1.
Lebanon
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Lebanon, officially known as the Lebanese Republic, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, Lebanons location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland facilitated its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity. At just 10,452 km2, it is the smallest recognized country on the entire mainland Asian continent, the earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than seven thousand years, predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Canaanites/Phoenicians and their kingdoms, a culture that flourished for over a thousand years. In 64 BC, the region came under the rule of the Roman Empire, in the Mount Lebanon range a monastic tradition known as the Maronite Church was established. As the Arab Muslims conquered the region, the Maronites held onto their religion, however, a new religious group, the Druze, established themselves in Mount Lebanon as well, generating a religious divide that has lasted for centuries. During the Crusades, the Maronites re-established contact with the Roman Catholic Church, the ties they established with the Latins have influenced the region into the modern era. The region eventually was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1918, following the collapse of the empire after World War I, the five provinces that constitute modern Lebanon came under the French Mandate of Lebanon. The French expanded the borders of the Mount Lebanon Governorate, which was populated by Maronites and Druze. Lebanon gained independence in 1943, establishing confessionalism, a unique, foreign troops withdrew completely from Lebanon on 31 December 1946. Lebanon has been a member of the Organisation internationale de la francophonie since 1973, despite its small size, the country has developed a well-known culture and has been highly influential in the Arab world. Before the Lebanese Civil War, the experienced a period of relative calm and renowned prosperity, driven by tourism, agriculture, commerce. At the end of the war, there were efforts to revive the economy. In spite of troubles, Lebanon has the highest Human Development Index and GDP per capita in the Arab world. The name of Mount Lebanon originates from the Phoenician root lbn meaning white, occurrences of the name have been found in different Middle Bronze Age texts from the library of Ebla, and three of the twelve tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The name is recorded in Ancient Egyptian as Rmnn, where R stood for Canaanite L, the name occurs nearly 70 times in the Hebrew Bible, as לְבָנוֹן. The borders of contemporary Lebanon are a product of the Treaty of Sèvres of 1920 and its territory was the core of the Bronze Age Phoenician city-states. After the 7th-century Muslim conquest of the Levant, it was part of the Rashidun, Umyayad, Abbasid Seljuk, with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Greater Lebanon fell under French mandate in 1920, and gained independence under president Bechara El Khoury in 1943
Lebanon
–
The
Fall of Tripoli to the Egyptian
Mamluks and destruction of the Crusader state, the County of Tripoli, 1289
Lebanon
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Flag
Lebanon
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Fakhreddine II Palace, 17th century
Lebanon
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1862 map drawn by the French expedition of
Beaufort d'Hautpoul, later used as a template for the 1920 borders of
Greater Lebanon.
2.
Earthworks (engineering)
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Earthworks are engineering works created through the processing of parts of the earths surface involving quantities of soil or unformed rock. Other common earthworks are land grading to reconfigure the topography of a site, in military engineering, earthworks are, more specifically, types of fortifications constructed from soil. Although soil is not very strong, it is enough that huge quantities can be used. Examples of older earthwork fortifications include moats, sod walls, motte-and-bailey castles, modern examples include trenches and berms. Heavy construction equipment is used due to the amounts of material to be moved — up to millions of cubic metres. In the past, these calculations were done by using a slide rule. Earthworks cost is a function of hauled amount x hauled distance, the goal of mass haul planning is to determine these amounts and the goal of mass haul optimization is to minimize either or both. Now they can be performed with a computer and specialized software, including optimisation on haul cost and not haul distance
Earthworks (engineering)
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Caterpillar D10 bulldozer at work
Earthworks (engineering)
3.
Royal Italian Army
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The Royal Italian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Italy from the unification of Italy in 1861 to the birth of the Italian Republic in 1946. In World War II the Royal Army fought first as part of the Axis, after the monarchy ended, the army changed its name to become the Italian Army. The Regio Esercito dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, on 4 May 1861, Manfredo Fanti signed the creation decree, by which the new army was to replace the previous Armata Sarda and the Army of the Two Sicilies. On 20 September 1870, the IV Corps captured Rome, which had remained under Papal control up until then, on 8 February 1885, a corps of fewer than 1,000 soldiers landed at Massaua, Eritrea, starting the creation of an Italian colonial empire. The Italian advance was halted by a defeat at the Battle of Adwa by Ethiopian forces. The following year, as part of the Italian collaboration with the pacification program after the revolt against the Turkish domination in Cyprus. On 14 July 1900, another force was constituted to suppress the Boxer Rebellion in China in defense of the European protectorates. On 3 October 1911, Italy invaded Libya as part of the Italo-Turkish War, the war against the Ottoman Empire ended with the signing of the First Treaty of Lausanne in Ouchy, near Lausanne, Switzerland. The Royal Italian Armys first experience with modern warfare was in World War I, the war was fought mostly on the Italian Front in Northern Italy, costing the Italian Army serious casualties, including some 700,000 dead. The Regio Esercito was one of the largest ground forces in World War II, many Italian divisions were reinforced by a MVSN Gruppo di Assalto of two battalions due to the small size of the divisions. In 1943, Italy surrendered and split into the Italian Social Republic, which fielded its own army, the Kingdom was ultimately replaced by the Italian Republic in 1946, and the Royal Army accordingly changed its name to become the Esercito Italiano
Royal Italian Army
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War Flag of the Regio Esercito
4.
Tobruk
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Tobruk or Tubruq is a port city on Libyas eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border of Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000, Tobruk was the site of an ancient Greek colony and, later, of a Roman fortress guarding the frontier of Cyrenaica. Over the centuries, Tobruk also served as a waystation along the caravan route. By 1911, Tobruk had become an Italian military post, but during World War II, Allied forces, mainly the Australian 6th Division, took Tobruk on 22 January 1941. Rebuilt after World War II, Tobruk was later expanded during the 1960s to include a terminal linked by an oil pipeline to the Sarir oil field. King Idris of Libya had his palace at Bab Zaytun, Tobruk was traditionally a stronghold of the Senussi royal dynasty and one of the first to rebel against Colonel Gaddafi in the Arab Spring. Tobruk has a strong, naturally protected deep harbour and it is probably the best natural port in northern Africa, although due to the lack of important nearby land sites it is certainly not the most popular. The city is surrounded by a desert lightly populated with nomadic herdsmen who travel from oasis to oasis. There are many escarpments to the south of Tobruk and these escarpments generally have their high sides to the south and their low sides to the north. This constitutes a physical barrier between the north and south of Libya in the Tobruk area. Construction of the Tobruk-Ajdabiya road reduced the distance between two cities from 620 km to about 410 km. However, Tobruk suffers a serious saltwater intrusion problem, a factory for the desalination of sea water has been built there. Tobruk features a hot desert climate An ancient Greek agricultural colony, Αντίπυργος was once on the site of modern Tobruk, the name roughly meant across from Pyrgos, referring to a location in Crete across the Mediterranean Sea from Antipyrgos. In the Roman era, the became a Roman fortress guarding the Cyrenaican frontier. With the spread of Christianity, Antipyrgus became an episcopal see, only one of its ancient bishops is known by name, Aemilianus, who took part in the Second Council of Constantinople in 553. No longer a residential bishopric, Antipyrgus is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see, later the site became a way station on the caravan route that ran along the coast. The Hotel Tobruk was built in 1937, at the beginning of World War II, Libya was an Italian colony and Tobruk became the site of important battles between the Allies and Axis powers. Tobruk was strategically important to the conquest of Eastern Libya, then the province of Cyrenaica and this was of critical importance, as it made Tobruk an excellent place to supply a desert warfare campaign
Tobruk
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Panorama of Tobruk
Tobruk
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An aerial image of Tobruk's harbour.
Tobruk
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The
Battle of Gazala in May 1942, which was fought in the vicinity of Tobruk
5.
Siege of Tobruk
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In late 1940, the British had defeated the Italian 10th Army during Operation Compass and trapped the remnants at Beda Fomm. German troops and Italian reinforcements reached Libya, while much of the WDF was sent to Greece and replaced by a force, short of equipment. Operation Sonnenblume, forced the British into a retreat to the Egyptian border, a garrison was left behind at Tobruk, to deny the port to the Axis, while the WDF reorganised and prepared a counter-offensive. The siege diverted Axis troops from the frontier and the Tobruk garrison repulsed several Axis attacks, the port was frequently bombarded by artillery, dive-bombers and medium bombers, as the RAF flew defensive sorties from airfields far away in Egypt. British Mediterranean Fleet and Inshore Squadron ships ran the blockade, carrying reinforcements and supplies in and wounded, on 27 November, Tobruk was relieved by the Eighth Army, during Operation Crusader. The Western Desert Campaign was fought from Mersa Matruh in Egypt to Gazala in Cyrenaica on the Libyan coast, an area about 240 miles wide along Via Balbia along the coast, the only paved road. A sand sea 150 miles inland marked the limit of the desert. Extending inland from the coast lies a raised, flat plain of stony desert, about 150 metres above sea level, scorpions, vipers and flies populated the region, which was inhabited by a small number of nomads. Bedouin tracks linked wells and the more easily traversed ground, navigation was by sun, star, compass and desert sense, good perception of the environment gained by experience. German engines tended to overheat and tank engine life fell from 1, 400–1,600 miles to 300–900 miles, at Tobruk, the ground was a hard surface which dropped to sea level in steps, with the coast cut by ravines. The Italian defences were a double semi-circle of concrete posts, placed for good observation, closer to the port, at the Bardia–El Adem road junction and towards Fort Pilastrino, more defended localities had been built. On the morning of 5 January 1941, as soon as the 63rd Infantry Division Cirene garrisoning Bardia, surrendered, the 19th Australian Brigade Group reached the eastern defences of Tobruk on 7 January and the 16th Australian Brigade Group took over on the west side. The 17th Australian Brigade and the Support Group were to stage diversions either side of the attack, sandstorms blew up and grounded the RAF for much of the time but raids were carried out on Tobruk and the Italian bomber bases at Benina and Berka. After an hour, the 16th Australian Brigade and 18 infantry tanks broke through 1-mile deep on a 1-mile front, against patchy resistance. As the 16th Australian Brigade fanned out at 8,40 a. m. the 19th Australian Brigade advanced north, behind an artillery barrage and counter-battery fire on the Italian artillery. On the left the Australians were counter-attacked by seven tanks and infantry behind an artillery barrage, which was driven off by the Australians, two anti-tank guns and two infantry tanks. More resistance was met near Pilastrino, which held out until 9,30 p. m. the 2/8th Australian Battalion had marched 20 miles since the morning, fighting for 5 miles and lost 100 casualties. During the day Blenheims of 55 and 113 squadrons flew 56 sorties against Tobruk, half of the Tobruk area had been captured by nightfall and the Italians began demolitions at the harbour
Siege of Tobruk
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Australian troops occupy a front line position at Tobruk
Siege of Tobruk
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Map showing the course of the first Axis offensive, 1941 (click to enlarge)
Siege of Tobruk
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British officers plan tank operations
Siege of Tobruk
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Australian entrenchment on the Tobruk perimeter
6.
Australian Army
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The Australian Army is Australias military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy, while the Chief of the Defence Force commands the ADF, the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army. The CA is therefore subordinate to the CDF, but is directly responsible to the Minister for Defence. Although Australian soldiers have been involved in a number of minor and major conflicts throughout its history, Australias largest peacekeeping deployment began in 1999 in East Timor, while other ongoing operations include peacekeeping on Bougainville, in the Sinai, and in the Solomon Islands. Humanitarian relief after 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in Aceh Province, Indonesia, Operation Sumatra Assist, the 1st Division comprises a deployable headquarters, while 2nd Division under the command of Forces Command is the main home-defence formation, containing Army Reserve units. 2nd Divisions headquarters only performs administrative functions, the Australian Army has not deployed a divisional-sized formation since 1945 and does not expect to do so in the future. 1st Division carries out training activities and deploys to command large-scale ground operations. It does not have any combat units permanently assigned, Forces Command controls for administrative purposes all non-special-forces assets of the Australian Army. It is neither an operational nor a deployable command,1 Brigade – Multi-role Combat Brigade based in Darwin and Adelaide. 3 Brigade – Multi-role Combat Brigade based in Townsville,6 Brigade – Mixed brigade based in Sydney. 7 Brigade – Multi-role Combat Brigade based in Brisbane,16 Aviation Brigade – Army Aviation brigade based in Enoggera, Brisbane. 17 Combat Service Support Brigade – Logistic brigade based in Sydney, 2nd Division administers the reserve forces from its headquarters located in Sydney. 4 Brigade – based in Victoria,5 Brigade – based in New South Wales. 8 Brigade – based in New South Wales,9 Brigade – based in South Australia and Tasmania. 11 Brigade – based in Queensland,13 Brigade – based in Western Australia. Special Operations Command comprises a command formation of equal status to the commands in the ADF. It includes all of Armys special forces assets, the force will be known as the Amphibious Ready Element and will be embarked on the Navys new Canberra-class amphibious assault ships. Infantry, and some combat units of the Australian Army carry flags called the Queens Colour
Australian Army
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Soldiers of the Australian 39th Battalion in September 1942
Australian Army
Australian Army
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Two Australian soldiers during the
Shah Wali Kot Offensive in
Afghanistan
Australian Army
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Australian Cavalry Scout in Iraq, 2007
7.
