1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
United States Army
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
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Field army
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A field army is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps and may be subordinate to an army group. Likewise, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, a field army is composed of 100,000 to 150,000 troops. Particular field armies are named or numbered to distinguish them from army in the sense of an entire national land military force. In English, the style for naming field armies is word numbers, such as First Army, whereas corps are usually distinguished by Roman numerals. A field army may be given a name in addition to or as an alternative to a numerical name, such as the British Army of the Rhine. The term is derived from the fact that they were commanded by Roman emperors, while the Roman comitatensis is sometimes translated as field army, it may also be translated as the more generic field force or mobile force. In some armed forces, an army is or has been equivalent to a corps-level unit, prior to 1945, this was the case with a gun within the Imperial Japanese Army, for which the formation equivalent in size to a field army was an area army. In the Soviet Red Army and the Soviet Air Forces, an army was subordinate in wartime to a front and it contained at least three to five divisions along with artillery, air defense, reconnaissance and other supporting units. In peacetime, a Soviet army was subordinate to a military district. Modern field armies are large formations which vary significantly between armed forces in size, composition, and scope of responsibility. For instance, within NATO a field army is composed of a headquarters, a battle is influenced at the field army level by transferring divisions and reinforcements from one corps to another to increase the pressure on the enemy at a critical point. NATO armies are controlled by a general or lieutenant general, Military unit Military history List of numbered armies
4.
Ruhr Pocket
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The Ruhr Pocket was a battle of encirclement that took place in late March and early April 1945, near the end of World War II, in the Ruhr Area of Germany. It marked the end of organized resistance on Nazi Germanys Western Front. In March 1945, the Allies crossed the River Rhine, bradley and his subordinates quickly exploited the crossing made on March 7,1945, and expanded the bridgehead until the bridge collapsed 10 days later. Having crossed the Rhine, both Army groups fanned out into the German hinterland, in the south, while the Third Army headed east, the First Army headed northeast and formed the southern pincer of the Ruhr envelopment. Facing the Allied armies were the remnants of a shattered Wehrmacht, a few SS training units, lead elements of the two Allied pincers met on April 1,1945, near Lippstadt. By April 4, the encirclement was completed and the Ninth Army reverted to the command of General Bradleys 12th Army Group, while the main operations headed further toward central and northern Germany, American forces concentrated on the pocket, taking it section by section. On April 12,1945, the U. S, First and Ninth Armies divided the area coming from the south, the smaller, eastern part surrendered the next day. The western part continued a weak resistance until April 18 and April 21,1945, rather than surrender and face trial for war crimes, the commander, Field Marshal Walter Model, committed suicide in a forest south of the city of Duisburg, in Ratingen. German anti-Nazi resistance groups in Düsseldorf attempted to surrender the city to the Allied armies in the so-called Aktion Rheinland in order to spare Düsseldorf from further destruction, however, SS units were able to crush the resistance, and executed a number of those involved. Executions of foreign labourers and political prisoners by the Gestapo had already been occurring since February, the act of resistance did accomplish a cancellation of further bombings on the city by another 800 bombers, through contact with the Americans. Düsseldorf was captured by Americans on 17 April without any notable fighting, the surviving 325,000 German soldiers from the Ruhr Pocket, and some civilians, were imprisoned in the Rheinwiesenlager near Remagen, a temporary prison enclosure
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Hauts-de-France
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Hauts-de-France is a Region of France created by the territorial reform of French Regions in 2014 by the merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. The new region came into existence on 1 January 2016, after the elections in December 2015. Frances Conseil dÉtat approved Hauts-de-France as the new name of the region on 28 September 2016, the region covers an area of more than 31,813 km2, and with a population of 5,973,098. The regions interim name Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie was a placename, created by hyphenating the merged regions names—Nord-Pas-de-Calais. On 14 March 2016, well ahead of the 1 July deadline, the provisional name of the region was retired on 30 September 2016, when the new name of the region, Hauts-de-France, took effect
6.
Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine
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The Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine was a phase in the Western European Campaign of World War II. This roughly corresponds with the official United States military European Theater of Operations Rhineland, German forces had been routed during the Allied break-out from Normandy. The Allies advanced rapidly against an enemy that put up little resistance, but after the liberation of Paris in late August 1944, the Allies paused to re-group and organise before continuing their advance from Paris to the River Rhine. The pause allowed the Germans to solidify their lines—something they had been unable to do west of Paris, while Montgomery and Bradley each favored relatively direct thrusts into Germany, General Eisenhower disagreed. The rapid advance through France had caused considerable logistical strain, made worse by the lack of any major port other than the relatively distant Cherbourg in western France. Although Antwerp was seen as the key to solving the Allied logistics problems, as the campaign progressed, all the belligerents, Allied as well as German, felt the effects of the lack of suitable replacements for front-line troops. There were two major obstacles to the Allies. The first was the natural barriers made by the rivers of eastern France, the second was the Siegfried Line, which fell under the command, along with all Wehrmacht forces in the west, of Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt. Although the breakout from Normandy had taken longer than planned, the advances until September had far exceeded expectations, Bradley, for example, by September had four more divisions than planned and all of his forces were 150 miles ahead of their expected position. One effect was that insufficient supplies could be delivered to the fronts to maintain the advance. Much war material still had to be brought ashore across the invasion beaches, the availability of Cherbourg had been valuable until the breakout, but then the shortage of transport to carry supplies to the rapidly advancing armies became the limiting factor. Although fuel was pumped from Britain to Normandy via the Pluto pipeline, this still had to reach the fronts. The railways had been destroyed by Allied attacks and would take much effort to repair. In an attempt to address this shortage of transport, three newly arrived U. S. infantry divisions—the 26th, 95th, and 104th—were stripped of their trucks in order to haul supplies. Advancing divisions of the U. S. 12th Army Group left all their artillery and half their medium artillery west of the Seine. Four British truck companies were loaned to the Americans, unfortunately,1,500 other British trucks were found to have critical engine faults and were unusable, limiting assistance from that quarter. The Red Ball Express was an attempt to expedite deliveries by truck, the 6th Army Group advancing from southern France were supplied adequately from Toulon and Marseille because it had captured ports intact and the local railway system was less damaged. This source supplied about 25% of the Allied needs, the U. S. supply organization—Communications Zone —is perceived to have failed to expedite solutions and to have been far too bureaucratic, employing 11,000 staff
7.
Major general
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Major general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the rank of sergeant major general. In the Commonwealth, major general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral. In some countries, including much of Eastern Europe, major general is the lowest of the officer ranks. In the old Austro-Hungarian Army, the general was called a Generalmajor. Todays Austrian Federal Army still uses the same term, see also Rank insignias of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces General de Brigade is the lowest rank amongst general officers in the Brazilian Army. AGeneral de Brigada wears two-stars as this is the level for general officers in the Brazilian Army. In tha Brazilian Air Force, the two-star, three-star and four-star rank are known as Brigadeiro, Major-Brigadeiro, see Military ranks of Brazil and Brigadier for more information. In the Canadian Armed Forces, the rank of major-general is both a Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force rank equivalent to the Royal Canadian Navys rank of rear-admiral, a major-general is a general officer, the equivalent of a naval flag officer. The major-general rank is senior to the ranks of brigadier-general and commodore, prior to 1968, the Air Force used the rank of air vice-marshal, instead. In the Canadian Army, the insignia is a wide braid on the cuff. It is worn on the straps of the service dress tunic. On the visor of the cap are two rows of gold oak leaves. Major-generals are initially addressed as general and name, as are all general officers, major-generals are normally entitled to staff cars. In the Estonian military, the general rank is called kindralmajor. The Finnish military equivalent is kenraalimajuri in Finnish, and generalmajor in Swedish and Danish, the French equivalent to the rank of major general is général de division. In the French military, major général is not a rank but an appointment conferred on some generals, usually of général de corps darmée rank, the position of major général can be considered the equivalent of a deputy chief of staff. In the French Army, Major General is a position and the general is normally of the rank of corps general
8.
John P. Lucas
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Major General John Porter Lucas was a senior officer of the United States Army who saw service in World War I and World War II. He is most notable for being the commander of the U. S. VI Corps during the Battle of Anzio in the Italian Campaign of World War II. Lucas, a native of Kearneysville, Jefferson County, West Virginia, was a graduate of West Point, commissioned as a cavalry officer on 13 June 1911, he transferred to the Field Artillery in 1920. Lucas spent the first few years of his service in the Philippines, there he organized resistance with a single machine gun until the remainder of his unit and a supporting troop arrived, then maneuvered his men to repel the attackers. He served during the Mexican Punitive Expedition, as an Aide de Camp to MG George Bell, Jr. at Fort Bliss, Texas. Lucas joined the 33rd Infantry Division in August 1917 at Camp Logan, Texas, CPT Lucas then led the divisions Infantry School of Arms while the division trained for war. Promoted to Major on 15 January 1918, he was given command of the 108th Field Signal Battalion and he simultaneously served as the Division Signal Officer. While serving as commander of the 108th, he was wounded in action near Amiens. MAJ Lucas was the battalions first casualty, being struck by a fragment from a German high-explosive shell. Evacuated to a hospital in England, he was sent back to the United States on convalescent leave. His wounds were severe enough to prevent him from rejoining the 33rd Infantry Division and he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on 31 October 1918. Following the war, he would revert to his permanent rank of Captain, from 1919-1920, Lucas was assigned as a military science instructor for the University of Michigan R. O. T. C. In 1920, he rejoined the Field Artillery and he was promoted to Major in 1920, and in that year also entered the Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He graduated from the Field Artillery Advanced Course in 1921 and became an instructor at the Field Artillery School. He then entered the program at the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, graduating in 1924. He next became the Professor of Military Science and Tactics for the R. O. T. C, program at Colorado Agricultural College, Fort Collins, Colorado. He served in this position for approximately 5 years, earning an MS degree in 1927 and he was selected for command of 1st Battalion, 82d Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Bliss, Texas, from 1929-1930/31. He then enrolled in the Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in June 1931, from 1932 to 1936, Lucas worked in the Personnel Division, G1, of the War Department General Staff
9.
Leonard T. Gerow
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General Leonard Townsend Gerow was a highly decorated senior United States Army officer who served with distinction in both World War I and World War II. Gerow was born in Petersburg, Virginia, the name Gerow is derived from the French name Giraud. Gerow attended high school in Petersburg and then attended the Virginia Military Institute and he was three times elected class president. He graduated as recipient of the Honor Appointment which, at the time and he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Infantry Branch of the United States Army on 29 September 1911. Prior to World War I, Gerow served in a series of assignments as a company officer in the Infantry. In 1915 he won commendation for his work in the 1915 Galveston Hurricane that struck Galveston and he served in Vera Cruz in the Mexican Campaign. He was promoted to first lieutenant on 1 July 1916 and later to captain on 15 May 1917, from 16 January 1918 to 30 June 1920 he served on the Signal Corps staff on the Western Front. He was promoted to the rank of colonel, in charge of purchasing all the radio equipment for the American Expeditionary Force in Belgium. For his services during the war he earned the Army Distinguished Service Medal, after returning to the United States, he was promoted to the permanent rank of major on 1 July 1920. He was ordered to attend the course at the U. S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He graduated first in the class in 1925 from the Advanced Course at the Infantry School. Gerow attended the U. S. Army Command and General Staff School, where Dwight D. Eisenhower was his study partner, in 1931 he completed the Field Officers Course in Chemical Warfare and Tanks and took a course at U. S. Army War College. Gerow served in China in 1932 in the Shanghai sector, on 1 August 1935 he was promoted to the permanent rank of lieutenant colonel. On 1 September 1940, prior to the American entry into World War II, he became a colonel in the permanent grade and a month later, on 1 October 1940 became a temporary brigadier general. He received the Legion of Merit on 27 September 1943 for his work as a division commander and he continued as commander of the 29th Division until 17 July 1943. He became commander of V Corps on 17 July 1943 and this was the largest unit of troops in the European Theater of Operations. He played a part in the planning of the invasion of continental Europe. He was the first corps commander ashore on D-Day, June 6,1944 and continued in command through the Battle of Normandy, which saw his divisions sustain heavy casualties
10.
