1.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
2.
Army Reserve (United Kingdom)
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The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force and integrated element of the British Army. Most Volunteer infantry units had unique identities, but lost these in the reorganisation, only one infantry unit, the London Regiment, has maintained a separate identity. Reservists in the past also served as constables or bailiffs, even holding positions of civic duty as overseer of their parish, the more modern Yeomen of the 18th century were cavalry-based units, which were often used to suppress riots. Several units that are now part of the Army Reserve bear the title militia, after the Second World War, for example, the Army Reserve - or Territorial Army as it was known then - was not demobilised until 1947. All Army Reserve personnel have their jobs protected to a limited extent by law should they be compulsorily mobilised. There is, however, no protection against discrimination in employment for membership of the Army Reserve in the normal course of events. As part of the process, remaining units of militia were converted to the Special Reserve. The TF was formed on 1 April 1908 and contained fourteen infantry divisions and it had an overall strength of approximately 269,000. The individual units that made up each division or brigade were administered by County Associations, the other members of the association consisted of military members, representative members and co-opted members. Associations took over any property vested in the volunteers or yeomanry under their administration, each regiment or battalion had a Regular Army officer attached as full-time adjutant. In August 1914, after the outbreak of the First World War, territorial units were given the option of serving in France and, by 25 August, in excess of seventy battalions had volunteered. This question over the availability of territorial divisions for service was one of Lord Kitcheners motivations for raising the New Army separately. The first fully Territorial division to join the fighting on the Western Front was the 46th Division in March 1915, with divisions later serving in Gallipoli and elsewhere. As the war progressed, and casualties mounted, the character of territorial units was diluted by the inclusion of conscript. Following the Armistice all units of the Territorial Force were gradually disbanded, New recruiting started in early 1920, and the Territorial Force was reconstituted on 7 February 1920. On 1 October 1920, the Territorial Force was renamed the Territorial Army, the 1st Line divisions were reconstituted in that year. However, the composition of the divisions was altered, with a reduction in the number of infantry battalions required, there was also a reduced need for cavalry, and of the 55 yeomanry regiments, only the 14 most senior retained their horses. The remaining yeomanry were converted to artillery or armoured car units or disbanded, the amalgamation of 40 pairs of infantry battalions was announced in October 1921
3.
Kingston upon Hull
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Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber estuary,25 miles inland from the North Sea, the town of Hull was founded late in the 12th century. The monks of Meaux Abbey needed a port where the wool from their estates could be exported and they chose a place at the confluence of the rivers Hull and Humber to build a quay. The exact year the town was founded is not known but it was first mentioned in 1193, renamed Kings-town upon Hull by King Edward I in 1299, Hull has been a market town, military supply port, trading hub, fishing and whaling centre, and industrial metropolis. Hull was a theatre of battle in the English Civil Wars. Its 18th-century Member of Parliament, William Wilberforce, took a prominent part in the abolition of the trade in Britain. The city is unique in the UK in having had a municipally owned telephone system from 1902, sporting cream, not red, telephone boxes. After suffering heavy damage in the Second World War, Hull weathered a period of decline, gaining unfavourable results on measures of social deprivation, education. In the early 21st-century spending boom before the late 2000s recession the city saw large amounts of new retail, commercial, housing, tourist attractions include the historic Old Town and Museum Quarter, Hull Marina and The Deep, a city landmark. The redevelopment of one of Hulls main thoroughfares, Ferensway, included the opening of St Stephens Hull, spectator sports include Premier League football and Super League Rugby. The KCOM Stadium houses Hull City football club and Hull F. C. rugby club, Hull is also home to the English Premier Ice Hockey League Hull Pirates. The University of Hull was founded in 1927 and now more than 16,000 students. It is ranked among the best in the Yorkshire and the Humber region and located in the leafy Newland suburb, in 2013, it was announced that Hull would be the 2017 UK City of Culture. In 2015 it was announced that the Ferens Art Gallery will be hosting the annual art prize, The Turner Prize. The prize is held outside London every other year, Kingston upon Hull stands on the north bank of the Humber estuary at the mouth of its tributary, the River Hull. The valley of the River Hull has been inhabited since the early Neolithic period, the area was attractive to people because it gave access to a prosperous hinterland and navigable rivers but the site was poor, being remote, low-lying and with no fresh water. It was originally a part of the hamlet of Myton. The name is thought to either from a Scandinavian word Vik meaning inlet or from the Saxon Wic meaning dwelling place or refuge
4.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
5.
Battle of the Somme
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The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British and French empires against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of the reaches of the River Somme in France. The battle was intended to hasten a victory for the Allies and was the largest battle of the First World War on the Western Front, more than one million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history. The French and British had committed themselves to an offensive on the Somme during Allied discussions at Chantilly, Oise, in December 1915. Initial plans called for the French army to undertake the main part of the Somme offensive, the first day on the Somme was, in terms of casualties, also the worst day in the history of the British army, which suffered 57,470 casualties. These occurred mainly on the front between the Albert–Bapaume road and Gommecourt, where the attack was defeated and few British troops reached the German front line, the battle is notable for the importance of air power and the first use of the tank. At the end of the battle, British and French forces had penetrated 10 km into German-occupied territory, the Anglo-French armies failed to capture Péronne and halted 5 km from Bapaume, where the German armies maintained their positions over the winter. Debate continues over the necessity, significance and effect of the battle, David Frum opined that a century later, the Somme remains the most harrowing place-name in the history of the British Empire. Allied war strategy for 1916 was decided at the Chantilly Conference from 6–8 December 1915, in December 1915, General Sir Douglas Haig replaced Field Marshal Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the BEF. Haig favoured a British offensive in Flanders close to BEF supply routes, to drive the Germans from the Belgian coast, Haig was not formally subordinate to Marshal Joseph Joffre but the British played a lesser role on the Western Front and complied with French strategy. A week later the Germans began an offensive against the French at Verdun, by 31 May, the ambitious Franco-British plan for a decisive victory, had been reduced to a limited offensive to relieve pressure on the French at Verdun with a battle of attrition on the Somme. The Chief of the German General Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn, intended to end the war by splitting the Anglo-French Entente in 1916, Falkenhayn chose to attack towards Verdun to take the Meuse heights and make Verdun untenable. The British would then have to begin a hasty relief offensive, Falkenhayn expected the relief offensive to fall south of Arras against the Sixth Army and be destroyed. If such Franco-British defeats were not enough, Germany would attack the remnants of armies and end the western alliance for good. Eloi, south of Ypres and reduced the German counter-offensive strategy north of the Somme, to one of passive, the Battle of Verdun began a week after Joffre and Haig agreed to mount an offensive on the Somme. The battle changed the nature of the offensive on the Somme, as French divisions were diverted to Verdun, German overestimation of the cost of Verdun to the French contributed to the concentration of German infantry and guns on the north bank of the Somme. The German offensive at Verdun was suspended in July, and troops, guns, the Brusilov Offensive, absorbed the extra forces that had been requested on 2 June by Fritz von Below, commanding the German Second Army, for a spoiling attack on the Somme. During the offensive the Russians inflicted c. 1,500,000 losses including c. 407,000 prisoners, three divisions were ordered from France to the Eastern Front on 9 June and the spoiling attack on the Somme was abandoned
6.
Battle of Arras (1917)
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The Battle of Arras was a British offensive on the Western Front during World War I. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the Western Front, the British achieved the longest advance since trench warfare had begun, surpassing the record set by the French Sixth Army on 1 July 1916. The British advance slowed in the few days and the German defence recovered. The battle became a stalemate for both sides and by the end of the battle the British Third and First armies had suffered about 160,000 casualties. For much of the war, the armies on the Western Front were at a stalemate. The Allied objective from early 1915 was to break through the German defences into the ground beyond. The British attack at Arras was part of the French Nivelle Offensive, the aim of the French offensive was to breathrough the German defences in forty-eight hours. At Arras the British were to re-capture Vimy Ridge, dominating the plain of Douai to the east, advance towards Cambrai, the British effort was a relatively broad front assault between Vimy in the north-west and Bullecourt to the south-east. After a long preparatory bombardment, the Canadian Corps]] of the First Army in the north fought Battle of Vimy Ridge and took the ridge. The Third Army in the centre advanced astride the Scarpe River and in the south, the British armies then engaged in a series of small-scale operations to consolidate the new positions. Although these battles were successful in achieving limited aims, they were costly successes. When the battle ended on 16 May, British Empire troops had made significant advances but had been unable to achieve a breakthrough. At the beginning of 1917, the British and French were still searching for a way to achieve a breakthrough on the Western Front. Both battles consumed enormous quantities of resources while achieving virtually no strategic gains on the battlefield, the mid-war years were momentous times. Governing politicians in Paris and London were under pressure from the press. The casualties from the battles of Gallipoli, the Somme and Verdun had been high, British Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, resigned in early December 1916 and was succeeded by David Lloyd George. The United States Congress finally declared war on Imperial Germany on 6 April 1917, in March, the German army in the west, withdrew to the Hindenburg line in Operation Alberich, which negated the tactical assumptions underlying the plans for the French offensive. Until French troops advanced to compensate during the Battles of Arras, they encountered no German troops in the assault sector, the French government desperately needed a victory to avoid civil unrest but the British were wary of proceeding, in view of the rapidly changing tactical situation
7.
Battle of Passchendaele
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The Battle of Passchendaele was a major campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire. Passchendaele lay on the last ridge east of Ypres,5 miles from a junction at Roulers. The next stage of the Allied plan was an advance to Thourout–Couckelaere, to close the German-controlled railway running through Roulers, further operations and a British supporting attack along the Belgian coast from Nieuwpoort, combined with Operation Hush, were to have reached Bruges and then the Dutch frontier. The campaign ended in November, when the Canadian Corps captured Passchendaele, apart from attacks in December. In 1918, the Battle of the Lys and the Fifth Battle of Ypres were fought before the Allies occupied the Belgian coast, a campaign in Flanders was controversial in 1917 and has remained so. The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, opposed the offensive, field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, commanding the British Expeditionary Force, did not receive approval for the Flanders operation from the War Cabinet until 25 July. Belgian independence had been recognised in the Treaty of London which created a sovereign, the German invasion of Belgium on 4 August 1914, in violation of Article VII of the treaty, was the reason given by the British government for declaring war on Germany. British military operations in Belgium began with the arrival of the British Expeditionary Force at Mons on 22 August. On 10 October, Lieutenant-General Erich von Falkenhayn, the Chief of the German General Staff, ordered an attack towards Dunkirk and Calais, followed by a turn south to gain a decisive victory. On 16 October, the Belgians and some French reinforcements began the defence of western Belgium, when the offensive failed, Falkenhayn ordered the capture of Ypres to gain a local advantage. By 18 November, the First Battle of Ypres ended in failure, large British offensive operations in Flanders were not possible in 1915, due to the consequent lack of resources. The Germans conducted their own Flanders offensive at the Second Battle of Ypres, Sir Douglas Haig succeeded Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the BEF on 19 December 1915. A week after his appointment, Haig met Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon, Haig preferred an advance from Ypres, to bypass the flooded area around the Yser and the coast, before a coastal attack was attempted, to clear the coast to the Dutch border. Other operations were begun by the British to regain territory or to evict the Germans from ground overlooking their positions, engagements took place on 12 February at Boesinghe and on 14 February at Hooge and Sanctuary Wood. There were actions from 14–15 February and 1–4 March at The Bluff,27 March –16 April at the St. Eloi Craters, in January 1917, the Second Army held the line in Flanders from Laventie to Boesinghe with eleven divisions and up to two in reserve. There was much trench mortaring, mining and raiding by both sides and from January to May, the Second Army had 20,000 casualties. In May, reinforcements began moving to Flanders from the south, in January 1916, General Herbert Plumer, the Second Army commander, began to plan offensives against Messines Ridge, Lille and Houthulst Forest. General Henry Rawlinson was also ordered to plan an attack from the Ypres Salient on 4 February, planning continued but the Battle of Verdun, at meetings in November 1916, Haig, the French commander-in-chief Joseph Joffre and the other Allies met at Chantilly
8.
