1.
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
2.
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
3.
Casualty (person)
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In civilian usage, a casualty is a person who is killed, wounded or injured by some event, and is usually used to describe multiple deaths and injuries due to violent incidents or disasters. Casualties is sometimes misunderstood to mean fatalities, but non-fatal injuries are also casualties, any casualty is no longer available for the immediate battle or campaign, the major consideration in combat, and the reason for lumping together all these different cases. The word has been used in a military context since at least 1513, civilian casualties are civilians killed or injured by military personnel or combatants, sometimes instead referred to by the euphemistic expression collateral damage. Any casualty incurred as the result of hostile action, sustained in combat or relating thereto. These definitions are popular among military historians, in relation to personnel, any person killed in action, missing in action or who died of wounds or diseases before being evacuated to a medical installation. There is a distinction between combat medical casualty and non-combat medical casualty, a casualty classification generally used to describe any person reported missing during combat operations. They may have deserted, or may have killed, wounded. A casualty classification generally used to any person who has incurred an injury by means of action of hostile forces. A casualty classification generally used to any person captured and held in custody by hostile forces. These numbers are cited together with or instead of total casualties. According to WHO World health report 2004, deaths from injuries were estimated to be 2. 8% of all deaths. In the same report, unintentional injury was estimated to be responsible for 6. 2% of all deaths, list of causes of death by rate Casualty – Definition from the Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary. Online text, War Casualties, by Albert G. Love, Lt. Colonel, Medical Corps, Medical Field Service School, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. The Army Medical Bulletin Number 24, selected Death Tolls for Wars, Massacres and Atrocities Before the 20th Century. Twentieth Century Atlas – Death Tolls, combat Casualties and Race, What Can We Learn from the 2003–2004 Iraq Conflict. Armed Forces & Society, Jan 2005, vol, kummel, Gerhard and Nina LeonhardCasualties and Civil-Military Relations, The German Polity between Learning and Indifference. Armed Forces & Society, Jul 2005, vol. A Review of Popular Theories of Casualty Aversion, Armed Forces & Society, Jul 2005, vol. 31, pp. 487–512 Van Der Meulen, Jan and Joseph Soeters. Considering Casualties, Risk, Armed Forces & Society, Jul 2005, vol
4.
Casualty Clearing Station
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A casualty clearing station is a military medical facility behind the front lines that is used to treat wounded soldiers. A CCS would usually be located just beyond the range of enemy artillery, the CCS receives battlefield casualties from regimental aid posts located in the combat zone. Casualties that cannot be treated in the CCS are stabilized there before being transported to a field hospital or military hospital. Casualty Clearing Station is the used by the British Army. Royal Army Medical Corps Aid station Casualty Clearing Stations in the British Army of 1914-1918
5.
Artillery
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Artillery is a class of large military weapons built to fire munitions far beyond the range and power of infantrys small arms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach fortifications, and led to heavy, as technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery developed for battlefield use. This development continues today, modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility providing the largest share of an armys total firepower, in its earliest sense, the word artillery referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armour. In common speech, the artillery is often used to refer to individual devices, along with their accessories and fittings. However, there is no generally recognised generic term for a gun, howitzer, mortar, and so forth, the United States uses artillery piece, the projectiles fired are typically either shot or shell. Shell is a widely used term for a projectile, which is a component of munitions. By association, artillery may also refer to the arm of service that customarily operates such engines, in the 20th Century technology based target acquisition devices, such as radar, and systems, such as sound ranging and flash spotting, emerged to acquire targets, primarily for artillery. These are usually operated by one or more of the artillery arms, Artillery originated for use against ground targets—against infantry, cavalry and other artillery. An early specialist development was coastal artillery for use against enemy ships, the early 20th Century saw the development of a new class of artillery for use against aircraft, anti-aircraft guns. Artillery is arguably the most lethal form of land-based armament currently employed, the majority of combat deaths in the Napoleonic Wars, World War I, and World War II were caused by artillery. In 1944, Joseph Stalin said in a speech that artillery was the God of War, although not called as such, machines performing the role recognizable as artillery have been employed in warfare since antiquity. The first references in the historical tradition begin at Syracuse in 399 BC. From the Middle Ages through most of the era, artillery pieces on land were moved by horse-drawn gun carriages. In the contemporary era, the artillery and crew rely on wheeled or tracked vehicles as transportation, Artillery used by naval forces has changed significantly also, with missiles replacing guns in surface warfare. The engineering designs of the means of delivery have likewise changed significantly over time, in some armies, the weapon of artillery is the projectile, not the equipment that fires it. The process of delivering fire onto the target is called gunnery, the actions involved in operating the piece are collectively called serving the gun by the detachment or gun crew, constituting either direct or indirect artillery fire. The term gunner is used in armed forces for the soldiers and sailors with the primary function of using artillery. The gunners and their guns are usually grouped in teams called either crews or detachments, several such crews and teams with other functions are combined into a unit of artillery, usually called a battery, although sometimes called a company
6.
Brigade
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A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment, two or more brigades may constitute a division. Brigades formed into divisions are usually infantry or armored, in addition to combat units, they may include combat support units or sub-units, such as artillery and engineers, and logistic units or sub-units. Historically, such brigades have sometimes been called brigade-groups, on operations, a brigade may comprise both organic elements and attached elements, including some temporarily attached for a specific task. Brigades may also be specialized and comprise battalions of a branch, for example cavalry, mechanized, armored, artillery, air defence, aviation, engineers. Some brigades are classified as independent or separate and operate independently from the division structure. The typical NATO standard brigade consists of approximately 3,200 to 5,500 troops, however, in Switzerland and Austria, the numbers could go as high as 11,000 troops. The Soviet Union, its forerunners and successors, mostly use regiment instead of brigade, a brigades commander is commonly a major general, brigadier general, brigadier or colonel. In some armies, the commander is rated as a General Officer, the brigade commander has a self-contained headquarters and staff. Some brigades may also have a deputy commander, the headquarters has a nucleus of staff officers and support that can vary in size depending on the type of brigade. On operations, additional specialist elements may be attached, the headquarters will usually have its own communications unit. In some gendarmerie forces, brigades are the organizational unit. The brigade as a military unit came about starting in the 15th century when the British army, as such a field army became larger, the number of subordinate commanders became unmanageable for the officer in general command of said army, usually a major general, to effectively command. In order to streamline command relationships, as well as effect some modicum of control, especially in regard to combined arms operations. The terms origin is found in two French roots, which together, meant roughly those who fight, the so-called brigada was a well-mixed unit, comprising infantry, cavalry and normally also artillery, designated for a special task. The size of such brigada ranged from a company of up to two regiments. The brigada was the forerunner of the battalion task force, battle group. The brigade was improved as a unit by the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus
7.
