1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
US Army Corps of Engineers
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The United States Army Corps of Engineers, also sometimes shortened to CoE is a U. S. Although generally associated with dams, canals and flood protection in the United States, the Corps of Engineers provides outdoor recreation opportunities to the public, and provides 24% of U. S. hydropower capacity. The corps mission is to Deliver vital public and military engineering services, partnering in peace and war to strengthen our Nations security, energize the economy and their most visible missions include, Planning, designing, building, and operating locks and dams. Other civil engineering projects include flood control, beach nourishment, design and construction of flood protection systems through various federal mandates. Design and construction management of military facilities for the Army, Air Force, Army Reserve and Air Force Reserve and other Defense and Federal agencies. The history of United States Army Corps of Engineers can be traced back to 16 June 1775, colonel Richard Gridley became General George Washingtons first chief engineer, however, it was not until 1779 that Congress created a separate Corps of Engineers. One of its first tasks was to build fortifications near Boston at Bunker Hill, the first Corps of Engineers was mostly composed of French subjects who had been hired by General Washington from the service of Louis XVI. that the said Corps. Shall be stationed at West Point in the State of New York, until 1866, the superintendent of the United States Military Academy was always an officer of engineer. During the first half of the 19th century, West Point was the major and, for a while, the General Survey Act of 1824 authorized the use of Army engineers to survey road and canal routes. Separately authorized on 4 July 1838, the U. S and it was merged with the Corps of Engineers on 31 March 1863, at which point the Corps of Engineers also assumed the Lakes Survey District mission for the Great Lakes. In 1841, Congress created the Lake Survey, the survey, based in Detroit, Mich. was charged with conducting a hydrographical survey of the Northern and Northwestern Lakes and preparing and publishing nautical charts and other navigation aids. The Lake Survey published its first charts in 1852, in the mid-19th century, Corps of Engineers officers ran Lighthouse Districts in tandem with U. S. Naval officers. The Army Corps of Engineers played a significant role in the American Civil War, many of the men who would serve in the top leadership in this institution were West Point graduates who rose to military fame and power during the Civil War. Some of these men were Union Generals George McClellan, Henry Halleck, George Meade, and Confederate generals Robert E. Lee, Joseph Johnston, the versatility of officers in the Army Corps of Engineers contributed to the success of numerous missions throughout the Civil War. They were responsible for building pontoon and railroad bridges, forts and batteries, the destruction of supply lines. The Army Corps of Engineers served as a function in making the war effort logistically feasible. This method of building trenches was known as the zigzag pattern, from the beginning, many politicians wanted the Corps of Engineers to contribute to both military construction and works of a civil nature. During World War II the mission grew to more than 27,000 military, included were aircraft, tank assembly, and ammunition plants, camps for 5.3 million soldiers, depots, ports, and hospitals, as well as the Manhattan Project, and the Pentagon
3.
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
4.
2nd Armored Division (United States)
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The 2nd Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army. The division played an important role during World War II in the invasions of North Africa and Sicily and the liberation of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands and the invasion of Germany. During the Cold War, the division was based at Fort Hood, Texas. After participation in the Persian Gulf War, the division was deactivated in 1995 and its units were later transferred to the 4th Infantry Division. The 2nd Armored Division was formed at Fort Benning, Georgia on 15 July 1940 and it was originally commanded by Major General Charles L. Scott, with Colonel George S. Patton, Jr. in charge of training. Scott was promoted to command the I Armored Corps in November of that year, the division, which in February 1942 passed over to the command of Major General Willis D. Crittenberger, served with the First, Seventh, and Ninth Armies throughout the war. The 2nd Armored was organized as an armored division, having two armored regiments of four medium tank and two light tank battalions of three companies each. Both types had a component of three mechanized battalions, although the heavy divisions maintained an armored infantry regiment organization. The 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion was known as the eyes and ears of the 2nd Armored Division, the 2nd Armored Division had three artillery battalions. The division also had support units, including the 2nd Ordnance Maintenance Battalion, 2nd Supply Battalion, the 48th Armored Medical Battalion, the military police and band were tasked with headquarters defense of base operations under the banner of the 502d Adjutant General Company. Elements of the division were among the first U. S. military to engage in ground combat operations in the European and Mediterranean theater during World War II. The 2nd Armored Division, now commanded by Major General Ernest N. Harmon and they were part of the Western Task Force of Operation Torch, which landed at Casablanca in French Morocco on 8 November 1942. The remainder of Torchs American component were the 1st, 3rd, however, the 2nd Armored Division did not see much action in North Africa and instead remained in French North Africa on garrison and training duties. In April 1943 Major General Harmon relinquished command of the division to Major General Hugh Joseph Gaffey, Training in amphibious operations began in preparation for an amphibious landing at Sicily. Afterwards, the next went into action in the second landing at Licata. The 2nd Armored, operating closely with paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division, along the way the 2nd Armored Division captured thousands of Italian prisoners of war. During the campaign the division came under the command of the U. S, Seventh Army, under Lieutenant General George S. Patton, who had been a former commander of the division. Soon afterwards the 2nd Armored Division was sent to England, in preparation for the Allied invasion of Normandy, in April the division received a new commander, Major General Edward H. Brooks, a decorated veteran of World War I, replacing Major General Gaffey
5.
North African Campaign
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The North African Campaign of the Second World War took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco, the campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had colonial interests in Africa dating from the late 19th century. The Allied war effort was dominated by the British Commonwealth and exiles from German-occupied Europe, the United States entered the war in December 1941 and began direct military assistance in North Africa on 11 May 1942. Fighting in North Africa started with the Italian declaration of war on 10 June 1940, on 14 June, the British Armys 11th Hussars crossed the border from Egypt into Libya and captured the Italian Fort Capuzzo. Information gleaned via British Ultra code-breaking intelligence proved critical to Allied success in North Africa, victory for the Allies in this campaign immediately led to the Italian Campaign, which culminated in the downfall of the fascist government in Italy and the elimination of a German ally. On 10 May 1940, the Wehrmacht had started the Battle of France, one month later, it was plain to see that France would have to surrender within two weeks. On 10 June 1940, the Kingdom of Italy aligned itself with Nazi Germany and declared war upon France, British forces based in Egypt were ordered to undertake defensive measures, but to act as non-provocatively as possible. However, on 11 June they began a series of raids against Italian positions in Libya, following the defeat of France on 25 June, Italian forces in Tripolitania—facing French troops based in Tunisia—redeployed to Cyrenaica to reinforce the Italian Tenth Army. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ordered the Tenth Army to invade Egypt by 8 August, two days later, no invasion having been launched, Mussolini ordered Marshal Graziani that, the moment German forces launched Operation Sea Lion, he was to attack. The battle plan was to advance along the road, while limited armoured forces operated on the desert flank. To counter the Italian advance, Wavell ordered his forces to harass the advancing Italians, falling back towards Mersa Matruh. Positioned on the flank was the 7th Armoured Division, which would strike the flank of the Italian force. By 16 September, the Italian force had advanced to Maktila, around 80 mi west of Mersa Matruh, in response to the dispersed Italian camps, the British planned a limited five-day attack, Operation Compass, to strike at these fortified camps one by one. The British Commonwealth force, totalling 36,000 men, attacked the forward elements of the 10-division-strong Italian army on 9 December, following their initial success, the forces of Operation Compass pursued the retreating Italian forces. In January, the port at Bardia was taken, soon followed by the seizure of the fortified port of Tobruk. Some 40,000 Italians were captured in and around the two ports, with the remainder of the Tenth Army retreating along the coast road back to El Agheila. Richard OConnor sent the 7th Armoured Division across the desert, with a reconnaissance group reaching Beda Fomm some ninety minutes before the Italians. Although desperate attempts were made to overcome the British force at the Battle of Beda Fomm, the Italians were unable to break through, and the remnants of the retreating army surrendered
6.
Western Front (World War II)
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The Western Front of the European theatre of World War II encompassed Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany. World War II military engagements in Southern Europe and elsewhere are generally considered under separate headings, the Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale combat operations. The second phase consisted of ground combat, which began in June 1944 with the Allied landings in Normandy. The Phoney War was a phase of World War II marked by a few military operations in Continental Europe in the months following the German invasion of Poland. Although the great powers of Europe had declared war on one another, neither side had yet committed to launching a significant attack and this was also the period in which The United Kingdom and France did not supply significant aid to Poland, despite their pledged alliance. While most of the German Army was fighting against Poland, a much smaller German force manned the Siegfried Line, there were only some local, minor skirmishes. The British Royal Air Force dropped propaganda leaflets on Germany and the first Canadian troops stepped ashore in Britain, while Western Europe was in a strange calm for seven months. In their hurry to re-arm, Britain and France had both begun to buy large numbers of weapons manufacturers in the United States at the outbreak of hostilities. The non-belligerent United States, contributed to the Western Allies by discounted sales of military equipment, German efforts to interdict the Allies trans-Atlantic trade at sea ignited the Battle of the Atlantic. However, when the Allies made a counter-landing in Norway following the German invasion, the Kriegsmarine, nonetheless, suffered very heavy losses during the two-months of fighting required to seize all of mainland Norway. In May 1940, the Germans launched the Battle of France, the Western Allies soon collapsed under the onslaught of the so-called blitzkrieg strategy. The majority of the British and elements of the French forces escaped at Dunkirk, with the fighting ended, the Germans began to consider ways of resolving the question of how to deal with Britain. If the British refused to agree to a treaty, one option was to invade. However, Nazi Germanys Kriegsmarine, had suffered losses in Norway. With the Luftwaffe unable to defeat the RAF in the Battle of Britain and these were built in anticipation of an Allied invasion of France. Because of the massive logistical obstacles a cross-channel invasion would face, on 19 August 1942, the Allies began the Dieppe Raid, an attack on Dieppe, France. Most of the troops were Canadian, with some British contingents, the raid was a disaster, almost two-thirds of the attacking force became casualties. However, much was learned as a result of the operation – these lessons would be put to use in the subsequent invasion
7.
2d Armored Division
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The 2nd Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army. The division played an important role during World War II in the invasions of North Africa and Sicily and the liberation of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands and the invasion of Germany. During the Cold War, the division was based at Fort Hood, Texas. After participation in the Persian Gulf War, the division was deactivated in 1995 and its units were later transferred to the 4th Infantry Division. The 2nd Armored Division was formed at Fort Benning, Georgia on 15 July 1940 and it was originally commanded by Major General Charles L. Scott, with Colonel George S. Patton, Jr. in charge of training. Scott was promoted to command the I Armored Corps in November of that year, the division, which in February 1942 passed over to the command of Major General Willis D. Crittenberger, served with the First, Seventh, and Ninth Armies throughout the war. The 2nd Armored was organized as an armored division, having two armored regiments of four medium tank and two light tank battalions of three companies each. Both types had a component of three mechanized battalions, although the heavy divisions maintained an armored infantry regiment organization. The 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion was known as the eyes and ears of the 2nd Armored Division, the 2nd Armored Division had three artillery battalions. The division also had support units, including the 2nd Ordnance Maintenance Battalion, 2nd Supply Battalion, the 48th Armored Medical Battalion, the military police and band were tasked with headquarters defense of base operations under the banner of the 502d Adjutant General Company. Elements of the division were among the first U. S. military to engage in ground combat operations in the European and Mediterranean theater during World War II. The 2nd Armored Division, now commanded by Major General Ernest N. Harmon and they were part of the Western Task Force of Operation Torch, which landed at Casablanca in French Morocco on 8 November 1942. The remainder of Torchs American component were the 1st, 3rd, however, the 2nd Armored Division did not see much action in North Africa and instead remained in French North Africa on garrison and training duties. In April 1943 Major General Harmon relinquished command of the division to Major General Hugh Joseph Gaffey, Training in amphibious operations began in preparation for an amphibious landing at Sicily. Afterwards, the next went into action in the second landing at Licata. The 2nd Armored, operating closely with paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division, along the way the 2nd Armored Division captured thousands of Italian prisoners of war. During the campaign the division came under the command of the U. S, Seventh Army, under Lieutenant General George S. Patton, who had been a former commander of the division. Soon afterwards the 2nd Armored Division was sent to England, in preparation for the Allied invasion of Normandy, in April the division received a new commander, Major General Edward H. Brooks, a decorated veteran of World War I, replacing Major General Gaffey
8.
