroner, including the Cavalry Squadron, the Armoured Squadron and the Assault Squadrons. It also includes the battalions Support element, the Combat Support Squadron and its members are also referred to as dragoons, reflecting the nature of the unit. The Telemark Battalion also has a number of units labelled eskadroner and this includes the Armoured Squadron, the Cavalry Squadron and the Combat Support Squadron
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Troop
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A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the section or platoon. Exceptions are the Royal Horse Artillery and the US Cavalry, where troops are subunits that compare to a company or artillery battery. A cavalry soldier of private rank is called a trooper in many Commonwealth armies, a related sense of the term troops refers to members of the military collectively, as in the troops, see Troop. In some countries, like Italy, the cavalry unit is called Squadron. Today, a troop is defined differently in different armed forces, SASR troops are also unusual as they are commanded by a captain—most troop/platoon sized elements are commanded by a lieutenant. In all cases, units which refer to platoon sized elements as troops refer to company-sized elements as squadrons, privates in the RAAC and SASR hold the rank trooper, however this is not the case for any other Corps/units which use the term troops. In the British Army the definition of a troop varies by corps, household Cavalry and Royal Armoured Corps, Three or four armoured fighting vehicles commanded by a subaltern, i. e. effectively the same level element as an infantry platoon. A unit of two to four guns or launchers, or an equivalent headquarters unit, in the Royal Horse Artillery, a troop used to be the equivalent to a battery in other artillery units. The Royal Engineers and Royal Corps of Signals used platoons instead until after World War II, other army corps do not use the term. In the Royal Marines, a troop is the equivalent to an army platoon, in the Canadian Army, a troop is the equivalent of a platoon within the armoured, artillery, engineer, and signals branches. Two to four troops comprise the elements of a squadron. Companies were renamed troops in 1883, in the United States, state police forces are often regionally divided into troops. This usage came about from these organizations modelling themselves on the US Army, for this same reason the state police and highway patrol personnel of most states are known as trooper rather than officer. In Scouting, a troop is a made up of scouts or guides from the same locality under a leader. In the case of Guides, the company is used more often
17.
Section (military unit)
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A section is a military sub-subunit. It usually consists of six and 20 personnel, and is usually an alternate name for, and equivalent to. As such two or more sections usually make up a platoon or an air force flight. However, in the French Army and in armies based on the French model, under the new structure of the infantry platoon, Australian Army sections are made up of eight men divided into two four-man fireteams. Each fireteam consists of a leader, a marksman with enhanced optics, a grenadier with an M203. Typical fire team structure, At the start of World War I, the Australian Army used a section that consisted of 27 men including the section commander, during World War II, a rifle section comprised ten soldiers with a corporal in command and a lance-corporal as his second-in-command. The corporal used an M1928 Thompson submachine gun, while one of the privates used a Bren gun, the other eight soldiers all used No.1 Mk.3 Lee–Enfield rifles with a bayonet and scabbard. They all carried two or three No.36 Mills bomb grenades, post–World War II, and during the Vietnam War, a rifle section consisted of ten personnel comprising, a command & scout group, a gun group and a rifle group. The British Army section now consists of eight soldiers made up of a Corporal as the section commander, three sections together form a platoon. In conventional warfare, the section is split into two four-man fireteams, commanded by the corporal and lance-corporal respectively. With the switch from.303 to 7. 62mm NATO in the 1950s until the introduction of 5.56 mm calibre weapons in the late 1980s, the section was typically divided into two groups, a rifle group and a gun group. The gun group was commanded by the section 2IC with an L1A1, and comprised the gunner with the GPMG and this organization was abandoned in favour of fireteams when 5.56 mm assault rifles and SAWs were introduced in the late 1980s. These were the L85 IW and the longer-barrelled L86 LSW, the firepower of the team has now been extended by the L110A1 LMG. The LSW is now used as a designated marksmans rifle. Each fire team has two IW, one with a grenade launcher, one LSW and one LMG. An infantry section now consists of, Charlie Fireteam, Corporal, rifleman, armed with an L85A25. 56mm rifle with 40mm underslung grenade launcher. Rifleman, armed with an L110A15. 56mm light machine gun, rifleman, armed with an L129A17. 62x51 mm sharpshooter rifle. Delta Fireteam, Lance Corporal, armed with an L85A25. 56mm rifle, rifleman, armed with an L85A25. 56mm rifle with 40mm underslung grenade launcher
18.
Australian Light Horse
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Australian Light Horse were mounted troops with characteristics of both cavalry and mounted infantry, who served in the Second Boer War and World War I. During the inter-war years, a number of regiments were raised as part of Australias part-time military force and these units were gradually mechanised either before or during World War II, although only a small number undertook operational service during the war. The Australian Light Horse was established as the outcome of a debate that took place in military circles in Australia in the late 19th century concerning the future of mounted troops. The example of the Franco-Prussian War illustrated that the battlefield had become dominated by massed land armies supported by artillery, for Australia the reality was vast spaces with sparse populations making it difficult to consider anything that remotely looked like the European model. The 1890s were wracked by drought and depression ensuring that none of the states were able to afford anything, the Second Boer War provided the short term answer. While Australian forces fought against the Boers in South Africa, the Boer methodology of conducting war was considered to be the answer for Australian defence, volunteer Light Horse Regiments were established around Australia supported by the Rifle Club movement which provided semi trained reinforcements for the various formations. The prospect of an endless and strength-sapping guerrilla war was the key deterrent factor which relied heavily upon mobile soldiers, the plan envisaged two mounted divisions. By the outbreak of World War I, there were 23 light horse regiments within Australias part-time military force, a famous exception to this rule though was the charge of the 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments at Beersheba on 31 October 1917. In 1918, some light horse regiments were equipped with sabres, however, unlike mounted infantry, the light horse also performed certain cavalry roles, such as scouting and screening, while mounted. The light horse were organised along cavalry rather than infantry lines, around a quarter of this nominal strength could be allotted to horse-holding duties when the regiment entered combat. A regiment was divided into three squadrons, designated A, B and C, and a divided into four troops. Each troop was divided into about 10 four-man sections, when dismounting for combat, one man from each section would take the reins of the other three mens horses and lead them out of the firing line where he would remain until called upon. Each regiment initially had a troop of two Maxim guns but during the Gallipoli Campaign, where the light horse served dismounted, this was increased to four guns, in turn, the troops received the Lewis Gun. This was replaced by the Hotchkiss M1909 Benét–Mercié machine gun in April 1917, eventually they arrived in such numbers as to allow each troop to have a Hotchkiss gun, which considerably added to the mobile firepower of a regiment. The Australian Waler horse was the mount for the light horsemen, as it was strong and hardy. This was facilitated by the horses being left behind in Egypt while the light horsemen went to Gallipoli, allowing them to gradually acclimatise. As Australias commitment to the war increased, the size of the light horse contingent was expanded, with a second and third light horse brigade being raised in late 1914 and early 1915. Eventually, the Australian Light Horse regiments were organised into five brigades, 1st Light Horse Brigade consisted of the 1st, 2nd, 2nd Light Horse Brigade consisted of the 5th, 6th, 7th Light Horse Regiments
19.
