1.
Howitzer
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In the taxonomies of artillery pieces used by European armies in the 17th to 20th centuries, the howitzer stood between the gun and the mortar. Howitzers, like other artillery equipment, are organized in groups called batteries. The English word howitzer comes from the Czech word houfnice, from houf, crowd, haufen, sometimes in the compound Gewalthaufen, also designated a pike square formation in German. This is particularly true in the forces of the United States. Because of this practice, the howitzer is used in some armies as a generic term for any kind of artillery piece that is designed to attack targets using indirect fire. Thus, artillery pieces that bear resemblance to howitzers of earlier eras are now described as howitzers. Most other armies in the reserve the word howitzer for guns with barrel lengths 15 to 25 times their caliber. The British had a method of nomenclature. In the 18th century, they adopted projectile weight for guns replacing the old naming system of culverin, saker, mortars had been categorized by calibre in inches in the 17th century and this was inherited by howitzers. The modern howitzers were invented in Sweden towards the end of the 17th century, originally intended for use in siege warfare, they were particularly useful for delivering cast-iron shells filled with gunpowder or incendiary materials into the interior of fortifications. In the middle of the 18th century, a number of European armies began to introduce howitzers that were enough to accompany armies in the field. Though usually fired at the high angles of fire used by contemporary siege howitzers. Rather, as the guns of the day were usually restricted to inert projectiles. Many, for the sake of simplicity and rapidity of fire, the Abus gun was an early form of howitzer in the Ottoman Empire. In 1758 the Russian Empire introduced a type of howitzer, with a conical chamber, called a licorne. The most famous of these gun-howitzers was the Napoleon 12-pounder, a weapon of French design that saw service in the American Civil War. The longest-serving artillery piece of the 19th century was the mountain howitzer, in 1859, the armies of Europe began to rearm field batteries with rifled field guns. These new field pieces used cylindrical projectiles that, while smaller in caliber than the spherical shells of smoothbore field howitzers, moreover, their greater range let them create many of the same effects that previously required the sharply curved trajectories of smoothbore field howitzers
2.
Second Boer War
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The Second Boer War, usually known as the Boer War and also at the time as the South African War, started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. Great Britain defeated two Boer states in South Africa, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, Britain was aided by its Cape Colony, Colony of Natal and some native African allies. The British war effort was supported by volunteers from the British Empire, including Southern Africa, the Australian colonies, Canada, India. All other nations were neutral, but public opinion in them was largely hostile to Britain, inside Britain and its Empire there also was significant opposition to the Second Boer War. The British were overconfident and under-prepared, the Boers were very well armed and struck first, besieging Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking in early 1900, and winning important battles at Colenso, Magersfontein and Stormberg. Staggered, the British brought in numbers of soldiers and fought back. General Redvers Buller was replaced by Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener and they relieved the three besieged cities, and invaded the two Boer republics in late 1900. The onward marches of the British Army were so overwhelming that the Boers did not fight staged battles in defense of their homeland, the British quickly seized control of all of the Orange Free State and Transvaal, as the civilian leadership went into hiding or exile. In conventional terms, the war was over, Britain officially annexed the two countries in 1900, and called a khaki election to give the government another six years of power in London. However, the Boers refused to surrender and they reverted to guerrilla warfare under new generals Louis Botha, Jan Smuts, Christiaan de Wet and Koos de la Rey. Two more years of attacks and quick escapes followed. As guerrillas without uniforms, the Boer fighters easily blended into the farmlands, which provided hiding places, supplies, the British solution was to set up complex nets of block houses, strong points, and barbed wire fences, partitioning off the entire conquered territory. The civilian farmers were relocated into concentration camps, where very large proportions died of disease, especially the children, then the British mounted infantry units systematically tracked down the highly mobile Boer guerrilla units. The battles at this stage were small operations with few combat casualties The war ended in surrender, the British successfully won over the Boer leaders, who now gave full support to the new political system. Both former republics were incorporated into the Union of South Africa in 1910, the conflict is commonly referred to as simply the Boer War, since the First Boer War is much less well known. Boer was the term for Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans descended from the Dutch East India Companys original settlers at the Cape of Good Hope. It is officially called the South African War and it is known as the Anglo-Boer War among some South Africans. In Afrikaans it may be called the Anglo-Boereoorlog, Tweede Boereoorlog, in South Africa it is officially called the South African War
3.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
4.
Shell (projectile)
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A shell is a payload-carrying projectile that, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot. Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used, originally, it was called a bombshell, but shell has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Words cognate with grenade are still used for an artillery or mortar projectile in some European languages, shells are usually large-calibre projectiles fired by artillery, combat vehicles, and warships. Shells usually have the shape of a cylinder topped by a nose for good aerodynamic performance, possibly with a tapering base. Solid cannonballs did not need a fuse, but hollow munitions filled with something such as gunpowder to fragment the ball, needed a fuse, percussion fuses with a spherical projectile presented a challenge because there was no way of ensuring that the impact mechanism hit the target. Therefore, shells needed a fuse that was ignited before or during firing. The earliest record of shells being used in combat was by the Republic of Venice at Jadra in 1376, shells with fuses were used at the 1421 siege of St Boniface in Corsica. These were two hollowed hemispheres of stone or bronze held together by an iron hoop, as described in their book, these hollow, gunpowder-packed shells were made of cast iron. At least since the 16th Century grenades made of ceramics or glass were in use in Central Europe, a hoard of several hundred ceramic greandes were discovered during building works in front of a bastion of the Bavarian City of Ingolstadt, Germany dated to the 17th Century. Lots of the grenades obtained their orignal blackpowder loads and igniters, most probably the grenades were intentionally dumped the moat of the bastion before the year 1723. Early powder burning fuses had to be loaded fuse down to be ignited by firing or a portfire put down the barrel to light the fuse, other shells were wrapped in bitumen cloth, which would ignite during the firing and in turn ignite a powder fuse. Nevertheless, shells came into use in the 16th Century. By the 18th Century, it was known that the fuse towards the muzzle could be lit by the flash through the windage between the shell and the barrel, the use of exploding shells from field artillery became relatively commonplace from early in the 19th century. Until the mid 19th century, shells remained as simple exploding spheres that used gunpowder and they were usually made of cast iron, but bronze, lead, brass and even glass shell casings were experimented with. The word bomb encompassed them at the time, as heard in the lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner, typically, the thickness of the metal body was about a sixth of their diameter and they were about two thirds the weight of solid shot of the same calibre. To ensure that shells were loaded with their fuses towards the muzzle, in 1819, a committee of British artillery officers recognised that they were essential stores and in 1830 Britain standardised sabot thickness as a half inch. The sabot was also intended to reduce jamming during loading, despite the use of exploding shell, the use of smoothbore cannons, firing spherical projectiles of shot, remained the dominant artillery method until the 1850s. By the late 18th century, artillery could use canister shot to defend itself from infantry or cavalry attack and this involved loading a tin or canvas container filled with small iron or lead balls instead of the usual cannonball
5.
Glossary of British ordnance terms
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This article explains terms used for the British Armed Forces ordnance and also ammunition. The terms may have different meanings in the military of other countries. Between decks, applies to a gun mounting in which part of the rotating mass is below the deck. This allows for a profile of turret, meaning that turrets need not be superfiring The term BL, in its general sense, stood for breech loading. The shell was loaded via the breech followed by the propellant charge, sealing the chamber to prevent escape of the propellant gases. The term BL was first used to refer to the Armstrong breechloaders, following the discontinuation of Armstrong breechloaders and the period of British rifled muzzle-loaders, British breechloaders were re-introduced in 1880. Early British Elswick breechloaders in the 1880s used a steel cup obturation method and this was quickly superseded in guns designed by the Royal Gun Factory by the French de Bange method, the basic principle of which is still in use today. In British service this became a Crossley pad with an interrupted thread screw block e. g. a Welin screw, the shell was loaded via the breech, followed by the propellant charge in a cloth bag. A single-use vent sealing tube, a type of primer not dissimilar in appearance to a rifle round, was inserted into the breech for firing the gun. For instance, Britain before World War I had both QF and BL6 inch guns and this presented difficulties for BL guns at high angles. A special cartridge was developed for BL9.2 inch guns on H. A. mountings, using multiple small fabric bags also allows the gunners to use a reduced charge if need be. The term BLC stood for BL converted and referred to a breech and breech mechanism modified from an early long-screw three- or four-motion to modern short-screw single-motion, an example is the conversion of the BL15 pounder to BLC15 pounder. Calibre radius head, the radius of a circle with the curve of the nose on its circumference. The longer and more pointed the nose, the higher the C. R. H. Typical C. R. H. for British shells leading up to World War I was two, e. g. the curve of the nose of a two C. R. H. Six-inch shell was equivalent to the curve of a circle with a radius of 12 inches, shells of four C. R. H. were soon developed in World War I, identified by an A following the shell mark number, B for six and so on. For modern streamlined shells post-World War I, two numbers were necessary to more correctly denote a shells C. R. H, for instance, the World War I6 inch 26 cwt howitzer shell was two C. R. H. The World War II Mk 2D shell was correctly described as 5/10 C. R. H, in this use it is synonymous with round
6.