Division (military)
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A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. Infantry divisions during the World Wars ranged between 10,000 and 30,000 in nominal strength, in most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. In the West, the first general to think of organising an army into smaller units was Maurice de Saxe, Marshal General of France. He died at the age of 54, without having implemented his idea, victor-François de Broglie put the ideas into practice. He conducted successful practical experiments of the system in the Seven Years War. The first war in which the system was used systematically was the French Revolutionary War. It made the more flexible and easy to manoeuvre. Under Napoleon, the divisions were grouped together into corps, because of their increasing size, napoleons military success spread the divisional and corps system all over Europe, by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, all armies in Europe had adopted it. In modern times, most military forces have standardized their divisional structures, the peak use of the division as the primary combat unit occurred during World War II, when the belligerents deployed over a thousand divisions. With technological advances since then, the power of each division has increased. Divisions are often formed to organize units of a particular type together with support units to allow independent operations. In more recent times, divisions have mainly been organized as combined arms units with subordinate units representing various combat arms, in this case, the division often retains the name of a more specialized division, and may still be tasked with a primary role suited to that specialization. For the most part, large cavalry units did not remain after World War II, in general, two new types of cavalry were developed, air cavalry or airmobile, relying on helicopter mobility, and armored cavalry, based on an autonomous armored formation. The former was pioneered by the 11th Air Assault Division, formed on 1 February 1963 at Fort Benning, on 29 June 1965 the division was renamed as the 1st Cavalry Division, before its departure for the Vietnam War. After the end of the Vietnam War, the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganised and re-equipped with tanks, the development of the tank during World War I prompted some nations to experiment with forming them into division-size units. Many did this the way as they did cavalry divisions, by merely replacing cavalry with AFVs. This proved unwieldy in combat, as the units had many tanks, instead, a more balanced approach was taken by adjusting the number of tank, infantry, artillery, and support units. A panzer division was a division of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS of Germany during World War II
8.
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
9.
Battle of Beersheba (1917)
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After successful limited attacks in the morning, by infantry from the 60th and the 74th Divisions of the XX Corps from the south-west, the Anzac Mounted Division launched a series of attacks. These attacks, against the defences which dominated the eastern side of Beersheba. In June the Ottoman Fourth Army was reorganised when the new Yildirim Army Group was established, commanded by German General Erich von Falkenhayn, at about the same time, the British General Edmund Allenby replaced General Archibald Murray as commander of the EEF. Allenby reorganised the EEF to give him command of three corps, in the process deactivating Chetwodes Eastern Force and placing him in command of one of the two infantry corps. At the same time Chauvels Desert Column was renamed the Desert Mounted Corps, as the stalemate continued through the summer in difficult conditions on the northern edge of the Negev Desert, EEF reinforcements began to strengthen the divisions. While the primary functions of the EEF and the Ottoman Army during this time were to man the front lines and patrol the eastern flank. By mid-October, while the battle of Passchendaele continued on the Western Front, Beersheba was defended by lines of trenches, supported by isolated redoubts on earthworks and hills, which covered all approaches to the town. The Ottoman garrison was eventually encircled by the two infantry and two mounted divisions, as launched their attacks. The 60th Divisions preliminary attack and capture of the redoubt on Hill 1070, then a joint attack by the 60th and 74th Divisions captured all their objectives. Meanwhile, to the north-east of Beersheba the Anzac Mounted Division cut the road from Beersheba to Hebron, continuous fighting against the main redoubt and defences on Tel el Saba, resulted eventually in its capture in the afternoon. During this fighting the 3rd Light Horse Brigade had been sent to reinforce the Anzac Mounted Division, with all brigades of both mounted divisions already committed to the battle, the only brigade available, was ordered to capture Beersheba. These sword-less mounted infantrymen galloped over the plain, riding towards the town and these squadrons rode on across the railway line and into Beersheba, to complete the first step of an offensive which would see the EEF capture Jerusalem, six weeks later. After their second defeat at Gaza in April, General Archibald Murray sacked the commander of Eastern Force, Lieutenant General Philip Chetwode was promoted to command Eastern Force, while Harry Chauvel was promoted to Lieutenant General with command of the Desert Column. Major General Edward Chaytor was promoted from the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, with the arrival of General Edmund Allenby in June, Murray was also relieved of command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, and sent back to England. Such an attack against rudimentary EEF defences on the edge of the Negev could have been disastrous for the EEF. Instead, both sides constructed permanent defences stretching from the sea west of Gaza to Shellal on the Wadi Ghazzeh, from Shellal, the lightly-entrenched EEF line extended to El Gamli before continuing south 7 miles to Tel el Fara. The western sector was strongly entrenched, wired and defended by EEF, the eastern sector, stretching east and south across the open plain, was patrolled by Desert Columns mounted infantry and yeomanry. At every opportunity patrols and outposts harassed opposing forces, while wells, the town of Gaza was strongly defended, having been developed into a strong modern fortress, well entrenched and wired, with good observation and a glacis on its southern and south–eastern face
10.
Third Battle of Gaza
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Despite having held this line since March 1917, the Ottoman Army was forced to evacuate Gaza and Tel el Khuweilfe during the night of 6/7 November. Only Sheria held out for most of the 7 November before it too was captured, entrenched defences approximately on the lines held at the end of the second battle were strengthened, and both sides undertook regular mounted reconnaissances into the open eastern flank. In late June, Allenby replaced General Archibald Murray as commander of the EEF, at about the same time, the Ottoman Fourth Army was also restructured. The Ottoman defenders were reinforced at this time, and both sides carried out training while manning the front lines and monitoring the open eastern flank. Prior to the Second Battle of Gaza, the town had developed into a strong modern fortress, with entrenchments, wire entanglements. A series of works, mutually supported by artillery, machine guns and rifles. Beginning on 27 October, the EEF began a heavy and almost continuous bombardment of Gaza, yet these attacks were only partially successful due to the strength of the garrison. The bombardment of Gaza intensified on 6 November and during the night of 6/7 November successful attacks were launched on several trench systems, on the morning of 7 November, Gaza was found to have been evacuated during the night. The Gaza to Beersheba line subsequently collapsed and the Ottoman Seventh and Eighth Armies were forced into retreat, following several battles during the pursuit, the EEF captured Jerusalem on 9 December 1917. Gaza was a modern fortress, well entrenched and wired, with good observation. These defences which were too strong for an attack were extended eastwards by a series of field works to four miles from Beersheba. These fortifications were between 1,500 to 2,000 yards apart, each supported by fire from artillery, machine guns. As the troops of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force began to concentrate in preparation for their attacks, the EEF assumed their opponents thought there were still six infantry divisions in the Gaza area and one in the eastern sector towards Beersheba. However, according to Falls, here is evidence that the were fairly accurately informed of the British dispositions. On 28 October, they knew the camps at Khan Yunis and Rafa were empty and they estimated more cavalry at Asluj and Khalasa than was actually there. The loss of Beersheba on 31 October stunned the Yildirim Army Group commander, the Beersheba garrison withdrew either to the Ottoman defences around Tel es Sheria or northwards to Tel el Khuweilfe to defend the Hebron road. Here a considerable force, including all available units, was deployed in the Kuweilfeh area to stop a threatened advance up the Hebron road to Jerusalem about fifty miles to the north. The Turkish line had been back on its left
11.