United States Army
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The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States Armed Forces and performs land-based military operations. After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784, the United States Army considers itself descended from the Continental Army, and dates its institutional inception from the origin of that armed force in 1775. As a uniformed service, the Army is part of the Department of the Army. As a branch of the forces, the mission of the U. S. The branch participates in conflicts worldwide and is the major ground-based offensive and defensive force of the United States, the United States Army serves as the land-based branch of the U. S. Section 3062 of Title 10, U. S, the army was initially led by men who had served in the British Army or colonial militias and who brought much of British military heritage with them. As the Revolutionary War progressed, French aid, resources, a number of European soldiers came on their own to help, such as Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, who taught Prussian Army tactics and organizational skills. The army fought numerous pitched battles and in the South in 1780–81 sometimes used the Fabian strategy and hit-and-run tactics, hitting where the British were weakest, to wear down their forces. Washington led victories against the British at Trenton and Princeton, but lost a series of battles in the New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776, with a decisive victory at Yorktown, and the help of the French, the Continental Army prevailed against the British. After the war, though, the Continental Army was quickly given land certificates, State militias became the new nations sole ground army, with the exception of a regiment to guard the Western Frontier and one battery of artillery guarding West Points arsenal. However, because of continuing conflict with Native Americans, it was realized that it was necessary to field a trained standing army. The War of 1812, the second and last war between the United States and Great Britain, had mixed results. After taking control of Lake Erie in 1813, the U. S. Army seized parts of western Upper Canada, burned York and defeated Tecumseh, which caused his Western Confederacy to collapse. Following U. S. victories in the Canadian province of Upper Canada, British troops, were able to capture and burn Washington, which was defended by militia, in 1814. Two weeks after a treaty was signed, Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans and Siege of Fort St. Philip, U. S. troops and sailors captured HMS Cyane, Levant, and Penguin in the final engagements of the war. Per the treaty, both sides, the United States and Great Britain, returned to the status quo. Both navies kept the warships they had seized during the conflict, the armys major campaign against the Indians was fought in Florida against Seminoles. It took long wars to defeat the Seminoles and move them to Oklahoma
United States Army
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Storming of Redoubt #10 in the
Siege of Yorktown during the
American Revolutionary War prompted the British government to begin negotiations, resulting in the
Treaty of Paris and British recognition of the United States of America.
United States Army
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Emblem of the United States Department of the Army
United States Army
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General
Andrew Jackson stands on the parapet of his makeshift defenses as his troops repulse attacking
Highlanders during the
defense of New Orleans, the final major battle of the War of 1812
United States Army
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The
Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point of the American Civil War
8.
United States Marine Corps
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The U. S. Marine Corps is one of the four armed service branches in the U. S. Department of Defense and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military officer in the U. S. Armed Forces, is a Marine Corps general, the Marine Corps has been a component of the U. S. Department of the Navy since 30 June 1834, working closely with naval forces for training, transportation, and logistics. The USMC operates posts on land and aboard sea-going amphibious warfare ships around the world, two battalions of Continental Marines were formed on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as a service branch of infantry troops capable of fighting for independence both at sea and on shore. The role of the Corps has since grown and evolved, expanding to aerial warfare and earning popular titles such as, Americas third air force, and, second land army. By the mid-20th century, the U. S. Marine Corps had become a major theorist of and its ability to rapidly respond on short notice to expeditionary crises gives it a strong role in the implementation and execution of American foreign policy. As of 2016, the USMC has around 182,000 active duty members and it is the smallest of the U. S. The USMC serves as an expeditionary force-in-readiness and this last clause, while seemingly redundant given the Presidents position as Commander-in-chief, is a codification of the expeditionary responsibilities of the Marine Corps. It derives from similar language in the Congressional acts For the Better Organization of the Marine Corps of 1834, in 1951, the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee called the clause one of the most important statutory – and traditional – functions of the Marine Corps. In addition to its duties, the Marine Corps conducts Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure operations, as well as missions in direct support of the White House. The Marine Band, dubbed the Presidents Own by Thomas Jefferson, Marines from Ceremonial Companies A & B, quartered in Marine Barracks, Washington, D. C. The Executive Flight Detachment also provides transport to Cabinet members. The relationship between the Department of State and the U. S. Marine Corps is nearly as old as the corps itself, for over 200 years, Marines have served at the request of various Secretaries of State. After World War II, an alert, disciplined force was needed to protect American embassies, consulates, in 1947, a proposal was made that the Department of War furnish Marine Corps personnel for Foreign Service guard duty under the provisions of the Foreign Service Act of 1946. A formal Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the Department of State and the Secretary of the Navy on December 15,1948, during the first year of the MSG program,36 detachments were deployed worldwide. Continental Marines manned raiding parties, both at sea and ashore, the Advanced Base Doctrine of the early 20th century codified their combat duties ashore, outlining the use of Marines in the seizure of bases and other duties on land to support naval campaigns. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, Marine detachments served aboard Navy cruisers, battleships, Marine detachments served in their traditional duties as a ships landing force, manning the ships weapons and providing shipboard security. Marines would develop tactics and techniques of amphibious assault on defended coastlines in time for use in World War II, during World War II, Marines continued to serve on capital ships
United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
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United States Marine Corps portal
United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
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A Marine
Corporal and
Lance Corporal of
3rd Battalion, 6th Marines engaging the enemy during
Operation Moshtarak in Afghanistan's
Helmand Province.
9.
New Zealand Army
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The New Zealand Army is the land component of the New Zealand Defence Force and comprises around 4,500 Regular Force personnel,2,000 Territorial Force personnel and 500 civilians. Formerly the New Zealand Military Forces, the current name was adopted by the New Zealand Army Act 1950, the New Zealand Army traces its history from settler militia raised in 1845. Since the 1970s, deployments have tended to be assistance to multilateral peacekeeping efforts, considering the small size of the force, operational commitments have remained high since the start of the East Timor deployment in 1999. New Zealand personnel also served in the First Gulf War, Iraq and are serving in several UN. They have just been withdrawnfrom East Timor, RAMSI in the Solomons, War had been an integral part of the life and culture of the Māori people. The Musket Wars dominated the first years of European trade and settlement, the first European settlers in the Bay of Islands formed a volunteer militia from which some New Zealand Army units trace their origins. Towards the end of the war, the numbers of British troops were reduced, the first permanent military force was the Colonial Defence Force, which was active from 1862. This was replaced in 1867 by the Armed Constabulary, which performed both military and policing roles, after being renamed the New Zealand Constabulary Force, it was divided into separate military and police forces in 1886. The military force was called the Permanent Militia and later renamed the Permanent Force, Major Alfred William Robin led the First Contingent sent from New Zealand to South Africa to participate in the Boer War in October 1899. The New Zealand Army sent ten contingents in total, of which the first six were raised and instructed by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Henry Banks and these were mounted riflemen, and the first contingents had to pay to go, providing their own horses, equipment and weapons. The Defence Act 1909, which displaced the old system, remodelled the defences of the dominion on a territorial basis. It provided for a force, or fighting strength, fully equipped for modern requirements. These troops, with the reserve, formed the first line. Under the terms of the Act, every male, unless physically unfit, was required to take his share of the defence of the dominion. The Act provided for the military training of every male from the age of 14 to 25. After serving in the territorials until 25, and in the reserve until 30, a discharge was granted, Major-General Sir Alexander Godley, of the Imperial General Staff, was engaged as commandant. A New Zealand division then formed which fought on the Western Front, the total number of New Zealand troops and nurses to serve overseas in 1914-1918, excluding those in British and other dominion forces, was 100,000, from a population of just over a million. Forty-two percent of men of military age served in the NZEF,16,697 New Zealanders were killed and 41,317 were wounded during the war - a 58 percent casualty rate
New Zealand Army
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New Zealand Army Ngāti Tumatauenga
New Zealand Army
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New Zealand troops landing stores,
Gallipoli in
WWI.
New Zealand Army
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Crossing the line, probably showing an Equator crossing ceremony on a World War I troopship en route to Europe.
New Zealand Army
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A New Zealand Army soldier in Afghanistan during 2011
10.
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
United Kingdom
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Stonehenge, in
Wiltshire, was erected around 2500 BC.
United Kingdom
–
Flag
United Kingdom
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The
Bayeux Tapestry depicts the
Battle of Hastings, 1066, and the events leading to it.
United Kingdom
–
The
Treaty of Union led to a single united kingdom encompassing all Great Britain.
11.
Trench warfare
–
The most famous use of trench warfare is the Western Front in World War I. It has become a byword for stalemate, attrition, sieges, Trench warfare occurred when a revolution in firepower was not matched by similar advances in mobility, resulting in a grueling form of warfare in which the defender held the advantage. On the Western Front in 1914–18, both sides constructed elaborate trench and dugout systems opposing each other along a front, protected from assault by barbed wire, mines, the area between opposing trench lines was fully exposed to artillery fire from both sides. Attacks, even if successful, often sustained severe casualties, with the development of armoured warfare, emphasis on trench warfare has declined, but still occurs where battle-lines become static. Field works are as old as armies, Roman legions, when in the presence of an enemy, entrenched camps nightly when on the move. In the early modern era they were used to block possible lines of advance and they played a pivotal role in manoeuvring that took place before the Battle of Blenheim. The lines were captured by the French in 1707 and demolished, the French built the 19-kilometre-long Lines of Weissenburg during the War of the Spanish Succession under the orders of the Duke of Villars in 1706. These were to remain in existence for just over 100 years and were last manned during Napoleons Hundred Days, the French built the Lines of Ne Plus Ultra during the winter of 1710–1711, which have been compared to the trenches of World War I. They ran from Arras to Cambrai and Valenciennes where they linked up with existing defensive lines fronted by the river Sambre and they were breached in the 1711 campaign season by the Duke of Marlborough through a magnificent piece of manoeuvring. During the Peninsular War, the British and Portuguese constructed the Lines of Torres Vedras in 1809 and 1810, nor were fortifications restricted to European powers. British casualty rates of up to 45 percent, such as at the Battle of Ohaeawai in 1845, proved contemporary firepower was insufficient to dislodge defenders from a trench system. Fundamentally, as the range and rate of fire of rifled small arms increased and this was only made more lethal by the introduction of rapid-firing artillery, exemplified by the French 75, and high explosive fragmentation rounds. The increases in firepower had outstripped the ability of infantry to cover the ground between firing lines, and the ability of armour to withstand fire and it would take a revolution in mobility to change that. Trench warfare is associated with the First World War of 1914–18. Both sides concentrated on breaking up attacks and on protecting their own troops by digging deep into the ground. Trench warfare was conducted on other fronts, including Italy. Trench warfare has become a symbol of the futility of war. To the French, the equivalent is the attrition of the Battle of Verdun in which the French Army suffered 380,000 casualties, Trench warfare is associated with mass slaughter in appalling conditions
Trench warfare
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Lines of Torres Vedras
Trench warfare
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Trenches at the
Siege of Vicksburg 1863
Trench warfare
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The
Boer trench at the
Battle of Magersfontein contributed to the surprise defeat of the Highland Brigade on 11 December 1899 during the
Second Boer War.
Trench warfare
–
German forward detachments guarding the entrance to a trench line in front of
Arras in 1915
12.
