1.
Battle of the Somme
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The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British and French empires against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of the reaches of the River Somme in France. The battle was intended to hasten a victory for the Allies and was the largest battle of the First World War on the Western Front, more than one million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history. The French and British had committed themselves to an offensive on the Somme during Allied discussions at Chantilly, Oise, in December 1915. Initial plans called for the French army to undertake the main part of the Somme offensive, the first day on the Somme was, in terms of casualties, also the worst day in the history of the British army, which suffered 57,470 casualties. These occurred mainly on the front between the Albert–Bapaume road and Gommecourt, where the attack was defeated and few British troops reached the German front line, the battle is notable for the importance of air power and the first use of the tank. At the end of the battle, British and French forces had penetrated 10 km into German-occupied territory, the Anglo-French armies failed to capture Péronne and halted 5 km from Bapaume, where the German armies maintained their positions over the winter. Debate continues over the necessity, significance and effect of the battle, David Frum opined that a century later, the Somme remains the most harrowing place-name in the history of the British Empire. Allied war strategy for 1916 was decided at the Chantilly Conference from 6–8 December 1915, in December 1915, General Sir Douglas Haig replaced Field Marshal Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the BEF. Haig favoured a British offensive in Flanders close to BEF supply routes, to drive the Germans from the Belgian coast, Haig was not formally subordinate to Marshal Joseph Joffre but the British played a lesser role on the Western Front and complied with French strategy. A week later the Germans began an offensive against the French at Verdun, by 31 May, the ambitious Franco-British plan for a decisive victory, had been reduced to a limited offensive to relieve pressure on the French at Verdun with a battle of attrition on the Somme. The Chief of the German General Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn, intended to end the war by splitting the Anglo-French Entente in 1916, Falkenhayn chose to attack towards Verdun to take the Meuse heights and make Verdun untenable. The British would then have to begin a hasty relief offensive, Falkenhayn expected the relief offensive to fall south of Arras against the Sixth Army and be destroyed. If such Franco-British defeats were not enough, Germany would attack the remnants of armies and end the western alliance for good. Eloi, south of Ypres and reduced the German counter-offensive strategy north of the Somme, to one of passive, the Battle of Verdun began a week after Joffre and Haig agreed to mount an offensive on the Somme. The battle changed the nature of the offensive on the Somme, as French divisions were diverted to Verdun, German overestimation of the cost of Verdun to the French contributed to the concentration of German infantry and guns on the north bank of the Somme. The German offensive at Verdun was suspended in July, and troops, guns, the Brusilov Offensive, absorbed the extra forces that had been requested on 2 June by Fritz von Below, commanding the German Second Army, for a spoiling attack on the Somme. During the offensive the Russians inflicted c. 1,500,000 losses including c. 407,000 prisoners, three divisions were ordered from France to the Eastern Front on 9 June and the spoiling attack on the Somme was abandoned
2.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
3.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
4.
Second Boer War
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The Second Boer War, usually known as the Boer War and also at the time as the South African War, started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. Great Britain defeated two Boer states in South Africa, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, Britain was aided by its Cape Colony, Colony of Natal and some native African allies. The British war effort was supported by volunteers from the British Empire, including Southern Africa, the Australian colonies, Canada, India. All other nations were neutral, but public opinion in them was largely hostile to Britain, inside Britain and its Empire there also was significant opposition to the Second Boer War. The British were overconfident and under-prepared, the Boers were very well armed and struck first, besieging Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking in early 1900, and winning important battles at Colenso, Magersfontein and Stormberg. Staggered, the British brought in numbers of soldiers and fought back. General Redvers Buller was replaced by Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener and they relieved the three besieged cities, and invaded the two Boer republics in late 1900. The onward marches of the British Army were so overwhelming that the Boers did not fight staged battles in defense of their homeland, the British quickly seized control of all of the Orange Free State and Transvaal, as the civilian leadership went into hiding or exile. In conventional terms, the war was over, Britain officially annexed the two countries in 1900, and called a khaki election to give the government another six years of power in London. However, the Boers refused to surrender and they reverted to guerrilla warfare under new generals Louis Botha, Jan Smuts, Christiaan de Wet and Koos de la Rey. Two more years of attacks and quick escapes followed. As guerrillas without uniforms, the Boer fighters easily blended into the farmlands, which provided hiding places, supplies, the British solution was to set up complex nets of block houses, strong points, and barbed wire fences, partitioning off the entire conquered territory. The civilian farmers were relocated into concentration camps, where very large proportions died of disease, especially the children, then the British mounted infantry units systematically tracked down the highly mobile Boer guerrilla units. The battles at this stage were small operations with few combat casualties The war ended in surrender, the British successfully won over the Boer leaders, who now gave full support to the new political system. Both former republics were incorporated into the Union of South Africa in 1910, the conflict is commonly referred to as simply the Boer War, since the First Boer War is much less well known. Boer was the term for Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans descended from the Dutch East India Companys original settlers at the Cape of Good Hope. It is officially called the South African War and it is known as the Anglo-Boer War among some South Africans. In Afrikaans it may be called the Anglo-Boereoorlog, Tweede Boereoorlog, in South Africa it is officially called the South African War
5.