Shrapnel shell
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They relied almost entirely on the shells velocity for their lethality. The munition has been obsolete since the end of World War I for anti-personnel use, the functioning and principles behind Shrapnel shells are fundamentally different from high-explosive shell fragmentation. In 1784, Lieutenant Shrapnel of the Royal Artillery began developing an anti-personnel weapon, when fired, the container burst open during passage through the bore or at the muzzle, giving the effect of an oversized shotgun shell. At ranges of up to 300 m canister shot was still highly lethal, though at this range the shots’ density was much lower and his shell was a hollow cast-iron sphere filled with a mixture of balls and powder, with a crude time fuze. If the fuze was set correctly then the shell would break open, either in front or above the intended target, the shrapnel balls would carry on with the remaining velocity of the shell. The explosive charge in the shell was to be just enough to break the casing rather than scatter the shot in all directions, as such his invention increased the effective range of canister shot from 300 to about 1100 m. He called his device spherical case shot, but in time it came to be called after him, Various solutions were tried, with limited if any success. However, in 1852 Colonel Boxer proposed using a diaphragm to separate the bullets from the bursting charge, as a buffer to prevent lead shot deforming, a resin was used as a packing material between the shot. A useful side effect of using the resin was that the combustion also gave a visual reference upon the shell bursting and it took until 1803 for the British artillery to adopt the shrapnel shell, albeit with great enthusiasm when it did. Henry Shrapnel was promoted to major in the same year, the first recorded use of shrapnel by the British was in 1804 against the Dutch at Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam in Surinam. The Duke of Wellingtons armies used it from 1808 in the Peninsular War and at the Battle of Waterloo, the design was improved by Captain E. M. Boxer of the Royal Arsenal around 1852 and crossed over when cylindrical shells for rifled guns were introduced. The powder charge both shattered the cast iron wall and liberated the bullets. The broken shell wall continued mainly forward but had little destructive effect, in the 1870s William Armstrong provided a design with the bursting charge in the head and the shell wall made of steel and hence much thinner than previous cast-iron shrapnel shell walls. Britain adopted this solution for several smaller calibres but by World War I few if any such shells remained, the final shrapnel shell design, adopted in the 1880s, bore little similarity to Henry Shrapnels original design other than its spherical bullets and time fuze. It used a much thinner forged steel shell case with a fuze in the nose. The use of steel allowed the wall to be made much thinner. It also withstood the force of the charge without shattering, so that the bullets were fired forward out of the shell case with increased velocity. This is the design came to be adopted by all countries and was in standard use when World War I began in 1914
7.
Caliber
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In guns, particularly firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel, or the diameter of the projectile it fires, in hundredths or sometimes thousandths of an inch. For example, a 45 caliber firearm has a diameter of.45 of an inch. Barrel diameters can also be expressed using metric dimensions, as in 9mm pistol, when the barrel diameter is given in inches, the abbreviation cal can be used. Good performance requires a bullet to closely match the diameter of a barrel to ensure a good seal. While modern cartridges and cartridge firearms are referred to by the cartridge name. Firearm calibers outside the range of 17 to 50 exist, but are rarely encountered. Larger calibers, such as.577.585.600.700, the.950 JDJ is the only known cartridge beyond 79 caliber used in a rifle. Referring to artillery, caliber is used to describe the length as multiples of the bore diameter. A 5-inch 50 calibre gun has a diameter of 5 in. The main guns of the USS Missouri are 1650 caliber, makers of early cartridge arms had to invent methods of naming the cartridges, since no established convention existed then. One of the early established cartridge arms was the Spencer repeating rifle, later various derivatives were created using the same basic cartridge, but with smaller-diameter bullets, these were named by the cartridge diameter at the base and mouth. The original No.56 became the. 56-56, and the smaller versions. 56-52. 56-50, the. 56-52, the most common of the new calibers, used a 50-cal bullet. Optionally, the weight in grains was designated, e. g. 45-70-405. Variations on these methods persist today, with new cartridges such as the.204 Ruger, metric diameters for small arms refer to cartridge dimensions and are expressed with an × between the bore diameter and the length of the cartridge case, for example,7. 62×51 NATO. This indicates that the diameter is 7. 62mm, loaded in a case 51mm long. Similarly, the 6. 5×55 Swedish cartridge has a diameter of 6.5 mm. An exception to rule is the proprietary cartridge used by U. S. maker Lazzeroni. The following table lists commonly used calibers where both metric and imperial are used as equivalents
8.
Recoil
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Recoil is the backward movement of a gun when it is discharged. To apply this counter-recoiling force, modern mounted guns may employ recoil buffering comprising springs and hydraulic recoil mechanisms, early cannons used systems of ropes along with rolling or sliding friction to provide forces to slow the recoiling cannon to a stop. Recoil buffering allows the maximum counter-recoil force to be lowered so that strength limitations of the gun mount are not exceeded, however, the same pressures acting on the base of the projectile are acting on the rear face of the gun chamber, accelerating the gun rearward during firing. This results in the required counter-recoiling force being proportionally lower, modern cannons also employ muzzle brakes very effectively to redirect some of the propellant gasses rearward after projectile exit. This provides a force to the barrel, allowing the buffering system. The same physics affecting recoil in mounted guns and cannons applies to hand-held guns, hands, arms and shoulders have considerable strength and elasticity for this purpose, up to certain practical limits. For this reason, establishing recoil safety standards for small arms remains challenging, a change in momentum of a mass requires a force, according to Newtons first law, known as the law of inertia, inertia simply being another term for mass. That force, applied to a mass, creates an acceleration, according to Newtons second law, the law of momentum -- changing the velocity of the mass changes its momentum. It is important to understand at this point that velocity is not simply speed, velocity is the speed of a mass in a particular direction. In a very technical sense, speed is a scalar, a magnitude, in summation, the total momentum of the system equals zero, surprisingly just as it did before the trigger was pulled. There are two conservation laws at work when a gun is fired, conservation of momentum and conservation of energy, recoil is explained by the law of conservation of momentum, and so it is easier to discuss it separately from energy. The nature of the process is determined by the force of the expanding gases in the barrel upon the gun. It is also determined by the force applied to the gun. The recoil force only acts during the time that the ejecta are still in the barrel of the gun, except for the case of zero-recoil, the counter-recoil force is smaller than the recoil force but lasts for a longer time. Since the recoil force and the force are not matched. In the zero-recoil case, the two forces are matched and the gun will not move when fired. In most cases, a gun is very close to a free-recoil condition, an example of near zero-recoil would be a gun securely clamped to a massive or well-anchored table, or supported from behind by a massive wall. For example, placing the butt of a large caliber gun directly against a wall, the recoil of a firearm, whether large or small, is a result of the law of conservation of momentum
9.
Gun carriage
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A gun carriage is a frame and mount that supports the gun barrel of an artillery piece, allowing it to be manoeuvred and fired. The earliest guns were laid directly onto the ground, with earth being piled up under the end of the barrel to increase the elevation. As the size of guns increased, they began to be attached to wooden frames or beds that were held down by stakes. These began to be replaced by wheeled carriages in the early 16th century, from the 16th to the mid-19th century, the main form of artillery remained the smoothbore cannon. By this time, the trunnion had been developed, with the result that the barrel could be held in two recesses in the carriage and secured with an iron band. This simplified elevation, which was achieved by raising or lowering the breech of the gun by means of a wedge called a quoin or later by a steel screw. During this time, the design of gun carriages evolved only slowly, the trunnions of the gun barrel sat on the top of the cheeks, the rearward part of each cheek was stepped so that the breech could be lifted by iron levers called handspikes. Traversing the gun was achieved by levering the rear of the carriage sideways with handspikes and these were designed to allow guns to be deployed on the battlefield and were provided with a pair of large wheels similar to those used on carts or wagons. The cheeks of field carriages were much narrower than those on the naval carriage, when the gun needed to be moved any distance, the trail could be lifted onto a second separate axle called a limber, which could then be towed by a team of horses or oxen. Limbers had been invented in France in about 1550, in recent times, most heavy guns in military service, that were not themselves mounted into a vehicles, have been mounted either with a field carriage or a split trail carriage. The field carriage is simpler - having two legs extend backwards, joining at a tail, being a hardpoint to hook on to a prime mover or set of horses, the split trail carriage, however, is more complicated, but offers distinct advantages. It consists of two legs, able to be spread independently to the sides, or brought together to allow towing or movement, in both cases, the tail of the carriage often serves to balance the gun, and protect it from rolling to any large extent. The split trail, however, allows the gun not only to be fired near the horizontal, as the field carriage does and this is less important for heavier artillery, as the guns already involve a long time to prepare a firing position. While this still limits the ability to track, it allows the guns to fire in any direction with minimal preparation. Furthermore, it part of each of the benefits of the field carriage, being weight, space. The practice has its origins in war and appears in the century in the Queens regulations of the British Army. In the United Kingdom, the visual distinction usually referred to is that in a state funeral and this distinguishing feature is not invariable, however, as shown by the use of naval ratings rather than horses at the ceremonial funeral for Lord Mountbatten in 1979
10.
