1.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century, rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the states formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland. It was an era of economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance. Outward migration was heavy to the colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States. A brief period of limited independence for Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British governments fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with the French resulted in the decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801, however, King George III was bitterly opposed to any such Emancipation and succeeded in defeating his governments attempts to introduce it. When the Treaty of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized, in May 1803, war was declared again. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the Continental System and this policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. Frances population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of the British Isles, Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from the European mainland would end its economic hegemony. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent, after Napoleons surrender and exile to the island of Elba, peace appeared to have returned. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Blucher defeated Napoleon once, simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes, arming hostile Indians and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States. The war was little noticed in Britain, which could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, American frigates inflicted a series of defeats on the Royal Navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe
2.
Infantry
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Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice
3.
Brigade
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A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment, two or more brigades may constitute a division. Brigades formed into divisions are usually infantry or armored, in addition to combat units, they may include combat support units or sub-units, such as artillery and engineers, and logistic units or sub-units. Historically, such brigades have sometimes been called brigade-groups, on operations, a brigade may comprise both organic elements and attached elements, including some temporarily attached for a specific task. Brigades may also be specialized and comprise battalions of a branch, for example cavalry, mechanized, armored, artillery, air defence, aviation, engineers. Some brigades are classified as independent or separate and operate independently from the division structure. The typical NATO standard brigade consists of approximately 3,200 to 5,500 troops, however, in Switzerland and Austria, the numbers could go as high as 11,000 troops. The Soviet Union, its forerunners and successors, mostly use regiment instead of brigade, a brigades commander is commonly a major general, brigadier general, brigadier or colonel. In some armies, the commander is rated as a General Officer, the brigade commander has a self-contained headquarters and staff. Some brigades may also have a deputy commander, the headquarters has a nucleus of staff officers and support that can vary in size depending on the type of brigade. On operations, additional specialist elements may be attached, the headquarters will usually have its own communications unit. In some gendarmerie forces, brigades are the organizational unit. The brigade as a military unit came about starting in the 15th century when the British army, as such a field army became larger, the number of subordinate commanders became unmanageable for the officer in general command of said army, usually a major general, to effectively command. In order to streamline command relationships, as well as effect some modicum of control, especially in regard to combined arms operations. The terms origin is found in two French roots, which together, meant roughly those who fight, the so-called brigada was a well-mixed unit, comprising infantry, cavalry and normally also artillery, designated for a special task. The size of such brigada ranged from a company of up to two regiments. The brigada was the forerunner of the battalion task force, battle group. The brigade was improved as a unit by the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus
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.
Battle of Arras (1917)
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The Battle of Arras was a British offensive on the Western Front during World War I. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the Western Front, the British achieved the longest advance since trench warfare had begun, surpassing the record set by the French Sixth Army on 1 July 1916. The British advance slowed in the few days and the German defence recovered. The battle became a stalemate for both sides and by the end of the battle the British Third and First armies had suffered about 160,000 casualties. For much of the war, the armies on the Western Front were at a stalemate. The Allied objective from early 1915 was to break through the German defences into the ground beyond. The British attack at Arras was part of the French Nivelle Offensive, the aim of the French offensive was to breathrough the German defences in forty-eight hours. At Arras the British were to re-capture Vimy Ridge, dominating the plain of Douai to the east, advance towards Cambrai, the British effort was a relatively broad front assault between Vimy in the north-west and Bullecourt to the south-east. After a long preparatory bombardment, the Canadian Corps]] of the First Army in the north fought Battle of Vimy Ridge and took the ridge. The Third Army in the centre advanced astride the Scarpe River and in the south, the British armies then engaged in a series of small-scale operations to consolidate the new positions. Although these battles were successful in achieving limited aims, they were costly successes. When the battle ended on 16 May, British Empire troops had made significant advances but had been unable to achieve a breakthrough. At the beginning of 1917, the British and French were still searching for a way to achieve a breakthrough on the Western Front. Both battles consumed enormous quantities of resources while achieving virtually no strategic gains on the battlefield, the mid-war years were momentous times. Governing politicians in Paris and London were under pressure from the press. The casualties from the battles of Gallipoli, the Somme and Verdun had been high, British Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, resigned in early December 1916 and was succeeded by David Lloyd George. The United States Congress finally declared war on Imperial Germany on 6 April 1917, in March, the German army in the west, withdrew to the Hindenburg line in Operation Alberich, which negated the tactical assumptions underlying the plans for the French offensive. Until French troops advanced to compensate during the Battles of Arras, they encountered no German troops in the assault sector, the French government desperately needed a victory to avoid civil unrest but the British were wary of proceeding, in view of the rapidly changing tactical situation
6.
Battle of Passchendaele
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The Battle of Passchendaele was a major campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire. Passchendaele lay on the last ridge east of Ypres,5 miles from a junction at Roulers. The next stage of the Allied plan was an advance to Thourout–Couckelaere, to close the German-controlled railway running through Roulers, further operations and a British supporting attack along the Belgian coast from Nieuwpoort, combined with Operation Hush, were to have reached Bruges and then the Dutch frontier. The campaign ended in November, when the Canadian Corps captured Passchendaele, apart from attacks in December. In 1918, the Battle of the Lys and the Fifth Battle of Ypres were fought before the Allies occupied the Belgian coast, a campaign in Flanders was controversial in 1917 and has remained so. The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, opposed the offensive, field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, commanding the British Expeditionary Force, did not receive approval for the Flanders operation from the War Cabinet until 25 July. Belgian independence had been recognised in the Treaty of London which created a sovereign, the German invasion of Belgium on 4 August 1914, in violation of Article VII of the treaty, was the reason given by the British government for declaring war on Germany. British military operations in Belgium began with the arrival of the British Expeditionary Force at Mons on 22 August. On 10 October, Lieutenant-General Erich von Falkenhayn, the Chief of the German General Staff, ordered an attack towards Dunkirk and Calais, followed by a turn south to gain a decisive victory. On 16 October, the Belgians and some French reinforcements began the defence of western Belgium, when the offensive failed, Falkenhayn ordered the capture of Ypres to gain a local advantage. By 18 November, the First Battle of Ypres ended in failure, large British offensive operations in Flanders were not possible in 1915, due to the consequent lack of resources. The Germans conducted their own Flanders offensive at the Second Battle of Ypres, Sir Douglas Haig succeeded Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the BEF on 19 December 1915. A week after his appointment, Haig met Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon, Haig preferred an advance from Ypres, to bypass the flooded area around the Yser and the coast, before a coastal attack was attempted, to clear the coast to the Dutch border. Other operations were begun by the British to regain territory or to evict the Germans from ground overlooking their positions, engagements took place on 12 February at Boesinghe and on 14 February at Hooge and Sanctuary Wood. There were actions from 14–15 February and 1–4 March at The Bluff,27 March –16 April at the St. Eloi Craters, in January 1917, the Second Army held the line in Flanders from Laventie to Boesinghe with eleven divisions and up to two in reserve. There was much trench mortaring, mining and raiding by both sides and from January to May, the Second Army had 20,000 casualties. In May, reinforcements began moving to Flanders from the south, in January 1916, General Herbert Plumer, the Second Army commander, began to plan offensives against Messines Ridge, Lille and Houthulst Forest. General Henry Rawlinson was also ordered to plan an attack from the Ypres Salient on 4 February, planning continued but the Battle of Verdun, at meetings in November 1916, Haig, the French commander-in-chief Joseph Joffre and the other Allies met at Chantilly
7.
Spring Offensive
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The Germans had realised that their only remaining chance of victory was to defeat the Allies before the overwhelming human and matériel resources of the United States could be fully deployed. They also had the advantage in numbers afforded by the nearly 50 divisions freed by the Russian surrender. There were four German offensives, codenamed Michael, Georgette, Gneisenau, once this was achieved, it was hoped that the French would seek armistice terms. The other offensives were subsidiary to Michael and were designed to divert Allied forces from the offensive on the Somme. No clear objective was established before the start of the offensives and once the operations were underway, the Allies concentrated their main forces in the essential areas, while leaving strategically worthless ground, devastated by years of combat, lightly defended. The Germans were unable to move supplies and reinforcements fast enough to maintain their advance, the fast-moving stormtroopers leading the attack could not carry enough food and ammunition to sustain themselves for long and all the German offensives petered out, in part through lack of supplies. By late April 1918, the danger of a German breakthrough had passed, the German Army had suffered heavy casualties and now occupied ground of dubious value which would prove impossible to hold with such depleted units. In August 1918, the Allies began a counter-offensive with the support of 1–2 million fresh American troops and using new artillery techniques, the German government and Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, nominally the Chief of the General Staff, were not party to the planning process. Eventually it was decided to launch Operation Michael near Saint-Quentin, at the hinge between the French and British armies, and strike north to Arras, the main reason for the choice was tactical expediency. The ground on this sector of the front would dry out much sooner after the winter and spring rains and it was also a line of least resistance as the British and French armies were weak in the sector. However, these remained only secondary and weaker operations, subordinate to Michael, the constant changing of operational targets once the offensive was underway gave the impression the German command had no coherent strategic goal. Any capture of an important strategic objective, such as the Channel ports, the success of Operation Michael led German infantry to advance too far from its supply bases and railheads. The stormtrooper units leading the advance carried supplies for only a few days, the advance was slowed by supply shortages, which gave Allied commanders more time to reinforce the threatened areas and to slow the advance still more. The stormtrooper tactic was to attack and disrupt enemy headquarters, artillery units, each major formation creamed off its best and fittest soldiers into storm units, several complete divisions were formed from these elite units. The Germans also failed to arm their forces with a mobile force, such as cavalry. This tactical error meant the infantry had to keep up a tempo of advance. Notwithstanding the effectiveness of the stormtroopers, the following German infantry often made attacks in large traditional waves, to enable the initial breakthrough, Lieutenant Colonel Georg Bruchmüller, a German artillery officer, developed the Feuerwalze, an effective and economical creeping barrage scheme. There were three phases, first, a bombardment on the enemys command and communications, then, destruction of their artillery
8.