Battle of Tel el Khuweilfe
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During fighting for the town, the road from Beersheba to Jerusalem via Hebron, was cut just north of the town in the southern spur of the Judean Hills. Here Ottoman units strongly defended the road and the Seventh Army headquarters at Hebron, over the next week, attacks by the 53rd Division, the Anzac Mounted Division, and the 5th Mounted Brigade attempted to capture the Khuweilfe position. Attacks were launched by the British infantry and Yeomanry cavalry, and Australian, both sides constructed extensive entrenchments, which were particularly strong where the trenches almost converged, near Gaza. These trenches resembled those on the Western Front, except they were not as extensive, however, the conditions on the northern edge of the Negev desert were extremely difficult, with both sides camped in the open during the summer. Just prior to the arrival of General Edmund Allenby in July, although these were significant organisational changes, they did not change the tactical deployments of the Ottoman III, XX and XXII Corps, defending the Gaza to Beersheba line. The loss of Beersheba on 31 October stunned the Yildirim Army Group commander, all available reserve units would soon be deployed in the Kuweilfeh area. Here, the Ottoman defenders were able to establish new defences, and they were to protect the only metalled road heading north in the region, which ran direct to Hebron and Jerusalem only about 50 miles to the north, from the threat of an EEF mounted advance. Scarce water was found in little gullies, while the road to Jerusalem via Edh Dhahariye, Hebron and Bethlehem. The strategically important height of Tel el Khuweifle not only dominated all the surrounding country, however, the EEF had discovered important but scarce water supplies during the day of battle on 31 October. The Auckland Mounted Rifle Regiment also found water for a whole brigade in the Bir Salim Abu Irgeig wadi. Four Ottoman divisions fought in the area, the 19th, 24th and 27th Divisions, and they were followed by the 143rd Regiment and 1,500 rifles of the Beersheba Group, which had been reorganised at Tel es Sheria. This latter group moved to defend Tel el Khuweilfe, on 1 November, the 125th Regiment also moved west into the hills coming under the command of the 27th Division, while the 6th Cavalry Regiment covered the Ottoman left flank to Yutta. Kress von Kressenstein also sent the 19th Division to reinforce the Seventh Army in the area and these light horsemen continued to hold the section of the road just north of Beersheba during 31 October, when they were targeted by Ottoman machine guns from the high ground north of Sakaty. During the battle on 31 October, this raiding force cut the road, however, they were unable to attract reinforcements from local Arab soldiers, although the locals did provide guides. Therefore, when 100 Ottoman soldiers attacked Newcombes detachment, they were scattered, by the time they were attacked a second time on the morning of 2 November, the detachment had blocked all Ottoman communications between Hebron and Edh Dhahriye for 40 hours. An Ottoman communiqué described the capture on the left of their line of 100 cavalry, none of these units left the area to reinforce the defences in front of Sheria. His force also experienced supply difficulties, the horses deployed in the area had only a small ration of pure grain, as no grazing was available, and water was barely sufficient in Beersheba for the troops actually in the town. Despite these difficulties, hard fighting failed to push Chauvels force back to Beersheba, by 15,00, they had established a line stretching from Khurbet el Muweileh in the west to the 1,558 feet -high Tuweiyil Abu Jerwal overlooking Beersheba, unopposed
12.
Battle of Hareira and Sheria
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This was made possible by the capture of Beersheba on 31 October after which Ottoman defenders had been pushed back north from the town into the Judean Hills, during the Battle of Tel el Khuweilfe. The 74th Division attacked the eastern end of the defences from the flank, while the 60th Division attacked the Kauwukah. The eastern end of the Ottoman defences was captured in an attack by the Yeomanry. The right flank of this force was covered by the Yeomanry Mounted Division. The attacks by the three divisions, supported by effective artillery barrages, resulted in the capture of the Kauwukah and Rushdi defences. Towards dusk the Londoners reformed in preparation for an attack on Sheria Station, the attack was progressing after sundown, when the Ottoman garrison destroyed a large ammunition dump near the station, lighting up the night sky. The Londoners attack across the wadi, having lost the benefit of darkness, was halted for the night, although the Londoners captured a wadi and Tel esh Sheria, fierce fighting during a series of Ottoman counter-attacks on 7 November prevented the Londoners advancing. The Australian Mounted Division was ordered to clear the way for the infantry, after being held through the day, late in the afternoon another attack by the 60th and the Australian Mounted Divisions captured the Ottoman rearguard. This attack, along with the occupation of Gaza during the morning, the Ottoman Armys main Desert Base at Hafir el Aujah was being reduced as a result of the victory at the Battle of Rafa in January 1917 which ended the Sinai campaign. By February Sheria, midway between Gaza and Beersheba on the line from Beersheba to Jerusalem and Jaffa, had become the main Ottoman base. Here, a proportion of the Ottoman defenders, where held in reserve. Sheria was till June headquarters of the force in the Gaza–Beersheba line. In consequence of the British air bombing it was moved in July to Huj and they routinely conducted courses on a regular basis in current tactics and weapons in use on the western front. In addition commanders received a 15-day course and divisional officers a six-week course focused on the use of machine guns, Artillery training also included up to date methods and tactics. He passed through Damascus on 4 November, to arrive at Jerusalem to begin establishing his headquarters in the German Hospice on the Mount of Olives, meanwhile, the main attack on Hareira and Sheria by the EEF was delayed for two days, by water and transport difficulties. The capture of the Ottoman defensive line, which had held and strengthened since before the Second Battle of Gaza, required multiple attacks. Gaza on the coast remained in Ottoman hands, along with the Ottoman front line stretching from there to Hareira and Sheria in the centre. The line continued to the road to Hebron and Jerusalem, manned by the Ottoman Beersheba garrison which had withdrawn north into the Judean Hills, to defend Tel el Khuweilfe, the defensive line had been bent back not broken
13.
Battle of Mughar Ridge
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Fighting between the advancing Egyptian Expeditionary Force and the retreating Yildirim Army Group, occurred after the Battle of Beersheba and the Third Battle of Gaza. Operations occurred over an area north of the Gaza to Beersheba line. Strong Ottoman Army positions from Gaza to the foothills of the Judean Hills had successfully held out against British Empire forces for a week after the Ottoman army was defeated at Beersheba. The XXI Corps and Desert Mounted Corps attacked the Ottoman Eighth Army on a front from the Judean foothills across the Mediterranean coastal plain from 10 to 14 November. Junction Station was captured and the Ottoman railway link with Jerusalem was cut, as a result of this victory the Ottoman Eighth Army withdrew behind the Nahr el Auja and their Seventh Army withdrew toward Jerusalem. During this time the Ottoman Army was able to withdraw in good order, the delay caused by these rearguards may have seriously compromised the British Empire advance as there was not much time to conclude military engagements in southern Palestine. With the rains the temperatures which were currently hot during the day, in 1917 the rains began on 19 November just as the infantry began their advance into the Judean Hills. The strength of the Seventh and Eighth Ottoman Armies, before the attack at Beersheba on 31 October, was estimated to have been 45,000 rifles,1,500 sabres and 300 guns and this force had been made up of the Seventh Armys incomplete III Corps. The III Corps 24th Infantry Division was at Kauwukah and its 27th Infantry Division was at Beersheba and its 3rd Cavalry Division, as well as the 16th, 19th, and 24th Infantry Divisions were also in the area to the east of the Gaza–Beersheba line. The Seventh Army was commanded by Fevzi Çakmak, the Eighth Armys XXII Corps was based at Gaza while its XX Corps was based at Sheria in the centre of the Gaza–Beersheba line. Supporting these two corps had two reserve divisions, the 7th and 19th Infantry Divisions. The Eighth Army was commanded by Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein, the Desert Mounted Corps consisted of the Anzac Mounted Division, the Australian Mounted Division and the Yeomanry Mounted Division. The 52nd Division and 75th Division formed part of Lieutenant General Edward Bulfins XXI Corps, on the coast the 52nd Division was fought a fierce action after crossing the Wadi el Hesi on the coast north of Gaza. By the morning of 8 November, two brigades had crossed the Wadi el Hesi near its mouth and, despite some opposition established themselves on the sand dunes to the north towards Askelon. Sausage Ridge, on their right stretched from Burberah to Deir Sineid, was held in strength, as the ridge covered the road. During the afternoon the 155th Brigade moved to attack Sausage Ridge, but it was threatened by a counterattack on the left forcing, when the 156th Brigade arrived from Sh. Ajlin on the Wadi el Hesi, the 157th Brigade attacked the southern portion of the ridge and they lost this precarious position four times to fierce Ottoman counterattacks, before strongly attacking and throwing the defenders off the ridge by 21,00. The two attacking brigades lost 700 men in this action, the divisions other brigades were regrouping after the fierce fighting at the Wadi Hesi
14.
