1.
Diekirch
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Diekirch is a commune with town status in north-eastern Luxembourg, capital city of the canton Diekirch and the district of Diekirch. The town is situated on the banks of the Sauer river, the towns heraldic shield, showing a crowned lion on a castle, was granted in 1988. It is based on the towns 14th century seal and arms, as of 2001, the town of Diekirch itself, which lies in the south of the commune, has a population of 6,068. Diekirch was the first town in Luxembourg to have a pedestrian zone, Diekirch is home to a brewery of national importance carrying the towns name. Three secondary schools are located in Diekirch, Lycée classique de Diekirch, Lycée technique hôtelier Alexis Heck and it was here that the river Sauer was crossed on the night of January 18,1945, by the US 5th Infantry division. The town is also the seat of one of the six regional headquarters of the Grand Ducal Police, the town received its name, according to old sources, when Charlemagne in the late 8th century resettled Saxons, in order to bring them under his control. One of the centre of these settlements was in the area of Diekirch, in order to convert the pagan Saxons to Christianity, a church was built, which gave the settlement its name, Diet-Kirch. Þeudō is a word from Germanic, which plays a role in the etymology of the term Deutsch. In the 14th century, John, the king of Bohemia, fortified it, surrounding the place with a castellated wall. It remained more or less fortified until the beginning of the 19th century when the French, during their occupation, levelled the old walls, in the course of extensive excavation in the 1960s, it was shown that the St. Laurence church is a Roman building. In the early 20th century, wall ruins and mosaics were being found north of the town centre, the towns mascot is the donkey. There is a fountain in the centre of Diekirch. The yearly cavalcade is held under the sign of the donkey, bitburg, Germany since 1962 Arlon, Belgium Hayange, France Liberty, Missouri, United States Monthey, Switzerland Media related to Diekirch at Wikimedia Commons Official website
2.
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
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Henri is the current Grand Duke of Luxembourg, reigning since 7 October 2000. He is the eldest son of Grand Duke Jean and Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium, the Princes godparents were the Prince of Liège and the Countess of Holstein-Ledreborg. Henri has four siblings, Archduchess Marie Astrid of Austria, Prince Jean of Luxembourg, Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein, on 12 November 1964, when Henri was aged nine, his grandmothers abdication and his fathers subsequent accession as Grand Duke made him heir apparent. As the Grand Dukes eldest son, he took the title of Hereditary Grand Duke. Henri was educated in Luxembourg and in France, where he obtained his baccalaureate in 1974 and he then studied political science at University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International Studies, graduating in 1980. The Grand Duke also undertook military training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. While studying in Geneva, Henri met the former María Teresa Mestre y Batista and they married in Luxembourg on 4 February/14 February 1981 with the previous consent of the Grand Duke, dated 7 November 1980. The couple have five children, The Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, born 11 November 1981, Prince Félix Léopold Marie Guillaume of Luxembourg, born 3 June 1984, married German Claire Margareta Lademacher on 17 September 2013 and 21 September 2013. From 1980 to 1998, he was a member of the Council of State, on 4 March 1998, Prince Henri was appointed as Lieutenant Representative by his father, Grand Duke Jean, meaning that he assumed most of his fathers constitutional powers. On 7 October 2000, immediately following the abdication of his father, Henri acceded as Grand Duke of Luxembourg, with the exception of Grand Duke of Luxembourg, all the titles refer to places in modern Germany, particularly in the House of Nassaus ancestral region of Nassau. On 2 December 2008 it was announced that Grand Duke Henri had stated he would refuse to ratify a new law on euthanasia that had been approved earlier in the year by the Chamber of Deputies. The signature of the Grand Duke was required under the Constitution in order for the law to take effect and this would remove one of the legislative roles of the Grand Duke, namely the approving of new legislation. The Luxembourg royal house had tried to block a decision by parliament only once before, the head of state no longer has to sanction laws for them to take effect, he merely promulgates them. As the head of a monarchy, Grand Duke Henris duties are primarily representative. However, he retains the power to appoint the Prime Minister and Government, to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies, to promulgate laws. Grand Duke Henri is Commander-in-Chief of the Luxembourg Army, in which he holds the rank of General and he is also an Honorary Major in the British RAF Regiment. One of the Grand Dukes main functions is to represent Luxembourg in the field of foreign affairs, in May 2001, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa undertook their first foreign state visit to Spain, at the invitation of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. Grand Duke Henri is a member of the International Olympic Committee, a member of The Mentor Foundation, the Grand Duke lives with his family at Berg Castle in Luxembourg
3.
Etienne Schneider
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Etienne Schneider is a Luxembourg politician and economist of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers Party. He was a councillor in Kayl from 1995 to 2005. He was elected first alderman of the municipality of Kayl in 2005, Schneider was appointed Minister of the Economy and Foreign Trade on 1 February 2012. In the government formed following the 2013 Luxembourg general election he is Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy, in 1995, Schneider became a councilor in Kayl, a post he maintained until 2005, subsequently becoming first alderman until 2010. Schneider was also an assistant at the European Parliament in Brussels between 1995 and 1996. In the Kayl municipal elections in 2005 he was elected as first alderman of the municipality which post he occupied till May 2010, during 1997, he worked in Brussels as a project leader with NATO. In this capacity he also co-chaired the Superior Committee for Research and his tasks as minister involved private sector research and implementation of the bill of 5 June 2009 relating to assistance in the field of research. In the new coalition, he has been appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy and he is openly gay, and married his husband Jérôme Domange in 2016. Bettel-Schneider Ministry Biography at the Luxembourg government website
4.
United States dollar
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The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
5.
Luxembourg Army
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The Luxembourg Army is the national military of Luxembourg. The army has been a force since 1967. It has a current strength of approximately 450 professional soldiers—340 enlisted recruits and 100 civilians—with a total budget of $369 million, the army is under civilian control, with the Grand Duke as Commander-in-Chief. The Minister for Defence, currently Etienne Schneider, oversees army operations, the professional head of the army is the Chief of Defence, who answers to the minister. Luxembourg troops have deployed to Afghanistan, to support ISAF. The army has also participated in relief missions such as setting up refugee camps for Kurds. The law fixed the militias strength at 3,000 men, until 1840, Luxembourg’s militiamen served in units of the Royal Netherlands Army. Enlisted men served for five years, the first year consisted of active service, in 1839, William I became a party to the Treaty of London by which the Grand-Duchy lost its western, francophone territories to the Belgian province of Luxembourg. Due to the population having been halved, with the loss of 160,000 inhabitants. In 1846, the cavalry and artillery units were disbanded and the Luxembourg contingent was separated from that of Limburg, the Luxembourg contingent now consisted of two light infantry battalions, one in Echternach and the second in Diekirch, two reserve companies, and a depot company. In 1866, the Austro-Prussian war resulted in the dissolution of the German Confederation, Luxembourg was declared neutral in perpetuity by the 1867 Treaty of London, and in accordance its fortress was demolished in the following years. In 1867, the Prussian garrison left the fortress, and the two battalions of Luxembourgish light infantry entered the city of Luxembourg that September. A new military organization was established in 1867, consisting of two battalions, known as the Corps des Chasseurs Luxembourgeois, having a strength of 1,568 officers. In 1868, the contingent came to consist of one infantry battalion of four companies. On 16 February 1881, the infantry battalion was disbanded with the abolition of the militia-based system. On 16 February 1881, the Corps des Gendarmes et Volontaires was established and it was composed of two companies, a company of gendarmes and one of volunteers. In 1939, a corps of volunteers was established and attached to the company of volunteers. This contingent was named the Luxembourg Battery, initially, it was under Belgian officers
6.
Luxembourg
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Luxembourg /ˈlʌksəmbɜːrɡ/, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east and its culture, people and languages are highly intertwined with its neighbours, making it essentially a mixture of French and Germanic cultures. It comprises two regions, the Oesling in the north as part of the Ardennes massif. With an area of 2,586 square kilometres, it is one of the smallest sovereign states in Europe, Luxembourg had a population of 524,853 in October 2012, ranking it the 8th least-populous country in Europe. As a representative democracy with a monarch, it is headed by a Grand Duke, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a country, with an advanced economy and the worlds highest GDP per capita. Luxembourg is a member of the European Union, OECD, United Nations, NATO, and Benelux, reflecting its political consensus in favour of economic, political. The city of Luxembourg, which is the capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions. Luxembourg served on the United Nations Security Council for the years 2013 and 2014, around this fort, a town gradually developed, which became the centre of a state of great strategic value. In the 14th and early 15th centuries, three members of the House of Luxembourg reigned as Holy Roman Emperors, in the following centuries, Luxembourgs fortress was steadily enlarged and strengthened by its successive occupants, the Bourbons, Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns and the French. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Luxembourg was disputed between Prussia and the Netherlands and this arrangement was revised by the 1839 First Treaty of London, from which date Luxembourgs full independence is reckoned. In 1842 Luxembourg joined the German Customs Union, the King of the Netherlands remained Head of State as Grand Duke of Luxembourg, maintaining a personal union between the two countries until 1890. At the death of William III, the throne of the Netherlands passed to his daughter Wilhelmina and this allowed Germany the military advantage of controlling and expanding the railways there. In August 1914, Imperial Germany violated Luxembourgs neutrality in the war by invading it in the war against France and this allowed Germany to use the railway lines, while at the same time denying them to France. Nevertheless, despite the German occupation, Luxembourg was allowed to maintain much of its independence, in 1940, after the outbreak of World War II, Luxembourgs neutrality was again violated when the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany entered the country, entirely without justification. A government in exile based in London supported the Allies, sending a group of volunteers who participated in the Normandy invasion. Luxembourg was liberated in September 1944, and became a member of the United Nations in 1945. Luxembourgs neutral status under the constitution formally ended in 1948, in 2005, a referendum on the EU treaty establishing a constitution for Europe was held
7.
Civilian control of the military
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The reverse situation, where professional military officers control national politics, is called a military dictatorship. A lack of control over the military may result in a state within a state, Civilian control is often seen as a prerequisite feature of a stable liberal democracy. One example is the Peoples Republic of China, as noted by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor Richard H. Kohn, civilian control is not a fact but a process. Advocates of civilian control generally take a Clausewitzian view of war, the words of Georges Clemenceau, War is too serious a matter to entrust to military men, wryly reflect this view. The military serves as a government agency, which is supposed to implement, rather than formulate. Kohn succinctly summarizes this view when he writes that, The point of control is to make security subordinate to the larger purposes of a nation. The purpose of the military is to defend society, not to define it, a states effective use of force is an issue of great concern for all national leaders, who must rely on the military to supply this aspect of their authority. This poses the paradox that because we fear others we create an institution of violence to protect us, the military is authoritative, hierarchical, dont require much discussion and no dissention. Many of the Founding Fathers of the United States were suspicious of standing militaries. As Samuel Adams wrote in 1768, Even when there is a necessity of the power, within a land. In his principal argument for the ratification of the proposed constitution, using the European experience as a negative example and the British experience as a positive one, he presented the idea of a strong nation protected by a navy with no need of a standing army. The implication was that control of a military force is, at best, difficult and expensive. He foresaw the necessity of creating a government that kept the military at a distance. Constant apprehension of War, has the tendency to render the head too large for the body. A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive, will not long be safe companions to liberty, the means of defense against foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, throughout all Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people. The United States Constitution placed considerable limitations on the legislature, hamilton argued in Federalist No.26 that it would be equally as bad for a legislature to be unfettered by any other agency and that restraints would actually be more likely to preserve liberty. 47, continued Hamilton’s argument that distributing powers among the branches of government would prevent any one group from gaining so much power as to become unassailable
8.
