1.
Newcastle upon Tyne
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Newcastle is the most populous city in the North East and forms the core of the Tyneside conurbation, the eighth most populous urban area in the United Kingdom. Newcastle is a member of the English Core Cities Group and is a member of the Eurocities network of European cities. Newcastle was part of the county of Northumberland until 1400, when it became a county of itself, the regional nickname and dialect for people from Newcastle and the surrounding area is Geordie. Newcastle also houses Newcastle University, a member of the Russell Group, the city developed around the Roman settlement Pons Aelius and was named after the castle built in 1080 by Robert Curthose, William the Conquerors eldest son. The city grew as an important centre for the trade in the 14th century. The port developed in the 16th century and, along with the lower down the River Tyne, was amongst the worlds largest shipbuilding and ship-repairing centres. Newcastles economy includes corporate headquarters, learning, digital technology, retail, tourism and cultural centres, among its icons are Newcastle United football club and the Tyne Bridge. Since 1981 the city has hosted the Great North Run, a marathon which attracts over 57,000 runners each year. The first recorded settlement in what is now Newcastle was Pons Aelius and it was given the family name of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who founded it in the 2nd century AD. This rare honour suggests Hadrian may have visited the site and instituted the bridge on his tour of Britain, Pons Aelius population at this period was estimated at 2,000. Fragments of Hadrians Wall are visible in parts of Newcastle, particularly along the West Road, the course of the Roman Wall can be traced eastwards to the Segedunum Roman fort in Wallsend—the walls end—and to the supply fort Arbeia in South Shields. After the Roman departure from Britain, completed in 410, Newcastle became part of the powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, conflicts with the Danes in 876 left the river Tyne and its settlements in ruin. After the conflicts with the Danes, and following the 1088 rebellion against the Normans, Monkchester was all, because of its strategic position, Robert Curthose, son of William the Conqueror, erected a wooden castle there in the year 1080. The town was known as Novum Castellum or New Castle. The wooden structure was replaced by a castle in 1087. The castle was again in 1172 during the reign of Henry II. Much of the keep which can be seen in the city dates from this period. Throughout the Middle Ages, Newcastle was Englands northern fortress, incorporated first by Henry II, the city had a new charter granted by Elizabeth in 1589
2.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
3.
Royal Army Medical Corps
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The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. Together with the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps and Queen Alexandras Royal Army Nursing Corps, because it is not a fighting arm, under the Geneva Conventions, members of the RAMC may only use their weapons for self-defence. Other ranks do not fix bayonets, neither do they prefix Surgeon in front of their rank as medical officers of the Royal Navy do. The RAMC, like every other British regiment, has its own distinctive unit insignia, dark blue beret, the default Army colour worn by units without distinctive coloured berets. There is also a small attachment to Special Forces, the Medical Support Unit who wear the beret of the SAS. Cap badge depicting the Rod of Asclepius, surmounted by a crown, enclosed within a wreath, with the regimental motto In Arduis Fidelis. The cap badge is worn 1 inch above the eye on the beret. The cap badge of the ranks must also be backed by an oval patch of dull cherry-red coloured cloth measuring 3.81 cm wide and 6.35 cm high sewn directly to the beret. Officers do not use the backing, but have a cloth cap badge instead. Silver regimental collar badges, a miniature of the cap badge, stable belt comprising equal horizontal bands of dull cherry, royal blue, and old gold, reflecting the old uniform worn in the 1900s, the gold depicting the royal in the title. Silver belt buckle with engraved regimental badge, Medical services in the British armed services go as far back as the formation of the Standing Regular Army after the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. This was the first time a career was provided for a Medical Officer, known as the Regimental Surgeon, both in peacetime and in war. The Army was formed entirely on a basis, and an MO with a Warrant Officer as his Assistant Surgeon was appointed to each regiment. The MO was also for the first time concerned in the health of his troops. This regimental basis of appointment for MOs continued until 1873, when an army medical service was set up. There was much unhappiness in the Army Medical Service in the following years, for medical officers did not actually have military rank but advantages corresponding to relative military rank. They had inferior pay in India, excessive amounts of Indian and colonial service and they did not have their own identity as did the Army Service Corps, whose officers did have military rank. A number of complaints were published, and the British Medical Journal campaigned loudly, for over two years after 27 July 1887 there were no recruits to the Army Medical Department
4.
