Operation Goodwood was a British offensive in the Second World War, that took place between 18 and 20 July 1944 as part of the battle for Caen in Normandy, France. The objective of the operation was a limited attack to the south, to capture the rest of Caen and the Bourguébus Ridge beyond. At least one historian has called the operation the largest tank battle that the British Army has fought. Goodwood was preceded by preliminary attacks called the Second Battle of the Odon; the offensive began when the British VIII Corps, with three armoured divisions, attacked to seize the German-held Bourguébus Ridge, the area between Bretteville-sur-Laize and Vimont and to inflict maximum casualties on the Germans. On 18 July, the British I Corps conducted an advance to secure a series of villages and the eastern flank of VIII Corps and to the west, the II Canadian Corps launched Operation Atlantic, synchronised with Goodwood, to capture the rest of Caen south of the Orne River; when Operation Goodwood ended on 20 July, the armoured divisions had broken through the outer German defences and advanced 7 mi but had been stopped short of Bourguébus Ridge, only armoured cars having penetrated further south and beyond the ridge.

While Goodwood failed in its primary aim, it forced the Germans to keep powerful formations opposite the British and Canadians on the eastern flank of the Normandy beachhead and Operation Cobra, the First US Army attack which began on 25 July, caused the weaker German defences opposite to collapse. The historic Normandy town of Caen was a D-Day objective for the British 3rd Infantry Division, which landed on Sword Beach on 6 June 1944; the capture of Caen, while "ambitious", was called the most important D-Day objective assigned to I Corps. Operation Overlord called for Second Army to secure the city and form a front line from Caumont-l'Éventé–south-east of Caen, to acquire space for airfields and to protect the left flank of the First US Army, while it moved on Cherbourg. Possession of Caen and its surroundings would give the Second Army a staging area for a push south to capture Falaise, which could be used as the pivot for a swing left, to advance on Argentan and towards the Touques River.

The terrain between Caen and Vimont was promising, being open and conducive to mobile operations. Since the Allied forces outnumbered the Germans in tanks and mobile units, a fluid fast-moving battle was to their advantage. Hampered by congestion in the beachhead and forced to divert effort to attack held German positions along the 9.3 mi route to the town, the 3rd Infantry Division was unable to assault Caen in force and was stopped short of the outskirts. Follow-up attacks were unsuccessful as German resistance solidified. I Corps, striking south out of the Orne bridgehead, was halted by the 21st Panzer Division and the attack by XXX Corps bogged down in front of Tilly-sur-Seulles, west of Caen, against the Panzer Lehr Division; the 7th Armoured Division pushed through a gap in the German front line and tried to capture the town of Villers-Bocage in the German rear. The Battle of Villers-Bocage saw the vanguard of the 7th Armoured Division withdraw from the town but by 17 June, Panzer Lehr had been forced back and XXX Corps had taken Tilly-sur-Seulles.

The British postponed plans for further offensive operations, including a second attack by the 7th Armoured Division, when a severe storm descended upon the English Channel on 19 June. The storm lasted for three days delayed the Allied build-up. Most of the landing craft and ships at sea were driven back to ports in Britain. After a few days to recover from the storm, the British began Operation Epsom on 26 June; the newly arrived VIII Corps, was to attack west of Caen, southwards across the Odon and Orne rivers, capture an area of high ground near Bretteville-sur-Laize, encircling the city. The attack was preceded by Operation Martlet, to secure the VIII Corps flank by capturing high ground on the right of the axis of advance; the Germans managed to contain the offensive by committing all their strength, including two panzer divisions just arrived in Normandy, earmarked for an offensive against British and American positions around Bayeux. Several days the Second Army made a frontal assault on Caen Operation Charnwood.

The attack was preceded by Operation Windsor, to capture the airfield at Carpiquet just outside Caen. By 9 July, Caen north of the Orne and Odon rivers had been captured but German forces retained possession of the south bank and a number of important locations, including the Colombelles steel works, whose tall chimneys commanded the area. Shortly after the capture of northern Caen during Operation Charnwood, the British mounted a raid against the Colombelles steelworks complex to the north-east of the city, a failure; the factory area remained in German hands, its tall chimneys providing observation posts that overlooked the Orne bridgehead. At 01:00 on 11 July, elements of the 153rd Infantry Brigade, supported by Sherman tanks of the 148th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps, moved against the German position; the intention was to secure the area for troops from the Royal Engineers to destroy the chimneys before retiring. At 05:00, the British force was ambushed by Tiger tanks and was forced to withdraw after losing nine tanks.