Battle of Amiens (1918)
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Allied forces advanced over 11 kilometres on the first day, one of the greatest advances of the war, with Henry Rawlinsons British Fourth Army playing the decisive role. The battle is notable for its effects on both sides morale and the large number of surrendering German forces. This led Erich Ludendorff to describe the first day of the battle as the day of the German Army. On 21 March 1918, the German Army had launched Operation Michael and these offensives were intended to translate this advantage into victory. Operation Michael was intended to defeat the right wing of the British Expeditionary Force, a final effort was aimed at the town of Amiens, a vital railway junction, but the advance had been halted at Villers-Bretonneux by British and Australian troops on 4 April. By the end of the Marne-Rheims offensive, the German manpower advantage had been spent and their supplies, the Allied generalissimo, General Ferdinand Foch, ordered a counteroffensive which led to the Second Battle of the Marne, after which victory he was promoted to Marshal of France. The Germans, recognising their untenable position, withdrew from the Marne to the north, Foch now tried to move the Allies back onto the offensive. Foch disclosed his plan on 23 July 1918, following the Franco-American victory at the Battle of Soissons, the plan called for reducing the Saint-Mihiel salient and freeing the railway lines that ran through Amiens from German shellfire. The commander of the British Expeditionary Force, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, when the British retreat had ended in April, the headquarters of the British Fourth Army under General Sir Henry Rawlinson had taken over the front astride the Somme. On 30 May, all the Australian infantry divisions were united under the corps HQ, Rawlinson had submitted Monashs proposals to Haig in July and Haig had forwarded them to Foch. At a meeting on 24 July, Foch agreed to the plan but insisted that the French First Army, Rawlinson opposed this as his and Monashs plans depended on the large-scale use of tanks to achieve surprise, by avoiding a preliminary bombardment. The French First Army lacked tanks and would be forced to bombard the German positions before the advance began. Eventually, it was agreed that the French would participate, and it was also agreed to advance the proposed date of the attack from 10 August to 8 August, to strike the Germans before they had completed their withdrawal from the Marne salient. Rawlinson had already finalised his plans in discussion with his Corps commanders on 21 July, for the first time, the Australians would attack side by side with the Canadian Corps. Both had a reputation for aggressive and innovative tactics and a record of success over the past two years. The tactical methods had been tested by the Australians in a local counter-attack at the Battle of Hamel on 4 July, the German defenders of Hamel were deeply dug in, and their position commanded a very wide field of fire. Similar positions had resisted capture for two months in the Battle of the Somme, the Australians had used surprise rather than weight at Hamel. The artillery had opened only at the moment the infantry and tanks advanced
9.
Hundred Days Offensive
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The offensive essentially pushed the Germans out of France, forcing them to retreat beyond the Hindenburg Line, and was followed by an armistice. The term Hundred Days Offensive does not refer to a battle or unified strategy. The Spring Offensive of the German Army on the Western Front had begun on 21 March 1918 with Operation Michael and had petered out by July, the Germans had advanced to the river Marne but failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough. When Operation Marne-Rheims ended in July, the Allied supreme commander Ferdinand Foch ordered a counter-offensive which became known as the Second Battle of the Marne, the Germans, recognising their untenable position, withdrew from the Marne towards the north. For this victory, Foch was granted the title Marshal of France, Foch considered the time had arrived for the Allies to return to the offensive. The American Expeditionary Force, was present in France in large numbers, pershing was keen to use his army in an independent role. The Somme was chosen as a site for the offensive for several reasons. As in 1916, it marked the boundary between the BEF and the French armies, in this case defined by the Amiens–Roye road, also the Picardy countryside provided a good surface for tanks, which was not the case in Flanders. Finally, the German defences, manned by the German 2nd Army, were relatively weak, the Battle of Amiens opened on 8 August 1918, with an attack by more than 10 Allied divisions—Australian, Canadian, British and French forces—with more than 500 tanks. Through careful preparation, the Allies achieved surprise, the attack, led by the British Fourth Army, broke through the German lines and tanks attacked German rear positions, sowing panic and confusion. By the end of the day, a gap 15 mi wide had been created in the German line south of the Somme, the Allies had taken 17,000 prisoners and 330 guns. Total German losses were estimated to be 30,000 men, while the Allies had suffered about 6,500 killed, wounded, the collapse in German morale led Erich Ludendorff to dub it the Black Day of the German Army. The advance continued for three days but without the spectacular results of 8 August, since the rapid advance outran the supporting artillery. During those three days, the Allies had managed to gain 12 mi but most of that had occurred on the first day, as a result of the Germans adding reinforcements. On 10 August, the Germans began to pull out of the salient that they had managed to occupy during Operation Michael in March, haig refused and prepared to launch a fresh offensive by the Third Army at Albert, which opened on 21 August. The offensive was a success, pushing the German 2nd Army back over a 34 mi front, Albert was captured on 22 August. The attack was widened on the south, by the French Tenth Army starting the Second Battle of Noyon on 17 August, capturing the town of Noyon on 29 August. On 26 August, to the north of the initial attack, with the front line broken, a number of battles took place as the Allies forced the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line
10.
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
11.
Operation Fortitude
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Operation Fortitude was the code name for a World War II military deception employed by the Allied nations as part of an overall deception strategy during the build-up to the 1944 Normandy landings. Fortitude was divided into two sub-plans, North and South, with the aim of misleading the German high command as to the location of the imminent invasion, both Fortitude plans involved the creation of phantom field armies which threatened Norway and Pas de Calais. Fortitude was one of the elements of Operation Bodyguard, the overall Allied deception stratagem for the Normandy landings. Bodyguards principal objective was to ensure the Germans would not increase troop presence in Normandy by promoting the appearance that the Allied forces would attack in other locations, after the invasion the plan was to delay movement of German reserves to the Normandy beachhead and prevent a potentially disastrous counter-attack. Fortitudes objectives were to promote alternative targets of Norway and Calais, the planning of Operation Fortitude came under the auspices of the London Controlling Section, a secret body set up to manage Allied deception strategy during the war. However, the execution of each fell to the various theatre commanders. A special section, Ops, was established at SHAEF to handle the operation, the LCS retained responsibility for what was called Special Means, the use of diplomatic channels and double-agents. Fortitude was split into two parts, North and South, both with similar aims, Fortitude North was intended to convince the German high command that the Allies, staging out of Scotland, would attempt an invasion of occupied Norway. Fortitude South employed the tactic, with the apparent objective being Pas de Calais. Fortitude planning was ostensibly the responsibility of Noel Wild and his Ops staff, however, in practice the work was shared between Wild and the heads of the LCS and B1a. Work began in December 1943, at first under the codename Mespot, prime Minister Winston Churchill judged this unsuitable and so the Fortitude name was adopted on February 18. Wilds first version of the Fortitude South plan was produced in early January 1943, the Fortitude South plan would be implemented, at an operational level, by the invasion force—the 21st Army Group under the command of General Bernard Montgomery. This presented a problem, in the form of Colonel David Strangeways, Strangeways had, in the opinion of Opss Christopher Harmer, the same arrogance as his commanding officer. More important, he held a low opinion of the London establishment of the old clubs of Ops. Dissatisfied with the Fortitude South outline he, in the words of Harmer, Strangeways criticisms highlighted that the plan aimed to cover the Allies real intentions, rather than create a realistic threat to Calais. This was not the issue, and Strangeways was not the only one to notice them. On January 25, Montgomerys Chief of Staff Francis de Guingand sent a letter to the deception planners asking them, amongst other things and it was almost certainly sent at the behest of Strangeways. With these criticisms in hand, Wild produced his final draft for Fortitude South, in this revised plan, issued on January 30 and approved by the Allied chiefs on 18 February, fifty divisions would be positioned in Southern England to attack Pas de Calais
12.
Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg
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Freyberg served as an officer in the British Army during the First World War. He liked to be in the thick of the action — Winston Churchill called him the Salamander due to his ability to pass through fire unharmed. During the Second World War, he commanded the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Battle of Crete, the North African Campaign, by the end of the Second World War, Freyberg had spent altogether ten and a half years fighting the Germans. Freyberg, born in Richmond, Surrey to James Freyberg and his second wife and he moved to New Zealand with his parents at the age of two. He attended Wellington College from 1897 to 1904, a strong swimmer, he won the New Zealand 100-yards championship in 1906 and 1910. On 22 May 1911, Freyberg gained formal registration as a dentist and he worked as an assistant dentist in Morrinsville and later practised in Hamilton and in Levin. While in Morrinsville he was asked to take up a subalternship in the local Territorial Army unit, Freyberg left New Zealand in March 1914. A1942 Life magazine article claims that Freyberg went to San Francisco and Mexico around this time, and was a captain under Pancho Villa during the Mexican Revolution. Upon hearing of the outbreak of war in Europe in August 1914, he travelled to Britain via Los Angeles and New York, to money to cross the United States. Immediately on the outbreak of the First World War Freyberg went to England, G. S. Richardson arranged for him to join the 7th “Hood” Battalion of the Royal Naval Brigade, and he was on the Belgian front in September 1914. In April 1915 Freyberg became involved in the Dardanelles campaign, on the night of 24 April, during the initial landings by Allied troops following the unsuccessful naval attempt to force the straits by sea, Freyberg volunteered to swim ashore in the Gulf of Saros. Once ashore, he began lighting flares so as to distract the defending Turkish forces from the real landings taking place at Gallipoli, despite coming under heavy Turkish fire, he returned safely from this outing, and for his action he received the Distinguished Service Order. He received serious wounds on several occasions and left the peninsula when his division evacuated in January 1916, in May 1916 Freyberg was transferred to the British Army as a captain in the Queens Regiment. However, he remained with the Hood Battalion as a temporary major. When reinforced the next morning, he attacked and captured a fortified village. Although wounded twice more, the time severely, Freyberg refused to leave the line until he had issued final instructions. During his time on the Western Front Freyberg continued to lead by example. His bold leadership had a cost, Freyberg received nine wounds during his service in France and he was awarded a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George the same year
13.