Fort Benning
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Fort Benning is a United States Army base straddling the Alabama-Georgia border next to Columbus, Georgia. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and it is a power projection platform, and possesses the capability to deploy combat-ready forces by air, rail, and highway. It is named after Henry L. Benning, a general in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. Since 1918, Fort Benning has served as the Home of the Infantry, included in this transformation was the move of the Armor School from Fort Knox to Fort Benning. On December 26,1918, a portion of the Camp Polk tank school was transferred to Camp Benning to work in conjunction with the Infantry school, Camp Benning tank troops were moved to Camp Meade from February 19–21,1919. By the fall of 1920, more than 350 officers,7,000 troops and 650 student officers lived at Camp Benning, the post was renamed to Fort Benning in 1922, after Henry L. Benning, a general in the army of the Confederate States of America. During Wells tenure, the post developed recreational facilities such as Doughboy Stadium, Gowdy Field, Doughboy Stadium was erected as a memorial by soldiers to their fallen comrades of World War I. One of the Doughboys original coaches was a captain named Dwight D. Eisenhower. Lt. Col George C. Marshall was appointed assistant commandant of the post in 1927, Marshall, who later became the Army Chief of Staff during World War II, was appalled by the high casualties of World War I caused, he thought, by insufficient training. He was determined to prevent a lack of preparation from costing more lives in future conflicts and he and his subordinates revamped the education system at Fort Benning. The changes he fostered are still known as the Benning Revolution, later in his life, Marshall went on to author the Marshall Plan for reviving postwar Europe and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953. During World War II Fort Benning had 197,159 acres with billeting space for 3,970 officers and 94,873 enlisted persons. The battalion, later expanded to become the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, was trained at Fort Benning but did not deploy overseas, during this period, the specialized duties of the Triple Nickel were primarily in a firefighting role, with over one thousand parachute jumps as smoke jumpers. The 555th was deployed to the Pacific Northwest of the United States in response to the concern that forest fires were being set by the Japanese military using long-range incendiary balloons, the 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion was activated July 15,1940, and trained at the Fort. The 17th Armored Engineer Battalion became active and started training July 15,1940, the Airborne School on Main Post has three 249-foot drop towers called Free Towers. They are used to train paratroopers, the towers were modeled after the parachute towers at the 1939 Worlds Fair in New York. Only three towers stand today, the tower was toppled by a tornado on March 14,1954. During the spring of 1962 General Herbert B, continental Army Command, directed that all instruction at the Infantry School after July 1 reflect Reorganization Objective Army Division structures
9.
Georgia (U.S. state)
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Georgia is a state in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1733, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies, named after King George II of Great Britain, Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2,1788. It declared its secession from the Union on January 19,1861 and it was the last state to be restored to the Union, on July 15,1870. Georgia is the 24th largest and the 8th most populous of the 50 United States, from 2007 to 2008,14 of Georgias counties ranked among the nations 100 fastest-growing, second only to Texas. Georgia is known as the Peach State and the Empire State of the South, Atlanta is the states capital, its most populous city and has been named a global city. Georgia is bordered to the south by Florida, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and South Carolina, to the west by Alabama, the states northern part is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains system. Georgias highest point is Brasstown Bald at 4,784 feet above sea level, Georgia is the largest state entirely east of the Mississippi River in land area. Before settlement by Europeans, Georgia was inhabited by the mound building cultures, the British colony of Georgia was founded by James Oglethorpe on February 12,1733. The colony was administered by the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America under a charter issued by King George II. The Trustees implemented a plan for the colonys settlement, known as the Oglethorpe Plan. In 1742 the colony was invaded by the Spanish during the War of Jenkins Ear, in 1752, after the government failed to renew subsidies that had helped support the colony, the Trustees turned over control to the crown. Georgia became a colony, with a governor appointed by the king. The Province of Georgia was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution by signing the 1776 Declaration of Independence, the State of Georgias first constitution was ratified in February 1777. Georgia was the 10th state to ratify the Articles of Confederation on July 24,1778, in 1829, gold was discovered in the North Georgia mountains, which led to the Georgia Gold Rush and an established federal mint in Dahlonega, which continued its operation until 1861. The subsequent influx of white settlers put pressure on the government to land from the Cherokee Nation. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law, sending many eastern Native American nations to reservations in present-day Oklahoma, including all of Georgias tribes. Despite the Supreme Courts ruling in Worcester v. Georgia that ruled U. S. states were not permitted to redraw the Indian boundaries, President Jackson and the state of Georgia ignored the ruling. In 1838, his successor, Martin Van Buren, dispatched troops to gather the Cherokee
10.
Fort Hood
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Fort Hood is a U. S. military post located in Killeen, Texas. The post is named after Confederate General John Bell Hood and it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about 60 miles from each, within the U. S. state of Texas. Fort Hood is an installation of the United States Army and is the largest military base in the world more than 215,000 acres. Its origin was the need for space to test and train with World War II tank destroyers. The War Department announced the location in January 1942, and the completion was set for that August. As originally constructed, Fort Hood had an area of 158,706 acres, the main cantonment of Fort Hood had a total population of 53,416 as of the 2010 U. S. Census. Fort Hood is the most populous U. S. military installation in the world, the main business area is in Bell County, with the training countryside area of the post in Coryell County. In April 2014, the Fort Hood website lists 45,414 assigned soldiers and 8,900 civilian employees with Fort Hood covering 214,000 acres, during World War II, tank destroyers were developed to counter German mobile armored units. These were mobile anti-tank guns on armored halftracks or specially developed tanks, wide-open space was needed for the tank destroyer testing and training, which Texas had in abundance. Andrew Davis Bruce was assigned to organize a new Tank Destroyer Tactical and Firing Center, the War Department announced the selection on 15 January 1942. An initial acquisition of 108,000 acres was made, and it was estimated that the camp would cost $22,800,000 for the land, facilities, the date of completion was set for 15 August 1942. About 300 families had to move from their homes to make room for the area and the communities of Clear Creek, Elijah. The old Sugar Loaf community, historically called the Cradle of Killeen, all that remains of the community is the mountain from which it took its name, located in the Fort Hood area. To lessen the burden of moving, the Army agreed to land to be used for grazing for a nominal grazing fee. This grazing arrangement still continues today, in mid-August the camp was occupied and the official opening took place on 18 September 1942. Camp Hood was named for the Confederate General John Bell Hood, the original facilities provided housing and training sites for nearly 38,000 troops. In January 1943, an additional 16,000 acres in Bell County and 34,943 acres in Coryell County near Gatesville, the site near Gatesville was known as the sub-camp and later as North Camp Hood. During the war years, North Camp Hood housed nearly 40,000 troops and 4,000 prisoners of war, and was the site for the southern branch of the United States Disciplinary Barracks
11.
Texas
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Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Other major cities include Austin, the second most populous state capital in the U. S. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the states struggle for independence from Mexico. The Lone Star can be found on the Texan state flag, the origin of Texass name is from the word Tejas, which means friends in the Caddo language. Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, although Texas is popularly associated with the U. S. southwestern deserts, less than 10 percent of Texas land area is desert. Most of the centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, the term six flags over Texas refers to several nations that have ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas, Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state, the states annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846. A slave state before the American Civil War, Texas declared its secession from the U. S. in early 1861, after the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. One Texan industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle, due to its long history as a center of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The states economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century, when oil discoveries initiated a boom in the state. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy, as of 2010 it shares the top of the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with California at 57. With a growing base of industry, the leads in many industries, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace. Texas has led the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product. The name Texas, based on the Caddo word tejas meaning friends or allies, was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves, during Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas, La Provincia de Texas. Texas is the second largest U. S. state, behind Alaska, though 10 percent larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan, it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size. If it were an independent country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile, Texas is in the south central part of the United States of America. Three of its borders are defined by rivers, the Rio Grande forms a natural border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south
12.
Demolition
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Demolition is the tearing down of buildings and other man-made structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use purposes. For small buildings, such as houses, that are two or three stories high, demolition is a rather simple process. The building is pulled down either manually or mechanically using large hydraulic equipment, elevated platforms, cranes. Larger buildings may require the use of a ball, a heavy weight on a cable that is swung by a crane into the side of the buildings. Wrecking balls are especially effective against masonry, but are easily controlled. Newer methods may use rotational hydraulic shears and silenced rock-breakers attached to excavators to cut or break through wood, steel, the use of shears is especially common when flame cutting would be dangerous. The tallest planned demolition of a building was the 47-story Singer Building in New York City, the typical razing of a building is accomplished as follows, Hydraulic excavators may be used to topple one- or two-story buildings by an undermining process. The strategy is to undermine the building while controlling the manner, the demolition project manager/supervisor will determine where undermining is necessary so that a building is pulled in the desired manner and direction. The walls are typically undermined at a base, but this is not always the case if the building design dictates otherwise. Safety and cleanup considerations are taken into account in determining how the building is undermined. In some cases a crane with a ball is used to demolish the structure down to a certain manageable height. At that point undermining takes place as described above, however crane mounted demolition balls are rarely used within demolition due to the uncontrollable nature of the swinging ball and the safety implications associated. High reach demolition excavators are often used for tall buildings where explosive demolition is not appropriate or possible. Excavators with shear attachments are used to dismantle steel structural elements. Hydraulic hammers are used for concrete structures and concrete processing attachments are used to crush concrete to a manageable size. To control dust, fire hoses are used to maintain a wet demolition, hoses may be held by workers, secured in fixed location, or attached to lifts to gain elevation. Loaders or bulldozers may also be used to demolish a building and they are typically equipped with rakes that are used to ram building walls
13.
Fortification
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Fortifications are military constructions or buildings designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and also used to solidify rule in a region during peace time. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs, the term is derived from the Latin fortis and facere. From very early history to modern times, walls have been a necessity for cities to survive in a changing world of invasion. Some settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization were the first small cities to be fortified, in ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae. A Greek Phrourion was a collection of buildings used as a military garrison. These construction mainly served the purpose of a tower, to guard certain roads, passes. Though smaller than a fortress, they acted as a border guard rather than a real strongpoint to watch. The art of setting out a camp or constructing a fortification traditionally has been called castramentation since the time of the Roman legions. Fortification is usually divided into two branches, permanent fortification and field fortification, there is also an intermediate branch known as semi-permanent fortification. Castles are fortifications which are regarded as being distinct from the fort or fortress in that they are a residence of a monarch or noble. Roman forts and hill forts were the antecedents of castles in Europe. The Early Middle Ages saw the creation of towns built around castles. Medieval-style fortifications were made obsolete by the arrival of cannons in the 14th century. Fortifications in the age of black powder evolved into much lower structures with greater use of ditches and earth ramparts that would absorb, Walls exposed to direct cannon fire were very vulnerable, so were sunk into ditches fronted by earth slopes. The arrival of explosive shells in the 19th century led to yet another stage in the evolution of fortification, steel-and-concrete fortifications were common during the 19th and early 20th centuries. However the advances in warfare since World War I have made large-scale fortifications obsolete in most situations. Demilitarized zones along borders are arguably another type of fortification, although a passive kind, many military installations are known as forts, although they are not always fortified. Larger forts may be called fortresses, smaller ones were known as fortalices
14.
Bunker
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A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people or valued materials from falling bombs or other attacks. Bunkers are mostly underground, compared to blockhouses which are mostly above ground and they were used extensively in World War I, World War II, and the Cold War for weapons facilities, command and control centers, and storage facilities. Bunkers can also be used as protection from tornadoes, trench bunkers are small concrete structures, partly dug into the ground. Many artillery installations, especially for coastal artillery, have historically been protected by extensive bunker systems, typical industrial bunkers include mining sites, food storage areas, dumps for materials, data storage, and sometimes living quarters. When a house is purpose-built with a bunker, the location is a reinforced below-ground bathroom with fibre-reinforced plastic shells. Bunkers deflect the blast wave from nearby explosions to prevent ear, nuclear bunkers must also cope with the underpressure that lasts for several seconds after the shock wave passes, and block radiation. A bunkers door must be at least as strong as the walls, in bunkers inhabited for prolonged periods, large amounts of ventilation or air conditioning must be provided. Bunkers can be destroyed with explosives and bunker-busting warheads. The word bunker originates as a Scots word for bench, seat, the word possibly has a Scandinavian origin, Old Swedish bunke means boards used to protect the cargo of a ship. A sense of earthen seat is recorded 1805, with the spelling boncure from whence the use to refer to sand traps in golf, all the early references to its usage in the Oxford English Dictionary are to German fortifications. This type of bunker is a concrete structure, partly dug into the ground. Such bunkers give the defending soldiers better protection than the open trench and they also provide shelter against the weather. The front bunker of a system usually includes machine guns or mortars. The rear bunkers are usually used as posts or Tactical Operations Centers, for storage. Many artillery installations, especially for coastal artillery, have historically been protected by extensive bunker systems, artillery bunkers are some of the largest individual pre-Cold War bunkers. The walls of the Batterie Todt gun installation in northern France were up to 3.5 m thick, typical industrial bunkers include mining sites, food storage areas, dumps for materials, data storage, and sometimes living quarters. They were built mainly by nations like Germany during World War II to protect important industries from aerial bombardment, industrial bunkers are also built for control rooms of dangerous activities, e. g. tests of rocket engines or explosive experiments. They are also built in order to perform experiments in them or to store radioactive or explosive goods
15.