Water buffalo
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The water buffalo or domestic Asian water buffalo is a large bovid originating in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and China. Today, it is found in Europe, Australia, South America. The wild water buffalo native to Southeast Asia is considered a different species, Water buffalo were traded from the Indus Valley Civilisation to Mesopotamia, in modern Iraq,2500 BC by the Meluhhas. The seal of a scribe employed by an Akkadian king shows the sacrifice of water buffalo, at least 130 million domestic water buffalo exist, and more people depend on them than on any other domestic animal. They are especially suitable for tilling rice fields, and their milk is richer in fat, the large feral population of northern Australia became established in the late 19th century, and smaller feral herds are in New Guinea, Tunisia, and northeastern Argentina. Feral herds are present in New Britain, New Ireland, Irian Jaya, Papua New Guinea, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil. The skin of buffalo is black, but some specimens may have dark. Swamp buffalo have a skin at birth, but become slate blue later. Albinoids are present in some populations, River buffalo have comparatively longer faces, smaller girths, and bigger limbs than swamp buffalo. Their dorsal ridges extend further back and taper off more gradually and their horns grow downward and backward, then curve upward in a spiral. Swamp buffalo are heavy-bodied and stockily built, the body is short, the forehead is flat, the eyes prominent, the face short, and the muzzle wide. The neck is long, and the withers and croup are prominent. A dorsal ridge extends backward and ends abruptly just before the end of the chest and their horns grow outward, and curve in a semicircle, but always remain more or less on the plane of the forehead. The tail is short, reaching only to the hocks, height at withers is 129–133 cm for males, and 120–127 cm for females. They range in weight from 300–550 kg, but weights of over 1,000 kg have also been observed, Tedong bonga is a black pied buffalo featuring a unique black and white colouration that is favoured by the Toraja of Sulawesi. The swamp buffalo has 48 chromosomes, the buffalo has 50 chromosomes. The two types do not readily interbreed, but fertile offspring can occur, buffalo-cattle hybrids have not been observed to occur, but the embryos of such hybrids reach maturity in laboratory experiments, albeit at lower rates than non-hybrids. The rumen of the buffalo has important differences from that of other ruminants
6.
British Army uniform and equipment in World War I
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British Army uniform and equipment in World War I. According to the British official historian Brigadier James E. Edmonds recorded in 1925, The British Army of 1914, was the best trained best equipped and best organized British Army ever sent to war. As part of a series of following the Second Boer War. The soldier was issued with the 1908 Pattern Webbing for carrying personal equipment, the British soldier went to war in August 1914 wearing the 1902 Pattern Service Dress tunic and trousers. This was a woollen tunic, dyed khaki. Rifle patches were sewn just above the breast pockets, to prevent wear from the webbing equipment, shoulder straps were sewn on and fastened with brass buttons, with enough space for a brass regimental shoulder title. Rank insignia was sewn onto the upper sleeves, while trade badges and Long Service. There were also lightweight uniforms for wear in warmer climates e. g India known as Khaki drill, the Officers uniform was little different in cut, but the Other Ranks tunic was distinguished from the temperate service dress by having only the breast pockets. Both were made from a lighter cloth, a mess tin was worn attached to one of the packs, and was contained inside a cloth buff-coloured khaki cover. Inside the haversack were personal items, knife and when on Active Service, the large pack could sometimes be used to house some of these items, but was normally kept for carrying the soldiers Greatcoat and or a blanket. The full set of 1908 webbing could weigh over 70 pounds, the British personal equipment used in the Second Boer War had been found to be deficient for a number of reasons and the Bandolier Equipment was introduced as a stop-gap replacement. It soon proved to be unsuitable for use, but was used throughout the First World War by cavalry. The cavalry version of the 1903 Equipment had a further four ammunition pouches on the bandolier, worn on the soldiers back, on the outbreak of war, it became clear that the Mills Equipment Company would be quite unable to keep up with the sudden demand for webbing. Therefore, a version of the 1908 equipment was designed to be made in leather, the leather was coloured with either a brown or khaki finish, and the packs and haversacks were made from canvas. It was originally intended that the equipment would be used by units in training or on home service. However, in practice, reinforcement drafts and sometimes whole battalions would arrive at the front line still with their leather equipment, the Pith helmet is a lightweight helmet made of cork or pith, with a cloth cover, designed to shade the wearers head from the sun. They were widely worn during World War I by British Empire troops fighting in the Middle East and it also had a wide pocket on the outer helmet. The first delivery of a steel helmet to the British Army was in 1915
7.
