1.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
2.
Royal Marines
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The Corps of Royal Marines is the United Kingdoms amphibious light infantry force, forming part of the Naval Service, along with the Royal Navy. The Royal Marines were formed in 1755 as the Royal Navys infantry troops, as a highly specialised and adaptable light infantry force, the Royal Marines are trained for rapid deployment worldwide and capable of dealing with a wide range of threats. The Royal Marines have close ties with allied marine forces, particularly the United States Marine Corps. Today, the Royal Marines are a fighting force within the British Armed forces. The Royal Marines can trace its origins back as far as 28 October 1664 when at the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company the Duke of York and Albanys maritime regiment of foot was first formed. On 5 April 1755, His Majestys Marine Forces, fifty Companies in three Divisions, headquartered at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, were formed by Order of Council under Admiralty control. Initially all field officers were Royal Navy officers as the Royal Navy felt that the ranks of Marine field officers were largely honorary and this meant that the furthest a Marine officer could advance was to lieutenant colonel. It was not until 1771 that the first Marine was promoted to colonel and this attitude persisted well into the 1800s. During the rest of the 18th century, they served in numerous landings all over the world and they also served in the American War of Independence, being particularly courageous in the Battle of Bunker Hill led by Major John Pitcairn. In 1788 a detachment of four companies of marines, under Major Robert Ross, due to an error the Fleet left Portsmouth without its main supply of ammunition, and were not resupplied until the Fleet docked in Rio de Janeiro midway through the voyage. In 1802, largely at the instigation of Admiral the Earl St. Vincent, the Royal Marines Artillery was formed as a separate unit in 1804 to man the artillery in bomb ketches. These had been manned by the Armys Royal Regiment of Artillery, during the Napoleonic Wars the Royal Marines participated in every notable naval battle on board the Royal Navys ships and also took part in multiple amphibious actions. In the Caribbean theatre volunteers from freed French slaves on Marie-Galante were used to form Sir Alexander Cochranes first Corps of Colonial Marines and these men bolstered the ranks, helping the British to hold the island until reinforcements arrived. This practice was repeated during the War of 1812, where escaped American slaves were formed into Cochranes second Corps of Colonial Marines and these men were commanded by Royal Marines officers and fought alongside their regular Royal Marines counterparts at the Battle of Bladensburg. Throughout the war Royal Marines units raided up and down the east coast of America including up the Penobscot River and they fought in the Battle of New Orleans and later helped capture Fort Bowyer in Mobile Bay in what was the last action of the war. In 1855 the Infantry forces were renamed the Royal Marines Light Infantry, during the Crimean War in 1854 and 1855, three Royal Marines earned the Victoria Cross, two in the Crimea and one in the Baltic. In 1862 the name was altered to Royal Marine Light Infantry. The Royal Navy did not fight any other ships after 1850, in these Naval Brigades, the function of the Royal Marines was to land first and act as skimishers ahead of the sailor Infantry and Artillery
3.
Her Majesty's Naval Service
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Her Majestys Naval Service, also known as the Senior Service, is the United Kingdoms naval warfare and maritime service. It consists of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Naval Careers Service, Royal Marines Band Service, the term Naval Service should be distinguished from the UK Naval Services, which consist of the Naval Service and the Merchant Navy. The Naval Service as a whole falls under the command of the Navy Board and this position is currently held by Admiral Sir Phillip Jones. The Defence Council delegates administration of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, the total displacement of HM Naval Service and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is approximately 641,000 tonnes. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is considered part of the Ministry of Defence Civil Service, the Navy has been structured around a single fleet since the abolition of the Eastern and Western fleets in 1971. Command of deployable assets is exercised by the Commander-in-Chief Fleet, who also has authority over the Royal Marines, personnel matters are the responsibility of the Second Sea Lord/Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command, an appointment usually held by a vice-admiral. The United Kingdoms nuclear deterrent is carried aboard the navys Vanguard-class of four nuclear ballistic-missile submarines, the surface fleet consists of destroyers, frigates, amphibious assault ships, patrol ships, mine-countermeasures, and miscellaneous vessels. The submarine service has existed within the Royal Navy for more than 100 years, the service possessed a combined fleet of diesel-electric and nuclear-powered submarines until the early 1990s. Following the Options for Change defence review, the Upholder class diesel-electric submarines were withdrawn, the infantry component of the Naval Service is the Corps of Royal Marines. Consisting of a single brigade and various independent units, the Royal Marines specialise in amphibious, arctic. The Commando Logistic Regiment consists of personnel from the Army, Royal Marines, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is a civilian-manned fleet owned by the British Ministry of Defence. The RFA enables ships of the Royal Navy to maintain operations around the world and its primary role is to supply the Royal Navy with fuel, ammunition and supplies, normally by replenishment at sea. It also transports Army and Royal Marine personnel, as well as supporting training exercises, the RFA is funded out of the UK defence budget and the Commodore commanding the RFA is directly responsible to the Royal Navy Fleet Commander. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary also augments the Royal Navys amphibious warfare capabilities through its three Bay-class landing ship dock vessels, the service is manned by around 1,850 civilian personnel. Serco Denholm took over Marine Services to the Naval Service from the now disbanded Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service in 2008, in late 2009 Serco bought out Denholms share, with the service now being known as Serco Marine Services
4.
Norton Manor Camp
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Norton Manor Camp is a Royal Marines military camp located in the civil parish of Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset, England, situated 2 miles north west of Taunton. Norton Camp is a hillfort, and shows evidence of occupation from neolithic times. Thought to have been on the boundary between two tribes, it is one of the earliest sites of permanent human occupation within the Taunton area and it was later occupied through the Bronze Age to the Roman occupation of the local area. By the early 18th century, the land around the hill was owned by Norton Manor. Silk mills had occupied the Taunton side of the brook marked the parish boundary, while in the early 20th century the Norton side had been developed as parkland. Norton Fitzwarren is on the former Bristol and Exeter Railway mainline, thanks also to the extensive local silk mills, there were also extensive existing freight handling facilities within the Fairwater Yard, a large regional freight yard located south of the mainline. Redesignated Quartermaster General Depot G-50, they equipped it with extensive sidings to the northeast of the railway station. Part of the reasoning behind the choice of the depot was that it was one of five within the 18 designated as a US Army Medical Corps supplies depot. Medical supplies were allocated 110,680 square feet of under cover storage, the US Army also locally developed the 67th General Hospital at Musgrove Park. Both facilities under the control of the US Army Medical Corps came into operation on 1 September 1942, in 1941, the British Army established a 300-person Prisoner of War camp on a northern part of the site at Burnshill, designated POW Camp No.665 Cross Keys. Initially housing Italian Army prisoners from the Western Desert Campaign, it later housed German prisoners post the Battle of Normandy, the Italians were particularly popular with the local people, often offering sweets and fruit to the local children. The German prisoners were popular, as they had been vetted and deemed non-Nazis. After the end of hostilities, the US Army handed the base back to the British Army and it was decided to retain Norton Manor Camp, and utilise its extensive logistics capability by becoming the Royal Army Ordnance Corps central overseas supplies depot. From 1950 until 1961 Norton Manor Camp was home to 8Trg Bn REME and was responsible for training vehicle mechanics. Despite extensive lobbying by local MP Edward du Cann on the Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Army Merlyn Rees, with the branchline to Barnstaple also to be closed under the Beeching Axe, the station at Norton Fitzwarren was closed by British Railways in the same year. From September 1979 to 1983 the camp became the home for the Junior Soldiers Battalion training boy soldiers for all Infantry units, less Guards, and this short lived unit disbanded when the Royal Marines took over the camp. After the decision to move the Royal Corps of Transport and their Junior Leader training base to Colerne, a separate Norton Manor Camp was established on the northern part of the site, including the former PoW camp, with a secure fence and facilities. By the early 21st century, agreement was reached to redevelop the site again, only four of the original Army supply depot warehouses now survive, with the rest demolished to build a new trading estate,500 new homes, and a new road system to bypass Norton Fitzwarren
5.
Taunton
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Taunton /ˈtɔːntən/ is the county town of Somerset, England. The built up area of the town had a population of 64,621 in 2011, the Normans then built a stone structured castle, which belonged to the Bishops of Winchester. The current heavily reconstructed buildings are the inner ward, which now houses the Museum of Somerset, the town is undergoing a regeneration project with redevelopment of the town centre. It has various transport links which support its role in economy. These have included the Grand Western Canal which reached Taunton in 1839, Taunton is the site of Musgrove Park Hospital and Somerset County Cricket Clubs County Ground and is home to 40 Commando, Royal Marines. Central Taunton is part of the annual West Country Carnival circuit and it hosts the Taunton flower show, which has been held in Vivary Park since 1866. The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office is located on Admiralty Way, the town name derives from Town on the River Tone — or Tone Town. Cambria Farm which is now the site of a Park and ride close to Junction 25 of the M5 motorway was the site of a Bronze and Iron Age settlement and Roman farm. There was a Romano-British village near the suburb of Holway, the Saxon town was a burh with its own mint. King Ine of Wessex threw up a castle here about 700. A monastery was founded before 904, the bishops of Winchester owned the manor, and obtained the first charter for their men of Taunton from King Edward in 904, freeing them from all royal and county tribute. Somerton took over from Ilchester as the county town in the thirteenth century, but it declined in importance. Between 1209 and 1311 the manor of Taunton, which was owned by the Bishop of Winchester, the parishes of Staplegrove, Wilton and Taunton itself were part of the Taunton Deane Hundred. In 1451 during the Wars of the Roses Taunton was the scene of a skirmish between Thomas de Courtenay, 13th Earl of Devon, and Baron Bonville, queen Margaret and her troops passed through in 1471 to defeat at the Battle of Tewkesbury. In the Second Cornish Uprising of 1497 most of the Cornish gentry supported Perkin Warbecks cause, Henry VII sent his chief general, Giles, Lord Daubeney, to attack the Cornish and when Warbeck heard that the Kings scouts were at Glastonbury he panicked and deserted his army. Henry VII reached Taunton on 4 October 1497 where he received the surrender of the remaining Cornish army, the ringleaders were executed and others fined a total of £13,000. Taunton Castle changed hands several times during the Civil War of 1642–45, during the Siege of Taunton it was defended by Robert Blake, from July 1644 to July 1645, with the town suffering destruction of many of the medieval and Tudor buildings. After the war, in 1662, the keep was demolished, the town did not obtain a charter of incorporation until 1627, which was renewed in 1677
6.