Spring Offensive
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The Germans had realised that their only remaining chance of victory was to defeat the Allies before the overwhelming human and matériel resources of the United States could be fully deployed. They also had the advantage in numbers afforded by the nearly 50 divisions freed by the Russian surrender. There were four German offensives, codenamed Michael, Georgette, Gneisenau, once this was achieved, it was hoped that the French would seek armistice terms. The other offensives were subsidiary to Michael and were designed to divert Allied forces from the offensive on the Somme. No clear objective was established before the start of the offensives and once the operations were underway, the Allies concentrated their main forces in the essential areas, while leaving strategically worthless ground, devastated by years of combat, lightly defended. The Germans were unable to move supplies and reinforcements fast enough to maintain their advance, the fast-moving stormtroopers leading the attack could not carry enough food and ammunition to sustain themselves for long and all the German offensives petered out, in part through lack of supplies. By late April 1918, the danger of a German breakthrough had passed, the German Army had suffered heavy casualties and now occupied ground of dubious value which would prove impossible to hold with such depleted units. In August 1918, the Allies began a counter-offensive with the support of 1–2 million fresh American troops and using new artillery techniques, the German government and Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, nominally the Chief of the General Staff, were not party to the planning process. Eventually it was decided to launch Operation Michael near Saint-Quentin, at the hinge between the French and British armies, and strike north to Arras, the main reason for the choice was tactical expediency. The ground on this sector of the front would dry out much sooner after the winter and spring rains and it was also a line of least resistance as the British and French armies were weak in the sector. However, these remained only secondary and weaker operations, subordinate to Michael, the constant changing of operational targets once the offensive was underway gave the impression the German command had no coherent strategic goal. Any capture of an important strategic objective, such as the Channel ports, the success of Operation Michael led German infantry to advance too far from its supply bases and railheads. The stormtrooper units leading the advance carried supplies for only a few days, the advance was slowed by supply shortages, which gave Allied commanders more time to reinforce the threatened areas and to slow the advance still more. The stormtrooper tactic was to attack and disrupt enemy headquarters, artillery units, each major formation creamed off its best and fittest soldiers into storm units, several complete divisions were formed from these elite units. The Germans also failed to arm their forces with a mobile force, such as cavalry. This tactical error meant the infantry had to keep up a tempo of advance. Notwithstanding the effectiveness of the stormtroopers, the following German infantry often made attacks in large traditional waves, to enable the initial breakthrough, Lieutenant Colonel Georg Bruchmüller, a German artillery officer, developed the Feuerwalze, an effective and economical creeping barrage scheme. There were three phases, first, a bombardment on the enemys command and communications, then, destruction of their artillery
9.
Hundred Days Offensive
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The offensive essentially pushed the Germans out of France, forcing them to retreat beyond the Hindenburg Line, and was followed by an armistice. The term Hundred Days Offensive does not refer to a battle or unified strategy. The Spring Offensive of the German Army on the Western Front had begun on 21 March 1918 with Operation Michael and had petered out by July, the Germans had advanced to the river Marne but failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough. When Operation Marne-Rheims ended in July, the Allied supreme commander Ferdinand Foch ordered a counter-offensive which became known as the Second Battle of the Marne, the Germans, recognising their untenable position, withdrew from the Marne towards the north. For this victory, Foch was granted the title Marshal of France, Foch considered the time had arrived for the Allies to return to the offensive. The American Expeditionary Force, was present in France in large numbers, pershing was keen to use his army in an independent role. The Somme was chosen as a site for the offensive for several reasons. As in 1916, it marked the boundary between the BEF and the French armies, in this case defined by the Amiens–Roye road, also the Picardy countryside provided a good surface for tanks, which was not the case in Flanders. Finally, the German defences, manned by the German 2nd Army, were relatively weak, the Battle of Amiens opened on 8 August 1918, with an attack by more than 10 Allied divisions—Australian, Canadian, British and French forces—with more than 500 tanks. Through careful preparation, the Allies achieved surprise, the attack, led by the British Fourth Army, broke through the German lines and tanks attacked German rear positions, sowing panic and confusion. By the end of the day, a gap 15 mi wide had been created in the German line south of the Somme, the Allies had taken 17,000 prisoners and 330 guns. Total German losses were estimated to be 30,000 men, while the Allies had suffered about 6,500 killed, wounded, the collapse in German morale led Erich Ludendorff to dub it the Black Day of the German Army. The advance continued for three days but without the spectacular results of 8 August, since the rapid advance outran the supporting artillery. During those three days, the Allies had managed to gain 12 mi but most of that had occurred on the first day, as a result of the Germans adding reinforcements. On 10 August, the Germans began to pull out of the salient that they had managed to occupy during Operation Michael in March, haig refused and prepared to launch a fresh offensive by the Third Army at Albert, which opened on 21 August. The offensive was a success, pushing the German 2nd Army back over a 34 mi front, Albert was captured on 22 August. The attack was widened on the south, by the French Tenth Army starting the Second Battle of Noyon on 17 August, capturing the town of Noyon on 29 August. On 26 August, to the north of the initial attack, with the front line broken, a number of battles took place as the Allies forced the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line
10.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
11.
North African Campaign
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The North African Campaign of the Second World War took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco, the campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had colonial interests in Africa dating from the late 19th century. The Allied war effort was dominated by the British Commonwealth and exiles from German-occupied Europe, the United States entered the war in December 1941 and began direct military assistance in North Africa on 11 May 1942. Fighting in North Africa started with the Italian declaration of war on 10 June 1940, on 14 June, the British Armys 11th Hussars crossed the border from Egypt into Libya and captured the Italian Fort Capuzzo. Information gleaned via British Ultra code-breaking intelligence proved critical to Allied success in North Africa, victory for the Allies in this campaign immediately led to the Italian Campaign, which culminated in the downfall of the fascist government in Italy and the elimination of a German ally. On 10 May 1940, the Wehrmacht had started the Battle of France, one month later, it was plain to see that France would have to surrender within two weeks. On 10 June 1940, the Kingdom of Italy aligned itself with Nazi Germany and declared war upon France, British forces based in Egypt were ordered to undertake defensive measures, but to act as non-provocatively as possible. However, on 11 June they began a series of raids against Italian positions in Libya, following the defeat of France on 25 June, Italian forces in Tripolitania—facing French troops based in Tunisia—redeployed to Cyrenaica to reinforce the Italian Tenth Army. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ordered the Tenth Army to invade Egypt by 8 August, two days later, no invasion having been launched, Mussolini ordered Marshal Graziani that, the moment German forces launched Operation Sea Lion, he was to attack. The battle plan was to advance along the road, while limited armoured forces operated on the desert flank. To counter the Italian advance, Wavell ordered his forces to harass the advancing Italians, falling back towards Mersa Matruh. Positioned on the flank was the 7th Armoured Division, which would strike the flank of the Italian force. By 16 September, the Italian force had advanced to Maktila, around 80 mi west of Mersa Matruh, in response to the dispersed Italian camps, the British planned a limited five-day attack, Operation Compass, to strike at these fortified camps one by one. The British Commonwealth force, totalling 36,000 men, attacked the forward elements of the 10-division-strong Italian army on 9 December, following their initial success, the forces of Operation Compass pursued the retreating Italian forces. In January, the port at Bardia was taken, soon followed by the seizure of the fortified port of Tobruk. Some 40,000 Italians were captured in and around the two ports, with the remainder of the Tenth Army retreating along the coast road back to El Agheila. Richard OConnor sent the 7th Armoured Division across the desert, with a reconnaissance group reaching Beda Fomm some ninety minutes before the Italians. Although desperate attempts were made to overcome the British force at the Battle of Beda Fomm, the Italians were unable to break through, and the remnants of the retreating army surrendered
12.
Italian Campaign (World War II)
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The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. It is estimated that between September 1943 and April 1945, some 60, 000–70,000 Allied and 60, overall Allied casualties during the campaign totaled about 320,000 and the corresponding German figure was well over 600,000. Fascist Italy, prior to its collapse, suffered about 200,000 casualties, mostly POWs taken in the Allied invasion of Sicily, including more than 40,000 killed or missing. Besides them, over 150,000 Italian civilians died, as did 15,197 anti-Fascist partisans and 13,021 troops of the Italian Social Republic. The campaign ended when Army Group C surrendered unconditionally to the Allies on May 2,1945, the independent states of San Marino and the Vatican, both surrounded by Italian territory, also suffered damage during the campaign. Even prior to victory in the North African Campaign in May 1943, the British, especially the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, advocated their traditional naval-based peripheral strategy. The United States, with a larger army, favoured a more direct method of fighting the main force of the German Army in Northern Europe. The ability to such a campaign depended on first winning the Battle of the Atlantic. There was even pressure from some Latin American countries to stage an invasion of Spain, the British argued that the presence of large numbers of troops trained for amphibious landings in the Mediterranean made a limited-scale invasion possible and useful. A contributing factor was Franklin D. Roosevelts desire to keep US troops active in the European theatre during 1943 and it was hoped that an invasion might knock Italy out of the conflict, or at least increase the pressure on them and weaken them further. A combined Allied invasion of Sicily began on 10 July 1943 with both amphibious and airborne landings at the Gulf of Gela, the land forces involved were the U. S. Seventh Army, under Lieutenant General George S. Patton, the original plan contemplated a strong advance by the British northwards along the east coast to Messina, with the Americans in a supporting role along their left flank. The defending German and Italian forces were unable to prevent the Allied capture of the island, but succeeded in evacuating most of their troops to the mainland, the Allied forces gained experience in opposed amphibious operations, coalition warfare and mass airborne drops. Forces of the British Eighth Army, still under Montgomery, landed in the toe of Italy on 3 September 1943 in Operation Baytown, the armistice was publicly announced on 8 September by two broadcasts, first by General Eisenhower and then by a proclamation by Marshal Badoglio. Although the German forces prepared to defend without Italian assistance, only two of their divisions opposite the Eighth Army and one at Salerno were not tied up disarming the Royal Italian Army, on 9 September, forces of the U. S. Fifth Army, under Lieutenant General Mark W, although none of the northern reserves were made available to the German 10th Army, it nevertheless came close to repelling the Salerno landing, due mainly to the cautious command of Clark. As the Allies advanced, they encountered increasingly difficult terrain, the Apennine Mountains form a spine along the Italian peninsula offset somewhat to the east, the rivers were subject to sudden and unexpected flooding, which constantly thwarted the Allied commanders plans. This would make the most of the natural geography of Central Italy, whilst denying the Allies the easy capture of a succession of airfields
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Royal Engineers
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The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers, and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army. It is highly regarded throughout the military, and especially the Army and it provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is headed by the Chief Royal Engineer. The Regimental Headquarters and the Royal School of Military Engineering are in Chatham in Kent, the corps is divided into several regiments, barracked at various places in the United Kingdom and around the world. In Woolwich in 1716, the Board formed the Royal Regiment of Artillery and established a Corps of Engineers, the manual work was done by the Artificer Companies, made up of contracted civilian artisans and labourers. In 1782, a Soldier Artificer Company was established for service in Gibraltar, ten years later the Gibraltar company, which had remained separate, was absorbed and in 1812 the name was changed to the Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners. The Corps has no battle honours, in 1832, the regimental motto, Ubique Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt, was granted. The motto signified that the Corps had seen action in all the conflicts of the British Army. In 1911 the Corps formed its Air Battalion, the first flying unit of the British Armed Forces, the Air Battalion was the forerunner of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force. In 1915, in response to German mining of British trenches under the then static siege conditions of the First World War, before the Second World War, Royal Engineers recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 4 inches tall. They initially enlisted for six years with the colours and a six years with the reserve or four years. Unlike most corps and regiments, in which the age limit was 25. They trained at the Royal Engineers Depot in Chatham or the RE Mounted Depot at Aldershot, the Royal Engineers Museum is in Gillingham in Kent. Britain having acquired an Empire, it fell to the Royal Engineers to conduct some of the most significant civil engineering schemes around the world, some examples of great works of the era of empire can be found in A. J. Smitherss book Honourable Conquests. The Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, commanded by Richard Clement Moody, was responsible for the foundation, the Royal Albert Hall is one of the UKs most treasured and distinctive buildings, recognisable the world over. Since its opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the leading artists from every kind of performance genre have appeared on its stage. The Hall was designed by Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Y. D. Scott of the Royal Engineers, the designers were heavily influenced by ancient amphitheatres, but had also been exposed to the ideas of Gottfried Semper while he was working at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Much of the British colonial era infrastructure of India, of which survive today, was created by engineers of the three presidencies armies and the Royal Engineers. In 1838 he designed and built sea defences for Vizagapatam and he masterminded the Godavery Delta project where 720,000 acres of land were irrigated and 500 miles of land to the port of Cocanada was made navigable in the 1840s
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Humber Estuary