6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons
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The 6th Dragoons was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1689 as Sir Albert Cunninghams Regiment of Dragoons. One of the regiments most notable battles was the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690 and it became the 6th Regiment of Dragoons in 1751. The British Army reorganised and reduced its cavalry corps by disbanding or amalgamating many of its famous cavalry regiments, the Inniskillings was one of those affected. It saw service for two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated with 5th Dragoon Guards to form 5th/6th Dragoons in 1922. In 1689 James II Stuart, the dethroned King of England, during the Defence of Enniskillen in 1689 the Governor of the town Gustav Hamilton raised three regiments to fight on the side of William of Orange. An oath was taken by each man upon a bible, I, D. H. do hereby testify and declare, and upon the Holy Evangelists swear, so help me God, and the holy contents of this book. One of the regiments raised was a unit of Dragoons. As was the custom of that time the regiment was named Cunninghams Dragoons - after its officer, Sir Albert Cunningham. It would later become known as the Enniskillen Dragoons, after Hamiltons headquarters at Enniskillen Castle, Inniskilling was the original name of the town - anglicised from Irish meaning Island of Kathleen. Since then the name has changed around 20 times before settling on its present spelling of Enniskillen. After the relief of the Siege of Derry in 1689 the regiment continued its pursuance of the Williamite Wars, on 19 June an attempt was made to force contact with Jacobite forces under the command of Brigadier Sutherland. Next day, Wednesday the 19th of June, they marched forward, having taken up their position in the houses overtopping the churchyard, they so galled the garrison with their shot that at the end of two hours it consented to surrender. The conditions were all the prisoners should have their lives. In addition, a quantity of provisions amounting to twenty tons of bread, flour, wheat. The regiment was numbered the 7th Dragoon Regiment in 1690 and fought with distinction at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690, in 1691 it was renamed Echlins Dragoons. The regiment was renamed the 6th Regiment of Dragoons in 1751, the regiment then fought at the Battle of Minden in August 1759 and the Battle of Wetter also in August 1759 during the Seven Years War. The Union Brigade was composed of three regiments of cavalry, one English, one Scottish The Scots Greys and one Irish. The Inniskillings were commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Muter, who was wounded during the battle, the Union Cavalry Brigade was now ordered forward
5.
James Wyatt
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James Wyatt RA was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style and neo-Gothic style. Wyatt spent six years in Italy, 1762–68, in company with Richard Bagot of Staffordshire, in Venice, Wyatt studied with Antonio Visentini as an architectural draughtsman and painter. Back in England, his selection as architect of the proposed Pantheon or Winter Ranelagh in Oxford Street, London, brought him almost unparalleled instant success. His brother Samuel was one of the promoters of the scheme. When the Pantheon was opened in 1772, their choice was at once endorsed by the fashionable public, externally it was unremarkable, but the classicising domed hall surrounded by galleried aisles and apsidal ends, was something new in assembly rooms, and brought its architect immediate celebrity. On the 15 February 1785 Wyatt was elected an Academician of the Royal Academy, in later years, he carried out alterations at Frogmore for Queen Charlotte, and was made Surveyor-General of the Works. Between 1805 and 1808 Wyatt remodelled West Dean House in West Dean, wyatt’s work was remarkable because it is built entirely of flint, even to the door and window openings, which would normally be lined with stone. In 1776, Wyatt succeeded Henry Keene as Surveyor to Westminster Abbey, in 1782 he became, in addition, Architect of the Ordnance. The death of Sir William Chambers brought him the post of Surveyor General, Wyatt was now the principal architect of the day, the recipient of more commissions than he could well fulfil. His widespread practice and the duties of his official posts left him time to give proper attention to the individual needs of his clients. In 1804, Jeffry Wyatt told Farington that his uncle had lost many great commissions by such neglect, Wyatt was a brilliant but facile designer, whose work is not characterized by any markedly individual style. It was not until towards the end of his life that he and his brother Samuel developed the severe, meanwhile, Wyatts reputation as a rival to Robert Adam had been eclipsed by his celebrity as a Gothic architect. Every Georgian architect was called upon from time to time to designs in the medieval style. In the following year, however, he was permitted to add F. S. A. to his name by a majority of one hundred, Wyatt was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785, and took an active part in the politics of the Academy. But his election was never approved by the King. Wyatt was one of the founders of the Architects Club in 1791, in 1802 Wyatt built a new house for the 7th Earl of Bridgewater on the Ashridge estate in Hertfordshire which is now a Grade I listed building. In 1803 Thomas Johnes hired Wyatt to design Saint Michels Hafod Church, Eglwys Newydd, in Ceredigion, Wales. He died on 4 September 1813 as the result of an accident to the carriage in which he was travelling over the Marlborough Downs with his friend and employer, Christopher Codrington of Dodington Park
6.