American Civil War
–
The American Civil War was an internal conflict fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. The Union faced secessionists in eleven Southern states grouped together as the Confederate States of America, the Union won the war, which remains the bloodiest in U. S. history. Among the 34 U. S. states in February 1861, War broke out in April 1861 when Confederates attacked the U. S. fortress of Fort Sumter. The Confederacy grew to eleven states, it claimed two more states, the Indian Territory, and the southern portions of the western territories of Arizona. The Confederacy was never recognized by the United States government nor by any foreign country. The states that remained loyal, including border states where slavery was legal, were known as the Union or the North, the war ended with the surrender of all the Confederate armies and the dissolution of the Confederate government in the spring of 1865. The war had its origin in the issue of slavery. The Confederacy collapsed and 4 million slaves were freed, but before his inauguration, seven slave states with cotton-based economies formed the Confederacy. The first six to declare secession had the highest proportions of slaves in their populations, the first seven with state legislatures to resolve for secession included split majorities for unionists Douglas and Bell in Georgia with 51% and Louisiana with 55%. Alabama had voted 46% for those unionists, Mississippi with 40%, Florida with 38%, Texas with 25%, of these, only Texas held a referendum on secession. Eight remaining slave states continued to reject calls for secession, outgoing Democratic President James Buchanan and the incoming Republicans rejected secession as illegal. Lincolns March 4,1861 inaugural address declared that his administration would not initiate a civil war, speaking directly to the Southern States, he reaffirmed, I have no purpose, directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States where it exists. I believe I have no right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. After Confederate forces seized numerous federal forts within territory claimed by the Confederacy, efforts at compromise failed, the Confederates assumed that European countries were so dependent on King Cotton that they would intervene, but none did, and none recognized the new Confederate States of America. Hostilities began on April 12,1861, when Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter, while in the Western Theater the Union made significant permanent gains, in the Eastern Theater, the battle was inconclusive in 1861–62. The autumn 1862 Confederate campaigns into Maryland and Kentucky failed, dissuading British intervention, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which made ending slavery a war goal. To the west, by summer 1862 the Union destroyed the Confederate river navy, then much of their western armies, the 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River. In 1863, Robert E. Lees Confederate incursion north ended at the Battle of Gettysburg, Western successes led to Ulysses S. Grants command of all Union armies in 1864
American Civil War
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New Orleans the largest cotton exporting port for New England and Great Britain textile mills, shipping Mississippi River Valley goods from North, South and Border states.
American Civil War
–
Clockwise from top:
Battle of Gettysburg,
Union Captain John Tidball's artillery,
Confederate prisoners,
ironclad USS Atlanta, ruins of
Richmond, Virginia,
Battle of Franklin
American Civil War
–
Sen. Stephen Douglas, author of the
Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854
American Civil War
–
Sen. John J. Crittenden, of the 1860
Crittenden Compromise
13.
Confederate Army
–
The Confederate States Army was the military ground force of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. S. Military Academy and colonel of a regiment during the Mexican War. In March 1861, the Provisional Confederate Congress established a more permanent Confederate States Army, the better estimates of the number of individual Confederate soldiers are between 750,000 and 1,000,000 men. This does not include a number of slaves who were pressed into performing various tasks for the army, such as construction of fortifications. Since these figures include estimates of the number of individual soldiers who served at any time during the war. These numbers do not include men who served in Confederate naval forces, although most of the soldiers who fought in the American Civil War were volunteers, both sides by 1862 resorted to conscription, primarily as a means to force men to register and to volunteer. In the absence of records, estimates of the percentage of Confederate soldiers who were draftees are about double the 6 percent of Union soldiers who were conscripts. Confederate casualty figures also are incomplete and unreliable, one estimate of Confederate wounded, which is considered incomplete, is 194,026. These numbers do not include men who died from causes such as accidents. Other Confederate forces surrendered between April 16,1865 and June 28,1865, by the end of the war, more than 100,000 Confederate soldiers had deserted. The Confederacys government effectively dissolved when it fled Richmond in April, by the time Abraham Lincoln took office as President of the United States on March 4,1861, the seven seceding slave states had formed the Confederate States. The Confederacy seized federal property, including nearly all U. S. Army forts, Lincoln was determined to hold the forts remaining under U. S. control when he took office, especially Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. Under orders from Confederate President Jefferson Davis, C. S. troops under the command of General P. G. T, Beauregard bombarded Fort Sumter on April 12–13,1861, forcing its capitulation on April 14. The Northern states were outraged by the Confederacys attack and demanded war and it rallied behind Lincolns call on April 15, for all the states to send troops to recapture the forts from the secessionists, to put down the rebellion and to preserve the Union intact. Four more slave states joined the Confederacy. The Confederate Congress provided for a Confederate army patterned after the United States Army and it was to consist of a large provisional force to exist only in time of war and a small permanent regular army. Although the two forces were to exist concurrently, very little was done to organize the Confederate regular army, the Provisional Army of the Confederate States began organizing on April 27. Virtually all regular, volunteer, and conscripted men preferred to enter this organization since officers could achieve a rank in the Provisional Army than they could in the Regular Army
Confederate Army
–
Private
Edwin Francis Jemison, whose image became one of the most famous portraits of the young soldiers of the war
Confederate Army
–
CSA M1857 Napoleon Artillery Piece
Confederate Army
–
General
Robert Edward Lee, famous Southern General
Confederate Army
–
Confederate artillery at Charleston Harbor, 1863
14.
Indische Legion
–
Intended to serve as a liberation force for British-ruled India, it was made up of Indian prisoners of war and expatriates in Europe. Because of its origins in the Indian independence movement, it was also as the Tiger Legion. Initially raised as part of the German Army, it was part of the Waffen-SS from August 1944 and it would later draw a larger number of Indian prisoners of war as volunteers. A small contingent, including much of the Indian officer corps, the majority of the troops of the Indian Legion were only ever stationed in Europe in non-combat duties, in the Netherlands and in France until the Allied invasion. They saw action in the retreat from the Allied advance across France, one company was sent to Italy in 1944, where it saw action against British and Polish troops and undertook anti-partisan operations. Because of the uproar the trials of Indians who served with the Axis caused among civilians and the military of British India and this plan failed after information leaked to British intelligence, but only after many attempts at mutiny, and a 1915 mutiny of Indian troops in Singapore. The most famous and successful Indian force to fight with the Axis was the Indian National Army in southeast Asia, fascist Italy also created the Azad Hindustan Battalion (Italian, Battaglione Azad Hindoustan in February 1942. However, the effort had little acceptance from the Indians in the unit, after the Italian loss at the Second Battle of El Alamein, the Indians mutinied when told to fight in Libya. Consequently, the remnants of the battalion were disbanded in November 1942, Bose escaped from house arrest in India in January 1941 and made his way through Afghanistan to the Soviet Union, with some help from Germanys military intelligence, the Abwehr. He arrived at the beginning of April 1941, and he met with foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, soon Boses aim became to raise an army, which he imagined would march into India with German forces and trigger the downfall of the Raj. The first troops of the Indian Legion were recruited from Indian POWs captured at El Mekili, the number of POWs transferred to Germany grew to about 10,000 who were eventually housed at Annaberg camp, where Bose first met with them. A first group of 300 volunteers from the POWs and Indians expatriates in Germany were sent to Frankenberg camp near Chemnitz, to train, as the numbers of POWs joining the legion swelled, the legion was moved to Königsbrück for further training. It was at Königsbrück that uniforms were first issued, in German feldgrau with the badge of the tiger of Azad Hind. The formation of the Indian National Army was announced by the German Propaganda Ministry in January 1942 and it did not, however, take oath until 26 August 1942, as the Legion Freies Indien of the German Army. By May 1943, the numbers had swelled, aided by the enlistment as volunteers of Indian expatriates, overall, there were about 15,000 Indian POWs in Europe, primarily held in Germany by 1943. While some remained loyal to the King-Emperor and treated Bose and the Legion with contempt, while approximately 2,000 became legionnaires, some others did not complete their training due to various reasons and circumstances. In total, the size of the Legion was 2,600. Bose sought and obtained agreement from the German High Command for the rather remarkable terms by which the Legion would serve in German military
Indische Legion
–
Subhas Chandra Bose with
Heinrich Himmler in mid-1941
Indische Legion
–
Flag of the Legion (and
Azad Hind)
Indische Legion
–
Indian POWs in
Derna, Libya, 1941
Indische Legion
–
General Field Marshal
Erwin Rommel inspecting a unit of the Indian Legion in France, February 1944
15.
Atlantic Wall
–
The manning and operation of the Atlantic Wall was administratively overseen by the German Army, with some support from Luftwaffe ground forces. The German Navy maintained a separate coastal defense network, organized into a number of sea defense zones, Hitler ordered the construction of the fortifications in 1942. Almost a million French workers were drafted to build it, the wall was frequently mentioned in Nazi propaganda, where its size and strength were usually exaggerated. The fortifications included colossal coastal guns, batteries, mortars, and artillery, when the Allies eventually invaded the Normandy beaches in 1944, most of the defences were stormed within hours. Today, ruins of the wall exist in all of the nations where it was built, World War II in Europe began on 1 September 1939, with Nazi Germanys invasion of Poland. Two days later, the UK and France declared war on Germany, polands geographical location, however, prevented the Allies from intervening directly. Four weeks into the attack, the Germans had successfully occupied Poland, less than a month after this victory, Adolf Hitler issued a directive stating that Germany must be ready for an offensive through France and the Low Countries. However, the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht was convinced that preparations would take at least until the following year, after furious arguments, Hitler reluctantly agreed to wait. In May 1940, three massive German army groups overran France and the Low Countries in little more than six weeks, prior to the Atlantic Wall decision, following a number of commando raids, on 2 June 1941 Adolf Hitler asked for maps of the Channel Islands. These were provided next day and by 13 June Hitler had made a decision, the plan was finalised by the OT and submitted to Hitler. The original defence order was reinforced with a second dated 20 October 1941, referring to the “permanent fortification” of the Islands to make an impregnable fortress to be completed within 14 months. Festungspionierkommandeur XIV was created to command the project of fortifying the Channel Islands and it was six months later on 23 March 1942 that Hitler issued Führer Directive No. 40, which called for the creation of an Atlantic Wall and he ordered naval and submarine bases to be heavily defended. Fortifications remained concentrated around ports until late in 1943, when defences were increased in other areas and this decision required the army engineers and the OT to organise quickly. Massive supplies of cement, steel reinforcing and armour plate would be required, Nazi propaganda claimed that the wall stretched from the cape of Norway down to the Spanish border. There were over 200 standardised armour parts, organisation Todt, formed in 1933, had designed the Siegfried Line during the prewar years along the Franco-German border. OT was the engineering group responsible for the design and construction of the walls major gun emplacements. Companies could apply for OT work or could be conscripted, there could be several construction companies working on each site
Atlantic Wall
–
German soldiers placing landing craft obstructions, 1943
Atlantic Wall
–
The Atlantic Wall shown in yellow
16.
North African Campaign
–
The North African Campaign of the Second World War took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco, the campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had colonial interests in Africa dating from the late 19th century. The Allied war effort was dominated by the British Commonwealth and exiles from German-occupied Europe, the United States entered the war in December 1941 and began direct military assistance in North Africa on 11 May 1942. Fighting in North Africa started with the Italian declaration of war on 10 June 1940, on 14 June, the British Armys 11th Hussars crossed the border from Egypt into Libya and captured the Italian Fort Capuzzo. Information gleaned via British Ultra code-breaking intelligence proved critical to Allied success in North Africa, victory for the Allies in this campaign immediately led to the Italian Campaign, which culminated in the downfall of the fascist government in Italy and the elimination of a German ally. On 10 May 1940, the Wehrmacht had started the Battle of France, one month later, it was plain to see that France would have to surrender within two weeks. On 10 June 1940, the Kingdom of Italy aligned itself with Nazi Germany and declared war upon France, British forces based in Egypt were ordered to undertake defensive measures, but to act as non-provocatively as possible. However, on 11 June they began a series of raids against Italian positions in Libya, following the defeat of France on 25 June, Italian forces in Tripolitania—facing French troops based in Tunisia—redeployed to Cyrenaica to reinforce the Italian Tenth Army. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ordered the Tenth Army to invade Egypt by 8 August, two days later, no invasion having been launched, Mussolini ordered Marshal Graziani that, the moment German forces launched Operation Sea Lion, he was to attack. The battle plan was to advance along the road, while limited armoured forces operated on the desert flank. To counter the Italian advance, Wavell ordered his forces to harass the advancing Italians, falling back towards Mersa Matruh. Positioned on the flank was the 7th Armoured Division, which would strike the flank of the Italian force. By 16 September, the Italian force had advanced to Maktila, around 80 mi west of Mersa Matruh, in response to the dispersed Italian camps, the British planned a limited five-day attack, Operation Compass, to strike at these fortified camps one by one. The British Commonwealth force, totalling 36,000 men, attacked the forward elements of the 10-division-strong Italian army on 9 December, following their initial success, the forces of Operation Compass pursued the retreating Italian forces. In January, the port at Bardia was taken, soon followed by the seizure of the fortified port of Tobruk. Some 40,000 Italians were captured in and around the two ports, with the remainder of the Tenth Army retreating along the coast road back to El Agheila. Richard OConnor sent the 7th Armoured Division across the desert, with a reconnaissance group reaching Beda Fomm some ninety minutes before the Italians. Although desperate attempts were made to overcome the British force at the Battle of Beda Fomm, the Italians were unable to break through, and the remnants of the retreating army surrendered
North African Campaign
–
A British
Crusader tank passes a burning German
Pz.Kpfw.IV tank during Operation Crusader, 27 November 1941.
North African Campaign
–
A British Matilda Mk II during Operation Compass displaying a captured Italian flag, 24 January 1941.