The Second Army launc

Namakkal is a Selection grade municipality and the headquarters of Namakkal district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the first ISO 14001-2004 certified municipality in Asia for environmental management the provision and maintenance of water supply, solid waste and sewage management, town planning and other social services. Namakkal is located at 11.23°N 78.17°E / 11.23. It has an average elevation of 218 metres, it is close to Kolli Hills -, part of the Eastern Ghats. The closest river is Kaveri and it is located 360 km southwest of Chennai and 250 km south of Bangalore. Tourism in the district of Namakkal is based on the natural environment, water falls, boat house, botanical garden, temples of the area; the Kolli Hills is one of the most prominent mountain ranges and is an outliner of the Eastern Ghats. It is eighteen miles or twenty eight kilometers long, twelve miles or nineteen kilometers wide and the Koll block is spread over an area of 441.4 square kilometers. When viewed from the plains of the Namakkal district, the mountain looks like a flat-topped mass.

The mountain has been inhabited from pre-historic times. It is much celebrated in the Tamil Literature of the Sangam Age and at least eleven poets describe about it in their poems. A Shiva Temple, known as the Arappalleeswarar Temple, dates back to twelfth century and is located at Periakoviloor near the waterfalls called Akasa Gangai. An ancient and powerful deity called Kolli Paavai of Ettukkai Amman is at the Kolli Hills, it attracts large pilgrims and it is a Jain retreat. Namakkal is a historic town with reference at back to at least the 7th century; the name Namakkal derives from Namagiri, the name of the single rock formation at the center of the town. The rock is enormous - more than a kilometre in circumference. Over this massive rock, is a fort, Namakkal Fort. Kongu nadu a small kingdom. During Sangam age, Namakkal region formed a part of the historical Kongu Nadu region ruled by Cheras It is believed that Tippu Sultan hid himself in this fort for some time to escape the British; the fort was not built by Tippu Sultan but he occupied it for a brief period of time.

The fort was captured by British. The front side of the hill is called Thiru. Vi. Ka. Paarai and today is used by taxis as their stand. Namakkal is a part of Kongu Nadu, hotly contested and coveted by both the ancient Pallavas and the Pandyas. Namakkal was in the hands of Atiakula King called Gunasila who had an alliance with Pallava King through marriage; the taluk was overrun by the Cholas in the Mandalam. After the struggle between the Cheras and Pandiyan, the Hoysalas rose to power and had control till the 14th century followed by Vijayanagar Kings till 1565 AD; the Telugu Madurai Nayaks came to power in 1623 AD. Two of the Polygons of Thirumalai Nayak namely, Ramachandra Nayaka and Gatti Mudaliars ruled the Salem area; the Namakkal Fort is reported to have been built by Ramachandra Nayakas. After about 1625 AD, the area came successively under the rule of Muslim Sultans of Bijapur and Golkonda, Mysore kings and the Marathas. Hyder Ali came to power in about the year 1750 AD. During this period, it was a history of power struggle between Hyder Ali and Tippu, with the British.

Namakkal was held by Killdhar of Hyder Ali until it was captured by British in 1768. For a brief period during late 18th and early 19th century Namakkal was under Tiruchirappalli district of British Rule. Namakkal was transferred back to Salem District. At 01-01-1997 announced as a separate district from Salem District. Two cave temples at Namakkal were called as Adiyanavaya Visnugrha; these Rock cut shrines were built by King Gunaseela of Adhiyaman clan descendant. Because of his marriage relations with Pallavas the temples were built of Pallava Architectural style during the 7th century. Namakkal is considered to be a Vaishnava Kshetram, there is no Shiva temple in the town until a few years ago. Mahatma Gandhi held a public meeting in 1933 in Namakkal under the slope of the Namakkal rock; the economy of the district was agricultural, but as on today it has changed its occupation to Lorries, Educational Institutions, Poultry Farms and real estate. So, Lorry Transport and related businesses drive the economy of the town.