Somerset
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Somerset is a county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east and Devon to the south-west. It is bounded to the north and west by the Severn Estuary and its traditional border with Gloucestershire is the River Avon. Somerset is a county of rolling hills such as the Blackdown Hills, Mendip Hills, Quantock Hills and Exmoor National Park. There is evidence of occupation from Paleolithic times, and of subsequent settlement in the Roman. The county played a significant part in the consolidation of power and rise of King Alfred the Great, and later in the English Civil War, the city of Bath is famous for its substantial Georgian architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Somersets name derives from Old English Sumorsǣte, short for Sumortūnsǣte, an alternative suggestion is the name derives from Seo-mere-saetan meaning settlers by the sea lakes. The Old English name is used in the motto of the county, Sumorsǣte ealle, adopted as the motto in 1911, the phrase is taken from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Somerset settlement names are mostly Anglo-Saxon in origin, but some hill names include Brittonic Celtic elements, for example, an Anglo-Saxon charter of 682 refers to Creechborough Hill as the hill the British call Cructan and we call Crychbeorh. Some modern names are Brythonic in origin, such as Tarnock, the caves of the Mendip Hills were settled during the Palaeolithic period, and contain extensive archaeological sites such as those at Cheddar Gorge. Bones from Goughs Cave have been dated to 12,000 BC, examples of cave art have been found in Avelines Hole. Some caves continued to be occupied until modern times, including Wookey Hole, the Somerset Levels—specifically dry points at Glastonbury and Brent Knoll— also have a long history of settlement, and are known to have been settled by Mesolithic hunters. Travel in the area was facilitated by the construction of one of the worlds oldest known engineered roadways, the Sweet Track, the exact age of the henge monument at Stanton Drew stone circles is unknown, but it is believed to be Neolithic. There are numerous Iron Age hill forts, some of which, like Cadbury Castle, on the authority of the future emperor Vespasian, as part of the ongoing expansion of the Roman presence in Britain, the Second Legion Augusta invaded Somerset from the south-east in AD47. The county remained part of the Roman Empire until around AD409, a variety of Roman remains have been found, including Pagans Hill Roman temple in Chew Stoke, Low Ham Roman Villa and the Roman Baths that gave their name to the city of Bath. After the Romans left, Britain was invaded by Anglo-Saxon peoples, by AD600 they had established control over much of what is now England, but Somerset was still in native British hands. The Saxon royal palace in Cheddar was used several times in the 10th century to host the Witenagemot. After the Norman Conquest, the county was divided into 700 fiefs, Somerset contains HM Prison Shepton Mallet, which was Englands oldest prison still in use prior to its closure in 2013, having opened in 1610. In the English Civil War Somerset was largely Parliamentarian, with key engagements being the Sieges of Taunton, in 1685 the Monmouth Rebellion was played out in Somerset and neighbouring Dorset
7.
Latin
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Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets, Latin was originally spoken in Latium, in the Italian Peninsula. Through the power of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language, Vulgar Latin developed into the Romance languages, such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Romanian. Latin, Italian and French have contributed many words to the English language, Latin and Ancient Greek roots are used in theology, biology, and medicine. By the late Roman Republic, Old Latin had been standardised into Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin was the colloquial form spoken during the same time and attested in inscriptions and the works of comic playwrights like Plautus and Terence. Late Latin is the language from the 3rd century. Later, Early Modern Latin and Modern Latin evolved, Latin was used as the language of international communication, scholarship, and science until well into the 18th century, when it began to be supplanted by vernaculars. Ecclesiastical Latin remains the language of the Holy See and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Today, many students, scholars and members of the Catholic clergy speak Latin fluently and it is taught in primary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions around the world. The language has been passed down through various forms, some inscriptions have been published in an internationally agreed, monumental, multivolume series, the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Authors and publishers vary, but the format is about the same, volumes detailing inscriptions with a critical apparatus stating the provenance, the reading and interpretation of these inscriptions is the subject matter of the field of epigraphy. The works of several hundred ancient authors who wrote in Latin have survived in whole or in part and they are in part the subject matter of the field of classics. The Cat in the Hat, and a book of fairy tales, additional resources include phrasebooks and resources for rendering everyday phrases and concepts into Latin, such as Meissners Latin Phrasebook. The Latin influence in English has been significant at all stages of its insular development. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers cobbled together huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek words, dubbed inkhorn terms, as if they had spilled from a pot of ink. Many of these words were used once by the author and then forgotten, many of the most common polysyllabic English words are of Latin origin through the medium of Old French. Romance words make respectively 59%, 20% and 14% of English, German and those figures can rise dramatically when only non-compound and non-derived words are included. Accordingly, Romance words make roughly 35% of the vocabulary of Dutch, Roman engineering had the same effect on scientific terminology as a whole
8.
Prince Harry
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Prince Henry of Wales, KCVO, familiarly known as Prince Harry, is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales. After an education at schools in the United Kingdom and spending parts of his gap year in Australia and Lesotho, Harry chose a military career, undergoing officer training at RMA Sandhurst. He was commissioned as a cornet into the Blues and Royals, serving temporarily with his brother, in 2007–2008, he served for 77 days in Helmand, Afghanistan, but was pulled out following publication of his presence there by an Australian magazine. He returned to Afghanistan for a 20-week deployment in 2012–2013 with the Army Air Corps and he left the army in June 2015. Harry launched the Invictus Games in 2014, and remains patron of its Foundation and he also gives patronage to several other organisations, including the HALO Trust, the London Marathon Charitable Trust, and Walking With The Wounded. Harry was born at St Marys Hospital in Paddington, London, on 15 September 1984 at 4,20 pm and he was baptised on 21 December 1984 at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie. His godparents are Prince Andrew, Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, Carolyn Bartholomew, Bryan Organ, Gerald Ward and Celia, Harry began to accompany his parents on official visits at an early age, his first overseas tour was with his parents to Italy in 1985. Harrys parents divorced in 1996, and his mother died following a car accident in Paris the following year, Harry and William were staying with their father at Balmoral at the time, and the Prince of Wales told his sons about their mothers death. Like his father and brother, Harry was educated at independent schools and he started at Jane Mynors nursery school and the pre-preparatory Wetherby School, both in London. Following this, he attended Ludgrove School, and, after passing the exams, was admitted to Eton College. In June 2003, Harry completed his education at Eton with two A-Levels, having decided to drop history of art after AS level and he excelled in sports, particularly polo and rugby union. Passing two A-levels, Harry was eligible to apply for a commission in the British Army. One of Harrys former teachers, Sarah Forsyth, has assessed that Harry was a weak student, both Eton and Harry denied the claims. While a tribunal made no ruling on the claim, it accepted the prince had received help in preparing his A-level expressive project. After school, Harry took a gap year, during which he spent time in Australia, working on a cattle station and he also travelled to Lesotho, where he worked with orphaned children and produced the documentary film The Forgotten Kingdom. Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 8 May 2005, where he was known as Officer Cadet Wales, and joined the Alamein Company. Within a year, in April 2006, Harry completed his training and was commissioned as a Cornet in the Blues and Royals. He was given the service number 564673, on 13 April 2008, when he reached two years seniority, Harry was promoted to lieutenant
9.
Commando
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A commando is a soldier or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force often specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting or abseiling. Originally a commando was a type of unit, as opposed to an individual in that unit. In other languages, commando and kommando denote a command, including the sense of a military or a special operations unit. In the militaries and governments of most countries, commandos are distinctive in that they specialize in assault on unconventional high-value targets, however, the term commando is sometimes used in relation to units carrying out the latter tasks. In English, occasionally to distinguish between an individual commando and the unit Commando, the unit is capitalized, the word stems from the Afrikaans word kommando, which translates roughly to mobile infantry regiment. This term originally referred to mounted infantry regiments, who fought against the British Army in the first, the Dutch word has had the meaning of a military order or command since at least 1652, it likely came into the language through the influence of the Portuguese word comando. It is also possible the word was adopted into Afrikaans from interactions with Portuguese colonies. Less likely, it is a High German loan word, which was borrowed from Italian in the 17th century, the officer commanding an Afrikaans kommando is called a kommandant, which is a regimental commander equivalent to a lieutenant-colonel or a colonel. The Oxford English Dictionary ties the English use of the word meaning member of a body of picked men, directly into its Afrikaans origins,1943 Combined Operations i. Lt. Lieutenant-Colonel D. W. Clarke. produced the outline of a scheme, the men for this type of irregular warfare should, he suggested, be formed into units to be known as Commandos. Nor was the historical parallel far-fetched, after the victories of Roberts and Kitchener had scattered the Boer army, the guerrilla tactics of its individual units. His ideas were accepted, so also, with hesitation, was the name Commando. During World War II, newspaper reports of the deeds of the led to readers thinking that the singular meant one man rather than one military unit. After the Dutch Cape Colony was established in 1652, the word was used to describe bands of militia, the law compelled Burghers to equip themselves with a horse and a firearm when required in defense. The implementation of laws was called the Commando System. A group of mounted militiamen were organized in a known as a commando and headed by a Commandant. Men called up to serve were said to be on commando, British experience with this system lead to the widespread adoption of the word commandeer into English in the 1880s. During the Great Trek, conflicts with Southern African peoples such as the Xhosa, also, the word became used to describe any armed raid
10.