Battle of Jerusalem
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Before Jerusalem could be secured, two battles were recognised by the British as being fought in the Judean Hills to the north and east of the Hebron–Junction Station line. These were the Battle of Nebi Samwill from 17 to 24 November, as a result of these victories, British Empire forces captured Jerusalem and established a new strategically strong fortified line. This line ran from well to the north of Jaffa on the plain, across the Judean Hills to Bireh north of Jerusalem. With the capture of the road from Beersheba to Jerusalem via Hebron and Bethlehem, together with substantial Ottoman territory south of Jerusalem, the city was secured. On 11 December, General Edmund Allenby entered the Old City on foot through the Jaffa Gate instead of horse or vehicles to show respect for the holy city and he was the first Christian in many centuries to control Jerusalem, a city held holy by three great religions. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Lloyd George described the capture as a Christmas present for the British people, the battle was a great morale boost for the British Empire. The British Empire victory forced von Falkenhayn to withdraw his Seventh and Eighth Armies, as the Ottoman III Corps reached Jerusalem via the Hebron road after its defeat at Beersheba, it was ordered to develop defences around Jerusalem. This corps held the city while the XX Corps retreated from Junction Station into the Judean Hills towards Jerusalem, as they retired the XX Corps left strong rearguards to stop or slow the British advance. Time was needed to construct defences and for reorganisation of the depleted and disorganised Seventh Army, when they arrived in the city XX Corps took over responsibility for Jerusalems defences, while III Corps continued to move northwards from Jerusalem along the Nablus road. The British War Cabinet had cautioned Allenby not to commit to any operations that might not be sustainable in the term if the strength of British forces in the area could not be maintained. Their concerns were possibly linked to a proposal published on 8 November by the new Russian Bolshevik government between Russia and Germany. The document, scheduled to be signed on 3 March 1918, would constitute a separate peace treaty, all German forces on the eastern front could then turn their attention to fighting British and French forces elsewhere. His front-line forces had been fighting and advancing for a period fighting many miles from their bases and were tired and depleted. Now 35 miles from the railhead at Deir el Belah, Allenbys troops did not have a line of defensive entrenchments behind which they could stop a concerted push by these two Ottoman armies, such a counterattack could well see them driven back to Gaza and Beersheba. He decided to quickly attack Fevzi Pashas Ottoman 7th Army in the Judean Hills with the hope of capturing Jerusalem and this would keep pressure on this army in the hope of denying them time to complete their reorganisation, dig deep trenches or worst of all, counterattack. The planned advance into the Judean Hills would rely heavily on the ability of the lines of communications to keep the front line supplied with food, water. Between Gaza and Beit Hanun the road was unsealed and deep in making it difficult for lorries to proceed. Supplies were also shipped by sea and landed at Wadi Sukereir, lack of infrastructure at Jaffa meant all supplies brought via ship had to be cross-loaded onto surf boats, which then had to be unloaded on the beaches
15.
Egyptian Expeditionary Force
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Formed in the British protectorate of the Sultanate of Egypt, the initially small force was raised to guard the Suez Canal and Egypt. On 31 October two corps captured Beersheba defended by the Turkish III Corps, which weakened their defences stretching almost continually from Gaza to Beersheba, serious losses on the Western Front in March 1918 during the German Spring Offensive, forced the British Empire to send reinforcements from the EEF. The British Mandate of Palestine, and the French Mandate for Syria, L Squadron, A. F. C. and No.14 Squadron, R. F. C. were the sole flying units east of the Suez Canal. General Headquarters General Headquarters Troops No.1 Section No.2 Section No.3 Section Western Frontier Force Northwestern Section Southwestern Section L. of C, palin 23rd Pioneers 57th Rifles Patiala Infantry No.10 Co. The force was commanded by Lieutenant General C. M. Dobell, by January 1917 there were three smaller commands directly under GHQ EEF. Supply Depot No.303 Company ASC Camel Transport H and O Companies, G. H.12 Pack W/T Sections ASC Mechanical transport HQ, ASC Motor Boat Company Two Advanced M. T. C. de S. Barrow 6th Mounted Brigade 8th Mounted Brigade 22nd Mounted Brigade 20th Brigade, at the end of June 1917 General Allenby took command. The air component was the Palestine Brigade of the Royal Flying Corps, on establishment in 1916 and 1917, the first two mounted divisions had been supplied with 18–pounder artillery guns. In September 1917 these guns were replaced with 13-pounders, making the divisions even more capable, General Headquarters Troops Army Cavalry Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade Jodhpur Lancers Mysore Lancers 1st Hyderabad Lancers Kathiwar Signal Troop 124th Indian Cavalry Field Ambulance. 40th Wing Headquarters at Deir el Belah No.11 Squadron RFC at Deir el Belah No.67 Squadron at Shiekh Nuran, Aircraft Park – X Aircraft Park at Abbassia with an advanced stores section at Kantara was responsible for the supplies to the RFC in Palestine. Also in General Headquarters Troops were the VIII Mountain Brigade RGA IX Mountain Brigade RGA of A and B Batteries of 2.75 inch howitzers and the 12th Battery of 3.7 inch howitzers. The force initially consisted mostly of British and Egyptian troops, in the meantime, new troops were then dispatched from India, Australia, and New Zealand, in particular who made up a large portion of the army. The force also included a contingent of French and Italian troops. The forces of the Arab Revolt, led by Prince Feisal of Mecca, were also unofficially attached during Allenbys Damascus offensive, the forces successes ultimately led to Turkeys exit from the war and the creation of the British Mandate of Palestine. Deiran Anzac Mounted Division at Richon le Zion Australian Mounted Division at Deir el Belah Yeomanry Mounted Division at Deir el Belah XX Corps at Mount of Olives 10th Division at O99, P.20. d. 53rd Division at Ram Allah 60th Division at Jerusalem 74th Division at Latron XXI Corps at Jaffa 52nd Division at Jaffa, 4/11th Gurkhas, 3/153rd and 154th Indian Inf. 159th Brigade 4/5th Welsh Regt. 3/152nd, 1/153rd and 2/153rd Indian Inf. 160th Brigade 1/7th R. Welsh Fus, 1/21st Punjabis, 1st Cape Corps 265th, 266th, 267th Brigades RFA each with three batteries of twelve 18-pdrs. and four 4. 5-inch hows. 39th Indian Mountain Battery Troop Corps Cavalry Regiment 10th Division 29th Brigade 1st Leinsters, 1/101st Grenadiers, 1/54th Sikhs, Rifles, 38th Dogras, 46th Punjabis 31st Brigade 2nd Royal Irish Fus
16.