BL 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer
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The Ordnance BL6 inch 26cwt howitzer was a British howitzer used during World War I and World War II. The qualifier 26cwt refers to the weight of the barrel and breech together which weighed 26 long hundredweight and it was developed to replace the obsolescent 6 inch 25 cwt and 6 inch 30 cwt howitzers which were outclassed by German artillery such as the 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 13. Design began in January 1915, the first proof-firing occurred on 30 July 1915 and its combination of firepower, range and mobility made it one of the British Empires most important weapons in World War I. It was originally towed by horses but from 1916 onwards was commonly towed by the FWD4 wheel drive 3 ton lorry as heavy field artillery, the wooden spoked wheels could be fitted with girdles for work in mud or sand to prevent them sinking. Towards the end of the war solid rubber tyres were fitted over the iron tyres on the wheel rims and it fired 22.4 million rounds on the Western Front. During the interwar period the carriage had its wooden spoked wheels replaced with steel wheels. During World War II, its use was restricted after 1942 when the replacement BL5.5 inch Medium Gun came into use and it was however reintroduced in Burma due to a number of premature detonations in 5. 5-inch guns. It was declared obsolete with the end of the war in 1945, captured examples received the designation FH-412 in German use. Saint John, New Brunswick Projectiles used in World War I weighed 100 pounds, osprey Publishing, Oxford UK,2005 ISBN 978-1-84176-788-8 General Sir Martin Farndale, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Hogg & L. F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914-1918, ISBN 978-0-7110-0381-1 Handbook of the B. L. Mark I howitzer on Mark I travelling carriage,1919, Hosted online by State Library of Victoria, Australia Gun drill for 6-inch B. L. 26-cwt howitzer Mark I carriage Mark I1920 Hosted online by State Library of Victoria, Australia Gun drill for B. L, 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer Mark 1 carriage Mark 11926 Hosted online by State Library of Victoria, Australia War Office. Video clips on YouTube Nigel F Evans, British Artillery in World War 2, 6-Inch Howitzer W L Ruffell, BL 6-in 26-cwt howitzer 6 inch 26 cwt Howitzer at Landships Walk around BL 6-inch 26-cwt howitzer WWI exposed to the Sacrario Militare di Redipuglia / Italy
11.
ANZAC Cove
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Anzac Cove is a small cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. It became famous as the site of World War I landing of the ANZACs on 25 April 1915, the cove is 600 metres long, bounded by the headlands of Arıburnu to the north and Little Arıburnu, known as Hell Spit, to the south. Following the landing at Anzac Cove, the became the main base for the Australian. General William Birdwood, commander of Anzac, made his headquarters in a gully overlooking the cove, as did the commanders of the New Zealand and Australian Division, the beach itself became an enormous supply dump and two field hospitals were established, one at either end. Four floating jetties were constructed for the landing of stores. The volume of stores quickly overflowed onto the adjacent beaches, firstly onto Brighton Beach to the south of the cove, three wireless radio stations were established on the beach to maintain contact with the fleet. Nibrunesi Point was under the guns of the Royal Navy so was never used to fire on Anzac, however the well-concealed Turkish battery at Gaba Tepe, despite the shelling and Turkish snipers, Anzac Cove was a popular swimming beach for the soldiers. At ANZAC it was a struggle to supply sufficient water for drinking, most soldiers disregarded all but the fiercest shelling rather than interrupt the one luxury available to them. On Anzac Day in 1985, the name Anzac Cove was officially recognised by the Turkish government, the Anzac Day dawn service was held at Ari Burnu Cemetery within the cove until 1999 when the number of people attending outgrew the site. A purpose built Anzac Commemorative Site was constructed nearby on North Beach in time for the 2000 service, the only way onto the beach was via the CWGC cemeteries at each headland, Arıburnu Cemetery, and Beach Cemetery. In 2003 the Australian government announced that it was negotiating with Turkey to place Anzac Cove on the National Heritage List, however this request was dismissed by the Turkish government as the Gallipoli peninsula is Turkish territory and already a national park in the Turkish National Park System. In 2004 the Australian Minister for Veterans Affairs, Danna Vale, made a request to the Turkish authorities that roadworks be carried out in the area
12.
Gallipoli Campaign
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The peninsula forms the northern bank of the Dardanelles, a strait that provided a sea route to the Russian Empire, one of the Allied powers during the war. Intending to secure it, Russias allies Britain and France launched an attack followed by an amphibious landing on the peninsula. The naval attack was repelled and after eight months fighting, with casualties on both sides, the land campaign was abandoned and the invasion force was withdrawn to Egypt. The campaign was one of the greatest Ottoman victories during the war, in Turkey, it is regarded as a defining moment in the nations history, a final surge in the defence of the motherland as the Ottoman Empire crumbled. In 1908, a group of officers, known as the Young Turks. The new régime implemented a program of reform to modernise the political and economic system. An enthusiastic supporter, Germany provided significant investment, German diplomats subsequently found increasing influence, despite Britain previously being the predominant power in the region, while German officers assisted in training and re-equipping the army. Despite this support, the resources of the Ottoman Empire were depleted by the cost of the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913. In December 1913, the Germans sent a mission to Constantinople. The geographical position of the Ottoman Empire meant that Russia and her allies France, during the Sarajevo Crisis in 1914, German diplomats offered Turkey an anti-Russian alliance and territorial gains in Caucasia, north-west Iran and Trans-Caspia. The pro-British faction in the Cabinet was isolated due to the British ambassador taking leave until 18 August, as the crisis deepened in Europe, Ottoman policy was to obtain a guarantee of territorial integrity and potential advantages, unaware that the British might enter a European war. This action strained diplomatic relations between the two empires and the German government offered SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau to the Ottoman navy as replacements, by allowing the German ships to enter the Dardanelles, the Ottomans confirmed their links to Germany. In September, the British naval mission to the Ottomans, which had established in 1912 under Admiral Arthur Limpus, was recalled due to increasing concern that Turkey would soon enter the war. Rear Admiral Wilhelm Souchon of the Imperial German Navy took over command of the Ottoman navy, the German naval presence and the success of German armies on all fronts, gave the pro-German faction in the Ottoman government enough influence to declare war on Russia. On 27 October, Goeben and Breslau, having been renamed Yavûz Sultân Selîm and Midilli, sortied into the Black Sea, bombarded the Russian port of Odessa and sank several Russian ships. The Ottomans refused an Allied demand that they expel the German missions and on 31 October 1914, Russia declared war on Turkey on 2 November. The next day, the British ambassador left Constantinople and a British naval squadron off the Dardanelles bombarded the outer defensive forts at Kum Kale, a shell hit a magazine, knocked the guns off their mounts and killed 86 soldiers. Fighting also began in Mesopotamia, following a British landing to occupy the oil facilities in the Persian Gulf, the Ottomans prepared to attack Egypt in early 1915, aiming to occupy the Suez Canal and cut the Mediterranean route to India and the Far East
13.
Macedonian Front
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The expedition came too late and in insufficient force to prevent the fall of Serbia, and was complicated by the internal political crisis in Greece. The Macedonian Front remained quite stable, despite local actions, until the great Allied offensive in September 1918, which resulted in the capitulation of Bulgaria and the liberation of Serbia. Following the asassination of the Crown Prince by a Bosnian Serb, after the entry of the Ottoman Empire into the war on the side of the Central Powers, the decisive factor in the Balkans became the attitude of Bulgaria. Bulgaria occupied an important position on the Serbian flank and its intervention on either side of the belligerents would be decisive. Bulgaria and Serbia had fought each other twice in the thirty years, in the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885. Bulgaria had suffered defeat in 1913 and the Bulgarian government and people felt that Serbia had stolen land which rightfully belonged to Bulgaria. After the victory of the Serbian army in the Battle of Kolubara in December 1914, on 15 October 1915, two Bulgarian armies attacked, overrunning Serbian units, penetrating into the valley of the South Morava river near Vranje up to 22 October 1915. The Bulgarian forces occupied Kumanovo, Štip, and Skopje, and prevented the withdrawal of the Serbian army to the Greek border, for a year, the Allies had repeatedly promised to send serious military forces to Serbia, while nothing had materialized. But with Bulgarias mobilization to its south, the situation for Serbia became desperate, the main reason for the delay was the lack of available Allied forces due to the critical situation in the Western Front. The Entente used Greek neutrality as an excuse, although they could have used the Albanian coast for a deployment of reinforcements. The Entente also delayed due to protracted secret negotiations aiming at bringing Bulgaria into the Allied camp, in the event the lack of Allied support sealed the fate of the Serbian Army. Against Serbia the Central Powers marshalled the Bulgarian Army, a German Army, the Germans and Austro-Hungarians began their attack on 7 October with a massive artillery barrage, followed by attacks across the rivers. Then, on 11 October, the Bulgarian Army attacked from two directions, one from the north of Bulgaria towards Niš, the other from the south towards Skopje, the Bulgarian Army rapidly broke through the weaker Serbian forces which tried to block its advance. With the Bulgarian breakthrough, the Serbian position became hopeless, their army in the north faced either encirclement and enforced surrender. Marshal Putnik ordered a full Serbian retreat, southwards and westwards through Montenegro, the Serbs faced great difficulties, terrible weather, poor roads and the need for the army to help the tens of thousands of civilians who retreated with them. Only c.125,000 Serbian soldiers reached the Adriatic coast and embarked on Italian transport ships carried the army to Corfu. Marshal Putnik had to be carried during the retreat, he died just over a year later in a French hospital. The French and British divisions marched north from Thessaloniki in October 1915 under the joint command of French General Maurice Sarrail, however, the War Office in London was reluctant to advance too deep into Serbia
14.