Battalion
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A battalion is a military unit. The use of the term varies by nationality and branch of service. Typically a battalion consists of 300 to 800 soldiers and is divided into a number of companies, a battalion is typically commanded by a lieutenant colonel. In some countries the word battalion is associated with the infantry, the term was first used in Italian as battaglione no later than the 16th century. It derived from the Italian word for battle, battaglia, the first use of battalion in English was in the 1580s, and the first use to mean part of a regiment is from 1708. The battalion must, of course, have a source of re-supply to enable it to sustain operations for more than a few days, the battalion is usually part of a regiment, brigade, or group, depending on the organizational model used by that service. The bulk of a battalions companies are often homogeneous with respect to type, a battalion includes a headquarters company and some sort of combat service support, typically organized within a combat support company. The term battalion is used in the British Army Infantry and some including the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. It was formerly used in the Royal Engineers, and was used in the now defunct Royal Army Ordnance Corps. Other corps usually use the term regiment instead, an infantry battalion is numbered ordinarily within its regiment. It normally has a company, support company, and three rifle companies. Each company is commanded by a major, the officer commanding, the HQ company contains signals, quartermaster, catering, intelligence, administration, pay, training, operations and medical elements. The support company usually contains anti-tank, machine gun, mortar, pioneer, mechanised units usually have an attached light aid detachment of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers to perform field repairs on vehicles and equipment. A British battalion in theatre during World War II had around 845 men in it, and, as of 2012, with successive rounds of cutbacks after the war, many infantry regiments were reduced to a single battalion. A battalion group or battlegroup consists of a battalion or armoured regiment with sub-units detached from other military units acting under the command of the battalion commander. In the Canadian Forces, most battalions are reserve units of between 100–200 soldiers that include an operationally ready, field-deployable component of approximately a half-company apiece, the nine regular force infantry battalions each contain three or four rifle companies and one or two support companies. Canadian battalions are generally commanded by lieutenant-colonels, though smaller reserve battalions may be commanded by majors, with the Dutch artillery units, the equivalent of a battalion is called an afdeling. Combat companies consist of infantry, combat engineers, or tanks, in the latter case, the unit is called an eskadron, which translates roughly to squadron
11.
3 Commando Brigade
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3 Commando Brigade is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces and the main manoeuvre formation of the Royal Marines. Its personnel are predominantly Royal Marines, supported by units of Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery, the brigade was formed in 1943, during the Second World War, with a mixture of Army commando and Royal Marine commando units and served in the Burma Campaign. After the Second World War, the Army commandos were disbanded, since the end of the Second World War, it has served in the Suez crisis, Falklands War, Gulf War and the War in Afghanistan. The 3rd Special Service Brigade was formed in 1943 and sailed for the Far East, on 6 December 1944, the brigade was renamed 3rd Commando Brigade, removing the hated title Special Service and its association with the German SS. In January 1945, the Brigade was involved in the battles to secure the Myebon peninsula, the brigade was then withdrawn to India to prepare for the amphibious assault on Malaya, but the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan ended the war before the planned invasion. Instead, the moved to Hong Kong to secure the Crown Colony. In 1946, the Army Commandos in the brigade were disbanded, the brigade was composed as follows, No.1 Commando No.5 Commando No.42 Royal Marine Commando No.44 Royal Marine Commando. 3 Commando Brigade’s most high-profile operation after the war was the Suez Crisis, during Operation Musketeer, units of the brigade made a helicopter-borne assault. 1971 saw the withdrawal of British forces from the Far East, the brigade returned to the UK with other British units. It moved to Stonehouse Barracks in Plymouth, where it remains to this day, the brigade was deployed to Northern Ireland as part of Operation Banner as violence escalated during the Troubles in July 1972. The brigades next operation was in 1982. Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, and 3 Commando Brigade, reinforced by 2 Para and 3 Para, was one of the two main British land formations that took part in operations to recapture the islands. The Brigade landed at San Carlos Water and marched across East Falkland to Stanley, argentine units were defeated in several sharp engagements, and their forces surrendered on 14 June. In the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, the brigade was deployed on a task in northern Iraq. The Iraqi Kurds had suffered immensely during the war and in its aftermath. It provided humanitarian aid to the Kurds and saved many from starvation, recently, the brigade has been involved in two major campaigns, including Operation Veritas in Afghanistan,2001 and 2002, and Operation Telic during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In Afghanistan, no contact was made with enemy forces, despite contrary predictions. Iraq, however, saw heavy fighting occur in the stages of the campaign
12.
Commander-in-Chief Fleet
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The Commander-in-Chief Fleet was the admiral responsible for the operation, resourcing and training of the ships, submarines and aircraft, and personnel, of the British Royal Navy until April 2012. CINC was subordinate to the First Sea Lord, the head of the Naval Service. In April 2012, the role was re-designated Fleet Commander and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, historically, the Royal Navy was usually split into a large number of commands, each with a Commander-in-Chief. In April 2012, the role was re-designated Fleet Commander and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff in the wake of the Levene report, the post also came with various NATO appointments including that of Commander in Chief Channel
13.
Light infantry
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Light infantry are soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry, heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight formations that were the core of large battles. Heavy infantry originally had heavier arms and more armour than light infantry, as with so called light infantry of later periods, the term more adequately describes the role of such infantry rather than the actual weight of their equipment. Peltast equipment, for example, grew steadily heavier at the time as hoplite equipment grew lighter. It was the fact that peltasts fought in order as skirmishers that made them light infantry. Early regular armies of the era frequently relied on irregulars to perform the duties of light infantry skirmishers. In the 18th and 19th centuries most infantry regiments or battalions had a company as an integral part of its composition. Its members were often smaller, more men with high shooting ability and capability of using initiative. They did not usually fight in disciplined ranks as did the infantry but often in widely dispersed groups. They were expected to avoid melee engagements unless necessary, and would fight ahead of the line to harass the enemy before falling back to the main position. Light infantry sometimes carried lighter muskets than ordinary infantrymen while others carried rifles and these became designated as rifle regiments in Britain and Jäger regiments in German speaking Europe. In France, during the Napoleonic Wars, light infantry were called voltigeurs and chasseurs, the Austrian army had Grenzer regiments from the middle of the 18th century, who originally served as irregular militia skirmishers recruited from mountainous frontier areas. Light infantry officers sometimes carried muskets or rifles, rather than pistols, orders were sent by bugle or whistle instead of drum. Some armies, including the British and French, recruited whole regiments of light infantry, by the late 19th century the concept of fighting in formation was on the wane due to advancements in weaponry and the distinctions between light and heavy infantry began to disappear. Essentially, all infantry became light infantry in operational practice, some regiments retained the name and customs, but there was in effect little difference between them and other infantry regiments. On the eve of World War I the British Army included seven light infantry regiments, today the term light denotes, in the United States table of organization and equipment, units lacking heavy weapons and armor or with a reduced vehicle footprint. At its height, this included the 6th Infantry Division, 7th Infantry Division, 10th Mountain Division, 25th Infantry Division, operation Just Cause is often cited as proof of concept. Almost 30,000 U. S. Forces, mostly light, during the 1990s, the concept of purely light forces in the US military came under scrutiny due to their decreased lethality and survivability
14.
Norton Fitzwarren
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Norton Fitzwarren is a village, electoral ward, and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 2 miles north west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 3,046, the village is on the southern slope of Norton Camp, a large hillfort that shows evidence of occupation from neolithic times, through the Bronze Age, to the Roman occupation of Britain. The Church of All Saints dates from the late 13th and early 14th century and it has been designated as a Grade II* listed building. The parish of Norton Fitzwarren was part of the Taunton Deane Hundred, the parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept to cover the council’s operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security. Conservation matters and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council, the village falls within the Non-metropolitan district of Taunton Deane, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Taunton Rural District. It is also part of the Taunton Deane county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, POW Camp Number 665 - Cross Keys Camp, Norton Fitzwarren. Just north of the village is Norton Manor Camp, home of 40 Commando, for many years it was the base of Junior Leaders Battalion, Royal Army Service Corps which became Junior Leaders Regiment, Royal Corps of Transport. From the early 1960s to the late 1970s, it took boys from age 15 yrs to age 17½ years, for many years Norton Fitzwarren was the site of the main factory of the Taunton Cider Company producing cider brands such as Blackthorn Cider. Production was moved to Shepton Mallet after Matthew Clark plc, the UK division of Constellation Brands, Norton Fitzwarren was the site of a boat lift on the now disused section of the Grand Western Canal from 1839 to 1867. Norton Fitzwarren is on the former Bristol and Exeter Railway mainline, the station became an important junction station, with branch lines to Minehead and Barnstaple diverging at this point. Resultantly, the station had two island platforms creating four platforms, there were also extensive freight handling facilities, as the station was located west of the Fairwater Yard, a large regional freight yard located south of the mainline. During World War II, the United States Army took over Norton Manor Camp located immediately northwest of the station, and equipped it with extensive railway sidings, all connected to the station. The first major accident occurred on 10 November 1890, and the second on 4 November 1940. Norton Fitzwarren station closed in 1966, the year that the British Army supply depot closed. Taunton Cider took over the goods yard to the north of the site, but this also closed in the early 1990s. Most of the former Minehead branch is now operated by the West Somerset Railway as a heritage railway, Norton Camp Bronze Age hillfort Norton Fitzwarren rail crash Norton Fitzwarren rail crash Norton Fitzwarren village website
15.
Norway
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The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land, until 1814, the kingdom included the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. It also included Isle of Man until 1266, Shetland and Orkney until 1468, Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres and a population of 5,258,317. The country shares a long border with Sweden. Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east, Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. King Harald V of the Dano-German House of Glücksburg is the current King of Norway, erna Solberg became Prime Minister in 2013, replacing Jens Stoltenberg. A constitutional monarchy, Norway divides state power between the Parliament, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court, as determined by the 1814 Constitution, the kingdom is established as a merger of several petty kingdoms. By the traditional count from the year 872, the kingdom has existed continuously for 1,144 years, Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels, counties and municipalities. The Sámi people have an amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament. Norway maintains close ties with the European Union and the United States, the country maintains a combination of market economy and a Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system. Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the countrys gross domestic product. On a per-capita basis, Norway is the worlds largest producer of oil, the country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world on the World Bank and IMF lists. On the CIAs GDP per capita list which includes territories and some regions, from 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2009 to 2017, Norway had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world. It also has the highest inequality-adjusted ranking, Norway ranks first on the World Happiness Report, the OECD Better Life Index, the Index of Public Integrity and the Democracy Index. Norway has two names, Noreg in Nynorsk and Norge in Bokmål. The name Norway comes from the Old English word Norðrveg mentioned in 880, meaning way or way leading to the north. In contrasting with suðrvegar southern way for Germany, and austrvegr eastern way for the Baltic, the Anglo-Saxon of Britain also referred to the kingdom of Norway in 880 as Norðmanna land. This was the area of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway, and because of him
16.