Suez Canal
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The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez. It was constructed by the Suez Canal Company between 1859 and 1869, after 10 years of construction, it was officially opened on November 17,1869. It extends from the terminus of Port Said to the southern terminus of Port Tewfik at the city of Suez. Its length is 193.30 km, including its northern and southern access channels, in 2012,17,225 vessels traversed the canal. The original canal was a waterway with passing locations in the Ballah Bypass. It contains no locks system, with seawater flowing freely through it, in general, the canal north of the Bitter Lakes flows north in winter and south in summer. South of the lakes, the current changes with the tide at Suez, the canal is owned and maintained by the Suez Canal Authority of Egypt. Under the Convention of Constantinople, it may be used in time of war as in time of peace, by every vessel of commerce or of war, without distinction of flag. In August 2014, construction was launched to expand and widen the Ballah Bypass for 35 km to speed the canals transit time, the expansion was planned to double the capacity of the Suez Canal from 49 to 97 ships a day. At a cost of $8.4 billion, this project was funded with interest-bearing investment certificates issued exclusively to Egyptian entities, the New Suez Canal, as the expansion was dubbed, was opened with great fanfare in a ceremony on 6 August 2015. On 24 February 2016, the Suez Canal Authority officially opened the new side channel and this side channel, located at the northern side of the east extension of the Suez Canal, serves the East Terminal for berthing and unberthing vessels from the terminal anytime of day and night. Ancient west–east canals were built to travel from the Nile River to the Red Sea. One smaller canal is believed to have been constructed under the auspices of Senusret II or Ramesses II. Another canal, probably incorporating a portion of the first, was constructed under the reign of Necho II, the legendary Sesostris may have started work on an ancient canal joining the Nile with the Red Sea. In his Meteorology, Aristotle wrote, One of their kings tried to make a canal to it, so he first, and Darius afterwards, stopped making the canal, lest the sea should mix with the river water and spoil it. Strabo wrote that Sesostris started to build a canal, and Pliny the Elder wrote,165. Later the Persian king Darius had the idea, and yet again Ptolemy II. This proved to be the canal made by the Persian king Darius I
17.
Egypt
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Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and it is the worlds only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any country, emerging as one of the worlds first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the century and remains a predominantly Muslim country. With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa, and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, the large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypts territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypts residents live in areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypts economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Miṣr is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern name of Egypt. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם, the oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian
18.
4th Light Horse Brigade
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The 4th Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the First Australian Imperial Force serving in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. The brigade was formed in March 1915 and shipped to Egypt without their horses and was broken up in Egypt in August 1915, the 4th Light Horse Brigade was part of the 4th Contingent that was raised from 4 March 1915. The original Brigade embarked to Egypt during months of May and June 1915, in Egypt additional training occurred at the Heliopolis Camp. Subsequent embarkations of reinforcements occurred as and when sufficient recruits were gathered and prepared for movement to a war theatre, the brigade would join the 3rd Light Horse Brigade and the 5th and 6th Mounted Brigades to form the Imperial Mounted Division. The most notable action the 4th Light Horse Brigade participated in was the charge during the Battle of Beersheba in 1917. The Brigade was disbanded in July 1919 when the regiments returned to Australia from June to July 1919. As each Regiment arrived in the home port, they were disbanded. This Regiment was recruited exclusively Victoria in August 1914 as Divisional Cavalry, B and D Squadrons embarked for France in May 1916. A new B Squadron was raised as a consequence and this was a composite Regiment recruited primarily from Queensland with a South Australian Squadron. A Squadron and B Squadron recruited from Queensland and C Squadron recruited from South Australia, the Regiment was broken up on 26 August 1915 as reinforcements to Regiments at Gallipoli. A Squadron became D Squadron, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, B Squadron became D Squadron, 5th Light Horse Regiment andC Squadron became D Squadron, the Regiment was reconstituted on 20 February 1916 at Heliopolis, Egypt. The Regiment was renamed 1st Camel Regiment in September 1916 and served with the Imperial Camel Corps until it brigaded with the 4th Light Horse Brigade in February 1917, the 12th Light Horse Regiment was recruited exclusively from New South Wales. The Regiment was broken up on 26 August 1915 as reinforcements to Regiments at Gallipoli, a Squadron became D Squadron, 1st Light Horse Regiment, B Squadron became D Squadron, 7th Light Horse Regiment and C Squadron became D Squadron, 6th Light Horse Regiment. The Regiment was reconstituted on 20 February 1916 in Egypt and it was renamed 2nd Camel Regiment in September 1916 and served with the Imperial Camel Corps until it brigaded with the 4th Light Horse Brigade in February 1917. The 4th Light Horse Machine Gun Squadron was formed when the Parent Brigade was formed in February 1917, the 4th Light Horse Machine Gun Squadron was armed with 12 machine-guns. The 4th Signal Troop was created in February 1917 by drafting in four signallers from each of the 12 Regiments in Palestine, the 4th Light Horse Field Ambulance was formed in February 1917 from some 60 men drawn out of all the other Light Horse formations in Egypt. The 4th Light Horse Brigade Train was primarily recruited around Melbourne, after Gallipoli, this unit underwent some name changes from 4th Supply Section in February 1917 to 36th Australian Army Service Corps Company in August 1917. The 9th Mobile Veterinary Section was formed in February 1917, Artillery support was provided for the 4th Light Horse Brigade by the British A Battery, Honourable Artillery Company of XIX Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery
19.
Field hospital
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A field hospital is a small mobile medical unit, or mini hospital, that temporarily takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent hospital facilities. This term is used overwhelmingly with reference to situations. The concept was inherited from the battlefield, and is now applied in case of disasters or major accidents, as well as with traditional Military medicine. A field hospital is a staff with a mobile medical kit and, often. In an urban environment, the hospital is often established in an easily accessible. In case of a structure, the mobile medical kit is often placed in normalized container. A field hospital is generally larger than an aid station. Field hospitals were originally called ambulances, the surgical, evacuation, or field hospitals would remain many miles in the rear, and the divisional clearing stations were never intended to provide emergency life-saving surgery. With the Army’s larger mobile hospitals unable to assume their role in support of the front line combat units. Some sort of interim solution had to be found quickly to provide the necessary surgical services, a team of Medical Corps officers modified the basic War Department for a standard 25-bed station hospital into a new theater and table of basic for a portable hospital of 25-beds. The new unit was capable of supporting units in its camp-type version or battalion. Commanded by a Medical Corps captain or major, the new 29-man portable hospital had 4 medical officers 3 general surgeons and 25 enlisted men, including 2 surgical and 11 medical technicians. What really marked a departure was that all of the units equipment, medical and surgical supplies. Because the surgical demands on the hospitals were then only minimal. The surgeons in many of the portable hospitals would set standards of excellence in surgery. Hastily assembled and trained, the portable hospitals suffered from many shortcomings in personnel and equipment, probably the single most critical problem was the severe limitation placed on the total weight to assure the unit’s portability. From the start, this meant that to be portable the unit had to give up medical and surgical equipment, with no actual operational experience as a basis, that doctrine was much more conjectural than concrete. The Surgeon Generals Office and the War Department enthusiastically adopted SWPAs new hospital as a unit before the first portable hospitals proved their value in the Buna campaign
20.
16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
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The 16th Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. The unit was the first parachute field ambulance unit of the British Army and their first deployment was in Operation Torch the Allied landings in North Africa. This was followed by Operation Fustian during the Allied invasion of Sicily and their third mission was Operation Slapstick, a seaborne landing at Taranto in Italy. The 16th Field Ambulance then returned to England to prepare for operations in North West Europe and their next and final parachute landing was in September 1944, during the Battle of Arnhem. In the battle the 1st Parachute Brigade landed on the first day, within days the location was overrun by the Germans and the majority of the field ambulance went into captivity as prisoners of war. In September 1941 the 1st Parachute Brigade began forming, comprising three parachute infantry battalions, in keeping with British Army practice at the same time, as the infantry battalions were being raised, airborne supporting arms were formed, including Royal Army Medical Corps volunteers. The war establishment of a Parachute Field Ambulance, was 177 all ranks, consisting of thirteen doctors in two surgical teams and four sections. The doctors could deal with 330 cases in a twenty-four-hour period, each surgical team could handle 1.8 operations an hour. But that was not sustainable, and if they were required to operate the following day and it was envisaged that during airborne operations, it would not be possible to evacuate casualties until the ground forces had linked up with them. Therefore, the ambulance had the ability to treat all types of wounds. They also had the required to evacuate casualties from the Regimental Aid Post. An airborne field ambulance was commanded by a lieutenant-colonel, with a major as the second in command, headquarters staff included two specialist surgeons and a specialist anaesthetist, a pharmacist and an Army Dental Corps dentist. To assist in the theatre and with post-operative care, there were six operating room assistants. Other medical staff were a sergeant sanitary assistant, a masseur, the rest of the headquarters consisted of a Quartermaster, clerks, cooks, storemen, an Army Physical Training Corps instructor, a barber and a joiner from the Royal Engineers. There were four sub-units of twenty men known as sections, each section comprised an officer and a staff sergeant. Under their command were three nursing orderlies, a clerk, a dutyman and thirteen stretcher bearers, a section was normally attached to a parachute battalion to supplement their own medical officer and medics. The last component of the Field Ambulance was the Royal Army Service Corps detachment, commanded by a captain and they had fifty men under them, an electrician, a clerk, thirty-eight drivers, four motorcyclists and five vehicle mechanics. It was normal to have at least two RASC drivers with two jeeps and an attached to each section, the remaining men and vehicles stayed with the headquarters surgical teams
21.