Metaxas Line
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The Metaxas Line was a chain of fortifications constructed along the line of the Greco-Bulgarian border, designed to protect Greece in case of a Bulgarian invasion after the rearmament of Bulgaria. It was named after Ioannis Metaxas, then Prime Minister of Greece, the constructions are so sturdy that they survive to this day, some of which are still in active service. Some of them are open to the public, illumination was initially mostly provided by oil-lamps, although generators were also installed. Ventilation was achieved both naturally and artificially, the fortification works lasted four years and their cost at the time reached 100,400,000 drachmas. The following 21 forts make up the Metaxas Line, ordered from West to East along the Greco-Bulgarian border, thus, it was decided that further fortifications should be constructed, not only in that particular region, but also along the entire northern Greek borderline. The plans were drawn up in 1935 and work began at Kerkini in 1936, the original intention was that the full fortifications line reach as far along the border as Ormenion. Greece, however, became involved in World War II in 1940, at the war’s outbreak, the fortification line had only reached Komotini, Thrace and was 155 km long. Like the Maginot Line on the Franco-German border, the Metaxas Line was outflanked by German forces specifically when the Germans invaded Greece in April 1941 through Yugoslavia. The German XVIII Mountain Corps and XXX Army Corps attacked the Metaxas Line before dawn on 6 April, Bakopoulos, and after three days of fighting they had only limited successes. The 2nd Panzerdivision XVIII Mountain Corps with an enveloping move crossed the Yugoslavian borders, overcame Yugoslav and Greek resistance, the capture of Thessaloniki forced the Greek East Macedonia Army Section to surrender on the 10th of April and the Metaxas Line battle was over. German General Wilhelm List, who led the attack against the Metaxas Line, admired the bravery and he refrained from taking the Greek soldiers prisoner and declared that the army was free to leave with their war flags, on condition that they surrender their arms and supplies. He also ordered his soldiers and officers to salute the Greek soldiers, the line was also poorly manned as most of the Greek Army was fighting against the Italians, on the Albanian front. Greco-Italian War 4th of August Regime Hellenic Army General Staff / Army History Directorate, the Struggle in Eastern Macedonia and Western Thrace. The Greek Army during World War II, fortress Europe, European Fortifications of World War II. Beevor, A. Crete, The Battle and the Resistance, Hellenic Army General Staff / Army History Directorate, Period of WW II, F. 629/A/1. Field report of the Army Section of Eastern Macedonia by Lt. General Konstantinos Bakopoulos, about the German invasion of Greece Bunkermuzeum, maps and ww2 fortifications World War II Fortifications in Greece
15.
Battle of Greece
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The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion of Allied Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941 during World War II. Concomitant to the stalled Greco-Italian War, it is distinguished from the Battle of Crete. These Axis operations were part of the greater Balkan Campaign of Germany, at the time of the German invasion, Greece was at war with Fascist Italy, following the Italian invasion on 28 October 1940. The Greeks joined the Allies and defeated the initial Italian attack, when Operation Marita began on 6 April, the bulk of the Greek Army was on the Greek border with Albania, then a protectorate of Italy, from which the Italian troops had attacked. German troops invaded from Bulgaria, creating a second front, Greece had already received a small, inadequate reinforcement from British Empire forces in anticipation of the German attack, but no more help was sent afterward. The Greek army found itself outnumbered in its effort to defend against both Italian and German troops, the British Empire forces were overwhelmed and forced to retreat, with the ultimate goal of evacuation. For several days, Allied troops played an important part in containing the German advance on the Thermopylae position, allowing ships to be prepared to evacuate the units defending Greece. The German Army reached the capital, Athens, on 27 April and Greeces southern shore on 30 April, capturing 7,000 British Empire forces, the conquest of Greece was completed with the capture of Crete a month later. Following its fall, Greece was occupied by the forces of Germany, Italy. Hitler later blamed the failure of his invasion of the Soviet Union and it nevertheless had serious consequences for the Axis war effort in the North African theatre. Enno von Rintelen, who was the military attaché in Rome, emphasizes from the German point of view, at the outbreak of World War II, Ioannis Metaxas—the fascist-style dictator of Greece and former general—sought to maintain a position of neutrality. Greece was subject to increasing pressure from Italy, culminating in the Italian submarine Delfino sinking the cruiser Elli on 15 August 1940, Italian leader Benito Mussolini was irritated that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had not consulted him on his war policy and wished to establish his independence. He hoped to match German military success by taking Greece, which he regarded as an easy opponent, on 15 October 1940, Mussolini and his closest advisers finalised their decision. Metaxas rejected the ultimatum but even before it expired, Italian troops had invaded Greece through Albania, the principal Italian thrust was directed toward Epirus. Hostilities with the Greek army began at the Battle of Elaia–Kalamas, within three weeks, the Greek army launched a counter-offensive, during which it marched into Albanian territory, capturing significant cities such as Korça and Sarandë. Neither a change in Italian command nor the arrival of substantial reinforcements improved the position of the Italian army, after weeks of inconclusive winter warfare, the Italians launched a counter-offensive on the centre of the front on 9 March 1941, which failed, despite the Italians superior forces. After one week and 12,000 casualties, Mussolini called off the counter-offensive, elementary precautions such as issuing winter clothing had not been taken. Mussolini had not considered the warnings of the Italian Commission of War Production, during the six-month fight against Italy, the Hellenic army made territorial gains by eliminating Italian salients
16.
Cordite
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Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom since 1889 to replace gunpowder as a military propellant. Like gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burning rates and these produce a subsonic deflagration wave rather than the supersonic detonation wave produced by brisants, or high explosives. The hot gases produced by burning gunpowder or cordite generate sufficient pressure to propel a bullet or shell to its target, Cordite was used initially in the. Cordite was also used for weapons, such as tank guns, artillery. It has been used mainly for this purpose since the late 19th century by the UK and its use was further developed before World War II, and as 2-and-3-inch-diameter Unrotated Projectiles for launching anti-aircraft weapons. Small cordite rocket charges were developed for ejector seats made by the Martin-Baker Company. Cordite was also used in the system of the Little Boy atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima in August 1945. The term cordite generally disappeared from official publications between the wars, during World War II double based propellants were very widely used and there was some use of triple based propellants by artillery. For small arms it has replaced by other propellants, such as the Improved Military Rifle line of extruded powder or the WC844 ball propellant currently in use in the 5. 56×45mm NATO. Production ceased in the United Kingdom, around the end of the 20th century, with the closure of the last of the World War II cordite factories, triple base propellant for UK service is now manufactured in Germany. Gunpowder, a mixture of sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate, was the original propellant employed in firearms. It was used from about 10th or 11th century onwards, but it had disadvantages, the first smokeless powder was developed in 1865 by Major Johann F. E. Schultze of the Prussian artillery. His formulation was composed of nitrolignose impregnated with saltpetre or barium nitrate, in 1882 the Explosive Company of Stowmarket introduced EC Powder, which contained nitro-cotton and nitrates of potassium and barium in a grain gelatinesed by ether alcohol. It had coarser grains than other nitrocellulose powders and it proved unsuitable for rifles, but it remained in long use for shotguns and was later used for grenades and fragmentation bombs. In 1884, the French chemist Paul Vieille produced a smokeless propellant that had some success and it was made out of collodion, resulting in a plastic colloidal substance which was rolled into very thin sheets, then dried and cut up into small flakes. It was immediately adopted by the French military for their Mle 1886 infantry rifle, the rifle and the cartridge developed to use this powder were known generically as the 8mm Lebel, after the officer who developed its 8 mm full metal jacket bullet. The following year,1887, Alfred Nobel invented and patented a smokeless propellant he called Ballistite and it was composed of 10% camphor, 45% nitroglycerine and 45% collodion. Over time the camphor tended to evaporate, leaving an unstable explosive, using acetone as a solvent, it was extruded as spaghetti-like rods initially called cord powder or the Committees modification of Ballistite, but this was swiftly abbreviated to Cordite
17.
Australia
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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
18.
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
19.
Royal Garrison Artillery
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The Royal Garrison Artillery came into existence as a separate entity when existing coastal defence, mountain, siege and heavy batteries of the Royal Artillery were amalgamated into a new sub-branch. A royal warrant provided that from 1 June 1899, the mounted and dismounted branches of the Royal Regiment of Artillery shall be separated into two corps. To be named respectively the Royal Horse Artillery and the Royal Field Artillery, the Royal Regiment of Artillery, thenceforth, was divided into four branches. Other than mounted or unmounted dress, the distinction in uniform was by the shoulder title badges, RGA, RFA, RHA. The RGA retained the badge and dress uniform of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, the corps name was discontinued in 1924, when the RGA was re-amalgamated into the Royal Artillery. Prior to the First World War artillery would manoeuvre on the battlefield beside the infantry and cavalry. The field artillery would form part of a line alongside the infantry and, on occasion. Fixed artillery was placed in forts and batteries in locations where they might protect potential targets from attack and this included forts and batteries intended to protect against military forces on the land, and against naval forces on the sea. Coastal artillery relied primarily on high velocity guns, capable of striking out at ships at a great distance, inland defensive batteries might have armament better suited for use against personnel. Mobile artillery pieces were used that could be quickly re-deployed as required between fortifications that were not permanently manned or armed. Fixed batteries were operated in the early 20th Century by the RGA, including its Militia Artillery and Volunteer Force reservists. By the start of the 20th century, the size of the capital ships of the worlds largest navies. The advent of artillery had changed the design of fortifications centuries before, by the 20th century, fortifications were being designed with as much surrounding embankment by earthworks as possible. With the advent of the aeroplane, and the missile, fixed artillery was obsolete and too vulnerable to continue in use. The last coastal artillery was removed from use in the 1950s, with the new long-range small arms available to the infantry in the era before World War I, artillery fighting in the infantry line was increasingly brought under fire. The solution to this was the principle of standing off and engaging the enemy with indirect fire, however, even after this became official military doctrine, field and horse artillery on both sides kept trying to fight in the old way. One instance was a gun duel fought between British and German horse artillery units using open sights during the Retreat to the Marne, in the quagmire of trench warfare that followed it was finally realised that it was not the place for the artillery to be in the infantry line. Henceforth the artillery would be positioned well behind the battle line, firing at unseen targets, at co-ordinates on a map calculated with geometry
20.