Grand Duke of Luxembourg
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The Grand Duke of Luxembourg is the monarchical head of state of Luxembourg. Since 1815, there have been nine monarchs of Luxembourg, including the incumbent, the constitution of Luxembourg defines the grand dukes position, The Grand Duke is the head of state, symbol of its unity, and guarantor of national independence. He exercises executive power in accordance with the constitution and the laws of the country, after a constitutional change in December 2008 resulting from Henris refusal to sign a law legalizing euthanasia, laws now take effect without the grand dukes assent. As a result, the grand duke no longer has any role in the legislative process. Succession to the throne was governed by Salic law, as dictated by the Nassau Family Pact, an heir apparent may be granted the style Hereditary Grand Duke. The current heir apparent is Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, in June 2011, agnatic primogeniture was dropped in favour of absolute primogeniture, allowing any legitimate female descendants within the House of Nassau to be included in the line of succession. It should, however, be noted that many of the titles are held without regard to the rules of Salic inheritance. When William III died leaving only his daughter Wilhelmina as an heir, however, the crown of Luxembourg passed to a male of another branch of the House of Nassau, Adolphe, the dispossessed Duke of Nassau and head of the branch of Nassau-Weilburg. Charlottes descendants have reigned as the continued dynasty of Nassau
9.
Commander-in-Chief
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A commander-in-chief is the person or body that exercises supreme operational command and control of a nations military forces or significant elements of those forces. In the latter case, the element is those forces within a particular region. Often, a given countrys commander-in-chief need not be or have been an officer or even a veteran. This follows the principle of civilian control of the military, the role of commander-in-chief derives from the Latin, imperator. Imperatores of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire possessed imperium powers, in its modern use, the term first applied to King Charles I of England in 1639. It continued to be used during the English Civil War, a nations head of state usually holds the nominal position of commander-in-chief, even if effective executive power is held by a separate head of government. Governors-general and colonial governors are also often appointed commander-in-chief of the forces within their territory. A commander-in-chief is sometimes referred to as commander, which is sometimes used as a specific term. The term is used for military officers who hold such power and authority, not always through dictatorship. The term is used for officers who hold authority over an individual military branch. According to the Constitution of Albania, The President of the Republic of Albania is the Commander-in-chief of Albanian Armed Forces, the incumbent Commander-in-chief is President Bujar Nishani. The Ministry of Defense is the government department that assists and serves the President in the management of the armed forces, the Minister for Defence and several subordinate ministers exercise this control through the Australian Defence Organisation. The Constitution states, in Article 80, that the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Armed Forces. e, the cabinet under the chairmanship of the Federal Chancellor, as defined in Article 69. The commander-in-chief is the president, although executive power and responsibility for national defense resides with the prime minister and he retired on 7 April 1972 and relinquished all authority and duties to the President of Bangladesh. Article 142 of the Brazilian Constitution of 1988 states that the Brazilian Armed Forces is under the command of the President of the Republic. The Sultan of Brunei is the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, the powers of command-in-chief over the Canadian Armed Forces are vested in the Canadian monarch, and are delegated to the Governor General of Canada, who also uses the title Commander-in-Chief. In this capacity, the general is entitled to the uniform of a general/flag officer, with the crest of the office. According to the National Defence Act, the Minister of National Defence is responsible and accountable to parliament for all related to national defence
10.
Eurocorps
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The European Corps, also abbreviated Eurocorps, is an intergovernmental military corps of approximately 1,000 soldiers stationed in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. The corps had its headquarters established in May 1992, activated in October 1993, the nucleus of the force is the Franco-German Brigade established in 1987. Five countries participate in the corps as member nations, additionally, four states are associated, and have thus pledged to contribute personnel to the staff. Poland was accepted as a member in 2010 and this was expected to become effective from 1 January 2016, but was delayed to January 2017. However, a change in government with the 2015 Polish election led to the application for membership being withdrawn in favour of remaining an associate member. On 25 February 2003, Austria and Finland signed a treaty which allowed them to staff to the headquarters of the corps. Finland remained an associated nation of the corps until 2005, romania became an associated nation in April 2016. In addition, the Netherlands and United Kingdom have sent liaison officers to the headquarters of the corps and it is deployed on the authority of the Common Committee representing the member nations, the Chief of Defense, and the Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This committee considers requests for support from organizations such as the UN, NATO. The Corps can also be deployed at the request of the framework nations, the headquarters of the corps is based in Strasbourg near the Franco-German border, the seat of several European institutions. Staff of approximately 350 providing support to the command group, the staff includes also officers from Poland, Greece, Italy and Turkey. Multi-national Command Support Brigade is co-located in Strasbourg and this brigade is separate and subordinate to the Corps headquarters and provides additional support when the Corps is deployed. The brigade is formed from units provided by the nations on a basis but has a permanent headquarters of 80 personnel. Headquarters Support Battalion, based in Strasbourg, providing protection, transport, food and this battalion consists of approximately 500 soldiers but can be significantly reinforced in case of commitments. German and French were the languages at the corps until August 2002. English is now the working language, the Franco-German Brigade, with 5000 troops, is the only military formation permanently under the operational command of corps. The brigade is stationed in Müllheim, Donaueschingen, Immendingen, Sigmaringen, Meßstetten, Stetten am kalten Markt, Villingen-Schwenningen in Germany, additional affiliated formations could be placed under command of the corps headquarters for specific operations, for example in support of EU or NATO rapid-response missions. These do not come under the permanent command of corps but rather can be provided to the corps for specific operations, luxembourg Contribution A reconnaissance company based in Diekirch, composed of two reconnaissance platoons, an anti-tank platoon and a logistics support element
11.
United Nations Protection Force
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The United Nations Protection Force, was the first United Nations peacekeeping force in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav Wars. The force was formed in February 1992 and its mandate ended in March 1995, UNPROFOR was composed of nearly 39,000 personnel. According to the UN, there were 167 fatalities amongst UNPROFOR personnel during the course of the forces mandate. Of those who died, three were military observers,159 were other military personnel, one was a member of the civilian police, two were international civilian staff and two were local staff. In contrast to that of Croatia, the UNPROFOR mandate for Bosnia and Herzegovina was not to monitor a preexisting cease-fire, the mandate can essentially be divided into four phases, but it is important to note that the old responsibilities continued even as new tasks were added. Phase 1, Aid to Sarajevo - Beginning on 5 June 1992, UNPROFOR would run a security corridor for aid convoys between the airport and the city. In May 1993, Bihać, Sarajevo, Goražde, Žepa, UNPROFOR was responsible for monitoring the zones of separation and weapons control points. In addition, the UNSC increased UNPROFORs authorized strength to monitor weapons exclusion zones, on 31 March 1995, UNPROFOR was restructured into three coordinated peace operations. On 20 December 1995 the forces of UNPROFOR were reflagged under the NATO led Implementation Force whose task was to implement the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia, cedric Thornberry was director of UNPROFOR Civil Affairs at the beginning of the mission in February 1992. By the end of its first mandate in March 1993, UNPROFOR had some success in restoring peace in Croatia, however, civil unrest was such that terror, discrimination and ethnic cleansing were still present. Local Serb forces managed to complete their cleansing of the UNPA areas, started in 1991, the situation was problematic mostly because of the non-cooperation of local Serb authorities, and because of later major Croat military offensives. Additionally, the situation for which UNPROFOR had been designed had significantly changed, the Croat part now refused to negotiate its sovereignty on the UNPAs and Pink Zones, which the Serb part would not accept. Establishment of the Republic of Serbian Krajina further complicated the situation, the Opening of the Sarajevo Airport was conducted by the Canadian Operational Force, which moved within the Theater of Operations from Croatia to the combat zone of Sarajevo. The Canadian Force included the French-speaking Royal 22e Régiment, with the attachment of N Company of the English-speaking 3rd Battalion, the Canadian Contingent was deployed by train from Canadian Forces Base Baden-Soellingen and CFB Lahr, Germany. In spite of hostile actions, Sarajevo international airport had successfully remained open, distribution of humanitarian aid was disrupted due to non-cooperation and even hostile actions of the parties in the field, especially from the Bosnian Serb forces. On 6 July 1993, new tensions arose following the Croatian governments decision to re-open the strategic Maslenica bridge on 18 July – Croatia was cut in half while the bridge was in Serb hands. The UNPROFOR forces mandated to monitor the withdrawal of Croatian forces from the area had been unable to deploy, the Serbs shelled the bridge which was partially destroyed on 2 August. On 12 August, negotiations for a cease-fire began in Geneva, eventually, Croat forces retreated to their positions of before the incursion
12.
IFOR
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NATO was responsible for carrying out the Dayton Peace Accords. The Dayton Peace Accords were started on November 22,1995 by the presidents of Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia, on behalf of Serbia, the actual signing happened in Paris on December 14,1995. The peace accords contained a General Framework Agreement and eleven supporting annexes with maps, iFORs specific role was to implement the military Annexes of The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. IFOR relieved the UN peacekeeping force UNPROFOR, which had arrived in 1992. Almost 60,000 NATO soldiers in addition to forces from non-NATO nations were deployed to Bosnia, Operation Decisive Endeavor, beginning 6 December 1995, was a subcomponent of Joint Endeavor. The Dayton Agreement resulted from a series of events. Admiral Leighton W. Smith, Jr. acted as the Joint Force Commander for the operation and he commanded the operation from HQs in Zagreb and later from March 1996 from the Residency in Sarajevo. This was NATOs first ever out-of-area land deployment, the Land Components part of the operation was known as Operation Firm Endeavour. At its height, IFOR involved troops from 32 countries and numbered some 54,000 soldiers in-country, the tasks of the Land Component were carried out by three Multi National Divisions, Multi-National Division, Mostar - French led. Also known as the Division salamandre, mND-SE included two French brigades, one Spanish brigade, one Italian brigade, and Egyptian, Jordanian and Ukrainian units, as well as a Moroccan task force. The divisional headquarters was provided in rotation by divisions including the 7th Armoured Division, Multi-National Division, Banja Luka - British led. The British codename for their armed forces involvement in IFOR was Operation Resolute, mND-SW included a British brigade as well as Canadian and Dutch units. Division headquarters was provided by 3 Division then 1st Armoured Division, Multi-National Division, Tuzla - American led. The US Army 1st Armored Division under the command of Major General William L. Nash and they began to deploy on 18 December 1995. MND-N was composed of two U. S. Brigades, a Russian brigade, a Turkish brigade, and the Nordic-Polish Brigade, a Russian brigade, initially under the command of Colonel Aleksandr Ivanovich Lentsov, was part of the Task Force Eagle effort. The 1AD 1st Brigade was commanded by Colonel Gregory Fontenot and covered the northwest, the 1AD 2d Brigade, led by Col John Batiste, constituted the southern flank of the US sector, based in Camp Lisa, about 20 km east of Kladanj. Task Force 2-68 Armor, based in Baumholder, Germany, was based in Camp Linda and this was the Southern boundary of the US Sector. The 1AD returned in late 1996 to Germany, one of MND-Ns components was the Nordic-Polish Brigade which was a multinational brigade of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden and USA
13.