Commando Training Centre Royal Marines
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Commando Training Centre Royal Marines is the principal military training centre for the Royal Marines. It is situated near the villages of Lympstone and Exton, between the city of Exeter, and the town of Exmouth in Devon, the centre delivers new entry training to recruits. The site was established in 1940 as the Royal Marines Depot Exton and was renamed the Royal Marines Depot Lympstone later in the Second World War, in February 1960 the Commando School Royal Marines, which had been based at Bickleigh Barracks, moved to the site. The site was renamed the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines in 1972, CTCRM is under the full command of Fleet Commander and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, and responsible for providing commando trained officers and other ranks for the front line. CTCRM is overseen by the Commandant CTCRM, a colonel, Royal Marines, CTCRM is structured with three training wings each with its own commanding officer. Candidates for the RM are required to attend the Potential Royal Marine Course, held at CTCRM, in addition to academic, medical, PRMC lasts four days and assesses physical ability and intellectual capacity to undertake the recruit training. New entry training for Royal Marines other ranks is undertaken at CTCRM, Woodbury Common, candidates who pass the commando course receive the award of the green beret, the distinguishing mark of a commando. CTCRM is served by Lympstone Commando railway station on the Avocet Line, CTCRM is the home of Lympstone Division Royal Marines Volunteer Cadet Corps which is open to boys and girls aged 9 to 16 from the local south east Devon area
17.
Lympstone
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Lympstone is a village and civil parish in East Devon in the English county of Devon. It has a population of 1,754, there is a harbour on the estuary of the River Exe, lying at the outlet of Wotton Brook between cliffs of red breccia. The promontory to the north of the harbour is topped by a pasture, Cliff Field. Lympstone has rail services on the Avocet Line to Exmouth and Exeter from Lympstone Village railway station, near the village is the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines, the principal military training centre for the Royal Marines. The training centre has its own dedicated railway halt, Lympstone Commando, ralph Lane, equerry to Queen Elizabeth I, was born in Lympstone. He was a soldier who went with Sir Walter Raleigh on his expedition to the New World in 1585. He founded a colony on Roanoke Island amidst great hardship and deprivation and he was later present at the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Singer and lead guitarist of The Kinks, Dave Davies, lived in Lympstone in the 1990s, Lympstone AFC were formed in 1906, they have sides in the Devon & Exeter Football League. Lympstone has a football club Royal Marines A. F. C. who play at Endurance Park CTCRM. They have since folded in April 2012, the Exeter–Exmouth cycle route passes through the village. The cycle route is popular for commuters and recreational cyclists, prior to the opening of the cycle route the only direct route to cycle between Exmouth and Exeter was along the busy A376. The cycle route passes through the centre of the village bringing custom to the shop, cafe and pubs and adds to the vibrancy and sustainability of the village centre and its businesses. Despite this, a minority group is campaigning to change the route and are concerned it affects the village centre. The 1st Lympstone Sea Scouts Group celebrated its centenary in 2012 and it currently has flourishing Scout and Cub sections. It meets in the Scout HQ on Cliff Field, Lympstone Commando railway station Smith, Rosemary. Lympstone village website Lympstone Village Design Statement, East Devon Council The Early History of Lympstone, Britannia
18.
Devon
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Devon, also known as Devonshire, which was formerly its common and official name, is a county of England, reaching from the Bristol Channel in the north to the English Channel in the south. It is part of South West England, bounded by Cornwall to the west, Somerset to the northeast, combined as a ceremonial county, Devons area is 6,707 km2 and its population is about 1.1 million. Devon derives its name from Dumnonia, which, during the British Iron Age, Roman Britain, the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain resulted in the partial assimilation of Dumnonia into the Kingdom of Wessex during the eighth and ninth centuries. The western boundary with Cornwall was set at the River Tamar by King Æthelstan in 936, Devon was constituted as a shire of the Kingdom of England thereafter. The north and south coasts of Devon each have both cliffs and sandy shores, and the bays contain seaside resorts, fishing towns. The inland terrain is rural, generally hilly, and has a low density in comparison to many other parts of England. Dartmoor is the largest open space in southern England at 954 km2, to the north of Dartmoor are the Culm Measures and Exmoor. In the valleys and lowlands of south and east Devon the soil is fertile, drained by rivers including the Exe, the Culm, the Teign, the Dart. As well as agriculture, much of the economy of Devon is linked with tourism, in the Brittonic, Devon is known as Welsh, Dyfnaint, Breton, Devnent and Cornish, Dewnens, each meaning deep valleys. One erroneous theory is that the suffix is due to a mistake in the making of the original letters patent for the Duke of Devonshire. However, there are references to Defenascire in Anglo-Saxon texts from before 1000 AD, the term Devonshire may have originated around the 8th century, when it changed from Dumnonia to Defenascir. Kents Cavern in Torquay had produced human remains from 30–40,000 years ago, Dartmoor is thought to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunter-gatherer peoples from about 6000 BC. The Romans held the area under occupation for around 350 years. Devon became a frontier between Brittonic and Anglo-Saxon Wessex, and it was absorbed into Wessex by the mid 9th century. This suggests the Anglo-Saxon migration into Devon was limited rather than a movement of people. The border with Cornwall was set by King Æthelstan on the east bank of the River Tamar in 936 AD, the arrival of William of Orange to launch the Glorious Revolution of 1688 took place at Brixham. Devon has produced tin, copper and other metals from ancient times, Devons tin miners enjoyed a substantial degree of independence through Devons Stannary Parliament, which dates back to the 12th century. The last recorded sitting was in 1748, agriculture has been an important industry in Devon since the 19th century
19.
All Arms Commando Course
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The All Arms Commando Course lasts for 13 weeks and is run by the Royal Marines at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines, Lympstone. Members from any of the United Kingdoms Regular Armed Forces and overseas exchange personnel can attend to serve with 3 Commando Brigade, on completion of the course the successful candidate earns the right to wear the green beret, and to wear the Commando Dagger on their uniform. The Royal Marines expects that nearly half of the volunteers will drop out or be dismissed before completing the AACC, the course is open to both men and women. In 2002 Major Philippa Tattersall of the Adjutant Generals Corps became the first woman to have completed it. Others have changed in times and distances, such as speed-marching, the specific tests which volunteers are put through are not as important as the fact that their fortitude should be tested to the limit. The basis of the commando ethos can be summed as unity, adaptability, humility, high standards, fortitude. Since the Second World War, all the Army Commando units have been disbanded leaving the Royal Marines Commandos to carry on the tradition, nevertheless, these commando units are supported by a variety of non Royal Marines personnel. In the year 2000, over 1,000 British Army soldiers wore the green beret, about 30 per cent of 3 Commando Brigade, performing vital support roles, were not Royal Marines in 2004, such as 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery and 59 Commando Squadron Royal Engineers. The AACC is for trained military ranks only and is not open to new recruits into the armed forces, core military skills are covered during the AACC, including fieldcraft, tactics, patrolling, defence and section and troop level attacks. Troop weapons, signals, map reading, navigation, first aid, health, hygiene, the course then covers the following Commando skills, amphibious assault drills, cliff assault drills, helicopter drills and small-unit tactics. The course concludes with a week-long confirmatory test exercise followed by Test Week, 12-mile load carry – at night, as a formed body carrying 69 lb marching order and personal weapon within, in 4 hours. Completed on consecutive days during the final test week, Endurance Course and this is an individual test comprising a challenging 6 mile course whilst carrying 21 lb ·fighting order and personal weapon. The first two miles consist of undulating woodland terrain featuring obstacles such as tunnels, pipes, wading pools, the latter four miles remain an obstacle-free metalled road return run back to CTCRM. Candidates are to complete this in 73 minutes and this is followed by a marksmanship test where the candidate must hit 6 out of 10 shots at a target simulating a man at a range of 200 metres. This is a 9 mile speed march, as a formed body and it must be completed whilst carrying fighting order and personal weapon in 13 mins. This is a tactical navigation endurance march to be completed as a syndicate whilst carrying Personal Load Carry Equipment, weapon, spare clothing, candidates must achieve this in 8 hrs. If a candidate fails a Commando Test, then they will get an opportunity to retake it again in the four day window that follows the 30 Miler. If a candidate two or more of the tests, it is unlikely that a chance to re-attempt them will be offered
20.
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
21.
Deal, Kent
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Deal is a town in Kent, England which lies on the English Channel, eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a fishing, mining and garrison town. Close to Deal is Walmer, a location for Julius Caesars first arrival in Britain. In 1968, Middle Street was the first Conservation Area in Kent, the coast of France is approximately twenty-five miles from the town and is visible on clear days. The Tudor Deal Castle, commissioned by King Henry VIII, has a floor plan. Deal is first mentioned as a village in the Domesday Book of 1086 and it is referred to as Dela in 1158, and Dale in 1275. The name is the Old English dael meaning valley, cognate with the modern English dale, Deal developed into a port by the end of the 13th century. Sandown, Deal and Walmer castles were constructed around the town by Henry VIII to protect against foreign naval attack, in 1861 a Royal Marines Depot was established in the town. The proximity of Deals shoreline to the notorious Goodwin Sands has made its coastal waters a source of shelter and danger through the history of sea travel in British waters. The Downs, the water between the town and the sands, provides a sheltered anchorage. This meant that, despite the absence of a harbour, the became a significant port with transit of goods. Deal was, for example, visited by Nelson and was the first English soil on which James Cook set foot in 1771 on returning from his first voyage to Australia. The anchorage is used today by international and regional shipping. In 1672, a small Naval Yard was established at Deal, providing stores, the Deal Maritime and Local History Museum is housed in an historic complex of light-industrial buildings in St Georges Road, dating from 1803. It contains a series of displays and artefacts, narrating the towns maritime, industrial, domestic and leisure history. Pitt had awaited an opportunity that January, when the boats were all hoved up on the beach on account of bad weather, to send a regiment of soldiers to smash, a naval cutter was positioned offshore to prevent any of the boatmen escaping. These men continued to risk their lives and their boats, in saving the lives of shipwreck victims, the irrepressible spirit of the Deal boatmen remained undaunted by these events throughout the Napoleonic Wars, and they continued to assert their hard-earned right to trade. From these activities news of the events unfolding in France would reach England quickly and regularly, the war only made the boatmen’s efforts more profitable, so that afterwards the Government immediately turned a part of its naval blockade into a coastal blockade, which lasted from 1818 to 1831
22.