General officer
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A general officer is an officer of high rank in the army, and in some nations air forces or marines. The term general is used in two ways, as the title for all grades of general officer and as a specific rank. It originates in the 16th century, as a shortening of captain general, the adjective general had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction. Today, the title of General is known in countries as a four-star rank. However different countries use different systems of stars for senior ranks and it has a NATO code of OF-9 and is the highest rank currently in use in a number of armies. The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure. Lower-ranking officers in military forces are typically known as field officers or field-grade officers. There are two systems of general ranks used worldwide. In addition there is a system, the Arab system of ranks. Variations of one form, the old European system, were used throughout Europe. It is used in the United Kingdom, from which it spread to the Commonwealth. The other is derived from the French Revolution, where ranks are named according to the unit they command. The system used either a general or a colonel general rank. The rank of marshal was used by some countries as the highest rank. Many countries actually used two brigade command ranks, which is why some countries now use two stars as their brigade general insignia, mexico and Argentina still use two brigade command ranks. As a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major, confusion arises because a lieutenant is outranked by a major. Originally the serjeant major was, exclusively, the commander of the infantry, junior only to the captain general, the distinction of serjeant major general only applied after serjeant majors were introduced as a rank of field officer. Serjeant was eventually dropped from both titles, creating the modern rank titles
11.
George S. Patton
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General George Smith Patton Jr. was a senior officer of the United States Army who commanded the U. S. Seventh Army in the Mediterranean and European theaters of World War II, Third Army in France and Germany following the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Born in 1885 to a family with a military background, Patton attended the Virginia Military Institute. He studied fencing and designed the M1913 Cavalry Saber, more known as the Patton Sword. Patton first saw combat during the Pancho Villa Expedition in 1916, in the interwar period, Patton remained a central figure in the development of armored warfare doctrine in the U. S. Army, serving in numerous staff positions throughout the country. Rising through the ranks, he commanded the 2nd Armored Division at the time of the American entry into World War II, Seventh Army during the Allied invasion of Sicily, where he was the first Allied commander to reach Messina. Patton returned to command the Third Army following the invasion of Normandy in June 1944 and he led the relief of beleaguered American troops at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, and advanced his Third Army into Nazi Germany by the end of the war. After the war, Patton became the governor of Bavaria. He commanded the United States Fifteenth Army for slightly more than two months, Patton died in Germany on December 21,1945, as a result of injuries from an automobile accident twelve days earlier. Pattons colorful image, hard-driving personality and success as a commander were at times overshadowed by his public statements. His philosophy of leading from the front and his ability to inspire troops with vulgarity-ridden speeches, such as an address to the Third Army. His strong emphasis on rapid and aggressive offensive action proved effective, while Allied leaders held sharply differing opinions on Patton, he was regarded highly by his opponents in the German High Command. A popular, award-winning biographical film released in 1970 helped transform Patton into an American hero, George Smith Patton Jr. was born on November 11,1885 in San Gabriel, California, to George Smith Patton Sr. and his wife Ruth Wilson. Patton had a sister, Anne, who was nicknamed Nita. The family was of Irish, Scots-Irish, English, and Welsh ancestry and his great grandmother came from an aristocratic Welsh family, descended from many Welsh lords of Glamorgan, which had an extensive military background. Patton believed he had former lives as a soldier and took pride in mystical ties with his ancestors, though not directly descended from George Washington, Patton traced some of his English colonial roots to George Washingtons great-grandfather. He was also descended from Englands King Edward I through Edwards son Edmund of Woodstock, family belief held the Pattons were descended from sixteen barons who had signed the Magna Carta. Patton believed in reincarnation, and his ancestry was very important to him, the first Patton in America was Robert Patton, born in Ayr, Scotland
12.
Hobart R. Gay
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Hobart Raymond Gay, nicknamed Hap, was a United States Army Lieutenant General. He was first commissioned into the Army Reserve as a 2nd Lieutenant following his graduation from Knox College in 1917, on October 26,1917, Gay was commissioned into the Regular Army. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on October 26,1917, in his early career, he was a cavalry officer. He transferred to the Quartermaster Corps June 11,1934 and was promoted to Major on August 1,1935 and he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on August 18,1940 and colonel on December 24,1941. As a Captain, he tutored author Robert A. Heinlein in equitation, General Gay was awarded the Silver Star in December 1942 for gallantry in action on November 8,1942 at Casablanca. He was chief of staff of the I Armored Corps, commanded by General George S. Patton, Gay would continue to serve as Pattons chief of staff until Pattons death in December 1945. Gay was promoted to general on June 24,1943. In the Sicily campaign he was assigned to the U. S, seventh Army as chief of staff. He became chief of staff, Third Army, in February 1944, in this capacity, Gay was a key member of Pattons command staff during the Third Armys drive into Germany following the Normandy invasion. When Patton took command of the U. S. Fifteenth Army in October 1945 and he and Patton went pheasant hunting on December 9,1945. Patton and Gay were seated in the seat of the staff car. There was an accident, during which Patton sustained spinal injuries which later cost him his life. After Pattons death, Gay assumed command of Fifteenth Army in January 1946 for a period of one month and he then became commander of the U. S. 1st Armored Division until its return to the United States later in 1946 and he then assumed command of the Second Constabulary Brigade. He served in Europe until 1947, when he returned to the United States, Gay returned to the United States and commanded the Military District of Washington until September 1949. During his command of the district, General John J. Pershing died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on 15 July 1948, in accordance with tradition, Gen. Gay coordinated arrangements for Pershings funeral ceremonies as the representative of the U. S. President. In September 1949, Gay took command of the 1st Cavalry Division in Osaka and he brought the 1st Cavalry to Korea, where it was in action on July 19,1950, joining in the general South Korean-U. S. Retreat before the North Korean invasion force, the South Korean government in 2005 certified the names of 163 No Gun Ri dead and missing and 55 wounded, and said many more likely were killed
13.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
14.
European Theater of Operations, United States Army
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The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed US Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and it was bordered to the south by the North African Theater of Operations, US Army, which later became the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. As the armies advanced, both these zones and the areas into which they were divided would shift forward to new areas of control. Major General James E. Chaney, an Army Air Corps officer, arrived in the United Kingdom on 18 May 1941, SBOPS also had the role of studying British use of Lend Lease supplies. His formal title was the Special Army Observer in the United Kingdom, after the United States entered the war, SPOBS was succeeded by United States Army Forces in the British Isles, actually SPOBS under a new name. At the time of the ARCADIA Conference, December 1941 – January 1942, daley, and make him in turn responsible to General Chaney, designated as CG, USAFBI. Lt. Gen. John C. H. Lee became Chief, Services of Supply, U. S. Army Forces British Isles, on June 8,1942, the United States Department of War officially established ETOUSA in its place. Its mission was to conduct planning for the retaking of Europe and to exercise administrative. The 133rd Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Division was the first United States Army unit sent to Europe in World War II, the first battalion arrived in Belfast in late January 1942, followed by the rest of the regiment in February. These units were designated as U. S. Army Northern Ireland Forces, the 133rd and 168th Infantry Regiments trained in the peat bogs, and performed border guard patrols between British Northern Ireland and the neutral Irish Free State. The remaining unit of the division, the 135th Infantry Regiment, until SHAEF was operational ETOUSA liaised closely with the British in the planning and organising of Operation Overlord. General Dwight D. Eisenhower had multiple command appointments, he replaced Chaney in late June 1942 and he then relinquished command of ETOUSA to Lt. Gen. Frank M. Andrews in February 1943, who was killed in an air crash in May. He was replaced by Lt. Gen. Jacob L. Devers, in December 1943 it was announced that Eisenhower would be Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. In January 1944 he resumed command of ETOUSA and the month was officially designated as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. He served in a role until the end of hostilities in Europe in May 1945. From February 1944, SHAEF was the command and ETOUSA administrative command. Some units were transferred between operational commands and administrative commands at different times, by the end of 1944, Eisenhower, through SHAEF, commanded three powerful Allied army groups. The British 21st Army Group and French elements of the 6th Army Group were not part of ETOUSA, the ETOUSA planning staff in London was usually referred to by its Army Post Office number, APO887
15.
Fort Sam Houston
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Fort Sam Houston is a U. S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. Known colloquially as Fort Sam, it is named for the U. S. Senator, Texas Governor, on October 1,2010, Fort Sam Houston joined Lackland and Randolph Air Force Bases to create Joint Base San Antonio, under Air Force administration. Army Institute of Surgical Research U. S. S, because Fort Sam Houston is part of Joint Base San Antonio, the installation commander is the commander of the 502d Air Base Wing. Fort Sam Houston is known as the Home of Army Medicine, at the end of World War II, the Army decided to make Fort Sam Houston the principal medical training facility. In conjunction with this came the determination to develop Brooke General Hospital into one of the Armys premier medical centers. Despite the installation transitioning to Air Force control, the command, the command and other key positions will rotate between the Army and Air Force. Staffing consist of members of both services, as well as a number of civilians. As of 2011, Fort Sam Houston is the largest and most important military training facility in the world. As a result of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission 2005 recommendations and this consolidation concluded with the opening of the Military Education and Training Campus in 2011. The Navy moved its medical training from San Diego, California, Great Lakes, Illinois, the Air Force moved its medical training from Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas. This increased the student load and required additional support staff. The expansion in training has required construction approaching one billion dollars, the Sundry Civil Service Bill of 3 March 1873, included a $100,000 for a new army post in San Antonio, on 93 acres of land deeded by the city on Government Hill. Edward Braden Construction Co. won the contract to build the post on 7 June 1876, included on the Quadrangle was a combination 87 foot watch tower and 6,400 gallon water tank designed by General Montgomery C. Meigs, based on one he had seen in Europe, on 19 Feb.1877, the new train station on Austin Street opened, connecting San Antonio to Galveston. The quartermasters soon moved their supplies from the Alamo to the Quadrangle. The hospital, now known as Sam Houston House, was built in 1886, the post was formally named Fort Sam Houston on September 11,1890. The Gift Chapel was dedicated by President William Taft on 17–18 Oct.1909, Construction at Fort Sam Houston began in the middle 1870s under the supervision of the military commander of the Department of Texas, Major General Edward Ord, a West Point-trained army engineer. The significant contributions of Fort Sam Houston to the United States were recognized in 1975 when the post was designated as a National Historic Landmark, the Fort Sam Houston Quadrangle, built by George Henry Griebel, is the oldest structure at Fort Sam Houston
16.
Fourth United States Army
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The Fourth United States Army was a field army of the United States Army. It was organized as Fourth Army in the Organized Reserves in 1922 at New York City and it was withdrawn from the Organized Reserves on 9 August 1932 and allotted to the Regular Army as an inactive unit. It was activated 1 October 1933 and headquartered at the Presidio of San Francisco, in 1946, the Fourth Army moved its headquarters to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. It was redesignated Fourth United States Army on 1 January 1957, the Fourth United States Army has no combat record. During the 1960s, the Fourth Army operated Tigerland, a training school at Louisianas Fort Polk to prepare new recruits for infantry combat in Vietnam. In July 1971, the Fourth Army was disbanded and consolidated with the Fifth United States Army at Fort Sam Houston, between 1984 and 1992, Fort Sheridan served as the headquarters of the Fourth Army and U. S. Army Recruiting Command. During that time, Fort Sheridan was the headquarters for activities at 74 U. S. Army Reserve Centers located in northern Illinois, northwest Indiana, HQ Fourth US Army, was at The Armys Biggest Little Post, Fort Sheridan. The post serves as an Administrative and Logistics Center for Midwest military installations and it was also home of the Army Recruiting Command, US Military Entrance Processing Command, 425th Trans Bde, Army Readiness Grp. 4th Recruiting Bde and Recruiting Bn, Chicago. Lieutenant General James R. Hall, served as the last commanding general of Fort Sheridan, in December 1988, the BRAC Commission recommended closure of Fort Sheridan. The BRAC Commission also recommended relocation of the Headquarters, Fourth Army, history of the Fourth Army, Jack B. Beardwood, Washington, D. C.1946 Fourth Army web page at globalsecurity
17.