Royal Artillery
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The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery, is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name Royal Regiment of Artillery it actually consists of 13 Regular Regiments and 5 Reserve Regiments, the introduction of artillery into the English army came as early as the Battle of Crécy in 1346. Henry VIII made the armys artillery semi-permanent in the sixteenth century, before the 18th century, artillery traynes were raised by royal warrant for specific campaigns and disbanded again when they were over. On 26 May 1716, however, by warrant of George I two regular companies of field artillery, each 100 men strong, were raised at Woolwich. The title Royal Artillery was first used in 1720, in 1741 the Royal Military Academy was formed in the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich to provide training for RA and Royal Engineers officers. The regiment expanded rapidly and, by 1757, had 24 companies divided into two battalions, as well as a company formed in 1741. During 1748, the presidential artilleries of Bengal, Madras and Bombay were formed,1756 saw the creation of the Royal Irish Regiment of Artillery. In 1762 the Royal Artillery Band was formed at Minden, by 1771 there were 32 companies in four battalions, as well as two invalid companies comprising older and unfit men employed in garrison duties. During 1782, the regiment moved to the Royal Artillery Barracks on Woolwich Common, in January 1793, two troops of Royal Horse Artillery were raised to provide fire support for the cavalry, augmented by two more in November 1793. The Royal Irish Artillery was absorbed into the RA in 1801, during 1805, the Royal Military Academy moved to Woolwich Common. In 1819, the Rotunda was given to the regiment by the Prince Regent to celebrate end of the Napoleonic Wars, in 1832, the regimental motto, Ubique Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt, was granted. The motto signified that the regiment had seen action in all the conflicts of the British Army. The regiment was under the control of the Board of Ordnance until the board was abolished in 1855, thereafter the regiment came under the War Office along with the rest of the army. The School of Gunnery established at Shoeburyness, Essex in 1859, the third group continued to be titled simply Royal Artillery, and was responsible for ammunition storage and supply. Which branch a gunner belonged to was indicated by metal shoulder titles, the RFA and RHA also dressed as mounted men, whereas the RGA dressed like foot soldiers. In 1920 the rank of Bombardier was instituted in the Royal Artillery, the three sections effectively functioned as separate corps. This arrangement lasted until 1924, when the three amalgamated once more to one regiment. In 1938, RA Brigades were renamed Regiments, during the World War II there were over 1 million men serving in 960 gunner regiments
21.
Greece
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Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country in southeastern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015. Athens is the capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine regions, Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace, Crete. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in length, featuring a vast number of islands, eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as polis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming a part of the Roman Empire and its successor. The Greek Orthodox Church also shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World, falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greeces rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe, Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the member to join the European Communities and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. Greeces unique cultural heritage, large industry, prominent shipping sector. It is the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor, the names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the names used in other languages, locations and cultures. The earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern Balkans, dated to 270,000 BC, is to be found in the Petralona cave, all three stages of the stone age are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave. Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC, are the oldest in Europe by several centuries and these civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script known as Linear A, and the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek. The Mycenaeans gradually absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently around 1200 BC and this ushered in a period known as the Greek Dark Ages, from which written records are absent. The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundational texts of Western literature, are believed to have been composed by Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. With the end of the Dark Ages, there emerged various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, in 508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted the worlds first democratic system of government in Athens
22.
15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze M 94
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The 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze M94 was a heavy howitzer used by Austria-Hungary in World War I. It had a barrel and relied on wheel ramps to absorb its recoil. The barrel was modified in 1899 as the M99 and can be identified by its octagonal shape, both howitzers could be mounted on a wide variety of carriages to suit their mission, including a carriage only 1.13 metres wide for mountain use. Around the start of the 20th century both the M94 and M99 were modified to increase their elevation up to 65°. The elevation arc had to be extended and the trunnion mounts and they were known as the M 94/4 and the M 99/4 after modification. The Austro-Hungarian Artillery From 1867 to 1918, Technology, Organization, vienna, Verlag Militaria,2007 ISBN 978-3-902526-13-7 BL6 inch 30 cwt howitzer, British equivalent 152 mm howitzer M1910, French/Russian equivalent
23.
Rimailho Model 1904TR
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The 155 mm Rimailho Howitzer Model 1904TR was a medium howitzer used by France before and during World War I. The name Rimailho comes from the designer of the gun Captain Emile Rimailho a French artillery officer who was involved in the design. The gun was designed in 1904 and the TR in the name means Tir Rapide or Rapid Fire in English. Captain Rimailhos goal was to produce an artillery piece capable of a rate of fire equal to the modèle 1897. In service a well-trained gun crew could achieve a rate of 15 rounds per minute, however the 1904TR was mechanically complex, after each round is fired the guns breech is opened automatically. While the gun back into battery the breech is held open. The crew places a cartridge and shell onto the loading tray beneath the breach, the motion of the gun returning to battery slides the loading tray up into place and the firing lever is cocked. The firing lever is pulled and the cartridge and shell are rammed into the breech, the breech then closes and the gun fires. A firing demonstration was held at the French War College at Langres on September 4,1906 with the French Minister of War, the 1904TR tested against existing 155 mm and 270 mm artillery pieces and judged to be superior when firing against hardened concrete fortifications. In 1907 the 1904TR was put into production and eventually five artillery regiments were equipped with the 1904TR, each 1904TR battery consisted of two guns accompanied by three ammunition wagons for each gun. In August 1914, the French army had in service 104 pieces of 155 CTR, at the outbreak of war the 1904TR was one of the few large calibre modern artillery pieces available to the French Army. The French had neglected large calibre guns in favor of smaller and lighter artillery such as the Mle 1897, the Mle 1897 fit the French Armys doctrine of offence and manoeuver. This doctrine placed a great deal of emphasis on conducting battles in the open room for cavalry and infantry to manoeuver. When the Western Front stagnated and both sides became entrenched in 1915 the French Army was at a disadvantage due to their lack of range, large calibre artillery capable of high-angle fire. The 1904 TRs carriage was also dated at the time of its introduction being patterned on older siege howitzers. The 1904TR was supplemented from 1915-1918 by the Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 St. Chamond, due to their short range, most of the 155 CTR were used with powerful charges. This resulted in rapid wear of their barrels, none was in service at the end of the war. Only one surviving example is known of today at the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces, new York, Barnes & Noble,2000 ISBN 0-7607-1994-2 Journal Of The United States Artillery, Volume 34,1910
24.
152 mm howitzer M1910
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The 152 mm howitzer Model 1910 Schneider or, more properly,6 dm polevaja gaubitsa sistemy Schneidera as it was designated in Tsarist times, was a French howitzer designed by Schneider et Cie. It was used by the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union during World War I, the Russo-Polish War, finland captured nine during the Finnish Civil War, but didnt use them during that conflict. They did see combat during the Winter War and the Continuation War, the 152 mm howitzer Model 1910 Schneider was a conventional design for its time. It used a box carriage with wheels, a gun shield to protect the crew. It used an interrupted-screw breech with separate-loading ammunition, the shell being loaded first followed by the amount of propellant in a brass cartridge case. Schneider designed the howitzer to meet an Imperial Russian specification and it was accepted as the Model 1910 Schneider to distinguish it from the Krupp design also bought that same year and it was manufactured by the Putilov Factory and the Perm Artillery Factory. It was used on the Eastern Front during World War I and fought in the Russo-Polish War, surviving examples were upgraded in the Thirties with a new carriage with pneumatic tires as the 152 mm gaubitsa obr. Finnish weapons were used for training before the Winter War began, during the Continuation War they served with Heavy Artillery Battalion 30 although they were withdrawn relatively quickly because they were worn out and stored until 1966 against future need. Allied Artillery of World War One
25.
15 cm sFH 02
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The 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 1902 was a German heavy field howitzer cannon introduced in 1903 and served in World War I. It was the first artillery piece to use a modern system in the German Army. Some 416 were in service at the beginning of the World War I, france had a Canon de 65 M with a recoil system, but used it only as a mountain howitzer. German Artillery of World War One, ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, Crowood Press,2001. Lovett Artillery Collection sFH02 on Landships, archived from the original on 22 February 2012. List and pictures of World War I surviving 15cm sFH02 howitzers
26.
6-inch howitzer M1908
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The 6 inch Howitzer, Model of 1908 was the standard American heavy howitzer before World War I. Forty-two of these weapons had been produced before 1917 and all were employed for training stateside in that war, for combat use in France the Canon de 155 C mle 1917 Schneider was purchased. All surviving weapons were retired during the 1920s and it is unusual among American-designed field artillery weapons in that it has the recoil cylinder situated above the barrel. The 4. 7-inch howitzer M1908/M1912 shared this feature, the 75 mm Gun M1917 also had this, but is based on the British Ordnance QF 18-pounder. Ammunition was either common steel shell with a fuze or shrapnel with a combination time/percussion fuze. Handbook of the 6-inch Howitzer Materiel, Model of 1908 and 1908MI, field Artillerymans Guide,3 inch Gun,4.7 and 6 inch Howitzer, Second Edition. Philadelphia, P. Blakistons Son & Co, williford, Glen M. American Breechloading Mobile Artillery, 1875-1953
27.