Chartism
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Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in Britain that existed from 1838 to 1857. Support for the movement was at its highest in 1839,1842, and 1848, the strategy employed was to use the scale of support which these petitions and the accompanying mass meetings demonstrated to put pressure on politicians to concede manhood suffrage. Chartism thus relied on constitutional methods to secure its aims, though there were some who became involved in activities, notably in south Wales. The Peoples Charter called for six reforms to make the system more democratic, A vote for every man twenty-one years of age, of sound mind. The secret ballot to protect the elector in the exercise of his vote, no property qualification for Members of Parliament in order to allow the constituencies to return the man of their choice. Payment of Members, enabling tradesmen, working men, or other persons of modest means to leave or interrupt their livelihood to attend to the interests of the nation. Equal constituencies, securing the same amount of representation for the number of electors. This sense that the class had been betrayed by the middle class was strengthened by the actions of the Whig governments of the 1830s. Notably, the hated new Poor Law Amendment was passed in 1834, depriving working people of outdoor relief and driving the poor into workhouses, where families were separated. It was the wave of opposition to this measure in the north of England in the late 1830s that gave Chartism the numbers that made it a mass movement. In 1836 the London Working Mens Association was founded by William Lovett and Henry Hetherington, the origins of Chartism in Wales can be traced to the foundation in the autumn of 1836 of Carmarthen Working Mens Association. Both nationally and locally a Chartist press thrived in the form of periodicals, the Poor Mans Guardian in the 1830s, edited by Henry Hetherington, dealt with questions of class solidarity, manhood suffrage, property, and temperance, and condemned the Reform Act of 1832. The paper explored the rhetoric of violence versus non-violence, or what its writers referred to as moral versus physical force and it was succeeded as the voice of radicalism by an even more famous paper, the Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser. The Star was published between 1837 and 1852, and in 1839 was the provincial newspaper in Britain, with a circulation of 50,000 copies. Like other Chartist papers it was read aloud in coffee houses, workplaces. Other Chartist periodicals included the Northern Liberator, English Chartist Circular, the papers gave justifications for the demands of the Peoples Charter, accounts of local meetings, commentaries on education and temperance and a great deal of poetry. The papers also advertised upcoming meetings, typically organised by local grass roots branches, held either in public houses, readers also found denunciations of imperialism—the First Opium War was condemned—and of the arguments of free traders about the civilizing and pacifying influences of free trade. In 1837, six Members of Parliament and six working men, including William Lovett formed a committee and this set out the six main aims of the movement
7.