New York Port of Embarkation
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The New York Port of Embarkation was a United States Army command responsible for the movement of troops and supplies from the United States to overseas commands. The command had facilities in New York, New Jersey, roughly covering the extent of todays Port of New York and New Jersey, the sub-ports were at Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia and the Canadian ports of Halifax, Montreal and St. Johns. The World War I port of embarkation was disestablished, seized and requisitioned facilities returned or sold, between the wars reduced operations continued the core concepts of a port of embarkation and as the home port of Atlantic army ships. With war in Europe the army revived the formal New York Port of Embarkation command with the New York port, originally it had the army facilities in Charleston, South Carolina as a sub-port until it was elevated to the Charleston Port of Embarkation as a separate command. The cargo sub-port at Philadelphia remained under the command of NYPOE throughout the war, as the first and by far the largest POE in World War I NYPOE served as the model for general POE concepts and continued its role as the largest of the ports throughout World War II. When war broke out in Europe in 1939 only New York was operating as a port of embarkation on the Atlantic seaboard, an Army Port of Embarkation is not simply some Army shipping terminal. An Army POE was a structure and interconnected land transportation, supply. The scope of the World War II POE is summarized in Army Regulations, AR 55-75 and he will be responsible for the furnishing of necessary instructions to individuals and organizations embarked or debarked at the port. He will be responsible for taking the necessary measures to insure the smooth and orderly flow of troops, any primary POE could have sub-ports and cargo ports even in other cities or temporarily assigned for movements between the United States to one of the overseas commands it normally served. In World War I port facilities in Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, troops embarked aboard all vessels except U. S. Naval transports remained under overall command of the port commander until disembarked overseas. That command was exercised by the Transport Commander whose responsibilities extended to all passengers and cargo, on large troop ships the transport command included a permanent staff of administration, commissary, medical and chaplain personnel. The cargo security officers were representatives of the port commander aboard ships only transporting Army cargo. The Hoboken Port of Embarkation, with New York Port of Embarkation also in use by the close of the war, was established on 27 July 1917 with a port commander having been assigned on 7 July. Previous War Department planning had envisaged ports of embarkation under single commanders, the first headquarters was established at Hoboken, New Jersey using facilities and piers seized from the German owned North German Lloyd and Hamburg-American steamship lines on the Hudson River. The first commander was Brigadier General William M. Wright serving from 1 July to 1 August 1917, on 1 August 1917 Major General David C. Shanks assumed command as the ports of embarkation came under the Embarkation Service until 27 September 1918 when ports were made coordinate agencies directly under the General Staff. The port was briefly under command of two Brigadier Generals, William V. Judson and George H. McManus from 9 September 1918 until General Shanks resumed command on 5 December 1918, by wars end the NYPOE, again under Major General David C. The command included four embarkation hospitals and five hospitals, one general hospital
18.
Greenock
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Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in Scotland and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It forms part of an urban area with Gourock to the west. The 2011 census showed that Greenock had a population of 44,248 and it lies on the south bank of the Clyde at the Tail of the Bank where the River Clyde expands into the Firth of Clyde. The name of the town has had various spellings over time and it was printed in early Acts of Parliament as Grinok, Greenhok, Grinock, Greenhoke, Greinnock, and later as Greinok. Old Presbyterial records used Grenok, a common spelling until it was changed to Greenock around 1700 and it has also been suggested that Grian cnoc or sunny hill could refer to the hill on which the castle and mansion house stood, but this has not found much support. The towns modern indoor shopping centre is called The Oak Mall, the name is also recalled in a local song. Significantly, no green oak appears on the coat of arms which features the three chalices of the Shaw Stewarts, a sailing ship in full sail and two herring above the motto God Speed Greenock. Hugh de Grenock was created a Scottish Baron in 1296, around 1540 the adjoining barony of Finnart was passed to the Schaw family, extending their holdings westward to the boundary of Gourock, and in 1542 Sir John Schaw founded Wester Greenock castle. The coast of Greenock formed a bay with three smaller indentations, the Bay of Quick was known as a safe anchorage as far back as 1164. To its east, a sandy bay ran eastwards from the Old Kirk, the fishing village of Greenock developed along this bay, and around 1635 Sir John Schaw had a jetty built into the bay which became known as Sir Johns Bay. In that year he obtained a Charter raising Greenock to a Burgh of Barony with rights to a weekly market, further east, Saint Laurence Bay curved round past the Crawfurd Barony of Easter Greenock to Garvel Point. When a pier was built making the bay an important harbour, in 1642 it was made into the Burgh of Barony of Crawfurdsdyke, and part of the ill-fated Darien Scheme set out from this pier in 1697. This town was later renamed Cartsdyke, the fishing trade grew prosperous, with barrels of salted herring exported widely, and shipping trade developed. As seagoing ships could not go further up the River Clyde, a separate Barony of Cartsburn was created, the first baron being Thomas Craufurd. The work was completed in 1710, with quays extended out into Sir Johns Bay to enclose the harbour, in 1711 the shipbuilding industry was founded when Scotts leased ground between the harbour and the West Burn to build fishing boats. A whaling business operated for about 40 years, in 1714 Greenock became a custom house port as a branch of Port Glasgow, and for a period this operated from rooms leased in Greenock. Receipts rose rapidly from the 1770s, and in 1778 the custom house moved to new premises at the West Quay of the harbour. By 1791 a new pier was constructed at the East Quay, in 1812 Europes first steamboat service was introduced by PS Comet with frequent sailings between Glasgow, Greenock and Helensburgh, and as trade built up the pier became known as Steamboat Quay
19.
RMS Queen Mary
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RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily on the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line. The two ships were a British response to the built by German and French companies in the late 1920s. Queen Mary was the flagship of the Cunard Line from May 1936 until October 1946 when she was replaced in that role by Queen Elizabeth, with the outbreak of the Second World War, she was converted into a troopship and ferried Allied soldiers for the duration of the war. Following the war, Queen Mary was refitted for passenger service, the two ships dominated the transatlantic passenger transportation market until the dawn of the jet age in the late 1950s. By the mid-1960s, Queen Mary was ageing and, though still among the most popular transatlantic liners, was operating at a loss, after several years of decreased profits for Cunard Line, Queen Mary was officially retired from service in 1967. She left Southampton for the last time on 31 October 1967 and sailed to the port of Long Beach, California, United States, where she remains permanently moored. Much of the machinery, including one of the two rooms, three of the four propellers, and all of the boilers, were removed. The ship serves as a tourist attraction featuring restaurants, a museum, the ship is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has accepted the Queen Mary as part of the Historic Hotels of America, with Germany launching Bremen and Europa into service, Britain did not want to be left behind in the shipbuilding race. White Star Line began construction on their 80, 000-ton Oceanic in 1928, while Cunard planned a 75, 000-ton unnamed ship of their own. Construction on the ship, then only as Hull Number 534. Work was halted in December 1931 due to the Great Depression, the loan was granted, with enough money to complete Queen Mary and to build a sister ship, Hull No. Both lines agreed and the merger was completed on 10 May 1934, work on Queen Mary resumed immediately and she was launched on 26 September 1934. Completion ultimately took 3 1⁄2 years and cost 3.5 million pounds sterling, much of the ships interior was designed and constructed by the Bromsgrove Guild. The ship was named after Queen Mary, consort of King George V, until her launch, the name she was to be given was kept a closely guarded secret. And so, the legend goes, the delegation had of course no other choice and this story was denied by company officials, and traditionally the names of sovereigns have only been used for capital ships of the Royal Navy. Some support for the story was provided by Washington Post editor Felix Morley, in his 1979 autobiography, For the Record, Morley wrote that he was placed at table with Sir Percy Bates, chairman of the Cunard Line. Bates told him the story of the naming of the ship on condition you wont print it during my lifetime
20.
Doddington, Cheshire
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Doddington is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, which lies to the north east of Audlem and to the south of Crewe. Nearby villages include Blakenhall, Bridgemere, Checkley, Hatherton, Walgherton, the A51 runs north–south through the parish. In 2001, the parish had a population of a little under 50. At the 2011 census the population remained less than 100, details are included in the civil parish of Plumley. Doddington is administered by Doddington and District Parish Council, which includes the parishes of Blakenhall, Bridgemere, Checkley cum Wrinehill, Hunsterson. From 1974 the civil parish was served by Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council, Doddington falls in the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich, which has been represented by Edward Timpson since a by-election in 2008. The 18th-century mansion of Doddington Hall, by Samuel Wyatt, is located within the parish, the park falls mainly within Doddington, with parts in the adjacent civil parishes of Bridgemere and Hunsterson. It was landscaped by Capability Brown and includes the tower of the 14th-century Doddington Castle, St Johns Church, also within the grounds is the large mere of Doddington Pool, which is used for sailing, fishing and bird watching. The National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens lists 100 hectares of the grounds at grade II, according to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 44. The parish had population figures of 51,86,70 and 1094, listed buildings in Doddington, Cheshire Media related to Doddington, Cheshire at Wikimedia Commons
21.
RMS Aquitania
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RMS Aquitania was a Cunard Line ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. She was launched on 21 April 1913 and sailed on her voyage to New York on 30 May 1914. Aquitania was the third in Cunard Lines grand trio of express liners, preceded by RMS Mauretania and RMS Lusitania, widely considered one of the most attractive ships of her time, Aquitania earned the nickname Ship Beautiful. In her 36 years of service, Aquitania survived military duty in both wars and was returned to passenger service after each. Aquitanias record for the longest service career of any 20th-century express liner stood until 2004 when Queen Elizabeth 2 became the longest serving Cunard vessel, the origins of Aquitania lay in the rivalry between the White Star Line and Cunard Line, Britains two leading shipping companies. The White Star Lines Olympic, Titanic and the upcoming Britannic were larger than the latest Cunard ships, Mauretania and Lusitania, the Cunard duo were significantly faster than the White Star ships, while White Stars ships were seen as more luxurious. Cunard needed another liner for its weekly transatlantic service, and elected to copy the White Star Lines Olympic-class model with a larger, slower. Aquitania was designed by Cunard naval architect Leonard Peskett, Peskett drew up plans for a larger and wider vessel than Lusitania and Mauretania. With four large funnels the ship would resemble the famous speed duo, but Peskett also designed the superstructure with glassed in touches from the smaller Carmania, another design feature from Carmania was the addition of two tall forward deck ventilator cowlings. Though Aquitania was built solely with Cunard funds however, Peskett designed her to strict British Admiralty specifications, Aquitania was built in the John Brown and Company yards in Clydebank, Scotland, where the majority of the Cunard ships were built. The keel was laid in the plot where Lusitania had been built, and would later be used to construct Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth. In the wake of the Titanic sinking, Aquitania was one of the first ships to carry enough lifeboats for all passengers, eighty lifeboats, including two motorised launches with Marconi wireless equipment, were carried in both swan-neck and newer Welin type davits. As required by the British Admiralty, she was designed to be converted into a merchant cruiser. The ship displaced approximately 49,430 tons of which the hull accounted for 29,150 tons, machinery 9,000, Aquitania was launched on 21 April 1913 after being christened by Alice Stanley, the Countess of Derby, and fitted out over the next thirteen months. In May 1914 she was tested in her sea trials and steamed at one full knot over the expected speed. Steam was provided by twenty-one, forced draft, double ended Scotch boilers having eight furnaces each that were 22 feet long with diameter of 17 feet 8 inches arranged in four boiler rooms. Each boiler room had seven ash expellers with pump capacity of approximately 4,500 tons per hour that could also be used as emergency bilge pumps, steam drove Parsons turbines in three separate engine rooms in a triple expansion system for four shafts. Power was provided for about 10,000 lamps and about 180 electric motors, although Aquitania lacked the lean, yacht-like appearance of running mates Mauretania and Lusitania, the greater length and wider beam allowed for grander and more spacious public rooms
22.