Victoria Cross
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The Victoria Cross is the highest award of the United Kingdom honours system. It is awarded for gallantry in the face of the enemy to members of the British armed forces and it was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857 and these investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War, since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Only 15 medals,11 to members of the British Army, the traditional explanation of the source of the metal from which the medals are struck is that it derives from Russian cannon captured at the Siege of Sevastopol. Some research has suggested a variety of origins for the material, research has established that the metal for most of the medals made since December 1914 came from two Chinese cannons that were captured from the Russians in 1855. Owing to its rarity, the VC is highly prized and the medal has fetched over £400,000 at auction, a number of public and private collections are devoted to the Victoria Cross. The private collection of Lord Ashcroft, amassed since 1986, contains over one-tenth of all VCs awarded, following a 2008 donation to the Imperial War Museum, the Ashcroft collection went on public display alongside the museums Victoria and George Cross collection in November 2010. These are unique awards of honours system, recommended, assessed, gazetted and presented by each country. In 1854, after 39 years of peace, Britain found itself fighting a war against Russia. The Crimean War was one of the first wars with modern reporting, before the Crimean War, there was no official standardised system for recognition of gallantry within the British armed forces. This structure was limited, in practice awards of the Order of the Bath were confined to officers of field rank. Brevet promotions or Mentions in Despatches were largely confined to those who were under the notice of the commanders in the field. Other European countries had awards that did not discriminate against class or rank, France awarded the Légion dhonneur and The Netherlands gave the Order of William. There was a feeling among the public and in the Royal Court that a new award was needed to recognise incidents of gallantry that were unconnected with a mans lengthy or meritorious service. Queen Victoria issued a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual on 29 January 1856 that officially constituted the VC, the order was backdated to 1854 to recognise acts of valour during the Crimean War. Queen Victoria had instructed the War Office to strike a new medal that would not recognise birth or class, the medal was meant to be a simple decoration that would be highly prized and eagerly sought after by those in the military services
14.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
15.
Western Front (World War I)
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The Western Front or Western Theater was the main theatre of war during World War I. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, the tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne. Following the Race to the Sea, both sides dug in along a line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France. This line remained unchanged for most of the war. Between 1915 and 1917 there were several major offensives along this front, the attacks employed massive artillery bombardments and massed infantry advances. However, a combination of entrenchments, machine gun emplacements, barbed wire, as a result, no significant advances were made. In an effort to break the deadlock, this front saw the introduction of new technology, including poison gas, aircraft. But it was only after the adoption of improved tactics that some degree of mobility was restored, the German Armys Spring Offensive of 1918 was made possible by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that marked the end of the conflict on the Eastern Front. In spite of the stagnant nature of this front, this theatre would prove decisive. The terms of peace were agreed upon with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, belgiums neutrality was guaranteed by Britain under the 1839 Treaty of London, this caused Britain to join the war at the expiration of its ultimatum at 11 pm GMT on 4 August. Armies under German generals Alexander von Kluck and Karl von Bülow attacked Belgium on 4 August 1914, Luxembourg had been occupied without opposition on 2 August. The first battle in Belgium was the Siege of Liège, which lasted from 5–16 August, Liège was well fortified and surprised the German Army under von Bülow with its level of resistance. German heavy artillery was able to demolish the main forts within a few days. Following the fall of Liège, most of the Belgian field army retreated to Antwerp, leaving the garrison of Namur isolated, with the Belgian capital, Brussels, although the German army bypassed Antwerp, it remained a threat to their flank. Another siege followed at Namur, lasting from about 20–23 August, for their part, the French had five armies deployed on their borders. The pre-war French offensive plan, Plan XVII, was intended to capture Alsace-Lorraine following the outbreak of hostilities, on 7 August the VII Corps attacked Alsace with its objectives being to capture Mulhouse and Colmar. The main offensive was launched on 14 August with 1st and 2nd Armies attacking toward Sarrebourg-Morhange in Lorraine, in keeping with the Schlieffen Plan, the Germans withdrew slowly while inflicting severe losses upon the French. The French advanced the 3rd and 4th Armies toward the Saar River and attempted to capture Saarburg, attacking Briey and Neufchateau, before being driven back
16.
167th (1st London) Brigade
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The 167th Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Territorial Army that saw active service in both the First and Second World Wars. The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 introduced a Mobilisation Scheme for Volunteer units, in peacetime these brigades provided a structure for collective training. The West London Brigade was one of the formations organised at this time, Brigade Headquarters was at 93 Cornwall Gardens in Kensington and the commander was retired Lt-Gen Lord Abinger. The assembly point for the brigade was at Caterham Barracks, the Brigade of Guards depot conveniently situated for the London Defence Positions along the North Downs, Brigade HQ was at Friars House, New Broad Street. On the outbreak of war in August 1914 the brigade commander was Colonel The Earl of Lucan, the division was mobilised on the outbreak of the Great War in early August 1914 and, when asked to serve overseas, most of the men of the division volunteered. Those who didnt, together with the recruits, were formed into 2nd Line battalions, the 2/1st London Brigade, part of 2/1st London Division. The battalions adopted the prefix 1/ to distinguish them from the 2nd Line battalions, in early February 1916, however, the War Office authorised the 1st London Division to be reformed, now to be known as 56th Division. The First World War finally came to an end with the signing of the Armistice of 11 November 1918, by the end of the war the 56th Division had suffered nearly 35,000 casualties. Therefore, the 1/3rd Londons were, in early January, transferred to 173rd Brigade of 58th Division where they absorbed the 2/3rd Battalion and were renamed the 3rd Battalion once again, in February the 1/1st Londons absorbed the 2/1st Battalion and were renamed the 1st Battalion. The brigade had its headquarters in Birdcage Walk, London, at the Regimental Headquarters of the Scots Guards, in 1922 they dropped the battalion from their title becoming, for example, 1st City of London Regiment. Throughout the second half of the 1930s there was a need to increase the defences of the United Kingdom, particularly so for London. They were replaced in the brigade by the 10th London Regiment from the 169th Infantry Brigade, the battalion was previously known as the 10th Battalion, London Regiment. After the 47th Division was disbanded the 56th Division was redesignated as the London Division, in 1938, after most of its battalions were posted away or converted to other units, the London Regiment ceased to exist and was disbanded. In the same year the 10th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers was transferred to the Royal Artillery, becoming 10th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, again in 1938 the division was converted and reorganised as a motorised infantry division. Like most of the rest of the British Army after the events of Dunkirk, the division spent most of its time in an anti-invasion role training to repel an expected German invasion. The brigade left for Egypt on 19 March 1943 and covered the journey by road, arriving there on 19 April 1943, and was ordered to Tunisia. However, the 167th Brigade had been blooded, and all three battalions had suffered over 100 casualties each, unable to see service in Operation Husky, the brigade was destined to see almost two years service mountain warfare in the Italian Campaign and began training in amphibious warfare. Now under command of Lieutenant General Mark Wayne Clark, the youngest three-star general in the U. S. Army, and his U. S
17.
56th (London) Infantry Division
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The 56th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army, which served under several different titles and designations. It was raised in 1908 upon the creation of the Territorial Force, the division, now the 56th Division, served in the trenches of the Western Front during the Great War and was disbanded shortly after the end of the end of the war. Now reformed as part of the Territorial Army, the division saw service in the Second World War in Tunisia. The division was disbanded again in April 1946 and reformed as an armoured formation, the 1st London Division was created on the formation of the Territorial Force of the British Army in 1908. Its pre-war formation was, 1st London Infantry Brigade 1st Battalion, London Regiment, 3rd Battalion, London Regiment, T. F. 4th Battalion, London Regiment, T. F. 2nd London Infantry Brigade 5th Battalion, London Regiment, T. F. 6th Battalion, London Regiment, T. F. 7th Battalion, London Regiment, T. F 8th Battalion, London Regiment, T. F. 3rd London Infantry Brigade 9th Battalion, London Regiment, T. F. 10th Battalion, London Regiment, T. F. 11th Battalion, London Regiment, support Units 1st City of London Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, T. F. 2nd County of London Brigade, R. F. A, T. F 3rd County of London Brigade, T. F. 4th County of London Brigade, R. F. A. 1st London Field Company Royal Engineers, T. F, 2nd County of London Yeomanry, T. F. For the remainder of the war, the Division saw action on the Western Front, taking part in all of the major campaigns and it was demobilised in May 1919. F. T. F. 56th Divisional Ammunition Column, T. F, after the 47th Division, the London Division absorbed many of the units from the former 47th Division. At the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 and it was reorganised as an infantry division in June 1940 and renamed the 56th Infantry Division on 18 November 1940. The divisional insignia during the Second World War was changed to an outline of a cat in a red background. The cat stood for Dick Whittingtons cat, a symbol of London and he was replaced by Major-General Douglas Graham. The division sat out the Allied invasion of Sicily and moved to Italy in September 1943, during this time the 201st Guards Brigade joined the division, to replace the 168th Brigade which returned to the division in October, although the 201st remained attached until January 1944. The 56th Division then crossed the Volturno Line in October and took part in the fighting around the Bernhardt Line, during the fighting of 1944 and 1945, some of the infantry battalions that suffered heavy casualties were disbanded, to make up for an acute manpower shortage. The division also took part in Operation Grapeshot, the Allied offensive which ended the war in Italy, after crossing the Volturno in October 1943, the division entered the town of Calvi Vecchia. Their attempts to radio the Fifth Army to cancel a planned bombing on the town failed, as a last resort, the 56th released an American homing pigeon, named G. I
18.