Royal Horse Artillery
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The regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery, dating from 1793, are part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery of the British Army. Horses are still in service for ceremonial purposes but were phased out from deployment during the 1930s. Britain remained in conflict with France for almost 22 years, during which time significant progress was achieved in artillery development. The first two troops of Horse Artillery were raised in January 1793 at Goodwood, East Sussex, by the Master-General of the Ordnance and they were joined by two more troops in November 1793. Each troop had six 6-pounder guns, included in the establishment were 45 drivers and 187 horses, making it the first self-contained fighting unit of artillery. Initially, horses were hired with civilian drivers, in 1794 a Driver Corps was raised which, however, did not formally become a unit of the Royal Artillery until after Waterloo. There were many disadvantages of the control until horses and drivers were organised into the RHA troops. Another development was the formation of a headquarters staff providing a channel between the regiment and the Board of Ordnance, captain John Macleod was the first brigade major and became the first deputy-adjutant-general in 1795. By 1806, eleven troops had been formed, with ten companies of the Royal Irish Artillery incorporated, as the Seventh Battalion, the regiment wore light cavalry uniforms of blue with gold lace and red facings. Their overalls were grey with a red stripe and on their heads they wore the distinctive Tarleton helmets, if needed, they carried 1796 light-cavalry sabres or their own semi-official RHA 1796P sabre. In 1859, the battalion was replaced by brigade. The five Horse Artillery brigades consisted of two batteries each, between 1899 and 1924, the Royal Artillery was divided, with the creation of the Royal Field Artillery which utilised horse for its medium-calibre guns. When the Territorial Force was created in 1908, artillery units of the old Volunteer Force were converted into foot, horse, there were 14 batteries of horse artillery,12 of which belonged to the RHA, the remaining two being provided by the Honourable Artillery Company. Territorial batteries were of four guns each rather than the six guns of regular batteries, the principal weapon of Territorial RHA units was the Ordnance QF15 pounder although the Ordnance BLC15 pounder was issued to some second-line RHA units formed in 1914. At the outbreak of World War I the regular RHA comprised twenty-five batteries and they were equipped with the Ordnance QF13 pounder. In the 1920s, development of trucks and track vehicles brought an end to use of horses. By 1927, medium artillery was drawn by tractors instead of heavy draught horses, by 1937, nine field brigades had been mechanised as well as a brigade of RHA. The last battery to be mechanised was K Battery, in 1939, today, the ceremonial Kings Troop alone retains the glamour of the mounted batteries
8.
Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
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The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment adopted the title Northumberland Fusiliers when regimental numbers were abolished under the Childers Reforms of 1881, the regiment was originally part of the Dutch service and known as the Irish Regiment, or Viscount Clares Regiment, under the command of Daniel OBrien, 3rd Viscount Clare. In the following year the colonelcy passed to John Fenwick and the Irish designation was discontinued, the regiment was transferred to the British Service on 5 June 1685, establishing its order of precedence as the 5th Regiment of the Line. Like most other regiments, it was known by the names of the colonels who commanded it at the time until it became the 5th Regiment of Foot in 1751. The regiment took part in the Irish campaign of 1690–1691, and was present at the Battle of the Boyne, the Second Siege of Athlone, in 1692 the unit sailed for Flanders where they were to remain for five years. In 1695 they were part of the forces that recaptured Namur. With the ending of the war by the Treaty of Ryswick they returned to England in 1697, the regiment spent the years 1707–1713 in Spain. They were one of four English regiments who fought an action with their Portuguese allies at Campo Maior in 1709. During the Anglo-Spanish War of 1727, the regiment formed part of the garrison of Gibraltar which withheld the Spanish during the four-month-long siege. On 1 July 1751 a royal warrant provided that in future regiments would not be known by their colonels names, accordingly, Lieutenant-General Irvines Regiment was redesignated as the 5th Regiment of Foot. The next major conflict in which the 5th foot was involved was the Seven Years War, the regiment took part in the Raid on Cherbourg in 1758, the Battle of Warburg in 1760, the Battle of Kirch Denkern in 1761 and the Battle of Wilhelmsthal in 1762. The 5th left Monkstown, Ireland on 7 May 1774, for Boston and their presence was necessary because of strong civil unrest in the area. Arriving in July,1774 the 5th camped near the town, on 19 April 1775, the Light Infantry and Grenadier Companies participated in the march to Concord, and the resulting fighting at Lexington, Concord, and the march back to Boston. Casualties were five men killed, three officers and 15 men wounded, and one man captured, on 17 June 1775, after being under siege by American forces for two months, the regiment participated in the attack on the fortifications at Breeds Hill. After spending two months on board ship in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the 5th sailed to New York to participate in the effort to capture the city from the Americans. They took part in the Battle of Long Island and the Battle of White Plains, the capture of Fort Washington, New York and they then spent the winter of 1776-1777 quartered near New York City and were involved in skirmishes with the American forces. They were then part of Howes campaign to capture Philadelphia, being engaged in the Battle of Brandywine Creek, on the retreat through New Jersey, on 28 June 1778, the regiment was involved in the fighting at Monmouth Court House. While in New York, the 5th participated in raids and skirmishes, including a raid on Little Egg Harbor
9.