Land mine
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A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automatically by way of pressure when a target steps on it or drives over it, a land mine may cause damage by direct blast effect, by fragments that are thrown by the blast, or by both. The name originates from the ancient practice of mining, where tunnels were dug under enemy fortifications or troop formations. These killing tunnels were at first collapsed to destroy targets located above, nowadays, in common parlance, land mine generally refers to devices specifically manufactured as anti-personnel or anti-vehicle weapons. The use of mines is controversial because of their potential as indiscriminate weapons. They can remain dangerous many years after a conflict has ended, harming the economy, to date,162 nations have signed the treaty. To act as passive area-denial weapons, land mines are currently used in large quantities mostly for this first purpose, thus their widespread use in the demilitarized zones of likely flashpoints such as Cyprus, Afghanistan and Korea. As of 2013, the governments that still laid land mines were Myanmar in its internal conflict. Land mines continue to kill or injure at least 4,300 people every year, even decades after the ends of the conflicts for which they were placed. This claim is dubious, as gunpowder warfare did not develop in China until the advent of the flamethrower in the 10th century, while the land mine was not seen in China until the late 13th century. Explosive land mines were being used in 1277 by the Chinese during the Song dynasty against an assault of the Mongols, the invention of this detonated enormous bomb was credited to one Lou Qianxia of the 13th century. The wad of the mine was made of wood, carrying three different fuses in case of defective connection to the touch hole. Pieces of bamboo are sawn into sections nine feet in length, all septa in the bamboo being removed, save only the last, boiling oil is next poured into and left there for some time before being removed. The fuse starts from the bottom, and is compressed into it to form an explosive mine, the gunpowder fills up eight-tenths of the tube, while lead or iron pellets take up the rest of the space, then the open end is sealed with wax. A trench five feet in depth is dug, the fuse is connected to a firing device which ignites them when disturbed. Further description of how this flint device operated was not made until a Chinese text of 1606 AD revealed that a drive had been used to work the steel wheel. Besides the use of steel wheels providing sparks for the fuses, there were other methods used as well, when the weapons were removed from the mound, this movement disturbed the bowl beneath them where the butt ends of the staffs were, which in turn ignited the fuses. According to the Wubei Huolongjing volume of the 17th century, the formula for this slow-burning incandescent material allowed it to burn continuously for 20 to 30 days without going out
16.
Combat engineer
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A combat engineer is a soldier who performs a variety of construction and demolition tasks under combat conditions. The combat engineers goals involve facilitating movement and support of forces while impeding those of the enemy. Combat engineers build, repair and maintain buildings, roads and power supplies and they employ explosives for construction and demolition projects, and clear minefields using specialized vehicles. Typically, an engineer is also trained as an infantryman. A general combat engineer is often called a pioneer or sapper, terms derived respectively from the French, while the officers of a combat engineering unit may be professionally certified civil or mechanical engineers, the non-commissioned members are generally not. Sapper, In the U. S. British, Indian, Canadian, Australian, in the Israeli Defence Forces, Sapper 06 is a military profession code denoting a combat engineer who has graduated from basic general engineering training. In the Canadian Army, is a term for soldiers that have completed the basic Combat Engineer training, in the Portuguese Army, a sapador de engenharia is a soldier of the engineering branch that has specialized combat engineer training. A sapador de infantaria is a soldier of the branch that has a similar training. The Italian Army uses the term Guastatori for their engineers and other specialized units. Pioneer, In the Finnish army, pioneeri is the equivalent rank in the army for a soldier who has completed the basic combat engineering training. Naval engineers retain the rank matruusi but bear the insignia on their sleeves. The German Bundeswehr uses the term Pionier for their engineers and other specialized units. Also the combat engineers in the Austro-Hungarien k. u. k, until recently, assault pioneers were responsible for the operation of flamethrowers. Field engineer, is a used in many Commonwealth armies. In modern usage, it is synonymous with combat engineer. However, the originally identified those military engineers who supported an army operating in the field as opposed to garrison engineers who built. In its original usage, field engineering would have been inclusive of, miner Pontonier Combat engineers are force multipliers and enhance the survival of other troops through the use and practice of camouflage, reconnaissance, communications and other services. These include the construction of roads, bridges, field fortifications, obstacles, in these roles, combat engineers use a wide variety of hand and power tools
17.
Columbus, Georgia
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Columbus is a city in the U. S. state of Georgia and the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it is consolidated. According to the 2013 estimates from the U. S. Census Bureau, Columbus has a population of 202,824 residents, with 316,554 in the greater Columbus-Phenix City metropolitan area. The metro area joins the nearby Alabama cities of Auburn and Opelika to form the Columbus-Auburn-Opelika Combined Statistical Area, Columbus is directly to the east across the Chattahoochee River from Phenix City, Alabama. Situated at the heart of the Chattahoochee Valley, Columbus is Georgias second-largest city, Columbus lies 100 miles southwest of Atlanta. Fort Benning, home of the United States Army Infantry School, Columbus is home to museums and tourism sites, including the National Infantry Museum, dedicated to the United States Armys Infantry Branch. It has the longest urban whitewater rafting course in the world constructed on the Chattahoochee River and this was for centuries and more the traditional territory of the Creek Indians, who became known as one of the Five Civilized Tribes of the Southeast after European contact. Those who lived closest to white-occupied areas conducted considerable trading and adopted some European-American ways, the city was named for Christopher Columbus, its founders likely influenced by the writings of Washington Irving. The plan for the city was drawn up by Dr. Edwin L. DeGraffenried, the citys commercial importance increased in the 1850s with the arrival of the railroad. In addition, textile mills were developed along the river, bringing industry to an area reliant upon agriculture. By 1860, the city was one of the important industrial centers of the South, earning it the nickname the Lowell of the South. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, the industries of Columbus expanded their production, during the war, Columbus ranked second to Richmond in the manufacture of supplies for the Confederate army. In addition to textiles, the city had an ironworks, a factory. Wilson attacked the city and burned many of the industrial buildings, john Stith Pemberton, who later developed Coca-Cola in Columbus, was wounded in this battle. After becoming addicted to morphine, Pemberton sought out a replacement for his addiction, after creating Coca-Cola, he carried it to Atlanta before he died in 1888. Col. Charles Augustus Lafayette Lamar, owner of the last slave ship in America, was killed here. A historic marker has been erected in Columbus and it notes that this was the site of the Last Land Battle in the War from 1861 to 1865. Reconstruction began almost immediately and prosperity followed, factories such as the Eagle and Phenix Mills were revived and the industrialization of the town led to rapid growth, the city outgrew its original plan. The Springer Opera House was built on 10th Street, attracting such notables as British writer Oscar Wilde, the Springer is now the official State Theater of Georgia
18.
M1 carbine
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The M1 carbine is a lightweight, easy to use.30 caliber semi-automatic carbine that was a standard firearm for the U. S. military during World War II, the Korean War and well into the Vietnam War. The M1 carbine was produced in variants and was widely used by not only the U. S. military. It has also been a civilian firearm. The M2 carbine is the version of the M1 carbine capable of firing in both semi-automatic and full-automatic. The M3 carbine was an M2 carbine with an infrared scope system. Despite its name and similar appearance, the M1 carbine is not a version of the M1 Garand rifle. It is a different firearm and it fires a different type of ammunition. It was simply called a carbine because it is smaller and lighter than the Garand. On July 1,1925, the U. S. Army began using the current naming system where the M is the designation for Model, therefore, the M1 rifle was the first rifle developed under this system. The M1 carbine was the first carbine developed under this system, the M2 carbine was the second carbine developed under the system, etc. Prior to World War II, U. S. Army Ordnance received reports that the full-size M1 rifle was too heavy and cumbersome for most support troops to carry. During prewar and early war field exercises, it was found that the M1 Garand impeded these soldiers mobility, as a rifle would frequently catch on brush, bang the helmet. Many soldiers found the rifle slid off the shoulder unless slung diagonally across the back, additionally, Germanys use of glider-borne and paratroop forces to launch surprise attacks behind the front lines, generated a request for a new compact infantry weapon to equip support troops. This request called for a compact, lightweight defensive weapon with greater range, accuracy and firepower than handguns, while weighing half as much as the Thompson submachine gun or the M1 rifle. The U. S. Army decided that a carbine would adequately fulfill all of these requirements, Paratroopers were also added to the list of intended users and a folding-stock version would also be developed. In 1938, the Chief of Infantry requested that the Ordnance Department develop a rifle or carbine. This led to a competition in 1941 by major U. S. firearm companies, Winchester at first did not submit a carbine design, as it was occupied in developing the. 30-06 Winchester M2 Military Rifle. The rifle originated as a design by Jonathan Ed Browning, brother of the famous firearm designer John Browning. 30-06 M2 rifle, Williams incorporated his short-stroke piston in the existing design
19.
Marksman
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In popular and historical usage, sharpshooter and marksman are considered synonyms. Within the shooting sports and military usages today, however, sharpshooter and marksman refer to different levels of skill. Specifically, in the US Army, marksman is a rating below sharpshooter, four levels of skill are generally recognized today in both military and civilian shooting circles, unqualified, marksman, sharpshooter, and expert. Marksmanship badges for the three qualified levels are commonly awarded to civilian and military shooters who attain proficiency in shooting higher than unqualified. Snipers are also tasked with responsibilities other than delivering long-range fire—specifically, conducting reconnaissance. In the Middle Ages, in the first use of the marksman was given to the royal archers, or bowmen, of a palace guard. This was around the 10th century, although records of some 9th century English Kings show the listings of groups of marksmen specifically chosen for their militaries, in the Australian Army, marksmanship is currently recognized by the award of one of three skill-at-arms badges. The Skill at Arms Badge consists of a representation of crossed.303 Short Magazine Lee–Enfield rifles and is awarded for achieving a prescribed standard of shooting skill and this must be repeated within twelve months for the badge to be awarded in perpetuity to the recipient. The Snipers Badge is similar in design but incorporates the letter S into the design and is awarded to soldiers who qualify on the Army Snipers Course. The Army Top 20 Badge consists of crossed.303 SMLE rifles upon a laurel wreath and is awarded to the final 20 competitors in the annual Champion Shot for the Army, the winner of this competition is also awarded the Champion Shots Medal. Only one badge may be worn, in the British Armed Forces, marksman is traditionally the highest shooting rating and holders may wear a crossed rifles badge on the lower sleeve. From Army Operational Shooting Policy for the Annual Personal Weapons Test Combat Infantryman, Marksman, to qualify for Marksman all practices are to be completed and the firer must achieve a score of 55 or more of the total Highest Possible Score for the entire shoot. Soldiers achieving a non-marksman passing score are NOT permitted to re-shoot practices in order to qualify for Marksman, Infantry soldiers who qualify as Marksmen during the Combat Infantrymans Course are entitled to retain the award on joining their units. Soldiers who qualify as Marksmen are entitled to wear the Marksman badge for one year before they must requalify, in the United States Army and Marine Corps, the marksmanship of the soldiers is ranked based on their skill, marksman-sharpshooter-expert. Holders of each level wear qualification badges below their ribbons with bars for the weapons they qualify in, in the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard, full-sized medals are only issued at the expert level. Both services award separate medals for pistol and rifle proficiency, the United States Air Force gives just a ribbon for qualifying at the expert level, although a bronze star can be earned if the wearer qualifies on both of these types of small arms. Within the United States military, a marksman in the U. S. Army is referred to as Squad Designated Marksman, and a marksman in the Marines is called a Designated Marksman. The United States Army particularly emphasizes the concept, according to US Army Field Manual 3-21.8 a typical United States Army fireteam consists of four soldiers
20.
Demining
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Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area, while minesweeping describes the act of detecting mines. There are two types of mine detection and removal, military and humanitarian. Minesweepers use many tools in order to accomplish their task, there also are or have been other methods developed to detect mines, including the use of trained marine mammals, bacteria, acoustics, and other more exotic methods. In the combat zone, the process is referred to as mine clearance, according to the doctrine of the U. S. and other armies, mine clearance is carried out by combat engineers. The military priority is to breach the minefield quickly in order to create a path for troops or ships. Speed is vital, both for reasons and because units attempting to breach the minefield may be under enemy fire. Both anti-personnel mines and anti-tank mines must be removed, although only in the lanes through which troops or vehicles are planned to advance. The risk to sappers is far greater because they may be called upon to perform clearance as tactics dictate, including in all-weather conditions, command may accept casualties in the process. Furthermore, it is accepted that mine clearance will be imperfect, one advantage is that, in military operations, sappers are dealing with recently laid mines that respond predictably to clearance, have not migrated, and have not degraded. In this they are aided by technical intelligence on the current adversarys mines. In these mine clearance operations, the methods that are applied for detection and removal are quicker, in times of relative peace, the process of mine removal is referred to as demining. This is a thorough, time-intensive process that seeks to locate all mines so that the land or sea area may be returned to normal use. It is vital that this process be exhaustive, in this context demining is one of the tools of mine action. Coordinated by Mine Action Coordination Centers run by the United Nations or a host government, in post-conflict areas, minefields are often contaminated with a mixture of explosive remnants of war that includes unexploded ordnance as well as landmines. In that context, the humanitarian effort is often referred to as battle area clearance. In some situations, clearing landmines is a condition before other humanitarian programs can be implemented. There is an organization, APOPO, that is training African rats to detect landmines much as dogs do, in many circumstances, the only method that meets the United Nations requirements for effective humanitarian demining, the International Mine Action Standards, is manual detection and disarmament. The process is slow, expensive and dangerous, although demining can be safer than construction work if procedures are followed rigorously
21.