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
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Covering an area of 255,804 km², the SFRY was bordered with Italy to the west, Hungary to the north, Bulgaria and Romania to the east and Albania and Greece to the south. In addition, it included two autonomous provinces within Serbia, Kosovo and Vojvodina, the SFRY traces back to 29 June 1943 when the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia was formed during World War II. On 29 November 1945, the Federal Peoples Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed after the deposal of King Peter II thus ending the monarchy. Following the death of Tito on 4 May 1980, rising ethnic nationalism in the late 1980s led to dissidence among the multiple ethnicities within the constituent republics. This led to the federation collapsing along the borders, followed by the final downfall and breakup of the federation on 27 April 1992. The term former Yugoslavia is now commonly used retrospectively, the name Yugoslavia, an Anglicised transcription of Jugoslavija, is a composite word made-up of jug and slavija. The Serbo-Croatian, Slovene and Macedonian word jug means south, while slavija denotes a land of the Slavs, thus, a translation of Jugoslavija would be South-Slavia or Land of the South Slavs. The term is intended to denote the lands occupied by the six South Slavic nations, Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, Montenegrins, Slovenes, the full official name of the federation varied significantly between 1945 and 1992. Yugoslavia was formed in 1918 under the name Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, the name deliberately left the republic-or-kingdom question open. In 1963, amid pervasive liberal constitutional reforms, the name Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was introduced, the state is most commonly referred to by the latter name, which it held for the longest period of all. The most common abbreviation is SFRY, though SFR Yugoslavia was also used in an official capacity, particularly by the media. On 6 April 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers led by Nazi Germany, by 17 April 1941, Yugoslav resistance was soon established in two forms, the Royal Yugoslav Army and the Yugoslav Partisans. The Partisan supreme commander was Josip Broz Tito, and under his command the movement soon began establishing liberated territories which attracted the attentions of the occupying forces. The coalition of parties, factions, and prominent individuals behind the movement was the Peoples Liberation Front. The Front formed a political body, the Anti-Fascist Council for the Peoples Liberation of Yugoslavia. The AVNOJ, which met for the first time in Partisan-liberated Bihać on 26 November 1942, during 1943, the Yugoslav Partisans began attracting serious attention from the Germans. In two major operations of Fall Weiss and Fall Schwartz, the Axis attempted to stamp-out the Yugoslav resistance once, on both occasions, despite heavy casualties, the Group succeeded in evading the trap and retreating to safety. The Partisans emerged stronger than before and now occupied a significant portion of Yugoslavia
14.
NATO
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party, three NATO members are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and are officially nuclear-weapon states. NATOs headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons. NATO is an Alliance that consists of 28 independent member countries across North America and Europe, an additional 22 countries participate in NATOs Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the global total, Members defence spending is supposed to amount to 2% of GDP. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, politically, the organization sought better relations with former Warsaw Pact countries, several of which joined the alliance in 1999 and 2004. N. The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, the treaty and the Soviet Berlin Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Unions Defence Organization in September 1948. However, participation of the United States was thought necessary both to counter the power of the USSR and to prevent the revival of nationalist militarism. He got a hearing, especially considering American anxiety over Italy. In 1948 European leaders met with U. S. defense, military and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon, marshalls orders, exploring a framework for a new and unprecedented association. Talks for a new military alliance resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty and it included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the goal was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in. Popular support for the Treaty was not unanimous, and some Icelanders participated in a pro-neutrality, the creation of NATO can be seen as the primary institutional consequence of a school of thought called Atlanticism which stressed the importance of trans-Atlantic cooperation. The members agreed that an attack against any one of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. The treaty does not require members to respond with military action against an aggressor, although obliged to respond, they maintain the freedom to choose the method by which they do so. This differs from Article IV of the Treaty of Brussels, which states that the response will be military in nature. It is nonetheless assumed that NATO members will aid the attacked member militarily, the treaty was later clarified to include both the members territory and their vessels, forces or aircraft above the Tropic of Cancer, including some Overseas departments of France. The creation of NATO brought about some standardization of allied military terminology, procedures, and technology, the roughly 1300 Standardization Agreements codified many of the common practices that NATO has achieved
15.
SFOR
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The Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops and it was replaced by EUFOR Althea in December 2004. SFOR was established in Security Council Resolution 1088 on December 12,1996 and it succeeded the much larger Implementation Force IFOR which was deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina on 20 December 1995 with a one-year mandate. During NATOs 2004 Istanbul Summit the end of the SFOR mission was announced and it was replaced by the European Unions EUFOR Althea, on 2 December 2004 at NATO HQ, Camp Butmir, Sarajevo, B-H. SFOR was divided into three zones of operation, Mostar MNB - Italian, Franco-German, Spanish Banja Luka MND - British, Canadian, the British code name for their activities in IFOR was Operation Resolute and SFOR was Operation Lodestar. Tuzla MND - American, Turkish, Polish, Russian, Norwegian, the three AOs were known collectively as Multi-National Divisions until the end of 2002 where they were reduced in scope to Multi-National Brigades. SFOR operated under peace enforcement, not peacekeeping, rules of engagement, for example, it was cleared, in 1997, to neutralize Serb radio-television facilities. During its mandate, SFOR arrested 29 individuals who were charged with war crimes and those arrested were transferred to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Netherlands. US service members serving in SFOR were awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, SFOR operated as part of Operation Joint Guard and Operation Joint Forge. As time progressed, the numbers of troops allotted to SFOR declined, on December 2,2004, SFOR disbanded and its functions were assumed by military units from the European Union. SFOR operated under the code names Operation Joint Guard and Operation Joint Forge, NATO nations providing troops included, Non-NATO nations providing troops included, Phillips, R. Cody. Bosnia-Herzegovina, The U. S. Armys Role in Peace Enforcement Operations 1995-2004, united States Army Center of Military History. Measuring the success of the NATO operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1995–2000, official website US Air Force News article on Operation Joint Forge
16.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, in short, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeastern Europe located on the Balkan Peninsula. Sarajevo is the capital and largest city, in the central and eastern interior of the country the geography is mountainous, in the northwest it is moderately hilly, and the northeast is predominantly flatland. The inland is a larger region and has a moderate continental climate, with hot summers and cold. The southern tip of the country has a Mediterranean climate and plain topography, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a region that traces permanent human settlement back to the Neolithic age, during and after which it was populated by several Illyrian and Celtic civilizations. Culturally, politically, and socially, the country has a rich history, the Ottomans brought Islam to the region, and altered much of the cultural and social outlook of the country. This was followed by annexation into the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which lasted up until World War I. In the interwar period, Bosnia was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and after World War II, following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the country proclaimed independence in 1992, which was followed by the Bosnian War, lasting until late 1995. The country is home to three ethnic groups or, officially, constituent peoples, as specified in the constitution. Bosniaks are the largest group of the three, with Serbs second and Croats third, a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regardless of ethnicity, is identified in English as a Bosnian. The terms Herzegovinian and Bosnian are maintained as a rather than ethnic distinction. Moreover, the country was simply called Bosnia until the Austro-Hungarian occupation at the end of the 19th century, Bosnia and Herzegovina has a bicameral legislature and a three-member Presidency composed of a member of each major ethnic group. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is itself complex and consists of 10 cantons, additionally, the country has been a member of the Council of Europe since April 2002 and a founding member of the Mediterranean Union upon its establishment in July 2008. The name is believed to have derived from the hydronym of the river Bosna coursing through the Bosnian heartland. According to philologist Anton Mayer the name Bosna could be derived from Illyrian Bass-an-as which would be a diversion of the Proto-Indo-European root bos or bogh, meaning the running water. According to English medievalist William Miller the Slavic settlers in Bosnia adapted the Latin designation Basante, to their own idiom by calling the stream Bosna, the name Herzegovina originates from Bosnian magnate Stephen Vukčić Kosačas title, Herceg of Hum and the Coast. Hum, formerly Zahumlje, was a medieval principality that was conquered by the Bosnian Banate in the first half of the 14th century. Bosnia is located in the western Balkans, bordering Croatia to the north and west, Serbia to the east and it has a coastline about 20 kilometres long surrounding the city of Neum. It lies between latitudes 42° and 46° N, and longitudes 15° and 20° E, the countrys name comes from the two regions Bosnia and Herzegovina, which have a very vaguely defined border between them
17.
Afghanistan
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Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located within South Asia and Central Asia. It has a population of approximately 32 million, making it the 42nd most populous country in the world. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north and its territory covers 652,000 km2, making it the 41st largest country in the world. The land also served as the source from which the Kushans, Hephthalites, Samanids, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Khiljis, Mughals, Hotaks, Durranis, the political history of the modern state of Afghanistan began with the Hotak and Durrani dynasties in the 18th century. In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a state in the Great Game between British India and the Russian Empire. Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, King Amanullah unsuccessfully attempted to modernize the country and it remained peaceful during Zahir Shahs forty years of monarchy. A series of coups in the 1970s was followed by a series of wars that devastated much of Afghanistan. The name Afghānistān is believed to be as old as the ethnonym Afghan, the root name Afghan was used historically in reference to a member of the ethnic Pashtuns, and the suffix -stan means place of in Persian. Therefore, Afghanistan translates to land of the Afghans or, more specifically in a historical sense, however, the modern Constitution of Afghanistan states that he word Afghan shall apply to every citizen of Afghanistan. An important site of historical activities, many believe that Afghanistan compares to Egypt in terms of the historical value of its archaeological sites. The country sits at a unique nexus point where numerous civilizations have interacted and it has been home to various peoples through the ages, among them the ancient Iranian peoples who established the dominant role of Indo-Iranian languages in the region. At multiple points, the land has been incorporated within large regional empires, among them the Achaemenid Empire, the Macedonian Empire, the Indian Maurya Empire, and the Islamic Empire. Archaeological exploration done in the 20th century suggests that the area of Afghanistan has been closely connected by culture and trade with its neighbors to the east, west. Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, urban civilization is believed to have begun as early as 3000 BCE, and the early city of Mundigak may have been a colony of the nearby Indus Valley Civilization. More recent findings established that the Indus Valley Civilisation stretched up towards modern-day Afghanistan, making the ancient civilisation today part of Pakistan, Afghanistan, in more detail, it extended from what today is northwest Pakistan to northwest India and northeast Afghanistan. An Indus Valley site has found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan. There are several smaller IVC colonies to be found in Afghanistan as well, after 2000 BCE, successive waves of semi-nomadic people from Central Asia began moving south into Afghanistan, among them were many Indo-European-speaking Indo-Iranians. These tribes later migrated further into South Asia, Western Asia, the region at the time was referred to as Ariana
18.