North African Campaign
–
British
Crusader tanks moving to forward positions during Operation Crusader, 26 November 1941.
North African Campaign
–
German prisoners captured during the Second Battle of El Alamein, November 1942
17.
U.S. forces
–
The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
U.S. forces
–
The U.S. Joint Service Color Guard on parade at
Fort Myer, Virginia in October 2001.
U.S. forces
–
U. S. Armed Forces Career Center in
Times Square.
U.S. forces
–
Service members of the U.S. at an
American football event, L-R:
U.S. Marine Corps,
U.S. Air Force,
U.S. Navy and
U.S. Army personnel.
U.S. forces
–
From 2005, the first all female
C-130 Hercules crew to serve a combat mission for the
U.S. Air Force.
18.
Shell (projectile)
–
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
Shell (projectile)
–
Some sectioned shells from the
First World War. From left to right: 90 mm shrapnel shell, 120 mm pig iron incendiary shell, 77/14 model - 75 mm high-explosive shell, model 16–75 mm shrapnel shell
Shell (projectile)
–
US scientists with a full-scale cut-away model of the
W48 155-millimeter
nuclear artillery shell, a very small
tactical nuclear weapon with an explosive yield equivalent to 72 tons of
TNT (0.072
kiloton). It could be fired from any standard 155 mm (6.1 inch)
howitzer (e.g., the
M114 or
M198)
Shell (projectile)
–
155 mm
M107 projectiles. All have
fuzes fitted
Shell (projectile)
–
Some shells displayed in Taipei
19.
Small arms
–
In international arms control, small arms include revolvers and pistols, rifles and carbines, assault rifles, submachine guns and light machine guns. Together with light weapons, they comprise the Small Arms and Light Weapons protocol, in the U. S. military, small arms are man portable, individual, and crew-served weapon systems used mainly against personnel and lightly armored or unarmored equipment. However, in regard to management, the U. S. Army says small arms/light weapons are, Handguns, shoulder-fired weapons, light automatic weapons up to. Much of the work to address the illegal arms trade is raised in the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms. In 2013, the Small Arms Survey said that of the 875 million small arms distributed globally,650 million — almost 75 percent — are in civilian hands, about 200 million are controlled by armed forces and about 26 million by law enforcement agencies. Gang members hold between 2 and 10 million small arms and armed, non-state actors hold about 1.4 million, together, the small-arms arsenals of non-state actors and gangs account for 0.4 to 1.3 percent of the global total. Arms trafficking Firearms Gun control Small arms trade SALW Dikshif, P. Proliferation of Small Arms and Minor Weapons, Strategic Analysis, Vol.17 May 1994. Gould, C. and Lamb, G. Hide & Seek, Taking Account of Small Arms in Southern Africa, Institute for Security Studies, federation of American Scientists Small Arms Monitoring page Small Arms Survey How Small Arms Work - Training Film on YouTube
Small arms
–
The three weapons on the left are small arms captured in
Fallujah,
Iraq, by the
U.S. Marine Corps in 2004.
20.
Tank
–
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat, with heavy firepower, strong armour, and tracks providing good battlefield maneuverability. The first tanks were designed to overcome the deadlock of trench warfare, now they are a mainstay of ground forces. Modern tanks are versatile mobile land weapon platforms, mounting a large-calibre cannon in a rotating gun turret. In both offensive and defensive roles, they are units that are capable of performing tasks which are required of armoured units on the battlefield. As a result of advances, tanks underwent tremendous shifts in capability in the years since their first appearance. Tanks in World War I were developed separately and simultaneously by Great Britain and this was a prototype of a new design that would become the British Armys Mark I tank, the first tank used in combat in September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. The name tank was adopted by the British during the stages of their development. While the British and French built thousands of tanks in World War I, Germany was unconvinced of the tanks potential, Tanks of the interwar period evolved into the much larger and more powerful designs of World War II. Tanks in the Cold War were designed with these weapons in mind, improved engines, transmissions and suspensions allowed tanks of this period to grow larger. Aspects of gun technology changed significantly as well, with advances in shell design, during the Cold War, the main battle tank concept arose and became a key component of modern armies. Modern tanks seldom operate alone, as they are organized into combined arms units which involve the support of infantry and they are also usually supported by reconnaissance or ground-attack aircraft. The tank is the 20th century realization of an ancient concept, the internal combustion engine, armour plate, and continuous track were key innovations leading to the invention of the modern tank. Many sources imply that Leonardo da Vinci and H. G. Wells in some way foresaw or invented the tank, leonardos late 15th century drawings of what some describe as a tank show a man-powered, wheeled vehicle with cannons all around it. However the human crew would not have power to move it over larger distance. In the 15th century, Jan Žižka built armoured wagons containing cannons, the caterpillar track arose from attempts to improve the mobility of wheeled vehicles by spreading their weight, reducing ground pressure, and increasing their traction. Experiments can be traced back as far as the 17th century and it is frequently claimed that Richard Lovell Edgeworth created a caterpillar track. It is true that in 1770 he patented a machine, that should carry and lay down its own road and his own account in his autobiography is of a horse-drawn wooden carriage on eight retractable legs, capable of lifting itself over high walls. The description bears no similarity to a caterpillar track, armoured trains appeared in the mid-19th century, and various armoured steam and petrol-engined vehicles were also proposed
Tank
–
An
M4 Sherman tank in Italy in 1943 during WW II.
Tank
–
German Tiger II tanks of
Schwere Heeres Panzer Abteilung 503 (s.H.Pz.Abt. 503) 'Feldherrnhalle' posing in formation for a German newsreel
Tank
–
Model of Leonardo's proposed vehicle.
Tank
–
British World War I Mark V* tank
21.
Battle of Kasserine Pass
–
The Battle of Kasserine Pass was a battle of the Tunisia Campaign of World War II that took place in February 1943. Kasserine Pass is a 2-mile-wide gap in the Grand Dorsal chain of the Atlas Mountains in west central Tunisia. S, II Corps, the British 6th Armoured Division and other parts of the First Army. The battle was the first big engagement between American and Axis forces in World War II, inexperienced and poorly led American troops suffered many casualties and were quickly pushed back over 50 miles from their positions west of Faïd Pass. After the early defeat, elements of the U. S. II Corps, with British reinforcements, rallied and held the exits through mountain passes in western Tunisia, defeating the Axis offensive. As a result of the battle, the U. S. Army instituted sweeping changes of organization and replaced commanders. American and British forces landed at points along the coast of French Morocco and Algeria on November 8,1942. This came only days after the breakthrough of the British Eighth Army following the Second Battle of El Alamein. In response, German and Italian troops were ferried in from Sicily to occupy Tunisia, one of the few easily defended areas of North Africa and only one nights sail from bases in Sicily. The Run for Tunis in November and December 1942 is the term for an attempt to reach Tunis before German and Italian reinforcements could arrive, the Allied build-up continued, more aircraft became available and new airfields in eastern Algeria and Tunisia were built. The Allies reduced the flow of Axis troops and equipment into Tunis and Bizerta, on January 23,1943, the Eighth Army took Tripoli, Erwin Rommels main supply base. Rommel had planned for this, switching his line of supply to Tunis, the Mareth Line, which the French had built to protect against an Italian attack from Libya, was. A line of antiquated French blockhouses, which in no way measured up to the standards required by modern warfare, elements of the 5th Panzer Army reached the Allied positions on the eastern foot of the Atlas Mountains on January 30. U. S. artillery and tanks of the 1st Armored Division then entered the battle, destroying enemy tanks. A U. S. forward artillery observer whose radio and landlines had been cut by shellfire recalled, It was murder. They rolled right into the muzzles of the concealed eighty-eights and all I could do was stand by and watch tank after tank blown to bits or burst into flames or just stop and those in the rear tried to turn back but the eighty-eights seemed to be everywhere. The 21st Panzer Division resumed its advance towards Faïd, on 2 February, the 1st Armored Division was ordered to end its attacks and concentrate to form a reserve. The Germans captured most of Tunisia, and the entrances into the lowlands were blocked. The Allies held the interior of the roughly triangular Atlas range, for the next two weeks, Rommel and the Axis commanders further north debated what to do next
Battle of Kasserine Pass
–
Men of the 2nd Battalion,
16th Infantry Regiment of the
U.S. 1st Infantry Division march through the Kasserine Pass and on to Kasserine and Farriana, Tunisia February 26, 1943.
Battle of Kasserine Pass
–
Tunisia, 30 January – 10 April 1943
Battle of Kasserine Pass
–
Battle of Kasserine Pass
Battle of Kasserine Pass
–
An
M3 Lee tank of US 1st Armored Division advancing to support American forces during the battle at Kasserine Pass
22.
Artillery
–
Artillery is a class of large military weapons built to fire munitions far beyond the range and power of infantrys small arms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach fortifications, and led to heavy, as technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery developed for battlefield use. This development continues today, modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility providing the largest share of an armys total firepower, in its earliest sense, the word artillery referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armour. In common speech, the artillery is often used to refer to individual devices, along with their accessories and fittings. However, there is no generally recognised generic term for a gun, howitzer, mortar, and so forth, the United States uses artillery piece, the projectiles fired are typically either shot or shell. Shell is a widely used term for a projectile, which is a component of munitions. By association, artillery may also refer to the arm of service that customarily operates such engines, in the 20th Century technology based target acquisition devices, such as radar, and systems, such as sound ranging and flash spotting, emerged to acquire targets, primarily for artillery. These are usually operated by one or more of the artillery arms, Artillery originated for use against ground targets—against infantry, cavalry and other artillery. An early specialist development was coastal artillery for use against enemy ships, the early 20th Century saw the development of a new class of artillery for use against aircraft, anti-aircraft guns. Artillery is arguably the most lethal form of land-based armament currently employed, the majority of combat deaths in the Napoleonic Wars, World War I, and World War II were caused by artillery. In 1944, Joseph Stalin said in a speech that artillery was the God of War, although not called as such, machines performing the role recognizable as artillery have been employed in warfare since antiquity. The first references in the historical tradition begin at Syracuse in 399 BC. From the Middle Ages through most of the era, artillery pieces on land were moved by horse-drawn gun carriages. In the contemporary era, the artillery and crew rely on wheeled or tracked vehicles as transportation, Artillery used by naval forces has changed significantly also, with missiles replacing guns in surface warfare. The engineering designs of the means of delivery have likewise changed significantly over time, in some armies, the weapon of artillery is the projectile, not the equipment that fires it. The process of delivering fire onto the target is called gunnery, the actions involved in operating the piece are collectively called serving the gun by the detachment or gun crew, constituting either direct or indirect artillery fire. The term gunner is used in armed forces for the soldiers and sailors with the primary function of using artillery. The gunners and their guns are usually grouped in teams called either crews or detachments, several such crews and teams with other functions are combined into a unit of artillery, usually called a battery, although sometimes called a company
Artillery
–
French naval piece of the late 19th century
Artillery
–
French soldiers in the
Franco-Prussian War 1870–71.
Artillery
–
British 64 Pounder Rifled Muzzle-Loaded (RML) Gun on a Moncrieff disappearing mount, at Scaur Hill Fort,
Bermuda. This is a part of a fixed battery, meant to protect against over-land attack and to serve as coastal artillery.
Artillery
–
7-person gun crew firing a US
M777 Light Towed Howitzer,
War in Afghanistan, 2009.
23.
Grenade
–
A grenade is a small bomb typically thrown by hand. A variety of hand grenades exist, the most common being explosive grenades designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time, Grenadiers were originally soldiers who specialized in throwing grenades. The word grenade derives from the French word for an explosive shell. Its first use in English dates from the 1590s and it is likely derived from Old French pomegranate and influenced by Spanish granada, as the fragmenting bomb is reminiscent of the many-seeded fruit. Rudimentary incendiary grenades appeared in the Eastern Roman Empire, not long after the reign of Leo III. Byzantine soldiers learned that Greek fire, a Byzantine invention of the century, could not only be thrown by flamethrowers at the enemy. The use of Greek fire spread to Muslim armies in the Near East, in China, during the Song Dynasty, weapons known as Zhen Tian Lei were created when Chinese soldiers packed gunpowder into ceramic or metal containers. In 1044, a military book Wujing Zongyao described various gunpowder recipes in which one can find, according to Joseph Needham, the Chinese also discovered the explosive potential of packing hollowed-out cannonball shells with gunpowder. The mid-14th-century book Huolongjing, written by Jiao Yu, recorded an earlier Song-era cast iron cannon known as the flying-cloud thunderclap cannon, the manuscript stated that, The shells are made of cast iron, as large as a bowl and shaped like a ball. Inside they contain half a pound of divine fire and they are sent flying towards the enemy camp from an eruptor, and when they get there a sound like a thunder-clap is heard, and flashes of light appear. If ten of these shells are fired successfully into the enemy camp, the first cast iron bombshells and grenades did not appear in Europe until 1467. A hoard of several hundred ceramic greandes were discovered during building works in front of a bastion of the Bavarian City of Ingolstadt. Lots of the grenades obtained their original blackpowder loads and igniters, most probably the grenades were intentially dumped the moat of the bastion before the year 1723. In 1643, it is possible that Grenados were thrown amongst the Welsh at Holt Bridge during the English Civil War and these grenades were not very effective and, as a result, saw little use. Improvised grenades were used from the mid-19th century, being especially useful in trench warfare. In the American Civil War, both sides used hand grenades equipped with a plunger that detonated the device on impact, the Union relied on experimental Ketchum Grenades, which had a tail to ensure that the nose would strike the target and start the fuse. The Confederacy used spherical hand grenades that weighed about six pounds and they also used Rains and Adams grenades, which were similar to the Ketchum in appearance and mechanism. Improvised hand grenades were used to great effect by the Russian defenders of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War
Grenade
–
M67 fragmentation grenade, a hand grenade developed in the USA.