Royal Irish Fusiliers
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The Royal Irish Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th Regiment of Foot and the 89th Regiment of Foot in 1881. The regiments first title in 1881 was Princess Victorias, changed in 1920 to the Royal Irish Fusiliers, between the time of its formation and Irish independence, it was one of eight Irish regiments. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 87th Regiment of Foot, the regiment got its nickname, the Faughs, from its Irish war cry Faugh A Ballagh from the Napoleonic Wars. Regimental distinctions included a green plume worn on the side of the headdress. It was the county regiment for Armagh, Monaghan and Cavan, militarily, the whole of Ireland was administered as a separate command within the United Kingdom with Command Headquarters at Parkgate, Dublin, directly under the War Office in London. The 1st Battalion saw action in the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882 and at the Battle of Talana Hill, meanwhile, the 2nd Battalion saw action at the Battle of the Tugela Heights in February 1900. The 3rd Battalion fought against Irish rebels, who were fighting to end British rule in Ireland, two of the Royal Irish Fusiliers were killed and six more wounded. The 9th Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 108th Brigade in the 36th Division in October 1915 for service on the Western Front. With the independence of the Irish Free State in 1922, all the Irish line infantry regiments of the British army regiments were to be disbanded, however, this decision was later amended to exclude four battalions. After a successful campaign by the Royal Irish Fusiliers, it was agreed that the disbandment would not be of the most junior regiment, but of the two most junior battalions. These were the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers, the old 89th Foot, and the 2nd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, the old 108th Foot. The 1st Battalion, which had originally been serving with 25th Infantry Brigade in the 50th Division, was sent to France in early 1940 to join the rest of the British Expeditionary Force, the battalion fought in the Battle of Dunkirk and was forced to be evacuated. After Dunkirk, the became part of the 210th Independent Infantry Brigade. The battalion would remain with the division for the rest of the war, serving in the fighting in Sicily, the success in Sicily was followed by the landings in the Italian mainland. The 2nd Battalion, formerly the 89th Regiment of Foot, served throughout the Siege of Malta from 1940 to 1943, with the 4th Infantry Brigade, later renumbered the 234th Infantry Brigade. The battalion was lost in the Battle of Leros in September 1943, the 1st and 2nd battalions were amalgamated as the 1st Battalion in September 1948. The regiment was deployed to Jordan in June 1949 and to Gibraltar in December 1949 and it moved to Brooke Barracks in Berlin in June 1953 and then returned home in June 1964. The regiment was deployed to Korea in July 1954 for service in the Korean War and it went to Harding Barracks in Wuppertal in June 1956 and deployed to Libya in August 1958 before moving to Trenchard Barracks in Celle in October 1961
8.