14th Light Horse Regiment (Australia)
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The 14th Light Horse Regiment was a mounted infantry or light horse unit of the Australian Army. The unit takes its lineage from units raised as part of the forces of the state of Queensland in 1860 and served during the Second Boer War. In 1930 it was amalgamated with the 2nd Light Horse Regiment to become the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment, a unit that continues to exist as part of the Australian Army today. When the Second Boer War broke out, the QMI were sent to South Africa to fight alongside contingents from a number of Australian colonies, after the Boer War the Australian colonial forces were amalgamated into the military forces of the newly federated nation of Australia. As a part of this amalgamation the four battalions of the QMI were reformed as light horse regiments, in 1912, a system of compulsory military service was instituted in Australia, the result of which was the expansion of the Army. Consequently, most the units of the QMI were redesignated, while the units of the AIF were deployed overseas to Gallipoli and the Western Front, the original units of the QMI remained in Australia on home service. The 14th Light Horse Regiment was raised in March 1916 as part of the AIF at Enoggera, Queensland, attached to the 3rd Division. It departed from Sydney on the steamship Beltana on 13 May 1916, before it could be brought up to full strength, however, the establishment was reduced to only one squadron per division and as such only A Squadron was formed. Soon afterwards, however, the establishments of the Australian Army were changed again. As a result, it was decided to disband the regiment, in June 1918, the 14th Light Horse Regiment was reformed from the Imperial Camel Corps in Palestine, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Langley. Together with the 15th Light Horse Regiment and a French colonial regiment they formed the 5th Light Horse Brigade, the 5th Light Horse Brigade were involved in the fighting against the Turks around Megiddo in September 1918, during which time they suffered eight men killed. Turkey surrendered on 30 October 1918, thus preventing the regiment from seeing any action during the war. However, before they were to return to Australia they were used to quell the Egyptian Revolution of 1919 and they finally embarked for the return voyage to Australia on 24 July 1919. After the war, in Australia the units of the QMI underwent another reorganisation when they were renumbered once again, in 1922, the 27th Light Horse Regiment became the 14th Light Horse Regiment. Thus, when the 27th became the 14th in 1922 it was given the battle honours of its AIF counterpart. In 1927, the name was changed again to the 14th Light Horse Regiment. In 1930, due to economic constraints caused by the Great Depression the 14th was amalgamated with the 2nd Light Horse Regiment to become the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment. In September 1939, following the outbreak of World War II, in 1940, the 2nd/14th was delinked and the 14th Light Horse Regiment was re-raised as a machine-gun unit
20.
Waler horse
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The Waler is an Australian breed of riding horses that developed from the horses that were brought to the Australian colonies in the 19th century. The name comes from their early breeding origins in New South Wales, the Waler combined a variety of breeds, particularly the Thoroughbred, Arab, the Cape horse, Timor Pony and perhaps a little Clydesdale or Percheron. It was originally considered only a type of horse and not a distinct breed and it was used as a stockmans horse and prized as a military remount. Walers were also used by bushrangers, troopers and exploration expeditions that traversed inland Australia, the preferred Walers for cavalry duties were 15 to 16 hands high. Those over 16 hands were rejected for use in the South Australian Bushmen Corps, unbroken horses, as well as those with grey and broken coat colours were also rejected. The selected horses had to be of a type that could carry sixteen or seventeen stone day after day.303 rifle ammunition. The cavalry horse required docility, courage, speed, and athletic ability, the infantryman’s horse was used as a means of transport from one point to another, for example, from camp to a battle ground, where the horses were kept back from the fighting. Heavier animals were selected and used for draught and packhorse duties, most of the early Walers carried a fair percentage of Thoroughbred blood, with some recorded as race winners and a few being registered in the Australian Stud Book. While in warfare service in North Africa, some Walers proved successful in races against local Egyptian horses, in 1919 horses from the ANZAC Mounted Division won five of the six events at Heliopolis, near Cairo. Australian horses were sent overseas from the 1830s, between the 1840s and 1940s, there was a trade in Walers to the British Indian Army. In Australias two wars of the early 20th century—the Second Boer War and World War I—the Waler was the backbone of the Australian Light Horse mounted forces. It was especially suited to working in the climate of the Sinai Peninsula and Palestine. During the Boer War, Australia dispatched 16,314 horses overseas for use by the Australian Infantry Forces, in the First World War,121,324 Walers were sent overseas to the allied armies in Africa, Europe, India and Palestine. Of these,39,348 served with the First Australian Imperial Force, mainly in the Middle East, bridges, an officer who died at Gallipoli in May 1915. Cavalry Division had covered nearly 170 miles…and their horses had been watered on an average of once in every 36 hours…, the heat, too, had been intense and the short rations, 9½ lb of grain per day without bulk food, had weakened them greatly. Indeed, the hardship endured by some horses was almost incredible, one of the batteries of the Australian Mounted Division had only been able to water its horses three times in the last nine days - the actual intervals being 68,72 and 76 hours respectively. Yet this battery on its arrival had lost only eight horses from exhaustion, … The majority of horses in the Corps were Walers and there is no doubt that these hardy Australian horses make the finest cavalry mounts in the world…. They have got types of compact, well-built, saddle and harness horses that no part of the world can show
21.
Military history of Australia during World War I
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In Australia, the outbreak of World War I was greeted with considerable enthusiasm. At the same time another force, initially consisting of 20,000 men. In early 1915, however, it was decided to out a amphibious landing on the Gallipoli peninsula with the goal of opening up a second front. The force was evacuated from the peninsula in December 1915 and returned to Egypt, in early 1916 it was decided that the infantry divisions would be sent to France, where they took part in many of the major battles fought on the Western Front. Most of the light horse units remained in the Middle East until the end of the war, carrying out operations against the Turks in Egypt. Small numbers of Australians served in other theatres of war, while the main focus of the Australian militarys effort was the ground war, air and naval forces were also committed. By the end of the war, Australians were far more circumspect, the nations involvement cost more than 60,000 Australian lives and many more were left unable to work as a result of their injuries. The impact of the war was felt in other areas as well. Financially it was costly, while the effect on the social and political landscape was considerable. When Prime Minister Andrew Fishers Labor Party came to power in September 1914, he reiterated Cooks statement saying, Australia would. rally to the Mother Country. To help and defend her to our last man and our last shilling, within days, plans for an Australian expeditionary force were completed by Brigadier General William Throsby Bridges and his staff officer, Major Cyril Brudenell Bingham White. White proposed a force of 18,000 men and this proposal was approved by Prime Minister Cook but he increased the offer to the British to 20,000 men to serve in any destination desired by the Home Government. On 6 August 1914, London cabled its acceptance of the force, recruiting offices opened on 10 August 1914 and by the end of 1914,52,561 volunteers had been accepted, although strict physical fitness guidelines were put in place. In 1884, Germany had colonised the eastern part of New Guinea. By the outbreak of the war, the Germans had been using the colony as a radio base. As a consequence, Britain required the wireless installations to be destroyed, shortly after the outbreak of war—following a request by the British government on 6 August 1914—the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force began forming. The objectives of the force were the German stations at Yap in the Caroline Islands, Nauru and at Rabaul, the task force sailed from Sydney on 19 August 1914, and hove to off Port Moresby where they waited for their escorts to arrive. While they were at Port Moresby, Holmes decided to disembark the Queensland militia soldiers due to concerns about their preparedness for action
22.