Firth of Clyde
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The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran. Within the Firth of Clyde is another major island - the Isle of Bute, given its strategic location, at the entrance to the middle/upper Clyde, Bute played a vitally important military role during World War II. The Firths climate enjoys the benefit of the Gulf Stream from America, at its entrance the firth is some 26 miles wide. Its upper reaches include an area where it is joined by Loch Long and this includes the large anchorage off Greenock known as the Tail of the Bank in reference to the sandbar which separates the firth from the estuary of the River Clyde. The Clyde is still almost 2 miles wide at the sandbar, in Scottish Gaelic the landward end is called Linne Chluaidh, while the area around the south of Arran, Kintyre and Ayrshire/Galloway is An Linne Ghlas. The Firth encompasses many Islands and Peninsulas and has ferry routes connecting them to the mainland. Sometimes called the Clyde Waters, this body is customarily considered an element of the Irish Sea. The ferry services are run by Caledonian MacBrayne and by Western Ferries, a great number of sea lochs adjoin the Firth, the largest being Loch Fyne. The Cowal peninsula extends into the Firth of Clyde and forms the upper firth west shoreline. The main town on the Cowal peninsula is Dunoon and these routes across the Firth of Clyde save time, rather than traveling round by road, via Loch Eck side, the Rest and be thankful and Loch Lomond side. The service between Dunoon and Gourock in Inverclyde, operated by the Caledonian MacBrayne subsidiary Argyll Ferries LTD is a passenger only service. This service connects directly with the ScotRail service to Glasgow, Western Ferries LTD operate the service between Hunters Quay and McInroys Point near Gourock and carry all types of vehicular transport and foot passengers. This lists the towns and some of the numerous villages along the firth. There are many islands in the firth, the largest all have thriving communities and regular ferry services connecting them to the mainland. They are, Arran Bute Cumbrae The Clyde formed an important sea route from the earliest times, and the Battle of Largs in 1263 marked the turning point for the end of Viking ambitions in Britain. During World War II Glasgow and the Clyde became Britains main entry point for Allied merchant shipping, military personnel and equipment, the Clyde formed the largest base of naval ships. The area became famous worldwide for its significant contribution to yachting and yachtbuilding with notable designers including, William Fife III, Alfred Mylne, G L Watson and it was also the location of many famous yacht yards. Clyde-built wooden yachts are known for quality and style today
23.
Gourock
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Gourock is a town falling within the Inverclyde council area and formerly forming a burgh of the county of Renfrew in the West of Scotland. It has in the past functioned as a resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its principal function today, however, is as a residential area, extending contiguously from Greenock, with a railway terminus. The name Gourock comes from a Gaelic word for rounded hill, as far back as 1494 it is recorded that James IV sailed from the shore at Gourock to quell the rebellious Highland clans. Two hundred years later William and Mary granted a Charter in favour of Stewart of Castlemilk which raised Gourock to a Burgh of Barony, in 1784 the lands of Gourock were purchased by Duncan Darroch, a former merchant in Jamaica. He built Gourock House near the site of the castle in what the family eventually gifted to the town as Darroch Park, later renamed by the council as Gourock Park. Within sight of Gourock, in the hours of Friday 21 October 1825, PS Comet was run into by the steamer Ayr. When the competing railway companies extended their lines to provide fast connections to Clyde steamer services the Pierhead was built as a railway terminus, nowadays a passenger ferry serves Kilcreggan and electric trains provide a service to Glasgow from Gourock railway station at the pierhead. The David MacBrayne Ltd headquarters is at the pier, a ferry service to Dunoon is run by their Argyll Ferries subsidiary. A car ferry service is run by Western Ferries from McInroys Point on the west side of the town to Hunters Quay to the north of Dunoon. Like many Scottish seaside towns, Gourocks tourist heyday was in the half of the nineteenth century. Evidence of this part of its past is gradually disappearing - The Bay Hotel and Cragburn Pavilion and The Ashton, three local landmarks, disappeared towards the end of the last century. At the same time, Gourock has continued to expand along the coastline, with new estates above the medieval Castle Levan which has restored and is in use as a bed. Further development is taking place, though a stretch of green belt still separates the town from the Cloch lighthouse which looks out over the firth to Innellan in Argyll. Gourock has one of the three remaining public outdoor swimming pools in Scotland. Gourock Outdoor Pool was built in 1909 and reconstructed in 1969, it was tidal and had a sandy floor. The pool was closed at the end of the 2010 summer season for an improvement project. The megalithic Kempock Stone, popularly known as Granny Kempock Stone, stands on a cliff behind Kempock Street, the superstition was that for sailors going on a long voyage or a couple about to be married, walking seven times around the stone would ensure good fortune
24.
Twelfth United States Army Group
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The Twelfth United States Army Group was the largest and most powerful United States Army formation ever to take to the field. It controlled the majority of American forces on the Western Front in 1944 and 1945 and it was commanded by General Omar Bradley with its headquarters established in London on 14 July 1944. Bradleys First United States Army, which formed part of the Twelfth Army Group, formed the right wing of the Allied lines during the Normandy landings. They were joined during July by the Third United States Army, after the breakout from the beach-head at Normandy, the Twelfth Army Group formed the center of the Allied forces on the Western Front. To the north was the British 21st Army Group and, to the south, as the Twelfth advanced through Germany in 1945, it controlled four field armies, First United States Army, Third United States Army, Ninth United States Army and Fifteenth United States Army. By V-E Day, the Twelfth Army Group was a force that numbered over 1.3 million men. Gillem, Jr. 30th Infantry Division – Major General Leland S. Hobbs 35th Infantry Division – Major General Paul W. Baade 83rd Infantry Division – Major General Robert C
25.
Battle of the Bulge
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The Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive campaign of World War II. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in Belgium, France, the surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard. American forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties of any operation during the war, the battle also severely depleted Germanys armoured forces on the Western Front, and they were largely unable to replace them. German personnel and later, Luftwaffe aircraft, also sustained heavy losses, the Germans officially referred to the offensive as Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein, while the Allies designated it the Ardennes Counteroffensive. The phrase Battle of the Bulge was coined by contemporary press to describe the bulge in German front lines on wartime news maps, once that was accomplished, the German dictator Adolf Hitler believed he could fully concentrate on the Soviets on the Eastern Front. The offensive was planned by the German forces with utmost secrecy, with minimal radio traffic and movements of troops, intercepted German communications indicating a substantial German offensive preparation were not acted upon by the Allies. The Germans achieved total surprise on the morning of 16 December 1944, due to a combination of Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with Allied offensive plans, and poor aerial reconnaissance. The Germans attacked a weakly defended section of the Allied line, columns of armor and infantry that were supposed to advance along parallel routes found themselves on the same roads. This, and terrain that favored the defenders, threw the German advance behind schedule, improved weather conditions permitted air attacks on German forces and supply lines, which sealed the failure of the offensive. In the wake of the defeat, many experienced German units were left severely depleted of men and equipment, the Germans initial attack involved 406,000 men,1,214 tanks, tank destroyers, and assault guns, and 4,224 artillery pieces. These were reinforced a couple of later, bringing the offensives total strength to around 450,000 troops. Between 67,200 and 125,000 of their men were killed, missing, for the Americans, out of 610,000 troops involved in the battle,89,000 were casualties. While some sources report that up to 19,000 were killed, British historian Antony Beevor reports the number killed as 8,407. It was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War II, after the breakout from Normandy at the end of July 1944 and the Allied landings in southern France on 15 August 1944, the Allies advanced toward Germany more quickly than anticipated. The Allies were faced with several military logistics issues, - troops were fatigued by weeks of continuous combat supply lines were stretched extremely thin supplies were dangerously depleted. General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his staff chose to hold the Ardennes region which was occupied by the U. S, the Allies chose to defend the Ardennes with as few troops as possible due to the favorable terrain and limited Allied operational objectives in the area. They also had intelligence that the Wehrmacht was using the area across the German border as an area for its troops. The speed of the Allied advance coupled with a lack of deep-water ports presented the Allies with enormous supply problems
26.
Landing ship, infantry
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LSIs were operated by the Royal Navy, British Merchant Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Indian Navy, and Royal Australian Navy. They transported British Commonwealth and other Allied troops in sea assaults, typically, a landing ship, infantry would transport its cargo of infantry from its embarkation port to close to the coast to be invaded. This location was approximately 6–11 miles off shore, the troops would then transfer to landing craft, most commonly LCAs, for the journey to the beach. The landing craft would return to the LSI after disembarking their cargo, such ships would not be purpose-built, but would be found within the lists of merchant marine vessels. These ships needed to be fast and have davits capable of lowering the new landing craft assault fully loaded with troops, Glengyle and her sisters, Glenearn, Glenroy, and Breconshire, then abuilding, were determined to be ideal for infantry landing ships. This class of four fast passenger and cargo liners were intended for the Far East trade route, the Admiralty acquired the four Glens shortly after their launchings, and converted them into fast supply ships. By June 1940, Glengyle, Glenearn, and Glenroy were under conversion to LSIs, the Admiralty insisted on keeping Breconshire in a fast cargo configuration, so the ISTDC consulted the Director of Naval Construction about suitable requisitioned ships. The Dutch Continental passenger steamers Queen Emma and Princess Beatrix were converted to LSIs, displacing approximately 3,000 gross registered tons and able to make 22 knots, these vessels could carry as many as 800 troops apiece. These were the original 5 LSIs, more LSIs would be found in the years to come from requisitioning or new construction provided by the United States under Lend-Lease. LSIs were grouped according to their capacity and endurance. Initially, all were requisitioned merchant vessels that exchanged carrying lifeboats for landing craft, Glengyle was built by Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Dundee, for the Glen Line. This latter alteration entailed introducing tables, forms, and posts for slinging hammocks into the cargo hold. Glengyle, the first LSI, was accepted into service on 10 September and, on 31 January 1941, smaller LSI, such as Queen Emma and Princess Beatrix, were generally converted cross-channel ferries, or a converted passenger ship. In Canada in the spring of 1943, work was under way on the conversion of Prince David and they were reconfigured to carry 550 infantrymen transported in six LCAs and two LCMs, and have large sick-bay facilities for the anticipated casualties. Their old 6-inch guns were replaced with two twin 4 inch mountings, two single Bofors, and ten Oerlikons. D, kelly RCNR, who had supervised the fitting-out of both ships. The ships davits were capable of lifting an LCA which, by time in the war, was approaching 14 tons. In Australia in mid-1942, HMAS Manoora was marked for conversion into the Royal Australian Navys first landing ship and her armed merchant cruiser armament was removed and replaced with a single 12-pounder gun, six 40 mm Bofors, and eight 20 mm Oerlikons. The Walrus amphibian aircraft was removed, and the ship was modified to carry US manufactured landing craft,17 LCVPs, Manoora was initially able to accommodate 850 soldiers, but later modifications increased this to 1,250
27.