Pontoon bridge
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A pontoon bridge, also known as a floating bridge, uses floats or shallow-draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the limits the maximum load they can carry. Most pontoon bridges are temporary, used in wartime and civil emergencies, permanent floating bridges are useful for sheltered water-crossings where it is not considered economically feasible to suspend a bridge from anchored piers. Such bridges can require a section that is elevated, or can be raised or removed, a pontoon bridge is a collection of specialized, shallow draft boats or floats, connected together to cross a river or canal, with a track or deck attached on top. The water buoyancy supports the boats, limiting the load to the total. The supporting boats or floats can be open or closed, temporary or permanent in installation, the decking may be temporary or permanent, and constructed out of wood, modular metal, or asphalt or concrete over a metal frame. The spelling ponton in English dates from at least 1870, the use continued in references found in U. S. patents during the 1890s. It continued to be spelled in that fashion through World War II, U. S. combat engineers commonly pronounced the word ponton rather than pontoon and U. S. military manuals spelled it using a single o. The original word was derived from Old French ponton, from Latin ponto, when designing a pontoon bridge, the civil engineer must take into consideration the Archimedes principle looking at the maximum amount of load that it is intended to support. Each pontoon can support an equal to the mass of the water that it displaces. If the maximum load of a section is exceeded, one or more pontoons become submerged. The roadway across the pontoons must also be able to support the load, survey to determine the best location. The connection to shore often causes problems, requiring the design of approaches that are not too steep, keep the bank from crumbling, Floating bridges were typically constructed using wood. Such a wooden floating bridge could be built in a series of sections, Pontoons were formed using boats, several barrels lashed together, rafts of timbers, or some combination of these. Each bridge section consisted of one or more pontoons, which were maneuvered into position and then anchored, using underwater and these pontoons were then linked together using wooden stringers called balks. The balks were then covered by a series of cross planks called chesses to form a surface. Some bridges have been designed and survived much longer, in Hobart a long pontoon bridge built in 1943 was only replaced after 21 years. The fourth Galata Bridge that spans the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey was built in 1912, precautions are needed to protect a pontoon bridge from becoming damaged
22.
Military engineering vehicle
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A military engineering vehicle is a vehicle built for the construction work or for the transportation of combat engineers on the battlefield. These vehicles may be modified civilian equipment or purpose-built military vehicles, military engineering can employ a wide variety of heavy equipment in the same or similar ways to how this equipment is used outside the military. Bulldozers, cranes, graders, excavators, dump trucks, loaders, military engineers may also use civilian heavy equipment which was modified for military applications. Typically, this involves adding armour for protection from hazards such as artillery, unexploded ordnance, mines. Often this protection is provided by armour plates and steel jackets, some examples of armoured civilian heavy equipment are the IDF Caterpillar D9, American D7 TPK, Canadian D6 armoured bulldozer, cranes, graders, excavators, and M35 2-1/2 ton cargo truck. Militarized heavy equipment may take on the form of traditional civilian equipment designed. These vehicles typically sacrifice some depth of capability from civilian models in order to gain greater speed, examples of this type of vehicle include high speed backhoes such as the Australian Armys High Mobility Engineering Vehicle from Thales or the Canadian Armys Multi-Purpose Engineer Vehicle from Arva. These vehicles are designed to directly conduct obstacle breaching operations and to conduct other earth-moving and engineering work on the battlefield, good examples of this type of vehicle include the UK Trojan AVRE, the Russian IMR, and the US M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle. Thus, armoured vehicle used generically would refer to AEV, AVLB, Assault Breachers. Lighter and less multi-functional than the CEVs or AEVs described above and these vehicles have greater high speed mobility than traditional heavy equipment and are protected against the effects of blast and fragmentation. Good examples are the American M9 ACE and the UK FV180 Combat Engineer Tractor and these vehicles are equipped with mechanical or other means for the breaching of man made obstacles. Common types of breaching vehicles include mechanical flails, mine plough vehicles, in some cases, these vehicles will also mount Mine-clearing line charges. Breaching vehicles may be either converted armoured fighting vehicles or purpose built vehicles, good examples of breaching vehicles include the USMC M1 Assault Breacher Vehicle, the UK Aardvark JSFU, and the Singaporean Trailblazer. Several types of military bridging vehicles have been developed, an armoured vehicle-launched bridge is typically a modified tank hull converted to carry a bridge into battle in order to support crossing ditches, small waterways, or other gap obstacles. Another type of bridging vehicle is the truck launched bridge, the Soviet TMM bridging truck could carry and launch a 10-meter bridge that could be daisy-chained with other TMM bridges to cross larger obstacles. Earlier examples of bridging vehicles include a type in which a tank hull is the bridge. An example of type of armoured bridging vehicle was the Churchill Ark used in the Second World War. Another type of CEVs are armoured fighting vehicles which are used to transport sappers and can be fitted with a bulldozers blade and they are often used as APCs because of their carrying ability and heavy protection
23.
DUKW
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The DUKW is a six-wheel-drive amphibious modification of the 2½ ton CCKW trucks used by the U. S. military in World War II. Designed by a partnership under military auspices of Sparkman & Stephens and General Motors Corporation, excelling at approaching and crossing beaches in amphibious warfare attacks, it was intended only to last long enough to meet the demands of combat. Surviving DUKWs have since found popularity as tourist craft in marine environments, when a United States Coast Guard patrol craft ran aground on a sand bar near Provincetown, Massachusetts, an experimental DUKW happened to be in the area for a demonstration. Winds up to 60 knots, rain, and heavy surf prevented conventional craft from rescuing the seven stranded Coast Guardsmen, but the DUKW had no trouble, the DUKW later proved its seaworthiness by crossing the English Channel. The final production design was perfected by a few engineers at Yellow Truck & Coach in Pontiac, the DUKW was built around the GMC AFKWX, a cab-over-engine version of the GMC CCKW six-wheel-drive military truck, with the addition of a watertight hull and a propeller. It was powered by a 269.5 cu in GMC Model 270 straight-six engine, a five-speed overdrive transmission drove a transfer case for the propeller, then a two-speed transfer case to drive the axles. The propeller and front axle were selectable from their transfer case, a power take-off on the transmission drove the air-compressor and winch. It weighed 13,000 lb empty and operated at 50 miles per hour on road and 5.5 knots on water. It was 31 feet long,8 feet 3 inches wide,7 feet 2 inches high with the top down and 8 feet 9 inches high with the top up. It was not a vehicle, being plated with sheet steel between 1/16 and 1/8 inches thick to minimize weight. A high-capacity bilge pump system kept it afloat if the hull was breached by holes up to 2 inches in diameter. One in four DUKWs mounted a. 50-caliber Browning heavy machine gun on a ring mount, the DUKW was the first vehicle to allow the driver to vary the tire pressure from inside the cab, an accomplishment of a Speirs device. The tires could be fully inflated for hard surfaces such as roads and less inflated for softer surfaces and this added to great versatility as an amphibious vehicle. This feature is now standard on military vehicles. The windshields were provided by GM rival Libbey Glass, the DUKW was supplied to the U. S. Army, U. S. They were used on the D-Day beaches of Normandy and in the Battle of the Scheldt, Operation Veritable, amphibious beachheads were thought to be highly vulnerable to early counterattack as the landing units would deplete their ammunition and the supply system would not yet be established. The principal use was to ferry supplies from ship to shore, after World War II, reduced numbers were kept in service by the United States, Britain, France, and Australia, with many stored pending disposal. Australia transferred many to Citizens Military Force units, the U. S. Army reactivated and deployed several hundred at the outbreak of the Korean War with the 1st Transportation Replacement Training Group providing crew training
24.
Live fire exercise
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A live fire exercise or LFX is any military exercise in which a realistic scenario for the use of specific equipment is demonstrated. Armed services usually use live fire exercises as an opportunity to use real ammunition in a realistically created combat situation, the area in which these tests are conducted will be devoid of people to avoid casualties, and will likely be owned by the government which authorized the test. Most live fire tests are conducted either against derelict equipment, such as tanks and ships and this allows soldiers to get reacquainted with the feel and time of actually using and expending ammunition, rather than simply simulating the experience. Live fire exercises of this type can be observed either by remotely controlled cameras or by long-range telescopic devices, an army, being the main branch responsible for land combat, is perhaps the best known group that conducts live fire exercises. Most live fire exercises occur within the base where the units conducting the exercise are located. In some cases, one installation will host units from another for a live fire exercise. Equipment tested under these circumstances range from small arms and assault rifle fire all the way up to missile systems, in the case of small arms, the tests are usually proficiency based and aimed at ensuring a soldier can fire their assigned weapons. For the most part marine corps live fire exercises are similar to the live fire exercises. One notable difference stems from the nature of a marine forces duty. An air force, due to its nature, usually limits live fire exercises to the air, during live fire exercises dealing with air-to-air combat, remotely controlled drones are frequently used to simulate enemy aircraft. In modern times, the drones are fired on by planes loaded with some type of air-to-air missile, live fire exercises involving air-to-surface work are usually centered around precision-guided munitions. In some cases, tests involving bombs will make use of buildings or, even more frequently. These test are usually monitored by chase planes and by cameras to determine if everything worked as it was intended to. Live fire exercises may also be conducted against planes for the purpose of testing a planes susceptibility to SAM sites, naval live fire exercises may use anti-ship missiles and torpedoes, although tests involving air-to-air and air-to-surface missile, guns and bombs are not uncommon. Navies conduct live fire exercises to test elements of a defense system, such as the US Aegis, namely, its ability to track. Tests can also include an integrated defense systems compatibility to fire new missiles or newer versions of the same missile, live fire tests are also conducted with a CIWS system, which is designed as the last line of defense for a ship. Surface ships also frequently test-fire the various guns kept and maintained aboard the vessel and this is done to maintain the skill and knowledge needed to operate the weapon. Recent aircraft carriers have incorporated missile-launching systems, and have part in live fire exercises involving missiles
25.
George S. Patton
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General George Smith Patton Jr. was a senior officer of the United States Army who commanded the U. S. Seventh Army in the Mediterranean and European theaters of World War II, Third Army in France and Germany following the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Born in 1885 to a family with a military background, Patton attended the Virginia Military Institute. He studied fencing and designed the M1913 Cavalry Saber, more known as the Patton Sword. Patton first saw combat during the Pancho Villa Expedition in 1916, in the interwar period, Patton remained a central figure in the development of armored warfare doctrine in the U. S. Army, serving in numerous staff positions throughout the country. Rising through the ranks, he commanded the 2nd Armored Division at the time of the American entry into World War II, Seventh Army during the Allied invasion of Sicily, where he was the first Allied commander to reach Messina. Patton returned to command the Third Army following the invasion of Normandy in June 1944 and he led the relief of beleaguered American troops at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, and advanced his Third Army into Nazi Germany by the end of the war. After the war, Patton became the governor of Bavaria. He commanded the United States Fifteenth Army for slightly more than two months, Patton died in Germany on December 21,1945, as a result of injuries from an automobile accident twelve days earlier. Pattons colorful image, hard-driving personality and success as a commander were at times overshadowed by his public statements. His philosophy of leading from the front and his ability to inspire troops with vulgarity-ridden speeches, such as an address to the Third Army. His strong emphasis on rapid and aggressive offensive action proved effective, while Allied leaders held sharply differing opinions on Patton, he was regarded highly by his opponents in the German High Command. A popular, award-winning biographical film released in 1970 helped transform Patton into an American hero, George Smith Patton Jr. was born on November 11,1885 in San Gabriel, California, to George Smith Patton Sr. and his wife Ruth Wilson. Patton had a sister, Anne, who was nicknamed Nita. The family was of Irish, Scots-Irish, English, and Welsh ancestry and his great grandmother came from an aristocratic Welsh family, descended from many Welsh lords of Glamorgan, which had an extensive military background. Patton believed he had former lives as a soldier and took pride in mystical ties with his ancestors, though not directly descended from George Washington, Patton traced some of his English colonial roots to George Washingtons great-grandfather. He was also descended from Englands King Edward I through Edwards son Edmund of Woodstock, family belief held the Pattons were descended from sixteen barons who had signed the Magna Carta. Patton believed in reincarnation, and his ancestry was very important to him, the first Patton in America was Robert Patton, born in Ayr, Scotland
26.