Canadian Armed Forces
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This unified institution consists of sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the National Defence Act, the Canadian Armed Forces are an entity separate and distinct from the Department of National Defence, the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces is the reigning Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented by the Governor General of Canada. The Canadian Armed Forces is led by the Chief of the Defence Staff, during the Cold War, a principal focus of Canadian defence policy was contributing to the security of Europe in the face of the Soviet military threat. Toward that end, Canadian ground and air forces were based in Europe from the early 1950s until the early 1990s, Canadian defence policy today is based on the Canada First Defence Strategy, introduced in 2008. Based on that strategy, the Canadian military is oriented and being equipped to carry out six core missions within Canada, in North America and globally. Prior to Confederation in 1867, residents of the colonies in what is now Canada served as members of French and British forces. Thereafter, the Royal Canadian Navy was formed, and, with the advent of military aviation and these forces were organised under the Department of Militia and Defence, and split into the Permanent and Non-Permanent Active Militias—frequently shortened to simply The Militia. By 1923, the department was merged into the Department of National Defence, the first overseas deployment of Canadian military forces occurred during the Second Boer War, when several units were raised to serve under British command. Similarly, when the United Kingdom entered into conflict with Germany in the First World War, the Canadian Crown-in-Council then decided to send its forces into the Second World War, as well as the Korean War. Since 1947, Canadian military units have participated in more than 200 operations worldwide, Canada maintained an aircraft carrier from 1957 to 1970 during the Cold War, which never saw combat but participated in patrols during the Cuban Missile Crisis. At the end of the Second World War, Canada possessed the fourth-largest air force and fifth-largest naval surface fleet in the world, conscription for overseas service was introduced only near the end of the war, and only 2,400 conscripts actually made it into battle. Originally, Canada was thought to have had the third-largest navy in the world and its roots, however, lie in colonial militia groups that served alongside garrisons of the French and British armies and navies, a structure that remained in place until the early 20th century. After the 1980s, the use of the Canadian Armed Forces name gave way to Canadian Forces, land Forces during this period also deployed in support of peacekeeping operations within United Nations sanctioned conflicts. The nature of the Canadian Forces has continued to evolve and they have been deployed in Afghanistan until 2011, under the NATO-led United Nations International Security Assistance Force, at the request of the Government of Afghanistan. The Armed Forces are today funded by approximately $20, the number of primary reserve personnel is expected to go up to 30,000 by 2020, and the number of active to at least 70,000. In addition,5000 rangers and 19,000 supplementary personnel will be serving, if this happens the total strength would be around 124,000. These individuals serve on numerous CF bases located in all regions of the country, and are governed by the Queens Regulations and Orders, the 2006 renewal and re-equipment effort has resulted in the acquisition of specific equipment to support the mission in Afghanistan. It has also encompassed initiatives to renew certain so-called core capabilities, in addition, new systems have also been acquired for the Armed Forces
22.
Edmonton
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Edmonton /ˈɛdməntən/ is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, the city anchors the north end of what Statistics Canada defines as the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. The city had a population of 932,546 in 2016, making it Albertas second-largest city, also in 2016, Edmonton had a metropolitan population of 1,321,426, making it the sixth-largest census metropolitan area in Canada. Edmonton is North Americas northernmost city with a population over one million. A resident of Edmonton is known as an Edmontonian, Edmontons historic growth has been facilitated through the absorption of five adjacent urban municipalities and a series of annexations ending in 1982. Known as the Gateway to the North, the city is a point for large-scale oil sands projects occurring in northern Alberta. Edmonton is a cultural, governmental and educational centre and it hosts a year-round slate of festivals, reflected in the nickname Canadas Festival City. It is home to North Americas largest mall, West Edmonton Mall, in 1754, Anthony Henday, an explorer for the Hudsons Bay Company, may have been the first European to enter the Edmonton area. By 1795, Fort Edmonton was established on the north bank as a major trading post for the Hudsons Bay Company. The new forts name was suggested by John Peter Pruden after Edmonton, London, the home town of both the HBC deputy governor Sir James Winter Lake, and Pruden. In 1876, Treaty 6, which includes what is now Edmonton, was signed between the Aboriginal peoples in Canada and Queen Victoria as Queen of Canada, as part of the Numbered Treaties of Canada. The agreement includes the Plains and Woods Cree, Assiniboine, and other governments of First Nations at Fort Carlton, Fort Pitt. The area covered by the treaty represents most of the area of the current provinces of Saskatchewan. The arrival of the CPR and the C&E Railway helped bring settlers and entrepreneurs from eastern Canada, Europe, U. S. the Edmonton areas fertile soil and cheap land attracted settlers, further establishing Edmonton as a major regional commercial and agricultural centre. Some people participating in the Klondike Gold Rush passed through South Edmonton/Strathcona in 1897, in November 1905, the Canadian Northern Railway arrived in Edmonton, accelerating growth. During the early 1900s, Edmontons rapid growth led to speculation in real estate, in 1912, Edmonton amalgamated with the City of Strathcona, south of the North Saskatchewan River, as a result, the city extended south of the North Saskatchewan River for the first time. Just prior to World War I, the boom ended, many impoverished families moved to subsistence farms outside the city, while others fled to greener pastures in other provinces. Recruitment to the Canadian army during the war contributed to the drop in population
23.
Petawawa
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Petawawa is a town located in eastern portion of Southern Ontario. Situated in the Ottawa Valley, with a population of 15,988, Petawawa is the most populous municipality in Renfrew County. Petawawa is located at latitude 45°54 north and longitude 77°17 west, the town lies on the west bank of the Ottawa River, at the confluence of the Petawawa River. Situated across the Ottawa River from the Laurentian Mountains, and east of Algonquin Park, Petawawa is a stop for outdoor enthusiasts, anglers, hikers, canoers. Ontario Highway 17, Greyhound bus lines, Ontario Northlands bus service from Ottawa, petawawas primary employer is the Canadian Government. The earliest settlement in the Petawawa area was inhabited by the Algonquin First Nation, the name of Petawawa originates from a local Algonquin language word, biidaawewe, meaning where one hears a noise like this. The spelling of the name of the town was Petewawa until at least 1916, there are no sources showing when the official name was changed from Petewawa to Petawawa, but photographs after 1916 with the former spelling have not been found. Over time this may have changed the spelling of the Towns name into the present day format, in the late 19th century, the area was surveyed and settled by emigres from Scotland, Ireland and Germany. The land was unsuitable for crops, but the forested surroundings were useful for logging. The Canadian military acquired land in the area in 1905, which later became Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, during this period it was used as an internment camp for German POWs during World War II. Later, it became home to the Canadian Airborne Regiment before it was disbanded in 1995, today, it is one of Canadas largest ground forces bases with members deployed throughout the world on various missions supporting the United Nations in peacekeeping or the War on Terror. Petawawa was incorporated as a township in 1865, an Internment camp was set up at the Militia Camp in Petawawa from December 1914 to May 1916. In 1961, the area of Petawawa was incorporated as a separate village. On July 1,1997, the village and township re-amalgamated to form the Town of Petawawa, Petawawa has a humid continental climate with long, cold, snowy winters and warm summers
24.