London Regiment
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The London Regiment is an infantry regiment in the British Army, part of the Army Reserve. However, the regiment was raised again in 1993 and continues an existence in the present day and it was first formed in 1908 in order to regiment the 26 Volunteer Force battalions in the newly formed County of London, each battalion having a distinctive uniform. Now part of the Territorial Force, the London Regiment expanded to 88 battalions in the First World War, for example, the 10th London Regiment was transferred to the corps of the Royal Berkshire Regiment, becoming the 5th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment. The London Regiment was reformed in 1992 through the regimentation of most of the successors of the original regiment. It is the reserve infantry battalion in London District and consists of an HQ. They are, HQ Company A Company B Company C D Company F Company Two companies of the Royal Green Jackets, F Company and G Company, formed part of the regiment between 1998 and 2004. In May 2004 Messines company, which was made up from an HQ, following the restructuring of the British Army in 2004, it was announced that the Guards Division would gain a TA battalion. This saw the London Regiment retaining its name and multi-badge structure, the two RGJ companies were transferred to the Royal Rifle Volunteers in preparation for the formation of The Rifles in 2007. The London battalions formed the London District, which consisted principally of the 1st, shortly after the outbreak of World War II, the formation of Reserve or 2nd-Line units for each existing Territorial Force unit was authorised. They were distinguished by a 2/ prefix from their parent unit, initially these were formed from men who had not volunteered for overseas service, and the recruits who were flooding in. Later they were mobilised for service in their own right. Unusually, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th London Battalions each sent three battalions overseas and formed 4th Line reserve units, thus the 26 pre-war battalions of the London regiment became 82 battalions. In June 1915, men of TF units who had volunteered for Home service were formed into composite Provisional Battalions for coast defence. For example, the 100th Provisional Battalion was formed from Home Service men of 173rd Brigade, nine provisional battalions were associated with the London Regiment and Honourable Artillery Company. British Army units from 1945 on Great War Forum London Regiment The Long, Long Trail Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth - archive site
19.
Volunteer Force
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The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated with the British Army after the Childers Reforms in 1881, most of the regiments of the present Territorial Army Infantry, Artillery, Engineers and Signals units are directly descended from Volunteer Force units. During the Crimean War, the War Office had been forced to send militia, the situation had been complicated by the fact that both auxiliary forces were under the control of the Home Office until 1855. Tensions rose between the United Kingdom and France following the Orsini affair, an attempt on Emperor Napoleon III on 14 January 1858. It emerged that the assassin, Felice Orsini had travelled to England to have the bombs used in the attack manufactured in Birmingham. On 29 April 1859 war broke out between France and the Austrian Empire, and there were fears that Britain might be caught up in a wider European conflict. Volunteer corps were to be raised under the provisions of the Volunteer Act 1804, alfred Tennyson captured the spirit of the time by publishing his poem Riflemen Form in The Times on 9 May 1859. As a basis for the units, many communities had rifle clubs for the enjoyment of the sport of shooting, Corps were only to be formed on the recommendation of the county’s lord-lieutenant. The force was liable to be called out “in case of invasion, or of appearance of an enemy in force on the coast, or in case of rebellion arising in either of these emergencies. ”While under arms volunteers were subject to military law and were entitled to be billeted. Members were not permitted to quit the force during actual military service, members were to be returned as “effective” if they had attended eight days drill and exercise in four months, or 24 days within a year. The members of the corps were to provide their own arms and equipment, Volunteers were also permitted to choose the design of their uniforms, subject to the lord-lieutenant’s approval. Although volunteers were to pay for their own firearms, they were to be provided under the superintendence of the War Office, the number of officers and private men in each county and corps was to be settled by the war office, based on the lord-lieutenant’s recommendation. Originally corps were to consist of approximately 100 all ranks under the command of a captain, the purpose of the rifle corps was to harass the invading enemy’s flanks, while artillery corps were to man coastal guns and forts. Although not mentioned in the letter, engineer corps were also formed. Stretcher-bearers attached to the rifle corps subsequently formed volunteer medical detachments affiliated to the Army Medical Corps, in a handful of counties, units of light horse or mounted rifles were formed. Two volunteer units whose services had been accepted by Queen Victoria during the early 1850s became the two senior rifle corps of the new force and these were the 1st Rifle Volunteer Corps who became the 1st Devonshire Rifle Volunteers and the Victoria Rifles who became the 1st Middlesex Rifle Volunteers. An order of precedence was established for other counties, depending upon the date of establishment of the first corps in the county. The most senior artillery corps was the 1st Northumberland formed at Tynemouth on August 2,1859, some also compared the initiative, small unit tactics and marksmanship principles of rifle regiments of the Napoleonic Wars compared with the linear tactics of the standing army
20.
Royal Fusiliers
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The Royal Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881, the Royal Fusiliers Monument, a memorial dedicated to the Royal Fusiliers who died during the First World War, stands on Holborn in the City of London. Throughout its long existence, the regiment served in wars and conflicts, including the Second Boer War, the First World War. It was formed as a regiment in 1685 by George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth. Most regiments were equipped with matchlock muskets at the time, and this was because their task was to be an escort for the artillery, for which matchlocks would have carried the risk of igniting the open-topped barrels of gunpowder. The regiment went to Holland in February 1689 for service in the Nine Years War and fought at the Battle of Walcourt in August 1689 before returning home in 1690. It embarked for Flanders later that year and fought at the Battle of Steenkerque in August 1692 and the Battle of Landen in July 1693 and the Siege of Namur in summer 1695 before returning home. The regiment took part in an expedition captured the town of Rota in Spain in spring 1702. The regiment became the 7th Regiment of Foot in 1751, although a variety of spellings of the word fusilier persisted until the 1780s, the Royal Fusiliers was sent to Canada in April 1773. The regiment was broken up into detachments that served at Montreal, Quebec, Fort Chambly, in the face of the American invasion of Canada in 1775/76, most of the regiment was forced to surrender. The 80 man garrison of Fort Chambly attempted to resist a 400-man Rebel force and this is where the regiment lost its first set of colours. Captain Owens company of the 7th, along with a handful of recruits, the men taken prisoner during the defence of Canada were exchanged in British held New York City in late 1776. Here, the regiment was rebuilt and garrisoned New York and New Jersey, in October 1777, the 7th participated in the successful assaults on Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery. In December 1777, the regiment reinforced the garrison of Philadelphia, during the British evacuation back to New York City, the regiment participated in the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778. The 7th participated in Tryons raid in July 1779, in April 1780, the Royal Fusiliers took part in the capture of Charleston. Once Charleston fell, the regiment helped garrison the city, the Royal Fusiliers was in the first line during the battle, Tarleton was defeated and the regiments colours were lost in the heat of the battle. A contingent from the regiment fought through North Carolina participating in the Battle of Guilford Court House in March 1781, the regiment returned to England in 1783. The regiment embarked for Holland and saw action at the Battle of Copenhagen in August 1807 during the Gunboat War and it was then sent to the West Indies and took part in the capture of Martinique in 1809
21.
Malta
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Malta, officially known as the Republic of Malta, is a Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 80 km south of Italy,284 km east of Tunisia, the country covers just over 316 km2, with a population of just under 450,000, making it one of the worlds smallest and most densely populated countries. The capital of Malta is Valletta, which at 0.8 km2, is the smallest national capital in the European Union, Malta has one national language, which is Maltese, and English as an official language. John, French and British, have ruled the islands, King George VI of the United Kingdom awarded the George Cross to Malta in 1942 for the countrys bravery in the Second World War. The George Cross continues to appear on Maltas national flag, the country became a republic in 1974, and although no longer a Commonwealth realm, remains a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations. Malta was admitted to the United Nations in 1964 and to the European Union in 2004, in 2008, Catholicism is the official religion in Malta. The origin of the term Malta is uncertain, and the modern-day variation derives from the Maltese language, the most common etymology is that the word Malta derives from the Greek word μέλι, meli, honey. The ancient Greeks called the island Μελίτη meaning honey-sweet, possibly due to Maltas unique production of honey, an endemic species of bee lives on the island. The Romans went on to call the island Melita, which can be considered either as a latinisation of the Greek Μελίτη or the adaptation of the Doric Greek pronunciation of the same word Μελίτα. Another conjecture suggests that the word Malta comes from the Phoenician word Maleth a haven or port in reference to Maltas many bays, few other etymological mentions appear in classical literature, with the term Malta appearing in its present form in the Antonine Itinerary. The extinction of the hippos and dwarf elephants has been linked to the earliest arrival of humans on Malta. Prehistoric farming settlements dating to the Early Neolithic period were discovered in areas and also in caves. The Sicani were the tribe known to have inhabited the island at this time and are generally regarded as being closely related to the Iberians. Pottery from the Għar Dalam phase is similar to found in Agrigento. A culture of megalithis temple builders then either supplanted or arose from this early period, the temples have distinctive architecture, typically a complex trefoil design, and were used from 4000 to 2500 BCE. Animal bones and a knife found behind an altar stone suggest that temple rituals included animal sacrifice. Tentative information suggests that the sacrifices were made to the goddess of fertility, the culture apparently disappeared from the Maltese Islands around 2500 BC. Archaeologists speculate that the builders fell victim to famine or disease
22.