International Security Assistance Force
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From 2006 to 2011, ISAF had become increasingly involved in more intensive combat operations in southern and eastern Afghanistan. Troop contributors included the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, other NATO member states, the intensity of the combat faced by contributing nations varied greatly, with the United States sustaining the most casualties overall. In early 2010, there were at least 700 military bases inside Afghanistan, about 400 of these were used by American‑led NATO forces and 300 by ANSF. ISAF ceased combat operations and was disbanded in December 2014, with some troops remaining behind in a role as part of ISAFs successor organization. For almost two years, the ISAF mandate did not go beyond the boundaries of Kabul, according to General Norbert Van Heyst, such a deployment would require at least ten thousand additional soldiers. The responsibility for security throughout the whole of Afghanistan was to be given to the newly reconstituted Afghan National Army, however, on October 13,2003, the Security Council voted unanimously to expand the ISAF mission beyond Kabul with Resolution 1510. Shortly thereafter, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien said that Canadian soldiers would not deploy outside Kabul, on October 24,2003, the German Bundestag voted to send German troops to the region of Kunduz. Approximately 230 additional soldiers were deployed to that region, marking the first time that ISAF soldiers operated outside of Kabul. On July 31,2006, the NATO‑led International Security Assistance Force assumed command of the south of the country, ISAF Stage 3, and by October 5, also of the east of Afghanistan, ISAF Stage 4. ISAF was mandated by UN Security Council Resolutions 1386,1413,1444,1510,1563,1623,1659,1707,1776, the last of these extended the mandate of ISAF to March 23,2011. The mandates given by the different governments to their forces varied from country to country and this meant that ISAF suffered from a lack of united aims. The initial ISAF headquarters was based on 3rd UK Mechanised Division and this force arrived in December,2001. Until ISAF expanded beyond Kabul, the force consisted of a roughly division-level headquarters and one covering the capital. The brigade was composed of three groups, and was in charge of the tactical command of deployed troops. ISAF headquarters served as the control center of the mission. Eighteen countries were contributors to the force in February,2002, Turkey assumed command of ISAF in June,2002. During this period, the number of Turkish troops increased from about 100 to 1,300, in November,2002, ISAF consisted of 4,650 troops from over 20 countries. Around 1,200 German troops served in the force alongside 250 Dutch soldiers operating as part of a German-led battalion, Turkey relinquished command in February,2003, and assumed command for a second time in February,2005
19.
Kurdish people
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The Kurds are culturally and linguistically closely related to the Iranian peoples and, as a result, are often themselves classified as an Iranian people. A recent Kurdish diaspora has also developed in Western countries, primarily in Germany, the Kurdish language refers collectively to the related dialects spoken by the Kurds. It is mainly spoken in parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria. Kurdish holds official status in Iraq as a national language alongside Arabic, is recognized in Iran as a regional language, the Kurdish languages belong to the northwestern sub‑group of the Iranian languages, which in turn belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family. According to Mackenzie, there are few features that all Kurdish dialects have in common. And the fact that this reflects the sense of ethnic identity and unity of the Kurds. The number of Kurds living in Southwest Asia is estimated at close to 30 million, Kurds comprise anywhere from 18% to 20% of the population in Turkey, possibly as high as 25%,15 to 20% in Iraq, 10% in Iran, and 9% in Syria. Kurds form regional majorities in all four of these countries, viz. in Turkish Kurdistan, the Kurds are the fourth largest ethnic group in West Asia after the Arabs, Persians, and Turks. The total number of Kurds in 1991 was placed at 22.5 million, with 48% of this number living in Turkey, 18% in Iraq, 24% in Iran, and 4% in Syria. Recent emigration accounts for a population of close to 1.5 million in Western countries and this groups population was estimated at close to 0.4 million in 1990. The land of Karda is mentioned on a Sumerian clay-tablet dated to the 3rd millennium B. C. This land was inhabited by the people of Su who dwelt in the regions of Lake Van. Other Sumerian clay-tables referred to the people, who lived in the land of Karda, as the Qarduchi and the Qurti. Many Kurds consider themselves descended from the Medes, an ancient Iranian people, the claimed Median descent is reflected in the words of the Kurdish national anthem, We are the children of the Medes and Kai Khosrow. The Kurdish languages form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian languages like Median, some researchers consider the independent Kardouchoi as the ancestors of the Kurds. The term Kurd, however, is first encountered in Arabic sources of the seventh century, the Kurds have ethnically diverse origins. During the Sassanid era, in Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan, after initially sustaining a heavy defeat, Ardashir I was successful in subjugating the Kurds. In a letter Ardashir I received from his foe, Ardavan V, the usage of the term Kurd during this time period most likely was a social term, designating Northwestern Iranian nomads, rather than a concrete ethnic group
20.
William I of the Netherlands
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William I was a Prince of Orange and the first King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. In Germany, he was ruler of the Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda from 1803 until 1806 and of the Principality of Orange-Nassau in the year 1806, in 1813 he proclaimed himself Sovereign Prince of the United Netherlands. He proclaimed himself King of the Netherlands and Duke of Luxembourg on 16 March 1815, in the same year on 9 June William I became also the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and after 1839 he was furthermore the Duke of Limburg. After his abdication in 1840 he styled himself King William Frederick, King William Is parents were the last stadtholder William V, Prince of Orange of the Dutch Republic, and his wife Wilhelmina of Prussia. Until 1806, William was formally known as William VI, Prince of Orange-Nassau, in Berlin on 1 October 1791, William married his first cousin Wilhelmina, born in Potsdam. She was the daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia, after Wilhelmina died in 1837, William married Countess Henriette dOultremont de Wégimont, created Countess of Nassau, on 17 February 1841, also in Berlin. Like his younger brother Prince Frederick of Orange-Nassau he was tutored by the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler and they were both tutored in the military arts by general Prince Frederick Stamford. After the Patriot revolt had been suppressed in 1787, he in 1788-89 attended the academy in Brunswick which was considered an excellent military school. In 1790 he visited a number of foreign courts like the one in Nassau and the Prussian capital Berlin, William subsequently studied briefly at the University of Leiden. As such he commanded the troops took part in the Flanders Campaign of 1793-95. He took part in the battles of Veurne, Menin, and Wervik in 1793, the siege of Landrecies, which surrendered to him. In May 1794 he had replaced general Kaunitz as commander of the combined Austro-Dutch forces on the instigation of Emperor Francis II who apparently had an opinion of him. But the French armies proved too strong, and the allied leadership too inept, the French first entered Dutch Brabant which they dominated after the Battle of Boxtel. When in the winter of 1794-95 the rivers in the Rhine delta froze over, the French breached the southern Hollandic Water Line, in many places Dutch revolutionaries took over the local government. After the Batavian Revolution in Amsterdam on 18 January 1795 the stadtholder decided to flee to Britain, the next day the Batavian Republic was proclaimed. However, the neutral Prussian government forbade this, in 1799, William landed in the current North Holland as part of an Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. The local Dutch population, however, was not pleased with the arrival of the prince, one local Orangist was even executed. The hoped-for popular uprising failed to materialise, after several minor battles the Hereditary Prince was forced to leave the country again after the Convention of Alkmaar
21.
Royal Netherlands Army
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The Royal Netherlands Army is the land forces element of the military of the Netherlands. The Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814—however, its origins back to 1572. Therefore, the Netherlands has one of the oldest standing armies in the world, dating back to the 16th century. It fought during the Napoleonic Wars, World War II, the Indonesian War of Independence, Korean War,2 of 3 Dutch Army Brigades are now under German Command. In 2014 the 11th Airmobile Brigade, was integrated into the German Division of fast forces, also the Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade, will be integrated into the 1st Panzer Division of the German army. With the integration starting at the beginning of 2016, and the unit becoming operational at the end of 2019, the Dutch-German military cooperation are seen as an example for setting up a European defense union. The Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, but its origins back to 1572. Therefore, the Netherlands operates one of the worlds oldest standing armies, the Staatse Leger was replaced by the army of the Batavian Republic in 1795, which in turn was replaced by the army of the Kingdom of Holland in 1806. It fought alongside the French in the Anglo-Russian Invasion of Holland in 1799 and several campaigns in Germany, Austria, the independent army was disbanded in 1810 when Napoleon decided to reunite Holland into France. The army units became part of the Grande Armée, the present day French 126th Infantry Regiment has Dutch origins. Dutch army elements participated in the French invasion of Russia in 1812, most notable were the actions of the Pontonniers company under Captain Benthien at the Berezina River. New research points out that, contrary to what is currently believed, an independent Dutch army was resurrected by the new Kingdom of the United Netherlands in 1814, following the Orangist uprising against Napoleonic rule in 1813. This new force, the Netherlands Mobile Army, formed a part of the allied army during the Hundred Days Campaign that culminated in the Battle of Waterloo. Units such as Baron Chassés were key in securing victory for the allied army, since 1814, the army have been involved in several military conflicts (Waterloo campaign 1815, several colonial wars 1825–1925, and the Belgian Revolution 1830–1832. At the beginning of the Second World War, the I Corps was the strategic reserve and was located in the Vesting Holland, around The Hague, Leiden, Haarlem. The Royal Netherlands Army was defeated in May 1940 and only began to rise again with the formation of the Princess Irene Brigade Group in exile, in the Far East, the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army was defeated by the Japanese in 1942, few elements managed to escape. The army then fought in the Indonesian War of Independence 1945–1949, in Korea in 1950-53, the Royal Netherlands Navy and an army battalion were sent to Korea between 1950 and 1954. In total,3,972 Soldiers were sent to fight the war in Korea,123 died in combat, the I Corps stood watch alongside its NATO allies in Germany during the Cold War
22.
Treaty of London (1839)
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It was a direct follow-up to the 1831 Treaty of the XVIII Articles which the Netherlands had refused to sign, and the result of negotiations at the London Conference of 1838–1839. Under the treaty, the European powers recognized and guaranteed the independence and neutrality of Belgium, article VII required Belgium to remain perpetually neutral, and by implication committed the signatory powers to guard that neutrality in the event of invasion. Since 1815, Belgium had been a part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, in 1830 Catholic Belgians broke away and established an independent Kingdom of Belgium. They could not accept the Dutch kings favouritism toward Protestantism and his disdain for the French language, outspoken liberals regarded King William Is rule as despotic. There were high levels of unemployment and industrial unrest among the working classes, there was small-scale fighting but it took years before the Netherlands finally recognized defeat. In 1839 the Dutch accepted Belgian independence by signing the Treaty of London, the major powers guaranteed Belgian independence. With the treaty, the provinces of the Netherlands became internationally recognized as the Kingdom of Belgium, while the province of Limburg was split into Belgian. The same happened to the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg which lost two-thirds of its territory to the new Province of Luxembourg in what is termed the Third Partition of Luxembourg, belgiums de facto independence had been established through nine years of intermittent fighting. The treaty was a fundamental lawmaking treaty that became a cornerstone of European international law, when the German Empire invaded Belgium in August 1914 in violation of the treaty, the British declared war on 4 August. The Treaty of London also guaranteed Belgium the right of transit by rail or canal over Dutch territory as an outway to the German Ruhr. This right was reaffirmed in a 24 May 2005 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in a dispute between Belgium and the Netherlands on the railway track, in 2004 Belgium requested a reopening of the Iron Rhine. This was the result of the transport of goods between the port of Antwerp and the German Ruhr Area. As part of the European policy of modal shift on the traffic of goods, transport over railway lines. The Belgian request was based on the treaty of 1839, after a series of failed negotiations, the Belgian and Dutch governments agreed to take the issue to the Permanent Court of Arbitration and respect its ruling in the case. In its ruling of 24 May 2005, the court acknowledged both the Belgian rights under the treaty of 1839 and the Dutch concerns for part of the Meinweg National Park nature reserve. The 1839 treaty still applies, the court found, giving Belgium the right to use and modernise the Iron Rhine, however, it has to finance the modernisation of the line, while the Netherlands have to fund the repairs and maintenance of the route. Both countries will split the costs of the construction of a tunnel beneath the nature reserve, list of treaties Treaty of Maastricht Treaties of London Schlieffen Plan Calmes, Christian. The Making of a Nation From 1815 to the Present Day, the Question of the Netherlands in 1829–1830, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society pp. 150–171 JSTOR3678256 Schroeder, Paul W
23.