Middle East
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The Middle East is a transcontinental region centered on Western Asia and Egypt. The corresponding adjective is Middle-Eastern and the noun is Middle-Easterner. The term has come into usage as a replacement of the term Near East beginning in the early 20th century. Arabs, Turks, Persians, Kurds, and Azeris constitute the largest ethnic groups in the region by population. Indigenous minorities of the Middle East include Jews, Assyrians and other Arameans, Baloch, Berbers, Copts, Druze, Lurs, Mandaeans, Samaritans, Shabaks, Tats, in the Middle East, there is also a Romani community. European ethnic groups form a diaspora in the region include Albanians, Bosniaks, Circassians, Crimean Tatars, Franco-Levantines. Among other migrant populations are Bengalis as well as other Indians, Chinese, Filipinos, Indonesians, Pakistanis, the history of the Middle East dates back to ancient times, with the importance of the region being recognized for millennia. Most of the countries border the Persian Gulf have vast reserves of crude oil. The term Middle East may have originated in the 1850s in the British India Office, however, it became more widely known when American naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan used the term in 1902 to designate the area between Arabia and India. During this time the British and Russian Empires were vying for influence in Central Asia, Mahan realized not only the strategic importance of the region, but also of its center, the Persian Gulf. Mahan first used the term in his article The Persian Gulf and International Relations, published in September 1902 in the National Review, a British journal. The Middle East, if I may adopt a term which I have not seen, will some day need its Malta, as well as its Gibraltar, it does not follow that either will be in the Persian Gulf. The British Navy should have the facility to concentrate in force if occasion arise, about Aden, India, mahans article was reprinted in The Times and followed in October by a 20-article series entitled The Middle Eastern Question, written by Sir Ignatius Valentine Chirol. During this series, Sir Ignatius expanded the definition of Middle East to include regions of Asia which extend to the borders of India or command the approaches to India. After the series ended in 1903, The Times removed quotation marks from subsequent uses of the term, in the late 1930s, the British established the Middle East Command, which was based in Cairo, for its military forces in the region. After that time, the term Middle East gained broader usage in Europe, the description Middle has also led to some confusion over changing definitions. Before the First World War, Near East was used in English to refer to the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire, while Middle East referred to Iran, the Caucasus, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Turkestan. The first official use of the term Middle East by the United States government was in the 1957 Eisenhower Doctrine, the Associated Press Stylebook says that Near East formerly referred to the farther west countries while Middle East referred to the eastern ones, but that now they are synonymous
23.
Battle of Megiddo (1918)
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The Battle of Megiddo was the final Allied offensive of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War. The series of battles took place in what was then the central and northern parts of Ottoman Palestine and parts of present-day Israel, Syria, the Desert Mounted Corps rode through the breach and almost encircled the Ottoman Eighth and Seventh Armies still fighting in the Judean Hills. The subsidiary Battle of Nablus was fought virtually simultaneously in the Judean Hills in front of Nablus, the Ottoman Fourth Army was subsequently attacked in the Hills of Moab at Es Salt and Amman. These battles resulted in tens of thousands of prisoners and many miles of territory being captured by the Allies. The irregular forces of the Arab Revolt also played a part in this victory, across this plain several armies, from the ancient Egyptians to the French under Napoleon, had fought on their way towards Nazareth in the Galilean Hills. The Entente Powers had declared war on the Ottoman Empire in November 1914, in early 1915 and in August 1916 the Ottomans, with German commanders, aid and encouragement, had attacked the Suez Canal, a vital link between Britain and India, Australia and New Zealand. Having constructed a railway and water pipeline across the desert, Murray then attacked southern Palestine, in the First Battle of Gaza and the Second Battle of Gaza in March and April 1917, the British attacks were defeated. In 1916, the Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule had broken out in the Hejaz, led by Hussein bin Ali, finally, Lawrence and bedouin tribesmen won the Battle of Aqaba in July 1917. The capture of the port of Aqaba allowed the Allies to supply Feisals forces, General Edmund Allenby had been appointed to succeed Murray in command of the EEF, and was encouraged to renew the offensive. After receiving reinforcements, he broke through the Ottoman defences in the Third Battle of Gaza, despite Ottoman counter-attacks, the EEF captured Jerusalem in the second week in December 1917. After a pause of several weeks caused by bad weather and the need to repair his lines of communication, however, in March, the Germans launched their Spring Offensive on the Western Front, intending to defeat the Allied armies in France and Belgium. Allenby was ordered to send reinforcements to the Western Front, Allenbys tank force was also returned to France. In total approximately 60,000 officers and men were transferred to the Western Front in 1918, however, Allenby maintained pressure on the Ottoman armies by twice sending mounted and infantry divisions across the Jordan. The first attack cut the Hejaz Railway near Amman before the attackers retreated. In the second attack, Allenbys troops captured Es Salt on the road to Amman, despite these failures, Allenby had established two bridgeheads across the Jordan north of the Dead Sea which were retained during the ensuing occupation of the southern Jordan Valley. At the same time, the Ottoman command changed, the highest level Ottoman headquarters in Palestine was the Yıldırım Army Group. The Army Group had originally formed to recapture Baghdad which had been captured by the British in March 1917. Instead, it had diverted to Palestine where the British were close to capturing Jerusalem
24.
Military of the Ottoman Empire
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The history of military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The earliest form of the Ottoman military was a cavalry force. This was centralized by Osman I from Turkoman tribesmen inhabiting western Anatolia in the late 13th century and these horsemen became an irregular force of raiders used as shock troops, armed with simple weapons like bows and spears. They were given fiefs called timars in the lands, and were later called timariots. In addition they acquired wealth during campaigns, Orhan I organized a standing army paid by salary rather than booty or fiefs. The infantry were called yayas and the cavalry was known as müsellems, the force was made up by foreign mercenaries for the most part, and only a few Turks were content to accept salaries in place of timars. Foreign mercenaries were not required to convert to Islam as long as they obeyed their Ottoman commanders, the Ottomans began using guns sometime at the 15th century. Ottoman Classical Army was the structure established by Mehmed II, during his reorganization of the state. This is the reorganization following Orhan I which organized a standing army paid by salary rather than booty or fiefs. This army was the force during rise of the Ottoman Empire, the organization was twofold, central and peripheral. Following a century long reform efforts, this Army was forced to disbandment by Sultan Mahmud II on 15 June 1826 by what is known as Auspicious Incident, the main theme of this period is reforming the Janissaries. The Janissary corps were made up of conscripted young Christian boys who became military educated under the Ottoman Empire. During the 15th and 16th Centuries they became known as the most efficient, aside from the Janissary infantry, there was also the Sipahi Cavalry. They were, however, different from the Janissaries in that they had military and administrative duties. Within these agricultural lands, the Sipahi were in charge of collecting the taxes which would serve as their salary, at the same time they were responsible for maintaining peace and order there. They were also expected to be able to serve in the military whenever the Sultan deemed their service necessary, western cavalry military people were imported as advisors but their abilities to enact change on the Classic Army were limited. The Ottoman Empire made numerous efforts to recruit French experts for its modernization, another officer François Baron de Tott was involved in the reform efforts for the Ottoman military. He succeeded in having a new foundry built to make howitzers and he built fortifications on the Bosphorus and started a naval science course that laid the foundation stone for the later Turkish Naval Academy
25.
Damascus
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Damascus is the capital and likely the largest city of Syria, following the decline in population of Aleppo due to the ongoing battle for the city. It is commonly known in Syria as ash-Sham and nicknamed as the City of Jasmine, in addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural and religious centre of the Levant. The city has an population of 1,711,000 as of 2009. Located in south-western Syria, Damascus is the centre of a metropolitan area of 2.6 million people. The Barada River flows through Damascus, first settled in the second millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad, Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Today, it is the seat of the government and all of the government ministries. The name of Damascus first appeared in the geographical list of Thutmose III as T-m-ś-q in the 15th century BC, the etymology of the ancient name T-m-ś-q is uncertain, but it is suspected to be pre-Semitic. It is attested as Dimašqa in Akkadian, T-ms-ḳw in Egyptian, Dammaśq in Old Aramaic, the Akkadian spelling is found in the Amarna letters, from the 14th century BC. Later Aramaic spellings of the name include a intrusive resh, perhaps influenced by the root dr. Thus, the English and Latin name of the city is Damascus which was imported from originated from the Qumranic Darmeśeq, and Darmsûq in Syriac, meaning a well-watered land. In Arabic, the city is called Dimašqu š-Šāmi, although this is shortened to either Dimašq or aš-Šām by the citizens of Damascus, of Syria and other Arab neighbours. Aš-Šām is an Arabic term for Levant and for Syria, the latter, the Anti-Lebanon mountains mark the border between Syria and Lebanon. The range has peaks of over 10,000 ft. and blocks precipitation from the Mediterranean sea, however, in ancient times this was mitigated by the Barada River, which originates from mountain streams fed by melting snow. Damascus is surrounded by the Ghouta, irrigated farmland where many vegetables, cereals, maps of Roman Syria indicate that the Barada river emptied into a lake of some size east of Damascus. Today it is called Bahira Atayba, the hesitant lake, because in years of severe drought it does not even exist, the modern city has an area of 105 km2, out of which 77 km2 is urban, while Jabal Qasioun occupies the rest. The old city of Damascus, enclosed by the city walls, to the south-east, north and north-east it is surrounded by suburban areas whose history stretches back to the Middle Ages, Midan in the south-west, Sarouja and Imara in the north and north-west. These neighbourhoods originally arose on roads leading out of the city and these new neighbourhoods were initially settled by Kurdish soldiery and Muslim refugees from the European regions of the Ottoman Empire which had fallen under Christian rule
26.