Tadworth
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Tadworth is a large suburban village in Surrey in the south-east of the Epsom Downs, part of the North Downs. It forms part of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead, at the 2001 census Tadworth had a population of 9,522. They were mostly constructed and used during the Middle Iron Age, two of these are south of the two windmills south of Tadworth. They are well-marked, nearly square inclosures, with a mound and ditch and they are east of the road from Betchworth to Banstead. The third is west of the road, and very close to Walton village and it is larger than the others, less well-preserved, and with a gateway to the north-west. Roman tiles may be found in or near all three and these inclosures have been commonly referred to as the Roman Camps on Walton Heath, but it is not obvious that they were camps. Tadworth appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Tadeorde and Tadorne and it was held partly by Halsart from William de Braiose and partly by Radulf from the Bishop of Bayeux. Its domesday assets were,2 hides and it had 5 ploughs, woodland worth 4 hogs. Manorialism operated for the ensuing centuries, during this period the listed mills were erected in the south. In 1273 John and James, sons of William Haunsard lord of North Tadworth Manor, gave a carucate of land,2 acres of pasture,12 acres of wood, and 20s. Rent in North Tadworth and Little Bookham to the Priory of St Mary Overy — they held until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. From the Crown to Thomas Walson and Robert Moys, eventually the manor was given up to the latter entirely, at Henry Moyss death the manor passed to his five sisters and co-heirs. In 1659 4⁄5 of the owners finally released their income and rights to Christopher Buckle of Burgh, only in 1663 did he acquire the remaining fifth. Since that time North Tadworth has been held as part of the manor of Burgh in Banstead parish, as with the other manor, this manor was held by a priory until Henry VIIIs Dissolution of the Monasteries. Henry VIII wanted this land as his own so attached it to the wide, not all joined up, in 1553 Edward VI granted it in fee to Edward Harendon, also seen as Herrenden, whose children relinquished it from one to the other by fine. Later an Act of Parliament enabled a fee tail to be cleared off to sell the manor for lack of descendants of John Fleetwood who earlier acquired it, selling it to William Mabbot. Mabbot died at Tadworth Court in 1764, having devised his property to his wife, Lady Rhoda Delves and daughter Rhoda, who with Edward Beaver sold the Court to Sir Henry Harpur in 1773. Robert Hudson and later his widow held from 1808 to c.1860 followed by Lord Chief Justice Sir Charles Russell, created later first Baron Russell of Killowen and held from 1900 by C. D. Morton
23.
Surrey
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Surrey is a county in the south east of England. It shares borders with Kent to the east, East Sussex to the south-east, West Sussex to the south, Hampshire to the west and south-west, Surrey County Council sits extraterritorially at Kingston upon Thames, administered as part of Greater London since 1965. With a resident population of 1.1 million, Surrey is the most densely populated and third most populated county in the South East region, after Kent, the London boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark, Wandsworth, and parts of Lewisham and Bromley were in Surrey until 1889. The boroughs of Croydon, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Sutton and Richmond upon Thames south of the River Thames were part of Surrey until 1965, when they too were absorbed into Greater London. In the same year, the county was extended north of the Thames by the addition of Spelthorne, due to this expansion, modern Surrey also borders on the London boroughs of Hounslow and Hillingdon. It has the highest GDP per capita of any English county, Surrey is divided in two by the chalk ridge of the North Downs, running east-west. To the north of the Downs the land is mostly flat, the geology of this area is dominated by London Clay in the east, Bagshot Sands in the west and alluvial deposits along the rivers. Much of Surrey is in the Metropolitan Green Belt and it contains a good deal of mature woodland. Among its many notable beauty spots are Box Hill, Leith Hill, Frensham Ponds, Newlands Corner and Puttenham & Crooksbury Commons. Surrey is the most wooded county in England, with 22. 4% coverage compared to an average of 11. 8%. Box Hill has the oldest untouched area of woodland in the UK. Surrey also contains Englands principal concentration of lowland heath, on soils in the west of the county. Agriculture not being intensive, there are many commons and access lands, together with a network of footpaths and bridleways including the North Downs Way. Accordingly, Surrey provides much in the way of leisure activities. The highest elevation in Surrey is Leith Hill near Dorking and it is either 293,294 or 295 metres above sea level and is the second highest point in southeastern England after Walbury Hill 297 metres in West Berkshire. Surrey has a population of approximately 1.1 million people and its largest town is Guildford, with a population of 66,773, Woking comes a close second with 62,796. They are followed by Ewell with 39,994 people and Camberley with 30,155, towns of between 25,000 and 30,000 inhabitants are Ashford, Epsom, Farnham, Staines and Redhill. Guildford is the county town, although the county administration was moved to Newington in 1791
24.
Order of the Bath
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The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the medieval ceremony for appointing a knight. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath, George I erected the Knights of the Bath into a regular Military Order. Prior to 1815, the order had only a class, Knight Companion. Recipients of the Order are now usually senior officers or senior civil servants. Commonwealth citizens who are not subjects of the Queen and foreign nationals may be made Honorary Members, in the Middle Ages, knighthood was often conferred with elaborate ceremonies. These usually involved the taking a bath during which he was instructed in the duties of knighthood by more senior knights. He was then put to bed to dry, clothed in a special robe, he was led with music to the chapel where he spent the night in a vigil. At dawn he made confession and attended Mass, then retired to his bed to sleep until it was fully daylight, in the early medieval period the difference seems to have been that the full ceremonies were used for men from more prominent families. Knights Bachelor continued to be created with the form of ceremony. The last occasion on which Knights of the Bath were created was the coronation of Charles II in 1661. From at least 1625, and possibly from the reign of James I, Knights of the Bath were using the motto Tria iuncta in uno, and wearing as a badge three crowns within a plain gold oval. These were both adopted by the Order of the Bath, a similar design of badge is still worn by members of the Civil Division. Their symbolism however is not entirely clear, the three joined in one may be a reference to the kingdoms of England, Scotland and either France or Ireland, which were held by English and, later, British monarchs. This would correspond to the three crowns in the badge, another explanation of the motto is that it refers to the Holy Trinity. The prime mover in the establishment of the Order of the Bath was John Anstis, Garter King of Arms, the Court remained the centre of the political world. The King was limited in that he had to choose Ministers who could command a majority in Parliament, the leader of an administration still had to command the Kings personal confidence and approval. A strong following in Parliament depended on being able to supply places, pensions, the attraction of the new Order for Walpole was that it would provide a source of such favours to strengthen his political position
25.
Second Boer War
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The Second Boer War, usually known as the Boer War and also at the time as the South African War, started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. Great Britain defeated two Boer states in South Africa, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, Britain was aided by its Cape Colony, Colony of Natal and some native African allies. The British war effort was supported by volunteers from the British Empire, including Southern Africa, the Australian colonies, Canada, India. All other nations were neutral, but public opinion in them was largely hostile to Britain, inside Britain and its Empire there also was significant opposition to the Second Boer War. The British were overconfident and under-prepared, the Boers were very well armed and struck first, besieging Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking in early 1900, and winning important battles at Colenso, Magersfontein and Stormberg. Staggered, the British brought in numbers of soldiers and fought back. General Redvers Buller was replaced by Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener and they relieved the three besieged cities, and invaded the two Boer republics in late 1900. The onward marches of the British Army were so overwhelming that the Boers did not fight staged battles in defense of their homeland, the British quickly seized control of all of the Orange Free State and Transvaal, as the civilian leadership went into hiding or exile. In conventional terms, the war was over, Britain officially annexed the two countries in 1900, and called a khaki election to give the government another six years of power in London. However, the Boers refused to surrender and they reverted to guerrilla warfare under new generals Louis Botha, Jan Smuts, Christiaan de Wet and Koos de la Rey. Two more years of attacks and quick escapes followed. As guerrillas without uniforms, the Boer fighters easily blended into the farmlands, which provided hiding places, supplies, the British solution was to set up complex nets of block houses, strong points, and barbed wire fences, partitioning off the entire conquered territory. The civilian farmers were relocated into concentration camps, where very large proportions died of disease, especially the children, then the British mounted infantry units systematically tracked down the highly mobile Boer guerrilla units. The battles at this stage were small operations with few combat casualties The war ended in surrender, the British successfully won over the Boer leaders, who now gave full support to the new political system. Both former republics were incorporated into the Union of South Africa in 1910, the conflict is commonly referred to as simply the Boer War, since the First Boer War is much less well known. Boer was the term for Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans descended from the Dutch East India Companys original settlers at the Cape of Good Hope. It is officially called the South African War and it is known as the Anglo-Boer War among some South Africans. In Afrikaans it may be called the Anglo-Boereoorlog, Tweede Boereoorlog, in South Africa it is officially called the South African War
26.