Cotton
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Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus Gossypium in the family of Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, under natural conditions, the cotton bolls will tend to increase the dispersal of the seeds. The plant is a native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, Africa. The greatest diversity of wild species is found in Mexico, followed by Australia. Cotton was independently domesticated in the Old and New Worlds, the fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile. Current estimates for world production are about 25 million tonnes or 110 million bales annually, China is the worlds largest producer of cotton, but most of this is used domestically. The United States has been the largest exporter for many years, in the United States, cotton is usually measured in bales, which measure approximately 0.48 cubic meters and weigh 226.8 kilograms. Cotton cultivation in the region is dated to the Indus Valley Civilization, the Indus cotton industry was well-developed and some methods used in cotton spinning and fabrication continued to be used until the industrialization of India. Between 2000 and 1000 BC cotton became widespread across much of India, for example, it has been found at the site of Hallus in Karnataka dating from around 1000 BC. Cotton fabrics discovered in a cave near Tehuacán, Mexico have been dated to around 5800 BC, the domestication of Gossypium hirsutum in Mexico is dated between 3400 and 2300 BC. Cotton was grown upriver, made into nets, and traded with fishing villages along the coast for supplies of fish. The Spanish who came to Mexico and Peru in the early 16th century found the people growing cotton and this may be a reference to tree cotton, Gossypium arboreum, which is a native of the Indian subcontinent. According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, Cotton has been spun, woven and it clothed the people of ancient India, Egypt, and China. Hundreds of years before the Christian era, cotton textiles were woven in India with matchless skill, in Iran, the history of cotton dates back to the Achaemenid era, however, there are few sources about the planting of cotton in pre-Islamic Iran. The planting of cotton was common in Merv, Ray and Pars of Iran, in Persian poets poems, especially Ferdowsis Shahname, there are references to cotton. Marco Polo refers to the products of Persia, including cotton. John Chardin, a French traveler of the 17th century who visited the Safavid Persia, during the Han dynasty, cotton was grown by Chinese peoples in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan. Mohamed Ali Pasha accepted the proposition and granted himself the monopoly on the sale and export of cotton in Egypt, and later dictated cotton should be grown in preference to other crops
9.
United States Army
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
10.
Aldershot
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Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about 37 mi southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council, the town has a population of 36,321, while the Farnborough/Aldershot Built-up Area, a loose conurbation has a population of 243,344, making it the thirtieth-largest urban area in the UK. Aldershot is known as the Home of the British Army, a connection led to its rapid growth from a small village to a Victorian town. Aldershot is twinned with Sulechów in Poland, Meudon in France, the name may have derived from alder trees found in the area. Aldershot was included as part of the Hundred of Crondall referred to in the Domesday Book of 1086, john Nordens map of Hampshire, published in the 1607 edition of William Camdens Britannia, indicates that Aldershot was a market town. Prior to 1850, Aldershott was little known, the area was a vast stretch of common land, a lonely wasteland unsuitable for most forms of agriculture with scant population. In the 18th century, the stretch of the London to Winchester turnpike that passed through Aldershot between Bagshot and Farnham was the scene of highway robberies, at one time it had almost as bad a reputation as Hounslow Heath. Dick Turpin is said to have operated in the area having his headquarters nearby in Farnborough, in 1854, at the time of the Crimean War, Aldershot Garrison was established as the first permanent training camp for the British Army. This led to an expansion of Aldershots population going from 875 in 1851. Mrs Louisa Daniell arrived in the town at this time and set up her Soldiers Home and Institute to cater for the needs of the soldiers. The Aldershot riot of July 1945 caused considerable damage to the centre when disgruntled Canadian troops rioted in the streets for two evenings. A substantial rebuilding of the barracks was carried out between 1961 and 1969, by the architecture and engineering firm Building Design Partnership, the work was sped up under government pressure, and various new building technologies were employed with mixed success. In 1974 Aldershot and Farnborough urban districts were merged to form the Borough of Rushmoor under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972. After a 2009 campaign, the British Government allowed veteran Gurkha soldiers who had served for more four years. As many Gurkha soldiers had been based in and around Aldershot, between the 2001 Census and the 2011 Census, Rushmoors Nepalese population increased to approximately 6,000 people, making up 6. 5% of the overall population. Howarth was later criticised for suggesting that Nepalese migrants should be dispersed across the UK, the Aldershot Military Tattoo was an annual event dating back to 1894. In the 1920s and 30s, the Aldershot Command Searchlight Tattoo held at the Rushmoor Arena presented displays from all branches of the services, at one time the performances attracted crowds of up to 500,000 people. The Tattoo was organised to raise money for military charities, by the end of the 1930s the event was raising around £40,000 annually
11.