Kent
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Kent /ˈkɛnt/ is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south west, the county also shares borders with Essex via the Dartford Crossing and the French department of Pas-de-Calais through the Channel Tunnel. France can be clearly in fine weather from Folkestone and the White Cliffs of Dover. Hills in the form of the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge span the length of the county, because of its relative abundance of fruit-growing and hop gardens, Kent is known as The Garden of England. The title was defended in 2006 when a survey of counties by the UKTV Style Gardens channel put Kent in fifth place, behind North Yorkshire, Devon. Haulage, logistics, and tourism are industries, major industries in north-west Kent include aggregate building materials, printing. Coal mining has played its part in Kents industrial heritage. Large parts of Kent are within the London commuter belt and its transport connections to the capital. Twenty-eight per cent of the county forms part of two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the North Downs and The High Weald, the area has been occupied since the Palaeolithic era, as attested by finds from the quarries at Swanscombe. The Medway megaliths were built during the Neolithic era, There is a rich sequence of Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman era occupation, as indicated by finds and features such as the Ringlemere gold cup and the Roman villas of the Darent valley. The modern name of Kent is derived from the Brythonic word Cantus meaning rim or border and this describes the eastern part of the current county area as a border land or coastal district. Julius Caesar had described the area as Cantium, or home of the Cantiaci in 51 BC, the extreme west of the modern county was by the time of Roman Britain occupied by Iron Age tribes, known as the Regnenses. East Kent became a kingdom of the Jutes during the 5th century and was known as Cantia from about 730, the early medieval inhabitants of the county were known as the Cantwara, or Kent people. These people regarded the city of Canterbury as their capital, in 597, Pope Gregory I appointed the religious missionary as the first Archbishop of Canterbury. In the previous year, Augustine successfully converted the pagan King Æthelberht of Kent to Christianity, the Diocese of Canterbury became Britains first Episcopal See with first cathedral and has since remained Englands centre of Christianity. The second designated English cathedral was in Kent at Rochester Cathedral, in the 11th century, the people of Kent adopted the motto Invicta, meaning undefeated. This naming followed the invasion of Britain by William of Normandy, the Kent peoples continued resistance against the Normans led to Kents designation as a semi-autonomous county palatine in 1067. Under the nominal rule of Williams half-brother Odo of Bayeux, the county was granted powers to those granted in the areas bordering Wales
23.
Dieppe Raid
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The raid took place on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5,00 a. m. and it involved 5,000 Canadians,1,000 British troops, and 50 United States Army Rangers. Objectives included seizing and holding a major port for a short period, upon retreat, the Allies also wanted to destroy coastal defences, port structures and all strategic buildings. The raid had the objectives of boosting morale and demonstrating the firm commitment of the United Kingdom to open a western front in Europe. Virtually none of these objectives were met, Allied fire support was grossly inadequate and the raiding force was largely trapped on the beach by obstacles and German fire. Less than 10 hours after the first landings, the last Allied troops had all either killed, evacuated. Instead of a demonstration of resolve, the bloody fiasco showed the world that the Allies could not hope to invade France for a long time, some intelligence successes were achieved, including electronic intelligence. Of the 6,086 men who made it ashore,3,367 were either killed, wounded or captured, the Royal Air Force failed to lure the Luftwaffe into open battle, and lost 106 aircraft, compared to 48 lost by the Luftwaffe. The Royal Navy lost 33 landing craft and one destroyer, the events at Dieppe influenced preparations for the North African and Normandy landings. This was accompanied by development of techniques and equipment for amphibious warfare, in late 1941 a scheme was put forward for the landing of 12 divisions around Le Havre based on a withdrawal of German troops to counter Soviet success in the east. From this came a proposed test of the scheme in the form of Operation Rutter, when these missions involved two or three fighters, they were known as rhubarbs, and rodeos if they involved more than three aircraft. In the second half of 1941, the offensive over France was greatly stepped up, leading to the losses of 411 British or Canadian aircraft in the rhubarb. In response, in the spring of 1942 the Luftwaffe deployed the new Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter to its airfields in France. The Fw 190 fighters were greatly superior to the Supermarine Spitfires and Hawker Hurricanes used by the British and Canadian pilots and it was largely because of pressure from the RAF to fight the greatest air battle over the French coast that Operation Rutter/Jubilee went ahead. Dieppe, a town in the Seine-Inférieure department of France, is built along a long cliff that overlooks the English Channel. The River Scie is on the end of the town. In 1942, the Germans had demolished some seafront buildings to aid in defence and had set up two large artillery batteries at Berneval-le-Grand and Varengeville-sur-Mer. One important consideration for the planners was that Dieppe was within range of the Royal Air Forces fighter aircraft, there was also intense pressure from the Soviet government to open up a second front in Western Europe
24.
British Commandos
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Their operations ranged from small groups of men landing from the sea or by parachute, to a brigade of assault troops spearheading the Allied invasions of Europe and Asia. After the war most Commando units were disbanded, leaving only the Royal Marines 3 Commando Brigade, the modern Royal Marine Commandos, Parachute Regiment, Special Air Service and Special Boat Service trace their origins to the Commandos. The British Commandos were a formation of the British Armed Forces organized for service in June 1940. One staff officer, Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Clarke, had already submitted such a proposal to General Sir John Dill, Dill, aware of Churchills intentions, approved Clarkes proposal and on 23 June 1940, the first Commando raid took place. The Special Service Brigade was quickly expanded to 12 units which became known as Commandos, each Commando had a lieutenant colonel as the commanding officer and numbered around 450 men. Technically these men were only on secondment to the Commandos, they retained their own cap badges. The Commando force came under the control of the Combined Operations Headquarters. The man initially selected as the commander of Combined Operations was Admiral Roger Keyes, a veteran of the Gallipoli Campaign, Keyes resigned in October 1941 and was replaced by Vice Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten. Major-General Robert Laycock was the last Commander of Combined Operations, he took over from Mountbatten in October 1943, the Commando units formed in the United Kingdom were, No. At the same there were four Commando units formed in the Middle East. 51, No,52, and the Middle East Commando, the No.10 Commando was formed from volunteers from the occupied territories and enemy aliens. It was the largest Commando unit formed, and contained troops from France, Belgium, Poland, Norway, the Netherlands, and No.3 Troop. The No.3 Troop consisted of enemy aliens, it was known as the English, Jewish. Most of the troop had German, Austrian, or Eastern European backgrounds, some Commandos were designated for different tasks from the start. No.2 Commando was always intended to be a parachute unit, in June 1940 they began parachute training and were re-designated the 11th Special Air Service Battalion, which eventually became the 1st Parachute Battalion. After their re-designation a new No.2 Commando was formed, other Commandos were grouped together in a larger formation known as Layforce and sent to the Middle East. The Special Air Service and the Special Boat Squadron were formed from the survivors of Layforce, the men of No.14 Commando were specially trained for operations in the Arctic Circle and specialised in using small boats and canoes to attack shipping. The joint service unit No.30 Commando was formed for intelligence gathering and its members were trained in the recognition of enemy documents, search techniques, safe cracking, prisoner handling, photography, and escape techniques
25.
Landing craft
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Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean and this was the high point of the landing craft, with a significant number of different designs produced in large quantities by the United Kingdom and United States. Because of the need to run up onto a beach, World War II landing craft were flat-bottomed. This made them difficult to control and very uncomfortable in rough seas, the control point was normally at the extreme rear of the vessel, as were the engines. In all cases, they were known by a derived from the official name rather than by the full title. In the days of sail, the boats were used as landing craft. They transported 1,200 men in the first landing and took on board 600 men in less than 2 hours for the second landing, during World War I, the mass mobilization of troops equipped with rapid-fire weapons quickly rendered such boats obsolete. Initial landings during the Gallipoli campaign took place in unmodified rowing boats that were vulnerable to attack from the Turkish shore defenses. In February 1915, orders were placed for the design of purpose built landing craft, a design was created in four days resulting in an order for 200 X Lighters with a spoon-shaped bow to take shelving beaches and a drop down frontal ramp. The first use took place after they had been towed to the Aegean and performed successfully in the 6 August landing at Suvla Bay of IX Corps, commanded by Commander Edward Unwin. X Lighters, known to the soldiers as Beetles, carried about 500 men, displaced 135 tons and were based on London barges being 105 feet 6 inches long,21 feet wide, the engines mainly ran on heavy oil and ran at a speed of approximately 5 knots. The sides of the ships were bulletproof, and was designed with a ramp on the bow for disembarkation, a plan was devised to land British heavy tanks from pontoons in support of the Third Battle of Ypres, but this was abandoned. Despite this outlook, the British produced the Motor Landing Craft in 1920, the craft could put a medium tank directly onto a beach. From 1924, it was used with landing boats in annual exercises in amphibious landings, a prototype motor landing craft, designed by J. Samuel White of Cowes, was built and first sailed in 1926. It weighed 16 tons and had an appearance, having a square bow. To prevent fouling of the propellers in a craft destined to spend time in surf and possibly be beached, a crude waterjet propulsion system was devised by Whites designers. A Hotchkiss petrol engine drove a pump which produced a jet of water, pushing the craft ahead or astern. Speed was 5-6 knots and its capacity was good
26.