Australian Army Reserve
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The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. For the first half of the 20th century, due to a widespread distrust of permanent military forces in Australia, the reserve military forces were the primary focus of Australian military planning. Since then, Australian defence policy has focused more upon the Regular Army. Nevertheless, the transfer of forces from the states to the Commonwealth occurred on 1 March 1901. At the outset, the bulk of the Commonwealth military force was to be made up of part-time volunteers and this was arguably due to two factors. After the initial transfer of forces in March 1901, further progress was slow as administrative and legislative instruments took time to develop. Indeed, it was not until 1 March 1904 that the Defence Act 1903 was proclaimed, amidst a background of political manoeuvring and personal agendas, the military forces were eventually reorganised into a more or less unified command structure. The result of this review was the realisation of the need to build a defence force that could not only defend the nation. However, it was the main factor contributing to the decision to recruit the AIF on the basis of voluntary enlistment, regardless, it has been estimated that up to 50,000 militiamen subsequently enlisted in the First AIF during the war. During the precautionary stage on 2 August 1914, Citizens Forces units were called up to guard essential points and man coastal forts, the first Australian shots of both World War I and World War II were fired by the garrison at Fort Nepean. By June 1918,9,215 home service troops were on duty in Australia. From 1915, only skeleton garrisons were maintained at coastal forts, just before the end of World War I, Australias home forces were reorganised to perpetuate the numerical identities of the AIF units. This was done renumbering the infantry regiments that had formed in 1912. It was also decided that the Citizens Force would be re-organised along the lines of the AIF, adopting the divisional structure of the AIF units and maintaining their battle honours. Although the compulsory training scheme was retained, it was decided that it would only be focused on the populated areas. The result of this was that the course of only a year the strength of the Citizens Forces fell from 127,000 to only 37,000 in 1922. Throughout the 1920s, numbers decreased even further and although the structure was maintained. At this time it was decided to change the name of the force
27.
2nd Military District (Australia)
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The 2nd Military District was an administrative district of the Australian Army that covered most of New South Wales, with its headquarters in Sydney. The southern border with the 3rd Military District was the Murrumbidgee River rather than the Murray River, and this required legislative changes to the Defence Act, and did not come into effect until October 1939. Dennis, Peter, Grey, Jeffrey, Morris, Ewan, Prior, Robin, Bou, the Oxford Companion to Australian Military History. Australia in the War of 1939–1945
28.
Conscription in Australia
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Conscription in Australia, or mandatory military service also known as national service, has a controversial history dating back to the first years of nationhood. Australia currently only has provision for conscription during times of war, the legislation did not allow soldiers to be conscripted for overseas service. This legislation was passed through the support of the Protectionist Party. John Barrett, in his study of boyhood conscription, Falling In, noted, since universal was a misnomer, about half that number were exempted from training, or perhaps never registered, reducing the group to 175,000. Under Labor prime minister Billy Hughes, full conscription for overseas service was attempted during WWI through two plebiscites, the first plebiscite was held on 28 October 1916 and narrowly rejected conscription with a margin of 49% for and 51% against. A second plebiscite was held on 20 December 1917 and defeated by a greater margin, the question put to Australians was, Are you in favour of the proposal of the Commonwealth Government for reinforcing the Commonwealth Forces overseas. After the failure of the first plebiscite, Billy Hughes left the Australian Labor Party parliamentary caucus, the remainder of the Labor Party, under their new leader Frank Tudor, then expelled Hughes and all who had followed him. Following the split, Labor stayed out of office for ten years, H. Coombe of the Daily Herald. The young John Curtin, at the time a member of the Victorian Socialist Party, was also arrested, anti-conscriptionist publications, were seized by government censors in police raids. Other notable opponents to Conscription included the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne Daniel Mannix, the Queensland Labor Premier Thomas Ryan, Vida Goldstein, most trade unions actively opposed conscription. The County Cork born Archbishop Mannix stated that Ireland had been wronged by Great Britain than Belgium had been by Germany. Many people thought positively of conscription as a sign of loyalty to Britain, however, trade unions feared that their members might be replaced by cheaper foreign or female labour and opposed conscription. Some groups argued that the war was immoral, and it was unjust to force people to fight. The conscription issue deeply divided Australia with large meetings held both for and against, the womens vote was seen as important with large womens meetings and campaign information from both sides aimed at women voters. The campaigning for the first plebiscite was launched by Hughes at a huge meeting at the Sydney Town Hall where he outlined the Governments proposals. This was followed by a huge meeting at the Melbourne Town Hall on 21 September. An anti-conscription stop work meeting called by five trade unions held on the Yarra Bank mid-week on 4 October attracted 15,000 people and it was passed on 21 September 1916 and mandatory registration and enrolment commenced while the first plebiscite campaign was underway. By 5 October The Age reported that of 11607 men examined,4581 were found fit, the Age noted, in the article Influence of the IWW, that the great bulk of the opposition to conscription is centred in Victoria
29.
1st Royal New South Wales Lancers
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The 1st Royal New South Wales Lancers was an Australian Army light cavalry regiment. The unit subsequently served during the Second World War as the 1st Armoured Regiment equipped with Matilda tanks, fighting the Japanese in New Guinea and Borneo. The Lancers were reformed after the Second World War in 1948 as a formation in the Citizens Military Forces known as the 1st Armoured Regiment. A half squadron of the Regiment had been in Great Britain where they participated in the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, when war was declared they were transported to South Africa. The new regiment was raised mainly from volunteers of the 7th Australian Light Horse, upon establishment, the men from the 7th ALH formed the bulk of Regimental Headquarters, and A and B Squadrons, while AIF volunteers made up the remainder of the new unit. Among them were veterans of the New South Wales Lancers who had fought in South Africa, serving in the part-time Citizens Force after the war, the Lancers were designated as successors to the 1st Light Horse Regiment, and they consequently inherited the former units battle honours. The regiment continued as the 1st Light Horse Regiment until 1929, in 1929, universal service ended, and the unit was linked with the 21st Light Horse to become the 1st/21st Light Horse in the wake of the Great Depression. In 1935, the regiment received the prefix Royal, while the 1st and 21st Light Horse were uncoupled the following year, the unit was subsequently converted into a motorised machine-gun regiment, and was renamed the 1st Light Horse Regiment. This force was known as the Second Australian Imperial Force, assigned to the 2/2nd Machine Gun Battalion, they took part in the fighting in the Mediterranean theatre. In December 1941 the regiment became the 1st Machine Gun Regiment and was given its first operational role securing the northern Newcastle beaches as part of the Newcastle Covering Force, in March 1942, the regiment was again renamed, being converted to the 1st Motor Regiment. This change was short lived however, and it was changed again in May to the 1st Tank Battalion, becoming part of the 3rd Army Tank Brigade, equipped with Matilda tanks. In 1943 the unit part of the 4th Armoured Brigade and was designated as an AIF unit. The unit was withdrawn to Australia in mid-1944. On 1 June 1944, the unit was renamed the 1st Armoured Regiment, the unit then spent the next year in training, and during this time it was based at Southport, Queensland. In May 1945, it took part in the landings at Balikpapan in support of the 7th Division. The landings took place on 1 July 1945 and had been preceded by bombing and shelling by Australian and US air. With the fighting coming to a conclusion however, tank operations ceased on 24 July, in total, casualties suffered by the regiment during the war included 14 dead. Following the end of the war the Australian Army was demobilised, in 1948, the Citizens Military Forces was re-raised, albeit on a reduced establishment of two divisions
30.