First United States Army
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It now serves as a mobilization, readiness and training command. First Army was established on 10 August 1918 as an army when sufficient American military manpower had arrived in France during World War I. As an element of the American Expeditionary Forces in the stages of World War I it was the first of three field armies established under the AEF. Serving in its ranks were many figures who played important roles in World War II. First Army was inactivated in April 1919, the field armies were established to provide organizational structure for large military organizations that might be mobilized in time of national need. First Army was located in the northeast United States and was activated on 11 September 1933 at Fort Jay, Governors Island, initially activated as a paper army, it was commanded by General Dennis E. Nolan. Until 1942, First Armys commander was always the senior commander of one of its three corps areas, since First Army was only a paper organization in its early days, its staff was the existing staff of the corps areas. The overall mission of the First Army was commanding and training army, army reserve. In the years after World War I, Conner was a mentor in the careers of Dwight Eisenhower. Passed over as a candidate for Army Chief of Staff for Douglas MacArthur, in 1938 First Army came under command of General Hugh A. Drum. Drum who along with a buildup of the Army in 1939 and it began to establish and develop its own staff and participated in the large scale Army maneuvers in Louisiana and North Carolina between 1939 and 1941. As the United States entered World War II, Drum was assigned a new command of the newly established Eastern Defense Command, responsible for coastal, Drum retired in 1943 when he reached mandatory retirement age. Headquarters, First Army was activated In January 1944 at Bristol, upon going ashore on 6 June 1944, D-Day, First Army came under 21st Army Group and commanded all American ground forces during the invasion. Three American divisions were landed by sea at the Western end of the beaches, on Utah Beach the assault troops made good time, but Omaha Beach came nearest of all of the five landing areas to disaster. First Army captured much of the gains of the Allied forces in Normandy. Once the beachheads were joined up, its troops struck west and isolated the Cotentin Peninsula, when the American Mulberry harbour was wrecked by a storm, Cherbourg became even more vital. After the capture of Cherbourg, First Army struck south, in Operation Cobra, its forces finally managed to break through the German lines. The newly established Third Army was then fed through the gap, the Army then passed from the control of 21st Army Group to the newly arrived 12th Army Group
27.
Operation Torch
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Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa during the North African Campaign of the Second World War which started on 8 November 1942. The Soviet Union had pressed the United States and United Kingdom to start operations in Europe, while the American commanders favored Operation Sledgehammer, landing in Occupied Europe as soon as possible, the British commanders believed that such a course would end in disaster. The U. S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, suspected the African operation would rule out an invasion of Europe in 1943 but agreed to support the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The Allies planned an Anglo-American invasion of north-western Africa — Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, with much of North Africa already under Allied control, this would allow the Allies to carry out a pincer operation against Axis forces in North Africa. These forces included 60,000 troops in Morocco,15,000 in Tunisia, in addition, there were 10 or so warships and 11 submarines at Casablanca. The Allies believed that the Vichy French forces would not fight, the French were former Allies of the U. S. and the American troops were instructed not to fire unless they were fired upon. However, they harbored suspicions that the Vichy French navy would bear a grudge over the British action at Mers-el-Kebir in 1940, an assessment of the sympathies of the French forces in North Africa was essential, and plans were made to secure their cooperation, rather than resistance. German support for the Vichy French came in the shape of air support, several Luftwaffe bomber wings undertook anti-shipping strikes against Allied ports in Algiers and along the North African coast. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was given command of the operation, the Allied Naval Commander of the Expeditionary Force would be Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, his deputy was Vice-Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, who would plan the amphibious landings. Planners identified Oran and also Algiers and Casablanca as key targets, ideally there would also be a landing at Tunis to secure Tunisia and facilitate the rapid interdiction of supplies travelling via Tripoli to Rommels forces in Libya. However, Tunis was much too close to the Axis airfields in Sicily, a compromise would be to land at Bône, some 300 miles closer to Tunis than Algiers. They therefore chose the Casablanca option as the less risky since the forces in Algeria and Tunisia could be supplied overland from Casablanca in the event of closure of the straits. In July 1941, Mieczysław Słowikowski set up Agency Africa, one of the Second World Wars most successful intelligence organizations and his Polish allies in these endeavors included Lt. Col. Gwido Langer and Major Maksymilian Ciężki. The information gathered by the Agency was used by the Americans, to gauge the feeling of the Vichy French forces, Murphy was appointed to the American consulate in Algeria. His covert mission was to determine the mood of the French forces and he succeeded in contacting several French officers, including General Charles Mast, the French commander-in-chief in Algiers. These officers were willing to support the Allies, but asked for a conference with a senior Allied General in Algeria. However, Giraud would take no position lower than commander in chief of all the invading forces, when he was refused, he decided to remain a spectator in this affair. The Allies organized three amphibious task forces to seize the key ports and airports of Morocco and Algeria simultaneously, targeting Casablanca, Oran, successful completion of these operations was to be followed by an advance eastwards into Tunisia
28.
Algeria
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Algeria, officially the Peoples Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a sovereign state in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast. Its capital and most populous city is Algiers, located in the far north. With an area of 2,381,741 square kilometres, Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world, the country is a semi-presidential republic consisting of 48 provinces and 1,541 communes. Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been President since 1999, Berbers are the indigenous inhabitants of Algeria. Algeria is a regional and middle power, the North African country supplies large amounts of natural gas to Europe, and energy exports are the backbone of the economy. According to OPEC Algeria has the 16th largest oil reserves in the world, Sonatrach, the national oil company, is the largest company in Africa. Algeria has one of the largest militaries in Africa and the largest defence budget on the continent, most of Algerias weapons are imported from Russia, with whom they are a close ally. Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC, the countrys name derives from the city of Algiers. The citys name in turn derives from the Arabic al-Jazāir, a form of the older Jazāir Banī Mazghanna. In the region of Ain Hanech, early remnants of hominid occupation in North Africa were found, neanderthal tool makers produced hand axes in the Levalloisian and Mousterian styles similar to those in the Levant. Algeria was the site of the highest state of development of Middle Paleolithic Flake tool techniques, tools of this era, starting about 30,000 BC, are called Aterian. The earliest blade industries in North Africa are called Iberomaurusian and this industry appears to have spread throughout the coastal regions of the Maghreb between 15,000 and 10,000 BC. Neolithic civilization developed in the Saharan and Mediterranean Maghreb perhaps as early as 11,000 BC or as late as between 6000 and 2000 BC and this life, richly depicted in the Tassili nAjjer paintings, predominated in Algeria until the classical period. The amalgam of peoples of North Africa coalesced eventually into a native population that came to be called Berbers. These settlements served as market towns as well as anchorages, as Carthaginian power grew, its impact on the indigenous population increased dramatically. Berber civilization was already at a stage in which agriculture, manufacturing, trade, by the early 4th century BC, Berbers formed the single largest element of the Carthaginian army. In the Revolt of the Mercenaries, Berber soldiers rebelled from 241 to 238 BC after being unpaid following the defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War. They succeeded in obtaining control of much of Carthages North African territory, the Carthaginian state declined because of successive defeats by the Romans in the Punic Wars
29.
French protectorate in Morocco
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The French Protectorate in Morocco, Arabic, حماية فرنسا في المغرب Ḥimāyat Faransā fi-l-Maḡrib) was established by the Treaty of Fez. It existed from 1912, when a protectorate was established, until independence. However, in the part of the 19th century Morocco’s weakness and instability invited European intervention to protect threatened investments. The first years of the 20th century witnessed a rush of diplomatic maneuvering through which the European powers, French activity in Morocco began during the end of the 19th century. France and Spain secretly partitioned the territory of the sultanate, with Spain receiving concessions in the far north and south of the country. The First Moroccan Crisis grew out of the rivalries of the great powers, in this case. Germany took immediate action to block the new accord from going into effect. Although the Algeciras Conference temporarily solved the First Moroccan Crisis it only worsened international tensions between the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente, in 1911, a rebellion broke out in Morocco against the Sultan, Abdelhafid. By early April 1911, the Sultan was besieged in his palace in Fez, the French dispatched a flying column at the end of April 1911 and Germany gave approval for the occupation of the city. Moroccan forces besieged the French-occupied city, approximately one month later, French forces brought the siege to an end. On 5 June 1911 the Spanish occupied Larache and Ksar-el-Kebir, on 1 July 1911 the German gunboat Panther arrived at the port of Agadir. There was a reaction from the French, supported by the British. France officially established a protectorate over Morocco with the Treaty of Fez, from a strictly legal point of view, the treaty did not deprive Morocco of its status as a sovereign state. The Sultan reigned but did not rule, Sultan Abdelhafid abdicated in favor of his brother Yusef after signing the treaty. On April 17,1912, Moroccan infantrymen mutinied in the French garrison in Fez, in late May 1912, Moroccan forces again unsuccessfully attacked the enhanced French garrison at Fez. First, the protectorate was established two years before the outbreak of World War I, which brought with it a new attitude toward colonial rule. Second, Morocco had a tradition of independence, though it had been strongly influenced by the civilization of Muslim Iberia. These circumstances and the proximity of Morocco to Spain created a relationship between the two countries
30.
Safi, Morocco
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Safi is a city in western Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of Safi Province, it has a population of 308,508, the city was under protectorate by the Portuguese Empire from 1488 to 1541, the fortress built by Vasco da Gamas brother-in-law to protect the city, under Portuguese rule is still there today. Safi is the fishing port for the countrys sardine industry. During the Second World War, Safi was one of the sites for Operation Torch. The citys name as it is pronounced is Asfi, which was Latinized as Safi. Asfi means flood or river estuary in Berber and comes from the Berber root sfi/sfey which means to flood, 11th-century geographer Al-Idrisi gave an apparently false explanation to the origin the name Asfi as he linked it to the Arabic word Asaf, Asafi. The ships eventually ended on the shores of Asfi and locals helped the lost sailors, upon hearing this one of the sailors responded by saying, Wa asafi. Al-Idrisi wrote that from time the city carried the name Asafi. This story is thought to be a legend and unlikely explanation of the origin of the name, Safi, under the name Safim, is one of the oldest cities in Morocco, hence its foundation date is unknown. Under the Almohads it functioned as an important port to the capital Marrakesh, the city was under Portuguese rule from 1488 to 1541, it is believed that they abandoned it to the Saadians, since the city proved difficult to defend from land attacks. The Portuguese fortress built to protect the city is there today. After the Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah built the city of Mogador, consequently, Safi stopped playing a leading role in the Moroccan trade. Safis patron saint is Abu Mohammed Salih, in 1942 as part of Operation Torch, American forces attacked Safi and took relatively quickly and with relatively few casualties compared to the other operations at Casablanca and at Port Mehdia. The inhabitants are composed of Berbers and Arabs descended from the following, the berbers who came later from the sous plains, south of the region. Two Arab tribes namely, Abda, They descend from Banu Hilal of Tunisia and have been installed in the region in the century and spawned, Bhatra. Ahmar, They descend from Maqil of Algeria, also note that Safi had a large Jewish community that emigrated to France today, Canada or Israel, which at the time represented more than 20% of the population. Football and rugby are popular sports in Safi, the local football team Olympic Safi have been competing in Moroccos premier football division, Botola, since 2004. The Rugby Union team of the name is one of Moroccos best, having won the Coupe du Trône several times. com People from Safi
31.
Operation Blackstone
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Operation Blackstone was a part of Operation Torch, Allied landings in Africa during World War II. This supporting mission was the American capture of the French port of Safi in French Morocco on the morning of 8 November 1942 as part of an operation to capture Casablanca in Morocco. The unit responsible for the operation was the US 47th Infantry Regiment, the landings from converted destroyers were mostly successful. They were initially conducted without covering fire, hoping that the French might not resist at all, when coastal batteries opened fire, the fleet returned fire. When commanding General Harmon arrived French snipers had pinned the assault troops on the beaches, most of the landings occurred behind schedule, air support from the carriers destroyed a French convoy of trucks intended to reinforce the defenses. Safi surrendered on the afternoon of November 8, by November 10 the remaining defenders were pinned down and the bulk of Harmons forces raced to join the siege of Casablanca
32.
Operation Husky order of battle
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Operation Husky Order of Battle is a listing of the significant military and air force units that were involved in the campaign for Sicily, July 10 – August 17,1943. Allied Forces Headquarters - Mediterranean Supreme Commander, General Dwight D. Eisenhower The Allied 15th Army Group was under the command of General Sir Harold Alexander, seventh Army was commanded by Lieutenant General George S. Patton. S. II Corps was commanded by Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, 1st Infantry Division First commanded by Major General Terry Allen He was replaced by Major General Clarence R. Huebner on August 7. S. 9th Infantry Division Commanded by Major General Manton S. Eddy. S, 45th Infantry Division Commanded by Major General Troy H. Middleton. U. S. 2nd Armored Division Commanded by Major General Hugh Joseph Gaffey, divisional units were placed under the combat commands as needed. S. S. 82nd Airborne Division Commanded by Major General Matthew Ridgway, the independent 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion was held in reserve and it never saw action. The British 46th Infantry Division formed a reserve, but it did not participate in the Sicily campaign. Army Troops 2nd Special Air Service No.3 Commando No.40 Commando No and this unit did not participate as a division. Also supporting the NAAF were the RAF Middle East Command, Air Headquarters Malta, RAF Gibraltar, and the No.216 Group, which were subdivisions of MAC under the command of Tedder. He reported to the Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower for the NAAF operations, Air Headquarters Malta, under the command of Air Vice-Marshal Sir Keith Park, also supported Operation Husky. These bomber and fighter groups moved to new airfields on Sicily as soon as a significant beachhead had been captured there, Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder had his headquarters in Algiers, Algeria. Lt. General Carl Spaatz had his headquarters for the Northwest African Air Forces in Maison-Carrée, No.242 Group RAF No.323 Wing RAF No.73 Squadron, Spitfire fighter planes No.255 Squadron, Beaufighters No. II/5 Escadre, P-40 Warhawk fighters No, iI/7 Escadre, Spitfires No.283 Squadron, Walrus Air-Sea Rescue planes No.284 Squadron, Walrus Air-Sea Rescue planes [o. This is supposed to be an historical document. Many things get asked for, but many less get provided, at the same time, Air Headquarters, Western Desert became known as the Desert Air Force. All of the units of Desert Air Force formed No.211 Group commanded by Air Commodore Richard Atcherley on April 11,1943 in Tripoli. The 99th Fighter Squadron was assigned to the XII Air Support Command on May 28,1943, there it was assigned to the Mediterranean Air Transport Service, and along with NATCC, this was a subdivision of the Mediterranean Air Command. Colonel Elliott Roosevelt had his headquarters at La Marsa, Tunisia Northwest African Photographic Reconnaissance Wing 3rd Photographic Group, mosquitos No.540 Squadron RAF Det
33.