SS Empire Javelin
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SS Empire Javelin was an Infantry Landing Ship or LSI in service with the UK in the latter part of the Second World War. Launched on 25 October 1943, she was a United States Maritime Commission C1-S-AY1 subtype, SS Empire Javelin served as a troop ship in Operation Overlord, including D-Day on 6 June 1944. She was lost on December 28,1944 while en convoy to France with 1,483 troops aboard somewhere around the midpoint between Southampton, England, and Le Havre, France. It is unknown whether she was sunk by U-322, active in the area on the same day, SS Empire Javelin was built by Consolidated Steel Corporation, Wilmington, California as the Cape Lobos, and transferred under the terms of lend lease on completion in January 1944. She was bareboat chartered by the War Shipping Administration to the Ministry of War Transport, most notably, the ship carried members of Company A, 116th Infantry, who were from Bedford, Virginia. Bedford is the home of the United States National D-Day Memorial, 551st Landing Craft Assault Flotilla crewed by Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve of Combined Operations was based aboard Empire Javelin on D-Day. Six of the eighteen LCAs of 551st LCA Flotilla were lost on D-Day, SS Empire Javelin embarked 1,483 US servicemen at Southampton for Le Havre, France on 28 December 1944. She was in convoy with USS LST-325 and escorted by the Free French frigate LEscarmouche, in the English Channel on the afternoon of the 28th there was an explosion without warning at 50°5′N 1°0′W, at least 20 lives were lost and 20 more injured. The LEscarmouche was called alongside once the extent of the damage had been assessed, HMS Hargood arrived to assist, standing off nearby on submarine watch. Two minutes after the last man jumped off, there was a large explosion, about 10 minutes later she was completely submerged. Some pictures of the sinking can be here, Initially it was thought that the ship had been torpedoed by German submarine U-772. Another U-boat, U-322, was active in the area on the same day, there is no definitive proof of what sank the Empire Javelin, it has also been proposed it struck a mine. Ships of the Royal Navy, The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy, omaha Beach, D-Day, June 6,1944
28.
English Channel
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The English Channel, also called simply the Channel, is the body of water that separates southern England from northern France, and links the southern part of the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. It is about 560 km long and varies in width from 240 km at its widest to 33.3 km in the Strait of Dover and it is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some 75,000 km2. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the English Channel as follows, a line joining Isle Vierge to Lands End. The southwestern limit of the North Sea, the IHO defines the southwestern limit of the North Sea as a line joining the Walde Lighthouse and Leathercoat Point. The Walde Lighthouse is 6 km east of Calais, and Leathercoat Point is at the end of St Margarets Bay. The Strait of Dover, at the Channels eastern end, is its narrowest point and it is relatively shallow, with an average depth of about 120 m at its widest part, reducing to a depth of about 45 m between Dover and Calais. Eastwards from there the adjoining North Sea reduces to about 26 m in the Broad Fourteens where it lies over the watershed of the land bridge between East Anglia and the Low Countries. It reaches a depth of 180 m in the submerged valley of Hurds Deep,48 km west-northwest of Guernsey. The eastern region along the French coast between Cherbourg and the mouth of the Seine river at Le Havre is frequently referred to as the Bay of the Seine. There are several islands in the Channel, the most notable being the Isle of Wight off the English coast. The coastline, particularly on the French shore, is indented, several small islands close to the coastline, including Chausey. The Cotentin Peninsula in France juts out into the Channel, whilst on the English side there is a parallel channel known as the Solent between the Isle of Wight and the mainland. The Celtic Sea is to the west of the Channel, the time difference of about six hours between high water at the eastern and western limits of the Channel is indicative of the tidal range being amplified further by resonance. It was never defined as a border and the names were more or less descriptive. It was not considered as the property of a nation, strangely, before the development of the modern nations, British scholars very often referred to it as Gaulish and the French one as British or English. The name English Channel has been used since the early 18th century. In modern Dutch, however, it is known as Het Kanaal, later, it has also been known as the British Channel or the British Sea having been called the Oceanus Britannicus by the 2nd-century geographer Ptolemy. The same name is used on an Italian map of about 1450, the Anglo-Saxon texts often call it Sūð-sǣ as opposed to Norð-sǣ
29.
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
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Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was in command of SHAEF throughout its existence, the position itself shares a common lineage with Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Atlantic, but they are different titles. Southwick House was used as a headquarters near Portsmouth. Its staff took the plan for Operation Overlord created by Lieutenant General Sir Frederick E. Morgan, COSSAC. Morgan, who had appointed chief of staff to the Supreme Allied Commander in mid-March 1943 began planning for the invasion of Europe before Eisenhowers appointment. And moulded it into the version, which was executed on 6 June 1944. That process was shaped by Eisenhower and the forces commander for the initial part of the invasion. SHAEF remained in the United Kingdom until sufficient forces were ashore to justify its transfer to France, at that point, Montgomery ceased to command all land forces but continued as Commander in Chief of the British 21st Army Group on the eastern wing of the Normandy bridgehead. The American 12th Army Group commanded by Lieutenant General Omar Bradley was created as the wing of the bridgehead. During the invasion of southern France, the 6 AG was under the command of the Allied Forces Headquarters of the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations, by December 1944, SHAEF had established itself in the Trianon Palace Hotel in Versailles, France. In February 1945, it moved to Rheims and on 26 April 1945, SHAEF commanded the largest number of formations ever committed to one operation on the Western Front, with American, French army of liberation, British and Canadian Army forces. Allied strategic bomber forces in the UK also came under its command during Operation Neptune, Bradley Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers Air Forces Commander, Air Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory Naval Forces Commander, Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay. After the surrender of Germany, SHAEF was dissolved on 14 July 1945 and, with respect to the US forces, was replaced by US Forces, USFET was reorganized as EUCOM on 15 March 1947. Winters, Major Dick, with Cole C, beyond Band of Brothers, The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters. Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, Washington, D. C.1954
30.
Ninth United States Army
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The Ninth Army is a field army of the United States Army, garrisoned at Caserma Ederle, Vicenza, Italy. It is the United States Army Service Component Command of United States Africa Command and it was one of the main U. S. Army combat commands used during the campaign in Northwest Europe in 1944 and 1945. It was commanded at its inception by Lieutenant General William Simpson and it had been designated Eighth Army, but on arrival in the United Kingdom it was renamed to avoid confusion with the famous British formation of the same designation. All American field armies in the European Theatre of Operation were designated with odd numbers, the first responsibility for Ninth Army, upon its arrival on 5 September was to take part in the final reduction of the German forces holding out in the French port of Brest. After the surrender of the fifteen days later, Ninth Army was sent east to take its place in the line. It came into the line between Third Army and First Army, in November, Ninth Army was shifted to the very northern flank of 12th Army Group. It undertook operations to close the front up to the Roer River,16 December saw the opening of the last great German offensive of the war, the Battle of the Bulge. Simpson reoriented his command quickly to help in the reduction of the salient that the Germans had created, many of Ninth Armys units passed to the command of First Army, which was doing the main work of reducing the German salient from the north. In the meantime, the remainder of Ninth Army continued to hold the line along the Roer, by 10 March, the Rhine had been reached in all sectors of Ninth Armys front. It was not until after 20 March that Ninth Army units first crossed the Rhine itself, however, after doing so, the Army quickly struck east around the north of the Ruhr. An enormous pocket soon formed containing the German Army Group B under Model, by 4 April, Ninth Army had reached the Weser and was switched back to 12th Army Group. The end was now clearly in sight, and as part of Ninth Army, along with the newly arrived Fifteenth Army, reduced the enormous Ruhr Pocket, other elements reached the Elbe on 12 April. On 2 May 1945, the whole of Ninth Armys front reached the agreed demarcation point with the Russians, in 2012, US Army Africa was re-designated as US Army Africa under the Army modularization program. Operation Queen Operation Plunder The Struggle for Europe, Chester Wilmot Interviews with William Hood Simpson. 30 June 1976,7 July 1976, University of Texas at San Antonio, Institute of Texan Cultures, Oral History Collection, UA15.01, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections
31.
First United States Army
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It now serves as a mobilization, readiness and training command. First Army was established on 10 August 1918 as an army when sufficient American military manpower had arrived in France during World War I. As an element of the American Expeditionary Forces in the stages of World War I it was the first of three field armies established under the AEF. Serving in its ranks were many figures who played important roles in World War II. First Army was inactivated in April 1919, the field armies were established to provide organizational structure for large military organizations that might be mobilized in time of national need. First Army was located in the northeast United States and was activated on 11 September 1933 at Fort Jay, Governors Island, initially activated as a paper army, it was commanded by General Dennis E. Nolan. Until 1942, First Armys commander was always the senior commander of one of its three corps areas, since First Army was only a paper organization in its early days, its staff was the existing staff of the corps areas. The overall mission of the First Army was commanding and training army, army reserve. In the years after World War I, Conner was a mentor in the careers of Dwight Eisenhower. Passed over as a candidate for Army Chief of Staff for Douglas MacArthur, in 1938 First Army came under command of General Hugh A. Drum. Drum who along with a buildup of the Army in 1939 and it began to establish and develop its own staff and participated in the large scale Army maneuvers in Louisiana and North Carolina between 1939 and 1941. As the United States entered World War II, Drum was assigned a new command of the newly established Eastern Defense Command, responsible for coastal, Drum retired in 1943 when he reached mandatory retirement age. Headquarters, First Army was activated In January 1944 at Bristol, upon going ashore on 6 June 1944, D-Day, First Army came under 21st Army Group and commanded all American ground forces during the invasion. Three American divisions were landed by sea at the Western end of the beaches, on Utah Beach the assault troops made good time, but Omaha Beach came nearest of all of the five landing areas to disaster. First Army captured much of the gains of the Allied forces in Normandy. Once the beachheads were joined up, its troops struck west and isolated the Cotentin Peninsula, when the American Mulberry harbour was wrecked by a storm, Cherbourg became even more vital. After the capture of Cherbourg, First Army struck south, in Operation Cobra, its forces finally managed to break through the German lines. The newly established Third Army was then fed through the gap, the Army then passed from the control of 21st Army Group to the newly arrived 12th Army Group
32.
Forced displacement
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Forced displacement or forced migration is the coerced movement of a person or persons away from their home or home region and it often connotes violent coercion. Someone who has experienced forced displacement is a migrant, a displaced person, rarely also a displacee, or if it is within the same country. In some cases the forced migrant can also become a refugee, a specific form of forced displacement is population transfer, which is a coherent policy to move unwanted persons, for example, as an attempt at ethnic cleansing. Forced displacement has accompanied persecution, as well as war, throughout history but has only become a topic of serious study. The concept of forced displacement envelopes demographic movements like flight, evacuation, displacement, however this thought has been questioned, especially by Marxians, who argue that in most cases migrants have little or no choice. In such a scenario, migration becomes more of a strategy, as natural disasters often cause the loss of money, homes. For example, Hurricane Katrina resulted in displacement of almost the population of New Orleans, leaving the community and government with several economic. Biological, physical or chemical change in ecosystem, Migration can also occur as a result of slow-onset climate change, such as desertification or sea-level rise, of deforestation or land degradation. Man-made disasters can also cause forced migration, examples are industrial accidents and especially accidents that involve radioactivity, such as in Chernobyl or Fukushima. An elaboration of such migrants is given by Essam El-Hinnawi, Migrants who are able to return to their original habitat once the disruption is over, Migrants who seek better living conditions due to deterioration of environmental conditions in their present habitat, such as soil fertility. In the middle of the 19th century, for example, Ireland experienced a famine never before seen in the country’s history. War, civil war, political repression or religious conflicts, Some migrants are impelled to cross national borders by war or persecution, due to political, social, ethnic and these immigrants may be considered refugees if they apply for asylum in the receiving country. It has been associated with the construction of dams for hydroelectric power and irrigation purposes but also appears due to many other activities, such as mining. The best-known recent example of such development-induced displacement may be resulting from the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in China. This type of forced migration disproportionately affects low income earners and ethnic minorities, according to estimates, between 90 and 100 million people were forced to leave their homes due to development projects in the 1990s. Human trafficking and human smuggling, Migrants displaced through deception or coercion with purpose of their exploitation fall under this category, the data on such forced migration are limited since the activities involved are clandestine in nature. While migration of this nature is well covered for male migrants, the International Labour Organization considers trafficking an offence against labor protection and denies them the opportunity of utilizing their resources for their country. ILO’s Multilateral Framework includes principle no, slavery, Historys greatest forced migration was the Middle Passage of the Atlantic slave trade during the 15th through the 19th centuries
33.