Battle of Romani
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The Battle of Romani was the last ground attack of the Central Powers on the Suez Canal at the beginning of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign during the First World War. The battle was fought between 3 and 5 August 1916 near the Egyptian town of Romani and the site of ancient Pelusium on the Sinai Peninsula,23 miles east of the Suez Canal. The pursuit by the Anzac Mounted Division which ended at Bir el Abd on 12 August began the Sinai, the construction of the railway and a water pipeline soon enabled an infantry division to join the light horse and mounted rifle brigades at Romani. During the heat of summer, regular mounted patrols and reconnaissance were carried out from their base at Romani, on 19 July, the advance of a large German, Austrian and Ottoman force across the northern Sinai was reported. From 20 July until the battle began, the Australian 1st, during the night of 3/4 August 1916, the advancing force including the German Pasha I formation and the Ottoman 3rd Infantry Division launched an attack from Katia on Romani. Forward troops quickly became engaged with the established by the 1st Light Horse Brigade. During fierce fighting before dawn on 4 August, the Australian light horsemen were forced to slowly retire. At daylight, their line was reinforced by the 2nd Light Horse Brigade, and about mid morning, the 5th Mounted Brigade, together these four brigades of the Anzac Mounted Division, managed to contain and direct the determined attackers into deep sand. Here the attackers came within range of the strongly entrenched 52nd Division defending Romani, coordinated resistance by all these EEF formations, the deep sand, the heat and thirst prevailed, and the German, Austrian and Ottoman advance was checked. Although the attacking force fought strongly to maintain its positions the next morning, the pursuit ended on 12 August, when the German and Ottoman force abandoned their base at Bir el Abd and retreated back to El Arish. At the beginning of the First World War, the Egyptian police controlling the Sinai Peninsula had withdrawn, in February 1915, a German and Ottoman force unsuccessfully attacked the Suez Canal. Minor Ottoman and Bedouin forces operating across the Sinai continued to threaten the canal from March through the Gallipoli Campaign until June, meanwhile, the German and Ottoman Empires supported an uprising by the Senussi on the western frontier of Egypt which began in November 1915. By the end of March or early in April 1916, the British presence in the Sinai was growing,16 miles of track, including sidings, had been laid. Between 21 March and 11 April, the sources at Wady Um Muksheib, Moya Harab. In 1915, they had used by the central group of about 6,000 or 7,000 Ottoman soldiers who moved across the Sinai Desert to attack the Suez Canal at Ismailia. Without these wells and cisterns, the route could no longer be used by large forces. The mounted Yeomanry brigade had been sent to guard the water pipeline, in response to this attack, the British Empire presence in the region doubled. The infantry moved forward to Romani between 11 May and 4 June 1916, a second standard gauge railway line from Romani to Mahamdiyah on the Mediterranean coast was completed by 9 June
31.
Battle of Magdhaba
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The Battle of Magdhaba took place on 23 December 1916 during the Defence of Egypt section of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the First World War. This Egyptian Expeditionary Force victory against the Ottoman Empire garrison also secured the town of El Arish after the Ottoman garrison withdrew. In August 1916, a combined Ottoman and German Empire army had forced to retreat to Bir el Abd. During the following three months the defeated force retired further eastwards to El Arish, while the territory stretching from the Suez Canal was consolidated and garrisoned by the EEF. By December, construction of the infrastructure and supply lines had sufficiently progressed to enable the British advance to recommence, by the following morning a mounted force had reached El Arish to find it abandoned. An Ottoman Army garrison in a defensive position was located at Magdhaba, some 18–30 miles inland to the south east. All of the redoubts were eventually located and captured and the Ottoman defenders surrendered in the late afternoon. At the beginning of the First World War, the Egyptian police who had controlled the Sinai Desert were withdrawn, in February 1915, a German and Ottoman force unsuccessfully attacked the Suez Canal. After the Gallipoli Campaign, a second joint German and Ottoman force again advanced across the desert to threaten the canal and this force was defeated in August at the Battle of Romani, after which the Anzac Mounted Division, also known as the A. & N. Z. The Maghara Hills,50 miles south west of Romani, in the interior of the Sinai Desert, were attacked in mid-October by a British force based on the Suez Canal. Although not captured at the time, all positions were eventually abandoned by their Ottoman garrisons in the face of growing British Empire strength. The British then established garrisons along their lines, which stretched across the Sinai from the Suez Canal. Patrols and reconnaissances were carried out to protect the advance of the railway and water pipeline. These supply lines were marked by stations and sidings, airfields, signal installations. At this time the Egyptian Expeditionary Force had a strength of 156,000 soldiers. Hafir el Auja was linked to Beersheba, Gaza, and northern Palestine by road, if left intact, the Ottoman forces at Magdhaba and Hafir el Auja could seriously threaten the advance of the EEF along the north route towards Southern Palestine. The area of oases which extended from Dueidar,15 miles from Kantara along the Darb es Sultani, along the old caravan route, and on to Salmana 52 miles from Kantara could sustain life. But from Salmana to Bir el Mazar, there was little water, before the British advance to El Arish could begin, the 20 miles stretch without a water supply between El Mazar and El Arish had to be thoroughly explored
32.
Third Battle of Gaza
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Despite having held this line since March 1917, the Ottoman Army was forced to evacuate Gaza and Tel el Khuweilfe during the night of 6/7 November. Only Sheria held out for most of the 7 November before it too was captured, entrenched defences approximately on the lines held at the end of the second battle were strengthened, and both sides undertook regular mounted reconnaissances into the open eastern flank. In late June, Allenby replaced General Archibald Murray as commander of the EEF, at about the same time, the Ottoman Fourth Army was also restructured. The Ottoman defenders were reinforced at this time, and both sides carried out training while manning the front lines and monitoring the open eastern flank. Prior to the Second Battle of Gaza, the town had developed into a strong modern fortress, with entrenchments, wire entanglements. A series of works, mutually supported by artillery, machine guns and rifles. Beginning on 27 October, the EEF began a heavy and almost continuous bombardment of Gaza, yet these attacks were only partially successful due to the strength of the garrison. The bombardment of Gaza intensified on 6 November and during the night of 6/7 November successful attacks were launched on several trench systems, on the morning of 7 November, Gaza was found to have been evacuated during the night. The Gaza to Beersheba line subsequently collapsed and the Ottoman Seventh and Eighth Armies were forced into retreat, following several battles during the pursuit, the EEF captured Jerusalem on 9 December 1917. Gaza was a modern fortress, well entrenched and wired, with good observation. These defences which were too strong for an attack were extended eastwards by a series of field works to four miles from Beersheba. These fortifications were between 1,500 to 2,000 yards apart, each supported by fire from artillery, machine guns. As the troops of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force began to concentrate in preparation for their attacks, the EEF assumed their opponents thought there were still six infantry divisions in the Gaza area and one in the eastern sector towards Beersheba. However, according to Falls, here is evidence that the were fairly accurately informed of the British dispositions. On 28 October, they knew the camps at Khan Yunis and Rafa were empty and they estimated more cavalry at Asluj and Khalasa than was actually there. The loss of Beersheba on 31 October stunned the Yildirim Army Group commander, the Beersheba garrison withdrew either to the Ottoman defences around Tel es Sheria or northwards to Tel el Khuweilfe to defend the Hebron road. Here a considerable force, including all available units, was deployed in the Kuweilfeh area to stop a threatened advance up the Hebron road to Jerusalem about fifty miles to the north. The Turkish line had been back on its left
33.