Allied invasion of Sicily
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The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II, in which the Allies took the island of Sicily from the Axis powers. It was an amphibious and airborne operation, followed by a six-week land campaign and was the beginning of the Italian Campaign. Husky began on the night of 9/10 July 1943, and ended on 17 August, the Italian leader, Benito Mussolini, was toppled from power in Italy and the way was opened for the Allied invasion of Italy. The German leader, Adolf Hitler, canceled a major offensive at Kursk after only a week, in part to divert forces to Italy, resulting in a reduction of German strength on the Eastern Front. The plan for Operation Husky called for the assault of Sicily by two Allied armies, one landing on the south-eastern and one on the central southern coast. The amphibious assaults were to be supported by gunfire, as well as tactical bombing, interdiction. As such, the operation required a complex structure, incorporating land, naval. The overall commander was American General Dwight D. Eisenhower, as Commander-in-Chief of all the Allied forces in North Africa, British General Sir Harold Alexander acted as his second-in-command and as the 15th Army Group commander. The American Major General Walter Bedell Smith was appointed as Eisenhowers Chief of Staff, the overall Naval Force Commander was the British Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham. The Allied land forces were from the American, British and Canadian armies, the Eastern Task Force was led by General Sir Bernard Montgomery and consisted of the British Eighth Army. The Western Task Force was commanded by Lieutenant General George S. Patton, the two task force commanders reported to Alexander as commander of the 15th Army Group. Seventh Army consisted initially of three divisions, organized under II Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General Omar Bradley. Middleton, sailed from the United States via Oran in Algeria, the 2nd Armored Division, under Major General Hugh Joseph Gaffey, also sailing from Oran, was to be a floating reserve and be fed into combat as required. On 15 July, Patton reorganized his command into two corps by creating a new Provisional Corps headquarters, commanded by his deputy army commander, Major General Geoffrey Keyes. The two divisions of XIII Corps, the 5th and 50th Infantry Divisions, commanded by Major-Generals Horatio Berney-Ficklin and Sidney Kirkman and this request was granted by the British, displacing the veteran British 3rd Infantry Division. The Red Patch Division was added to Leeses XXX Corps to become part of the British Eighth Army, in addition to the amphibious landings, airborne troops were to be flown in to support both the Western and Eastern Task Forces. To the east, the British 1st Airborne Division, commanded by Major-General George F. Hopkinson, was to seize vital bridges and high ground in support of the British Eighth Army. The initial plan dictated that the U. S. 82nd Airborne Division, Allied naval forces were also grouped into two task forces to transport and support the invading armies
34.
Gela
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Gela, is a city and comune in the Autonomous Region of Sicily, the largest for area and population in the islands southern coast. It is part of the Caltanissetta province, being the only comune in Italy with a population and area that exceeds those of the provinces capital. Founded by Greek colonists from Rhodes and Crete in 689 BC, in 1943 Gela was the first Italian beach reached by allies during the Invasion of Sicily from the allies. The city was founded around 688 BC by colonists from Rhodes, the city was named after the river Gela. The Greeks established many colonies in the south of what is now Italy, Gela flourished and after only a century, a group of Geloi founded the colony of Agrigento. The expansion, however, led to economic and social strain, causing the plebs to leave the city, however, the revolt was opposed by the high priest of Diana and the exiled plebs returned to Gela. For over a century no further mention is made about the politics of the city, until the ancient historians note that a tyrant, Cleander. After his death, power transferred to his brother Hippocrates, who conquered Callipoli, Leontini, Naxos, Hergetios, only Syracuse, with the help of her former colonizing city, Corinth and Corcyra, managed to escape the Gelese expansion. When Camarina, a Syracusan colony, rebelled in 492 BC, after having defeated the Syracusan army at the Heloros river, he besieged the city but was convinced to retreat in exchange for possession of Camarina. The tyrant lost his life in 491 in a battle against the Siculi, Hippocrates was succeeded by Gelo, who, in 484, conquered Syracuse and moved his seat of government there. His brother Hiero was given control over Gela, when Theron of Agrigento conquered Himera and a Carthaginian army disembarked in Sicily to counter him, he asked for help from Gela and Syracuse. Gelo and Hiero were victorious in the subsequent battle of Himera, after the death of Gelo, Hiero moved to Syracuse, leaving Gela to Polyzelos. Thenceforth the history of the city becomes uncertain, it has suggested that the citizens freed themselves from the rule of tyrants. Many of the Geloi returned from Syracuse in this period, Gela was at the head of the Sicilian league that pushed back the Athenian attempt to conquer the island in 415 BC. In 406 the Carthaginians conquered Agrigento and destroyed it, Gela asked for the help of Dionysius I of Syracuse. However, for reasons, the latter did not arrive in time and, after heroic deeds, Gela was ruined. The survivors took refuge in Syracuse, in 397 they returned home and joined Dionysius II in his struggle for freedom from the invaders, and in 383 BC they saw their independence acknowledged. Under Agathocles the city suffered again for internal strife between the population and the aristocrats
35.
M4 Sherman
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The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most numerous battle tank used by the United States and some of the other Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, thousands were distributed through the Lend-Lease program to the British Commonwealth and Soviet Union. The tank was named by the British for the American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman, the M4 Sherman evolved from the interim M3 Medium Tank, which had its main armament in a side sponson mount. The M4 retained much of the mechanical design, but put the main 75 mm gun in a fully traversing turret. The designers stressed mechanical reliability, ease of production and maintenance, durability, standardization of parts and ammunition in a number of variants. These factors, combined with the Shermans then-superior armor and armament, outclassed German light, the M4 went on to be produced in large numbers. It spearheaded many offensives by the Western Allies after 1942, for this reason, the US Army believed that the M4 would be adequate to win the war, and no pressure was exerted for further tank development. Logistical and transport restrictions, such as limitations imposed by roads, ports, Tank destroyer battalions using vehicles built on the M4 hull and chassis, but with open-topped turrets and more potent high-velocity guns, also entered widespread use in the Allied armies. Even by 1944, most M4 Shermans kept their dual purpose 75 mm gun, some Shermans were produced with a more capable gun, the 76 mm gun M1, or refitted with a 17-pounder by the British. These factors combined to give the Allies numerical superiority in most battles, the U. S. Army Ordnance Department designed the M4 medium tank as a replacement for the M3 medium tank. The M3 was a development of the M2 Medium Tank of 1939. The M3 was developed as a stopgap measure until a new turret mounting a 75 mm gun could be devised, though reluctant to adopt the British army weapons in their entirety the American designers were prepared to accept proved British ideas. British ideas, as embodied with in a designed by the Canadian General Staff. Before long American Services and designers had accumulated sufficient experience to forge ahead on several points, in the field of tank armament the American 75mm and 76mm dual-purpose tank guns won the acknowledgement of British tank experts. On 18 April 1941, the U. S, Armored Force Board chose the simplest of five designs. Known as the T6, the design was a modified M3 hull and chassis and this would later became the Sherman. The goals were to produce a fast, dependable medium tank able to support infantry, provide breakthrough striking capacity, the T6 prototype was completed on 2 September 1941. The T6 upper hull was a large casting
36.
Mine flail
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A mine flail is a vehicle-mounted device that makes a safe path through a mine-field by deliberately detonating land mines in front of the vehicle that carries it. They were first used by the British during World War II, the mine flail consists of a number of heavy chains ending in fist-sized steel balls that are attached to a horizontal, rapidly rotating rotor mounted on two arms in front of the vehicle. The rotors rotation makes the flails spin wildly and violently pound the ground. The force of a strike above a buried mine mimics the weight of a person or vehicle and causes the mine to detonate. The idea is attributed to a South African soldier - Captain Abraham du Toit. A test rig was constructed in South Africa and results were so encouraging that du Toit was promoted, before du Toit left for England, he described his idea to Captain Norman Berry, a mechanical engineer who had been sent to South Africa in 1941 to evaluate the system. Captain Berry later served in the British Eighth Army during the Western Desert Campaign and he had become an enthusiast for the mine flail idea, he lobbied senior officers to authorize development of a flail and carried out his own experiments with mine flails in the spring of 1942. Later Major L. A. Girling was given the task of developing a device after it had been independently re-invented by another South African officer. When Captain Berry heard of this, he handed over his work to Girling, dr. David Gustanski made the device that connected to the side of the tank and made the flail raise and lower. Development by Girlings team in Egypt continued over the summer of 1942 and this was a Matilda tank fitted with a rotor, mounted on two arms, roughly 6 feet in front of the tank. The rotor carried 24 flails and was driven at 100 rpm by a 105 horsepower Ford V8 engine and this second engine was fitted in an armoured box mounted on the right side of the tank, the outside box included space for a crewman who operated the device. Although the mine sweeping process was slow, the Scorpions raised such a huge dust cloud when used in the desert that they obscured themselves from German gunners, the cloud also blinded the drivers, the crews had to resort to wearing their gas masks in order to breathe. German minefields around El Alamein contained around three million mines and had named the Devils gardens by the German commander, Erwin Rommel. Breaching these minefields was vital to the Allied battleplan, during the battle, the Scorpions were less successful than hoped. While reasonably effective at clearing, the hastily developed flail system was unreliable. Also, there were frequent engine failures, as the air filters were overwhelmed by the volume of dust produced by flailing or the engines overheated because of the desert environment. Much of the clearing that was critical to the Commonwealth victory still had to be carried out by hand. One unexpected effect was that the noise, dust and terrifying appearance of a flail tank caused several Axis infantry units to surrender without resistance
37.
Butera
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Butera is an Italian town and a comune in the province of Caltanissetta, in the southern part of the island of Sicily. It is bounded by the comuni of Gela, Licata, Mazzarino, Ravanusa and it has a population of 4,821 and is 49 km from Caltanissetta, the provinces capital. The etymology of the name Butera is debated, one hypothesis is that the name is of Arabic origin. Butera was called Butirah by the Arabs, which means steep place, the Arabic demonym al-Buthayri was used to refer to a person from Butera. Another would suggest that the name Butera is of Greek origin and this is upheld by Giovan Battista Pellegrini, who claims that The Arabic form for Butera, always with the interdental, should be an indication of a Greek etymon with / d /. Upholders of a Greek origin for the Butera have suggested that the word may come from bothèr, boutherès, pace himself has asserted that the term, aside from boutherès, may derive also from the Graeco-Byzantine word patela, which refers Butera’s location. In the area of Piano fiera where a prehistoric necropolis still stands, is a construction called dolmen cysts made of stone slabs assembled in cubiform manner. The history of this territory, at the time of Greek colonization, is not documented by ancient historians, the origins of Butera date back to the Early Bronze Age. Butera, being situated close to Gela, one of the most prominent ancient Greek cities of Sicily under Magna Graecia, was settled by Greeks. The dialect spoken in the region was Doric Greek, Butera was captured by the Aghlabids during the Muslim conquest of Sicily, following a 5-month siege in 853. Out of the three valli of Sicily, it was part of the Val di Noto, in the corner of the island. Following the fall of Butera to the Normans in 1091, the towns Muslim leaders were resettled in Calabria to prevent them from fomenting rebellion among the rest of the population. However, a mosque in the town is recorded even in the 12th century, as certain other Sicilian cities such as Catania, Syracuse, Segesta. It was one of the last Muslim strongholds to fall, due to stubborn resistance, Butera itself was re-populated with Swabians from southern Germany following its destruction by William I as a reaction to anti-monarchical resistance in 1161. In 1392, the Alagona family lost possession of the County following their defeat by Martin I, in 1543, Ambrogio Santapa was nominated Prince of Butera, after defeating Hayreddin Barbarossa, the Ottoman pirate. Up until the 19th century, this was Sicilys main feudal title, in Butera, 12-13% of the population carries the sickle-cell trait, and its prevalence amongst the town’s citizens is believed to be due to selective pressure against malaria. While some sources claim that it was introduced by the Muslim conquerors, at present, approximately 7% of the surnames in the city are attributed to a possible Hellenic origin. Arab-Norman Castle, from the 9th century Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Thomas and found in the Piazza Duomo, giovanni Church of San Francesco, the oldest church in the town, it was founded by the first Norman Christians and became a church of Franciscan monks
38.