Prisoner of war
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A prisoner of war is a person, whether combatant or non-combatant, who is held in custody by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the prisoner of war dates to 1660. The first Roman gladiators were prisoners of war and were named according to their ethnic roots such as Samnite, Thracian, typically, little distinction was made between enemy combatants and enemy civilians, although women and children were more likely to be spared. Sometimes, the purpose of a battle, if not a war, was to capture women, a known as raptio. Typically women had no rights, and were legally as chattel. For this he was eventually canonized, during Childerics siege and blockade of Paris in 464, the nun Geneviève pleaded with the Frankish king for the welfare of prisoners of war and met with a favourable response. Later, Clovis I liberated captives after Genevieve urged him to do so, many French prisoners of war were killed during the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. In the later Middle Ages, a number of religious wars aimed to not only defeat, in Christian Europe, the extermination of heretics was considered desirable. Examples include the 13th century Albigensian Crusade and the Northern Crusades, likewise, the inhabitants of conquered cities were frequently massacred during the Crusades against the Muslims in the 11th and 12th centuries. Noblemen could hope to be ransomed, their families would have to send to their captors large sums of wealth commensurate with the status of the captive. In feudal Japan there was no custom of ransoming prisoners of war, in Termez, on the Oxus, all the people, both men and women, were driven out onto the plain, and divided in accordance with their usual custom, then they were all slain. The Aztecs were constantly at war with neighbouring tribes and groups, for the re-consecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, between 10,000 and 80,400 persons were sacrificed. During the early Muslim conquests, Muslims routinely captured large number of prisoners, aside from those who converted, most were ransomed or enslaved. Christians who were captured during the Crusades, were either killed or sold into slavery if they could not pay a ransom. The freeing of prisoners was highly recommended as a charitable act, there also evolved the right of parole, French for discourse, in which a captured officer surrendered his sword and gave his word as a gentleman in exchange for privileges. If he swore not to escape, he could gain better accommodations, if he swore to cease hostilities against the nation who held him captive, he could be repatriated or exchanged but could not serve against his former captors in a military capacity. Early historical narratives of captured colonial Europeans, including perspectives of literate women captured by the peoples of North America. The writings of Mary Rowlandson, captured in the fighting of King Philips War, are an example
27.
Lancaster, Lancashire
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Lancaster /ˈlæŋkəstər/, or /ˈlæŋˌkæstər/ is a city and the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952, long existing as a commercial, cultural and educational centre, Lancaster is the settlement that gives Lancashire its name. Lancaster was granted city status in 1937 for its association with the crown. With its history based on its port and canal, Lancaster is an ancient settlement, dominated by Lancaster Castle, Lancaster Priory Church and it is also home to the campus-based Lancaster University and a campus of the University of Cumbria. The coin evidence also suggests that the fort was not continuously inhabited in early years. The fort was rebuilt in stone around 102 AD, the fort underwent a few more extensions, and at its largest area it was 9–10 acres. The evidence suggests that the fort remained active into the early 5th century, little is known about Lancaster between the end of Roman rule in Britain in the early 5th century and the Norman Conquest in the late 11th century. Despite a lack of documentation from this period, it is likely that Lancaster was still inhabited, Lancaster was on the fringes of the kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria, and over time control may have changed from one to the other. Archaeological evidence suggests there was a monastery on or near the site of todays Lancaster Priory by the 700s or 800s. For example, an Anglo-Saxon runic cross found at the Priory in 1807, Lancaster was probably one of the numerous monasteries founded under Wilfrid. The founding charter of the Priory, dated 1094, is the first known document which is specific to Lancaster, by this time William had given Lancaster and its surrounding region to Roger de Poitou. This document also suggests that the monastery had been refounded as a church at some point prior to 1066. Lancaster became a borough in 1193 under King Richard I and its first charter, dated 12 June 1193, was from John, Count of Mortain, who later became King of England. Lancaster Castle, partly built in the 13th century and enlarged by Elizabeth I, Lancaster Castle is well known as the site of the Pendle witch trials in 1612. It was said that the court based in the castle sentenced more people to be hanged than any other in the country outside London, earning Lancaster the nickname, Lancaster also figured prominently in the suppression of Catholicism during the reformation with the execution of at least eleven Catholic priests. A memorial to the Lancaster Martyrs is located close to the city centre, the traditional emblem for the House of Lancaster is a red rose, the red rose of Lancaster, similar to that of the House of York, which is a white rose. These names derive from the emblems of the Royal Duchies of Lancaster and this erupted into a civil war over rival claims to the throne during the Wars of the Roses. In more recent times, the term Wars of the Roses has been applied to rivalry in sports teams representing Lancashire and Yorkshire, not just the cities of Lancaster and York
28.
Tattenham Corner
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Tattenham Corner is a neighbourhood in north Surrey, UK, but the name is principally associated with Epsom Racecourse. It is in the Tattenhams ward of Reigate and Banstead Borough, the racecourse itself and a short length of road between the station and the course are in the borough of Epsom & Ewell. The area is on the slope of the North Downs. It was formerly used largely for cattle pasture, sheep farming, by the 1770s, Tattenham Corner was the established name for the top section of the relatively new Epsom Racecourse on Epsom Downs. Between 1850 and 1950 much of the area was built up, the railways arrived in the area. Tattenhams is an area centered on the road Great Tattenhams. It largely coincides with the Tattenhams ward of Reigate & Banstead Corner and it is bounded to the south by the Preston Estate, to the south-west by Tadworth, to the west by Walton Downs and Epsom Downs, to the north by Nork and to the east by Banstead. Elevations range between 180 m AOD at its south-east corner and 140 m along most of the northern border. The ward also includes, at its east end and some way from Tattenham Corner, an area known as Great Burgh. Tattenhams has an established Church of England parish, the average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22. 6%. The proportion of households who owned their home outright compares to the average of 35. 1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the average of 32. 5%. The remaining % is made up of rented dwellings, homes, mostly split between the three main types of houses with gardens are predominantly of early twentieth-century origin. The fourth category of homes here, apartments range in date from the late-twentieth to the early twenty-first centuries. Tattenham Corner railway station is where Queen Elizabeth II used to be dropped off by the Royal Train on race days, there are several bus services going through the area, towards Epsom, Sutton or Redhill. In 1993 it was the site of a crash, where a driver several times over the then legal drink-drive limit failed to stop the train at the buffers. List of places of worship in Reigate and Banstead Tattenham Corner branch line Media related to Tattenham Corner at Wikimedia Commons Surrey portal
29.
Epsom
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Epsom is a market town in Surrey, England,13.6 miles south south-west of London, located between Ashtead and Ewell. The town straddles chalk downland and the upper Thanet Formation, Epsom Downs Racecourse holds The Derby, now a generic name for sports competitions in English-speaking countries. The town also gives its name to Epsom salts, extracted from mineral waters there, Epsom is the source of the Hogsmill River and includes the semi-rural Horton and Langley Vale. Epsom lies within the Copthorne Hundred used for periodic, strategic meetings of the wealthy and powerful in Anglo-Saxon England, the name of Epsom is early recorded as forms of Ebbas ham. Many Spring line settlements by springs in Anglo-Saxon England were founded at the foot of dry valleys such as here and Effingham, Bookham, Cheam, Sutton, Carshalton, Croydon, a relic from this period is a 7th-century brooch found in Epsom and now in the British Museum. Epsom appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Evesham, held by Chertsey Abbey. Its domesday assets were,11 hides,2 churches,2 mills worth 10 shillings,18 ploughs,24 acres of meadow, woodland worth 20 hogs, altogether it rendered £17 per year to its overlords. The town at the time of Domesday Book had 38 households, at various dates in the Middle Ages, manors were founded by subinfeudation at Epsom Court, Horton, Woodcote, Brettgrave and Langley Vale. Under Henry VIII and Queen Mary the manor passed to the Carew then related Darcy families and it passed via the Mynne, Buckle and Parkhurst families to Sir Charles Kemys Tynte and after his death to Sir Joseph Mawbey. By the end of the Georgian period, Epsom was known as a spa town, remnants of this are its water pump and multiple exhibits in the towns museum. There were entertainments at the Assembly Rooms, a green-buffered housing estate has now been built upon the wells in the south-west of the town. Epsom salts are named after the town, Epsom salt was originally prepared by boiling down mineral waters which sprung at Epsom. The towns market is built on the pond that existed in the Middle Ages, within the centuries-old boundaries is Epsom Downs Racecourse which features two of the five English Classic horse races, The Derby and The Oaks, which were first run in 1780 and 1779 respectively. On 4 June 1913, Emily Davison, a militant womens suffrage activist, stepped in front of King George Vs horse running in the Derby, sustaining fatal injuries. Lord Rosebery remained closely associated with the town throughout his life, leaving land to the borough, commemorated in the names of roads, Rosebery Park. A house was named after him at Epsom College, one of Britains public schools in Epsom. A bell was added in 1867, by 1902 the lions had been replaced by lanterns, and the toilet buildings added either side of the tower. The Epsom Playhouse was opened in 1984 and is run by Epsom, the Ashley Centre, a shopping mall, was built in the early 1980s and subsequently parts of the high street were pedestrianised as part of the construction of the towns one-way system
30.