Battle of Mughar Ridge
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Fighting between the advancing Egyptian Expeditionary Force and the retreating Yildirim Army Group, occurred after the Battle of Beersheba and the Third Battle of Gaza. Operations occurred over an area north of the Gaza to Beersheba line. Strong Ottoman Army positions from Gaza to the foothills of the Judean Hills had successfully held out against British Empire forces for a week after the Ottoman army was defeated at Beersheba. The XXI Corps and Desert Mounted Corps attacked the Ottoman Eighth Army on a front from the Judean foothills across the Mediterranean coastal plain from 10 to 14 November. Junction Station was captured and the Ottoman railway link with Jerusalem was cut, as a result of this victory the Ottoman Eighth Army withdrew behind the Nahr el Auja and their Seventh Army withdrew toward Jerusalem. During this time the Ottoman Army was able to withdraw in good order, the delay caused by these rearguards may have seriously compromised the British Empire advance as there was not much time to conclude military engagements in southern Palestine. With the rains the temperatures which were currently hot during the day, in 1917 the rains began on 19 November just as the infantry began their advance into the Judean Hills. The strength of the Seventh and Eighth Ottoman Armies, before the attack at Beersheba on 31 October, was estimated to have been 45,000 rifles,1,500 sabres and 300 guns and this force had been made up of the Seventh Armys incomplete III Corps. The III Corps 24th Infantry Division was at Kauwukah and its 27th Infantry Division was at Beersheba and its 3rd Cavalry Division, as well as the 16th, 19th, and 24th Infantry Divisions were also in the area to the east of the Gaza–Beersheba line. The Seventh Army was commanded by Fevzi Çakmak, the Eighth Armys XXII Corps was based at Gaza while its XX Corps was based at Sheria in the centre of the Gaza–Beersheba line. Supporting these two corps had two reserve divisions, the 7th and 19th Infantry Divisions. The Eighth Army was commanded by Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein, the Desert Mounted Corps consisted of the Anzac Mounted Division, the Australian Mounted Division and the Yeomanry Mounted Division. The 52nd Division and 75th Division formed part of Lieutenant General Edward Bulfins XXI Corps, on the coast the 52nd Division was fought a fierce action after crossing the Wadi el Hesi on the coast north of Gaza. By the morning of 8 November, two brigades had crossed the Wadi el Hesi near its mouth and, despite some opposition established themselves on the sand dunes to the north towards Askelon. Sausage Ridge, on their right stretched from Burberah to Deir Sineid, was held in strength, as the ridge covered the road. During the afternoon the 155th Brigade moved to attack Sausage Ridge, but it was threatened by a counterattack on the left forcing, when the 156th Brigade arrived from Sh. Ajlin on the Wadi el Hesi, the 157th Brigade attacked the southern portion of the ridge and they lost this precarious position four times to fierce Ottoman counterattacks, before strongly attacking and throwing the defenders off the ridge by 21,00. The two attacking brigades lost 700 men in this action, the divisions other brigades were regrouping after the fierce fighting at the Wadi Hesi
34.
Battle of Jerusalem
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Before Jerusalem could be secured, two battles were recognised by the British as being fought in the Judean Hills to the north and east of the Hebron–Junction Station line. These were the Battle of Nebi Samwill from 17 to 24 November, as a result of these victories, British Empire forces captured Jerusalem and established a new strategically strong fortified line. This line ran from well to the north of Jaffa on the plain, across the Judean Hills to Bireh north of Jerusalem. With the capture of the road from Beersheba to Jerusalem via Hebron and Bethlehem, together with substantial Ottoman territory south of Jerusalem, the city was secured. On 11 December, General Edmund Allenby entered the Old City on foot through the Jaffa Gate instead of horse or vehicles to show respect for the holy city and he was the first Christian in many centuries to control Jerusalem, a city held holy by three great religions. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Lloyd George described the capture as a Christmas present for the British people, the battle was a great morale boost for the British Empire. The British Empire victory forced von Falkenhayn to withdraw his Seventh and Eighth Armies, as the Ottoman III Corps reached Jerusalem via the Hebron road after its defeat at Beersheba, it was ordered to develop defences around Jerusalem. This corps held the city while the XX Corps retreated from Junction Station into the Judean Hills towards Jerusalem, as they retired the XX Corps left strong rearguards to stop or slow the British advance. Time was needed to construct defences and for reorganisation of the depleted and disorganised Seventh Army, when they arrived in the city XX Corps took over responsibility for Jerusalems defences, while III Corps continued to move northwards from Jerusalem along the Nablus road. The British War Cabinet had cautioned Allenby not to commit to any operations that might not be sustainable in the term if the strength of British forces in the area could not be maintained. Their concerns were possibly linked to a proposal published on 8 November by the new Russian Bolshevik government between Russia and Germany. The document, scheduled to be signed on 3 March 1918, would constitute a separate peace treaty, all German forces on the eastern front could then turn their attention to fighting British and French forces elsewhere. His front-line forces had been fighting and advancing for a period fighting many miles from their bases and were tired and depleted. Now 35 miles from the railhead at Deir el Belah, Allenbys troops did not have a line of defensive entrenchments behind which they could stop a concerted push by these two Ottoman armies, such a counterattack could well see them driven back to Gaza and Beersheba. He decided to quickly attack Fevzi Pashas Ottoman 7th Army in the Judean Hills with the hope of capturing Jerusalem and this would keep pressure on this army in the hope of denying them time to complete their reorganisation, dig deep trenches or worst of all, counterattack. The planned advance into the Judean Hills would rely heavily on the ability of the lines of communications to keep the front line supplied with food, water. Between Gaza and Beit Hanun the road was unsealed and deep in making it difficult for lorries to proceed. Supplies were also shipped by sea and landed at Wadi Sukereir, lack of infrastructure at Jaffa meant all supplies brought via ship had to be cross-loaded onto surf boats, which then had to be unloaded on the beaches
35.