Grenade
–
Hand grenades filled with
Greek fire; surrounded by
caltrops. (10th-12th centuries
National Historical Museum,
Athens,
Greece)
Grenade
–
Earliest known representation of a gun (a
fire lance) and a grenade (upper right),
Dunhuang, 10th century CE.
Grenade
–
A cross-section of a
Ketchum Grenade, used during the
American Civil War.
24.
Bomb disposal
–
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal does not encompass the remediation of soils polluted with explosive materials, the first professional civilian bomb squad was established by Sir Vivian Dering Majendie. In 1875, he framed The Explosives Act, the first modern legislation for explosives control and he also pioneered many bomb disposal techniques, including remote methods for the handling and dismantling of explosives. His advice during the Fenian dynamite campaign of 1881-85 was officially recognised as having contributed to the saving of lives, after Victoria Station was bombed on 26 February 1884 he defused a bomb with a clockwork mechanism which might have gone off at any moment. The New York City Police Department established its first bomb squad in 1903, known as the Italian Squad, its primary mission was to deal with dynamite bombs used by the Mafia to intimidate immigrant Italian merchants and residents. It would later be known as the Anarchist Squad and the Radical Squad, Bomb Disposal became a formalized practice in the First World War. The swift mass production of munitions led to manufacturing defects. These were hazardous to attacker and defender alike, in response, the British dedicated a section of Ordnance Examiners from the Royal Army Ordnance Corps to handle the growing problem. In 1918, the Germans developed delayed-action fuzes that would develop into more sophisticated versions during the 1930s. These tests led to the development of UXBs, pioneered by Herbert Ruehlemann of Rheinmetall, such delayed-action bombs provoked terror in the civilian population because of the uncertainty of time, and also complicated the task of disarming them. The Germans saw that unexploded bombs caused far more chaos and disruption than bombs that exploded immediately and this caused them to increase their usage of delayed-action bombs in World War II. This trend of cat-and-mouse extends even to the present day, modern EOD Technicians across the world can trace their heritage to the Blitz, when the United Kingdoms cities were subjected to extensive bombing raids by Nazi Germany. In addition to air raids, unexploded bombs took their toll on population and morale, paralyzing vital services. Bombs fitted with delayed-action fuzes provoked fear and uncertainty in the civilian population, the first UXBs were encountered in the autumn of 1939 before the Blitz and were for the most part easily dealt with, mostly by Royal Air Force or Air Raid Precautions personnel. In the spring of 1940, when the Phony War ended,25 sections were authorized for the Royal Engineers in May 1940, another 109 in June, and 220 by August. Organization was needed, and as the Blitz began,25 Bomb Disposal Companies were created between August 1940 and January 1941, each company had ten sections, each section having a bomb disposal officer and 14 other ranks to assist. Six companies were deployed in London by January 1941, Bomb fuzes incorporating anti-handling devices were specifically designed to kill bomb disposal personnel. Scientists and technical staff responded by devising methods and equipment to render them safe, the next year, the Office of Civilian Defense and War Department both sponsored a bomb disposal program
Bomb disposal
–
"The long walk": A
British Army ATO approaches a suspect device in
Northern Ireland
Bomb disposal
–
A British NCO prepares to dispose of an unexploded bomb, during the First World War.
Bomb disposal
–
A bomb disposal team in 1940.
Bomb disposal
–
Marines conducting a controlled detonation of
improvised explosive devices in
Afghanistan.
25.
Renault R35
–
The Renault R35, an abbreviation of Char léger Modèle 1935 R or R35, was a French light infantry tank of the Second World War. To this end it was relatively well-armoured but slow and lacking a good antitank-capacity, at the outbreak of the war, the antitank-role was more emphasized leading to the development and eventual production from April 1940 of a subtype with a more powerful longer gun, the Renault R40. At that moment it had also exported to Poland, Romania, Turkey. For the remainder of the war Germany and its allies would use captured vehicles, the French army did not have the means to motorise more than a few select divisions. In 1930 this plan was replaced by a new one, giving precise specifications. The first tank to be developed to fulfil its requirements, the Char D1, in 1933, Hotchkiss offered an alternative solution, the later Hotchkiss H35. For political reasons this proposal was turned into the Plan 1933, fourteen companies responded and five submitted a prototype, Hotchkiss itself, the Compagnie Général de Construction des Locomotives, APX, FCM and of course Frances prime tank producer, Renault. On 20 December 1934 Renault was the first to deliver a prototype, with the name of Renault ZM. In the spring of 1935 this vehicle was refitted with heavier armour, the prototype was still being tested when international tensions increased due to German re-armament. This prompted an urgent demand for swifter modernisation of the French tank fleet, the ZM was to be put into production immediately. On 29 April 1935 an order of 300 was made, even before the model could be finished. The first series vehicle was delivered on 4 June 1936 and had to be extensively tested again as it was different from the prototype. To save time, Renault based the suspension and running gear on that of the AMR35 that was designed for the cavalry and it had five wheels at each side, fitted with horizontal leaf springs, like the AMC35. The hull, with a length of 4.02 m, total weight was 10.6 metric tonnes. The bottom module carried on each side an independently sprung front wheel, the final drive and differentials were housed at the right in the nose module. It was steered through a Cletrac differential with five gears and by engaging the brakes, the driver was seated somewhat to the left and had two hatches. The Renault V-485 hp engine was to the right in the rear with the self sealing 166 litre fuel tank at its left. It rendered a road speed of 20 km/h and a range of 130 km, cross-country speed did not exceed 14 km/h and the fuel consumption totaled 212 litre/100 km
Renault R35
–
R 35 in the
Yad La-Shiryon museum
Renault R35
–
R35 tank participating in large military manoeuvres of the
Yugoslav Army at Torlak, 1940
Renault R35
–
"R 39" at the
Musée des Blindés at
Saumur next to an R 35. Notice the longer gun, in this case a postwar conversion for the
Gendarmerie.
Renault R35
–
The R 35 at Saumur
26.
Continuous track
–
Continuous track, also called tank tread or caterpillar track, is a system of vehicle propulsion in which a continuous band of treads or track plates is driven by two or more wheels. The prominent treads of the plates are both hard-wearing and damage resistant, especially in comparison to rubber tyres. The aggressive treads of the tracks provide good traction in soft surfaces but can damage paved surfaces, in modern times, continuous track propulsion systems can be traced back to a crude continuous track system designed in the 1770s by Richard Lovell Edgeworth. Polish mathematician and inventor Józef Maria Hoene-Wroński conceived of the idea in the 1830s, the British polymath Sir George Cayley patented a continuous track, which he called a universal railway. Although not a track in the form encountered today, a dreadnaught wheel or endless railway wheel was patented by the British Engineer James Boydell in 1846. In Boydells design, a series of feet are attached to the periphery of the wheel. A letter of recommendation was signed by Sir William Codrington, the General commanding the troops at Sebastapol, a number of manufacturers including Richard Bach, Richard Garrett & Sons, Charles Burrell & Sons and Clayton & Shuttleworth applied the Boydell patent under licence. The British military were interested in Boydells invention from an early date, one of the objectives was to transport Mallets Mortar, a giant 36 weapon which was under development but, by the end of the Crimean war, the mortar was not ready for service. In those tests, a Garrett engine was put through its paces on Plumstead Common, the Garrett engine featured in the Lord Mayors show in London, and in the following month that engine was shipped to Australia. Nicholas works in 1856, again, after the close of the Crimean war, between late 1856 and 1862 Burrell manufactured not less than a score of engines fitted with dreadnaught wheels. Steam tractors fitted with wheels had a number of shortcomings and. In August 1858, more than two years after the end of the Crimean War, John Fowler filed British Patent No.1948 on another form of Endless Railway, comprising only eight sections, the track sections are essentially longitudinal, as in Boydells initial design. Further to Fowlers patent of 1858, in 1877, a Russian, Fyodor Blinov and it lacked self-propulsion and was pulled by horses. Blinov received a patent for his wagon in 1878, from 1881 to 1888 he developed a steam-powered caterpillar-tractor. This self-propelled crawler was successfully tested and featured at an exhibition in 1896. Steam traction engines were used at the end of the 19th Century in the Boer Wars, but neither dreadnaught wheels nor continuous tracks were used, rather roll-out wooden plank roads were thrown under the wheels as required. A little-known American inventor, Henery T. Stith, developed a continuous track prototype which was, in forms, patented in 1873,1880. The last was for the application of the track to a prototype off-road bicycle built for his son, the 1900 prototype is retained by his surviving family
Continuous track
–
A closeup of continuous tracks on a bulldozer
Continuous track
–
A British Army Challenger 1 tank
Continuous track
–
An agricultural tractor with rubber tracks
Continuous track
–
Lombard Steam Log Hauler (Designed, patented 1901)
27.
Machine gun
–
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm designed to fire bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or magazine, typically at a rate of 300 to 1800 rounds per minute. Note that not all fully automatic firearms are machine guns, submachine guns, rifles, assault rifles, shotguns, pistols or cannons may be capable of fully automatic fire, but are not designed for sustained fire. Many machine guns also use belt feeding and open bolt operation, unlike semi-automatic firearms, which require one trigger pull per round fired, a machine gun is designed to fire for as long as the trigger is held down. Nowadays the term is restricted to heavy weapons, able to provide continuous or frequent bursts of automatic fire for as long as ammunition lasts. Machine guns are used against personnel, aircraft and light vehicles, or to provide suppressive fire. Some machine guns have in practice sustained fire almost continuously for hours, because they become very hot, practically all machine guns fire from an open bolt, to permit air cooling from the breech between bursts. They also usually have either a barrel cooling system, slow-heating heavyweight barrel, although subdivided into light, medium, heavy or general-purpose, even the lightest machine guns tend to be substantially larger and heavier than standard infantry arms. Medium and heavy guns are either mounted on a tripod or on a vehicle, when carried on foot. Medium machine guns use full-sized rifle rounds and are designed to be used from fixed positions mounted on a tripod. 50in, the M249 automatic rifle is operated by an automatic rifleman, but its ammunition may be carried by other Soldiers within the squad or unit. The M249 machine gun is a crew-served weapon, Machine guns usually have simple iron sights, though the use of optics is becoming more common. Many heavy machine guns, such as the Browning M2.50 caliber machine gun, are enough to engage targets at great distances. During the Vietnam War, Carlos Hathcock set the record for a shot at 7382 ft with a.50 caliber heavy machine gun he had equipped with a telescopic sight. This led to the introduction of.50 caliber anti-materiel sniper rifles, selective fire rifles firing a full-power rifle cartridge from a closed bolt are called automatic rifles or battle rifles, while rifles that fire an intermediate cartridge are called assault rifles. Unlocking and removing the spent case from the chamber and ejecting it out of the weapon as bolt is moving rearward Loading the next round into the firing chamber. Usually the recoil spring tension pushes bolt back into battery and a cam strips the new round from a feeding device, cycle is repeated as long as the trigger is activated by operator. Releasing the trigger resets the trigger mechanism by engaging a sear so the weapon stops firing with bolt carrier fully at the rear, the operation is basically the same for all autoloading firearms, regardless of the means of activating these mechanisms. Most modern machine guns use gas-operated reloading, a recoil actuated machine gun uses the recoil to first unlock and then operate the action. Machine guns such as the M2 Browning and MG42, are of this type, a cam, lever or actuator demultiplicates the energy of the recoil to operate the bolt
Machine gun
–
A
.50 caliber M2 machine gun:
John Browning 's design has been one of the longest serving and most successful machine gun designs
Machine gun
–
Top:
IMI Negev (light machine gun). Bottom:
FN MAG (general purpose machine gun).
Machine gun
–
Czechoslovak 7.62 mm
Universal Machine gun Model 1959.