Imperial War Museum Duxford
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Imperial War Museum Duxford is a branch of the Imperial War Museum near Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England. Britains largest aviation museum, Duxford houses the large exhibits, including nearly 200 aircraft, military vehicles, artillery. The site also provides space for the museums other collections of material such as film, photographs, documents, books. The site accommodates several British Army regimental museums, including those of the Parachute Regiment, based on the historic Duxford Aerodrome, the site was originally operated by the Royal Air Force during the First World War. Duxford remained an active RAF airfield until 1961, after the Ministry of Defence declared the site surplus to requirements in 1969 the Imperial War Museum received permission to use part of the site for storage. The entirety of the site was transferred to the museum in February 1976, in keeping with the sites history many of Duxfords original buildings, such as hangars used during the Battle of Britain, are still in use. The site also features several purpose-built exhibition buildings, such as the Stirling Prize-winning American Air Museum, the site remains an active airfield and is used by civilian flying companies, and hosts regular air shows. The museum opened in 1920, by which point it had renamed the Imperial War Museum. With the outbreak of the Second World War, the terms of reference were enlarged to include the conflict. The museums terms of reference was broadened again in 1953 to include all conflicts in which British or Commonwealth forces were engaged. Although the museums south London home had been extended in 1966, Duxford featured three double bay hangars of First World War vintage, which together provided over 9000 m2 of space. Within two years, ten of the aircraft had been brought to Duxford, and were being restored by volunteers of the East Anglia Aviation Society. While the museums own aircraft were not restored to flying condition, further air shows followed, with a display in June 1976 attracting an audience of 45,000 people. The runway was bought by Cambridgeshire County Council in 1977, the success of these shows provided a valuable source of revenue, and complemented the efforts of volunteers, so that the museum applied for the permanent transfer of the entire site to its use. Permission was received in February 1976 and Duxford became the first outstation of the Imperial War Museum, initially open from March–October, Duxford received 167,000 visitors in the 1977 season, and 340,000 in 1978. Two million visitors had been received by 1982 and Duxford welcomed its ten millionth visitor in August 2005, with the outbreak of war in September 1939 Duxford was home to three RAF squadrons engaged on coastal patrol duties. From July 1940, Duxford saw considerable action during the Battle of Britain as a station of RAF Fighter Commands No.12 Group. In the middle years of the war Duxford was home to specialist units, such as the tacticians, in April 1942 the first Typhoon Wing was formed at Duxford
28.
War Museum of Thessaloniki
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The War Museum of Thessaloniki is a military museum in Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Greece. Thessaloniki War Museum opened in October 2000 and it is housed in the building designed by architect Vitaliano Posseli and erected between 1900 and 1902. The museum’s mission is to act as a base in Northern Greece for events organized by the War Museum in Athens and to preserve historical memory. The permanent collections show events which were a watershed in Modern Greek history from the turn of the 20th century to the liberation of Greece from German forces at the end of World War II. In addition to exhibition spaces, the War Museum has an amphitheatre, furthermore, all Ministry of Defence, Department of Military History and War Museum publications are on sale at the museum shop. Museums of Macedonia, Greece — War Museum Media related to Thessaloniki War Museum at Wikimedia Commons
29.
NDC-GR
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The Corps is based in the city of Thessaloniki since 1946. NDC-GR will provide the HQ capabilities for sustainment and rotation for prolonged operations, nDC-GR HQ will be declared to NATO and will be placed under OPCOM to SACEUR once the North Atlantic Council has agreed upon a mission. The HQ can be deployed as an FLR HQ Alliance-wide and beyond and it will be able to operate throughout the entire mission spectrum, ranging from PSO up to high intensity combat operations in any physical environment. III Corps remained at Thessaloniki until October 1916, when the establishment of the pro-entente Provisional Government of National Defence in the city finalized the National Schism. The corps remained there until June 1917, when Greece, reunified under Eleftherios Venizelos, with the reorganization of the army for operations on the Macedonian Front, III Corps was disbanded. After the Venizelist electoral defeat in November 1920, the corps was renamed III Army Corps, in the interwar period, the corps returned to Thessaloniki. It participated in the Greco-Italian War and capitulated with the rest of the Hellenic Army after the German invasion of Greece in April 1941. To this end, it comprised 6th Infantry Division at Kilkis, 10th Infantry Division at Serres, 11th Infantry Division at Kavala, the 6th Infantry Division was transferred to II Army Corps in 1960, but a new 16th Infantry Division was formed in 1975. III Army Corps, based in Thessaloniki III Army Corps HQ Battalion 8th Infantry Brigade, based at Ioannina, Epirus 9th Infantry Brigade, based at Kozani, div. based at Serres, Macedonia 15th Infantry Regiment XV Inf
30.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
31.
British Empire
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The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It originated with the possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23% of the population at the time. As a result, its political, legal, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread, during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France, the independence of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after the American War of Independence caused Britain to lose some of its oldest and most populous colonies. British attention soon turned towards Asia, Africa, and the Pacific, after the defeat of France in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Britain emerged as the principal naval and imperial power of the 19th century. In the early 19th century, the Industrial Revolution began to transform Britain, the British Empire expanded to include India, large parts of Africa and many other territories throughout the world. In Britain, political attitudes favoured free trade and laissez-faire policies, during the 19th Century, Britains population increased at a dramatic rate, accompanied by rapid urbanisation, which caused significant social and economic stresses. To seek new markets and sources of raw materials, the Conservative Party under Benjamin Disraeli launched a period of imperialist expansion in Egypt, South Africa, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand became self-governing dominions. By the start of the 20th century, Germany and the United States had begun to challenge Britains economic lead, subsequent military and economic tensions between Britain and Germany were major causes of the First World War, during which Britain relied heavily upon its empire. The conflict placed enormous strain on the military, financial and manpower resources of Britain, although the British Empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after World War I, Britain was no longer the worlds pre-eminent industrial or military power. In the Second World War, Britains colonies in Southeast Asia were occupied by Imperial Japan, despite the final victory of Britain and its allies, the damage to British prestige helped to accelerate the decline of the empire. India, Britains most valuable and populous possession, achieved independence as part of a larger movement in which Britain granted independence to most territories of the empire. The transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997 marked for many the end of the British Empire, fourteen overseas territories remain under British sovereignty. After independence, many former British colonies joined the Commonwealth of Nations, the United Kingdom is now one of 16 Commonwealth nations, a grouping known informally as the Commonwealth realms, that share a monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The foundations of the British Empire were laid when England and Scotland were separate kingdoms. In 1496, King Henry VII of England, following the successes of Spain and Portugal in overseas exploration, Cabot led another voyage to the Americas the following year but nothing was ever heard of his ships again
32.
Victorian era
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The Victorian era was the period of Queen Victorias reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities. Some scholars date the beginning of the period in terms of sensibilities, the era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian period. The later half of the Victorian age roughly coincided with the first part of the Belle Époque era of continental Europe, culturally there was a transition away from the rationalism of the Georgian period and toward romanticism and mysticism with regard to religion, social values, and arts. The end of the saw the Boer War. Domestically, the agenda was increasingly liberal with a number of shifts in the direction of political reform, industrial reform. Two especially important figures in period of British history are the prime ministers Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone. Disraeli, favoured by the queen, was a gregarious Conservative and his rival Gladstone, a Liberal distrusted by the Queen, served more terms and oversaw much of the overall legislative development of the era. The population of England and Wales almost doubled from 16.8 million in 1851 to 30.5 million in 1901, Scotlands population also rose rapidly, from 2.8 million in 1851 to 4.4 million in 1901. However, Irelands population decreased sharply, from 8.2 million in 1841 to less than 4.5 million in 1901, mostly due to the Great Famine. Between 1837 and 1901 about 15 million emigrants departed the UK permanently, in search of a life in the United States, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia. During the early part of the era, politics in the House of Commons involved battles between the two parties, the Whigs/Liberals and the Conservatives. These parties were led by such prominent statesmen as Lord Melbourne, Sir Robert Peel, Lord Derby, Lord Palmerston, Gladstone, Disraeli, Victoria became queen in 1837 at age 18. Her long reign until 1901 was mainly a time of peace, Britain reached the zenith of its economic, political, diplomatic and cultural power. The era saw the expansion of the second British Empire, Historians have characterised the mid-Victorian era as Britains Golden Years. There was prosperity, as the income per person grew by half. There was peace abroad, and social peace at home, opposition to the new order melted away, says Porter. The Chartist movement peaked as a movement among the working class in 1848, its leaders moved to other pursuits, such as trade unions
33.
Side arm
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A side arm or sidearm is a weapon, usually a handgun but sometimes a dagger, knife or other mêlée weapon, which is worn on the body in a holster or sheath to permit immediate access and use. A sidearm is typically required equipment for officers and is usually carried by law enforcement personnel. Usually, uniformed personnel of these services wear their weapons openly, a sidearm may be carried alone, or as a back-up to a primary weapon such as a rifle or carbine. In the protocol of courtesy, the surrender of a commanders sidearm is the act in the general surrender of a unit. Similarly, many commanders on a level have been anecdotally cited as having used the threat of their side arms to motivate troops. An important purpose of the arm is to be used if the primary weapon is not available. Many Special Forces soldiers armed with a rifle or carbine like the M16 or M4 may also have a semi-automatic pistol as a side arm. The term may refer to swords and other mêlée weapons
34.