Bayonet
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In this regard, it is an ancillary close-quarter combat or last-resort weapon. Some modern bayonets, such as the one used on the British SA80 assault rifle, knife-shaped bayonets—when not fixed to a gun barrel—have long been utilized by soldiers in the field as general purpose cutting implements. The term bayonette dates back to the end of the 16th century, for example, Cotgraves 1611 Dictionarie describes the Bayonet as a kind of small flat pocket dagger, furnished with knives, or a great knife to hang at the girdle. Likewise, Pierre Borel wrote in 1655 that a kind of long-knife called a bayonette was made in Bayonne, the bayonet may have emerged to allow a hunter to fend off wild animals in the event of a missed shot. This idea was particularly persistent in Spain where hunting arms were equipped with bayonets from the 17th century until the advent of the cartridge era. The weapon was introduced into the French army by General Jean Martinet and was common in most European armies by the 1660s, the usefulness of such a dual-purpose arm soon became apparent. Early muskets fired at a rate, and could be both inaccurate and unreliable, depending on the quality of manufacture. A bayonet on a 5-foot tall musket achieved a similar to the infantry spear. The bayonet/musket combination was, however, considerably heavier than a polearm of the same length, early bayonets were of the plug type. This allowed light infantry to be converted to infantry and hold off cavalry charges. The bayonet had a handle that slid directly into the musket barrel. This naturally prevented the gun from being fired, in 1671, plug bayonets were issued to the French regiment of fusiliers then raised. They were issued to part of an English dragoon regiment raised in 1672 and disbanded in 1674, however, it was not widely adopted at the time. Soon socket bayonets would incorporate both ring mounts and a blade, keeping the bayonet well away from the muzzle blast of the musket barrel. In 1703, the French infantry adopted spring-loaded locking system that prevented the bayonet from accidentally separating from the musket, henceforward, the socket bayonet became, with the musket or other firearm, the typical weapon of the French infantry. The socket bayonet had by then adopted by most European armies. The British socket bayonet had a blade with a flat side towards the muzzle. However it had no lock to keep it fast to the muzzle and was well-documented for falling off in the heat of battle
12.
Entrenching tool
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An entrenching tool, E-tool, or trenching tool is a collapsible spade used by military forces for a variety of military purposes. Survivalists, campers, hikers and other groups have found it to be indispensable in field use. Modern entrenching tools are usually collapsible and made using steel, aluminum, entrenching tools go back at least to the times of the Roman Legion. Julius Caesar, as well as ancient writers, documented the use of spades. The Roman Legion when on the march would dig a ditch, siege tactics throughout history required the digging of fortifications and often mining of walls was attempted, where saps were dug to a wall’s foundation, and collapsing the wall was attempted. This frequently led to situations in which the infantry did not have access to entrenching equipment when it was needed. As one U. S. army infantry officer noted, the tools of an army rarely get up to the front until the exigency for their use has passed. In 1870, the U. S. Army introduced the trowel or spade bayonet and this was followed by the development of separate trowel and spade tools, small one-hand implements that could be carried as part of a soldiers individual equipment. While the entrenching trowel or spade gradually gave way in the U. S and these tools became extremely important with the introduction of trench warfare. Entrenching tools designed for the individual infantryman soon appeared with short straight handles, T-handles, D-handles, and other designs. Between the blade and the spike was a ring into which the handle could be inserted at right angles to the head, besides being used for digging defensive fighting positions, entrenching tools were used for digging latrines and graves. During World War I, the spade was also pressed into service as a melee weapon. In the close confines of a trench, rifles and fixed bayonets were often too long for effective use, from 1915, soldiers on both sides routinely sharpened the edges of entrenching shovels for use as weapons. After World War I, entrenching tools were again redesigned to be more compact, folding designs became increasingly popular, usually incorporating a fixed handle with a folding shovel head, and sometimes encompassing a pick into the design. Like all individual entrenching tools, they were designed to be carried as part of an infantry soldiers standard pack equipment. The British 1937 Pattern web equipment added a bayonet lug to their entrenching tool, allowing the spike bayonet to be mounted on the end, other folding variants have also been issued. The latest light weight plastic tri-fold design is thirty percent lighter than the all-steel tri-fold was,1.5 pounds instead of 2.25 pounds, entrenching tools, if strongly built, can also be used as ancillary weapons. During the Second World War, entrenchment tools were used in close combat between German and Soviet forces, notably in the brutal hand-to-hand fighting during the Battle of Stalingrad
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