Artillery battery
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The term is also used in a naval context to describe groups of guns on warships. Historically the term referred to a cluster of cannon in action as a group. Such batteries could be a mixture of cannon, howitzer, or mortar types, a siege could involve many batteries at different sites around the besieged place. The term also came to be used for a group of cannon in a fixed fortification and they were usually organised with between six and 12 ordnance pieces, often including cannon and howitzers. By the late 19th century battery had become standard mostly replacing company or troop, in the 20th century the term was generally used for the company level sub-unit of an artillery branch including field, air-defence, anti-tank and position. 20th-century firing batteries have been equipped with mortars, guns, howitzers, rockets, during the Napoleonic Wars some armies started grouping their batteries into larger administrative and field units. Groups of batteries combined for field combat employment called Grand Batteries by Napoleon, administratively batteries were usually grouped in battalions, regiments or squadrons and these developed into tactical organisations. These were further grouped into regiments, simply group or brigades, to further concentrate fire of individual batteries, from World War I they were grouped into artillery divisions in a few armies. Coastal artillery sometimes had completely different organizational terms based on shore defence sector areas, the rank of a battery commander has also varied, but is usually a lieutenant, captain, or major. The number of guns, howitzers, mortars or launchers in a battery has also varied. In the 19th century four to 12 guns was usual as the number to maneuver into the gun line. By late 19th century the artillery battery was divided into a gun line. The gun line consisted of six guns and 12 ammunition mules, during the American Civil War, artillery batteries often consisted of six field pieces for the Union Army and four for the Confederate States Army, although this varied. Batteries were divided into sections of two guns apiece, each section normally under the command of a lieutenant, the full battery was typically commanded by a captain. Often, particularly as the war progressed, individual batteries were grouped into battalions under a major or colonel of artillery, in the 20th century it varied between four and 12 for field artillery, or even two pieces for very heavy pieces. Other types of such as anti-tank or anti-aircraft have sometimes been larger. Some batteries have been dual-equipped with two different types of gun or mortar, and taking whichever was more appropriate when they deployed for operations, from the late 19th century field artillery batteries started to become more complex organisations. Fixed artillery refers to guns or howitzers on mounts that were anchored in one spot, or on carriages intended to be moved only for the purposes of aiming
27.
Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat
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His friends called him Shimi Lovat, an anglicised version of his name in the Scottish Gaelic language. His clan referred to him as MacShimidh, his Gaelic patronym, Simon is the favoured family name for the Chiefs of Clan Fraser. While the 15th Lord de jure, he was the 17th Lord Lovat de facto and he was also 4th Baron Lovat in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Fraser was the son of the 14th Lord Lovat, and Laura, daughter of Thomas Lister and he transferred to the regular army, while still a second lieutenant joining the Scots Guards in 1931. The following year, Fraser succeeded his father to become the 15th Lord Lovat and he was promoted lieutenant in August 1934. Lovat resigned his commission as a lieutenant in 1937, transferring to the Supplementary Reserve of Officers. He married Rosamond Broughton, the daughter of Jock Delves Broughton, on 10 October 1938, Lord and Lady Lovat lived at Beaufort Castle at Beauly, Inverness-shire. In June 1939, just months before the Second World War, in July, however, as war approached, he was mobilized as a captain in the Lovat Scouts. The following year, he volunteered to join one of the new units being formed by the British Army. On 3 March 1941, Nos 3 and 4 Commando launched a raid on the German-occupied Lofoten Islands, in the successful raid, the commandos destroyed fish-oil factories, petrol dumps, and 11 ships. They also seized encryption equipment and codebooks, as well, the commandos captured 216 German troops,315 Norwegians chose to accompany the commandos back to Britain. As a temporary major, Lord Lovat commanded 100 men of No.4 Commando, for this action he was awarded the Military Cross on 7 July 1942. Lord Lovat became an acting lieutenant-colonel in 1942 and was appointed the officer of No.4 Commando. His commando attacked and destroyed a battery of six 150 mm guns, Lovat was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. The raid as a whole was a failure with over 4,000 casualties sustained. Yet No.4 Commando executed its assault, with most men returning safely to Britain, Lord Lovat eventually became a brigadier and became the commander of the newly formed 1st Special Service Brigade in 1944. Lord Lovats brigade was landed at Sword Beach during the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, Lord Lovat reputedly waded ashore wearing a white jumper under his battledress, with Lovat inscribed into the collar, while armed with a. 45-70 Winchester underlever rifle. However, in his memoirs, Lovat states that he was armed with a short barreled U. S. Army carbine on D-Day
28.
Commanding officer
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The commanding officer or, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general, is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the officer has ultimate authority over the unit. In this respect, commanding officers have significant responsibilities, duties, in some countries, commanding officers may be of any commissioned rank. The commanding officer is assisted by an executive officer or second-in-command, who handles personnel and day-to-day matters. Larger units may also have staff officers responsible for various responsibilities, in the British Army, Royal Marines, and many other Commonwealth military and paramilitary organisations, the commanding officer of a unit is appointed. Thus the office of CO is an appointment, the appointment commanding officer is exclusive to commanders of major units. It is customary for an officer to hold the rank of lieutenant colonel, and he or she is usually referred to within the unit simply as the Colonel or, more commonly. The Colonel is usually an appointment of a senior officer who oversees the non-operational affairs of a regiment. However, the rank of the appointment holder and the appointment are separate. That is, not all lieutenant colonels are COs, and although most COs are lieutenant colonels, sub-units, that is, company, squadron and battery, and formations do not have a commanding officer. The officer in command of a sub unit holds the appointment officer commanding or OC, higher formations have commanders or a General Officer Commanding. In some cases, independent units smaller than a sub-unit, e. g. a platoon of Military Police that reports directly to a such as a brigade. In these cases, the officer commanding can be a captain or even a lieutenant, appointments such as CO and OC may have specific powers associated with them. For example, they may have powers to promote soldiers or to deal with certain disciplinary offences. The CO of a unit may have the power to sentence an offender to 28 days detention, units smaller than sub-units, i. e. platoons, troops and sections are not specific appointments and officers or NCOs who fill those positions are simply referred to as the commanders/leader. E. g. Platoon Commander, Troop Leader, Section Commander/Leader, in the Royal Air Force, the title of commanding officer is reserved for Station Commanders or commanders of independent units. As with the British Army, the post of a commander of a unit such as an administrative wing. In the Royal Navy, commanding officer is the title of the commander of any ship
29.
Termoli
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Termoli is a town and comune on the Adriatic coast of Italy, in the province of Campobasso, region of Molise. It has a population of around 32,000, having expanded quickly after World War II, once it was known only as a fishing port, but in the new millennium it is a favourite resort for Italian families. Human settlements existed in Termoli since pre-historical times, as showed by the presence of ancient necropolises, the Romans patricians had villae in the nearby coast. The first documentation of todays city dates to the presence of the ancestor of the current cathedral, Termoli was a Lombard county until the arrival of the Normans, under which flourished and expanded. During World War II Termoli became the centre of one of the tank battles of the Italian campaign over the period October 2 to October 6,1943. During the first day these forces set up road blocks around the town and were joined by British infantry advancing across the Biferno river to the south-east and they were unaware that the 16th Panzer Division was on its way to create a new defensive line. On October 4 British reinforcements arrived by sea and land, on October 5 the panzers attacked, pushing much of the British line back in disarray. At the end of the day they were only a distance from the town. However, further reinforcements arrived at the port, and the completed their bridge allowing tanks to cross. On October 6 the Germans renewed their attack, but it soon stalled and they were successful and by October 7 the Germans were pulling back to their next line of defence. Termoli is rapidly becoming one of the most important centres in the Molise, the latter region suffered from depopulation in the years after World War II and there has been a migration from the internal hill towns to the coastal resort. Its status as the pre-eminent resort site is now being challenged by Campomarino, the old town has been well restored. It is a walled community jutting out into the sea. Many of the houses have been re-built and painted in a range of pastel colours, the upper part of the façade was destroyed by an earthquake in 1456, and also suffered from the Turkish sack of the city in 1566. The Baroque additions were eliminated in the restoration of 1930–69, returning the edifice to its original appearance, part of a pre-existing basilica, built in the 11th century but soon destroyed, has been found under the edifice. The Castle was part of a fortification system, including a wall surrounding the entire city. Termolis resorts are renowned for the quality of their beaches and the purity of their waters. Very few non-Italians come to stay in this area, increasingly, the tourists to Molise are from the Naples and Apulia regions, to the south of Molise
30.
Anzio
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Anzio is a city and comune on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about 51 kilometres south of Rome. Well known for its seaside setting, it is a fishing port. The city bears great significance as the site of Operation Shingle. Anzio occupies a part of the ancient Antium territory, in ancient times, Antium was the capital of the Volsci people until it was conquered by the Romans. In some versions of Romes foundation myth, Antium was founded by Anteias, son of Odysseus, in 493 BC the Roman consul Postumus Cominius Auruncus fought and defeated two armies from Antium, and as a result captured the Volscian towns of Longula, Pollusca and Corioli. With the latter expansion of Rome it was just far away to be insulated from the riots and tumults of Rome. When Cicero returned from exile, it was at Antium that he reassembled the battered remains of his libraries, leading Romans built magnificent seaside villas at Antium. Remains of Roman villas are conspicuous all along the shore, both to the east and to the north-west of the town. Many ancient works of art have found there, the Fanciulla dAnzio, the Borghese Gladiator. Of the villas, the most famous was the Villa of Nero at Antium which cannot be identified, but is generally placed at the so-called Arco Muto. It extended along the coast of the Capo dAnzio some 800 metres of seafront, of the famous temple of Fortune no remains are known. There are records of the participation of a few bishops of Antium in synods held in Rome, Gaudentius in 465, Felix in 487, barbarian incursions in the 6th century put an end to its existence as a residential bishopric. Accordingly, Antium is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see, in the Middle Ages Antium was deserted in favour of Nettuno, which maintained the legacy of the ancient city. The sea is encroaching slightly at Anzio, but some kilometres farther north-west the old Roman coast-line now lies slightly inland, the Volscian Antium stood on higher ground and somewhat away from the shore, though it extended down to it. This was defended by a ditch, which can still be traced, and by walls. In 1857 Pope Pius IX founded the municipality of Anzio. Anzio and Nettuno are also notable as sites of an Allied forces landing, the Commonwealth Anzio War Cemetery and Beach Head War Cemetery are located here. In February 1944 American soldiers were surrounded by Germans in the caves of Pozzoli for a week, a film based on the events called Anzio was made, starring Robert Mitchum and based on a book by Wynford Vaughan-Thomas
31.