North Rhine-Westphalia
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North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with a population of approximately 18 million, and the fourth largest by area. Its capital is Düsseldorf, the most populous city is Cologne, four of Germanys ten largest cities—Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, and Essen—are located within the state, as well as the largest metropolitan area on the European continent, Rhine-Ruhr. North Rhine-Westphalia was formed in 1946 as a merger of the provinces of North Rhine and Westphalia, the state has been run by a coalition of the Social Democrats and Greens since 2010. The Ubii and some other Germanic tribes such as the Cugerni were later settled on the west side of the Rhine in the Roman province of Germania Inferior, North of the Sigambri and the Rhine region were the Bructeri. By the 8th century the Frankish dominion was established in western Germany. But at the time, to the north, Westphalia was being taken over by Saxons pushing south. The Merovingian and Carolingian Franks eventually built an empire which controlled first their Ripuarian kin, the Ottonian dynasty had both Saxon and Frankish ancestry. As the central power of the Holy Roman Emperor weakened, the Rhineland split into small independent principalities, each with its separate vicissitudes. Such struggles as the War of the Limburg Succession therefore continued to create military, Aachen was the place of coronation of the German emperors, and the ecclesiastical principalities of the Rhine bulked largely in German history. Prussia first set foot on the Rhine in 1609 by the occupation of the Duchy of Cleves and about a century later Upper Guelders and Moers also became Prussian. At the peace of Basel in 1795 the whole of the bank of the Rhine was resigned to France. In 1920, the districts of Eupen and Malmedy were transferred to Belgium, around 1 AD there were numerous incursions through Westphalia and perhaps even some permanent Roman or Romanized settlements. The Battle of Teutoburg Forest took place near Osnabrück and some of the Germanic tribes who fought at this came from the area of Westphalia. Charlemagne is thought to have spent considerable time in Paderborn and nearby parts and his Saxon Wars also partly took place in what is thought of as Westphalia today. Popular legends link his adversary Widukind to places near Detmold, Bielefeld, Lemgo, Osnabrück, Widukind was buried in Enger, which is also a subject of a legend. Along with Eastphalia and Engern, Westphalia was originally a district of the Duchy of Saxony, in 1180 Westphalia was elevated to the rank of a duchy by Emperor Barbarossa. The Duchy of Westphalia comprised only an area south of the Lippe River. Parts of Westphalia came under Brandenburg-Prussian control during the 17th and 18th centuries, the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, signed in Münster and Osnabrück, ended the Thirty Years War
34.
Rhineland-Palatinate
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Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of 19,846 square kilometres and about four million inhabitants, Rhineland-Palatinate is located in western Germany and borders Belgium, Luxembourg and France, and the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg and Saarland. The state of Rhineland-Palatinate dates from 30 August 1946, as of 201044. 9% of the population of the state adhered to the Roman Catholic Church,30. 6% to the Evangelical Church in Germany. 22. 0% of the population is irreligious or adheres to other religions, muslims made up 2. 5% of the total. The league of ShUM-cities in the later Rhineland-Palatinate comprised the Jewish communities of Mainz, Speyer, the Takkanot Shum, or Enactments of ShUM were a set of decrees formulated and agreed upon over a period of decades by their Jewish community leaders. Rhineland-Palatinate leads all German states with a rate of approximately 50%. Important sectors are the industry, chemical industry, pharmaceutical industry. Distinctive regional industries includes gemstone industry, ceramic and glass industry, small and medium enterprises are considered the backbone of the economy in Rhineland-Palatinate. The principal employer is the chemical and plastics processing industry which is represented by BASF in Ludwigshafen, boehringer, Joh. A. Benckiser, SGE Deutsche Holding, Schott Glassworks concludes the top 5 companies in the state. Rhineland-Palatinate is Germanys leading producer of wine in terms of grape cultivation, of thirteen wine regions producing quality wine in Germany, six are located in Rhineland-Palatinate, with 65% to 70% of the production of wine grapes in Germany having their origin within the state. 13,000 wine producers generate 80% to 90% of the German wine export, traditional grape varieties and a wide range of varieties developed during the last 125 years are characteristic for the region. Classical white varieties are cultivated at 63,683 hectares and these comprise the famous Rieslings 14,446 hectares, Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner and Kerner. The share of red varieties grew constantly during the last decades, dornfelder, a new cultivar, is the leading red grape cultivated on 7,626 hectares, which is more than a third. Blauer Portugieser and Spätburgunder show also appreciable cultivated shares, the state supports the wine industry by providing a comprehensive consultancy and education program in the service supply centers of the land. The Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding is fully financed by the state, many well known new breeds, such as Morio-Muskat, Bacchus, Optima and Regent have been created in these institutes. The worldwide leader in sparkling wine production, producing 245 million bottles in 2006, is the renowned Schloss Wachenheim Group and this company is headquartered in Trier, with operations in several locations in Rhineland-Palatinate
35.
Saarland
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The Saarland is one of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany. With its capital at Saarbrücken, it has an area of 2,570 km², in terms of both area and population size – apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg – it is Germanys smallest state. Prior to its creation as the Territory of the Saar Basin by the League of Nations after World War I, until then, some parts of it had been Prussian while others belonged to Bavaria. The inhabitants voted to rejoin Germany in a referendum held in 1935, from 1947 to 1956 the Saarland was a French-occupied territory separate from the rest of Germany. Between 1950 and 1956, Saarland was a member of the Council of Europe, in 1955, in another referendum, the inhabitants were offered independence, but voted instead for the territory to become a state of West Germany. From 1920 to 1935, and again from 1947 to 1959, Saarland is the result of a regulation of the treaty of Versailles and was created in 1919. Prior to this creation, there never existed a comparable administrative unit or a feeling of togetherness, the region of the Saarland was settled by the Celtic tribes of Treveri and Mediomatrici. The most impressive relic of their time is the remains of a fortress of refuge at Otzenhausen in the north of the Saarland, in the 1st century BC, the Roman Empire made the region part of its province of Belgica. The Celtic population mixed with the Roman immigrants, the region gained wealth, which can still be seen in the remains of Roman villas and villages. Roman rule ended in the 5th century, when the Franks conquered the territory, for the next 1,300 years the region shared the history of the Kingdom of the Franks, the Carolingian Empire and of the Holy Roman Empire. The region of the Saarland was divided into small territories. Most important of the rulers were the counts of Nassau-Saarbrücken. It was not the king of France but the armies of the French Revolution who terminated the independence of the states in the region of the Saarland, after 1792 they conquered the region and made it part of the French Republic. While a strip in the west belonged to the Département Moselle, the centre in 1798 became part of the Département de Sarre, after the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the region was divided again. Most of it part of the Prussian Rhine Province. Another part in the east, corresponding to the present Saarpfalz district, was allocated to the Kingdom of Bavaria, a small part in the northeast was ruled by the Duke of Oldenburg. On 31 July 1870, the French Emperor Napoleon III ordered an invasion across the River Saar to seize Saarbrücken, the first shots of the Franco-Prussian War 1870/71 were fired on the heights of Spichern, south of Saarbrücken. The Saar region became part of the German Empire which came into existence on 18 January 1871, in 1920 the Saargebiet was occupied by Britain and France under the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles
36.
Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler
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Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler is a renowned spa town in the German Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate that serves as the capital of the Ahrweiler district. The A61 motorway connects the town with cities like Cologne and Mainz, formed by the merging of the towns of Bad Neuenahr and Ahrweiler in 1969, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler consists of 11 such districts. Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler rests in the Ahr valley on the bank of the Rhine river in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate. Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler nestles in the Ahr Hills, the highest hill in the area is the Häuschen at 506 metres metres above sea level. Nearby are the hills of Steckenberg, Neuenahrer, and Talerweiterung, there used to be castles on the last two of these hills. Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler is surrounded by the villages and towns, Grafschaft, Remagen, Sinzig, Königsfeld, Rhineland-Palatinate, Schalkenbach, Heckenbach, Kesseling, Rech. The nearest cities are Bonn and Koblenz, Bad Neuenahr is divided into Ortsbezirke which consist of one or more districts. The Ortsbezirke be represented by local councils, the largest district, Bad Neuenahr, was originally made up of three communities, which are still seen as districts. Population statistics as of 31 March 2013, Discoveries dating to Hallstatt period shows farming activity by local Celts that dwelled in the area, the Gallic Wars resulted in the forced relocation of the indigenous Eburones people to the Middle Rhine. From the 1st to 3rd Century, several Roman discoveries were made, most notable is the Villa Rustica of Bad Neuenahr. In 893 AD, Ahrweiler was mentioned as Arwilre, Arewilre, Arewilere, the abbey of Ahrweiler owned a manor with 24 farmsteads,50 acres of farmland and 76 acres of vineyards. The first mention of a parish church occurred in Neuenahr Castle, in 1246 was founded one of the oldest German inns Gasthaus Sanct Peter. Belgium, Brasschaat The German Armys Logistics Centre is located in an underground facility, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler has been home to the traditional mineral water Heppinger since 1584. The Apollinaris mineral water company was founded in Bad Neuenahr in 1852, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler is the home of the successful womens soccer team, SC07 Bad Neuenahr
37.
Holy Crown of Hungary
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The Holy Crown of Hungary was the coronation crown used by the Kingdom of Hungary for most of its existence, kings have been crowned with it since the twelfth century. The Crown was bound to the Lands of the Hungarian Crown, no king of Hungary was regarded as having been truly legitimate without being crowned with it. In the history of Hungary, more than fifty kings were crowned with it, up to the last, Charles IV, the enamels on the crown are mainly or entirely Byzantine work, presumed to have been made in Constantinople in the 1070s. The crown was presented by the Byzantine Emperor Michael VII Doukas to King Géza I of Hungary and it is one of the two known Byzantine crowns to survive, the other being the slightly earlier Monomachus Crown, which is also in Budapest, in the Hungarian National Museum. However, the Monomachus Crown may have had another function, and the Holy Crown has probably been remodelled, the date assigned to the present configuration of the Holy Crown varies, but is most commonly put around the late 12th century. The Hungarian coronation insignia consists of the Holy Crown, the sceptre, the orb, the orb has the coat-of-arms of Charles I of Hungary. In popular tradition the Holy Crown was thought to be older, dating to the time of the first King Stephen I of Hungary and it was first called the Holy Crown in 1256. During the 14th century, royal power came to be represented not simply by a crown, but by just one specific object and he also depicts that the Holy Crown is the same for the Hungarians as the Lost Ark is for the Jewish. Since 2000, the Holy Crown has been on display in the central Domed Hall of the Hungarian Parliament Building, the Crown’s shape is elliptic and is larger than a human head. During coronations, the king had to wear a leather liner, made to fit. The weight of the Crown is 2056 g, the gold-silver alloys in the upper and the lower parts of the Crown differ in alloy ratio. The lower part of the Crown is asymmetric, as is the case with all European Christian crowns, it symbolizes a halo and thus signifies that the wearer rules by Divine Right. According to popular tradition, St Stephen I held up the crown during the coronation to offer it to the Nagyboldogasszony to seal a contract between her and the divine crown. After this, the Nagyboldogasszony was depicted not only as patrona for the Kingdom of Hungary and this contract was supposed to empower the crown with divine force to help the future kings of Hungary and did help reinforce the political system based on the so-called Doctrine of the Holy Crown. Péter Révay, a Crown Guard, expounded this doctrine in his works Commentarius De Sacra Regni Hungariae Corona, at the core of this doctrine was the notion that the crown itself had personhood and as a legal entity is identical to the state of Hungary. It is superior to the monarch, who rules in the name of the crown. It was created during the reign of Béla III under Byzantine influence, the crowning of Stephen I, the first king of Hungary, who was later canonized Saint Stephen, marks the beginning of Hungarian statehood. The date is given as Christmas 1000 or 1 January 1001
38.