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The Humber /ˈhʌmbər/ is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse, from here to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank and Lincolnshire on the south bank. Although the Humber is an estuary from the point at which it is formed, Ports on the Humber include the Port of Hull, Port of Grimsby, Port of Immingham, as well as lesser ports at New Holland and North Killingholme Haven. The estuary is navigable here for the largest of deep-sea vessels, inland connections for smaller craft are extensive but handle only one quarter of the goods traffic handled in the Thames. The Humber is now an estuary, when the world sea level was lower during the Ice Ages, the Humber had a long freshwater course across what was then the dry bed of the North Sea. In the Anglo-Saxon period, the Humber was a major boundary, the name Northumbria came from Anglo-Saxon Norðhymbre = the people north of the Humber. The Humber currently forms the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire, to the north and North and North East Lincolnshire, from 1974 to 1996, the areas now known as the East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire constituted the county of Humberside. On 23 August 1921, the British airship R38 crashed into the estuary near Hull, the estuarys only modern crossing is the Humber Bridge, which was once the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world. Now it is the eighth longest, before the bridge was built in 1981, a series of paddle steamers operated from the Corporation Pier railway station at the Victoria Pier in Hull to the railway pier in New Holland. Steam ferries started in 1841, and in 1848 were purchased by the Manchester, Sheffield and they, and their successors, ran the ferry until the bridge opened in 1981. Although the railway to New Holland closed in 1977, passenger, the line of the bridge is similar to an ancient ferry route from Hessle to Barton upon Humber, which is noted in the Domesday Book and in a charter of 1281. The ferry was recorded as operating in 1856, into the railway era. The Humber was then one mile across, the Humber Forts were built in the mouth of the river for the First World War. Planned in 1914, their construction started in 1915 and they were not completed until 1919, a coastal battery at Easington, Fort Goodwin or Kilnsea Battery, faced the Bull Sands Fort. They were also garrisoned during the Second World War, and were abandoned for military use in 1956. Fort Paull is further downstream, a Napoleonic-era emplacement replaced in the early 20th century by Stallinborough Battery opposite Sunk Island, graham Boanas, a Hull man, is believed to be the first man to succeed in wading across the Humber since ancient Roman times. The feat, in August 2005, was attempted to cash and awareness for the medical research charity. He started his trek on the bank at Brough, four hours later
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East Riding of Yorkshire
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The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county of England. It is located in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber, the modern East Riding of Yorkshire, was formed in 1996 from the northern part of the non-metropolitan county of Humberside. The East Riding of Yorkshire may also refer to the riding of Yorkshire. The historic riding covered an area than the modern county, it included some areas now in North Yorkshire, but did not include the area of Goole. At the 2011 Census the Unitary Authority population was 334,179, the landscape consists of a crescent of low chalk hills, the Yorkshire Wolds, surrounded by the low-lying fertile plains of Holderness and the Vale of York. The Humber Estuary and North Sea mark its southern and eastern limits, archaeological investigations have revealed artefacts and structures from all historical periods since the last ice age. There are few settlements and no industrial centres. The area is administered from the ancient market and ecclesiastical town of Beverley, Christianity is the religion with the largest following in the area and there is a higher than average percentage of retired people in residence. The economy is based on agriculture and this, along with tourism, has contributed to the rural. These aspects are also reflected in the places of interest to visitors and major landmarks, which include buildings, nature reserves. The open and maritime aspects and lack of urban developments have also led to the county being allocated relatively high targets for the generation of energy from renewable sources. Bishop Burton is the site of a college, and Hull provides the regions only university. On the southern border, close to Hull, the Humber Bridge spans the Humber Estuary to enable the A15 to link Hessle with Barton-upon-Humber in North Lincolnshire. When the last glacial period ended, the hunter gatherers of the Palaeolithic period followed the herds across the land between continental Europe and Britain. Until about 6,000 BC, Mesolithic people appear to have exploited their environment as they found it, as communities came to rely on a smaller territorial range and as population levels increased, attempts began to be made to modify or control the natural world. In the Great Wold Valley, pollen samples of Mesolithic date indicate that the forest cover in the area was being disturbed and altered by man, the Yorkshire Wolds became a major focus for human settlement during the Neolithic period as they had a wide range of natural resources. The oldest monuments found on the Wolds are the Neolithic long barrows, two earthen long barrows in the region are found at Fordon, on Willerby Wold, and at Kilham, both of which have radiocarbon dates of around 3700 BC. From around 2000 to 800 BC, the people of the Bronze Age built the 1,400 Bronze Age round barrows that are known to exist on the Yorkshire Wolds and these are found both in isolation and grouped together to form cemeteries
16.
Andrew Clarke (British Army officer)
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Lieutenant General Sir Andrew Clarke, GCMG CB CIE was a British soldier and governor, as well as a surveyor and politician in Australia. Born in Southsea, Hampshire, Clarke was the eldest of the four sons of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Andrew Clarke, Clarkes early years were spent in India with his parents. He was later brought up by his grandfather and two uncles, one of whom was the father of Marcus Clarke, at the family home of Belmont, near Lifford. He was educated at The Kings School, Canterbury, and at Portora Royal School at Enniskillen, at 16 he entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, where one of his teachers was Michael Faraday. Graduating in 1844, Clarke was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers, as a Lieutenant in command of a detachment of Royal Engineers, Clarke sailed with the new lieutenant-governor, Sir William Denison, aboard the Windermere and arrived at Hobart on 26 January 1847. Clarkes next tour of duty was in New Zealand with governor Sir George Grey and he and his detachment worked mainly on road building, and Clarke discovered his gift for dealing with native peoples when he was sent on a peace-making mission to the Bay of Islands. In March 1853 Clarke was asked to replace Robert Hoddle as Surveyor General of Victoria and his hard work and energy resulted in more land being sold in the next 18 months than in the years since 1836. He also established the Roads Boards that preceded the introduction of government and was responsible for much of the planning of Victorias first railways. His proposals for a railway system were examined by a select committee and were made law in 1857. In 1855 he was elected the president of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria. Clarke entered the Victorian Legislative Council in August 1853 as an official representative, at the 1856 elections Clarke mounted a successful campaign against David Blair for the South Melbourne seat in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, which he held until he left the colony. He joined the first cabinet under William Haines, as Surveyor-General, in March 1858 Clarke was appointed permanent head of the Lands and Surveys Department and decided to return to England. In London, he tried and failed to secure the governorship of Queensland, from 1859 to 1864 Clarke served in the African colony of the Gold Coast and in England, where he was Director of Works at the Admiralty from 1864–1873. Sir Andrew Clarke served as the second Governor of Singapore and the Governor of the Straits Settlements from 4 November 1873 until 7 May 1875, Clarke played a key role in positioning Singapore as the main port for the Malay states of Perak, Selangor and Sungei Ujong. Due to his contributions, Singapores Clarke Quay was named after him, Clarke Street, located next to Clarke Quay, was officially named in 1896, and was originally two streets known simply as East Street and West Street in north Kampong Malacca. Today it is a mall and a popular nightspot. As Governor of the Straits Settlements, Clarke was famous for signing the Treaty of Pangkor in 1874, in that same year, Clarke successfully enforced a check on the abuse of coolies with support of the prominent Chinese leaders and European merchants. Clarke achieved fame through his negotiations in regard to Sungei Ujong in Malaya, Clarke was instrumental in determining the outcome of the Klang War which took place from 1867 to 1874 as well as placing Selangor under British protection
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Volunteer Force
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The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated with the British Army after the Childers Reforms in 1881, most of the regiments of the present Territorial Army Infantry, Artillery, Engineers and Signals units are directly descended from Volunteer Force units. During the Crimean War, the War Office had been forced to send militia, the situation had been complicated by the fact that both auxiliary forces were under the control of the Home Office until 1855. Tensions rose between the United Kingdom and France following the Orsini affair, an attempt on Emperor Napoleon III on 14 January 1858. It emerged that the assassin, Felice Orsini had travelled to England to have the bombs used in the attack manufactured in Birmingham. On 29 April 1859 war broke out between France and the Austrian Empire, and there were fears that Britain might be caught up in a wider European conflict. Volunteer corps were to be raised under the provisions of the Volunteer Act 1804, alfred Tennyson captured the spirit of the time by publishing his poem Riflemen Form in The Times on 9 May 1859. As a basis for the units, many communities had rifle clubs for the enjoyment of the sport of shooting, Corps were only to be formed on the recommendation of the county’s lord-lieutenant. The force was liable to be called out “in case of invasion, or of appearance of an enemy in force on the coast, or in case of rebellion arising in either of these emergencies. ”While under arms volunteers were subject to military law and were entitled to be billeted. Members were not permitted to quit the force during actual military service, members were to be returned as “effective” if they had attended eight days drill and exercise in four months, or 24 days within a year. The members of the corps were to provide their own arms and equipment, Volunteers were also permitted to choose the design of their uniforms, subject to the lord-lieutenant’s approval. Although volunteers were to pay for their own firearms, they were to be provided under the superintendence of the War Office, the number of officers and private men in each county and corps was to be settled by the war office, based on the lord-lieutenant’s recommendation. Originally corps were to consist of approximately 100 all ranks under the command of a captain, the purpose of the rifle corps was to harass the invading enemy’s flanks, while artillery corps were to man coastal guns and forts. Although not mentioned in the letter, engineer corps were also formed. Stretcher-bearers attached to the rifle corps subsequently formed volunteer medical detachments affiliated to the Army Medical Corps, in a handful of counties, units of light horse or mounted rifles were formed. Two volunteer units whose services had been accepted by Queen Victoria during the early 1850s became the two senior rifle corps of the new force and these were the 1st Rifle Volunteer Corps who became the 1st Devonshire Rifle Volunteers and the Victoria Rifles who became the 1st Middlesex Rifle Volunteers. An order of precedence was established for other counties, depending upon the date of establishment of the first corps in the county. The most senior artillery corps was the 1st Northumberland formed at Tynemouth on August 2,1859, some also compared the initiative, small unit tactics and marksmanship principles of rifle regiments of the Napoleonic Wars compared with the linear tactics of the standing army
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Albert Rollit
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Sir Albert Kaye Rollit was a British politician, lawyer, and businessman. Born in Hull, he became a solicitor and went on to become president of the Law Society and he was Mayor of Hull from 1883-1885. In 1886 he was elected as a Conservative Member of Parliament for the South Islington constituency, in 1892 he put forward a private members bill in favour of womens suffrage, which failed narrowly. Having opposed Chamberlains Tariff Reform proposals, he was defeated in the 1906 general election, as a businessman he was well known on the Continent of Europe and acted as consul-general for Romania from 1911 until his death. He was also a magistrate in Berkshire, where he resided at Sutherland Grange at Dedworth, adjoining Windsor and he received the honorary degree Doctor of Laws from the Victoria University of Manchester in February 1902, in connection with the 50th jubilee celebrations of the establishment of the university. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1902 and his second wife was Mary, dowager Duchess of Sutherland. In 1898 her jewellery, then valued at £30,000, was stolen by international jewel-thief William Johnson, Johnson stole the jewellery while she was travelling by train from Paris to London with her husband, her brother, his wife and the Duchesss footman and maid. The case was investigated by Inspectors Walter Dew, Walter Dinnie, the Rollit steam pumping engine, built in 1883, and which formerly pumped sewage at Hull, was named in his honour. It is now preserved at Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum, leigh Rayments Historical List of MPs The Times,14 August 1922
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Fort Paull
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Fort Paull is a gun battery situated on the north bank of the Humber, near the village of Paull, downstream from Hull in northern England. Batteries have been built at Paull by Henry VIII, Charles I during the Civil War during the siege of Hull, the first fort built on the site was started in 1542 with a capacity for 12 guns. The current fort is of pentagonal design and was built in 1861–4 and on the recommendations of the Royal Commission, a mining station was added in 1886 and searchlights followed in 1907. At the outset of the First World War, Paull was judged too close to Hull, so was disarmed when new forts were built at Sunk Island and Stallingborough. The fort was used as a base between the wars, and during the Second World War, it was converted into a magazine to serve the Russian convoys. In 1960, Fort Paull was released from the Ministry of Defence, in 1964, a group of volunteers, the Friends of Fort Paull took over the site and began to restore the fort as a heritage museum. Fort Paull finally opened to the public in 2000, Fort Paull houses a waxwork museum showing figures which have influenced the forts long history as well as an armoury showing various artillery pieces and armoured vehicles. The fort also hosts to various military reenactments from time to time. Fort Paull is the location of the last remaining complete Blackburn Beverley heavy transport aircraft, Fort Paull museum Fort data sheet
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Paull
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Paull is a village and civil parish in Holderness, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, lying on the north bank of the Humber Estuary, east of the watercourse known as Hedon Haven. To the north and west are the town of Hedon and the Salt End refinery, the other bounding parishes from west to east are Thorngumbald, Keyingham, Ottringham and Sunk Island. The land in the parish is in agricultural use, and is low lying, mostly below 16 feet above sea level. Along the Humber banks are extensive tidal mud flats, according to the 2011 UK census, Paull parish had a population of 723, a decrease on the 2001 UK census figure of 765. The banks of the Humber require flood defences, with all of the parish within the floodplain of the Humber estuary. As of 2008 the flood defences are thought to be in good condition, at Paull Holme Strays the flood protection banks have been cut to form an tidal mud flat based nature reserve. There are historic structures at Paull battery and Paull Holme Tower, Paull village is the only habitation of significance in the parish, excluding farms. Paull village is accessed via a road off the A1033, Paull village includes a church, lighthouse, three pubs, and a school. Paull also has a small Medium Wave transmitter site from which the signals for BBC Radio Humberside, Absolute Radio, both Paull are listed in the Domesday Book as places within the Manor of Burstwick. The place is typical of a settlement in Holderness, occupying higher. In the medieval period there were three settlements, Paull Fleet near the outfall of the Hedon Haven onto Humber, Up Paull, Paull Fleet and Up/Over Paull merged into a single village Paull in the 16th century. There was a shipyard at Paull located between High Paul and Paul, took advantage of the beach at that position as a good place for launching ships. By the 1830s it was no longer active, the population of the Township of Paull rose from 212 in 1801 to 473 in 1831, and to 600 by 1856. The Humber Tavern was built 1805, the Royal Oak was also built in the early 19th century, a Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built around 1810 in the village, there was also a Primitive Methodist Chapel, built 1851, then demolished and replaced with another chapel in 1871. A new shipyard, Hepworths Shipyard, opened c. 1940, in 2013 a new village hall was opened, having received £464,494 in Big Lottery Fund funding. The early history of churches at Paull is uncertain, smith states there has been a church at Paull from 1115 AD. Incumbents of the parish of Paull are recorded as far back as 1295, the present church was built c. 1355, replacing a church on the banks of the Humber which was in a ruinous state, and subject to floods. Initially dedicated to St Mary from the 15th century it was dedicated to St Andrew