Yugoslavia
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Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe during most of the 20th century. The Serbian royal House of Karađorđević became the Yugoslav royal dynasty, Yugoslavia gained international recognition on 13 July 1922 at the Conference of Ambassadors in Paris. The country was named after the South Slavic peoples and constituted their first union, following centuries in which the territories had been part of the Ottoman Empire, renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on 3 October 1929, it was invaded by the Axis powers on 6 April 1941. In 1943, a Democratic Federal Yugoslavia was proclaimed by the Partisan resistance, in 1944, the king recognised it as the legitimate government, but in November 1945 the monarchy was abolished. Yugoslavia was renamed the Federal Peoples Republic of Yugoslavia in 1946 and it acquired the territories of Istria, Rijeka, and Zadar from Italy. Partisan leader Josip Broz Tito ruled the country as president until his death in 1980, in 1963, the country was renamed again as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The constituent six socialist republics that made up the country were the SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SR Croatia, SR Macedonia, SR Montenegro, SR Serbia, and SR Slovenia. Serbia contained two Socialist Autonomous Provinces, Vojvodina and Kosovo, which after 1974 were largely equal to the members of the federation. After an economic and political crisis in the 1980s and the rise of nationalism, Yugoslavia broke up along its republics borders, at first into five countries, eventually, Serbia and Montenegro accepted the opinion of the Badinter Arbitration Committee about shared succession. Serbia and Montenegro themselves broke up in 2006 and became independent states, the concept of Yugoslavia, as a single state for all South Slavic peoples, emerged in the late 17th century and gained prominence through the Illyrian Movement of the 19th century. The name was created by the combination of the Slavic words jug, Yugoslavia was the result of the Corfu Declaration, as a project of the Serbian Parliament in exile and the Serbian royal Karađorđević dynasty, who became the Yugoslav royal dynasty. The country was formed in 1918 immediately after World War I as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes by union of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and it was commonly referred to at the time as the Versailles state. Later, the government renamed the country leading to the first official use of Yugoslavia in 1929, on 6 January 1929 King Alexander I suspended the constitution, banned national political parties, assumed executive power and renamed the country Yugoslavia. He hoped to curb separatist tendencies and mitigate nationalist passions and he imposed a new constitution and relinquished his dictatorship in 1931. None of these three regimes favored the policy pursued by Alexander I, Alexander attempted to create a centralised Yugoslavia. He decided to abolish Yugoslavias historic regions, and new internal boundaries were drawn for provinces or banovinas, the banovinas were named after rivers. Many politicians were jailed or kept under police surveillance, the effect of Alexanders dictatorship was to further alienate the non-Serbs from the idea of unity. During his reign the flags of Yugoslav nations were banned, Alexander was succeeded by his eleven-year-old son Peter II and a regency council headed by his cousin, Prince Paul
32.
Albania
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Albania, officially the Republic of Albania, is a country in Southeastern Europe. It has a population of 3.03 million as of 2016, Tirana is the nations capital and largest city, followed by Durrës and Vlorë. The country has a coastline on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea to the west. Albania is less than 72 km from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which connects the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea. In antiquity, the area of Albania was home to several Illyrian, Thracian. After the Illyrian Wars, it part of the Roman provinces of Dalmatia, Macedonia and Moesia Superior. In 1190, the first Albanian state, the Principality of Arbanon was established by archon Progon in the region of Krujë, the territory of Albania was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, of which it remained part of for the next five centuries. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, following the Balkan Wars, the Kingdom of Albania was invaded by Italy in 1939, which formed Greater Albania, before becoming a Nazi German protectorate in 1943. The following year, a socialist Peoples Republic was established under the leadership of Enver Hoxha, Albania experienced widespread social and political transformations in the communist era, as well as isolation from much of the international community. In 1991, the Socialist Republic was dissolved and the Republic of Albania was established, Albania is a democratic and developing country with an upper-middle income economy. The service sector dominates the economy, followed by the industrial. After the fall of communism in Albania, Free-market reforms have opened the country to foreign investment, especially in the development of energy, Albania has a high HDI and provides universal health care system and free primary and secondary education to its citizens. Albania is a member of the United Nations, NATO, WTO, World Bank, the Council of Europe, the OSCE and it is also an official candidate for membership in the European Union. Albania is one of the members of the Energy Community, Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. It is home to the largest lake in Southern Europe and one of the oldest lakes in Europe, Albania is the Medieval Latin name of the country. The name may have a continuation in the name of a settlement called Albanon and Arbanon. During the Middle Ages, the Albanians called their country Arbëri or Arbëni, Albanians today call their country Shqipëri. As early as the 17th century the placename Shqipëria and the ethnic demonym Shqiptarë gradually replaced Arbëria, the two terms are popularly interpreted as Land of the Eagles and Children of the Eagles
33.
Corfu
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Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its satellite islands. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality, the municipality has an area of 610.936 km2, the island proper 592.877 km2. The principal city of the island and seat of the municipality is also named Corfu, Corfu is home to the Ionian University. The island is bound up with the history of Greece from the beginnings of Greek mythology and its history is full of battles and conquests. Castles punctuating strategic locations across the island are a legacy of these struggles, two of these castles enclose its capital, which is the only city in Greece to be surrounded in such a way. As a result, Corfus capital has been declared a Kastropolis by the Greek government. From medieval times and into the 17th century, the island was recognised as a bulwark of the European States against the Ottoman Empire, the fortifications of the island were used by the Venetians to defend against Ottoman intrusion into the Adriatic. Corfu repulsed several Ottoman sieges, before falling under British rule following the Napoleonic Wars, in 2007, the citys old quarter was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, following a recommendation by ICOMOS. Corfu is a popular tourist destination. The island was the location of the 1994 European Union summit, the Greek name, Kerkyra or Korkyra, is related to two powerful water deities, Poseidon, god of the sea, and Asopos, an important Greek mainland river. According to myth, Poseidon fell in love with the beautiful nymph Korkyra, daughter of Asopos and river nymph Metope, Poseidon brought Korkyra to the hitherto unnamed island and, in marital bliss, offered her name to the place, Korkyra, which gradually evolved to Kerkyra. They had a child they called Phaiax, after whom the inhabitants of the island were named Phaiakes, Corfus nickname is the island of the Phaeacians. The name Corfù, an Italian version of the Byzantine Κορυφώ, meaning city of the peaks, derives from the Byzantine Greek Κορυφαί, the northeastern edge of Corfu lies off the coast of Sarandë, Albania, separated by straits varying in width from 3 to 23 km. The southeast side of the island lies off the coast of Thesprotia and its shape resembles a sickle, to which it was compared by the ancients, the concave side, with the city and harbour of Corfu in the centre, lies toward the Albanian coast. With the islands area estimated at 592.9 square kilometres, it runs approximately 64 km long, two high and well-defined ranges divide the island into three districts, of which the northern is mountainous, the central undulating, and the southern low-lying. The more important of the two ranges, that of Pantokrator stretches east and west from Cape Falacro to Cape Psaromita, and attains its greatest elevation in the summit of the same name. The second range culminates in the mountain of Santi Jeca, or Santa Decca, as it is called by misinterpretation of the Greek designation Άγιοι Δέκα, or the Ten Saints
34.
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
35.
No. 44 (Royal Marine) Commando
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No.44 Commando was a battalion size formation in the British Commandos, formed during the Second World War. The Commando was assigned to the 3rd Special Service Brigade and served in the Burma Campaign, the British Commandos were formed in 1940, by the order of Winston Churchill the British Prime Minister. He called for specially trained troops that would develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast, the man selected as the overall commander of the force was Admiral Sir Roger Keyes himself a veteran of the landings at Galipoli and the Zeebrugge raid in the First World War. Initially the Commandos were a British Army formation the first Royal Marine Commando was formed in 1942, the Royal Marine Commandos like all British Commandos went through the six week intensive commando course at Achnacarry. The course in the Scottish Highlands concentrated on fitness, speed marches, weapons training, map reading, climbing, No.44 Commando was formed on 1 August 1943, under command of Lieutenant Colonel F C Horton and consisted of seven Troops just over 400 men. Each Troop consisted of three officers and 62 men in a headquarters and two sections. In 1943 the commando formation was also standardised, into a headquarters, five fighting Troops, a Heavy Weapons troop. The fighting Troops consisted of 65 all ranks divided into two 30 man sections which in turn were divided into three ten man sub sections, the Heavy Weapons Troop was made up of 3 inch Mortar and Vickers machine gun teams. No.44 Commando was raised in August 1943, from the 3rd Royal Marine Battalion under command of Lieutenant Colonel F C Horton and it served in the Far East with the 3rd Special Service Brigade. It took part in the Burma Campaign and was located in the Arakan during the Japanese U-Go Offensive, during the 1944–45 third Arakan offensive it took part in the landings at Myebon and the battle of Hill 170. It was then withdrawn to India to prepare for the invasion of Malaya Operation Zipper, the war ended before the operation began and the commando was diverted to reoccupy Hong Kong. Early Commando units were all from the British Army but by February 1942, the Royal Marines were asked to organise Commando units of their own, and 6,000 men volunteered. In November 1943 No.44 Commando was assigned to the 3rd Special Service Brigade and sailed for the Far East, the other units in the brigade were No.1 Commando, No.5 Commando and No.42 Commando. No.44 and No.5 Commandos arrived in the theatre together as No.1, the commando spent some time at Coxs Bazar acclimatising before becoming operational. On 5 March 1944 No.44 set up their base at Nhila on the Teknaf peninsula, later the same month No.44 took part in their first operations against the Japanese. These were two missions codenamed Operation Screwdriver, the mission claimed 40–50 Japanese dead for the loss of four commandos missing believed dead. Their second mission was crossing the Naf River by barge on 21 March with the objective of raiding Nahkaungdo, Lambaguna, the operation was a success following a number of small skirmishes the Japanese were forced to bring up reinforcements and the Commando was withdrawn. On 3 January No.44 were involved in a full amphibious landing with the rest of the brigade
36.