Mazzarino, Sicily
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Mazzarino is a city and comune in the province of Caltanissetta in the region of Sicily, Italy. The city emerged in the half of the 13th century. In 1507, the lords of the received the title Count of Mazzarini. It is home to two castles, in the 1950s, the local friary was the stage for the highly debated Mazzarino Friars case
39.
Palermo
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Palermo is a city of Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence, Palermo is located in the northwest of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The city was founded in 734 BC by the Phoenicians as Ziz, Palermo then became a possession of Carthage, before becoming part of the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire and eventually part of the Byzantine Empire, for over a thousand years. The Greeks named the city Panormus meaning complete port, from 831 to 1072 the city was under Arab rule during the Emirate of Sicily when the city first became a capital. The Arabs shifted the Greek name into Balarme, the root for Palermos present-day name, eventually Sicily would be united with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification of 1860. The population of Palermo urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 855,285, in the central area, the city has a population of around 676,000 people. The inhabitants are known as Palermitani or, poetically, panormiti, the languages spoken by its inhabitants are the Italian language, Sicilian language and the Palermitano dialect. Palermo is Sicilys cultural, economic and touristic capital and it is a city rich in history, culture, art, music and food. Palermo is the main Sicilian industrial and commercial center, the industrial sectors include tourism, services, commerce. Palermo currently has an airport, and a significant underground economy. In fact, for cultural, artistic and economic reasons, Palermo was one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean and is now among the top tourist destinations in both Italy and Europe. It is the seat of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Arab-Norman Palermo. The city is going through careful redevelopment, preparing to become one of the major cities of the Euro-Mediterranean area. Roman Catholicism is highly important in Palermitano culture, the Patron Saint of Palermo is Santa Rosalia whose Feast Day is celebrated on 15 July. The area attracts significant numbers of each year and is widely known for its colourful fruit, vegetable and fish markets at the heart of Palermo, known as Vucciria, Ballarò. Palermo lies in a basin, formed by the Papireto, Kemonia, the basin was named the Conca dOro by the Arabs in the 9th century. The city is surrounded by a range which is named after the city itself. These mountains face the Tyrrhenian Sea, Palermo is home to a natural port and offers excellent views to the sea, especially from Monte Pellegrino
40.
Utah Beach
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Utah Beach was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6,1944, during World War II. The westernmost of the five landing beaches, Utah is on the Cotentin Peninsula, west of the mouths of the Douve, the objective at Utah was to secure a beachhead on the Cotentin Peninsula, the location of important port facilities at Cherbourg. The amphibious assault, primarily by the US 4th Infantry Division and 70th Tank Battalion, was supported by landings of the 82nd. The intention was to seal off the Cotentin Peninsula, prevent the Germans from reinforcing Cherbourg. Utah, along with Sword Beach on the flank, was added to the invasion plan in December 1943. These changes doubled the frontage of the invasion and necessitated a delay so that additional landing craft. Allied forces attacking Utah Beach faced two battalions of the 919th Grenadier Regiment, part of the 709th Static Infantry Division, while some airborne objectives were quickly met, many paratroopers landed far from their drop zones and were unable to fulfill their objectives on the first day. On the beach itself, infantry and tanks landed in four waves beginning at 06,30, meanwhile, engineers set to work clearing the area of obstacles and mines, and additional waves of reinforcements continued to arrive. At the close of D-Day, Allied forces had captured about half of the planned area and contingents of German defenders remained. The 4th Infantry Division landed 21,000 troops on Utah at the cost of only 197 casualties, Airborne troops arriving by parachute and glider numbered an additional 14,000 men, with 2,500 casualties. Around 700 men were lost in engineering units, 70th Tank Battalion, Cherbourg was captured on June 26, but by this time the Germans had destroyed the port facilities, which were not brought back into full operation until September. The decision to undertake an invasion of continental Europe within the next year was taken at the Trident Conference. The Allies initially planned to launch the invasion on May 1,1944, General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed commander of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force. General Bernard Montgomery was named as commander of the 21st Army Group, on December 31,1943, Eisenhower and Montgomery first saw the plan, which proposed amphibious landings by three divisions and two-thirds of an airborne division. The two generals immediately insisted that the scale of the invasion be expanded to five divisions. The change doubled the frontage of the invasion from 25 miles to 50 miles and this would allow for quicker offloading of men and materiel, make it more difficult for the Germans to respond, and speed up the capture of the port at Cherbourg. Eisenhower and Lieutenant General Omar Bradley selected for Utah the VII Corps, Major General J. Lawton Collins, who had experience with amphibious operations in the Pacific Theater of Operations, replaced Major General Roscoe Woodruff as commander of VII Corps. Utah Beach, the westernmost of the five landing beaches, is on the Cotentin Peninsula, west of the mouths of the Douve and Vire rivers
41.
Normandy landings
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The Normandy landings were the landing operations on Tuesday,6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. The largest seaborne invasion in history, the operation began the liberation of German-occupied northwestern Europe from Nazi control, planning for the operation began in 1943. Adolf Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in command of German forces, the amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault—the landing of 24,000 American, British, and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight. Allied infantry and armoured divisions began landing on the coast of France at 06,30, the target 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors, Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Strong winds blew the landing craft east of their positions, particularly at Utah. Casualties were heaviest at Omaha, with its high cliffs, at Gold, Juno, and Sword, several fortified towns were cleared in house-to-house fighting, and two major gun emplacements at Gold were disabled, using specialised tanks. The Allies failed to any of their goals on the first day. Carentan, St. Lô, and Bayeux remained in German hands, and Caen, German casualties on D-Day have been estimated at 4,000 to 9,000 men. Allied casualties were at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead, museums, memorials, and war cemeteries in the area now host many visitors each year. Between 27 May and 4 June 1940, over 338,000 troops of the British Expeditionary Force, after the German Army invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin began pressing his allies for the creation of a second front in western Europe. In late May 1942 the Soviet Union and the United States made a joint announcement that a. full understanding was reached with regard to the urgent tasks of creating a front in Europe in 1942. Instead of a return to France, the Western Allies staged offensives in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations. By mid-1943 the campaign in North Africa had been won, the Allies then launched the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and subsequently invaded Italy in September the same year. By then, Soviet forces were on the offensive and had won a victory at the Battle of Stalingrad. The decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion within the year was taken at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. Initial planning was constrained by the number of landing craft, most of which were already committed in the Mediterranean. At the Tehran Conference in November 1943, Roosevelt and Churchill promised Stalin that they would open the second front in May 1944. Four sites were considered for the landings, Brittany, the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy, as Brittany and Cotentin are peninsulas, it would have been possible for the Germans to cut off the Allied advance at a relatively narrow isthmus, so these sites were rejected
42.
Operation Overlord
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Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings, a 1, 200-plane airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, the decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion in 1944 was taken at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. The coast of Normandy was chosen as the site of the invasion, with the Americans assigned to land at sectors codenamed Utah and Omaha, the British at Sword and Gold, and the Canadians at Juno. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a military deception, Operation Bodyguard. This misled the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings, Adolf Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in charge of developing fortifications all along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an invasion. A failed counterattack by German forces on 8 August left 50,000 soldiers of the 7th Army trapped in the Falaise pocket, the Allies launched an invasion of southern France on 15 August, and the Liberation of Paris followed on 25 August. German forces retreated across the Seine on 30 August 1944, marking the close of Operation Overlord, in June 1940, Germanys leader Adolf Hitler had triumphed in what he called the most famous victory in history—the fall of France. The defending British Expeditionary Force, trapped along the northern coast of France, was able to evacuate over 338,000 troops to England in the Dunkirk evacuation. After the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin began pressing for the creation of a front in Western Europe. Two tentative plans code-named Operation Roundup and Operation Sledgehammer were put forward for 1942–43, instead, the Allies launched the invasion of French North Africa in November 1942, the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and invaded Italy in September. These operations provided the troops with valuable experience in amphibious warfare, the decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion within the next year was taken at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. Churchill favoured making the main Allied thrust into Germany from the Mediterranean theatre, but was over-ruled by his American allies, British Lieutenant-General Frederick E. Morgan was appointed Chief of Staff, Supreme Allied Commander, to begin detailed planning. The initial plans were constrained by the number of landing craft, most of which were already committed in the Mediterranean. In part because of lessons learned in the Dieppe Raid of 19 August 1942, the failure at Dieppe also highlighted the need for adequate artillery and air support, particularly close air support, and specialised ships able to travel extremely close to shore. Morgan considered four sites for the landings, Brittany, the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy, as Brittany and Cotentin are peninsulas, it would have been possible for the Germans to cut off the Allied advance at a relatively narrow isthmus, so these sites were rejected. The Pas de Calais is the closest point in continental Europe to Britain and was the location of sites for V-1 and V-2 rockets. The Germans considered it to be the most likely initial landing zone, Normandy was hence chosen as the landing site
43.
Hedgerow
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A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and tree species, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges used to separate a road from adjoining fields or one field from another, often they serve as windbreaks to improve conditions for the adjacent crops. When clipped and maintained, hedges are also a form of topiary. The development of hedges over the centuries is preserved in their structure, the first hedges enclosed land for cereal crops during the Neolithic Age. The farms were of about 5 to 10 hectares, with fields about 0.1 hectares for hand cultivation, some hedges date from the Bronze and Iron Ages, 2000–4000 years ago, when traditional patterns of landscape became established. Others were built during the Medieval field rationalisations, more originated in the boom of the 18th and 19th centuries. In parts of Britain, early hedges were destroyed to make way for the manorial open-field system, many were replaced after the Enclosure Acts, then removed again during modern agricultural intensification, and now some are being replanted for wildlife. A hedge may consist of a species or several, typically mixed at random. In many newly planted British hedges, at least 60 per cent of the shrubs are hawthorn, blackthorn, the first two are particularly effective barriers to livestock. Other shrubs and trees used include holly, beech, oak, ash, and willow, of the hedgerows in the Normandy region of France, Martin Blumenson said, The hedgerow is a fence, half earth, half hedge. The wall at the base is a parapet that varies in thickness from one to four or more feet. Growing out of the wall is a hedge of hawthorn, brambles, vines, originally property demarcations, hedgerows protect crops and cattle from the ocean winds that sweep across the land. The hedgerows of Normandy became barriers that slowed the advance of Allied troops following the D-Day invasion of WWII, there are thought to be around 1.8 million hedgerow trees in Britain with perhaps 98% of these being in England and Wales. Hedgerow trees are both an important part of the English landscape and are valuable habitats for wildlife, many hedgerow trees are veteran trees and therefore of great wildlife interest. The most common species are oak and ash, though in the past elm would also have been common, around 20 million elm trees, most of them hedgerow trees, were felled or died through Dutch elm disease in the late 1960s. Many other species are used, notably including beech and various nut, the age structure of British hedgerow trees is old because the number of new trees is not sufficient to replace the number of trees that are lost through age or disease. New trees can be established by planting but it is more successful to leave standard trees behind when laying hedges. Trees should be left at no closer than 10 metres apart, the distance allows the young trees to develop full crowns without competing or producing too much shade
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Caterpillar D7
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The Caterpillar D7 is a medium bulldozer manufactured by Caterpillar Inc. The first D7 appeared in 1938, the D7C came next in 1955. In March 2008, at Conexpo 2008 held every 3 years in Las Vegas and this 235 hp D7E comes with an electric drive system powered by a 537cid C9.3 diesel engine. The C9.3 powers a generator that turns out electricity that will power to a pair of AC drive motors. The D7R Series II at 240 hp power and a weight of 25 tons, is in the middle of Caterpillars track-type tractors. It is primarily used to move short distances or through challenging terrain. The vehicle is powerful, yet small and light 16 to 20 t depending on configuration) and this makes it ideal for working on very steep slopes, in forests, and for backfilling pipelines safely without risking damage to the pipe. An agricultural version without the blade and rippers is commonly used by farmers, specially modified D7Es fitted with Rome plows were used to clear forest in the Vietnam war. The US Army used armored D7G to clear fields and unarmored D7G. The armor was developed by the Israel Military Industries, later, the US Army developed a remote controlled version of the D7G for mine-clearing applications. The United States Marine Corps has replaced its fleet of D7Gs with John Deeres 850J MCT in 2009 The Egyptian Army operates an number of armored D7R II. The current model is the D7R Series 2 Track-Type Tractor and will be replaced by the D7E in early 2009. The dozer blade on front of the tractor usually comes in 4 varieties, A Straight Blade which is short and has no lateral curve, no side wings, an Angle Blade, A type of blade, typically only 4 in height, that attaches to the dozers C-frame. The C-frame has 3 holes on each side where the blade will be pinned into, thus the angle blade has 3 set positions, right angle, left angle. Most commonly found in construction, due to the fact that an experienced operator can move. A Universal Blade which is tall and very curved, and has side wings to carry more material. A S-U combination blade which is shorter, has less curvature, various other blade types are used including landfill U-Blades, woodchip U-blades, and two-way blades for work inside the holds of ships. A Caterpillar D7G makes an appearance in Maximum Overdrive which shows up along with an M274 Mule, a Caterpillar D7 is the main antagonist in the novelette Killdozer
45.