Fort Knox
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Fort Knox is a United States Army post in Kentucky south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. The 109,000 acre base covers parts of Bullitt, Hardin and it currently holds the Army Human Resources Center of Excellence to include the Army Human Resources Command, United States Army Cadet Command and the United States Army Accessions Command. For 60 years, Fort Knox was the home of the U. S. Army Armor Center and the U. S. Army Armor School, and was used by both the Army and the Marine Corps to train crews on the M1 Abrams main battle tank. The history of the U. S. Armys Cavalry and Armored forces, the fort is best known as the site of the United States Bullion Depository, which is used to house a large portion of the United States official gold reserves. The United States Department of the Treasury has maintained the Bullion Depository on the post since 1937 and this facility is operated solely by the Treasury Department. Parts of the base in Hardin and Meade counties form a census-designated place, the George S. Patton Museum and Center of Leadership at Fort Knox includes an exhibit highlighting leadership issues that arose from the attacks of September 11,2001, which includes two firetrucks. One of them, designated Foam 161, was partially charred and melted in the attack upon the Pentagon. S. military to die in the attacks of September 11,2001. In 2012, the U. S. Army Armor School was relocated to The Maneuver Center of Excellence at FT Benning, fortifications were constructed near the site in 1861, during the Civil War when Fort Duffield was constructed. Fort Duffield was located on what was known as Muldraugh Hill on a point overlooking the confluence of the Salt and Ohio Rivers. The area was contested by both Union and Confederate forces, bands of organized guerrillas frequently raided the area during the war. John Hunt Morgan the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry for the Confederate Army raided the area before staging his famous raid on Indiana, after the war, the area now occupied by the Army was home to various small communities. In October 1903, military maneuvers for the Regular Army and the National Guards of several states were held at West Point, Kentucky, in April 1918, field artillery units from Camp Zachary Taylor arrived at West Point for training. 20,000 acres near the village of Stithton were leased to the government, the new camp was named after Henry Knox, the Continental Armys chief of artillery during the Revolutionary War and the countrys first Secretary of War. The camp was extended by the purchase of a further 40,000 acres in June 1918, the building program was reduced following the end of the war and reduced further following cuts to the army in 1921 after the National Defense Act of 1920. The camp was greatly reduced and became a semi-permanent training center for the 5th Corps Area for Reserve Officer training, the National Guard, for a short while, from 1925 to 1928, the area was designated as Camp Henry Knox National Forest. It was used by the Kentucky Air National Guard for several years after the war until they relocated to Standiford Field in Louisville, the airfield is still in use by the United States Army Aviation Branch. Hatfield ordered its release after the D-Day Landings on September 19,1944, in 1931 a small force of the mechanized cavalry was assigned to Camp Knox to use it as a training site. The camp was turned into a permanent garrison in January 1932, the 1st Cavalry Regiment arrived later in the month to become the 1st Cavalry Regiment
39.
Third United States Army
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The United States Army Central is a military formation of the United States Army, which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf War, and in the coalition occupation of Iraq. It is best known for its campaigns in World War II under the command of General George S. Patton, Third Army is currently denoted USARCENT, headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina with a forward element at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. On the 15th, Major General Joseph T. Dickman assumed command, the third Army consisted of three corps and seven divisions. On 15 November 1918, Major General Dickman was given the mission to move quickly and he was to disarm and disband German forces as ordered by General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces. The march into Germany for occupation duty was begun on 17 November 1918, by 15 December the Third Army Headquarters at Mayen opened at Coblenz. Two days later, on 17 December 1918, the Coblenz bridgehead, consisting of a pontoon bridge, Third Army troops had encountered no hostile act of any sort. In the occupied area, both food and coal supplies were sufficient, the crossing of the Rhine by the front line divisions was effected in good time and without confusion. Troops, upon crossing the Rhine and reaching their assigned areas, were billeted preparatory to occupying selected positions for defense. The strength of the Third Army as of 19 December, the date the bridgehead occupation was completed, was 9,638 officers and 221,070 enlisted men, the southern boundary was as has been previously mentioned. Before the advance, the 1st Division passed to the command of the III Corps, the four bridges available for crossing the river within the Coblenz bridgehead were the pontoon bridge and railroad bridge at Coblenz, the railroad bridges at Engers and Remagen. On 13 December the advance began with the American khaki crossing the Rhine into advanced positions. On the same day the 42d Division passes to the command of the IV Corps, which, in support of the III Corps, continued its march to occupy the Kreise of Mayen, Ahrweiler, Adenau, and Cochem. The VII Corps occupied under the order that portion of the Regierungsbezirk of Trier within army limits. On 15 December, Third Army Headquarters at Mayen opened at Coblenz, III Corps Headquarters at Polch opened at Neuwied and IV Corps Headquarters remained at Cochem, with the VII Corps at Grevenmacher. In crossing the Rhine on the shortened front—from Rolandseck to Rhens on the west bank—the Third Army encountered no hostile act of any sort, in the occupied area both food and coal supplies were sufficient. By the night of 14 December, Third Army troops had occupied their positions on the perimeter of the Coblenz bridgehead, during January 1919, the Third Army was engaged in training and preparing the troops under its command for any contingency. A letter of instruction was circulated to lower commanders prescribing a plan of action in case hostilities were resumed, installations were set up throughout the Army area to facilitate command. On 4 February, the control of the Stadtkreis of Trier was transferred from GHQ to the Third Army
40.
John Eisenhower
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John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower was a United States Army officer and military historian. As a son of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, his opportunities for service were often restricted, at some cost to his career. In the administration of President Richard Nixon, he served as United States Ambassador to Belgium. Eisenhower was born on August 3,1922 in Denver, Colorado to future U. S. President and United States Army General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, he was their second child. Their elder son, Doud, known affectionately as Icky, died in 1921, Eisenhower, like his father, attended the United States Military Academy, graduating on June 6,1944, the day of the Normandy landings, which his father was commanding. This issue arose again in 1952 when Major Eisenhower was assigned to fight in a unit in Korea while his father ran for President. After a short stint in combat with a battalion, he was reassigned to the safety of division headquarters. In 2008, he wrote about this experience in a piece in The New York Times entitled Presidential Children Dont Belong in Battle. During his fathers presidency, John Eisenhower served as Assistant Staff Secretary in the White House, on the Armys General Staff, in the administration of President Richard Nixon, who had been his fathers Vice President, he served as U. S. Ambassador to Belgium. In 1972, President Nixon appointed Eisenhower Chairman of the Interagency Classification Review Committee, in 1975, he served President Gerald Ford as chairman of the Presidents Advisory Committee on Refugees. Eisenhower married Barbara Jean Thompson on June 10,1947, only a few days before her twenty-first birthday, Barbara was born on June 15,1926, in Fort Knox, Kentucky, into an Army family. She was the daughter of Col. Percy Walter Thompson by his wife Beatrice, Col. Thompson was commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. The Eisenhowers had four children, Dwight David Eisenhower II, who married Julie Nixon, herself a daughter, Anne Eisenhower, Susan Elaine Eisenhower. The couple divorced in 1986 after thirty-nine years of marriage, in 1988, Barbara married widower Edwin J. Foltz, a former Vice President at the Campbell Soup Company. She died on September 19,2014, in Gladwyne, Montgomery County, in 1988, Eisenhower married Joanne Thompson. He lived in Trappe, Maryland, after moving there from Kimberton, a lifelong Republican, Eisenhower voted for Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election, citing dissatisfaction with Republican incumbent George W. Bushs management of U. S. foreign policy. In later years, he had been an opponent of Frank Gehrys proposed design for the National Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial and he died at Trappe, Maryland on December 21,2013. From the death of John Coolidge in 2000 until his own death and his burial was at West Point Cemetery on the grounds of the United States Military Academy
41.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Dwight David Ike Eisenhower was an American politician and Army general who served as the 34th President of the United States from 1953 until 1961. He was a general in the United States Army during World War II. He was responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43, in 1951, he became the first Supreme Commander of NATO. Eisenhower was of mostly Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry and was raised in a family in Kansas by parents with a strong religious background. He graduated from West Point in 1915 and later married Mamie Doud, after World War II, Eisenhower served as Army Chief of Staff under President Harry S. Truman and then accepted the post of President at Columbia University. Eisenhower entered the 1952 presidential race as a Republican to counter the non-interventionism of Senator Robert A. Taft, campaigning against communism, Korea and he won in a landslide, defeating Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson and temporarily upending the New Deal Coalition. Eisenhower was the first U. S. president to be constitutionally term-limited under the 22nd Amendment, Eisenhowers main goals in office were to keep pressure on the Soviet Union and reduce federal deficits. He ordered coups in Iran and Guatemala, Eisenhower gave major aid to help the French in the First Indochina War, and after the French were defeated he gave strong financial support to the new state of South Vietnam. Congress agreed to his request in 1955 for the Formosa Resolution, after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, Eisenhower authorized the establishment of NASA, which led to the space race. During the Suez Crisis of 1956, Eisenhower condemned the Israeli, British and French invasion of Egypt and he also condemned the Soviet invasion during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 but took no action. Eisenhower sent 15,000 U. S. troops to Lebanon to prevent the government from falling to a Nasser-inspired revolution during the 1958 Lebanon crisis. Near the end of his term, his efforts to set up a meeting with the Soviets collapsed because of the U-2 incident. On the domestic front, he covertly opposed Joseph McCarthy and contributed to the end of McCarthyism by openly invoking executive privilege and he otherwise left most political activity to his Vice President, Richard Nixon. Eisenhower was a conservative who continued New Deal agencies and expanded Social Security. Eisenhowers two terms saw considerable economic prosperity except for a decline in 1958. Voted Gallups most admired man twelve times, he achieved widespread popular esteem both in and out of office, since the late 20th century, consensus among Western scholars has consistently held Eisenhower as one of the greatest U. S. Presidents. The Eisenhauer family migrated from Karlsbrunn in the Saarland, to North America, first settling in York, Pennsylvania, in 1741, accounts vary as to how and when the German name Eisenhauer was anglicized to Eisenhower. Eisenhowers Pennsylvania Dutch ancestors, who were farmers, included Hans Nikolaus Eisenhauer of Karlsbrunn
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1st Armored Division (United States)
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The 1st Armored Division—nicknamed Old Ironsides—is a combined arms division of the United States Army. The division is part of III Corps, with its base of operations in Fort Bliss in El Paso and it was the first armored division of the U. S. Army to see battle in World War II. Major General Robert P. White assumed command of the 1st Armored Division on 15 June 2016, the division command group consists of, Commanding General, Major General Robert P. White Deputy Commanding General, Brigadier general Frazer Lawrence. Deputy Commanding General, Brigadier general Jeffery Broadwater, Deputy Commanding General, Brigadier general Daniel Walrath. Chief of Staff, Colonel Charles D. Costanza, Command Sergeant Major, Command Sergeant Major Danny Day. Since relocating to Fort Bliss, Texas, the division has been reorganized under the new design, in which the deployable unit of maneuver is a brigade. The division consists of three brigade combat teams, an aviation brigade, a division artillery brigade, and a sustainment brigade. After the spring of 2015, 3rd IBCT deactivated after redeploying from Afghanistan, Magruder, after he saw a picture of the frigate USS Constitution, which is also nicknamed Old Ironsides. The large 1 at the top represents the numerical designation of the division, in January,1918, the Tank Corps of the United States Army was created with Colonel S. D. At his direction, a Lt. Wharton designed the coat of arms which was a triangle on a shield with a surrounding wreath. The triangle itself is an old heraldic element of design known as a pile. There was no shoulder patch in 1918, only this unit crest, the 7th Cavalry Brigade contributed the other part of the present day Armor shoulder patch. The brigade formed out of the 1st Cavalry Regiment at Marfa Texas, on Jan 16,1933 under General Van Voohris, the 7th Cav Bde included the 13th Cavalry. The 7th Cavalry Brigade had been organized specifically to develop the new armored force concept, Colonel George Linthwaite joined the 13th Cavalry regiment in 1933. Major General Robert W. Grow was instructed to develop a patch for the new armored force. Major Grow announced to the brigade that a contest would be held to design the new Armored force patch, a three-day pass was to be the reward for the designer of the winning entry. Private Linthwaite designed a patch which was 4” round and had a solid yellow-gold background to symbolize the Cavalry heritage, on the face of the patch he drew a stylized black tank track with drive and idler sprockets to symbolize mobility. In the center of the track at a diagonal, he placed a single cannon barrel, also in black