Hoxton
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Hoxton is a district in the East End of London, England, immediately north of the financial district of the City of London. Hoxton forms the part of Shoreditch, being part of the ancient parish. The area of Hoxton is bordered by Regents Canal on the side, Wharf Road and City Road to the west, Old Street to the south. Hoxton is also a ward, electing three councillors to Hackney London Borough Council and it forms part of the Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency. Hogesdon is first recorded in the Domesday Book, meaning an Anglo-Saxon farm belonging to Hoch, little is recorded of the origins of the settlement, though there was Roman activity around Ermine Street, which ran to the east of the area from the 1st century. In medieval times, Hoxton formed a part of Shoreditch parish. The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers remains Patron of the advowson of the parish of St Johns, the residents responded by harassing walkers to protect their fields. A century later, the hedges and ditches were destroyed, by order of the City, by Tudor times many moated manor houses existed to provide ambassadors and courtiers country air nearby the City. This included many Catholics, attracted by the house of the Portuguese Ambassador, one such resident was Sir Thomas Tresham, who was imprisoned here by Elizabeth I of England for harbouring Catholic priests. Jonson was able to prove his literacy, thereby claiming benefit of clergy to escape a hanging. Hoxtons public gardens were a popular resort from the overcrowded City streets, and it is reputed that the name of Pimlico came from the publican, Ben Pimlico, have at thee, then, my merrie boyes, and beg for old Ben Pimlico’s nut-brown ale. The gardens appear to have been situated near Hoxton Street, known at that time, the modern area of Pimlico derives its name from its former use in Hoxton. The letter may have been sent by his brother-in-law Francis Tresham, or he may have written it himself, the letter was read aloud at supper, before prominent Catholics, and then he delivered it personally to Robert Cecil at Whitehall. While the conspirators were alerted, by the reading, to the existence of the letter they persevered with their plot as their gunpowder remained undiscovered. William Parker accompanied Thomas Howard, the Lord Chamberlain, at his visit to the undercroft of Parliament, most of the conspirators fled on the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot, but Francis Tresham was arrested a few days later at his house in Hoxton. A commemorative plaque is attached to modern flats at the site of Parkers house in Hoxton Street, by the end of the 17th century the nobilitys estates began to be broken up. Many of these houses became to be used as schools, hospitals or mad houses. Askes Almshouses were built on Pitfield Street in 1689 from Robert Askes endowment for 20 poor haberdashers, Hoxton House, was established as a private asylum in 1695
31.
Aldeburgh
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Aldeburgh /ˈɔːlbrə/ is a coastal town in the English county of Suffolk. It remains an artistic and literary centre with an annual Poetry Festival and several festivals as well as other cultural events. It is a former Tudor port and was granted Borough status in 1529 by Henry VIII and its historic buildings include a 16th-century moot hall and a Napoleonic-era Martello Tower. Second homes make up roughly a third of the residential property. The town is a tourist destination with visitors attracted by its Blue Flag shingle beach and fisherman huts, where fish are sold daily. Two family-run fish and chip shops are cited as among the best in the UK, Alde Burgh means old fort although this structure, along with much of the Tudor town, has now been lost to the sea. In the 16th century, Aldeburgh was a port, and had a flourishing ship-building industry. Sir Francis Drakes Greyhound and Pelican were both built in Aldeburgh, the flagship of the Virginia Company, the Sea Venture is believed to have been built here in 1608. Aldeburghs importance as a port declined as the River Alde silted up and it survived mainly as a fishing village until the 19th century, when it also became a seaside resort. Much of its distinctive and whimsical architecture derives from that period, the river is now home to a yacht club and a sailing club. Aldeburgh is on the North Sea coast and is located around 87 miles north-east of London,20 mi north-east of Ipswich and 23 mi south of Lowestoft, locally it is 4 mi south of the town of Leiston and 2 mi south of the village of Thorpeness. It lies just to the north of the River Alde with the shingle spit of Orford Ness all that stops the river meeting the sea at Aldeburgh - instead it flows another 9 mi to the south-west. The beach is mainly shingle and wide in places with fishing boats able to be drawn up onto the beach above the high tide, but narrows at the neck of Orford Ness. The shingle bank allows access to the Ness from the north, passing a Martello tower, Aldeburgh was flooded during the North Sea flood of 1953 and flood defences around the town were strengthened as a result. The beach was awarded the Blue flag rural beach award in 2005, the town is within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and has a number of Sites of Special Scientific Interest and nature reserves in the local area. The Alde-Ore Estuary SSSI covers the surrounding the river from Snape to its mouth. This contains a number of salt marsh and mudflat habitats, the Leiston-Aldeburgh SSSI extends from the northern edge of the town to cover a range of habitats including grazing marsh and heathland. It includes Thorpeness Mere and the North Warren RSPB reserve an area of wildlife and habitat conservation, two smaller geological SSSI units are found on the southern edges of the town
32.
Bury St Edmunds
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Bury St Edmunds is a market town in Suffolk, England. Bury St Edmunds Abbey is near the town centre, Bury is the seat of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, with the episcopal see at St Edmundsbury Cathedral. The town, originally called Beodericsworth, was built on a pattern by Abbot Baldwin around 1080. It is known for brewing and malting and for a British Sugar processing factory, the town is the cultural and retail centre for West Suffolk and tourism is a major part of the economy. They all derive from Proto-Germanic *burgs meaning fortress and this in turn derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *bhrgh meaning fortified elevation, with cognates including Welsh bera and Sanskrit bhrant-. There is thus no justification for the folk etymology stating that the Cathedral Town was so called because St Edmund was buried there, the second section of the name refers to Edmund King of the East Angles, who was killed by the Vikings in the year 869. He became venerated as a saint and a martyr, and his shrine made Bury St Edmunds an important place of pilgrimage, the formal name of both the borough and the diocese is St Edmundsbury. Local residents often refer to Bury St Edmunds simply as Bury, Bury St Edmunds, supposed by some to have been the Villa Faustina of the Romans, was one of the royal towns of the Saxons. The town grew around Bury St Edmunds Abbey, a site of pilgrimage, by 925 the fame of St Edmund had spread far and wide, and the name of the town was changed to St Edmunds Bury. In 942 or 945 King Edmund had granted to the abbot and convent jurisdiction over the town, free from all secular services. Edward the Confessor made the lord of the franchise. Sweyn, in 1020, having destroyed the monastery and ejected the secular priests. Count Alan Rufus is said to have been interred at Bury St Edmunds Abbey in 1093, in the 12th and 13th centuries the head of the de Hastings family, who held the Lordship of the Manor of Ashill in Norfolk, was hereditary Steward of this abbey. On 18 March 1190, two days after the more well-known massacre of Jews at Clifford Tower in York, the people of Bury St Edmunds massacred 57 Jews. Later that year, Abbot Samson successfully petitioned King Richard I for permission to evict the towns remaining Jewish inhabitants on the grounds that everything in the town. Belonged by right to St Edmund, therefore, either the Jews should be St Edmund’s men or they should be banished from the town and this expulsion predates the Edict of Expulsion by 100 years. In 1198, a burned the shrine of St Edmund, leading to the inspection of his corpse by Abbot Samson. The town is associated with Magna Carta, by various grants from the abbots, the town gradually attained the rank of a borough
33.
Ipswich
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Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk, England, located on the estuary of the River Orwell, about 60 miles north east of London. The town has been occupied since the Saxon period. It has also known as Gyppewicus and Yppswyche. Ipswich is one of Englands oldest towns, if not the oldest, the claim has also been made of the Essex town of Colchester, but that town was abandoned for some time, leaving Ipswich to claim to be the oldest continuously inhabited town in England. Under the Roman empire, the area around Ipswich formed an important route inland to towns and settlements via the rivers Orwell. A large Roman fort, part of the defences of Britain, stood at Walton near Felixstowe. The modern town took shape in Anglo-Saxon times around Ipswich dock, gipeswic ) arose as the equivalent to these, serving the Kingdom of East Anglia, its early imported wares dating to the time of King Rædwald, supreme ruler of the English. The famous ship-burial and treasure at Sutton Hoo nearby is probably his grave, the Ipswich Museum houses replicas of the Roman Mildenhall and Sutton Hoo treasures. A gallery devoted to the towns origins includes Anglo-Saxon weapons, jewellery, the 7th-century town was centred near the quay. Towards 700 AD, Frisian potters from the Netherlands area settled in Ipswich and their wares were traded far across England, and the industry was unique to Ipswich for 200 years. With growing prosperity, in about 720 AD a large new part of the town was out in the Buttermarket area. Ipswich was becoming a place of national and international importance, parts of the ancient road plan still survive in its modern streets. After the invasion of 869 Ipswich fell under Viking rule, the earth ramparts circling the town centre were probably raised by Vikings in Ipswich around 900 to prevent its recapture by the English. The town operated a mint under royal licence from King Edgar in the 970s, the abbreviation Gipes appears on the coins. King John granted the town its first charter in 1200, laying the foundations of its modern civil government. In the next four centuries it made the most of its wealth, Five large religious houses, including two Augustinian Priories, and those of the Greyfriars, Ipswich Whitefriars and Ipswich Blackfriars, stood in medieval Ipswich. The last Carmelite Prior of Ipswich was the celebrated John Bale, there were also several hospitals, including the leper hospital of St Mary Magdalene, founded before 1199. During the Middle Ages the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Grace was a pilgrimage destination
34.