Capture of Jericho
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The Capture of Jericho occurred between 19 and 21 February 1918 to the east of Jerusalem beginning the Occupation of the Jordan Valley during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War. Fighting took place in an area bordered by the Bethlehem–Nablus road in the west, the Jordan River in the east, here a British Empire force attacked Ottoman positions, forcing them back to Jericho and eventually across the Jordan River. Winter rains put an end to campaigning after the advance from the Gaza–Beersheba line to the capture of Jerusalem in December 1917 and this lull in the fighting offered the opportunity for the captured territories to be consolidated. General Edmund Allenbys initial strategic plans focused on his right flank. If attacked with large forces, he could be outflanked by an attack from the east—unlike his left flank which rested securely on the Mediterranean Sea to the west. His aim was to capture the territory east of Jerusalem stretching to the Dead Sea, the area was garrisoned by Ottoman troops entrenched on hill-tops which the British infantry, Australian light horse and New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigades attacked. The advance from Beersheba came to a halt in December, on 14 December Allenby reported to the War Cabinet that the rainy season would prevent any further operations, after Jerusalem was secured, for at least two months. He wrote, I cant feed them, with certainty, and even now, Allenby wrote on 25 January, I want to extend my right, to include Jericho and the N of the Dead Sea. This advance would remove the more serious threat to his right by pushing all the enemy across the Jordan River and it would also prevent raids into the country to the west of the Dead Sea and provide a narrow starting point for operations against the Hedjaz Railway. General Jan Christiaan Smuts, a member of the Imperial War Cabinet, was sent to confer with Allenby regarding the implementation of a French qualification to the War Offices Joint Note No, 12—that no troops from France could be redeployed to the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. The country on the side of the Judean Hills falls into the Jordan Valley in a confused mass of rocky ridges. All the main wadis run from west to east, often with high banks, while the tributaries joined from all directions, breaking up the ridges making the hills. Most tracks ran along the beds of ravines where progress had to be made in single file. Further north at Jebel Kuruntul the mountains end abruptly in a 1, sometimes the attacking parties had to haul themselves and each other over abrupt cliffs to be in a position to fight at close quarters at the top. Yet, in early Spring, the area was covered by wild flowers including cyclamen, anemones, poppies, between 3,000 and 5,000 Ottoman troops from the 26th and 53rd Infantry Divisions XX Corps defended the area on the western edge of the Jordan Valley. They garrisoned a series of hill-tops from Tubk el Kaneiterah, near the Dead Sea, here the XX Corps was entrenched at Ras um Deisis and El Muntar Iraq Ibrahim astride the Jericho road. There was also at least one regiment in the Jordan Valley near the Wadi el Auja, by February, logistics had sufficiently developed to support the advance towards Jericho, and Allenby ordered Lieutenant General Philip Chetwode to capture Jericho as soon as the weather cleared. They were to move towards the Wadi el Auja, which flowed eastwards into the Jordan River, the plan was for the 60th Division to advance to Mukhmas eight miles north-north-east of Jerusalem, then advance forward six miles east through El Muntar Iraq Ibrahim and Ras et Tawil
36.
First Transjordan attack on Amman
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During the First Transjordan attack large incursions into Ottoman territory occurred. Firstly the Passage of the Jordan River, was successfully captured between 21 and 23 March, followed by the first occupation of Es Salt in the hills of Moab between 24 and 25 March. The Jordan Valley would continue to be occupied by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force through the summer until the middle of September 1918 when the Battle of Megiddo began. The Capture of Jericho was also a precursor, along with the Action of Tell Asur. In March, after unsuccessful attempts by a British Empire force of Australian, British and New Zealand swimmers. Meanwhile, the columns continued marching to the north and south of the infantry column on to Amman 30 miles east of Jericho on the high plateau. Amman was strongly defended by the Ottoman Army and the blown up sections of the railway were quickly replaced to allow reinforcements to continue to arrive and strengthen the defenders. British Empire infantry and artillery reinforcements were sent forward from Es Salt. The only territorial gains following the offensive were the establishment of bridgeheads on the side of the river. The War Office promised General Edmund Allenby, Commander in Chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, on 7 March 1918, the promised reinforcements were reduced to just one Indian division and four batteries of 6-inch howitzers from Mesopotamia due to arrive by the end of May. Also promised were enough railway track to complete the doubling of the railway to Rafa and a single line beyond Haifa. By July it was hoped that 152 locomotives and 3,245 wagons would be available, with a promise of more if required, railway personnel and labour to run this railway were to come from Mesopotamia. General Jan Christiaan Smuts, a member of the Imperial War Cabinet, had sent to Palestine in early February to confer with Allenby regarding the implementation of Joint Note No.12. Without reliable supplies and reinforcements Bedouin and Arab forces in the region could be encouraged to attack and rebel against these weakened Ottoman Empire forces and lengthen Allenbys right. Allenby continues, If I could destroy 10 or 15 miles of rail and some bridges, a necessary prerequisite to the first Transjordan attack was a broadening of the EEF base to better support the proposed attack on the Hejaz Railway at Amman. During the Battle of Tell Asur between 8 and 12 March 1918, the front line in the Judean Hills was pushed further north giving a stronger base for attacks eastwards. Although it was not published in the Middle East at the time, the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine depended on a compliant Palestinian population and the British were eager to conciliate wherever possible. Orders were issued to be friendly to the Arab tribes from east of the Jordan River
37.
Distinguished Service Order
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Instituted on 6 September 1886 by Queen Victoria in a Royal Warrant published in the The London Gazette on 9 November, the first DSOs awarded were dated 25 November 1886. It is typically awarded to officers ranked major or higher, during the First World War,8,981 DSOs were awarded, each award being announced in The London Gazette. The order was established for rewarding individual instances of meritorious or distinguished service in war, after 1 January 1917, commanders in the field were instructed to recommend this award only for those serving under fire. Prior to 1943, the order could be only to someone mentioned in despatches. The order is given to officers in command, above the rank of captain. A number of junior officers were awarded the DSO. In 1942, the award of the DSO was extended to officers of the Merchant Navy who had performed acts of gallantry while under enemy attack. Since 1993, its award has been restricted solely to distinguished service and it has, however, despite some very fierce campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, remained an officers-only award and it has yet to be awarded to a non-commissioned rank. Recipients of the order are known as Companions of the Distinguished Service Order. They are entitled to use the post-nominal letters DSO, one or more gold medal bars ornamented by the Crown may be issued to DSO holders performing further acts of such leadership which would have merited award of the DSO. The bars are worn as clasps on the ribbon of the original award. The medal signifying its award is a cross, enamelled white. In the centre, within a wreath of laurel, enamelled green, is the crown in gold upon a red enamelled background. On the reverse is the royal cypher in gold upon a red enamelled ground, within a wreath of laurel, a ring at the top of the medal attaches to a ring at the bottom of a gold suspension bar, ornamented with laurel. At the top of the ribbon is a gold bar ornamented with laurel. The red ribbon is 1.125 in wide with blue edges. The medals are issued unnamed but some recipients have had their names engraved on the reverse of the suspension bar, the bar for an additional award is plain gold with an Imperial Crown in the centre. The back of the bar is engraved with the year of the award, a rosette is worn on the ribbon in undress uniform to signify the award of a bar
38.
Volunteer Officers' Decoration
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The Volunteer Officers Decoration, post-nominal letters VD, was instituted in 1892 as an award for long and meritorious service by officers of the United Kingdoms Volunteer Force. Award of the decoration was discontinued in the United Kingdom when it was superseded by the Territorial Decoration in 1908, the Volunteer Officers Decoration, post-nominal letters VD and colloquially known as the Volunteer Decoration, was instituted by Queen Victorias Royal Warrant on 25 July 1892. The decoration could be awarded to efficient and thoroughly capable officers of proven capacity for long, the qualifying period of service was twenty years. Half of any service in the Regular Army also counted towards qualification. The award did not confer any individual precedence, but entitled the recipient to use the post-nominal letters VD, the Volunteer Officers Decoration could also be conferred upon any of the Princes of the Royal Family of Great Britain and Ireland. A separate new decoration was instituted, the Volunteer Officers Decoration for India and this decoration was similar in design to the Volunteer Officers Decoration, but bore the Royal Cypher VRI instead of VR. Even so, some Crown Dependencies awarded the Volunteer Officers Decoration instead of the Colonial version, the decoration is an oval skeletal design and was struck in silver, with parts of the obverse in silver-gilt. It is 43 millimetres high and 35.5 millimetres wide with a ring suspender formed of silver wire, obverse The obverse is an oak leaf wreath in silver, tied with gold, with the Royal Cypher below the Royal Crown, both in gold, in the centre. Reverse The reverse is plain with the hallmarks impressed at the bottom, the decoration was awarded unnamed, but was frequently unofficially engraved in various styles. Ribbon The ribbon is green and 1 1⁄2 inches in width and is suspended from a silver bar-brooch decorated with an oak leaf pattern. Three versions of the decoration were struck, the original version of 1892 had the Royal Cypher VR of Queen Victoria below the Royal Crown in the centre. It appears to have continued to be awarded in some Crown Dependencies until 1910, the King George V version, with his Royal Cypher GVR, was introduced after his succession to the throne in 1910. This version appears to have only been awarded in some Crown Dependencies, instead of the Volunteer Officers Decoration for India, the Volunteer Force was the precursor of the Territorial Force, which was established in the United Kingdom in 1908. At the same time, award of the Volunteer Officers Decoration was discontinued in the United Kingdom, the Volunteer Officers Decoration continued to be awarded in some Crown Dependencies until the Efficiency Decoration was instituted in September 1930. Bermuda was the last Dependency to award the decoration in 1930
39.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
40.