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13th Armored Division (United States)
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The 13th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army in World War II. The division was activated on 15 October 1942 at Camp Beale, east of Marysville, the 13th Armored, known as the Black Cats, landed at Le Havre, France,29 January 1945. After performing occupation duties, the Division moved to Homberg near Kassel to prepare for combat under the Third Army,5 April, at Altenkirchen, it was attached to the XVIII Corps and prepared for the Ruhr Pocket operation. The attack jumped off at Honnef,10 April, after crossing the river Sieg at Siegburg, the 13th pushed north to Bergisch Gladbach, then toward Duisburg and Mettmann by 18 April. Shifting south to Eschenau, the Division prepared for Bavarian operations, starting from Parsberg,26 April, the 13th crossed the Regen river, then the Danube at Matting and secured the area near Dünzling. On the 28th, elements closed in at Plattling and crossed the Isar River, moderate to heavy resistance was met during this drive through southern Germany. The Division smashed into Braunau am Inn, Austria,2 May, a bridgehead across the Inn was established at Marktl, but the river was not crossed as orders came to reassemble north of Inn River,2 May. Preparations were made for further advances when the war in Europe ended, the 13th remained in Germany until 25 June and left Le Havre, France, for home,14 July 1945. The division moved to Camp Cook, California after returning to the United States and it was training in amphibious operations at the time of the Japanese surrender. The men were aware that it was a secret that they were likely to participate in the invasion of Japan. It was inactivated on 15 November 1945, the division was reactivated in 1947, reflagged from the 19th Armored Division, which had been placed on rolls, but not actually activated, during World War II. The 19th Armored Division was eventually activated just after the war, in 1947, the 19th Armored Division was reflagged as the 13th Armored Division at Californias request. In 1952, the division was reflagged as the 63rd Infantry Division in Los Angeles, California, and thus the 13th Armored Division was finally inactivated
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20th Armored Division (United States)
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The 20th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army that fought in World War II. It was activated on 15 March 1943 at Camp Campbell in Kentucky, the division has no real nickname although it did associate itself with the nickname Armoraiders while in training at Camp Campbell. Combat Command B, CCB Headquarters Battalion, 20th Tank Battalion, 65th Armored Infantry Battalion, Combat Command R, Reserve Command, 27th Tank Battalion, 70th Armored Infantry Battalion, 414th Armored Field Artillery Battalion. The 20th Armored Division departed Boston on 5 February and arrived at Le Havre, on arrival it was sent to Buchy for a months assembly, preparation, and additional training. It then moved through Belgium to Langendernbach, Germany,10 April, three days later, it was detached and reassigned to the XV Corps, Seventh Army, at Würzburg, Germany. The condition of the division when it arrived overseas was affected by a recent change in its primary mission, until October 1944, the 20th Armored Divisions mission was to train soldiers and qualify them for overseas shipment as replacements for armored units. Actual arrival of the 20th Armored Division into combat occurred 4–9 April 1945 and it was the 412th that supported the 82nd in their attack on Hitdorf that resulted in the awarding of a Distinguished Unit Citation. At the time, the assembled near Deiningen and reconnoitered for routes to the Danube River. The river was crossed on 28 April, the 20th meeting sporadic resistance, subsequently, elements of the 20th seized the bridge over the Paar River at Schrobenhausen, and secured crossings over the Ilm River. Elements of the 20th Armored Division participated in the liberation of Dachau concentration camp on 29 April 1945, Seventh Armys 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions were also involved. Additional elements of the 20th, primarily of Combat Command B, Seventh Armys 45th Infantry Division, together operating as Task Force 20, were awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation. This victory destroyed the defenses of Munich, Germany, removing resistance to the entry of troops into the City, the 27th Tank Battalion remained attached to the 42nd Infantry Division during its attack on Munich, 29–30 April. Following V-E Day, the Division returned to the U. S. in August 1945 and was slated for the invasion of Japan. The Division is officially credited with eight days in combat Peanuts creator, Charles Schulz. While Schulzs unit was nearby, it did not actually enter Dachau, richard Nixons future Vice President, Spiro Agnew, attained the rank of 1st lieutenant while with the 20th Armored Divisions 480th Armored Infantry Regiment
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28th Infantry Division (United States)
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The 28th Infantry Division is a unit of the Army National Guard and is the oldest division-sized unit in the armed forces of the United States. Some of the units of the division can trace their lineage to Benjamin Franklins battalion, the division was officially established in 1879 and was later redesignated as the 28th Division in 1917, after the entry of America into the First World War. It is today part of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Maryland Army National Guard, Ohio Army National Guard and it was originally nicknamed the Keystone Division, as it was formed from units of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Pennsylvania being known as the Keystone State. During World War II, it acquired the nickname the Bloody Bucket division by German forces due to its red insignia, but today the 28th Infantry Division goes by the name given to it by General Pershing during World War I, Iron Division. The 28th is the first Army National Guard division to field the Stryker infantry fighting vehicle, the 28th is also one of the most decorated infantry divisions in the United States Army. On 12 March 1879, Governor Henry Hoyt signed General Order Number One appointing Maj. Gen. John F. Hartranft as the first division commander of the National Guard of Pennsylvania, from 11–18 August 1894, Camp Samuel W. Crawford was the Division Encampment at Gettysburg. The division was mustered into service for the Spanish–American War in 1898, Pennsylvania was initially levied 10,800 men, in ten infantry regiments and four artillery batteries. However, only the 4th, 10th, and 16th Regiments, the 10th Regiment was then sent to the Philippines, being ordered home on 30 June 1899. The division was called up to respond to disturbances in 1877 and 1900. In 1914 the division was designated the 7th Division as part of a reorganization of the National Guard. On 29 June 1916 the 7th Division was mustered into service at Mount Gretna and deployed to El Paso, Texas, there was also a regiment of cavalry and one of artillery, plus two companies of signals troops and medical units. The camp outside El Paso gained the title Camp Stewart after the Adjutant General, on 19 September, one brigade was sent home. On 14 November, the 1st Artillery left for home, the 18th Infantry left for Pennsylvania on 18 December, and it appears that most of the division was Mustered out of service 23 February 1917 at Philadelphia. The remnant left on the border included the 8th and 13th Regiments and they were released from active service in March 1917. However, the process for World War I was underway as these units left the border. The 13th Regiment began its home from Texas on 21 March 1917. The division moved to Camp Hancock, Ga. in April 1917, from May to 11 October 1917, the division was reorganized into the two-brigade, four regiment scheme, and thus became the 28th Division. It thus comprised the 55th Infantry Brigade and the 56th Infantry Brigade, other units included the 107th, 108th, 109th and 229th Field Artillery Battalions and the 103rd Engineer Combat Battalion
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Victory in Europe Day
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It thus marked the end of World War II in Europe. The term VE Day existed as early as September 1944, in anticipation of victory, on 30 April 1945, Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader, committed suicide during the Battle of Berlin. Germanys surrender, therefore, was authorised by his successor, Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz, the administration headed by Dönitz was known as the Flensburg Government. The act of surrender was signed on 7 May in Reims, France and on 8 May in Berlin. The former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries have historically celebrated the end of World War II on 9 May, however, the Baltic countries now commemorate VE day on 8 May. In Ukraine from 2015,8 May was designated as a day of Remembrance and Reconciliation, upon the defeat of Germany, celebrations erupted throughout the world. From Moscow to Los Angeles, people celebrated, in the United Kingdom, more than one million people celebrated in the streets to mark the end of the European part of the war. Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret were allowed to wander incognito among the crowds, in the United States, the victory happened on President Harry Trumans 61st birthday. He dedicated the victory to the memory of his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, flags remained at half-staff for the remainder of the 30-day mourning period. Truman said of dedicating the victory to Roosevelts memory and keeping the flags at half-staff that his wish was that Franklin D. Roosevelt had lived to witness this day. Later that day, Truman said that the victory made it his most enjoyable birthday, massive celebrations also took place in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and especially in New Yorks Times Square. As the Soviet representative in Reims had no authority to sign the German instrument of surrender, the surrender ceremony was repeated in Berlin on 8 May, where the instrument of surrender was signed by supreme German military commander Wilhelm Keitel, by Georgy Zhukov and Allied representatives. East Germany as Tag der Befreiung, a holiday from 1950 to 1966. Between 1975 and 1990, as Tag des Sieges, France as Victoire 1945 Slovakia as Deň víťazstva nad fašizmom Czech Republic as Den vítězství or Den osvobození Poland as Narodowy Dzień Zwycięstwa – National Victory Day. Norway as Frigjøringsdagen Ukraine День памяті та примирення Ukraine День перемоги над нацизмом у Другій світовій війні — from 2015
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82nd Airborne Division
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The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army, specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areas. Based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division is part of the XVIII Airborne Corps, the 82nd Airborne Division is the U. S. Armys most strategically mobile division. Some sources consider the 82nd Airborne Division the most highly trained light infantry division in the world, recently the 82nd Airborne has been conducting operations in Iraq. The 82nd Airborne has been assigned to advise and assist Iraqi Security Forces, since its initial members came from all 48 states, the unit acquired the nickname All-American, which is the basis for its famed AA shoulder patch. Famous soldiers of the division include Sergeant Alvin C, York, General James M. Colonel Chris Gibson, Brigade Commander 325 Airborne Infantry, New York Congressman. The 82nd Division was first constituted on 5 August 1917 during World War I in the National Army and it was organized and formally activated on 25 August 1917 at Camp Gordon, Georgia. The division consisted entirely of conscripted soldiers. The citizens of Atlanta held a contest to give a nickname to the new division, Major General Eben Swift, the commanding general, chose All American to reflect the unique composition of the 82nd—it had soldiers from all 48 states. The bulk of the division was two infantry brigades, each commanding two regiments, the 163rd Infantry Brigade commanded the 325th Infantry Regiment and the 326th Infantry Regiment. The 164th Infantry Brigade commanded the 327th Infantry Regiment and the 328th Infantry Regiment and it sailed to Europe to join the American Expeditionary Force, commanded by General John Pershing, on the Western Front. William P. Burnham, who had commanded the 164th Brigade, led the division during most of its training. In early April, the division embarked from the ports in Boston, New York and Brooklyn to Liverpool, England, on 16 June it moved by rail to Toul, France to take position on the front lines in the French sector. Its soldiers were issued French weapons and equipment to simplify resupply, the division was briefly assigned to I Corps before falling under the command of IV Corps until late August. It was then moved to the Woëvre front, in the Lagney sector, the division relieved the 26th Division on 25 June. Though Lagney was considered a defensive sector, the 82nd Division actively patrolled and raided in the region for several weeks, from there it moved to the Marbache sector in mid-August, where it relieved the 2nd Division under the command of the newly formed US First Army. There it trained until 12 September, when the division joined the St. Mihiel offensive, once the First Army jumped off on the offensive, the 82nd Division engaged in a holding mission to prevent German forces from attacking the right flank of the First Army. On 15 September, the 328th Infantry, in order to protect the 90th Divisions flank, resumed the advance, and reached Vandières, on 17 September, the St-Mihiel Operation stabilized, and the 90th Division relieved the 82nds troops west of the Moselle River. During this operation, the division suffered casualties from enemy artillery
United States
United States Army