Durham Light Infantry
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The Durham Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served notably in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II, the Korean War and the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. During times of peace it had duty in India, China, West Germany, both already had their depots at Sunderland Barracks in Sunderland, as was the Brigade Depot. The militia battalions – the 1st Durham Fusiliers and 2nd North Durham Militia – became the 3rd and 4th battalions of the new regiment, with their depots in Barnard Castle and Durham City. A new regimental badge was to be worn, a Tudor rose, this was never worn on any article of clothing, instead the light infantry bugle horn was modified with a crown and the regiments abbreviation. The system was designed to permit one regular battalion of a regiment to be stationed at home, on formation of the regiment the 1st Battalion was in India at Meerut and the 2nd Battalion was in Ireland at Dublin. In August 1882 the 2nd Battalion was sent to the garrison the Mediterranean, the move was not popular as it took the Depot out of the County, it was not to return until 1939, when it was transferred to Brancepeth Castle. After the battle, while securing one of the Arabs nuggers, brought back and baptised as James Francis Durham he would enlist with the regiment and become a corporal of buglers before dying in August 1910. In January 1887, the 2nd Battalion sailed from Suez to India, while in India, the 2nd Battalion came to dominate the Indian polo scene, winning 17 tournaments against rich mens regiments and cavalry regiments. In 1897 and 1898, it assisted in combating outbreaks of the plague in Poona, the battalion was in a supporting role for the Relief of Ladysmith and took little part in the offensive that ended with the annexation of the Transvaal in September 1900. The war now became one of guerilla raids by the Boers against the British forces, the battalion was deployed guarding a section of railway line in the Transvaal, while sending two platoon sized units to the mounted infantry. During this time the battalion was joined or reinforced by units from the regiment. One company from the 2nd battalion came from India in January 1900 and formed part of the Burmah Mounted Infantry, the 4th arrived in February 1902 and was split into detachments serving in many places, and a mounted infantry company, which escorted convoys. The 4th returned to Britain in September, the volunteer battalions supplied contingents to form three special service companies, reinforcing the 1st battalion, which served individually between from March 1900 to April 1902. In 1908, as part of the Territorial Forces Act, the 3rd and 4th battalions exchanged numbers and were recast as the 3rd, the 1st to 5th Volunteer battalions were renumbered as the 5th to 9th battalions Durham Light Infantry of the Territorial Force. The 5th formed part of the York and Durham Brigade and the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th battalions forming the Durham Light Infantry Brigade of the Northumbrian Division, in 1911, the 1st battalion took part in the Delhi Durbar, receiving new colours from the King. During the First World War, the D. L. I, some battalions were part of the Army of occupation in Germany after the War. In addition, ten battalions of County Volunteers were raised under the terms of the 1859 Volunteer act, the regiment earned 59 battle honours and won six Victoria Crosses, but at the cost of 12,006 dead NCOs and other ranks
10.
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
11.
Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
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The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is an Infantry Regiment of the British Army, part of the Queens Division. There are also a number of independent Reservist Fusilier sub-units based across England, whilst the Fusiliers traditionally recruited in specific counties, today as an English regiment the Fusiliers recruit nationally. All battalions have also deployed to Northern Ireland on Operation Banner multiple times. In 2003 First Fusiliers Battlegroup were at the forefront of the Coalition Invasion of Iraq, over the next decade the Regiment carried out multiple operational tours of Iraq. In 2006 elements of the former Second Fusiliers were deployed to Afghanistan to support the International Security Assistance Force. Deployed to the town of Now Zad they rapidly found themselves fighting off a sustained Taliban attack that lasted for 107 days - the longest siege of British troops since World War II. Over the following elements of the Regiment deployed on several occasions to Afghanistan. Most recently the whole of First Fusiliers deployed to Nahri Saraj District, Afghanistan in 2013, the Regiment received a reserve battalion, the 5th Battalion RRF, through the redesignation of Tyne-Tees Regiment, on 1 April 2006. In September 2014 the Second Fusiliers amalgamated with the First under Army 2020, First Fusiliers are an Armoured Infantry Battalion based on Salisbury Plain in Tidworth Camp, Wiltshire. Equipped with the Warrior IFV, the Battalion is part of the Reactive Force of the Army and are held at high readiness as part of the Armys armoured war fighting reserve. In 2016 the First Fusiliers were the Armys Lead Armoured Battle Group, the Battalion is highly experienced with multiple deployments in the last two decades to Bosnia, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan. Many Second Fusiliers soldiers with further experiences also joined the First Fusiliers on the merger, more recently the First Fusiliers have deployed around the world on exercise in places as diverse as Brunei, Kenya, the Baltic States and Canada. The First Fusiliers also regularly work in support of the powers in the UK. In 2013 large elements of the First Fusiliers were deployed to Wraysbury, the First Fusiliers won the Army Boxing Championships in 2016, beating 2 PARA in the final. The Fifth Fusiliers are a Reserve Battalion within the British Army centred on the North East of England, as a Fusilier regiment the Fusiliers wear a hackle – the red-over-white hackle of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers. This distinction was originally a white plume which His Majestys Fifth Regiment of Foot had taken from the dress of fallen French troops at St. Lucia in December 1778. The combined Victoria Crosses of the Fusiliers and its ancestor regiments total fifty five, the regiments traditional mascot is an Indian Blackbuck Antelope called Bobby, inherited from the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers. However Indian Blackbuck Antelopes are now protected under animal welfare rules, as a substitute the Regiment uses an Otterhound called George, who holds the rank of Fusilier and attends all the major parades which the Regiment is involved in
12.
Alnwick Castle
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Alnwick Castle is a castle and stately home in Alnwick in the English county of Northumberland. It is the seat of the Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman conquest and it is a Grade I listed building and as of 2012 received over 800,000 visitors per year. Alnwick Castle guards a road crossing the River Aln. Yves de Vescy, Baron of Alnwick, Beatrix de Vesci, daughter of Yves de Vescy married Eustace Fitz John, Constable of Chestershire and Knaresborough. By his marriage to Beatrix de Vesci he gained the Baronies of Malton, the castle was first mentioned in 1136 when it was captured by King David I of Scotland. At this point it was described as very strong and it was besieged in 1172 and again in 1174 by William the Lion, King of Scotland and William was captured outside the walls during the Battle of Alnwick. Eustace de Vesci, lord of Alnwick, was accused of plotting with Robert Fitzwalter against King John in 1212, in response, John ordered the demolition of Alnwick Castle and Baynards Castle, however, his instructions were not carried out at Alnwick. When the Vescy family became extinct, Alnwick Castle and the manor were bequeathed to Antony Bek the Bishop of Durham. The Percy family benefited from Englands wars with Scotland, through his military accomplishments Henry Percy, 1st Baron Percy, in 1309 he purchased the barony of Alnwick from Bek, and it has been owned by the Percy family, the Earls and later Dukes of Northumberland since. The stone castle Henry Percy bought was a modest affair, though he did not live to see its completion, the building programme turned Alnwick into a major fortress along the Anglo-Scottish border. His son, also called Henry, continued the building, the Abbots Tower, the Middle Gateway and the Constables Tower survive from this period. The work at Alnwick Castle balanced military requirements with the familys residential needs, in 1345 the Percys acquired Warkworth Castle, also in Northumberland. Though Alnwick was considered prestigious, Warkworth became the familys preferred residence. The Percy family were lords in northern England. Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, rebelled against King Richard II, the earl later rebelled against King Henry IV and after defeating the earl in the Battle of Shrewsbury, the king chased him north to Alnwick. The castle surrendered under the threat of bombardment in 1403, during the Wars of the Roses, castles were infrequently engaged in battle and conflict was generally based around combat in the field. It was held against King Edward until its surrender in mid-September 1461 after the Battle of Towton, re-captured by Sir William Tailboys, during the winter it was surrendered by him to Hastings, Sir John Howard and Sir Ralph Grey of Heton in late July 1462. Grey was appointed captain but surrendered after a siege in the early autumn. King Edward responded with vigour and when the Earl of Warwick arrived in November Queen Margaret and her French advisor and they organised a mainly Scots relief force which, under George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus and de Brézé, set out on 22 November
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