Luxembourg (Belgium)
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Luxembourg is the southernmost province of Wallonia and of Belgium. It borders on the country of Luxembourg, France, and the Belgian provinces of Namur and its capital is Arlon, in the south-east of the province. It has an area of 4,443 km², making it the largest Belgian province, at around a quarter of a million residents, it is also the least populated province, making it a relatively sparsely populated province in an otherwise very densely populated country. It is significantly larger and much less populous than the neighbouring Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, about eighty percent of the province is part of the densely wooded Ardennes region. The southernmost region of the province is called Gaume or Belgian Lorraine, Luxembourg province is divided into five administrative districts containing a total of 44 municipalities
24.
Duchy of Limburg
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The Duchy of Limburg or Limbourg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. Its main territory including the capital Limbourg is today located within the Belgian province of Liège, with a part in the neighbouring province of Belgian Limburg. However finally, after the failed Brabant Revolution in 1789, the history was terminated with the occupation by French Revolutionary troops in 1793. These lands were reunited within modern Belgium only after World War I, the duchy was multilingual, being the place where Dutch, French, and German dialects border upon each other and coexist at their geographical extremes, both now and in medieval times. Its northern and eastern borders are the boundaries of the modern state of Belgium with the Netherlands and Germany. The eastern part, which includes Eupen, is the administrative capital, of the various places known as Limburg, it is the Duchy of Limburg which is the origin of the pungent-smelling soft cheese known as Limburger, and today made in many places. The states territory was situated in the Low Countries between the river Meuse in the west and the Imperial city of Aachen in the east and its most important cities were Limbourg, the capital, and Eupen. In the west and south, Limburg bordered on the territory of the Liège Prince-Bishops, in the north, linguistically Limburg was situated on the border of Germanic with Romance Europe. While in the northern and eastern districts Limburgish and Ripuarian dialects were spoken and they were in contact with both Gaulish and Germanic peoples. The language they spoke is not certain, and it is not certain to what extent these earlier tribes can be equated to the Tungri. By this time the area had become integrated into the Civitas Tungrorum and this was a frontier area, which took in soldiers and settlers from across the Rhine in Germany and from around the empire. The region to the north of the Duchy was dominated by Salian Franks, under the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties, Frankish rule expanded from the region around Limbourg to cover larger areas, and eventually began to replace Roman imperial rule. By the time of Charlemagne, the first Frank to be called an emperor of Rome, the Duchy of Limburg, like most of modern Belgium, was within Lower Lorraine. For a while, Lower Lorraine had its own single Duke and it is from this Duchy that the Duchy of Limbourg derived its Ducal status. The territory of the duchy of Limburg was formed in the 11th century around the town of Limbourg in present-day Wallonia, about 1020, Duke Frederick of Lower Lorraine, a descendant of Count Palatine Wigeric of Lotharingia, had Limbourg Castle built on the banks of the Vesdre river. His estates then comprised the districts of Baelen, Herve, Montzen, Walhorn, and they were inherited by Fredericks son-in-law Count Waleran of Arlon, who about 1065 began to call himself a count of Limburg. Waleran also claimed Fredericks ducal title, which was acknowledged by Emperor Henry IV in 1101 in favour of Walerans son Henry. This meant that Lower Lorraine now had two Duchies, that of Brabant, and that of Limburg, and the title of Duke of Lothier, still held by Brabant, eventually became ineffective
25.
German Confederation
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Most historians have judged the Confederation to have been weak and ineffective, as well as an obstacle to the creation of a German nation-state. It collapsed due to the rivalry between Prussia and Austria, warfare, the 1848 revolution, and the inability of the members to compromise. In 1848, revolutions by liberals and nationalists were an attempt to establish a unified German state. Talks between the German states failed in 1848, and the Confederation briefly dissolved, but was re-established shortly after and it decidedly fell apart only after the Prussian victory in the Seven Weeks War of 1866. This led to the creation of the North German Confederation under Prussian leadership in 1867, a number of South German states remained independent until they joined the North German Confederation, which was renamed the German Empire. The War of the Third Coalition lasted from about 1803 to 1806, following defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz by the French under Napoleon in December 1805, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II abdicated, and the Empire was dissolved on 6 August 1806. The resulting Treaty of Pressburg established the Confederation of the Rhine in July 1806, after the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt of October 1806 in the War of the Fourth Coalition, various other German states, including Saxony and Westphalia, also joined the Confederation. Only Austria, Prussia, Danish Holstein, Swedish Pomerania and the French-occupied Principality of Erfurt stayed outside the Confederation of the Rhine and these nations would later join in the War of the Sixth Coalition from 1812 to 1814. The German Confederation was created by the 9th Act of the Congress of Vienna on 8 June 1815 after being alluded to in Article 6 of the 1814 Treaty of Paris, ending the War of the Sixth Coalition. The Confederation was formally created by a treaty, the Final Act of the Ministerial Conference to Complete and Consolidate the Organization of the German Confederation. This treaty was not concluded and signed by the parties until 15 May 1820, States joined the German Confederation by becoming parties to the second treaty. The German Confederation ended as a result of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 between Austrian Empire and its allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia and its allies on the other. In the Prague peace treaty, on 23 August 1866, Austria had to accept that the Confederation was considered to be dissolved, the following day, the remaining member states confirmed the dissolution. The treaty allowed Prussia to create a new Bundesverhältnis in the North of Germany, the South German states were proposed to create a South German Confederation but this did not come into existence. Prussia and its allies created the North German Confederation in 1867, because of French intervention it had to exclude, besides Austria, the South German states Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt. During November 1870 the four states joined the North German Confederation by treaty. The North German Confederation Reichstag and Bundesrat accepted to rename the North German Confederation as the German Empire, the new constitution of the state, the Constitution of the German Confederation, introduced the new name and title on 1 January 1871. The Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia were the largest, Austria and Prussia each had one vote in the Federal Assembly
26.
Echternach
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Echternach is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, which is part of the district of Grevenmacher, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in Luxembourg, as bishop, he was the Echternach monasterys abbot until his death in 739. It is in his honour that the notable Dancing procession of Echternach takes place annually on Whit Tuesday, the Roman villa at Echternach was reputed to be the largest North of the Alps. It was later part of the Electorate of Trier and was presented to Willibrord by Irmina, daughter of Dagobert II, other parts of the Merovingians Roman inheritance were presented to the Abbey by king of the Franks Pepin the Short. Echternach continued to have royal patronage from the house of Charlemagne, the abbeys library and scriptorium had a European reputation. As it flourished, the town of Echternach grew around the outer walls and was granted a city charter in 1236. The abbey was rebuilt in a handsome Baroque style in 1737, in 1797, in the wake of the French Revolution, the monks were dispersed and the abbeys contents and its famous library were auctioned off. Some of the early manuscripts, such as the famous Echternach Gospels, are now in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. In the 19th century, a factory was established in the abbey and the town declined, until the advent of the railroad brought renewed life. There are two churches in Echternach. The larger is the Abbeys Basilica of St Willibrord, now surrounded by the abbey and is located in the heart of the towns historical centre. The other is the church of St Peter and Paul. The nearby Prehistory Museum traces mankinds history over the past one million years, the picturesque town, still surrounded by its medieval walls with towers, was badly damaged in World War II but was subsequently thoroughly restored. Since 1975, Echternach has been the site of an International Music Festival, held annually in May and June
27.
Ettelbruck
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Ettelbruck is a commune with town status in central Luxembourg, with a population of approximately 7,500. As of 2005, the town of Ettelbruck itself, which lies in the east of the commune, has a population of 6,191, the towns of Warken and Grentzingen are also within the commune. Until 1850, both Erpeldange and Schieren were part of the Ettelbruck commune as well, but both towns were detached from Ettelbruck by law on 1 July 1850, Germany occupied Ettelbruck on 10 May 1940. US forces first liberated the town on 11 September 1944 but Germany retook the town on 16 December 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge. US General George S. Patton on Christmas Day,25 December 1944, since 1954, the town has held a Remembrance Day celebration each July honoring General Patton and the US, British, French, Belgian and Luxembourgish troops who fought with him there. Ettelbruck is one of the 12 communes of the canton of Diekirch, governmentally, the Ettelbruck communal council serves as the communes local council. The council consists of thirteen members, elected six years. Ettelbruck lies at the spot where three rivers meet, the Sauer, the Wark and the Alzette. This location has historically made Ettelbruck a major hub for the country second only to the city of Luxembourg. Ettelbruck serves as a junction, where the line to Diekirch branches off the main line Luxembourg – Liège, the station is on Line 10, which connects Luxembourg City to central and northern Luxembourg towards Gouvy and Wiltz, with a branch line connecting to Diekirch. The A7 motorway, known as the Motorway of the North, the General George S. Patton Memorial Museum in Ettelbruck honors the general who liberated the town. The museum exhibits photographs, uniforms, weapons and documents from the period of German occupation of Luxembourg, the museum was opened on 7 July 1995 and represents a main tourist attraction in the town. The Ettelbruck parish church—D Kierch Ettelbréck—is a decagonal structure, restored in 1849, the church contains tombstones dating as far back to the 15th century. Ettelbruck since 1917 has been the home of the football team FC Etzella Ettelbruck, the team plays in Ettelbrucks football stadium Stade Am Deich which has capacity of about 2,000. Ettelbruck is a center for northern Luxembourg, as it is home to the Central Hospice which is now the location of the Ettelbruck Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital with approximately 500 beds. Lucien Wercolliers marble sculpture La Vague is located in Ettelbruck on the grounds of the CHNP, the New Saint Louis Hospital was renovated and reopened as a state of the art medical facility in 2003 on the site of the earlier Charles Marx Clinic and Saint Louis Clinic. The original clinic was founded by Dr. Charles Marx in 1936, the Saint Louis Clinic became a point of resistance preceding the Nazi occupation, when its founder Charles Marx treated downed French airmen in April,1940. Following the occupation of Luxembourg, Marx fled to France, following the Nazi occupation, Marx was arrested and jailed for treating the airmen
28.