127th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
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The 127th Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. The 127th Field Ambulance was originally a pre war Territorial Army unit and served alongside the 125th and 126th Field Ambulances and it was converted to parachute duties, becoming the second parachute field ambulance in the British Army. As such it was assigned to the 2nd Parachute Brigade at the part of the 1st Airborne Division. As part of the 1st Airborne Division it moved to North Africa in 1942, a lack of suitable transport negated their use it that campaign, but they did take the lead in Operation Slapstick, which was an amphibious landing at Taranto in Italy. Remaining in Italy with 2nd Parachute Brigade when the 1st Airborne Division returned to England,127 PFA took part in the fighting of the Italian campaign and their first offensive parachute jump was in the Allied landing in the south of France, Operation Dragoon. Relieved by a force,127 PFA returned to Italy where they remained until the end of the war. With the war over 127 PFA returned to England and, still part of the 2nd Parachute Brigade and their next assignment was in the British mandate of Palestine, following which 127 PFA became part of the British Army of the Rhine. In 1947, when the Territorial Army was reformed,127 PFA was re-designated as the 23rd Field Ambulance because the number 127 was a reserve designation, in September 1941 the 1st Parachute Brigade began forming, comprising three parachute infantry battalions. In keeping with British Army practice at the time as the infantry battalions were being raised. The war establishment of a Parachute Field Ambulance was 177 all ranks, the doctors could deal with 330 cases in a twenty-four-hour period. Each surgical team could handle 1.8 operations an hour, however this was not sustainable and if they were required to operate the following day, the team had to be relieved after twelve hours. It was envisaged that during airborne operations, it would not be possible to evacuate casualties until the forces had linked up with them. To accommodate this, the ambulance had the ability to treat all types of wounds. They also had the required to evacuate casualties from the Regimental Aid Post to the Main Dressing Station. An airborne field ambulance was commanded by a lieutenant-colonel, with a major as the second in command, headquarters staff included two specialist surgeons and a specialist anaesthetist, a pharmacist and an Army Dental Corps dentist. To assist in the theatre and with post operative care, there were six operating room assistants. Other medical staff were a sergeant sanitary assistant, a masseur, the rest of the headquarters consisted of a Quartermaster, clerks, cooks, storemen, an Army Physical Training Corps instructor, a barber and a joiner from the Royal Engineers. There were four sub units of twenty men known as sections, each section comprised an officer and a staff sergeant, under their command were three nursing orderlies, a clerk, a dutyman and thirteen stretcher bearers
25.
133rd (Parachute) Field Ambulance
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The 133rd Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. The 133rd Field Ambulance was formed in Palestine in January 1943 and it was then assigned to the 4th Parachute Brigade, part of the 1st Airborne Division. As part of the 1st Airborne Division it took part in Operation Slapstick, the unit returned to England at the end of 1943, to prepare for their next mission. That was operation Market Garden in the Netherlands, during the following battle of Arnhem, the division was destroyed only 2,100 men returning from the 10,000 that had started the mission. Amongst the men who remained behind from the 133rd were those men not already captured during the battle, reformed after the battle the 133rd took part in Operation Doomsday in Norway after the end of the Second World War. In September 1941 the 1st Parachute Brigade began forming, comprising three parachute infantry battalions, in keeping with British Army practice at the same time as the infantry battalions were forming, airborne supporting arms were formed including Royal Army Medical Corps volunteers. Of the seven airborne field ambulances formed during the Second World War, while the other five were parachute trained the 16th, 127th, 133rd, 224th and the 225th. Alford, the 133rd Field Ambulance was formed in Palestine in January 1943, the Field Ambulance was assigned to the 4th Parachute Brigade. All members of the Field Ambulance had to undergo a parachute training course carried out at No.4 Parachute Training School RAF. Initial parachute jumps were from a barrage balloon and finished with five parachute jumps from an aircraft. Anyone failing to complete a descent was returned to his old unit and those men who successfully completed the parachute course, were presented with their parachute wings. The 4th Parachute Brigade left Palestine on 26 May 1943, to join the 1st Airborne Division at Sousse in Tunisia, on arrival the men of the field ambulance were presented with their airborne forces maroon beret. The war establishment of a Parachute Field Ambulance, was 177 all ranks, consisting of thirteen doctors in two surgical teams and four sections. The doctors could deal with 330 cases in a twenty-four-hour period, each surgical team could handle 1.8 operations an hour. However this was not sustainable and if they were required to operate the following day and it was envisaged that during airborne operations, it would not be possible to evacuate casualties until the ground forces had linked up with them. To accommodate this the field ambulance had the ability to treat all types of wounds and they also had the transport required to evacuate casualties from the Regimental Aid Post, to the Main Dressing Station. An airborne field ambulance was commanded by a lieutenant-colonel, with a major as the second in command, headquarters staff included two specialist surgeons and a specialist anaesthetist, a pharmacist and an Army Dental Corps dentist. To assist in the theatre and with post operative care, there were six operating room assistants
26.