Machine gun
–
A
Mitsubishi Type 73 Light Truck Shīn with a
Sumitomo M2 heavy machine gun mounted at the rear with foliage used to camouflage the vehicle from sight. This was on public display at Camp Narashino.
28.
Ammunition
–
Ammunition is the general term used for the material fired, scattered, dropped or detonated from any weapon. The term ammunition can be traced back to the mid 17th century, broadly speaking, ammunition refers to both expendable weapons and the component parts of other weapons that create the effect on a target. Nearly all weapons will require some form of ammunition to operate, the word comes from the French la munition, which refers to the material used for war. The terms ammunition and munitions are used interchangeably, although the term munition now usually refers to both the actual weapons system alongside the ammunition required to operate it. The purpose of ammunition is to project a force against a target to have an effect. The most iconic example of ammunition is the cartridge, which all components required to deliver the weapon effect in a single package. Ammunition comes in a range of sizes and types and is often designed to work only in specific weapons systems. However, there are internationally recognized standards for certain types that enable their use across different weapons. There are also types of ammunition that are designed to have a specialized effect on a target, such as armor-piercing shells and tracer ammunition. Ammunition is commonly colored in a manner to assist in the identification. A round is a cartridge containing a projectile, propellant, primer. A shell is a form of ammunition that is fired by a large cannon or artillery piece. Before the mid-19th century, these shells were made of solid materials. However, since that time, they are often filled with high-explosives. A shot refers to a release of a weapons system. This may involve firing just one round or piece of ammunition, a dud refers to loaded ammunition that fails to function as intended, typically failing to detonate on landing. However, it can refer to ammunition that fails to fire inside the weapon, known as a misfire, or when the ammunition only partially functions. Dud ammunition, which is classified as an ordnance, is regarded as highly dangerous
Ammunition
–
A belt of
0.50 caliber ammunition loaded to an
M2 Browning. Every fifth round with a red tip is an M20 (armour piercing incendiary tracer).
Ammunition
–
Box of ammunition from first half of the 20th century. From the
Museo del Objeto del Objeto collection
Ammunition
–
Cannonballs from the
American Civil War
Ammunition
–
Female ordnance workers inspecting cartridge cases in
Los Angeles, 1943
29.
Shaped charge
–
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosives energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, initiate nuclear weapons, penetrate armor, the Munroe or Neumann effect is the focusing of blast energy by a hollow or void cut on a surface of an explosive. The earliest mention of hollow charges occurred in 1792, the first true hollow charge effect was achieved in 1883, by Max von Foerster, chief of the nitrocellulose factory of Wolff & Co. in Walsrode, Germany. By 1886, Gustav Bloem of Düsseldorf, Germany had obtained U. S, patent 342,423 for hemispherical cavity metal detonators to concentrate the effect of the explosion in an axial direction. The Munroe effect is named after Charles E. Munroe, who discovered it in 1888. As a civilian chemist working at the U. S. Conversely, if letters were raised in relief above the surface of the explosive, in 1894, Munroe constructed the first crude shaped charge, Among the experiments made. Was one upon a safe twenty-nine inches cube, with four inches. Hen a hollow charge of nine pounds and a half in weight and untamped was detonated on it. The hollow cartridge was made by tying the sticks of dynamite around a tin can, part of that 1900 article was reprinted in the February 1945 issue of Popular Science, describing how shaped-charge warheads worked. It was this article that at last revealed to the public how the fabled Bazooka actually worked against armored vehicles during WWII. In 1910, Egon Neumann of Germany discovered that a block of TNT, the military usefulness of Munroes and Neumanns work was unappreciated for a long time. Between the world wars, academics in several countries – Myron Yakovlevich Sukharevskii in the Soviet Union, payment and Donald Whitley Woodhead in Britain, and Robert Williams Wood in the U. S. – recognized that projectiles could form during explosions. However, it was not until 1932 that Franz Rudolf Thomanek, when the Austrian government showed no interest in pursuing the idea, Thomanek moved to Berlins Technische Hochschule, where he continued his studies under the ballistics expert Carl Julius Cranz. There in 1935, he and Hellmuth von Huttern developed a prototype anti-tank round, although the weapons performance proved disappointing, Thomanek continued his developmental work, collaborating with Hubert Schardin at the Waffeninstitut der Luftwaffe in Braunschweig. By 1937, Shardin believed that hollow-charge effects were due to the interactions of shock waves and it was during the testing of this idea that, on February 4,1938, Thomanek conceived the shaped-charge explosive. During World War II, shaped-charge munitions were developed by Germany, Britain, the Soviet Union, the development of shaped charges revolutionized anti-tank warfare. Tanks faced a serious vulnerability from a weapon that could be carried by an infantryman or aircraft, one of the earliest uses of shaped charges was by German glider-borne troops against the Belgian Fort Eben-Emael. These demolition charges – developed by Dr. Wuelfken of the German Ordnance Office – were unlined explosive charges and didnt produce a metal jet like the modern HEAT warheads
Shaped charge
–
Sectioned
high explosive anti-tank round with the inner shaped charge visible
Shaped charge
–
1: Aerodynamic cover; 2: Air-filled cavity; 3: Conical liner; 4: Detonator; 5: Explosive; 6:
Piezo-electric trigger
Shaped charge
–
A 40 lb (18 kg)
Composition B 'formed projectile' used by combat engineers. The shaped charge is used to bore a hole for a cratering charge.
Shaped charge
–
The Krakatoa Shaped Charge System by Alford Technologies Ltd.
30.
Sangar (fortification)
–
A sangar is a temporary fortified position with a breastwork originally constructed of stones, and now built of sandbags and similar materials. Sangars are normally constructed in terrain where the digging of trenches would not be practicable, the term is still frequently used by the British Army. The word was adopted from Persian and Pashto and derives originally from the Persian word sang and its first appearance in English is in the form sunga, and dates from 1841. The word is found throughout Indo-Persian settlements as a surname, the term was originally used by the British Indian Army to describe small temporary fortified positions on the North West Frontier and in Afghanistan. It was widely used by the British during the Italian Campaign of World War II, more recently, the use of the term has been extended to cover a wider range of small, semi-permanent fortified positions. The Independent Monitoring Commission stated immediately after The Troubles in Northern Ireland, for the avoidance of any doubt we set out below the military terms we have deemed to be included in this part of the report. Sangar, A sangar is a sentry post, normally located around the perimeter of a base. Its main function is to provide warning of enemy/terrorist activity/attack in order to protect forces both within the base and those deployed within sight of the sangar. Supersangar, A supersangar is an elevated sangar and may be indistinguishable from what is termed a tower. Observation Post, An observation post is an installation whose primary role is to collect information, as directed by, remote Communications Site, A site used primarily for electronic communications. List of established military terms Army dismantles NI post, article on the dismantling of the Borucki Sangar at Crossmaglen in south Armagh. Archived from the original on 6 April 2010, a description and photographs of British Army Sangars
Sangar (fortification)
–
Sangar from the
Western Sahara conflict probably dating from the 1980s.
Sangar (fortification)
–
Supersangar at the British forward operating base, Price,
Gereshk, Afghanistan (photograph taken in 2013 during the
Fourth Anglo-Afghan War).
31.
Spider hole
–
A spider hole is military parlance for a camouflaged one-man foxhole, used for observation. A spider hole is typically a shoulder-deep, protective, round hole, often covered by a lid, in which a soldier can stand. A spider hole differs from a foxhole in that a foxhole is usually deeper, the term is usually understood to be an allusion to the camouflaged hole constructed by the trapdoor spider. According to United States Marine Corps historian Major Chuck Melson, the term originated in the American Civil War, spider holes were used during World War II by Japanese forces on many Pacific battlefields, including Leyte in the Philippines and Iwo Jima. They called them octopus pots for a resemblance to the pots used to catch octopuses in Japan. Spider holes were used by Vietnamese Communist fighters during the Vietnam War. The American columnist William Safire claimed in the December 15,2003, according to Safire, one of the characteristics of these holes was that they held a clay pot large enough to hold a crouching man. If the pot broke, the soldier was exposed to attack from snakes or spiders, hence the name spider hole
Spider hole
–
A spider hole
32.
Tett turret
–
The Tett turret is a type of hardened field fortification built in Britain during the invasion crisis of 1940–1941. It was a small circular pillbox named after its inventor H. L. Tett and it comprised a revolving concrete turret mounted on a ball race that allowed it to be turned easily. The turret was set above a pit, in early designs, the turret was a 20-inch high truncated cone of reinforced concrete weighing 1,456 pounds with a single embrasure and several spy holes. The design had a number of advantages, compared with a conventional pillbox, it used relatively little concrete and steel, it was easy to conceal and being largely prefabricated it could be quickly installed. In addition, it was cheap at just £18 for the turret assembly. The most striking feature was that the way in and out was through the top – there was no way to escape without being exposed to enemy fire – it was to be a fight to the death. This allowed access from a tunnel or slit trench to the rear, the companys brochure shows a wooden seat suspended from the turret by a metal frame. Burbridge also proposed that the turret be mounted on improvised armoured vehicles such as the Armadillo, in November 1940, they received an order for just four turrets and even these could not be delivered until February 1941. Eventually, the company manufactured 100 turrets, but only sold 31 of them, only six sites are recorded in the Defence of Britain database. Today, extant examples are very rare, Two Tett turrets can easily been seen at RAF Hornchurch which is now Hornchurch Country Park. These known Tett turrets were examined closely for the BBC series Two Men in a Trench, during filming, three previously unrecognised turrets were discovered in the undergrowth. Two very well preserved examples have recently rediscovered in a small village in North Norfolk. A very rare if not unique layout links the two turrets with a tunnel about 15 feet long incorporating a spur tunnel that exits the main tunnel at 90 degrees about halfway along its length. Both turrets sit on concrete slabs placed on top of brick walls dug into the ground, the steel seat hangers and wooden seats have also survived. The turrets differ from the Hornchurch examples in that the gun port is not U shaped and these are in a remarkable state of preservation and are currently being investigated by a number of bodies. They may be worthy of listing as unique examples of defensive structures. British anti-invasion preparations of World War II British hardened field defences of World War II Foot, the anti-invasion landscapes of England,1940. Two Men in a Trench II, Uncovering the Secrets of British Battlefields, twentieth century military structures in the landscape
Tett turret
–
Surviving Tett Turret at RAF Hornchurch. Light coming through one of several spy-holes can be seen opposite the embrasure.
Tett turret
–
Tett turret accessible via slit trench
33.
All round defence
–
This defense can be used by military units from squad up. This defense is adopted so that the unit is capable of observing all ground and this defense can be defined as a defense without an exposed flank, consisting of forces deployed along the perimeter of the defended area. The positioning of the outer defensive fighting positions—relative to each other—of a platoon, can be traced as circular or triangular rather than linear, from a birds-eye view. One version of a type of layout of fighting positions. In situations with more than one platoon or squad, more than one all round defence will typically be formed about 20 metres away from each other, when a group of soldiers relocate as a part of a defensive operation, a perimeter defense can be temporarily maintained without cover. This defense is used in any situation where a small unit would need to regroup—including after an attack. Defensive fighting position Infantry tactics List of military tactics Fortification
All round defence
–
Using one's body to shield others, is not a defining characteristic of perimeter defense.—
Kneeling soldiers are more exposed to incoming
artillery - or
gunfire, than prostrate ones—but they have a better view of the perimeter, and a relative ease of
evacuation. (The
fireteam is from
Norwegian Army 2nd Battalion.)
34.
Entrenching tool
–
An entrenching tool, E-tool, or trenching tool is a collapsible spade used by military forces for a variety of military purposes. Survivalists, campers, hikers and other groups have found it to be indispensable in field use. Modern entrenching tools are usually collapsible and made using steel, aluminum, entrenching tools go back at least to the times of the Roman Legion. Julius Caesar, as well as ancient writers, documented the use of spades. The Roman Legion when on the march would dig a ditch, siege tactics throughout history required the digging of fortifications and often mining of walls was attempted, where saps were dug to a wall’s foundation, and collapsing the wall was attempted. This frequently led to situations in which the infantry did not have access to entrenching equipment when it was needed. As one U. S. army infantry officer noted, the tools of an army rarely get up to the front until the exigency for their use has passed. In 1870, the U. S. Army introduced the trowel or spade bayonet and this was followed by the development of separate trowel and spade tools, small one-hand implements that could be carried as part of a soldiers individual equipment. While the entrenching trowel or spade gradually gave way in the U. S and these tools became extremely important with the introduction of trench warfare. Entrenching tools designed for the individual infantryman soon appeared with short straight handles, T-handles, D-handles, and other designs. Between the blade and the spike was a ring into which the handle could be inserted at right angles to the head, besides being used for digging defensive fighting positions, entrenching tools were used for digging latrines and graves. During World War I, the spade was also pressed into service as a melee weapon. In the close confines of a trench, rifles and fixed bayonets were often too long for effective use, from 1915, soldiers on both sides routinely sharpened the edges of entrenching shovels for use as weapons. After World War I, entrenching tools were again redesigned to be more compact, folding designs became increasingly popular, usually incorporating a fixed handle with a folding shovel head, and sometimes encompassing a pick into the design. Like all individual entrenching tools, they were designed to be carried as part of an infantry soldiers standard pack equipment. The British 1937 Pattern web equipment added a bayonet lug to their entrenching tool, allowing the spike bayonet to be mounted on the end, other folding variants have also been issued. The latest light weight plastic tri-fold design is thirty percent lighter than the all-steel tri-fold was,1.5 pounds instead of 2.25 pounds, entrenching tools, if strongly built, can also be used as ancillary weapons. During the Second World War, entrenchment tools were used in close combat between German and Soviet forces, notably in the brutal hand-to-hand fighting during the Battle of Stalingrad
Entrenching tool
–
A modern
NATO collapsible military entrenching tool manufactured by
Fiskars for the
United States Marine Corps.