Derby Scheme
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The Derby Scheme was introduced in autumn 1915 by Herbert Kitcheners new Director General of Recruiting, Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby. They would demonstrate whether British manpower goals could be met by volunteers or if conscription was necessary, Derby required each eligible man aged 18 to 41 who was not in a starred occupation to make a public declaration. When the scheme was announced many men went to the office without waiting to be fetched. Each eligible man’s pink card from the recently completed National Register was copied onto a blue card, the Committees appointed canvassers who were tactful and influential men not liable for service, many were experienced political agents. Discharged veterans and fathers of serving men proved most effective, a few canvassers threatened rather than cajoled. Women were not permitted to canvas but did track men who had moved, each man was handed a letter from Derby explaining the programme, emphasising that they were in … a country fighting, as ours is, for its very existence. Face to face with the canvasser each man announced whether or not he would attest to join the forces and those who attested promised to go to the recruiting office within 48 hours, many were accompanied there immediately. If found fit they were sworn in and paid a bonus of 2s 9d. The following day they were transferred to Army Reserve B, a khaki armband bearing the Royal Crown was to be provided to all who had enlisted or who had been rejected, as well as to starred and discharged men. The enlistee’s data was copied onto a new card which was used to assign him to a married or unmarried age group. They were promised that only entire groups would be called for active service, single mens groups would be called before married, any who wed after the day the Scheme began were classified as single. Married men were promised that their groups would not be called if too few single men attested, the survey was done in November and December 1915. It obtained 318,553 medically fit single men, however,38 per cent of single men and 54 per cent of married men had publicly refused to enlist. This left the government short and conscription was introduced
35.
Gallipoli Campaign
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The peninsula forms the northern bank of the Dardanelles, a strait that provided a sea route to the Russian Empire, one of the Allied powers during the war. Intending to secure it, Russias allies Britain and France launched an attack followed by an amphibious landing on the peninsula. The naval attack was repelled and after eight months fighting, with casualties on both sides, the land campaign was abandoned and the invasion force was withdrawn to Egypt. The campaign was one of the greatest Ottoman victories during the war, in Turkey, it is regarded as a defining moment in the nations history, a final surge in the defence of the motherland as the Ottoman Empire crumbled. In 1908, a group of officers, known as the Young Turks. The new régime implemented a program of reform to modernise the political and economic system. An enthusiastic supporter, Germany provided significant investment, German diplomats subsequently found increasing influence, despite Britain previously being the predominant power in the region, while German officers assisted in training and re-equipping the army. Despite this support, the resources of the Ottoman Empire were depleted by the cost of the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913. In December 1913, the Germans sent a mission to Constantinople. The geographical position of the Ottoman Empire meant that Russia and her allies France, during the Sarajevo Crisis in 1914, German diplomats offered Turkey an anti-Russian alliance and territorial gains in Caucasia, north-west Iran and Trans-Caspia. The pro-British faction in the Cabinet was isolated due to the British ambassador taking leave until 18 August, as the crisis deepened in Europe, Ottoman policy was to obtain a guarantee of territorial integrity and potential advantages, unaware that the British might enter a European war. This action strained diplomatic relations between the two empires and the German government offered SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau to the Ottoman navy as replacements, by allowing the German ships to enter the Dardanelles, the Ottomans confirmed their links to Germany. In September, the British naval mission to the Ottomans, which had established in 1912 under Admiral Arthur Limpus, was recalled due to increasing concern that Turkey would soon enter the war. Rear Admiral Wilhelm Souchon of the Imperial German Navy took over command of the Ottoman navy, the German naval presence and the success of German armies on all fronts, gave the pro-German faction in the Ottoman government enough influence to declare war on Russia. On 27 October, Goeben and Breslau, having been renamed Yavûz Sultân Selîm and Midilli, sortied into the Black Sea, bombarded the Russian port of Odessa and sank several Russian ships. The Ottomans refused an Allied demand that they expel the German missions and on 31 October 1914, Russia declared war on Turkey on 2 November. The next day, the British ambassador left Constantinople and a British naval squadron off the Dardanelles bombarded the outer defensive forts at Kum Kale, a shell hit a magazine, knocked the guns off their mounts and killed 86 soldiers. Fighting also began in Mesopotamia, following a British landing to occupy the oil facilities in the Persian Gulf, the Ottomans prepared to attack Egypt in early 1915, aiming to occupy the Suez Canal and cut the Mediterranean route to India and the Far East
36.
Senussi Campaign
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The Senussi Campaign took place in North Africa, from November 1915 to February 1917, during the First World War between the British Empire and the Kingdom of Italy against the Senussi. The Senussi were a religious sect resident in Libya and Egypt, who were courted by the Ottoman Empire, before 1906, when the Senussi became involved in resistance against the French, they had been a relatively peaceful religious sect of the Sahara Desert, opposed to fanaticism. In the Italo-Turkish War Italian forces occupied enclaves along the Libyan coast, in 1913, the Italians had been defeated at the Action of Etangi but in 1914 Italian reinforcements led to a revival and by January the Senussi were in south-east Cyrenaica. The Senussi had about 10,000 men armed with modern rifles, intermittent fighting continued between the Italians in fortified towns and the Senussi ranging through the desert. The British declared war on the Ottoman Empire on 5 November, Nuri eventually gained command of Senussi military forces and began training the recruits of Aulad Ali. The Ottoman envoys negotiated an agreement with the Grand Senussi, in which his followers were to attack the British in Egypt from the west, the Ottomans provided machine-guns and artillery using ships and German submarines, to deliver weapons, equipment and money. By November 1915, the size of the British garrison in Egypt was much reduced by the expeditions to Gallipoli, the Western Frontier of Egypt was protected by the Egyptian Coastguard, whose commander was responsible for maintaining good relations with the local Bedouin and the Senussi. The earth is dusty in summer and glutinous in the season from December to March, when the days are relatively cool. South of the strip is a bare limestone plateau, about 50 mi wide at Dabaa and 150 mi broad at Sollum. To the south lies the desert, with sand dunes for several hundred miles, the western frontier of Egypt had not been defined in 1914, since negotiations with the Ottomans had been interrupted by the Italo-Turkish War and then negated by the cession of Tripoli to Italy. Bedouin lived a life between the oases, traded with the inhabitants and took refuge at them when wells ran dry. Sir John Maxwell, the commander of British troops in Egypt, pretended to believe the excuse, the British continued to appease the Senussi, being in negotiations with the Sherif of Mecca and reluctant to inflame Muslim opinion. On 30 September, Snow met with the Grand Senussi and Jaafar Pasha, soon afterwards, news arrived of another Senussi victory over the Italians near Tripoli and the capture of much weaponry and money. On 6 November, Egyptian coastguard boats in Sollum bay were attacked by SM U-35, Abbas was sunk, on the night of 17 November, Senussi fired into the camp at Sollum, two Bedouin were murdered and the coast telegraph was cut. Next night a Zawiet at Sidi Barrani 48 mi east of Sollum, was occupied by 300 Muhafizia, Sayed Ahmed ordered his followers to cross the Egyptian frontier by 21 November, to conduct the coastal campaign. On the night of 19/20 November, the barracks at Sollum was fired on, next day, a post 30 mi south-east of Sollum was attacked and when the news arrived civil unrest began at Alexandria. The British commanders adopted a policy of avoiding reverses, before attempting to defeat the Senussi, Sollum was 280 mi from Alexandria, too far west for a base and too exposed to German submarines, with the lack of fast patrol boats to guard ships in the bay. Mersa Matruh was 120 mi closer to Alexandria and had a water supply
37.
East Anglia
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East Anglia is a geographical area in the East of England. The area included has varied but the legally defined NUTS2 statistical unit, comprises the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, the name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a tribe that originated in Angeln, northern Germany. Definitions of what constitutes East Anglia vary, the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of East Anglia, established in the 6th century, originally consisted of the modern counties of Norfolk and Suffolk and expanded west into at least part of Cambridgeshire. The modern NUTS2 statistical unit of East Anglia comprises Norfolk, Suffolk and those three counties have formed the Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia since 1976, and were the subject of a possible government devolution package in 2016. Essex has sometimes included in definitions of East Anglia, including by the London Society of East Anglians. However, the Kingdom of Essex to the south, was an element of the Heptarchy of Anglo-Saxon England and did not identify as Angles. The county of Essex by itself forms a NUTS2 statistical unit in the East of England region, other definitions of the area have been used or proposed over the years. For example, the Redcliffe-Maud Report in 1969, which followed the Royal Commission on the Reform of Local Government, the proposed East Anglia province would have included northern Essex, southern Lincolnshire and a small part of Northamptonshire as well as Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. The kingdom of East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of the East Anglian princess Etheldreda, the kingdom was formed about the year 520 by the merging of the North and the South Folk and was one of the seven Anglo-Saxon heptarchy kingdoms. However, this did not last and over the forty years East Anglia was defeated by the Mercians twice. Finally, in 794, Offa of Mercia had king Æthelberht killed, although independence was temporarily restored by rebellion in 825, on the 20 November 869 the Danes killed King Edmund and captured the kingdom. By 917, after a succession of Danish defeats, East Anglia was incorporated into the Kingdom of England by Edward the Elder, afterwards becoming an earldom. Despite some engineering work in the form of sea barriers constructed by the Roman Empire, much of East Anglia remained marshland and bogs until the 17th century. In the 1630s thousands of Puritan families from East Anglia settled in the American region of New England, East Anglia was ideally suited to airfield construction as it comprises large areas of open, level terrain and is close to mainland Europe. The reduced flight time to mainland Europe therefore reduced the load required and enabled a larger bomb load to be carried. Building the airfields was a civil engineering project and by the end of the war there was one approximately every 8 miles. Many of these airfields can still be today, particularly from aerial photographs, and a few remain is use today. Pillboxes, which were erected in 1940 to help defend the nation against invasion, can also be found throughout the area at strategic points
United Kingdom
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