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War Office
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The name War Office is also given to the former home of the department, the War Office building located at the junction of Horse Guards Avenue and Whitehall in central London. During August 2013 it was announced that the former War Office building would be sold on the open market. The War Office developed from the Council of War, an ad hoc grouping of the King and his military commanders which managed the Kingdom of Englands frequent wars. It was equivalent to the Admiralty, responsible for the Royal Navy, and the Air Ministry, the department had several London homes until it settled at Horse Guards in Whitehall during 1722, where it was to remain until 1858. The first War Office Secretary at War is usually said to have been William Blathwayt and it was, however, a fairly minor government job which dealt with the minutiae of administration rather than grand strategy. Issues of strategic policy during wartime were managed by the Northern and Southern Departments, from 1704 to 1855, the job of Secretary was possessed by a minister of the second rank, although he was occasionally part of the Cabinet. Many of his responsibilities were transferred to the Secretary of State for War after the creation of more senior post during 1794. The job of Secretary at War was merged with that of the Secretary of State for War during 1855, during 1855 the Board of Ordnance was abolished as a result of its perceived poor performance during the Crimean War. This powerful independent body, dating from the 15th century, had directed by the Master-General of the Ordnance. The disastrous campaigns of the Crimean War resulted in the consolidation of all duties during 1855 as subordinate to the Secretary of State for War. He was not, however, solely responsible for the Army and this was reduced in theory by the reforms introduced by Edward Cardwell during 1870, which subordinated the Commander-in-Chief to the Secretary for War. His resistance to reform caused military efficiency to lag well behind that of Britains rivals, the management of the War Office was hampered by persistent disputes between the civilian and military parts of the organisation. The government of H. H. Asquith attempted to resolve this during the First World War by appointing Lord Kitchener as Secretary for War, making him the first, however, this was thought unsatisfactory, during his tenure, the Imperial General Staff was virtually dismantled. Its role was replaced effectively by the Committee of Imperial Defence, the War Office decreased greatly in importance after the First World War, a fact illustrated by the drastic reductions of its staff numbers during the inter-war period. On 1 April 1920, it employed 7,434 civilian staff and its responsibilities and funding were also reduced. During 1936, the government of Stanley Baldwin appointed a Minister for Co-ordination of Defence, when Winston Churchill became Prime Minister during 1940, he bypassed the War Office altogether and appointed himself Minister of Defence. Clement Attlee continued this arrangement when he came to power during 1945, during 1964, the present form of the Ministry of Defence was established, unifying the War Office, Admiralty, and Air Ministry. The records of the War Office are kept by The National Archives with the code WO and it contains about 1,000 rooms across seven floors, linked by 2½ miles of corridors
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Militia (United Kingdom)
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The Militia of the United Kingdom were the military reserve forces of the United Kingdom after the Union in 1801 of the former Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland. The militia was transformed into the Special Reserve by the Territorial, for the period before the creation of the United Kingdom, in the home countries and their colonies, see Militia. A separate voluntary Local Militia was created in 1808 before being disbanded in 1816 By 1813 the British Army was experiencing a shortage of manpower to maintain their battalions at full strength. Some consideration was given to recruiting foreign nationals, however on 4 November 1813 a bill was introduced to parliament to allow Militia volunteers to serve in Europe. In the event only three battalions were raised and these were sent to serve under Henry Bayly arriving in Bordeaux on 12 April 1814, although muster rolls were prepared as late as 1820, the element of compulsion was abandoned, and the militia was transformed into a volunteer force. It was intended to be seen as an alternative to the army, men would volunteer and undertake basic training for several months at an army depot. Thereafter, they would return to life, but report for regular periods of military training. In return, they would receive pay and a financial retainer. Of course, many saw the camp as the equivalent of a paid holiday. The militia thus appealed to agricultural labourers, colliers and the like, men in casual occupations, until 1861 the militia were an entirely infantry force, but in that year a number of county regiments were converted to artillery. In 1877 the militia of Anglesey and Monmouthshire were converted to engineers, typically, an English, Welsh or Scottish regiment would have two militia battalions and Irish regiments three. The militia must not be confused with the units created in a wave of enthusiasm in the second half of the nineteenth century. In contrast with the Volunteer Force, and the similar Yeomanry Cavalry, the militia was transformed into the Special Reserve by the military reforms of Haldane in the reforming post 1906 Liberal government. In 1908 the militia battalions were redesignated as reserve and a number were amalgamated or disbanded. Numbered Territorial Force battalions, ranking after the Special Reserve, were formed from the units at the same time. Altogether,101 infantry battalions,33 artillery regiments and two regiments of special reservists were formed. Upon mobilisation, the reserve units would be formed at the depot. The original militiamen soon disappeared, and the battalions became training units pure, the Special Reserve reverted to its militia designation in 1921, then to Supplementary Reserve in 1924, though the units were effectively placed in suspended animation until disbanded in 1953
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Haldane Reforms
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The Haldane Reforms were a series of far-ranging reforms of the British Army made from 1906 to 1912, and named after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane. They were the first major reforms since the Childers Reforms of the early 1880s, the major element of the reforms was the creation of an expeditionary force, specifically prepared and trained for intervening in a major war. At the same time, the forces were restructured and expanded to ensure that the overseas forces could be efficiently reinforced and supplied with new recruits. To encourage the development of skills, an Officer Training Corps was established in public schools. Finally, the Regular Army itself would be reformed by the development of a new operational and training doctrine, the first wave of reforms was from 1858 to 1860. The second wave was from 1868 to 1872, comprising a collection of administrative changes popularly known as the Cardwell Reforms after the then Secretary of State for War, Edward Cardwell. These measures at an increased the quality of the manpower of the Army. A number of half-hearted attempts were made at reform during the war and in its immediate aftermath, two important Royal Commissions were established in 1902 - the Esher Committee and the Norfolk Commission - and reported in 1904. Some of these reforms were instituted under the Conservative Secretary of State for War, Hugh Arnold-Forster, in 1904-5, but the broad thrust of his reform plans were strongly opposed. Attempts to reorganise the forces into six Army Corps had begun, but only one of these had actually been organised. In December 1905, the Balfour government collapsed, and Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman became Prime Minister, despite this inauspicious beginning, he would become, in the words of Douglas Haig, the greatest Secretary of State for War England has ever had. Sir Edward Grey, the Foreign Secretary, had agreed to commit the Army to the aid of France, if attacked. He quickly concluded that there was a need for an expeditionary force. The question now became how to provide this force, and after a short period Haldane settled on a strength of six infantry divisions and their supporting units. They would need to be organised in peacetime and prepared to mobilise in the United Kingdom, once the Regular Army had been organised as a continental Expeditionary Force, it would be necessary to provide forces for home defence. These changes were embodied in the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907, the Militia provided the Special Reserve, which would contain men who had not served in the regular Army but agreed to be liable for service with the regular forces in wartime. In November 1906, Douglas Haig was appointed Director of Staff Duties at the War Office, the Esher Report had suggested a new scheme for two sets of training manuals, but these had not been fully implemented. In 1907, the new provisional Field Service Pocket Book was produced, revised the following year, and finally standardised as Field Service Regulations, Part I - Operations in 1909
24.
High Seas Fleet
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The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Imperial Navy and saw action during the First World War. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet, he envisioned a force powerful enough to challenge the Royal Navys predominance. Kaiser Wilhelm II, the German Emperor, championed the fleet as the instrument by which he would seize overseas possessions and this was the heart of Tirpitzs Risk Theory, which held that Britain would not challenge Germany if the latters fleet posed such a significant threat to its own. The primary component of the Fleet was its battleships, typically organized in squadrons, though it also contained various other formations. At its creation in 1907, the High Seas Fleet consisted of two squadrons of battleships, and by 1914, a third squadron had been added. The dreadnought revolution in 1906 greatly affected the composition of the fleet, enough dreadnoughts for two full squadrons were completed by the outbreak of war in mid 1914, the eight most modern pre-dreadnoughts were used to constitute a third squadron. Two additional squadrons of vessels were mobilized at the onset of hostilities, though by the end of the conflict. The fleet conducted a series of sorties into the North Sea during the war designed to lure out a portion of the numerically superior British Grand Fleet. These operations frequently used the fast battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group to raid the British coast as the bait for the Royal Navy. These operations culminated in the Battle of Jutland, on 31 May–1 June 1916, Scheer and other leading admirals therefore advised the Kaiser to order a resumption of the unrestricted submarine warfare campaign. The primary responsibility of the High Seas Fleet in 1917 and 1918 was to secure the German naval bases in the North Sea for U-boat operations. Nevertheless, the continued to conduct sorties into the North Sea. In 1898, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz became the State Secretary for the Imperial Navy Office, during a speech in support of the First Naval Law on 6 December 1897, Tirpitz stated that the navy was a question of survival for Germany. He also viewed Great Britain, with its powerful Royal Navy, in a discussion with the Kaiser during his first month in his post as State Secretary, he stated that for Germany the most dangerous naval enemy at present is England. Tirpitz theorized that a fleet would require a 33 percent advantage in strength to achieve victory. For a final total of 60 German battleships, Britain would be required to build 90 to meet the 2,3 ratio envisioned by Tirpitz. In his first program, Tirpitz envisioned a fleet of nineteen battleships, the squadrons were further divided into four-ship divisions. This fleet was secured by the First Naval Law, which passed in the Reichstag on 28 March 1898, construction of the fleet was to be completed by 1 April 1904
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Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby
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The Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby on 16 December 1914, was an attack by the Imperial German Navy on the British seaport towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool, West Hartlepool and Whitby. The attack resulted in 137 fatalities and 592 casualties, many of whom were civilians, the attack resulted in public outrage towards the German navy for an attack against civilians and against the Royal Navy for its failure to prevent the raid. The German Navy had been seeking opportunities to draw out small sections of the British fleet which it could trap, shortly before, a raid on Yarmouth had produced few results but demonstrated the potential for fast raiding into British waters. On 16 November, Rear Admiral Franz Hipper—commander of the German battlecruiser squadron—persuaded his superior, Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl, u-17 was sent to investigate the area near Scarborough and Hartlepool for coastal defences. The submarine reported little onshore defence, no mines within 12 mi of the shore, the German fleet avoided any open engagement with the British fleet because it was smaller, but the difference between the two was less at this period in the war than at any other. Later, Britain improved its position by building ships, particularly dreadnought battleships which were considered decisive in any major engagement. The British fleet had the disadvantage of maintaining continuous patrols, whereas the German one remained mainly in home port, after several months of war, British ships were reaching the point where urgent repairs were needed and several had to be withdrawn from the Grand Fleet. Three battlecruisers had been sent to South America, and the new dreadnought HMS Audacious had been lost to a mine. HMS Thunderer, another battleship, was undergoing repairs. The British had one important advantage, German ships used three main codes for which codebooks were issued to their ships, copies of these books had been obtained from sunk or captured vessels without the Germans knowledge. British code breakers had now reached the point where they could read German messages within a few hours of receiving them, sufficient information had been gathered on the evening of 14 December to tell that the German battlecruiser squadron would shortly be leaving port. However, the information did not suggest that the whole German fleet might be involved, commodore Tyrwhitt at Harwich was ordered to take to sea his two light cruisers, HMS Aurora and Undaunted and 42 destroyers. Jellicoe protested that such a force should be sufficient to deal with Hipper. The Third Cruiser Squadron from Rosyth were added to the force, with the armoured cruisers HMS Devonshire, Antrim, Argyll, Jellicoe chose the point for this fleet to assemble,25 mi south-east of the Dogger Bank. The intention was to allow the raid to take place, then ambush the German ships as they returned, Admiral Hipper left the Jade River at 03,00 on 15 December. During the following night, SMS S33 one of the escorts, became separated from the rest. This risked giving away the presence of the ships and the destroyer was ordered to be silent, still lost, it headed for home but on the way, sighted four British destroyers which it reported by radio. Hipper also noted radio traffic from British ships which caused concern that the British might be aware something was happening and he attributed this to possible spying by trawlers which were encountered during the day
26.
Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft
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The German fleet sent a battlecruiser squadron with accompanying cruisers and destroyers, commanded by Rear Admiral Friedrich Boedicker, to bombard the coastal ports of Yarmouth and Lowestoft. In February 1916, Admiral Reinhard Scheer became commander-in-chief of the German High Seas Fleet, a principal part of his strategy was to make raids into British waters to lure British forces into battle, in conditions advantageous to the Germans. A proposal was made to bombard towns on the east coast of England at daybreak on 25 April, the raid was timed to coincide with the expected Easter Rebellion by Irish Nationalists, who had requested German assistance. Immediately before the raid, the German Navy believed that the British had a force in the North Sea, off Norway and another at Hoofden. The Germans intended to sneak out between the two forces to bombard the English coast and then attack whichever British force showed first. With luck, the German battlecruisers could engage the south-east force and after defeating it would run back to the north-west, here the battlecruisers would attack the second British group from the south and the main body of the High Seas Fleet would attack from the north. If the British did not take the bait, then merchant ships could be captured, the forces sighted by Germany in the North Sea had been part of a raid launched on 22 April, to draw out the German fleet but this did not go to plan. The battlecruisers HMAS Australia and HMS New Zealand had collided in fog off Denmark, later, the battleship HMS Neptune collided with a merchant steamer and three destroyers were also damaged in collisions. Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth were selected as the targets of the German bombardment, Lowestoft was a base of operations for minelaying and sweeping, while Yarmouth was a base for the submarines that disrupted German movements in the Heligoland Bight. The destruction of the harbours and other establishments of both towns would assist the German war effort, even if the raid failed to bait the British heavy units. Eight Zeppelin airships would, after dropping their bombs, provide reconnaissance for the battlecruisers, two U-boats were sent ahead to Lowestoft, while others were stationed off, or laid mines in, the Firth of Forth, Scotland. At noon on 24 April, German forces were in place, the route led around British minefields to the English coast and was intended to put the bombardment group off Lowestoft and Yarmouth at daybreak, where they would bombard the towns for 30 minutes. At 16,00, the battlecruiser Seydlitz—in the vanguard of the reconnaissance force—struck a mine just north-west of Nordeney, in an area swept the night before. She was forced to back with a flooded torpedo compartment from a 50 ft hole on the starboard side. Seydlitz returned to the river Jade, accompanied by two destroyers and Zeppelin L-7, to avoid other possible mines and submarines, the battlecruiser force altered course to a route along the coast of East Friesland. This had previously avoided, because in the clear weather the ships risked being sighted from the islands of Rottum and Schiermonnikoog. It was assumed that the British would now be alerted to the movements of the German ships, the British already knew that the German fleet had sailed at midday. More information arrived at 20,15, when a wireless message gave the information that they were headed for Yarmouth
27.
Zeppelin
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A Zeppelin was a type of rigid airship named after the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelins notions were first formulated in 1874 and developed in detail in 1893 and they were patented in Germany in 1895 and in the United States in 1899. After the outstanding success of the Zeppelin design, the word came to be commonly used to refer to all rigid airships. Zeppelins were first flown commercially in 1910 by Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG, the worlds first airline in revenue service, by mid-1914, DELAG had carried over 10,000 fare-paying passengers on over 1,500 flights. During World War I the German military made use of Zeppelins as bombers and scouts. The defeat of Germany in 1918 temporarily slowed down the airship business, an exception was made allowing the construction of one airship for the US Navy, which saved the company from extinction. In 1926 the restrictions on airship construction were lifted and with the aid of donations from the public and this revived the companys fortunes, and during the 1930s the airships Graf Zeppelin and the larger LZ129 Hindenburg operated regular transatlantic flights from Germany to North America and Brazil. The Hindenburg disaster in 1937, along political and economic issues. The principal feature of Zeppelins design was a rigid metal framework made up from transverse rings. The advantage of design was that the aircraft could be much larger than non-rigid airships. The framework of most Zeppelins was made of duralumin, early Zeppelins used rubberised cotton for the gasbags, but most later craft used goldbeaters skin, made from the intestines of cattle. The first Zeppelins had long cylindrical hulls with tapered ends and complex multi-plane fins and they were propelled by several engines, mounted in gondolas or engine cars, which were attached to the outside of the structural framework. Some of these could provide reverse thrust for manoeuvring while mooring, early models had a comparatively small externally mounted gondola for passengers and crew which was attached to the bottom of the frame. This space was never heated so passengers during trips across the North Atlantic or Siberia were forced to bundle themselves in blankets, the flight ceiling was so low that no pressurization of the cabins was necessary, though the Hindenburg did maintain a pressurized air-locked smoking room. Access to the Zeppelin was achieved in a number of ways, the Graf Zeppelins gondola was accessed while the vessel was on the ground, via gangways. This describes a large rigidly framed outer envelope containing several separate gasbags and he had previously encountered Union Army balloons in 1863 when he visited the United States as a military observer during the American Civil War. Count Zeppelin began to pursue his project after his early retirement from the military in 1890 at the age of 52. Convinced of the importance of aviation, he started working on various designs in 1891
28.
3rd Division (United Kingdom)
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The 3rd Division, known at various times as the Iron Division, 3rd Division, Montys Iron Sides or as Iron Sides, is a regular army division of the British Army. The division is sometimes referred to as the Iron Division. The divisions other battle honours include, the Battle of Waterloo, the Crimean War, the Second Boer War and it was commanded for a time, during the Second World War, by Bernard Montgomery. The division was to have part of a proposed Commonwealth Corps, formed for a planned invasion of Japan in 1945–46. During the Second World War, the became the pattern of three — a black triangle trisected by an inverted red triangle, created by Bernard Montgomery to instil pride in his troops. The 3rd held their ground and pushed on with other divisions to capture the village of Arinez. The 3rd Division was also present at the Battle of Quatre Bras, 5/390 5x9lb guns 1x5.5 inch Howitzer Cleeves Field Brigade Kings German Legion 6/209 5x9lb guns 1x5. The 3rd Division served on the Western Front in France and Belgium for four years, during this time, it was nicknamed The Iron Division. Its first commander during the war, Major-General Hubert Hamilton, was killed by shellfire near Béthune in October 1914, 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment 4th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment The following battalions joined the brigade for periods in 1915 and 1916. After the end of the First World War, the division was stationed in southern England where it formed part of Southern Command, in 1937, one of its brigades, the 9th Infantry Brigade, was commanded by Brigadier Bernard Montgomery. He assumed command of the 3rd Division shortly before Britain declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939. The 3rd Infantry Division, under the command of Major General Bernard Montgomery, was sent overseas to France in late September 1939, there the division became part of Lieutenant General Alan Brookes II Corps of the British Expeditionary Force. However, unlike in the First World War, where the division was almost immediately engaged in desperate fighting, Montgomery instantly began training the men of his division in a tough training regime. As with most of the rest of the BEF, training was hampered by a shortage of modern equipment. In May 1940, after months of relative inactivity, the German Army launched its attack in the west which resulted in the BEF being split up from the French Army. Due to Montgomerys strict training regime, the 3rd Division suffered comparatively few casualties, the 3rd British Infantry Division was the first British formation to land at Sword Beach on D-Day,6 June 1944, as part of the invasion of Normandy, part of the larger Operation Overlord. For the assault landing, 3rd British Division was organised as a Division Group and these included 27th Armoured Brigade and 22nd Dragoons, 1st Special Service Brigade and No. The divisions own artillery were all self-propelled and the SP field guns, after D-Day the 3rd Infantry Division fought through the Battle for Caen, in Operation Charnwood and Operation Goodwood
29.
British Expeditionary Force (World War I)
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The British Expeditionary Force or BEF was the British Army sent to the Western Front during the First World War. Planning for a British Expeditionary Force began with the Haldane reforms of the British Army carried out by the Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Second Boer War. The term British Expeditionary Force is often used to only to the forces present in France prior to the end of the First Battle of Ypres on 22 November 1914. By the end of 1914—after the battles of Mons, Le Cateau, an alternative endpoint of the BEF was 26 December 1914, when it was divided into the First and Second Armies. B. E. F. remained the name of the British armies in France. Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, who was dismissive of the BEF. The treacherous English and walk over General Frenchs contemptible little army, hence, in later years, the survivors of the regular army dubbed themselves The Old Contemptibles. No evidence of any such order being issued by the Kaiser has ever been found, in October 1914, 7th Division arrived in France, forming the basis of III Corps and the cavalry had grown to form the Cavalry Corps of three divisions. By December 1914, the BEF had expanded to such an extent that the First Army, the force was commanded by Field Marshal Sir John French until December 1915, when he was replaced by General Sir Douglas Haig. The BEFs Chief of Staff on mobilization was General Archibald Murray and he was replaced in January 1915 by General William Robertson. Lieutenant-General Launcelot Kiggell then served as Chief of Staff from December 1915 to January 1917 when he was succeeded by Lieutenant-General Herbert Lawrence, the two initial Army Corps were commanded by Douglas Haig and Horace Smith-Dorrien. As the Regular Armys strength declined, the numbers were made up, first by the Territorial Force, by the end of August 1914, he had raised six new divisions and by March 1915, the number of divisions had increased to 29. The Territorial Force was also expanded, raising second and third battalions and forming eight new divisions. The Third Army was formed in July 1915 and with the influx of troops from Kitcheners volunteers and further reorganisation, the Fourth Army and the Reserve Army, became the Fifth Army in 1916. The BEF grew from six divisions of British regular army and reserves in 1914, to encompass the British Empires war effort on the Western front in 1918 and some of its allies. Over the course of the war 5,399,563 men served with the BEF, the First Army was formed on 26 December 1914. Its first commander was Douglas Haig promoted from command of the I Corps, when Haig took over command of the BEF in 1915, the new commander was General Henry Horne. First Army remained in France until the end of the war, the Second Army was formed at the same time as the First Army on 26 December 1914
30.