Entrenching tool
–
A
Russian MPL-50 (malaja pehotnaja lopata – small infantry spade) entrenching tool similar to the entrenching tools used during
World War I and
World War II by most armies participating in those conflicts.
Entrenching tool
–
Glock Feldspaten entrenching tool.
35.
International Standard Book Number
–
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
International Standard Book Number
–
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an
EAN-13 bar code
36.
Fortification
–
Fortifications are military constructions or buildings designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and also used to solidify rule in a region during peace time. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs, the term is derived from the Latin fortis and facere. From very early history to modern times, walls have been a necessity for cities to survive in a changing world of invasion. Some settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization were the first small cities to be fortified, in ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae. A Greek Phrourion was a collection of buildings used as a military garrison. These construction mainly served the purpose of a tower, to guard certain roads, passes. Though smaller than a fortress, they acted as a border guard rather than a real strongpoint to watch. The art of setting out a camp or constructing a fortification traditionally has been called castramentation since the time of the Roman legions. Fortification is usually divided into two branches, permanent fortification and field fortification, there is also an intermediate branch known as semi-permanent fortification. Castles are fortifications which are regarded as being distinct from the fort or fortress in that they are a residence of a monarch or noble. Roman forts and hill forts were the antecedents of castles in Europe. The Early Middle Ages saw the creation of towns built around castles. Medieval-style fortifications were made obsolete by the arrival of cannons in the 14th century. Fortifications in the age of black powder evolved into much lower structures with greater use of ditches and earth ramparts that would absorb, Walls exposed to direct cannon fire were very vulnerable, so were sunk into ditches fronted by earth slopes. The arrival of explosive shells in the 19th century led to yet another stage in the evolution of fortification, steel-and-concrete fortifications were common during the 19th and early 20th centuries. However the advances in warfare since World War I have made large-scale fortifications obsolete in most situations. Demilitarized zones along borders are arguably another type of fortification, although a passive kind, many military installations are known as forts, although they are not always fortified. Larger forts may be called fortresses, smaller ones were known as fortalices
Fortification
–
Krak des Chevaliers is one of the best-preserved Crusader
castles.
Fortification
–
Bourtange star fort, restored to 1750 situation,
Groningen (province),
Netherlands.
Fortification
–
The well preserved
Bulgarian medieval fort
Baba Vida.
Fortification
–
Fortifications on the Iraq-Iran Border, viewed from the
ISS, 2014
37.
Ancient history
–
Ancient history is the aggregate of past events from the beginning of recorded human history and extending as far as the Early Middle Ages or the Postclassical Era. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with Sumerian Cuneiform script, the term classical antiquity is often used to refer to history in the Old World from the beginning of recorded Greek history in 776 BC. This roughly coincides with the date of the founding of Rome in 753 BC, the beginning of the history of ancient Rome. In India, ancient history includes the period of the Middle Kingdoms, and, in China. Historians have two major avenues which they take to better understand the ancient world, archaeology and the study of source texts, primary sources are those sources closest to the origin of the information or idea under study. Primary sources have been distinguished from secondary sources, which cite, comment on. Archaeology is the excavation and study of artefacts in an effort to interpret, archaeologists excavate the ruins of ancient cities looking for clues as to how the people of the time period lived. The study of the ancient cities of Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, the city of Pompeii, an ancient Roman city preserved by the eruption of a volcano in AD79. Its state of preservation is so great that it is a window into Roman culture and provided insight into the cultures of the Etruscans. The Terracotta Army, the mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in ancient China, the discovery of Knossos by Minos Kalokairinos and Sir Arthur Evans. The discovery of Troy by Heinrich Schliemann, most of what is known of the ancient world comes from the accounts of antiquitys own historians. Although it is important to take account the bias of each ancient author. Some of the more notable ancient writers include Herodotus, Thucydides, Arrian, Plutarch, Polybius, Sima Qian, Sallust, Livy, Josephus, Suetonius, furthermore, the reliability of the information obtained from these surviving records must be considered. Few people were capable of writing histories, as literacy was not widespread in almost any culture until long after the end of ancient history, the earliest known systematic historical thought emerged in ancient Greece, beginning with Herodotus of Halicarnassus. He was also the first to distinguish between cause and immediate origins of an event, the Roman Empire was one of the ancient worlds most literate cultures, but many works by its most widely read historians are lost. Indeed, only a minority of the work of any major Roman historian has survived, prehistory is the period before written history. The early human migrations in the Lower Paleolithic saw Homo erectus spread across Eurasia 1.8 million years ago, the controlled use of fire occurred 800,000 years ago in the Middle Paleolithic. 250,000 years ago, Homo sapiens emerged in Africa, 60–70,000 years ago, Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa along a coastal route to South and Southeast Asia and reached Australia
Ancient history
–
Khafre's Pyramid (
4th dynasty) and
Great Sphinx of Giza (c. 2500 BC or perhaps earlier)
Ancient history
–
The Mediterranean in c. the 4th century BC. Phoenician cities are labelled in yellow, Greek cities in red, and other cities in grey.
Ancient history
–
Eastern Hemisphere in 500 BC.
38.
Abatis
–
An abatis, abattis, or abbattis is a field fortification consisting of an obstacle formed of the branches of trees laid in a row, with the sharpened tops directed outwards, towards the enemy. The trees are usually interlaced or tied with wire, abatis are used alone or in combination with wire entanglements and other obstacles. There is evidence it was used as early as the Roman Imperial period, a classic use of an abatis was at the Battle of Carillon during the Seven Years War. The 3,600 French troops defeated an army of 16,000 British. The British found the defences almost impossible to breach and were forced to withdraw with some 2,600 casualties, an important weakness of abatis, in contrast to barbed wire, is that it can be destroyed by fire. An important advantage is that an improvised abatis can be formed in forested areas. This can be done by cutting down a row of trees so that they fall with their tops toward the enemy. An alternative is to place explosives so as to blow the trees down, abatis are rarely seen nowadays, having been largely replaced by wire obstacles. However, it may be used as a replacement or supplement when barbed wire is in short supply, a form of giant abatis, using whole trees instead of branches, can be used as an improvised anti-tank obstacle. Though rarely used by conventional military units, abatises are still officially maintained in United States Army. Furthermore, it is recommended that the trees remain connected to the stumps, US military maps record an abatis by use of an inverted V with a short line extending from it to the right. Zasechnaya cherta Pamplin Historical Park & The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier includes large and authentic reproduction of abatis used in the U. S. Civil War
Abatis
–
Abatis improvised by Japanese troops during
World War II
Abatis
–
Giant abatis, made from entire trees, can make an effective anti-vehicle obstacle. This formation can be achieved by use of explosives—note the splintered stumps
39.
Agger (ancient Rome)
–
An agger is an ancient Roman embankment or rampart, or any artificial elevation. The agger was an embankment that gave Roman roads the proper draining base, basically the agger is a ridge that supports the road surface. The material used to build the aggers was dug from lateral ditches, once the material was dug out of the ditches that were known as scoop ditches, they were used as the storm drain for that road. These ditches could also be used for soldiers to hide in if they ever were under attack from enemies, on the most important road routes, the agger could be 4 to 5 feet high and 45 to 50 feet wide. Along less important routes the road is set directly on the levelled ground surface with stones laid to provide drainage with the lateral ditches barely visible. The material was found locally, though the Romans would not hesitate to bring in the material from other places if they could find no suitable stone. The course of a Roman road can often be traced today by the line of the agger across the landscape. A well-known example is the Agger Servianus, a part of the Servian walls of Rome, which protected the city on its most vulnerable side and it consisted of a double rampart bearing formidable fortifications
Agger (ancient Rome)
–
Remains of the agger of
Ardea, Italy
40.
Broch
–
A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure of a type found only in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification complex atlantic roundhouse devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s and their origin is a matter of some controversy. The theory that they were defensive military structures is not accepted by modern archaeologists. Although most stand alone in the landscape, some examples exist of brochs surrounded by clusters of smaller dwellings, the word broch is derived from Lowland Scots brough, meaning fort. In the mid-19th century Scottish antiquaries called brochs burgs, after Old Norse borg, place names in Scandinavian Scotland such as Burgawater and Burgan show that Old Norse borg is the older word used for these structures in the north. Brochs are often referred to as duns in the west, antiquaries began to use the spelling broch in the 1870s. A precise definition for the word has proved elusive, brochs are the most spectacular of a complex class of roundhouse buildings found throughout Atlantic Scotland. Researcher Euan MacKie has proposed a smaller total for Scotland of 104. The origin of brochs is a subject of continuing research and this view contrasted, for example, with that of Sir Lindsay Scott, who argued, following Childe, for a wholesale migration into Atlantic Scotland of people from southwest England. Meanwhile, the increasing number – albeit still pitifully few – of radiocarbon dates for the use of brochs still suggests that most of the towers were built in the 1st centuries BC. A few may be earlier, notably the one proposed for Old Scatness Broch in Shetland, Caithness, Sutherland and the Northern Isles have the densest concentrations, but there are also a great many examples in the west of Scotland and the Hebrides. Although mainly concentrated in the northern Highlands and the Islands, a few occur in the Borders, on the west coast of Dumfries and Galloway. In a c.1560 sketch there appears to be a broch by the next to Annan Castle in Dumfries. This small group of southern brochs has never been satisfactorily explained, the original interpretation of brochs, favoured by nineteenth century antiquarians, was that they were defensive structures, places of refuge for the community and their livestock. They were sometimes regarded as the work of Danes or Picts, from the 1930s to the 1960s, archaeologists like V. Gordon Childe and later John Hamilton regarded them as castles where local landowners held sway over a subject population. The castle theory fell from favour among Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s, once again, however, there is a lack of archaeological proof for this reconstruction, and the sheer number of brochs, sometimes in places with a lack of good land, makes it problematic. Brochs close groupings and profusion in many areas may indeed suggest that they had a defensive or even offensive function. Often they are at key strategic points, in Shetland they sometimes cluster on each side of narrow stretches of water, the broch of Mousa, for instance, is directly opposite another at Burraland in Sandwick
Broch
–
Dun Carloway broch,
Lewis, Scotland
Broch
–
Broch of Mousa
Broch
–
The remains of Kilphedir broch,
Sutherland, are surrounded by massive earthworks.
Broch
–
The remains of Feranch broch,
Sutherland
41.
Castra
–
In the Roman Empire, the Latin word castrum was a building, or plot of land, used as a fortified military camp. Castrum was the used for different sizes of camps including a large legionary fortress, smaller auxiliary forts, temporary encampments. The diminutive form castellum was used for fortlets, typically occupied by a detachment of a cohort or a century, in English, the terms Roman fortress, Roman fort and Roman camp are commonly used for castrum. However, scholastic convention tends toward the use of the camp, marching camp. For a list of known castra see List of castra, the term castrum appears in three Italic languages, Oscan, Umbrian and Latin. g. Castrum Album, Castrum Inui, Castrum Novum, Castrum Truentinum, Castrum Vergium. The plural was used as a place name, as Castra Cornelia. Castrorum Filius was one of names used by the emperor Caligula, the terms stratopedon and phrourion were used by Greek language authors to translate castrum and castellum, respectively. A castrum was designed to house and protect the soldiers, their equipment and this most detailed description that survives about Roman military camps is De Munitionibus Castrorum, a manuscript of 11 pages that dates most probably from the late 1st to early 2nd century AD. Regulations required a major unit in the field to retire to a properly constructed camp every day, to this end a marching column ported the equipment needed to build and stock the camp in a baggage train of wagons and on the backs of the soldiers. They could throw up a camp under enemy attack in as little as a few hours. Judging from the names, they used a repertory of camp plans, selecting the one appropriate to the length of time a legion would spend in it, tertia castra, quarta castra. A camp of three days, four days, etc, more permanent camps were castra stativa, standing camps. The least permanent of these were castra aestiva or aestivalia, summer camps, in which the soldiers were housed sub pellibus or sub tentoriis, under tents. For the winter the soldiers retired to castra hiberna containing barracks and other buildings of solid materials. The camp allowed the Romans to keep a rested and supplied army in the field, neither the Celtic nor Germanic armies had this capability, they found it necessary to disperse after only a few days. The largest castra were legionary fortresses built as bases for one or more whole legions, previously, legions were raised for specific military campaigns and subsequently disbanded, requiring only temporary castra. From then on many castra of various sizes were established many of which became permanent settlements, from the most ancient times Roman camps were constructed according to a certain ideal pattern, formally described in two main sources, the De Munitionibus Castrorum and the works of Polybius
Castra
–
Reconstructed gateway of a Castra Stativa. Note the battlements, the Roman arches, the turres.