224th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
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The 224th Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. The 224th Field Ambulance was converted to a unit in 1942. They first saw service in 1944 during the invasion of Normandy. They were then withdrawn back to England only to return to the continent at the end of the year in response to the German surprise winter offensive in the Ardennes forest and their final mission of the war was the airborne assault over the River Rhine in 1945. They remained in Germany until the surrender in May that year. After the war the 224th remained with the 6th Airborne Division, in 1948, the field ambulance and most of the division was disbanded. In September 1941 the 1st Parachute Brigade began forming, comprising three parachute infantry battalions, in keeping with British Army practice at the time, airborne supporting arms were created, including Royal Army Medical Corps volunteers. Of the seven airborne field ambulances formed during the Second World War, while the other five were parachute trained the 16th, 127th, 133rd, 224th and the 225th. The 224th Field Ambulance was formed in December 1942, by the conversion of the 224th Field Ambulance to parachute duties, once converted, they were assigned to the 3rd Parachute Brigade in the 6th Airborne Division. The war establishment of a field ambulance was 177 all ranks. The doctors could deal with 330 cases in a twenty-four-hour period, each surgical team could handle 1.8 operations an hour. This rate could not be sustained and if they were required to operate the following day, the 224th Parachute Field Ambulance was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Alistair Young, with a major as the second in command and a regimental sergeant major as the senior non commissioned rank. Headquarters staff included two specialist surgeons and a specialist anaesthetist, a pharmacist and an Army Dental Corps dentist, to assist in the operating theatre and with post operative care, there were six operating room assistants, a sergeant nursing orderly and six nursing orderlies. Other medical staff were a sergeant sanitary assistant, a masseur, the rest of the headquarters consisted of a quartermaster, clerks, cooks, storemen, an Army Physical Training Corps instructor, a barber and a joiner from the Royal Engineers. There were four sub units of twenty men known as sections, each section comprised an officer and a staff sergeant, under their command were three nursing orderlies, a clerk, a dutyman and thirteen stretcher bearers. A section was attached to a parachute battalion to supplement their own medical officer. The last component of the Field Ambulance was the Royal Army Service Corps detachment, commanded by a captain and they had fifty men under them, an electrician, a clerk, thirty-eight drivers, four motorcyclists and five vehicle mechanics. It was normal to have at least two RASC drivers with two jeeps and an attached to each section, the remaining men and vehicles stayed with the headquarters surgical teams
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225th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
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The 225th Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. When raised the Field Ambulance was assigned to the 5th Parachute Brigade, as such they participated in Operation Tonga part of the Normandy landings. The unit remained in France until September 1944, when they were back to England to rest. They then took part in the last and largest airborne mission in the war, Operation Varsity, after the war in Europe ended they were sent to the Far East for operations against the Japanese however the war ended before they could be deployed. Instead they were sent to Malaya and Singapore to assist in the restoration of British control, later in the year they were sent to Java, where the brigade had to maintain law and order until a Dutch force could arrive to relieve them. The Field Ambulance then returned to Singapore, for a time before leaving to rejoin the 6th Airborne Division. However shortly after arriving the 225th Field Ambulance was disbanded, in September 1941 the 1st Parachute Brigade began forming, comprising three parachute infantry battalions. In keeping with British Army practice at the time as the infantry battalions were forming. On 7 June 1943 the 225th Field Ambulance was raised at Castle Cary, on formation the Field Ambulance was assigned to the 5th Parachute Brigade, initially in the 1st Airborne Division and later the 6th Airborne Division. The war establishment of a field ambulance, consisted of 177 all ranks. With nine doctors in two teams and four sections. Together they could deal with 330 cases in twenty-four hours, with the surgical teams completing 1.8 operations an hour, but if they were required to operate the following day had to be relieved after twelve hours. It was commanded by a Lieutenant-Colonel, with a Major second in command, Medical staff included two specialist surgeons and a specialist anaesthetist, a pharmacist and a Royal Army Dental Corps Dentist. To assist with operations there were six operating room assistants, a sergeant nursing orderly, other medical staff were a sergeant sanitary assistant, a masseur, a RADC orderly. These were assisted by five stretcher bearers, one of whom was trained as a shoemaker, the rest of the headquarters consisted of a Quartermaster, clerks, cooks, storemen, an Army Physical Training Corps instructor and a barber. The four sections each comprised an officer in command and a staff sergeant second in command, three nursing orderlies, a clerk, a dutyman and thirteen stretcher bearers. The last component of the Field Ambulance was the Royal Army Service Corps detachment, commanded by a Captain and they had fifty men under them, including thirty-eight drivers, four motorcyclists and five vehicle mechanics. On 6 June 1944, the 6th Airborne Division, took part in Operation Tonga during the Normandy landings, the 5th Parachute Brigade landed on their own drop zone to the north-east of Ranville
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181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance
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The 181st Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. The Field Ambulance was assigned to the 1st Airlanding Brigade, the glider borne element of the 1st Airborne Division, some men of the unit took part in the first parachute raid on the French coast in 1942. The unit then moved to Tunisia for operations in the Mediterranean theatre, during Operation Ladbroke, part of the Allied invasion of Sicily, a shortage of gliders resulted in only six, instead of the required thirty, being allocate to the Field Ambulance. Of those six, only one reached land the others crashed into the sea and they were next deployed during the Allied invasion of Italy in Operation Slapstick. Soon afterwards the Field Ambulance returned to the United Kingdom, then in September 1944, in the battle of Arnhem the Field Ambulance remained behind with the wounded, and he majority of its men became prisoners of war. The 181st Field Ambulance was reformed after Arnhem, and were sent to Norway at the end of the war to assist in the repatriation of the German forces, the 1st Airborne Division including the 181st Field Ambulance were disbanded after serving in Norway. In September 1941 the 1st Parachute Brigade began forming, soon followed by the glider borne 1st Airlanding Brigade. In keeping with British Army practice at the time as the infantry battalions were forming. Of the seven airborne field ambulances formed during the Second World War, while the other five were parachute trained the 16th, 127th, 133rd, 224th and the 225th. The 181st Field Ambulance was the first Royal Army Medical Corps airborne unit formed on 14 November 1941 and it was raised from a cadre of the 132nd Field Ambulance and originally based in Llandysul but in December moved to Hungerford, and in May 1942 to Carter Barracks in Bulford. Once formed the 181st were assigned to the 1st Airlanding Brigade, Airborne infantry platoons were required to march a distance of 50 miles in 24 hours, and battalions 32 miles. The same stamina was expected of the Field Ambulance and in October 1942, they covered 31 miles in eight and a half hours. The first commander was Lieutenant-Colonel Norman Gray Hill who was succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel Graeme Matthew Warrack, and by January 1942. These were formed into two teams and five sections. Together they were expected to deal with 330 patients in twenty-four hours, with the surgical teams completing 1.8 operations an hour, but if they were required to operate the following day, the team had to be relieved after twelve hours. The first parachute raid on the coast of France Operation Biting, was carried out by C Company, the raid entailed the parachute company being landed near Bruneval, secure and dismantle a German radar station, then be evacuated by sea. A section from 181st were selected to go on the raid, however they would travel across the English channel by boat, the raid was of necessity a secret and the one officer and twenty men involved were told they were going on a training course in Scotland. The 181st section were accommodated on HMS Prins Albert, and practised for the mission on Loch Fyne in Assault landing craft
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195th (Airlanding) Field Ambulance
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The 195th Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. The 195th was the second airlanding Field Ambulance formed by the British Army, once raised it was assigned to the 6th Airlanding Brigade, which was part of the 6th Airborne Division. At the end of May 1945, the 195th was withdrawn back to England, the 195th served in Palestine until the 6th Airlanding Brigade was disbanded. In September 1941 the 1st Parachute Brigade began forming, comprising three parachute infantry battalions, in keeping with British Army practice at the same time as the infantry battalions were forming, airborne supporting arms were formed including Royal Army Medical Corps volunteers. Of the seven airborne field ambulances formed during the Second World War, while the other five were parachute trained the 16th, 127th, 133rd, 224th and the 225th. On 1 October 1943, the 195th Field Ambulance was formed under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Maurice Anderson, the 195th was the second airlanding field ambulance unit formed. It was then assigned to the 6th Airlanding Brigade, part of the 6th Airborne Division, Training for the 195th as an airborne force was arduous, and designed to ensure they were at the peak of physical fitness. It also comprised glider training, accustoming them to the hardships, to complement their glider training, some of the unit also completed parachute training. The war establishment of a field ambulance consisted of 204 all ranks. It was commanded by a Lieutenant-Colonel, with a second in command. Medical staff included two specialist surgeons and a specialist anaesthetist, a pharmacist and a Royal Army Dental Corps dentist, to assist with operations there were six operating room assistants, a sergeant nursing orderly and six nursing orderlies. Other medical staff included a sergeant sanitary assistant, a masseur, and these were assisted by five stretcher bearers, one of whom was trained as a shoemaker. The rest of the headquarters comprised a quartermaster, clerks, cooks, storemen, an Army Physical Training Corps instructor and a barber. The four sections each comprised an officer in command and a staff sergeant second in command as well as three nursing orderlies, a clerk, a dutyman and thirteen stretcher bearers. The last component of the Field Ambulance was the Royal Army Service Corps detachment, commanded by a captain and they had fifty men under them, including thirty-eight drivers, four motorcyclists and five vehicle mechanics. The 6th Airborne Divisions two parachute brigades landed in Normandy in the hours of the 6 June 1944, in Operation Tonga. To carry the 195th to Normandy they were assigned ten Horsa gliders, on there were the MDS staff. At total there were officers,109 other ranks, nine Jeeps
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International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