Western Front (World War I)
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The Western Front or Western Theater was the main theatre of war during World War I. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, the tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne. Following the Race to the Sea, both sides dug in along a line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France. This line remained unchanged for most of the war. Between 1915 and 1917 there were several major offensives along this front, the attacks employed massive artillery bombardments and massed infantry advances. However, a combination of entrenchments, machine gun emplacements, barbed wire, as a result, no significant advances were made. In an effort to break the deadlock, this front saw the introduction of new technology, including poison gas, aircraft. But it was only after the adoption of improved tactics that some degree of mobility was restored, the German Armys Spring Offensive of 1918 was made possible by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that marked the end of the conflict on the Eastern Front. In spite of the stagnant nature of this front, this theatre would prove decisive. The terms of peace were agreed upon with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, belgiums neutrality was guaranteed by Britain under the 1839 Treaty of London, this caused Britain to join the war at the expiration of its ultimatum at 11 pm GMT on 4 August. Armies under German generals Alexander von Kluck and Karl von Bülow attacked Belgium on 4 August 1914, Luxembourg had been occupied without opposition on 2 August. The first battle in Belgium was the Siege of Liège, which lasted from 5–16 August, Liège was well fortified and surprised the German Army under von Bülow with its level of resistance. German heavy artillery was able to demolish the main forts within a few days. Following the fall of Liège, most of the Belgian field army retreated to Antwerp, leaving the garrison of Namur isolated, with the Belgian capital, Brussels, although the German army bypassed Antwerp, it remained a threat to their flank. Another siege followed at Namur, lasting from about 20–23 August, for their part, the French had five armies deployed on their borders. The pre-war French offensive plan, Plan XVII, was intended to capture Alsace-Lorraine following the outbreak of hostilities, on 7 August the VII Corps attacked Alsace with its objectives being to capture Mulhouse and Colmar. The main offensive was launched on 14 August with 1st and 2nd Armies attacking toward Sarrebourg-Morhange in Lorraine, in keeping with the Schlieffen Plan, the Germans withdrew slowly while inflicting severe losses upon the French. The French advanced the 3rd and 4th Armies toward the Saar River and attempted to capture Saarburg, attacking Briey and Neufchateau, before being driven back
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Second Battle of Ypres
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It was the first mass use by Germany of poison gas on the Western Front. For the first time, a colonial force defeated a European power on European soil. The eastern part of the salient was defended by one Canadian, the II Corps and V Corps of the Second Army comprised the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Cavalry Divisions and the 4th, 27th, 28th, Northumbrian, Lahore and 1st Canadian Divisions. Although poison gas had been used before, at the Battle of Bolimów three months earlier, the gas had liquified in the cold and become inert, German troops carried 5,730 gas cylinders, weighing 90 pounds each, to the front by hand. The cylinders, opened by hand, relied on the wind to carry the gas towards enemy lines. Because of this method of dispersal, a number of German soldiers were injured or killed while carrying out the attack. The French troops in the path of the gas cloud sustained about 6,000 casualties, many died within ten minutes, and many more were blinded. Chlorine gas forms hypochlorous acid when combined with water, destroying moist tissue such as the lungs, the chlorine gas, denser than air, quickly filled the trenches and forced the troops out into heavy enemy fire. Although many French troops ran for their lives, others stood their ground, the German High Command had not foreseen the effectiveness of the new weapon and all available troops had been transferred to Russia, leaving few reserves in the west. General von Falkenhayn, Chief of the German General Staff, had ordered the attack as an effort by the German 4th Army. German troops advanced at 5,00 p. m. but dusk, apprehension about the effect of the gas, Canadian troops defended the flank of the break-in by urinating into cloth and holding them to their faces to counter the effects of the gas. At Kitcheners Wood, the 10th Battalion of the 2nd Canadian Brigade was ordered to counter-attack in the gap created by the gas attack. They formed up after 11,00 p. m. on 22 April, both battalions attacked with over 800 men, in waves of two companies each, at 11,46 p. m. Without reconnaissance, the battalions ran into obstacles halfway to their objective, engaged in fire from the wood. The attack cleared the former oak plantation of Germans at a 75-percent casualty rate, the village of St. Julien was in the rear of the 1st Canadian Division until the poison-gas attack of 22 April, when it became the front line. Julien into the rear of the Canadian front line and he was killed the following day. On the morning of 24 April, the Germans released another gas cloud towards the re-formed Canadian line just west of St. Julien, word was passed to the troops to urinate on their handkerchiefs and place them over their nose and mouth. The countermeasures were insufficient, and German troops took the village, the next day the York and Durham Brigade units of the Northumberland Division counter-attacked, failing to secure their objectives but establishing a new line closer to the village
32.
Ypres Salient
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The Ypres Salient is the area around Ypres in Belgium which was the scene of some of the biggest battles in World War I. Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee, the high point of the ridge is at Wytschaete,7,000 yd from Ypres, while at Hollebeke the ridge is 4,000 yd distant and recedes to 7,000 yd at Polygon Wood. Wytschaete is about 150 ft above the plain, on the Ypres–Menin road at Hooge, the rises are slight apart from the vicinity of Zonnebeke, which has a 1,33 gradient. From Hooge and to the east, the slope is 1,60 and near Hollebeke, it is 1,75, the heights are subtle but have the character of a saucer lip around Ypres. The main ridge has spurs sloping east and one is particularly noticeable at Wytschaete, which runs 2 mi south-east to Messines, with a slope to the east. Further south is the valley of the Douve river, Ploegsteert Wood. West of Messines Ridge is the parallel Wulverghem Spur, the Oosttaverne Spur, the general aspect south of Ypres is of low ridges and dips, gradually flattening to the north into a featureless plain. In 1914, Ypres had 2,354 houses and 16,700 inhabitants inside medieval earth ramparts, faced with brick, possession of the higher ground to the south and east of the city, gives ample scope for ground observation, enfilade fire and converging artillery-fire. An occupier also has the advantage of artillery deployments and the movement of reinforcements, the ridge had woods from Wytschaete to Zonnebeke, giving good cover, some being of notable size like Polygon Wood and those later named Battle Wood, Shrewsbury Forest and Sanctuary Wood. The woods usually had undergrowth, but the fields in gaps between the woods were 800–1,000 yd wide and devoid of cover, roads in this area were usually unpaved, except for the main ones from Ypres, with occasional villages and houses. The lowland west of the ridge was a mixture of meadow and fields, with high hedgerows dotted with trees, cut by streams and ditches emptying into the canals. The Ypres–Comines Canal is about 18 ft wide and the Yperlee about 36 ft, a salient in military terms is a battlefield feature that projects into an opponents territory. The salient is surrounded on three sides, making the occupying the salient vulnerable. The battles saved Ypres and the corner of Belgium around Veurne from German occupation, the few rises or hills became the objectives of the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915, which saw the first use of gas and the almost total destruction and evacuation of Ypres. During this battle, the Allied units were forced to back from Zonnebeke. This line was to define the Ypres Salient for over two years, during which Hooge lay in one of the eastern-most sectors of the salient and was much contested. This situation changed little despite British tunnelling prior to the Battle of Messines in June 1917, after the Third Battle of Ypres, the Ypres Salient was left relatively quiet until the Fourth Battle of Ypres, when the German Spring Offensive threatened to overwhelm the entire area. This offensive was stopped at the point the Allies were closest to being forced to abandon the salient, by August 1918, the Fifth Battle of Ypres pushed the German forces out of the salient entirely and they did not return
33.
Battle of Loos
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The Battle of Loos was a World War I battle that took place from 25 September –13 October 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas, the French and British tried to break through the German defences in Artois and Champagne and restore a war of movement. Despite improved methods, more ammunition and better equipment, the Franco-British attacks were contained by the German armies, British casualties at Loos were about twice as high as German losses. The battle was the British part of the Third Battle of Artois, at the Frévent Conference on 27 July, Field Marshal French failed to persuade Ferdinand Foch that an attack further north offered greater prospects for success. The debate continued into August with Joffre siding with Foch and the commanders being over-ruled by Herbert Kitchener, on 3 May, the British decided upon use of poison gas in military operations in France. French was doubtful that a breakthrough would be achieved, Haig was hampered by the shortage of artillery ammunition, which meant the preliminary bombardment, essential for success in trench warfare, was insufficient. Prior to the British attack, about 140 long tons of gas was released with mixed success. Wanting to be closer to the battle, French had moved to a command post at Lilliers. In many places British artillery had failed to cut the German wire in advance of the attack, advancing over open fields, within range of German machine guns and artillery, British losses were devastating. The British were able to break through the weaker German defences and capture the town of Loos-en-Gohelle, supply and communications problems, combined with the late arrival of reserves, meant that the breakthrough could not be exploited. Haig did not hear until 10,00 a. m. that the divisions were moving up to the front, when the battle resumed the following day, the Germans had recovered and improved their defensive positions. British attempts to continue the advance with the reserves were repulsed, twelve attacking battalions suffered 8,000 casualties out of 10,000 men in four hours. A lull fell on 28 September, with the British having retreated to their positions, having lost over 20,000 casualties. The Royal Flying Corps came under the command of Brigadier-General Hugh Trenchard, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd wings under Colonels E. B. Ashmore, John Salmond and Sefton Brancker participated, as the British were short of artillery ammunition, the RFC flew target identification sorties prior to the battle, to ensure that shells were not wasted. During the first few days of the attack, target-marking squadrons equipped with wireless transmitters. Later in the battle, pilots carried out a bombing operation for the first time in history. Aircraft of the 2nd and 3rd wings dropped many 100-pound bombs on German troops, trains, rail lines, as the land offensive stalled, British pilots and observers flew low over German positions, providing target information to the artillery
34.
Actions of St Eloi Craters
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Sint-Elooi is a village about 5 km south of Ypres in Belgium. The British dug six galleries under no mans land and placed large explosive charges under the German defences, troops of the 27th Division attacked and captured all but craters 4 and 5. The 46th Reserve Division counter-attacked but craters 4 and 5 were lost to the British on 30 March, British attacks continued into early April and then the Canadian Corps took over with the 2nd Canadian Division, despite the disadvantage of relieving troops in the middle of a military operation. Craters 2,3,4 and 5 were the biggest, as Canadian attacks dwindled, the Germans did the same but kept the area under constant bombardment. Plans for more British attacks were cancelled and for two weeks both sides exchanged artillery-fire, after 19 April a lull began, the British had attacked with tired troops and had not achieved all of the objectives and a second attempt was at the cost of quick consolidation. Against an attack on a front where the defender had good observation over the area, the ground could not be held and at St Eloi. Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee, the high point of the ridge is at Wytschaete,7,000 yd from Ypres, while at Hollebeke the ridge is 4,000 yd distant and recedes to 7,000 yd at Polygon Wood. Wytschaete is about 150 ft above the plain, on the Ypres–Menin road at Hooge, the rises are slight apart from the vicinity of Zonnebeke, which has a 1,33 gradient. From Hooge and to the east, the slope is 1,60 and near Hollebeke, it is 1,75, the heights are subtle but have the character of a saucer lip around Ypres. The main ridge has spurs sloping east and one is particularly noticeable at Wytschaete, which runs 2 mi south-east to Messines, with a slope to the east. Further south is the valley of the Douve river, Ploegsteert Wood. West of Messines Ridge is the parallel Wulverghem Spur, the Oosttaverne Spur, the general aspect south of Ypres is of low ridges and dips, gradually flattening to the north into a featureless plain. In 1914, Ypres had 2,354 houses and 16,700 inhabitants inside medieval earth ramparts, faced with brick, possession of the higher ground to the south and east of the city, gives ample scope for ground observation, enfilade fire and converging artillery-fire. An occupier also has the advantage of artillery deployments and the movement of reinforcements, the ridge had woods from Wytschaete to Zonnebeke, giving good cover, some being of notable size like Polygon Wood and those later named Battle Wood, Shrewsbury Forest and Sanctuary Wood. The woods usually had undergrowth but the fields in gaps between the woods were 800–1,000 yd wide and devoid of cover, roads in this area were usually unpaved, except for the main ones from Ypres, with occasional villages and houses. The lowland west of the ridge was a mixture of meadow and fields, with high hedgerows dotted with trees, cut by streams and ditches emptying into the canals. The Ypres–Comines Canal is about 18 ft wide and the Yperlee about 36 ft, January 1915 was a month of rain, snow and floods, made worse for both sides by artillery-fire and sniping and the need for constant trench repairs. The British front was extended when the 27th Division and the 28th Division arrived in France, on 21 February, the Germans blew a mine in Shrewsbury Forest north of Klein Zillebeke, captured an area of 100 yd ×40 yd and inflicted 57 casualties
35.
Gas attacks at Wulverghem
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The Gas attacks at Wulverghem in the municipality of Heuvelland were two German cloud gas attacks during World War I on British troops near Ypres in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The first gas discharge took place on 30 April 1916 and was followed by attack on 17 June. The gas attacks at Wulverghem were part of the sporadic fighting, the British Second Army held the ground from Messines Ridge north to Steenstraat. British divisions opposite the German XXIII Reserve Corps, had received warnings of a gas attack in the ten days beforehand, from 21–23 April, British artillery-fire exploded several gas cylinders in the German lines around Spanbroekmolen, which released greenish-yellow clouds of gas. A gas alert was given on 25 April, when the wind began to blow from the north-east and routine work was suspended, on 29 April, two German soldiers deserted and warned that an attack was imminent. Just after midnight on 30 April, the German attack began, helmets impregnated with chemicals to neutralise chlorine had been issued in several variants, each more effective than the last. By April 1916, British troops had PH helmets and some specialist troops like machine-gunners, were equipped with box respirators, a second attempt by the Germans on 17 June, caused about the same number of gas casualties and the British easily repulsed German patrols. The German attack was a diversion, rather than a breakthrough attempt. As soon as German troops tried to advance into areas not affected by the gas, Allied small-arms and artillery fire dominated the area and halted the German advance. The surprise gained against the French, was increased by the lack of protection against gas, a soldier could evade bullets and shells but gas seeped into trenches and dug-outs and had a ghastly, slow, choking effect. The gas was quickly identified as chlorine and the first Allied mass-produced anti-gas helmet was a bag, soaked in glycerine, hyposulphite. On 19 December 1915, the German 4th Army conducted an attack at Ypres using a new gas, which was a mixture of chlorine and phosgene, a much more lethal substance. The British took a prisoner, who disclosed the intended gas attack and also gleaned information from other sources, the gas discharge was accompanied by German raiding patrols, most of which were engaged by small-arms fire, while attempting to cross no-mans land. The British anti-gas precautions were successful and prevented a panic or a collapse of the defence, only the 49th Division had a large number of gas casualties, caused by soldiers in reserve lines not being warned of the gas in time to put on their anti-gas helmets. A study by British medical authorities, counted 1,069 gas casualties, after the operation, German opinion concluded that a breakthrough could not be achieved solely by the use of gas. A German gas attack took place from 27–29 April, by divisions of the II Bavarian Corps against I Corps on the First Army front near Loos. Just before dawn on 27 April, the 16th Division and part of the 15th Division were subjected to a German cloud gas attack, the gas cloud and artillery bombardment were followed by raiding parties, which made temporary lodgements in the British lines. The gas was a mixture of chlorine and phosgene, which was of sufficient concentration to penetrate the British PH gas helmets, production of the M2 gas mask, which had worked well during the attack, was accelerated
36.