Armored bulldozer
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The armored bulldozer is a basic tool of combat engineering. These combat engineering vehicles combine the earth moving capabilities of the bulldozer with armor which protects the vehicle, most are civilian bulldozers modified by addition of vehicle armor/military equipment, but some are tanks stripped of armament and fitted with a dozer blade. Some tanks have bulldozer blades while retaining their armament, but this does not make them armored bulldozers as such, the first armored bulldozer was developed by the British during World War II. This was a conventional Caterpillar D8 bulldozer fitted with armor to protect the driver, the work was carried out by Jack Olding & Company Ltd of Hatfield. The bulldozer was one of several armored vehicles that were collectively referred to as Hobarts Funnies and were operated by the British 79th Armoured Division in support of armored assaults. This need was met by the Centaur Bulldozer—a Centaur tank with the turret removed, Centaur bulldozers were still in use with the British Army at the time of the Korean War. Modern armored bulldozers are often based on the Caterpillar D7 and D9, the attributes that make the D9 popular for major construction projects make it desirable for military applications as well. It has been effective for the Israel Defense Forces and for the United States armed forces in Iraq. Following the success of the armored D9, Caterpillar Defense Products started to manufacture and sell armored bulldozers, the D9R, the latest generation of D9 bulldozers in IDF service, has a power of 405 to 410 horsepower and drawbar pull of 71.6 tonnes-force. It has a crew of two, an operator and a commander and it is operated by the TZAMA units of the Israeli Engineering Corps. The main IDF modification is the installation of an Israeli-made armor kit which provides protection to the mechanical systems. The operator and commander are protected inside a cabin, with bulletproof windows to protect against bombs, machinegun. The IDF also developed a slat armor add-on to deflect RPG rounds, the fitted armor package adds roughly 15 additional tons to the production-line weight of the D9. The modified D9 bulldozers can be fitted with disparate features, such as crew-operated machine guns, smoke projectors, therefore, they were used to open safe routes for IDF forces and detonate explosive charges. The bulldozer was used extensively to clear shrubbery and structures which could be used as cover, during the first Gulf war the USA purchased tractor protection kits from the Israel Military Industries for their Caterpillar D7 bulldozers. The armored bulldozers were used in mine clearing applications. During the preparation to the war in Iraq in 2003 the United States Army purchased several D9 armor kits from the IDF and these have been used to clear destroyed vehicles from roads, dig moats, erect earthen-barriers, and construct field fortifications. D9s have also used to raze houses which sheltered insurgent snipers
46.
Cotentin Peninsula
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The Cotentin Peninsula, also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain, to its west lie the Channel Islands and to the southwest lies the Brittany Peninsula. The peninsula lies wholly within the department of Manche, in the region of Normandy, the Cotentin peninsula is part of the Armorican Massif and lies between the estuary of the Vire river and Mont Saint-Michel Bay. It is divided into three areas, the headland of Cap de la Hague, the Cotentin Pass, and the valley of the Saire River and it forms the bulk of the department of Manche. Its southern part, known as le Marais, crosses from east to west from just north west of Saint Lo and east of Lessay, the largest town in the peninsula is Cherbourg on the north coast, a major cross-channel port. The western coast of the peninsula, known as the Côte des Îles faces the Channel Islands, ferry links serve Carteret and the islands of Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney from Dielette. Off the east coast of the lies the island of Tatihou. The oldest stone in France is found in outcroppings on the coast of Cap de la Hague, Cotentin was almost an island at one time. Only a small strip of land in the heath of Lessay connected the peninsula with the mainland. Thanks to the so-called portes à flot, which close at flood and open at ebb and which were built in the west coast and in the Baie des Veys, on the east coast, the Côte des Havres lies between the Cape of Carteret and the Cape of Granville. To the northwest, there are two sand dune systems, one stretching between Siouville-Hague and Vauville, the other one stretching between Cap of Carteret and Baubigny, the peninsula formed part of the Roman geographical area of Armorica. The town known today as Coutances, capital of the Unelli, the base of the peninsula, called in Latin the pagus Constantinus, joined together with the pagus Coriovallensis centred upon Cherbourg to the north, subsequently became known as the Cotentin. Under the Carolingians it was administered by viscounts drawn successively from members of the Saint-Sauveur family, King Alan the Great of Brittany waged war successfully on the Norsemen. As the result of his conquests, the Cotentin Peninsula was included theoretically in the territory of the Duchy of Brittany, the Dukes of Brittany suffered continuing Norse invasions and Norman raids. Eventually the Cotentin Peninsula was lost to Brittany after only 70 years of political domination, meanwhile, Vikings settled on the Cotentin in the ninth and tenth centuries. There are indications of an industry there dating to the ninth century. They were followed by Anglo-Norse and Anglo-Danish people, who established as farmers and it became part of Normandy in the early tenth century. Many placenames there are derived from the Norse language, examples include La Hague from hagi meadow or enclosure and La Hougue from haugr meaning a hill or mound
47.
Seine
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The Seine is a 777-kilometre-long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Source-Seine,30 kilometres northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and it is navigable by ocean-going vessels as far as Rouen,120 kilometres from the sea. There are 37 bridges within Paris and dozens more spanning the river outside the city, examples in Paris include the Pont Alexandre III and Pont Neuf, the latter of which dates back to 1607. Outside the city, examples include the Pont de Normandie, one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the world, the Seine rises in the commune of Source-Seine, about 30 kilometres northwest of Dijon. The source has been owned by the city of Paris since 1864, a number of closely associated small ditches or depressions provide the source waters, with an artificial grotto laid out to highlight and contain a deemed main source. The grotto includes a statue of a nymph, on the same site are the buried remains of a Gallo-Roman temple. Small statues of the dea Sequana Seine goddess and other ex voti found at the place are now exhibited in the Dijon archeological museum. The Seine is dredged and oceangoing vessels can dock at Rouen,120 kilometres from the sea, commercial riverboats can use the river from Bar-sur-Seine,560 kilometres to its mouth. At Paris, there are 37 bridges, the river is only 24 metres above sea level 446 kilometres from its mouth, making it slow flowing and thus easily navigable. The Seine Maritime,105.7 kilometres from the English Channel at Le Havre to Rouen, is the portion of the Seine used by ocean-going craft. The tidal section of the Seine Maritime is followed by a section with four large multiple locks until the mouth of the Oise at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. Multiple locks at Bougival / Chatou and at Suresnes lift the vessels to the level of the river in Paris, upstream from Paris seven locks ensure navigation to Saint Mammès, where the Loing mouth is situated. Through an eighth lock the river Yonne is reached at Montereau-Fault-Yonne, from the mouth of the Yonne, larger ships can continue upstream to Nogent-sur-Seine. From there on, the river is only by small craft. All navigation ends abruptly at Marcilly-sur-Seine, where the ancient Canal de la Haute-Seine used to allow vessels to continue all the way to Troyes and this canal has been abandoned for many years. The average depth of the Seine today at Paris is about 9.5 metres. Until locks were installed to raise the level in the 1800s, the river was much shallower within the city most of the time, today the depth is tightly controlled and the entire width of the river between the built-up banks on either side is normally filled with water. The average flow of the river is low, only a few cubic metres per second
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Albert Canal
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The Albert Canal is a canal located in northeastern Belgium, which was named for King Albert I of Belgium. The Albert Canal connects Antwerp with Liège, and also the Meuse River with the Scheldt River and it also connects with the Canal Dessel-Turnhout-Schoten, and its total length is 129.5 kilometres. The Albert Canal has a depth of 3.4 metres. To allow four-stacked container traffic, bridges over the canal are currently being heightened to allow for a 9.1 metres overhead. The largest vessels that can use this canal are barges of just 10,000 tons - much smaller than the ones on the Rhine or the Danube or the ones in the waterways of the United States and Canada. Between Antwerp and Liège, there is a difference in elevation of 56 metres, five canal locks each have a lift of 10 metres, and these are located in Genk, Diepenbeek, Hasselt, Kwaadmechelen, and Olen, Belgium. The sixth lock at Wijnegem has a lift of 5.45 metres, during most of the 1930s, before the completion of the Albert Canal, it took about seven days to travel from Antwerp to Liege by water. In the 21st century, that same distance can be covered in about 18 hours, the Albert Canal was constructed from 1930 through 1939. The German construction company Hochtief AG worked on the canal between 1930 and 1934, but it was completed by Belgian companies. The Albert Canal was used for the first time in 1940 but, because of World War II, during World War II, the Albert Canal functioned as a defense line. The crossing of the canal by the German forces and the destruction of Fort Eben-Emael on 11 May 1940 was a milestone in the German invasion of Belgium. During the Liberation of Belgium by the Allies in September 1944, hence, Belgium was liberated from the south by three different armies, two of which needed to cross the Albert Canal. In 2002, the canal carried a record 43 million tons of goods of various kinds, the canal is also a popular leisure and cycling destination, with well paved service roads on both sides traversing picturesque farm land, particularly around Smeermass, Lanaken and Maasmechelen
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Battle of Fort Eben-Emael
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The easterly roads led into the Belgium heartland and the rest of the Low Countries. These roads were what the German forces intended to use to advance into Belgium, as some of the German airborne forces assaulted the fortress and disabled the garrison and the artillery pieces inside it, others simultaneously captured three bridges over the Canal. Having disabled the fortress, the troops were then ordered to protect the bridges against Belgian counter-attacks until they linked up with ground forces from the German 18th Army. The Fallschirmjäger then entered the fortress, killing a number of defenders, German forces were then able to utilize two bridges over the Canal to bypass a number of Belgian defensive positions and advance into Belgium to aid in the invasion of the country. The bridge at Kanne was destroyed, forcing German engineers to construct a new bridge, on 10 May 1940, Germany launched Fall Gelb, an invasion of the Low Countries. Some of these positions were only lightly defended and intended more as delaying positions than true defensive lines designed to stop an enemy attack. However, a number of them were of a permanent design, possessing considerable fortifications. The bridges were defended by blockhouses equipped with machine-guns, artillery support was provided by Fort Eben-Emael, whose artillery pieces covered two of the bridges. The Belgian 7th Infantry Division was assigned to guard the three bridges over the canal, supplementing the troops who garrisoned Fort Eben-Emael at the time of the battle. Fort Eben-Emael, which measured 200 by 400 yards, had built during the 1930s. It possessed walls and roofs composed of 5 feet thick reinforced concrete, as well as four retractable casemates, a large number of tunnels ran beneath the fort, connecting individual turrets to the command centre and the ammunition stores. The defending force would then retire to the defensive positions along the River Dyle. The division would also interdict all roads and railway lines in the area to impede the movement of Dutch forces. The intention of the German OKW was to use the two divisions to create a corridor, along which the 18th Army could advance into the Netherlands without being impeded by destroyed bridges. Although the force was composed primarily of parachutists, it was decided that the first landings by the force should be by glider, fifty DFS230 transport gliders were supplied for use by the assault force, and then a period of intensive training began. A detailed study of the fort, the bridges and the area was made. Secrecy was also maintained in a number of other ways, hauptmann Koch divided his force into four assault groups. The crucial element for the force, and particularly Group Granite, was time
50.
Bailey bridge
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The Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed by the British during World War II for military use and saw use by British, Canadian. A Bailey bridge had the advantages of requiring no tools or heavy equipment to assemble. The wood and steel bridge elements were small and light enough to be carried in trucks and lifted into place by hand, the bridges were strong enough to carry tanks. Bailey bridges continue to be used in civil engineering construction projects and to provide temporary crossings for foot. Donald Bailey was a servant in the British War Office who tinkered with model bridges as a hobby. He presented one such model to his chiefs, who saw some merit in the design, a team of Royal Engineer officers was assembled at the Military Engineering Experimental Establishment, in Barrack Road Christchurch, Dorset, in 1941 and 1942. In the course of development, the bridge was tested in several formats, e. g. as a suspension bridge, and as a stepped arch bridge, as well as the flat truss bridge which became the standard. The prototype of this was used to span Mother Sillers Channel which cuts through the nearby Stanpit Marshes, an area of marshland at the confluence of the River Avon and it remains there as a functioning bridge. Bridges in the formats were built, temporarily, to cross the Avon. After successful development and testing, the bridge was taken into service by the Corps of Royal Engineers, a number of bridges were available by 1944 for D-Day, when production was accelerated. The US also licensed the design and started construction for their own use. Bailey was later knighted for his invention, which continues to be produced and used today. The original design, however, violated a patent on the Callender-Hamilton bridge, the designer of that bridge, A. M. Hamilton successfully applied to the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors. The Bailey Bridge, however, had advantages over Hamiltons design. For example, damaged parts could not be replaced quickly on the Callender-Hamilton bridge, the Callender-Hamilton bridge was modified by the London County Council engineers department in the design of three emergency bridges which were erected across the River Thames in 1940. Damaged parts of these could be quickly replaced, experience gained in this work contributed to the development of the Bailey Bridge. Lieutenant General Sir Giffard Le Quesne Martel was awarded £500 for infringement on the design of his box girder bridge, most, if not all, previous designs for military bridges required cranes to lift the pre-assembled bridge and lower it into place
United States