Austro-Prussian war
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This conflict also paralleled the Third Independence War of Italian unification. It saw the abolition of the German Confederation and its replacement by a North German Confederation that excluded Austria. The war also resulted in the Italian annexation of the Austrian province of Venetia, for centuries, Central Europe was split into a few large states and hundreds of tiny entities, each maintaining its independence with the assistance of outside powers, particularly France. After 1815, the German states were again reorganized into a loose confederation. When Austria brought the dispute before the German Diet and also decided to convene the Diet of Holstein, when the German Diet responded by voting for a partial mobilization against Prussia, Bismarck claimed that the German Confederation was ended. Crown Prince Frederick was the member of the Prussian Crown Council to uphold the rights of the Duke of Augustenberg. Although he supported unification and the restoration of the medieval empire, the ultimate aim of most German nationalists was the gathering of all Germans under one state. Two ideas of national unity eventually came to the fore – once including, US newspaper The New York Times summarized its views of German nationalism shortly after the outbreak of the war, There is, in political geography, no Germany proper to speak of. There are Kingdoms and Grand Duchies, and Duchies and Principalities, inhabited by Germans, yet there is a natural undercurrent tending to a national feeling and toward a union of the Germans into one great nation, ruled by one common head as a national unit. Bismarck maintained that he orchestrated the conflict in order to bring about the North German Confederation, the Franco-Prussian War, taylor thinks Bismarck manipulated events into the most beneficial solution possible for Prussia. On 22 February 1866, Count Karolyi, Austrian ambassador in Berlin, sent a dispatch to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, possible evidence can be found in Bismarcks orchestration of the Austrian alliance during the Second Schleswig War against Denmark, which can be seen as his diplomatic masterstroke. It was in the Prussian interest to gain an alliance with Austria to defeat Denmark and settle the issue of the duchies of Schleswig, the alliance can be regarded as an aid to Prussian expansion, rather than a provocation of war against Austria. Many historians believe that Bismarck was simply a Prussian expansionist, rather than a German nationalist and it was at the Gastein Convention that the Austrian alliance was set up to lure Austria into war. The timing of the declaration was perfect, because all other European powers were bound by alliances that forbade them from entering the conflict. Britain had no stake economically or politically in war between Prussia and Austria, the details of the discussion are unknown but many historians think Bismarck was guaranteed French neutrality in the event of a war. Italy was already allied with Prussia, which meant that Austria would be fighting both with no major allies of its own, Bismarck was aware of his numerical superiority but still he was not prepared to advise it immediately even though he gave a favourable account of the international situation. When the Prussian victory became clear, France attempted to extract concessions in the Palatinate. Naturally I was not doubtful of the answer for a second, I answered him, Good, then its war
29.
Treaty of London (1867)
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The Treaty of London, often called the Second Treaty of London after the 1839 Treaty, was an international treaty signed on 11 May 1867. Agreed to in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War and the Luxembourg Crisis, it had wide-reaching consequences for Luxembourg, the immediate effect of the treaty, established in Article I, was the reaffirmation of the personal union between the Netherlands and Luxembourg under the House of Orange-Nassau. It lasted until 1890, when a woman ascended to the Dutch throne, as at that time the Salic law was still in effect in Luxembourg, she could not become Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. It was the branch of the House of Nassau that inherited that dignity. The Luxembourg Crisis had erupted after French Emperor Napoleon III attempted to buy Luxembourg from the Dutch King William III, consequently, maintaining Dutch dominance over the de jure independent Luxembourg, free from French interference, was of paramount importance to Prussia. The neutrality of Luxembourg, established by the First Treaty of London, was also reaffirmed, the parties that did not sign the earlier treaty were to become guarantors of Luxembourgs neutrality. To ensure Luxembourgs neutrality, the fortifications of Luxembourg City, known as the Gibraltar of the North, were to be demolished, to the east, the city was protected by a deep river valley and medieval fortifications that still exist. The still very large residual fortifications of Luxembourg City are now part of the World Heritage List of the UNESCO, furthermore, the Prussian garrison, which had been sited in Luxembourg since 1815 in accordance with the decisions of the Congress of Vienna, was to be withdrawn. The Seven Weeks War had led to the collapse of the German Confederation, two former members, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Duchy of Limburg, had the Dutch king as their head of state. Italy had little relation to Luxembourg, and the treaty did not directly affect Italy in any appreciable manner, Treaty of London, for similarly titled treaties
30.
Weimar
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Weimar is a city in the federal state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately 80 kilometres southwest of Leipzig,170 kilometres north of Nuremberg and 170 kilometres west of Dresden. Together with the neighbour-cities Erfurt and Jena it forms the metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants. Weimar is well known because of its cultural heritage and its importance in German history. The city was a point of the German Enlightenment and home of the leading characters of the literary genre of Weimar Classicism. Until 1948, Weimar was the capital of Thuringia, today, many places in the city centre have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites and tourism is one of the leading economic sectors of Weimar. Relevant institutions in Weimar are the Bauhaus University, the Liszt School of Music, in 1999, Weimar was the European Capital of Culture. Archaeological finds dating back to the Thuringii epoch show that the Weimar part of the Ilm valley was settled early, the oldest records regarding Weimar date to 899. Its name changed over the centuries from Wimares through Wimari to Wimar and finally Weimar, it is derived from Old High German wīh-, another theory derives the first element from OHG win. The place was the seat of the County of Weimar, first mentioned in 949, in 1062 it was united with the County of Orlamünde to the new County of Weimar-Orlamünde, which existed until the Thuringian Counts War in 1346 and fell to the Wettins afterwards. The Weimar settlement emerged around the wooden castle and two small churches dedicated to St Peter, and to St James. In 1240, the count founded the monastery in Oberweimar. Soon after, the counts of Weimar founded the town, which was an independent parish since 1249, from 1262 the citizens used their own seal. Nevertheless, the influence of the Weimar counts was declining as the influence of the Wettins in Thuringia increased. Hence, the new town was relatively marginal in a regional context. The settlement around St James Church developed into a suburb during the 13th century, after becoming part of the Wettins territory in 1346, urban development improved. The Wettins fostered Weimar by abolishing socage and granting privileges to the citizens, now Weimar became equal to other Wettinian cities like Weißensee and grew during the 15th century, with the establishment of a town hall and the current main church. Weimar acquired woad trade privileges in 1438, the castle and the walls were finished in the 16th century, making Weimar into a full city
31.
Luxembourg in World War II
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The involvement of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in World War II began with its invasion by German forces on 10 May 1940 and lasted beyond its liberation by Allied forces in late 1944 and early 1945. After surrendering after just a day of fighting, Luxembourg was placed under occupation and was annexed into Germany in 1942. The Germanisation was facilitated by a collaborationist political group, the Volksdeutsche Bewegung, shortly before the surrender, the government had fled the country along with Grand Duchess Charlotte, eventually arriving in London, where a Government-in-exile was formed. Luxembourgish soldiers also fought in Allied units until liberation, the Luxembourgish government had pursued a policy of neutrality since the Luxembourg Crisis of 1867 had highlighted the countrys vulnerability. During the First World War, the 400 men of the Corps des Gendarmes et Volontaires had remained in barracks throughout the German occupation, in March 1939, in a speech to the Reichstag, Adolf Hitler promised that Luxembourgish sovereignty would not be breached. The strength of the military was gradually increased as international tension rose during Appeasement and after Britain, by 1940, the Luxembourgish army numbered some 13 officers,255 armed gendarmes and 425 soldiers. The popular English-language radio station, Radio Luxembourg was taken off-air in September 1939, apart from that, normal life continued in Luxembourg during the Phoney War, no blackout was enforced and regular trains to France and Germany continued. In Spring 1940, work began on a series of roadblocks across Luxembourgs eastern border with Germany, the fortifications, known as the Schuster Line, were largely made of steel and concrete. On 9 May 1940, after increased troop movements around the German border, the German invasion of Luxembourg, part of Fall Gelb, began at 04,35 on the same day as the attacks on Belgium and the Netherlands. An attack by German agents in civilian clothes against the Schuster Line, the invading forces encountered little resistance from the Luxembourgish military who were confined in their barracks. By noon, the city had fallen. The invasion was accompanied by an exodus of tens of thousands of civilians to France, at 08,00, several French divisions crossed the frontier from the Maginot Line and skirmished with the German forces before retreating. The invasion cost 7 Luxembourgish soldiers wounded, with 1 British pilot and 5 French Spahis killed in action, the departure of the government left the state functions of Luxembourg in disorder. From August 1942, Luxembourg was officially part of Germany. From August 1942, all male Luxembourgers of draft age were conscripted into the German armed forces, altogether,12,000 Luxembourgers served in the German military, of whom nearly 3,000 died during the war. The most significant collaborationist group in the country was the Volksdeutsche Bewegung, formed by Damian Kratzenberg shortly after the occupation, the VdB campaigned for the incorporation of Luxembourg into Germany with the slogan Heim ins Reich. The VdB had 84,000 members at its height, all manual workers were forced into the German Labour Front from 1941 and certain age groups of both genders were conscripted into the Reichsarbeitsdienst to work on military projects. Membership of the Nazi youth movement, the Luxemburger Volksjugend, which had created with little success in 1936, was encouraged
32.
1st Belgian Infantry Brigade
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The 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade, also known as the Piron Brigade after its commander Jean-Baptiste Piron, was a Belgian and Luxembourgish military unit in the Free Belgian forces during World War II. It participated in the Battle of Normandy and, later, the liberation of Belgium, Brigade Piron originated in 1940, with hundreds of Belgian soldiers who had escaped to Britain, as had the Belgian Government. A new command of the Belgian Army, under Lieutenant-General Victor van Strydonck de Burkel, was created in Tenby on 25 May 1940, three days before the Belgian capitulation. At the end of July 1940 there were 462 men in the Belgian Forces in exile, in an artillery competition, the Belgian battery came first. The Belgian Forces in Britain were officially made available to the Allies on 4 June 1942. By the end of the year the army had been restructured, including the creation of the 1st Belgian Brigade, under the command of Major Piron, with a mix of infantry, artillery, troop training continued through 1943 and landing exercises were conducted in early 1944. A Luxembourgish unit was assigned to Brigade Piron in March, forming an artillery troop, because the Belgians had arrived from around the world, thirty-three languages were spoken in the Brigade in 1944. The D-Day landings took place on 6 June 1944 without Brigade Piron, to the disappointment of its 2,200 men. Piron lobbied the Belgian government in exile, which requested the British Government to send the Belgian troops to the front, on 29 July 1944, the Brigade was ordered to be ready to move. Its first units arrived in Normandy on 30 July and the body arrived at Arromanches and Courseulles on 8 August. The Brigade operated under the command of the British 6th Airborne Division, the Belgians entered active service on 9 August. The Belgian Brigade participated in Operation Paddle, Clearing the Channel coast from 17 August with British, merville-Franceville-Plage was liberated in the evening, Varaville on 20 August. The Brigades armoured vehicles were detached to assist British units, dives-sur-Mer and Cabourg were taken on the morning of 21 August and Houlgate in the afternoon. The Brigade took Villers-sur-Mer and Deauville on 22 August, and Trouville-sur-Mer, the Belgian armoured vehicles were reunited with the rest of the Brigade on 26 August at Foulbec, when Brigade Piron came under command of the 49th Infantry Division. On 29 August, the Brigade crossed the Seine to support Operation Astonia, at the last moment the Brigade was withdrawn from the front and transferred to the Second Army for operations in Belgium. The efforts of Brigade Piron on Normandys Côte Fleurie are commemorated by memorials, road names, on 2 September, the Brigade and the Dutch Princess Irene Brigade had been transferred to the Second Army and ordered to move as quickly as possible to the Belgian border. The British were already in Belgium and expected to enter Brussels on the following day, the Brigade arrived at the French–Belgian border on 3 September, after an overnight journey and continued to Rongy in Brussels the following day, just after the British. During their advance through Belgium, the Belgian troops were sometimes mistaken for French Canadians, Brigade Piron liberated other Belgian towns and cities before reaching the Netherlands border on 22 September
33.