1897 pattern British infantry officer's sword
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The curved, Gothic-hilted 1821 and 1845 pattern infantry swords, although elegant, had been widely criticized as fighting swords. In common with British cavalry swords of the era, they were compromised cut-and-thrust swords, in 1892, a new, straight, blade was introduced, mated to the existing Gothic hilt. Presaging the introduction of the 1908 pattern cavalry sword, the blade was abandoned in favour of a straight. Credit for the design has given to Colonel G. M. Fox, chief inspector of training at the board of education. In 1895, a new pierced steel hilt pattern was introduced, the 1897 pattern has remained unchanged to the present day. By the time of its introduction, the sword was of limited use on the battlefield against rapid-firing rifles, machine guns, however, the new sword was regarded, when needed, as a very effective fighting weapon. Reports from the Sudan, where it was used in fighting during the reconquest of the Sudan were positive. Until 2004, they would be used in courts-martial by escorts of the accused and if the accused was an officer, bernard Montgomery advanced with his 1897 pattern drawn during a counteroffensive in the First World War. The actual sword he carried is exhibited in the Imperial War Museum, the sword remains in production for ceremonial use, manufactured by Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Cie of Solingen, Germany. In 2005, WKC purchased the tooling from Wilkinson Sword when that company shut its sword factory in London. The blade is described in the pattern as being 32 1⁄2 inches long and 1 inch wide at the shoulder, the blade is straight and symmetrical in shape about both its longitudinal axes. The thick blade has a deep central fuller on each side and is rounded on both its edge and back towards the hilt, giving a “dumbbell” or “girder” cross section. Through a gradual transition, the blade becomes double edged towards the tip, the blade ends in a sharp spear point. The blade is usually decoratively etched on both sides, the guard is a three-quarter basket of pressed, plated steel. It is decorated with a pierced scroll-work pattern and has the cypher of the reigning monarch set over the lower knuckle bow. The grip, between 5 and 5 ¾ inches long to suit the hand of the owner, was covered in ray or sharkskin. The grip is straight, with no offset to the blade, the sword shows a number of features that indicate its intent as a thrusting weapon
35.
Enfield revolver
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The Enfield Revolver was a self-extracting British handgun designed and manufactured at the government-owned Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield, initially in the.476 calibre The. The term Enfield Revolver is not applied to Webley Mk VI revolvers built by RSAF Enfield between 1923 and 1926, the Enfield No.2 is an unrelated.38 calibre revolver that was the standard sidearm of British and Commonwealth forces during World War II. NWMP Commissioner Acheson G. Irvine ordered 200 Mark IIs in 1882, priced at C$15.75 each, Irvine liked them so much that, in one of his final acts as Commissioner, he ordered another 600, which were delivered in September 1885. His replacement, Lawrence W. Herchmer, reported the force was entirely outfitted with Enfields and was pleased with them, the first batch was stamped NWMP-CANADA after delivery, later purchases were not. They were top-break single- or double-action, and fitted with lanyard rings, worn spindle arms would fail to hold empty cases on ejection, and worn pivot pins could cause barrels to become loose, resulting in inaccuracy. Its deep rifling would allow firing of slugs of between.449 and.476 in diameter, complaints began arising as early as 1887, influenced in part by the British switching to Webleys, and by 1896, hinge wear and barrel loosening were a real issue. Beginning in late 1904, the Mark II began to be phased out in favor of the.45 calibre Colt New Service revolver, but the Enfield remained in service until 1911. The.476 Enfield cartridge the Enfield Mk I/Mk II were chambered for fired a 265 gr lead bullet, loaded with 18 gr of black powder. The Enfield Mk I/Mk II had a frame, and when the barrel was unlatched. The idea was that the cylinder moved forward far enough to permit fired cases to be completely extracted, but not far enough to permit live cartridges from being removed in the same manner. The system was obsolete as soon as the Enfield Mk I was introduced, barnes, Frank C. ed. by John T. Amber. Cartridges of the World, p.175.476 Ely/.476 Enfield Mk-3, hogg, Ian V. and John Walter. Pistols of the World, 4th Ed. Maze, Robert J. Howdah to High Power, phillips, Roger F. & Klancher, Donald J. Arms & Accoutrements of the Mounted Police 1873-1973. Bloomfield, ON, Museum Restoration Service,1982, the Corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Museum of Technology, Pistol Revolver.476 inch Enfield Model 1882
36.
Webley Revolver
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The Webley Revolver was, in various marks, a standard issue service pistol for the armed forces of the United Kingdom, and the British Empire and Commonwealth, from 1887 until 1963. The Webley is a revolver and breaking the revolver operates the extractor. The Webley Mk I service revolver was adopted in 1887 and the Mk IV, the Mk VI, introduced in 1915 during the First World War, is perhaps the best-known model. Firing large.455 Webley cartridges, Webley service revolvers are among the most powerful top-break revolvers ever produced. The.455 calibre Webley is no longer in military service, many Webley Mk VIs were converted to fire 45 ACP ammunition after the remaining.455 Webley ammunition dwindled. The British company Webley & Scott produced a range of revolvers from the mid 19th to late 20th centuries, as early as 1853 P. Webley and J. Webley began production of their first patented single action cap and ball revolvers. Later under the name of P. Webley and Son. Today, undoubtedly best-known are the range of revolvers, which were in service use across two World Wars and numerous colonial conflicts. The military was suitably impressed with the revolver, and it was adopted on 8 November 1887 as the Pistol, Webley, Mk I. The initial contract called for 10,000 Webley revolvers, at a price of £3/1/1 each, the Webley revolver went through a number of changes, culminating in the Mk VI, which was in production between 1915 and 1923. The large.455 Webley revolvers were retired in 1947, although the Webley Mk IV. 38/200 remained in service until 1963 alongside the Enfield No.2 Mk I revolver, the Webley Mk IV, chambered in. Demand exceeded production, which was already behind as the war began and this forced the British government to buy substitute weapons chambered in.455 Webley from neutral countries. America provided the Smith & Wesson 2nd Model Hand Ejector and Colt New Service Revolvers, rexach & Urgoite was tapped for an initial order of 500 revolvers, but they were rejected due to defects. The official service pistol for the British military during the Second World War was the Enfield No.2 Mk I. 38/200 calibre revolver, owing to a critical shortage of handguns, a number of other weapons were also adopted to alleviate the shortage. As a result, both the Webley Mk IV in. 38/200 and Webley Mk VI in.455 calibre were issued to personnel during the war. The Webley Mk VI and Mk IV revolvers were issued to British and Commonwealth Forces after the Second World War. An armourer stationed in West Germany recalled that by the time they were retired in 1963. This lack of ammunition was instrumental in keeping the Enfield and Webley revolvers in use so long, they were not wearing out because they were not being used
37.
Musket
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A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smoothbore firearm, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry, a soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer. The musket replaced the arquebus, and was in turn replaced by the rifle. By the end of the 17th century, a version of the musket had edged out the arquebus, and the addition of the bayonet edged out the pike. In the 18th century, improvements in ammunition and firing methods allowed rifling to be practical for use. In the 19th century, rifled muskets became common, combining the advantages of rifles, about the time of the introduction of cartridge, breechloading, and multiple rounds of ammunition just a few years later, muskets fell out of fashion. Musket calibers generally ranged from 0.50 to 0.90 in, rifled muskets of the mid-19th century, like the Springfield Model 1861, were significantly more accurate, with the ability to hit a man sized target at a distance of 500 yards or more. However, in the Italian War of 1859, French forces were able to defeat the longer range of Austrian rifle muskets by aggressive skirmishing and rapid bayonet assaults during close quarters combat. According to the Etymology Dictionary, firearms were often named after animals, and the word derived from the French word mousquette. An alternative theory is that derives from the 16th century French mousquet, -ette, from the Italian moscetto, -etta, the Italian moscetto is a diminutive of mosca, a fly. Hand cannons arrived in Europe from Asia sometime in the early 14th century and they were more commonly used by the early 15th century, particularly in the Hussite wars. It is possible that the noise was at least as important as the missile and these were very short ranged, inaccurate and difficult to load and fire. Hand cannons had a handle, or no handle at all. A wooden stock was added, allowing the weapon to be easily held. The hand cannon evolved into the arquebus by the mid 15th century, the matchlock mechanism was a simple solution to this problem, and placed the match in a clamp on the end of a lever. When a trigger was pulled, the lever would rotate and allowed the match to come in contact with the touch hole, the first European usage of firearms in large ratios was in Hungary under king Matthias Corvinus. Every third soldier in the Black Army of Hungary had an arquebus, gradual advances in the empirical understanding of the corning of gunpowder made possible a more powerful explosive. The cost of gunpowder also gradually fell, by the 16th century the handheld firearm became commonplace, replacing the crossbow and longbow in all advanced armies, and known as the arquebus
38.