Battle of Bazentin Ridge
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The Battle of Bazentin Ridge was part of the Battle of the Somme on the Western Front in France, during the First World War. The British Fourth Army made an attack on 14 July. Dismissed beforehand by a French commander as an attack organized for amateurs by amateurs, Cavalry, intended to provide a faster-moving force of exploitation, were badly delayed by the devastated ground, shell-holes and derelict trenches. In the afternoon, infantry of the 7th Division attacked High Wood, the British found that German troops had occupied parts of the wood and also held the Switch Line along the ridge, that cut through the north-east part of the wood. The cavalry eventually attacked east of the wood and overran German infantry hiding in standing crops, the attack was assisted by an artillery-observation aircraft, whose crew saw the Germans in the crops and attacked them with Lewis gun fire. The 2nd Army had plenty of time to construct a defence in depth and was better prepared than any previous army to receive an Entente offensive. The power of the Anglo-French offensive on the Somme surprised the Germans, despite the failure of the British attack on 1 July. The extent of Entente artillery fire caused casualties and much of the 2nd Army artillery. In late June and early July the Russians inflicted more defeats, on 2 July, seven divisions had been sent from the OHL reserve and from the 6th Army to the 2nd Army and another seven were en route by 9 July. On 7 July, Falkenhayn abandoned the plan for a 6th Army counter-offensive against a defeated offensive, Falkenhayn adopted a strategy of defeating the offensive on the Somme, to show the French that the German army could not be beaten and that a negotiated peace was inevitable. On 1 July, the French Sixth Army and the wing of the Fourth Army had inflicted a considerable defeat on the German 2nd Army. From the Albert–Bapaume road north to Gommecourt, the Fourth Army attack was a disaster, against the wishes of Marshal Joseph Joffre, General Sir Douglas Haig abandoned the offensive north of the road, to reinforce the success in the south. During the Battle of Albert, the Fourth Army pressed forward south of the Albert–Bapaume road, the attacks were hampered by supply routes which became quagmires during rainy periods, behind the French XX Corps and the British XIII Corps, XV Corps and III Corps. The Germans opposite the Fourth Army were kept disorganised and the British closed to within striking distance of the German second position, the loss of c. 60,000 British casualties on 1 July was not repeated. From 2–13 July, the British attacked 46 times and lost c. 25,000 casualties, for the time being, we must hold our current positions without fail and improve on them by means of minor counter-attacks. I forbid the voluntary relinquishment of positions, the enemy must be made to pick his way forward over corpses. First-class German reinforcements reaching the Somme front, were thrown into the battle piecemeal, attacks were poorly-organised, insufficient time was allowed for reconnaissance and the infantry was inadequately supported by the artillery, which sometimes fired on German troops. German counter-attacks were even less well-organised than their British equivalents and most failed, British artillery-fire cut communications and the XIV Reserve Corps lost touch with the front line, not knowing if the line from Contalmaison to Pozières still existed
37.
Battle of Delville Wood
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The Battle of Delville Wood was a series of engagements in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War, between the armies of the German Empire and the British Empire. Delville Wood, was a tangle of trees, chiefly beech and hornbeam, with dense hazel thickets, intersected by grassy rides. The attack achieved this objective and was a considerable though costly success, the 1st South African Infantry Brigade made its Western Front début as part of the 9th Division and captured Delville Wood on 15 July. The South Africans held the wood until 19 July, at a cost in casualties similar to those of many British brigades on 1 July, when captured, the village and wood formed a salient, which could be fired on by German artillery from three sides. The ground rose from Bernafay and Trônes woods, to the middle of the village, after the Battle of Bazentin Ridge, the British tried to advance on both flanks to straighten the salient at Delville Wood, to reach good jumping off positions for a general attack. The Germans tried to eliminate the salient and to retain the ground, for the rest of July and August, both sides fought for control of the wood and village but struggled to maintain the tempo of operations. Most attacks were defeated by defensive fire power and the effects of inclement weather, Delville Wood is well preserved with the remains of trenches, a museum and a monument to the South African Brigade at the Delville Wood South African National Memorial. Attacks were to be limited, conducted over a front, preceded by artillery preparation. Grignotage was expected to lead to the crumbling of German defences, the offensive was split between British and Dominion forces in the north and the French in the south. After two weeks of battle, the German defenders were holding firm in the north and centre of the British sector, there had been substantial Entente gains from the Albert–Bapaume road southwards. The British attacks after 1 July and the rapid French advance on the bank, led Falkenhayn on 2 July. The first principle in position warfare must be to not one foot of ground and if it be lost to retake it by immediate counter-attack. And next day, General Fritz von Below issued an order of the day forbidding voluntary withdrawals, the enemy must be made to pick his way forward over corpses. After his Chief of Staff General Paul Grünert and the corps commander General Günther von Pannewitz, were sacked for ordering the XVII Corps to withdraw to the third position. Falkenhayn ordered a strict defensive at Verdun on 12 July and the transfer of troops and artillery to the Somme front. By the end of July, finding reserves for the German defence of the Somme, caused difficulties for Falkenhayn. The Brusilov Offensive continued and the German eastern armies had to take more of the front from the Austro-Hungarians when Brody fell on 28 July. On 19 July, the German 2nd Army was split and a new 1st Army was established, to command the German divisions north of the Somme
38.
Battle of the Ancre
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The Battle of the Ancre, was fought by the Fifth Army, against the German 1st Army. The battle was the final large British attack of the Battle of the Somme, the British attack was to fulfil complementary objectives. Political discontent in London would be muted by a big victory, as would doubts of British commitment by its allies and British loyalty to the Chantilly strategy of 1915 would be upheld. The capture of Beaumont Hamel and Serre would go some way to redeem the failure of 1 July, the attack was the largest in the British sector since September and had a seven-day preliminary bombardment, which was twice as heavy as that of 1 July. Beaumont Hamel, St. Pierre Divion and Beaucourt were captured, edmund Blunden called the battle a feat of arms vieing with any recorded. The enemy was surprised and beaten, four German divisions had to be relieved due to the number of casualties they suffered and over 7,000 German troops were taken prisoner. The failure of the Fourth Army attack of 18 October, caused another revision of the plan, Gough issued a new operation order on 15 October and began another reorganisation on the north side of the Ancre. The II Corps operation on 21 October succeeded but the rains returned on 24 October, the main attack was postponed until 25 October, then cancelled and Gough was given discretion to continue with postponements by Haig. On 5 November, Haig suggested an attack, if the state of the ground justified the effort. Gough proposed an attack on 9 November but preferred to delay the main effort, Haig agreed that there should be no attack until the ground was dry enough for infantry to move freely and there was a forecast of two days of fair weather, another postponement followed. On 3 November, Major-General Rudolph Cavan the XIV Corps commander, wrote to Rawlinson, objecting to the renewal of attacks on Le Transloy, having already lost 5,320 casualties. Rawlinson informed Haig that he was going to limit the next attack, Haig explained that the Fourth Army would be attacking at other points on 5 November and Cavan agreed to make certain that the French left flank was protected. Apart from attacks near Saillisel, the French Sixth Army began to consolidate for the winter, on 10 November, Gough set the attack for 5,45 a. m. on 13 November. To be ready for the big attack intended for 12 October, in early October the north bank was held by the 39th Division of V Corps up to the boundary with the Third Army at Hébuterne. On 1 October, the 2nd Division was moved in on the left of the 39th Division to hold the ground from Redan Ridge to the army boundary. By 7 October XIII Corps had the 51st and 19th Divisions in line and on 8 October, Gough issued instructions for the attack on the north bank from 4–12 October and arranged for the 1st and 3rd Cavalry divisions to move close to the front line. The British front line north of the Ancre had been moved forward across no-mans-land and it was intended to isolate the battlefield with artillery and bombard Pys, Irles, Miraumont and Puisieux and the main trenches leading to the battlefield. On the II Corps front, artillery fire was to simulate an attack on the ground east of the old German second line as would XIII Corps artillery on the German approaches to the northern flank
39.
Battle of the Menin Road Ridge
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The Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, sometimes called Battle of the Menin Road, was the third British general attack of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The battle took place from 20–25 September 1917, in the Ypres Salient in Flanders on the Western Front, in early September, optimism increased among German commanders that the Flanders offensive had been defeated and several divisions and air units were transferred elsewhere. Drier weather and extensive repairs made it much easier for the British to move vast amounts of supplies forward from the original front line. German defences on the Gheluvelt Plateau, which had retained or quickly recaptured in July and August were lost. The Kerensky Offensive by Russia in July had accelerated the disintegration of the Russian Army and these defensive successes had been costly and by mid-August, German satisfaction at their defensive achievements was accompanied by concern at the extent of casualties. The rain, constant bombardments and British air attacks had put great strain on the German defence between British attacks. II Corps had been ordered to capture the rest of the line on 2 August. Principal responsibility for the offensive was transferred to General Plumer on 25 August, the Second Army boundary was shifted north into the area vacated by II Corps on the Gheluvelt plateau. Haig put more emphasis on the fringe of the plateau. Plumer issued an order on 1 September, which defined the Second Army area of operations as Broodseinde. Few German concrete pill-boxes and machine gun nests had been destroyed during earlier preparatory bombardments and attempts at precision bombardment between attacks had also failed, Plumers tactical refinements sought to undermine the German defence by making a shallower penetration and then fighting the principal battle against German counter-attack divisions. More infantry was provided for the stages of the advance, to defeat German counter-attacks. During a lull in early September, both tried to improve their positions, on 1 September, a determined German attack at Inverness Copse was repulsed. Further north in the XIX Corps area, a battalion of the 61st Division rushed Hill 35 but only took a small area, next day, the division attacked Aisne Farm and was repulsed but the neighbouring 58th Division took Spot Farm. On 5 September, the 61st Division tried again at night, took a German outpost on Hill 35, an attack from south of Hill 35 by the 42nd Division with the 125th Brigade and part of the 127th Brigade, took place on 6 September. For several days, practice barrages were conducted and a reconnaissance by a small party probed to within 25 yd of Beck House. During the night, the Germans sent up flares and rockets, disclosing their barrage line. The British barrage schedule required four rounds per-gun-per-minute but the gunners fired up to ten, the 125th Brigade attacked Iberian, Borry and Beck House farms, captured Beck House, then small-arms fire from Hill 35 stopped the rest of the attack, which was a costly failure
40.
Battle of Polygon Wood
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Much of the woodland had been destroyed by the huge quantity of shellfire from both sides since 16 July and the area had changed hands several times. General Herbert Plumer continued the series of British general attacks with limited objectives, preparations were then made swiftly to defeat German counter-attacks, by mopping-up and consolidating the captured ground with defences in depth. The attack inflicted a blow on the German 4th Army, causing many losses, capturing a significant portion of the Flandern I Stellung. German defensive arrangements were changed hastily after the battle to try to counter British offensive superiority, the German defence had nonetheless recovered some of the lost ground in the middle of the attack front and restricted the British advance on the Gheluvelt plateau further south. The unseasonal rains stopped, the ground began to dry and the cessation of British attacks misled the Germans, British preparations for the next step began immediately and both sides studied the effect of the battle and the implications it had for their dispositions. On 21 September, Haig instructed the Fifth and Second Armies to make the next step across the Gheluvelt Plateau, I ANZAC Corps would conduct the main advance of about 1,200 yards, to complete the occupation of Polygon Wood and the south end of Zonnebeke village. The Second Army altered its corps frontages soon after the attack of 20 September so that each attacking division could be concentrated on a 1,000 yards front. Roads and light railways were built behind the new front line to allow artillery and ammunition to be moved forward, beginning on 20 September, as before Menin Road, bombardment and counter-battery fire began immediately, with practice barrages fired daily as a minimum. Artillery from VIII and IX Corps in the south acted to threaten attacks on Zandvoorde, the huge amounts of shellfire from both sides had cut up the ground and destroyed roads. New road circuits were built to carry forward, especially artillery ammunition. Some ground was captured by the Germans and part of it was recaptured by 33rd Division. Plumer ordered that the flank guard protecting the I Anzac Corps on 26 September be formed by 98th Brigade of 33rd Division while 100th Brigade recaptured the lost ground. The methods based on the Second Army Note of 31 August, had proved themselves on 20 September and were to be repeated, increased emphasis was placed on Lewis-guns, rifle-fire and rifle-grenades. Hand-grenades were given less emphasis in favour of more rifle training, the proportion of smoke ammunition for rifle grenades and Stokes mortars was increased, to blind the occupants of German pillboxes as they were being surrounded. All units were required to plan a defence against counter-attack, using the repulse of German infantry as an opportunity to follow up. X Corps was to advance to create a defensive flank on the right, attacking with the 33rd, a brigade of the 58th Division, was to attack up Gravenstafel spur towards Aviatik Farm. The relief of V Corps by II Anzac Corps, to bring the ridge as far north as Passchendaele into the Second Army area was delayed, as the 1st, Tower Hamlets spur overlooked the ground south towards Zandvoorde. The upper valleys of the Reutelbeek and Polygonebeek further north commanded the German counter-attack assembly areas in the low ground north of the Menin road, in between the German defence positions lay the Belgian villages of Zonnebeke and Passchendaele
41.