Castra
Castra
–
Reconstruction of the specula or vigilarium (Germanic burgus), "watchtower", a type of castrum, of
Fectio. An ancient watchtower would have been surrounded by wall and ditch.
Castra
–
The reconstructed porta praetoria of the castle Pfünz,
Germany, near the Raetian Limes.
42.
Circular rampart
–
The period during which these structures appeared stretches from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages. The key feature of a rampart is the embankment forming the primary means of the defensive fortification. It can be constructed in ways, as a simple earth embankment, as a wood. Circular ramparts usually have a moat or ditch in front of them, often several concentric rings were built, which produced a more effective defensive position against attackers. The interior of such sites often shows evidence of such as halls, barns. They are often hidden in woods and discovered by aerial photography, archaeological profiles through the defences and excavations of the interior enable analysis of the period the site was occupied, the pottery used and the type of food consumed
Circular rampart
–
Artist's impression of the circular rampart of Burg, near
Celle, Germany
Circular rampart
–
Varbola ruins in
Estonia
Circular rampart
–
External view of the Burg site
Circular rampart
–
Top of the rampart at Burg
43.
City gate
–
A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. City gates were built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods. The city gate was also used to display diverse kinds of public information such as announcements, tax and toll schedules, standards of local measures. City gates, in one form or another, can be found across the world in cities dating back to ancient times to around the 19th century. Many cities would close their gates after a certain curfew each night, for example a bigger one like Prague or a smaller one like Flensburg, in the north of Germany. With increased stability and freedom, many walled cities removed such fortifications as city gates, although many still survive, many surviving gates have been heavily restored, rebuilt or new ones created to add to the appearance of a city, such as Bab Bou Jalous in Fes. With increased levels of traffic, city gates have come under threat in the past for impeding the flow of traffic, ireland, St. Laurences Gate, 13th Century, in Drogheda, Co
City gate
–
The
Brama Młyńska in
Stargard Szczeciński one of a few water gates in Europe
City gate
–
Michael's Gate in
Bratislava, Slovakia
City gate
–
The
Ishtar Gate in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin
City gate
–
Roshnai Gate from Hazuri Bagh (
Lahore)
44.
Crannog
–
A crannog is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes, rivers and estuarine waters of Scotland and Ireland. Crannogs have been interpreted as free-standing wooden structures, as at Loch Tay, although more commonly they exist as brush. However, in such as the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. As a result, completely stone crannogs supporting drystone architecture are common there, today, crannogs typically appear as small, circular islets, often 10 to 30 metres in diameter, covered in dense vegetation due to their inaccessibility to grazing livestock. The Irish word crannóg derives from Old Irish crannóc, which referred to a structure or vessel, stemming from crann. The modern sense of the term first appears sometime around the 12th century, its popularity spread in the period along with the terms isle, ylle, inis. There is some confusion on what the term originally referred to. The additional meanings of crannog can be related as structure/piece of wood, wooden pin, crows nest, pulpit, drivers box on a coach. The Scottish Gaelic form is crannag and has the additional meanings of pulpit, Crannogs are widespread in Ireland, with an estimated 1,200 examples, while Scotland has 347 sites officially listed as such. Previously unknown crannogs in Scotland and Ireland are still being found as underwater surveys continue to investigate loch beds for completely submerged examples, the largest concentrations of crannogs in Ireland are found in the Drumlin Belt of the Midlands, North and Northwest. In Scotland, crannogs favour a western or Atlantic distribution, with concentrations in Argyll and Dumfries. In reality, the Western Isles contain the highest density of lake-settlements in Scotland, one lone Welsh example at Llangorse Lake exists, likely a product of Irish influence across the Irish Sea. Crannogs took on different forms and methods of construction based on what was available in the immediate landscape. The classic image of a prehistoric crannog stems from both post-medieval illustrations and highly influential such as Milton Loch in Scotland by C. M. The Milton Loch interpretation is of a small islet surrounded or defined at its edges by timber piles, Crannogs are traditionally interpreted as simple prehistorical farmsteads. A strict definition of a crannog, which has long been debated, sites in the Western Isles do not satisfy this criterion, although their inhabitants shared the common habit of living on water. The visible structural remains are traditionally interpreted as duns, or in more recent terminology as Atlantic roundhouses and this terminology has recently become popular when describing the entire range of robust, drystone structures that existed in later prehistoric Atlantic Scotland. In some early digs, labourers merely hauled away tons of materials with little regard to anything that was not of immediate economic value
Crannog
–
Reconstructed crannog near
Kenmore, Perth and Kinross, on
Loch Tay,
Scotland
Crannog
–
Replica Crannóg on
Loch Tay
Crannog
–
Loughbrickland Crannóg in
Northern Ireland.
45.
Ditch (fortification)
–
A ditch in military engineering is an obstacle, designed to slow down or break up an attacking force, while a trench is intended to provide cover to the defenders. In medieval fortification, a ditch was constructed in front of a defensive wall to hinder mining. When filled with water, such a defensive ditch is called a moat, however, moats may also be dry. Today ditches are obsolescent as an obstacle, but are still often used as anti-vehicle obstacles. A fence concealed in a ditch is called a ha-ha, scarp, the inner side of the ditch is called the scarp slope. This may be revetted with masonry or brickwork, in which case, cordon, a course of protruding masonry along the top of a scarp wall, intended to make it harder for an enemy to stand a ladder against it. Rampart, the wall of the fort which can be made of earth or masonry, is topped by a parapet for the defenders to fire over. Berm, a ledge between the wall and the exterior slope of the rampart, designed to increase the stability of the rampart. Faussebraye, a parapet between the rampart and the inner edge of the ditch. Carnot wall, a wall between the rampart and the inner edge of the ditch. Chemin de ronde, a pathway running along the berm, behind the faussebraye or Carnot wall, cunette, a narrow channel that runs along the floor of the ditch for drainage purposes. Bartardeau, a type of dam across a ditch that is part wet. Counterscarp, the slope or wall of the ditch. Sally port, a door allowing the defenders to enter the ditch should it be occupied by the enemy. Caponier, a masonry or brick structure extending into the ditch or traversing across it, it is pierced with loopholes to enable the defenders to fire along the floor of the ditch. Counterscarp gallery, a passage constructed behind the wall and pierced with loopholes. Glacis, an earth slope angled away from the ditch, the height and angle of the glacis was calculated to protect the rampart from direct fire but to allow the defenders to fire over it. Place-of-arms, an area of the covered way at an angle of the ditch
Ditch (fortification)
–
A ditch and earth bank at
Old Sarum, near
Salisbury in
England, dating from the
Iron Age.
Ditch (fortification)
–
Ditch of
Valletta, which was built between 1566 and the 1570s.
46.
Defensive wall
–
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements, beyond their defensive utility, many walls also had important symbolic functions – representing the status and independence of the communities they embraced. Existing ancient walls are almost always masonry structures, although brick, depending on the topography of the area surrounding the city or the settlement the wall is intended to protect, elements of the terrain may be incorporated in order to make the wall more effective. Walls may only be crossed by entering the city gate and are often supplemented with towers. Simpler defensive walls of earth or stone, thrown up around hillforts, ringworks, early castles, from very early history to modern times, walls have been a near necessity for every city. Uruk in ancient Sumer is one of the worlds oldest known walled cities, before that, the city of Jericho in what is now the West Bank had a wall surrounding it as early as the 8th millennium BC. The Assyrians deployed large labour forces to build new palaces, temples, some settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization were also fortified. By about 3500 B. C. hundreds of small farming villages dotted the Indus floodplain, many of these settlements had fortifications and planned streets. Mundigak in present-day south-east Afghanistan has defensive walls and square bastions of sun dried bricks, babylon was one of the most famous cities of the ancient world, especially as a result of the building program of Nebuchadnezzar, who expanded the walls and built the Ishtar Gate. Exceptions were few — notably, ancient Sparta and ancient Rome did not have walls for a long time, initially, these fortifications were simple constructions of wood and earth, which were later replaced by mixed constructions of stones piled on top of each other without mortar. In Central Europe, the Celts built large fortified settlements which the Romans called oppida, the fortifications were continuously expanded and improved. In ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, in classical era Greece, the city of Athens built a long set of parallel stone walls called the Long Walls that reached their guarded seaport at Piraeus. Large tempered earth walls were built in ancient China since the Shang Dynasty, although stone walls were built in China during the Warring States, mass conversion to stone architecture did not begin in earnest until the Tang Dynasty. The large walls of Pingyao serve as one example, likewise, the famous walls of the Forbidden City in Beijing were established in the early 15th century by the Yongle Emperor. The Romans fortified their cities with massive, mortar-bound stone walls, the most famous of these are the largely extant Aurelian Walls of Rome and the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople, together with partial remains elsewhere. These are mostly city gates, like the Porta Nigra in Trier or Newport Arch in Lincoln, apart from these, the early Middle Ages also saw the creation of some towns built around castles. These cities were only protected by simple stone walls and more usually by a combination of both walls and ditches. From the 12th century AD hundreds of settlements of all sizes were founded all across Europe and these cities are easy to recognise due to their regular layout and large market spaces
Defensive wall
–
Part of the
Great Wall of China, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Defensive wall
Defensive wall
Defensive wall
47.
Gatehouse
–
A gatehouse, in architectural terminology, is a building enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a castle, manor house, fort, town or similar buildings of importance. Gatehouses made their first appearance in the early antiquity when it became necessary to protect the entrance to a castle or town. Over time, they evolved into very complicated structures with many lines of defence, strongly fortified gatehouses would normally include a drawbridge, one or more portcullises, machicolations, arrow loops and possibly even murder-holes where stones would be dropped on attackers. In some castles, the gatehouse was so strongly fortified it took on the function of a keep, examples of such gate keeps can be found at Bodiam Castle and Beaumaris Castle. In the late Middle Ages, some of these arrow loops might have converted into gun loops. Sometimes gatehouses formed part of fortifications, perhaps defending the passage of a bridge across a river or a moat. York has four important gatehouses, known as Bars, in its city walls, the French term for gatehouse is logis-porche. This could be a large, complex structure that served both as a gateway and lodging or it could have composed of a gateway through an enclosing wall. A very large gatehouse might be called a châtelet, at the end of the Middle Ages, many gatehouses in England and France were converted into beautiful, grand entrance structures to manor houses or estates. Many of them became a separate feature free-standing or attached to the manor or mansion only by an enclosing wall, by this time the gatehouse had lost its defensive purpose and had become more of a monumental structure designed to harmonise with the manor or mansion. On the continent of Europe, there are examples of surviving gatehouses in France, Austria. Bargate, in Hampshire is a gatehouse in the city centre of Southampton. Constructed in 1180 as part of the Southampton town walls Ightham Mote, Durham Castle, in Durham has an 11th-century gatehouse that is now used as accommodation for students attending University College, Durham. Layer Marney Tower, the apotheosis of the Tudor gatehouse, stokesay Castle, a 13th-century fortified manor house in Shropshire has a Jacobean half-timbered gatehouse. Stanway House, Stanway, Gloucestershire, where the gatehouse measures 44 ft. by 22 ft. and has three storeys, westwood House, Worcestershire, which has a frontage of 54 ft. with two storeys. Burton Agnes Hall, East Riding of Yorkshire, which has three storeys and is flanked by octagonal towers at the angles. Hylton Castle, Hylton, Sunderland, although it is an actual castle, château de Châteaubriant, two gatehouses, one for the lower bailey, one for the upper ward. Château de Suscinio, a large 15th-century gatehouse in the style, Morbihan
Gatehouse
–
Gatehouse reconstruction from ancient
Babylon
Gatehouse
–
The southern entrance to York, Micklegate Bar
Gatehouse
–
The entrance to the University of Manchester, built in 1902
Gatehouse
–
Barbican gate of
Glenarm Castle,
Co. Antrim
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