Rifle
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A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called lands, which contact with the projectile. When the projectile leaves the barrel, this spin lends gyroscopic stability to the projectile and prevents tumbling and this allows the use of aerodynamically-efficient bullets and thus improves range and accuracy. The word rifle originally referred to the grooving, and a rifle was called a rifled gun, the word rifle is now used for any long hand-held aimed device activated by a trigger, such as Air rifles and the Personnel halting and stimulation response rifle. Rifles are used in warfare, hunting and shooting sports, formerly, rifles only fired a single projectile with each squeeze of the trigger. Modern rifles are capable of firing more than one round per trigger squeeze, some fire in an automatic mode. Thus, modern automatic rifles overlap to some extent in design, in fact, many light machine guns are adaptations of existing automatic rifle designs. A militarys light machine guns are chambered for the same caliber ammunition as its service rifles. Generally, the difference between a rifle and a machine gun comes down to weight, cooling system. Modern military rifles are fed by magazines, while machine guns are generally belt-fed, many machine guns allow the operator to quickly exchange barrels in order to prevent overheating, whereas rifles generally do not. Most machine guns fire from a bolt in order to reduce the danger of cook-off. Machine guns are often crewed by more than one soldier, the rifle is an individual weapon, the term rifle is sometimes used to describe larger crew-served rifled weapons firing explosive shells, for example, recoilless rifles. In many works of fiction a rifle refers to any weapon that has a stock and is shouldered before firing, the origins of rifling are difficult to trace, but some of the earliest practical experiments seem to have occurred in Europe during the 15th century. Archers had long realized that a twist added to the feathers of their arrows gave them greater accuracy. This might also have led to a increase in accuracy. Rifles were created as an improvement in the accuracy of smooth bore muskets, the black powder used in early muzzle-loading rifles quickly fouled the barrel, making loading slower and more difficult. Since musketeers could not afford to take the time to stop and clean their barrels in the middle of a battle, rifles were limited to use by sharpshooters, muskets were smoothbore, large caliber weapons using ball-shaped ammunition fired at relatively low velocity. Due to the high cost and great difficulty of manufacturing, and the need to load readily from the muzzle
39.
Brown Bess
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Brown Bess is a nickname of uncertain origin for the British Armys muzzle-loading smoothbore Land Pattern Musket and its derivatives. This musket was used in the era of the expansion of the British Empire and it was in use for over a hundred years with many incremental changes in its design. These versions include the Long Land Pattern, the Short Land Pattern, the India Pattern, the New Land Pattern Musket, the British Ordnance System converted many flintlocks into the new percussion system known as the Pattern 1839 Musket. A fire in 1841 at the Tower of London destroyed many muskets before they could be converted, still, the Brown Bess saw service until the middle of the nineteenth century. Most male citizens of the American Colonies were required by law to own arms, the Long Land Pattern was a common firearm in use by both sides in the American War of Independence. During the Musket Wars, Māori warriors used Brown Besses, having purchased them from European traders at the time, some muskets were sold to the Mexican Army, which used them during the Texas Revolution of 1836 and the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848. Brown Besses saw service during the Indian rebellion of 1857, zulu warriors, who had also purchased them from European traders, used them during the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879. One was even used in the Battle of Shiloh in 1862, one hypothesis is that the Brown Bess was named after Elizabeth I of England, but this lacks support. Early uses of the include the newspaper, the Connecticut Courant in April 1771. But if you are afraid of the sea, take Brown Bess on your shoulder and this familiar use indicates widespread use of the term by that time. The 1785 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, a work that defined vernacular and slang terms, contained this entry, Brown Bess. To hug Brown Bess, to carry a fire-lock, or serve as a private soldier, military and government records of the time do not use this poetical name but refer to firelocks, flintlock, muskets or by the weapons model designations. Others argue that mass-produced weapons of the time were coated in brown varnish on metal parts as a rust preventative, however, the Oxford English Dictionary notes that browning was only introduced in the early 19th century, well after the term had come into general use. Similarly, the word Bess is commonly held to derive from the word arquebus or blunderbuss or to be a reference to Elizabeth I. Bess may be a corruption of bus, the OED has citations for brown musket dating back to the early 18th century that refer to the same weapon. Another suggestion is that the name is simply the counterpart to the earlier Brown Bill, however, the origin of the name may be much simpler, if vulgar. Kiplings poem most possibly hits the mark although he may have based his poem on an earlier, such a nickname would have been a delight to the soldiers of the era who were from the lower classes of English and then British society. So far, the earliest use noted so far of the term Brown Bess was in a 1631 publication, John Dones POLYDORON, OR A Mescellania of Mo∣rall, Philosophicall, and Theologicall Sen∣tences
40.
Baker rifle
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The Baker rifle was a flintlock rifle used by the Rifle regiments of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was the first standard-issue, British-made rifle accepted by the British armed forces, the Baker Rifle was first produced in 1800 by Ezekiel Baker, a master gunsmith from Whitechapel. The British Army was still issuing the Infantry Rifle in the 1830s, the British army had learned the value of rifles from their experience in the American Revolutionary War. However, existing rifle designs were considered too cumbersome, slow-firing, rifles had been issued on a limited basis and consisted of parts made to no precise pattern, often brought in from Prussia. The war against Revolutionary France resulted in the employment of new tactics, during the trial, of the twelve shots fired, eleven were placed in a 6-foot circular target at a distance of 300 yards. Colonel Coote Manningham, responsible for establishing the Rifle Corps, influenced the designs of the Baker. The first model resembled the British Infantry Musket, but was rejected as too heavy, Baker was provided with a German Jäger rifle as an example of what was needed. The second model he made had a.75 calibre bore and it had a 32-inch barrel, with eight rectangular rifling grooves, this model was accepted as the Infantry Rifle, but more changes were made until it was finally placed into production. The rifle had a simple folding backsight with the large lock mechanism. Like the German Jäger rifles, it had a scrolled brass trigger guard to ensure a firm grip. Like many rifles, it had a butt-trap or patchbox where greased linen patches, the lid of the patchbox was brass, and hinged at the rear so it could be flipped up. The stocks were made of walnut and held the barrel with three flat captive wedges, the rifle also had a metal locking bar to accommodate a 24-inch sword bayonet, similar to that of the Jäger rifle. The Baker was 45 inches from muzzle to butt,12 inches shorter than the Infantry Musket, after the Baker entered service, more modifications were made to the rifle and several different variations were produced. A second pattern of Baker Rifle was fitted with a Newland lock that had a flat-faced ring neck cock, in 1806, a third pattern was produced that included a pistol grip style trigger guard and a smaller patchbox with a plain rounded front. The lock plate was smaller, flat, and had a tail, a raised semi-waterproof pan, a flat ring neck cock. With the introduction of a new pattern Short Land Pattern Flintlock Musket in 1810, with its lock and ring-necked cock. It also featured a slit stock—the stock had a cut in its underpart just over a quarter-inch wide. This was done after Ezekiel Baker had seen reports of the ramrod jamming in the stock after the build-up of residue in the channel
41.
Brunswick rifle
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The Brunswick rifle was a large calibre muzzle-loading percussion rifle manufactured for the British Army at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield in the early 19th century. The Brunswick rifle was one of several designs submitted to replace the Baker rifle, unlike the Baker rifle, the Brunswick rifle used a special round ball with raised ribs that fit into two spiraling grooves in the barrel. During its evaluation, it was noted that the Brunswicks unique round meant that the Brunswick rifle could not fire the standard British paper cartridges in use at the time, the rifle was also noted as being very heavy, and that it fired a relatively low velocity round. Despite these detriments, the rifle performed much better than expected, in December 1836, trials were conducted to compare the Brunswick rifle against the Baker rifle. The Brunswick rifle proved to be accurate at shorter ranges. The Brunswick rifle also proved to require less cleaning than the Baker rifle, in January 1837, the rifle was approved for production. Almost immediately, the caliber was changed from.654 to.704 under a new program of standardization, an altered pattern was submitted in August 1837, and the first bulk order of 1000 rifles was given on October 25,1837. Thus the whole order was put out to the trade in London at a charge of 38s per rifle, the first Brunswick rifles were made by the following gunmakers, Tomas Potts,212, Wm. Heptinstall,55, Barnett & Co. 212, Reynolds & Son,55, Lacy & Reynolds,210, Yeoman’s & Son,55, E. J. Baker,146, Thomas Leigh,55, William Parker,80, W. Mills & Son,55, R. E. Pritchett,80, W. T. Bond,55, Thomas Ashton,80. Production began in March 1838, and the first mass-produced rifles were issued to the Rifle Brigade, the Canadian Rifle Regiment, the Brunswick rifle developed a reputation for being difficult to load, but was fairly well received and remained in production for almost 50 years. The rifle was used in England and assorted colonies and outposts throughout the world, several refinements were made to the design during its production life, and production of the rifle was finally discontinued in 1885. The Brunswick was also manufactured in Belgium, limited numbers of Brunswick rifles were imported to the United States during the Civil War. Some of those ended up in the hands of units like the 26th Louisiana Infantry, the rifle takes its name from the German state of Brunswick. The Brunswick had a two groove barrel designed to accept a round ball. Like all rifles of the period, the Brunswick rifle suffered from the problem of being difficult to load. Rounds for rifles were required to fit tightly into the barrel so that the round would grip the rifling as it traveled down the barrel, imparting a spin to the round and improving its stability. Since the Brunswick used a round that was designed to be mated with the grooves in the rifle. This made the difficult to load at night, when the grooves could not be seen
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Australia - 2 pieces, 1st Heavy Artillery Battery (see Ross Mallett, AIF 1914-1918 Artillery & 2. Gallipoli)
United Kingdom - Royal Garrison Artillery (amalgamated in 1924 into Royal Artillery
Greece - 12 pieces, Howitzer Battery (World War I - Macedonian Front), 36 pieces, Howitzer Regiment (Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922))
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