Operation Michael
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Operation Michael was a major German military offensive during the First World War that began the Spring Offensive on 21 March 1918. It was launched from the Hindenburg Line, in the vicinity of Saint-Quentin and its goal was to break through the Allied lines and advance in a north-westerly direction to seize the Channel ports, which supplied the British Expeditionary Force and to drive the BEF into the sea. Two days later General Ludendorff, the Chief of the German General Staff, changed his plan and pushed for a due west. This was designed to separate the French and British Armies and crush the British forces by pushing them into the sea, much of the ground fought over was the wilderness left by the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The action was officially named by the British Battles Nomenclature Committee as The First Battles of the Somme,1918. The failure of the offensive marked the beginning of the end of the First World War for Germany, the arrival in France of large reinforcements from the United States replaced Entente casualties but the German Army was unable to recover from its losses before these reinforcements took the field. Operation Michael failed to achieve its objectives and the German advance was reversed during the Second Battle of the Somme,1918 in the Allied Hundred Days Offensive. On 11 November 1917, the German High Command discussed what they hoped would be an offensive on the Western Front the following spring. A decision to attack was taken by General Erich Ludendorff on 21 January 1918, at the start of 1918, the German people were close to starvation and growing tired of the war. Germany had 192 divisions and three brigades on the Western Front by 21 March, out of 241 in the German Army, of these divisions,110 were in the front line,50 of which faced the shorter British front. Another 67 divisions were in reserve, with 31 facing the BEF, by May 1918,318,000 American soldiers were due in France, with another million planned to arrive before August. The Germans knew that the chance of victory was to defeat the Allies before the build-up of the American Expeditionary Force was complete. The German strategy for the 1918 Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlacht, involved four offensives, Michael, Georgette, Gneisenau, Michael took place on the Somme and then Georgette was conducted on the Lys and at Ypres, which was planned to confuse the enemy. Blücher took place against the French in the Champagne region, although British intelligence knew that a German offensive was being prepared, this far-reaching plan was much more ambitious than Allied commanders expected. Ludendorff aimed to advance across the Somme, then wheel north-west, to cut the British lines of communication behind the Artois front, trapping the BEF in Flanders. Allied forces would be away from the Channel ports, which were essential for British supply. The British would be surrounded and surrender, the line, taken over from the French, barely existed, needing much work to make it easily defensible to the positions further north, which slowed progress in the area of the Fifth Army. During the winter of 1917–1918, the new British line was established in an arc around St. Quentin, there were many isolated outposts, gaps in the line and large areas of disputed territory and waste land
42.
Battle of the Lys (1918)
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In planning, execution and effects, Georgette was similar to Operation Michael, earlier in the Spring Offensive. The German attack zone was in Flanders, from about 10 kilometres east of Ypres in Belgium to 10 kilometres east of Béthune in France, the front line ran from north-north-east to south-south-west. The Lys River, running from south-west to north-east, crossed the front near Armentières in the middle of this zone. The front was held by the Belgian Army in the far north, by the British Second Army in the north and centre, the German attacking forces were the Sixth Army in the south, and the Fourth Army in the north. Both armies included substantial numbers of the new stosstruppen, trained to lead attacks with the new stormtroop tactics, the British First Army was a relatively weak force, it included several worn-out formations that had been posted to a quiet sector. The German bombardment opened on the evening of 7 April, against the part of the Allied line between Armentières and Festubert. The barrage continued until dawn on 9 April, the Sixth Army then attacked with eight divisions. The German assault struck the Portuguese Second Division, which held a front of about 11 kilometres, the Portuguese division was overrun and withdrew towards Estaires. The British 40th Division collapsed under the German attack and fell back to the north, horne committed his reserves to stem the German breakthrough but they too were defeated. The Germans broke through 15 kilometres of front and advanced up to 8 kilometres, there they were finally halted by British reserve divisions. On 10 April, the Sixth Army tried to push west from Estaires but was contained for a day, pushing north against the flank of the Second Army, also on 10 April, German Fourth Army attacked north of Armentières with four divisions, against the British 19th Division. The Second Army had sent its reserves south to the First Army and the Germans broke through, advancing up to 3 kilometres on a 6 kilometres front, the 25th Division to the south, flanked on both sides, withdrew about 4 kilometres. By 11 April, the British situation was desperate, it was on this day that Haig issued his famous backs to the wall order. On 12 April, the Sixth Army renewed its attack in the south, towards the important supply centre of Hazebrouck, the Germans advanced some 2–4 kilometres and captured Merville. On 13 April they were stopped by the First Australian Division, the British Fourth Division defended Hinges Ridge, the Fifth Division held Nieppe Forest and the 33rd Division was also involved. From 13–15 April, the Germans drove forward in the centre, taking Bailleul,12 kilometres west of Armentières, the Kemmelberg is a height commanding the area between Armentières and Ypres. On 17–19 April, the Fourth Army attacked and was repulsed by the British, on 18 April, the Sixth Army attacked south from the breakthrough area toward Béthune but was repulsed. French marshal, Foch, had assumed supreme command of the Allied forces
43.
Second Battle of Bapaume
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The Second Battle of Bapaume was a battle of the First World War that took place at Bapaume in France, from 21 August 1918 to 3 September 1918. It was a continuation of the Battle of Albert and is referred to as the second phase of that battle. The British and Dominion attack was part of what was known as the Allies Hundred Days Offensive. On 29 August, elements of the New Zealand Division, after fighting in the days prior. It then pushed onto the Bancourt Ridge, to the east of Bapaume, on 8 August 1918, the Hundred Days Offensive commenced on the Western Front and it would prove to be the last major campaign of the First World War. It began with the Battle of Amiens, an attack by the Canadian and Australian Corps at Amiens, the advance petered out after four days after the Germans began to regroup and shore up their defences. Haig decided that the Bapaume sector, with the town of Bapaume at its centre, was to be the new focus of operations, Bapaume itself was a small town linked by rail to Albert and Arras. There were also four major roads running through the town, running to Albert in the south-west, to Peronne in the south-east, to Cambrai in the east and to the north lay Arras. Captured by the forces of Imperial Germany in the stages of the war. Still in German hands, it had largely destroyed in early 1917 following their withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line. Extensive booby traps had also left and these troubled the Australians that moved into the town afterwards. It was subsequently recaptured by the Germans during the Spring Offensive, the land surrounding Bapaume was relatively flat and thus was conducive to the use of tanks. Byng allocated the Third Armys IV Corps to the forthcoming operation, IV Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General George Harper comprised five divisions, all of which would be employed during the battle. The first three to be involved were the New Zealand Division along with the 37th and 42nd Divisions, the other two divisions, the 5th and the 63rd Divisions, were held in reserve before being deployed later in the battle. Of all these divisions, only the New Zealand Division was at full strength, a further two divisions were in reserve. The battle was planned to have two phases, the first, what is now known as the Battle of Albert, was to be an attack across a 15 km front from the village of Puiseux towards the Albert–Arras railway. The New Zealanders, along with the 42nd Division, on its right, were expected to bring the right flank in line with the left, then the 5th and 63rd were to pass through the lines of the 37th Division and move onto and beyond the Albert-Arras railway. The second phase, scheduled to begin on 23 August, was to capture Bapaume and then further east to Reincourt-les-Bapaume and Bancourt-Fremicourt
44.
Battle of the Canal du Nord
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The Battle of Canal du Nord was part of a general Allied offensive against German positions on the Western Front during the Hundred Days Offensive of World War I. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, along a portion of the Canal du Nord. It began one day after the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, one day before an offensive in the Flanders region of Belgium, the assault position was directly along the inter-army boundary between the British First Army and Third Army. Both armies were tasked with continuing the advance started with the Battle of the Drocourt-Quéant Line, Battle of Havrincourt and Battle of Epehy. The British Third Army was additionally tasked with securing the Escaut Canal so as to be in a position to support the British Fourth Army during the Battle of St. Quentin Canal. The British assault on the Drocourt-Quéant Line on 2 September 1918 resulted in the Germans being overrun along a 7, in an effort to gain direct observation of all bridges over the Sensée River and the Canal du Nord the British attack was supposed to continue the following day. However, the German preempted the British attack by withdrawing along a wide front, further to the south, the German Eighteenth and Ninth Armies were to follow in succession, resulting in the abandonment of the entire salient gained during the Spring Offensive by 9 September. In the north the German Fourth and Sixth Armies retreated between Lens and Ypres, abandoning without a fight the Lys salient and the gains made during the Battle of the Lys. British air patrols on the morning of 3 September reported seeing no Germans between the Dury Ridge and the Canal du Nord, likewise, the British Third Army was able to occupy the towns of Quéant and Pronville without any fighting and observed the Germans widely falling back. As the British troops advanced to meet the new German front line they reported the east bank of the Canal du Nord strongly held, the only exception was at Palluel where the Germans maintained a bridgehead on the western side of the canal. The construction of the Canal du Nord began in 1913 and was intended link the Oise River to the Dunkirk-Scheldt Canal, however, with the outbreak of the First World War construction was halted and the work was left in varying stages of completion. On 3 September Supreme Commander of the Allied Armies Généralissime Ferdinand Foch outlined the future course of the Allied offensive campaign along the Western Front. To avoid the risk of having extensive German reserves massed against a single Allied attack, the plan called for Allied attacks at four separate points in the German line, to be launched on four successive days. Army Group Flanders under King Albert I of Belgium would conduct the most northern operation and attack German positions in Flanders and move towards Ghent and Bruges. The British Fourth Army and French First Army would attack the Germans along the Saint-Quentin Canal in an effort to breach the Hindenburg Line between Holnon and Vendhuile. To the south, the First United States Army and French Fourth Army would mount the Meuse-Argonne Offensive between Reims and Verdun, moving along the Meuse River and through the Argonne Forest. The Canal du Nord defensive system was the Germans last major prepared defensive position opposite the British First Army and it was nevertheless a significant obstacle as the Germans had taken measures to incorporate the unfinished canal into their defensive system. The greater arm of the Hindenburg Support Line crossed the canal at Mœuvres and this was supplemented by the Marquion-Cantaing Line which ran along a north-south axis one mile east of the canal and the Marcoing Line located just west of Cambrai
45.
Battle of Cambrai (1918)
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The Battle of Cambrai,1918 was a battle between troops of the British First, Third and Fourth Armies and German Empire forces during the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War. The battle took place in and around the French city of Cambrai, the battle incorporated many of the newer tactics of 1918, in particular tanks. The attack was a success with light casualties in an extremely short amount of time. There were three German lines, spanning some 7,000 yd, held by the 20th Landwehr, the German defenders were unprepared for the bombardment by 324 tanks, closely supported by infantry and aircraft. On 8 October, the 2nd Canadian Division entered Cambrai and encountered sporadic, however, they rapidly pressed northward, leaving the mopping up of the town to the 3rd Canadian Division following close behind. When the 3rd entered the town on 10 October, they found it deserted, fewer than 20 casualties had been taken. Although the capture of Cambrai was achieved significantly sooner than expected, German resistance northeast of the town stiffened, slowing the advance, in the Footsteps of the Canadian Corps, Canadas First World War 1914–1918. Marching as to War, Canadas Turbulent Years, 1899–1953, for King and Empire, The Canadian at Cambrai, September–October 1918. The Battles of the Hindenburg Line
United Kingdom
Territorial Army