French Foreign Legion
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The French Foreign Legion is a military service branch of the French Army established in 1831, unique because it was created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces. Commanded by French officers, it is open to French citizens. This is a way to strengthen them enough to work as a team, although it is part of the French Military, it is the only unit of the military that does not swear allegiance to France, but to the Foreign Legion itself. Consequently, training is described as not only physically challenging. French citizenship may be applied for three years service. Additionally, any soldier who becomes injured during a battle for France immediately becomes a French citizen under a known as Français par le sang versé. As of 2008, members come from 140 countries, the French Foreign Legion was primarily used to protect and expand the French colonial empire during the 19th century. The Foreign Legion was initially stationed only in Algeria, where it took part in the pacification, in World War I, the Foreign Legion fought in many critical battles on the Western Front. It played a role in World War II than in World War I, though having a part in the Norwegian, Syrian. During the First Indochina War, the Foreign Legion saw its numbers swell, the FFL lost a large number of men in the catastrophic Battle of Dien Bien Phu. Notable operations during this period included the Suez Crisis, the Battle of Algiers and various offensives launched by General Maurice Challe including Operations Oranie, in 1990, the Foreign Legion was sent to the Persian Gulf as a part of Opération Daguet. In the 1990s, the Foreign Legion helped with the evacuation of French citizens and foreigners in Rwanda, Gabon, the Foreign Legion was also deployed in Cambodia, Somalia, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the mid- to late-1990s, the Foreign Legion was deployed in the Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, many other countries have tried to emulate the French Foreign Legion model. There have been composed of foreign recruits in China, Israel, the Netherlands, Rhodesia, Russia. The French Foreign Legion was created by Louis Philippe, the King of the French, recruits included soldiers from the recently disbanded Swiss and German foreign regiments of the Bourbon monarchy. The Royal Ordinance for the establishment of the new regiment specified that the foreigners recruited could only serve outside France, the French expeditionary force that had occupied Algiers in 1830 was in need of reinforcements and the Legion was accordingly transferred by sea in detachments from Toulon to Algeria. The Foreign Legion was initially divided into six national battalions, smaller national groups, such as the ten Englishmen recorded in December 1832, appear to have been placed randomly. In late 1831, the first legionnaires landed in Algeria, the country that would be the Foreign Legions homeland for 130 years, the Foreign Legions first service in Algeria came to an end after only four years, as it was needed elsewhere
34.
Leclerc
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The Char Leclerc is a main battle tank built by GIAT, now Nexter of France. It was named in honour of General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque who led the French element of the drive towards Paris while in command of the Free French 2nd Armoured Division in World War II. The Leclerc is in service with the French Army and the army of the United Arab Emirates, in production since 1991, the Leclerc entered French service in 1992, replacing the AMX30 as the countrys main armoured platform. With production now complete, the French Army has a total of 406 Leclerc, the price in 2011 was €9.3 million, which made it the most expensive tank in history at the time. Following the devaluation of the Euro its price fell dramatically, in 1964 studies were initiated about a possible replacement vehicle for the AMX30, the Engin Principal Prospectif. In 1975 a working committee was created that in 1977 agreed on a list of specifications, fundamental disagreements about its desired configuration led to a failure of this cooperation in December 1982. It was announced that a purely French battle tank would be developed, called EPC, importation of foreign equipment, like the M1 Abrams, the Leopard 2, or the Merkava had been studied and rejected. In contrast to most Western programmes of the time, much consideration was given to active, besides passive protection, mobility for evading enemy fire and fire control systems were given particular attention. In 1986, the project was started under the name of Leclerc, mass production started in 1990 with the four-unit Batch 1, used mainly for comparative tests in foreign countries. The 17 units of Batch 2 were shipped, with improvements in the turret and these units were diagnosed with problems in the engine and suspension, and were quickly retired. Batch 3 followed with some improvements and have used to define the doctrine of use. Batches 4 and 5 were better built, eliminating the recurrent problems in the powerplant, the second series started with Batch 6, with an added climate control system in the right rear of the turret. Batch 7 introduced a system to the command vehicle. It also incorporated improvements in the visor. Batch 8 was a modernisation of the system, and Batch 9 replaced the thermal imaging ATHOS by a SAGEM Iris with better resolution. All previous batches will be modernised up to the standards of Batch 9 from 2005, in 2004, Batch 10 was presented, incorporating new information systems which could share the disposition of enemy and friendly units to all vehicles on the battlefield, and a new armor package. This was the beginning of the 96-unit third series, by 2007,355 tanks should have been operational,320 of them incorporated in four regiments, each of 80 Leclerc vehicles. As of 2010, after a French defence review, each of the four regiments operated 60 Leclerc tanks for a total of 240 in operational units, due to finance cuts, only 254 tanks were fully operational in 2011
35.
Ordnance QF 25 pounder
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The Ordnance QF 25-pounder, or more simply 25-pounder or 25-pdr, was the major British field gun and howitzer during World War II. It was introduced into service just before the war started, combining high-angle and direct-fire, relatively high rates of fire, and it remained the British Armys primary artillery field piece well into the 1960s, with smaller numbers serving in training units until the 1980s. Many Commonwealth of Nations countries used theirs in active or reserve service until about the 1970s and ammunition for the weapon is currently being produced by Pakistan Ordnance Factories. The design was the result of extended studies looking to replace the 18-pounder field gun and the 4. 5-inch howitzer, the result was a 3.45 inches weapon firing a shell weighing 25 pounds. It was mounted on late model 18-pounder carriages, one of these used a circular firing platform and this was adopted for the new guns. The firing platform was attached to the gun and when lowered the gun was pulled onto it and this platform transferred most of the recoil forces to the ground, instead of using the spade at the end of the trail, making the gun very stable when firing. It also provided a smooth surface for the carriage to rotate on using the road wheels. Unlike the 18-pounder, the 25-pounder used howitzer-type variable-charge ammunition, the 25-pounder was separate-loading, the shell was loaded and rammed, then the cartridge in its brass case was loaded and the breech closed. The use of shell and cartridge allowed the charge to be changed for different ranges. For the Mk 1 Ordnance on an 18-pounder carriage there were three charges, charges one, two and three, all of which could be used in the cartridge design. The Mk 2 Ordnance on Mk 1 carriage added a charge in a different cartridge. In 1943 a separately bagged increment charge was added, used with the Super it provided higher velocity for anti-tank use, the introduction of the increment to super was only possible following the addition of the muzzle-brake in the previous year. Subsequently another type of increment was introduced to be added to charges one, however, this fire required a dial sight adaptor, removal of the platform and some excavation of the ground. In common with all British guns of the period the indirect fire sight was calibrating and this meant that the range, not elevation angle, was set on the sight. The sight compensated for the difference in the guns muzzle velocities from standard, the gun was also fitted with a direct-fire telescope for use with armour-piercing shot. It also used one-man laying in accordance with normal British practice, an important part of the gun was the ammunition trailer. The gun was hooked to it and the trailer hooked to the tractor for towing, the gun did not need a limber and could be hooked directly to a tractor. The trailer provided the brakes as only a hand-brake was fitted to the gun carriage, the trailer carried ammunition, thirty-two rounds in trays in the trailer protected by two doors
36.
Princess Elisabeth, Dowager Duchess of Hohenberg
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Princess Elisabeth, Duchess von Hohenberg was a Luxembourgian princess. She was a daughter of Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, the sister of Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, in 1956 she married Franz, Duke von Hohenberg, a grandson of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, whose assassination in 1914 sparked World War I. Princess Elisabeth was born at Berg Castle in Luxembourg on 22 December 1922 as the child and first daughter of Grand Duchess Charlotte. To commemorate her birth, Luxembourg issued a stamp as a souvenir sheet the following year, facing the German invasion in May 10,1940 during World War II, the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg left the country to find refuge in Portugal. Forced to respect American impartiality, the Grand Ducal Family settled for Montreal, with her father Prince Felix and her brother hereditary Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Princess Elisabeth regained London in 1942. With her sister Princess Marie Adelaide of Luxembourg, she attended Convent of the Sacred Heart in Roehampton, after the war ended, the Grand Ducal Family regained the grand duchy. She married Franz, Duke von Hohenberg in Luxembourg on 9 May 1956 and he was a grandson of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, whose assassination in 1914 sparked World War I. Then married Count Andreas von Bardeau on 9 July 2005, gaetan de La Poeze, Count dHarambure Alix de La Poeze, Countess dHarambure married Francois-Xavier Fraye in 2010. They have three children and one grandson, Eleonore de Potesta she married Diego Fernández de Córdova y Cerveró on 16 June 2012. They have one son, Rafael Fernández de Córdova y de Potesta Baron Charles de Potesta Elizabeth de Potesta Princess Elisabeth returned to Luxembourg after her husbands death in 1977. In 1983 she inherited Artstbetetten Castle, which she ceded that year to her oldest daughter, following the death of her mother Grand Duchess Charlotte, in 1985, she moved to Wasserhaf, near Fischbach Castle. Between 1980 and 1990, she participated in Luxembourgian official ceremonies, towards the end of her life, she resided at Fischbach Castle with her older brother, Grand Duke Jean. She died at Fischbach Castle on 22 November 2011 aged 88 and she was cremated and buried next to her husband in a crypt at Artstetten Castle
37.
Alix, Dowager Princess of Ligne
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Alix, Dowager Princess de Ligne is the daughter of Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, and Felix of Bourbon-Parma. She is, by birth, Princess of Luxembourg, Princess of Nassau and she is the sister of Grand Duke Jean and the aunt of Grand Duke Henri. On 17 August 1950 in Luxembourg Princess Alix married Antoine, 13th Prince de Ligne and they have seven children, twenty grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, Michel, 14th Prince de Ligne - in 1981 he married Princess Eleanora of Orléans-Braganza. They have two children, Princess Alix de Ligne, married on 18 June 2016 Count Guillaume de Dampierre, Prince Henri Antoine de Ligne Prince Wauthier de Ligne - In 1976 he married Countess Regine de Renesse. They have three children and eight grandchildren, Prince Philippe de Ligne - In 2008 he married Jonkvrouw Laetitia Rolin and they have two children, Prince Jean-Charles de Ligne Princess Alienor de Ligne Princess Melanie-Yolande de Ligne married Paul Weingarten on 17 September 2011. They have one son, Felix Weingarten Princess Elisabeth-Eleonore de Ligne - she married Baron Baudouin Gillès de Pelichy on 9 July 2005 and they have two daughters. Laure Mortgat Isabelle-Marie Mortgat Princess Christine de Ligne - In 1981 she married Prince Antonio of Orléans-Braganza. They have two sons. François de Nicolay, Count de Nicolay Guy de Nicolay, Count de Nicolay Prince Antoine Lamoral de Ligne - In 2001 he married Countess Jacqueline de Lannoy
38.