OCLC
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The Online Computer Library Center is a US-based nonprofit cooperative organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the worlds information and reducing information costs. It was founded in 1967 as the Ohio College Library Center, OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the largest online public access catalog in the world. OCLC is funded mainly by the fees that libraries have to pay for its services, the group first met on July 5,1967 on the campus of the Ohio State University to sign the articles of incorporation for the nonprofit organization. The group hired Frederick G. Kilgour, a former Yale University medical school librarian, Kilgour wished to merge the latest information storage and retrieval system of the time, the computer, with the oldest, the library. The goal of network and database was to bring libraries together to cooperatively keep track of the worlds information in order to best serve researchers and scholars. The first library to do online cataloging through OCLC was the Alden Library at Ohio University on August 26,1971 and this was the first occurrence of online cataloging by any library worldwide. Membership in OCLC is based on use of services and contribution of data, between 1967 and 1977, OCLC membership was limited to institutions in Ohio, but in 1978, a new governance structure was established that allowed institutions from other states to join. In 2002, the structure was again modified to accommodate participation from outside the United States. As OCLC expanded services in the United States outside of Ohio, it relied on establishing strategic partnerships with networks, organizations that provided training, support, by 2008, there were 15 independent United States regional service providers. OCLC networks played a key role in OCLC governance, with networks electing delegates to serve on OCLC Members Council, in early 2009, OCLC negotiated new contracts with the former networks and opened a centralized support center. OCLC provides bibliographic, abstract and full-text information to anyone, OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat—the OCLC Online Union Catalog, the largest online public access catalog in the world. WorldCat has holding records from public and private libraries worldwide. org, in October 2005, the OCLC technical staff began a wiki project, WikiD, allowing readers to add commentary and structured-field information associated with any WorldCat record. The Online Computer Library Center acquired the trademark and copyrights associated with the Dewey Decimal Classification System when it bought Forest Press in 1988, a browser for books with their Dewey Decimal Classifications was available until July 2013, it was replaced by the Classify Service. S. The reference management service QuestionPoint provides libraries with tools to communicate with users and this around-the-clock reference service is provided by a cooperative of participating global libraries. OCLC has produced cards for members since 1971 with its shared online catalog. OCLC commercially sells software, e. g. CONTENTdm for managing digital collections, OCLC has been conducting research for the library community for more than 30 years. In accordance with its mission, OCLC makes its research outcomes known through various publications and these publications, including journal articles, reports, newsletters, and presentations, are available through the organizations website. The most recent publications are displayed first, and all archived resources, membership Reports – A number of significant reports on topics ranging from virtual reference in libraries to perceptions about library funding
41.
Henry Gullett
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In 1908 he travelled to London as a journalist and in 1914 published a handbook on Australian rural life, The Opportunity in Australia to promote emigration to Australia. He married Elizabeth Penelope Frater in 1912 and they had a son, in 1915, Gullett became an official Australian correspondent on the Western Front. In July 1916, he joined the first Australian Imperial Force as a gunner, from early 1917 he worked with Charles Bean in collecting war records and later with the AIF as a war correspondent in Palestine. In 1919, he was director of the Australian War Museum. He started writing volume VII of The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918, covering the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, which he completed in 1922. In 1920, Billy Hughes appointed him head of the Australian Immigration Bureau, Gullett failed to win a seat at the 1922 election, but he won the seat of Division of Henty for the Nationalist Party in 1925 election and held it for the rest of his life. He was Minister for Trade and Customs from November 1928 in the third Bruce Ministry until its fall in October 1929. As a result, he was made Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in January 1933, in October 1934, he became minister without portfolio, with responsibility for trade treaties, in the second Lyons Ministry and he negotiated several trade agreements. He resigned in March 1937 over disagreements with Cabinet over trade policy, in April 1939, Gullett became Minister for External Affairs in the first Menzies Ministry and Minister for Information from September 1939. He was killed in the Canberra air disaster in August 1940 and he was the father of Jo Gullett, who was Member for Henty from 1946 to 1955. He was also the grandfather of the actress Penne Hackforth-Jones
42.
1st Light Horse Brigade
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The 1st Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the First Australian Imperial Force, which served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. In 1914, the formed part of the New Zealand and Australian Division but during the Gallipoli Campaign served in the Australian. The brigades personnel were drawn from the states of New South Wales, Queensland and this Regiment was recruited exclusively from the various New South Wales militia regiments. A Squadron was recruited mainly from 5th Australian Light Horse and 6th Australian Light Horse, B Squadron came mainly from 7th Australian Light Horse and 11th Australian Light Horse. C Squadron was recruited mainly from 9th Australian Light Horse, during the course of the war, this Territorial connection was maintained regarding the reinforcements. This regiment was recruited exclusively from the various Queensland militia regiments and this regiment was a composite formation recruited from various militia regiments with South Australia providing two squadrons and Tasmania one squadron. Initially, each regiment within the brigade raised their own machine gun section consisted of two troops and two Maxim machine guns. This situation remained from 1914 until in July 1916, when all regimental machine gun Sections were excised and brigaded to form a Machine Gun Squadron, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Machine Gun Sections were combined to form the 1st Machine Gun Squadron under the command of the Brigade. The 1st Light Horse Machine Gun Squadron was armed with 12 machine guns, the 1st Signal Troop was composed exclusively from the Victorian Militia 10th and 21st Signal Troops. The 1st Light Horse Brigade Train was primarily recruited around Brisbane, after Gallipoli, this unit underwent some name changes from 1st Supply Section in February 1916 to 32nd Australian Army Service Corps Company in February 1917. Prior to 1916, each regiment maintained their own Veterinary Section, after the formation of the Anzac Mounted Division in 1916, the three individual Regimental Veterinary sections were brigaded to form the 6th Mobile Veterinary Section. After the formation of the Anzac Mounted Division in 1916, artillery support was provided by British batteries, the first British battery attached to the brigade was the Leicestershire Battery of III Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery. This battery remained until the re-organisation of February 1918 when the Leicester Battery was replaced by the Somerset Battery of XVIII Brigade, the Training Regiment contained three squadrons, each duplicating the regiments within the brigade to whom it supplied the reinforcements. The 1st Light Horse Double Squadron was formed in Egypt on 6 July 1916 from 1st Light Horse Brigade reinforcements and it was officered and administered by the 1st Light Horse Brigade. The Double Squadron was broken up in November 1916 with its personnel being transferred to the newly formed Imperial Camel Corps battalions, the brigade embarked to Egypt during the months of September and October 1914. In Egypt, additional training was undertaken at the Mena Camp, subsequent embarkations of reinforcements occurred as and when sufficient recruits were gathered and prepared for movement to a war theatre. 2nd Light Horse Brigade 3rd Light Horse Brigade 4th Light Horse Brigade 5th Light Horse Brigade Citations Bibliography Grey, Jeffrey, bill the Bastard, The Story of Australias Greatest War Horse. Sydney, New South Wales, Allen & Unwin, Australian Light Horse Studies Centre 1st Australian Light Horse Brigade Australian National Archives – Kitchener Report,1910