Cyprus
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Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean and the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean. It is located south of Turkey, west of Syria and Lebanon, northwest of Israel and Palestine, north of Egypt, the earliest known human activity on the island dates to around the 10th millennium BC. Archaeological remains from this include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia. Cyprus was settled by Mycenaean Greeks in two waves in the 2nd millennium BC, Cyprus was placed under British administration based on Cyprus Convention in 1878 and formally annexed by Britain in 1914. While Turkish Cypriots made up 18% of the population, the partition of Cyprus and creation of a Turkish state in the north became a policy of Turkish Cypriot leaders, following nationalist violence in the 1950s, Cyprus was granted independence in 1960. On 15 July 1974, a coup détat was staged by Greek Cypriot nationalists and elements of the Greek military junta in an attempt at enosis and these events and the resulting political situation are matters of a continuing dispute. The Cyprus Republic has de jure sovereignty over the island of Cyprus, as well as its territorial sea and exclusive economic area, another nearly 4% of the islands area is covered by the UN buffer zone. The international community considers the part of the island as territory of the Republic of Cyprus occupied by Turkish forces. The occupation is viewed as illegal under law, amounting to illegal occupation of EU territory since Cyprus became a member of the European Union. Cyprus is a major tourist destination in the Mediterranean, on 1 January 2008, the Republic of Cyprus joined the eurozone. The earliest attested reference to Cyprus is the 15th century BC Mycenaean Greek
37.
Hong Kong
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Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the Pearl River Delta of East Asia. Macau lies across the delta to the west, and the Chinese province of Guangdong borders the territory to the north. With a total area of 1,106 square kilometres. Hong Kong was later occupied by Japan during World War II until British control resumed in 1945, under the principle of one country, two systems, Hong Kong maintains a separate political and economic system from China. Except in military defence and foreign affairs, Hong Kong maintains its independent executive, legislative, in addition, Hong Kong develops relations directly with foreign states and international organisations in a broad range of appropriate fields. Hong Kong is one of the worlds most significant financial centres, with the highest Financial Development Index score and consistently ranks as the worlds most competitive and freest economic entity. As the worlds 8th largest trading entity, its legal tender, Hong Kongs tertiary sector dominated economy is characterised by simple taxation with a competitive level of corporate tax and supported by its independent judiciary system. However, while Hong Kong has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world and it has a very high Human Development Index ranking and the worlds longest life expectancy. Over 90% of the population use of well-developed public transportation. Seasonal air pollution with origins from neighbouring areas of Mainland China. Hong Kong was officially recorded in the 1842 Treaty of Nanking to encompass the entirety of the island, before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet—now Aberdeen Harbour, literally means Little Hong Kong)—between Aberdeen Island and the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. Aberdeen was a point of contact between British sailors and local fishermen. Detailed and accurate romanisation systems for Cantonese were available and in use at the time, fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbours fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River or to the incense from factories lining the coast of northern Kowloon. The incense was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before Hong Kong developed Victoria Harbour, the name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926. Nevertheless, a number of century-old institutions still retain the form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric. As of 1997, its name is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. This is the title as mentioned in the Hong Kong Basic Law. Hong Kong has carried many nicknames, the most famous among those is the Pearl of the Orient, which reflected the impressive nightscape of the citys light decorations on the skyscrapers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour
38.
Egypt
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Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and it is the worlds only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any country, emerging as one of the worlds first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the century and remains a predominantly Muslim country. With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa, and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, the large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypts territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypts residents live in areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypts economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Miṣr is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern name of Egypt. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם, the oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian
39.
Singapore
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Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, sometimes referred to as the Lion City or the Little Red Dot, is a sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia. It lies one degree north of the equator, at the tip of peninsular Malaysia. Singapores territory consists of one island along with 62 other islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its size by 23%. During the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan, after early years of turbulence, and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its workforce. Singapore is a global commerce, finance and transport hub, the country has also been identified as a tax haven. Singapore ranks 5th internationally and first in Asia on the UN Human Development Index and it is ranked highly in education, healthcare, life expectancy, quality of life, personal safety, and housing, but does not fare well on the Democracy index. Although income inequality is high, 90% of homes are owner-occupied, 38% of Singapores 5.6 million residents are permanent residents and other foreign nationals. There are four languages on the island, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil. English is its language, most Singaporeans are bilingual. Singapore is a multiparty parliamentary republic, with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. The Peoples Action Party has won every election since self-government in 1959, however, it is unlikely that lions ever lived on the island, Sang Nila Utama, the Srivijayan prince said to have founded and named the island Singapura, perhaps saw a Malayan tiger. There are however other suggestions for the origin of the name, the central island has also been called Pulau Ujong as far back as the third century CE, literally island at the end in Malay. In 1299, according to the Malay Annals, the Kingdom of Singapura was founded on the island by Sang Nila Utama and these Indianized Kingdoms, a term coined by George Cœdès were characterized by surprising resilience, political integrity and administrative stability. In 1613, Portuguese raiders burned down the settlement, which by then was part of the Johor Sultanate. The wider maritime region and much trade was under Dutch control for the following period, in 1824 the entire island, as well as the Temenggong, became a British possession after a further treaty with the Sultan. In 1826, Singapore became part of the Straits Settlements, under the jurisdiction of British India, prior to Raffles arrival, there were only about a thousand people living on the island, mostly indigenous Malays along with a handful of Chinese. By 1860 the population had swelled to over 80,000, many of these early immigrants came to work on the pepper and gambier plantations
40.
Plymouth
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Plymouths early history extends to the Bronze Age, when a first settlement emerged at Mount Batten. This settlement continued as a trading post for the Roman Empire, until it was surpassed by the prosperous village of Sutton founded in the ninth century. In 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers departed Plymouth for the New World, during the English Civil War the town was held by the Parliamentarians and was besieged between 1642 and 1646. The combined town took the name of Plymouth which, in 1928, the citys naval importance later led to its targeting and partial destruction during World War II, an act known as the Plymouth Blitz. After the war the city centre was rebuilt and subsequent expansion led to the incorporation of Plympton. The city is home to 262,700 people, making it the 30th most populous area in the United Kingdom. It is governed locally by Plymouth City Council and is represented nationally by three MPs, Plymouths economy remains strongly influenced by shipbuilding and seafaring including ferry links to Brittany and Spain, but has tended toward a service-based economy since the 1990s. It has the largest operational base in Western Europe – HMNB Devonport and is home to Plymouth University. An unidentified settlement named TAMARI OSTIA is listed in Ptolemys Geographia and is presumed to be located in the area of the modern city, at the time this village was called Sutton, meaning south town in Old English. The name Plym Mouth, meaning mouth of the River Plym was first mentioned in a Pipe Roll of 1211, the name Plymouth first officially replaced Sutton in a charter of King Henry VI in 1440. See Plympton for the derivation of the name Plym, during the Hundred Years War a French attack burned a manor house and took some prisoners, but failed to get into the town. In 1403 the town was burned by Breton raiders, on 12 November,1439, the English Parliament made Plymouth the first town incorporated. The castle served to protect Sutton Pool, which is where the fleet was based in Plymouth prior to the establishment of Plymouth Dockyard. In 1512 an Act of Parliament was passed for further fortifying Plymouth, defences on St Nicholas Island also date from this time, and a string of six artillery blockhouses were built, including one on Fishers Nose at the south-eastern corner of the Hoe. This location was further strengthened by the building of a fort in 1596, during the 16th century locally produced wool was the major export commodity. According to legend, Drake insisted on completing his game of bowls on the Hoe before engaging the Spanish Armada in 1588. In 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers set sail for the New World from Plymouth, during the English Civil War Plymouth sided with the Parliamentarians and was besieged for almost four years by the Royalists. The last major attack by the Royalist was by Sir Richard Grenville leading thousands of soldiers towards Plymouth, the civil war ended as a Parliamentary win, but monarchy was restored by King Charles II in 1660, who imprisoned many of the Parliamentary heroes on Drakes Island
41.
Turkish Land Forces
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The Turkish Land Forces, or Turkish Army, is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. Official claims state that the army was founded by Modu Chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire in 209 BC, but the modern history of the army began with its formation after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant events since the foundation of the Army include combat in the Korean War and in the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the army holds the preeminent place within the armed forces. It is customary for the Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of Turkey to have been the Commander of the Turkish Land Forces prior to his appointment as Turkeys senior ranking officer. Alongside the other two armed services, the Turkish Army has frequently intervened in Turkish politics, which has now been regulated to an extent with the reform of the National Security Council, the current commander of the Turkish Land Forces is General Salih Zeki Çolak. A more recent estimate put the figure at 391,000, factors contributing to this are further destabilization of Syria and Iraq due to ISIS and the Russian intervention in Syria, as-well as the re-emergence of a PKK insurgency in Turkeys south east. On 28 June 1963, the Turkish Army celebrated the 600th anniversary of its foundation, back then, the accepted theory was that the Turkish Armed Forces had been founded in 1363, when the Pençik corps had been formed. In 1968, Yılmaz Öztuna proposed this theory to Cemal Tural, in 1973, when the Turkish Army celebrated the 610th anniversary of its foundation, Nihal Atsız published his claim again. After the 1980 Turkish coup détat, the Turkish Army formally adopted the date 209 BC as its year of foundation, the modern Turkish Army has its foundations in nine remnant Ottoman Army corps after the Armistice of Mudros at the end of World War I. On November 8,1920, the GNA decided to establish an army instead of irregular troops. On August 26,1922, the Army of the Grand National Assembly launched the general offensive known as the Great Offensive against the Greek forces around Kara Hisâr-ı Sâhip. Nurettin Pashas 1st Army and Yakup Şevki Pashas 2nd Army encircled the main body of Major General Nikolaos Trikoupiss group, fahrettin Pashas V Cavalry Corps entered Smyrna on September 9,1922. Şükrü Naili Pashas III Corps entered Constantinople peacefully on October 6,1923, subsequently to the founding of the Republic of Turkey, the Army of the GNA was reorganized into three army inspectorates. In 1935, Turkey purchased 60 T-26 mod.1933 light tanks from the USSR, the Armoured Brigade of the Turkish Army consisted of the 102nd and the 103rd Companies armed with the T-26 mod.1933 tanks in the end of 1937. The reserve group of the brigade had 21 T-26 tanks also, in the beginning of 1940, the Turkish Army had the Armoured Brigade in Istanbul, which belonged to the 1st Army, and the 1st Tank Battalion, which belonged to the 3rd Army. Turkish T-26 tanks were out of service in 1942. During World War II, Turkey mobilized more than a million personnel, the Turkish Army order of battle in 1941 shows a number of formations. The command of the Turkish Army was formed on July 1,1949, the brigade also fought at Gimnyangjang-ni, Operation Ripper, or the Fourth Battle of Seoul, and Vegas
United Kingdom
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