Corps de la Garde Grand Ducale
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The Grand Ducal Guard was the ceremonial guard unit of the military of Luxembourg from 1945–1966. Formed in March 1945 the Company of Guards of 120 men were organised into three platoons, the Company mounted its first postwar guard at the Grand Ducal Palace on 12 April 1945. Though it was planned for the Guard to be at battalion strength, from 1947 the company was referred to as the Corps de la Garde Grand-Ducale. The Corps performed their final Changing of the Guard at the Palace on 29 January 1966 with the Guard being disbanded on 28 February 1966, troops of the Army of Luxembourg perform the duty today, with frequently only one guard visible at the palace. GRAND-DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG – Virtual Museum Tour
39.
Luxembourg City
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Luxembourg, also known as Luxembourg City, is the capital city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and the countrys most populous commune. The city contains Luxembourg Castle, established by the Franks in the Early Middle Ages, as of January 2016, the commune had a population of 115,227, which was more than three times the population of the countrys second most populous commune. The citys metropolitan population, including that of surrounding communes of Hesperange, Sandweiler, Strassen, in 2011, Luxembourg was ranked as having the second highest per capita GDP in the world at $80,119, with the city having developed into a banking and administrative centre. In the 2011 Mercer worldwide survey of 221 cities, Luxembourg was placed first for personal safety while it was ranked 19th for quality of living, in the Roman era, a fortified tower guarded the crossing of two Roman roads that met at the site of Luxembourg city. Siegfried built his castle, named Lucilinburhuc, on the Bock Fiels, in 987, Archbishop Egbert of Trier consecrated five altars in the Church of the Redemption. At a Roman road intersection near the church, a marketplace appeared around which the city developed, the city, because of its location and natural geography, has through history been a place of strategic military significance. The first fortifications were built as early as the 10th century, by the end of the 12th century, as the city expanded westward around the new St. Nicholas Church, new walls were built that included an area of 5 hectares. In about 1340, under the reign of John the Blind, in 1443, the Burgundians under Philip the Good conquered Luxembourg. Subsequently, the Burgundians, the Spanish, the French, the Spanish again, the Austrians, the French again, in the 17th century, the first casemates were built, initially, Spain built 23 km of tunnels, starting in 1644. These were then enlarged under French rule by Marshal Vauban, during the French Revolutionary Wars, the city was occupied by France twice, once, briefly, in 1792–3, and, later, after a seven-month siege. After the Luxembourg Crisis, the 1867 Treaty of London required Luxembourg to dismantle the fortifications in Luxembourg City. Their demolition took sixteen years, cost 1.5 million gold francs, furthermore, the Prussian garrison was to be withdrawn. When, in 1890, Grand Duke William III died without any heirs, the Grand Duchy passed out of Dutch hands. Despite Luxembourgs best efforts to remain neutral in the First World War, on 30 August, Helmuth von Moltke moved his headquarters to Luxembourg City, closer to his armies in France in preparation for a swift victory. However, the victory never came, and Luxembourg would play host to the German high command for another four years. At the end of the occupation, Luxembourg City was the scene of an attempted communist revolution, on 9 November 1918, communists declared a socialist republic, in 1921, the city limits were greatly expanded. The communes of Eich, Hamm, Hollerich, and Rollingergrund were incorporated into Luxembourg City, in 1940, Germany occupied Luxembourg again. Under the occupation, the citys streets all received new, German names
40.
Walferdange
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Walferdange is a commune and small town in central Luxembourg. It is located north of Luxembourg City, as of 2001, the town of Walferdange, which lies in the centre of the commune, has a population of 728. Other towns within the commune include Helmsange and Bereldange, the commune of Walferdange was formed on 1 January 1851, when it was detached from the commune of Steinsel. The law forming Walferdange was passed on 25 November 1850, although the commune first came into existence in 1851, there is evidence of prehistoric settlement as well as remains of a very large Roman villa. The Raschpëtzer Qanat, an aqueduct near Helmsange was built in the 1st century AD during the Roman occupation. It is said to be the longest qanat north of the Alps, Walferdange church was built between 1845 and 1852, the main features of its classical facade are two large statues of Père Kolbe and Thérèse de Lisieux, added at a later date. Before official unification of the commune, and even before this church was built, it was religion that pulled the villages of Heisdorf, Helmsange, Bereldange, and Walferdange together. Recognition of Walferdange as an important town came in 1850, when Prince Henry, brother of Grand Duke William III, sights include the Roman villa and the underground aqueduct, and Walferdange Castle, which was assigned to Grand Duke Adolphe according to the constitution. As an engaged winemaker, he served his guests wine from his own production. The palace was later vacated by the Grand Ducal family, the residential palace now houses the Faculty of Languages and Literature, Humanities, Art and Behavioral Sciences of the University of Luxembourg. According to the website of the municipality, Walferdange has about 8030 inhabitants at the beginning of 2016, more than 51% are foreigners of about 90 different nationalities. Walferdange is connected to the world by means of Walferdange railway station, national highway N7. The commune also has its own service known as Walfy. Schmitshausen, Germany Longuyon, France Limana, Italy Media related to Walferdange at Wikimedia Commons Official website
41.
Dudelange
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Dudelange is a commune with town status in southern Luxembourg. It is the fourth-most populous commune, with 19,734 inhabitants, Dudelange is situated close to the border with France. As of 2015, the town of Dudelange, which lies in the centre of the commune, has a population of 19,734, the commune also includes the smaller town of Budersberg, to the north-west. The Mont Saint-Jean, close to Budersberg, hosts the ruins of a medieval castle, Dudelange is an important industrial town that grew out of the three villages and a steel mill in 1900. The D in the name of the ARBED steel company, later merged into ArcelorMittal, the centre hosts a two-screen cinema, a restaurant and a library focused on the visual arts. Dudelange is home to the Luxembourgs most successful club in recent times. F91 Dudelange won nine national titles between 2000 and 2011
42.
Bitburg
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Bitburg is a city in Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate approximately 25 km northwest of Trier and 50 km northeast of Luxembourg city. The American Spangdahlem Air Base is nearby, the city’s name derives from its Celtic toponym, Beda. Bitburg originated approximately 2,000 years ago as a stopover for traffic from Lyon through Metz, the first name mentioned was Vicus Beda. Emperor Constantine the Great expanded the settlement to a castle around 330. Bitburg is first documented only after the end of the Roman Empire around 715 as castrum bedense and it subsequently became part of Franconia. Bitburg received a charter in 1262 from Count Henry V of Luxembourg. In 1443, Bitburg came under the sway of the Duchy of Burgundy, then in 1506 was acquired by the Austrian Netherlands, in 1794 the city came under French administration, and in 1798 became part of the newly created Département des Forêts. This led to a short lived economic upturn, and Bitburg received among other things a court, with the unification of Germany under Prussian dominance in 1871, Bitburg became part of the German Empire, and after World War I the Weimar Republic of Germany. In the interwar years, Bitburg, like most of the Eifel region, was impoverished and it is said that the building now used as the post office at Bitburg Annex was the headquarters for Adolf Hitler when he was in the city. In late December 1944, Bitburg was 85 percent destroyed by Allied bombing attacks, subsequently, the town was occupied by Luxembourg soldiers, who were replaced by French forces in 1955. In 1952 a North Atlantic Treaty Organization base was opened at Bitburg by the U. S. Air Force, at the end of the 1980s, French troops were withdrawn and NATO took over the former French barracks. After the First Gulf War most of the USAF forces were moved to the larger Spangdahlem Air Base, in 1994, NATO turned the Bitburg Air Base over to the city, which devoted it to public works projects. The Kyll Valley railway was abandoned in the early 21st century, the most widely known Bitburg enterprise, and landmark of the city, is the Bitburger brewery. Its Pilsener-style lager beer ranks No.3 among Germanys best selling beers, in 1995, the former NATO base was designated the Bitburg Airfield Trade Area, providing commercial development district where 180 enterprises have established themselves. Bitburg-Erdorf station is part of the Eifel line, trains that pass through include, The Eifel Mosel express - Cologne, Euskirchen, Gerolstein, Trier. The Eifel line - Gerolstein, Trier, the Regional Museum of Bitburg-Prüm is housed in a former agricultural school It contains numerous artifacts of the history of Bitburg and the Eifel Region in general. In the cultural center Haus Beda are exhibited works of the Düsseldorf painter Fritz von Wille, more than 100 paintings are on display, including Die blaue Blume, Mosenberg, Burg Reifferscheid im Winter and Ein klarer Tag
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Saarburg
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Saarburg is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde Saarburg. The area around Saarburg is noted for the cultivation of Riesling grapes, the history of the city begins with the construction of the now-ruined castle by Graf Siegfried of Luxembourg in 964. It received its charter in 1291. The city has a bell foundry, the Glockengießerei Mabilion, which has been in operation since the 1770s, in 1945 to 1948 Saarburg was occupied by troops from Luxembourg. From 18 July 1946 to 6 June 1947 Onsdorf, in its municipal boundary. French troops complemented the occupation until 1955
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Treaty of Brussels
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As the Treaty of Brussels contained a mutual defence clause, it provided a basis upon which the 1954 Paris Conference established the Western European Union. It was terminated on 31 March 2010, the Treaty was intended to provide western Europe with a bulwark against the communist threat and to bring greater collective security. The Pact had cultural and social clauses, and concepts for the setting up of a Consultative Council, the basis for this was that a cooperation between Western nations would help stop the spread of Communism. In that it was an effort towards European post-war security cooperation, in September 1948, the parties to the Treaty of Brussels decided to create a military agency under the name of the Western Union Defence Organization. Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery was appointed permanent Chairman of the Land, Naval and Air Commanders-in-Committee, with headquarters in Fontainebleau, volume 3 of Nigel Hamiltons Life of Montgomery of Alamein gives a good account of the disagreements between Montgomery and de Lattre which caused much ill-feeling in the headquarters. On this occasion it was renamed the Western European Union, Western Europe therefore sought a new mutual defence pact involving the United States, a powerful military force for such an alliance. The United States, concerned with containing the influence of the USSR, was responsive to this idea, there was therefore rapid progress on this idea, and secret meetings had already begun by the end of March, where American, Canadian and British officials negotiated over the concept. Eventually, it would lead to the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation by the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington DC in 1949, the Western Union Defence Organization structure was absorbed into NATO from December 1950 to April 1951. NATOs Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe took over the WUDOs defence role, in 1954 West Germany and Italy were invited to join the pact, and accordingly the Brussels Treaty was modified. The Western European Union was established, in 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon took over the WEUs mutual defence clause. After the discussion the ten member states decided to terminate the Treaty of Brussels on 31 March 2010, the activities of WEU were terminated by June 2011. European Navigator The Treaty of Brussels History until the creation of the WEU Brussels Pact
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Luxembourg
Glock 17 9×19mm Parabellum pistol (Service pistol): Replaced Browning Hi-Power pistol
FN MAG 7.62×51mm NATO machine gun: Can be fitted with KITE night sight
M2 Browning machine gun .50 BMG
105 mm howitzer: (Re-barreled 25 pdr. guns) for ceremonial purposes
MB 300D 4x4 (1st generation)
Scania G 480 8x8: 31 partially with ballistic protection system[18][19]