Out of 80000 lorries in Namakkal district Namakkal itself having 25000 lorries, 7000 LPG tankers, 3500 trailers, it made India's No,1 transport hub. Namakkal is known for its lorry body building industries and poultry farms, it is India's No.1 biggest egg producing region followed by Andhra Pradesh, Punjab. 95% of the eggs exported from India is from Namakkal. A wide variety of crops are grown within the district. One of the main crop is due to that Namakkal has several Sago Factories. Namakkal is noted for truck body building activity. Truck body building is being carriedout in Namakkal since 1956. Nationwide Namakkal is known for body building for truck, trailer and rig unit. Customers from other states get the truck body building work done in Namakkal. Body built. About 25000 people are employed directly and indirectly in truck body building activity in Namakkal District. About 300 units in Namakkal are engaged in this activity. Total turnover of Namakkal is 25000 to 30000 crores. Culture of Namakkal is based on the Kongu Vellala Gounder c

A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. Three types of academy exist: pre-collegiate-level institutions awarding academic qualifications, university-level institutions awarding bachelor's degree level qualifications, those preparing officer cadets for commissioning into the armed services of the state. A naval academy is distinguished from one. In U. S. usage, the United States Military Academy and the United States Naval Academy are both service academies. The first military academies were established in the 18th century to provide future officers for technically specialized corps, such as engineers and artillery, with scientific training; the Royal Danish Naval Academy was set up in 1701, making it the oldest military academy in existence. The Royal Military Academy, Woolwich was set up in 1741, after a false start in 1720 because of a lack of funds, as the earliest military academy in Britain.

Its original purpose was to train cadets entering the Royal Royal Engineers. In France, the École Royale du Génie at Mézières was founded in 1748, followed by a non-technical academy in 1751, the École Royale Militaire offering a general military education to the nobility. French military academies were copied in Prussia, Austria and minor powers, including Turin and the Kingdom of Savoy, in the late 18th century. By the turn of the century, under the impetus of the Napoleonic Wars and the strain that the armies of Europe subsequently came under, military academies for the training of commissioned officers of the army were set up in most of the combatant nations; these military schools had two functions: to provide instruction for serving officers in the functions of the efficient staff-officer, to school youngsters before they gained an officer's commission. The Kriegsakademie in Prussia was founded in 1801 and the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr was created by order of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 as a replacement for the École Royale Militaire of the Ancien Régime.

The Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in England was the brainchild of John Le Marchant in 1801, who established schools for the military instruction of officers at High Wycombe and Great Marlow, with a grant of £30,000 from Parliament. The two original departments were combined and moved to Sandhurst. In the United States, the United States Military Academy located in West Point, New York was founded on March 16, 1802 and is one of five service academies in the nation. West Point rose to prominence after the Mexican-American War. Notable alumni include astronaut Buzz Aldrin, American presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower, several American and Confederate generals such as William Tecumseh Sherman, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, John J. Pershing, Douglas MacArthur and George S. Patton. A military school teaches children of various ages in a military environment which includes training in military aspects, such as drill. Many military schools are boarding schools, others are magnet schools in a larger school system.

Many are run institutions, though some are public and are run either by a public school system or by a state. A common misconception results because some states have chosen to house their juvenile criminal populations in higher-security boarding schools that are run in a manner similar to military boarding schools; these are called reform schools, are functionally a combination of school and prison. They attempt to emulate the environment of military boarding schools in the belief that a strict structured environment can reform these children; this may not be true. However, their environment and target population are different from those of military schools. Popular culture sometimes shows parents sending or threatening to send unruly children off to military school to teach them good behavior, while other fictional depictions don't show military academies as threats or punishment. A college-level military academy is an institute of higher learning of things military, it is part of a larger system of military training institutions.

The primary educational goal at military academies is to provide a high quality education that includes significant coursework and training in the fields of military tactics and military strategy. The amount of non-military coursework varies by both the institution and the country, the amount of practical military experience gained varies as well. Military academies may not grant university degrees. In the U. S. graduates have a major field of study, earning a Bachelor's degree in that subject just as at other universities. However, in British academies, the graduate does not achieve a university degree, since the whole of the one-year course is dedicated to military training. There are two types of military academies: state/private-run. Graduates from national academies are commissioned as officers in the country's military; the new officers have an obligation to serve for a certain number o

BOE–Bot is short for Board of Education robot. It is the trade name of a robot kit, used in junior high, high school and college robotics classes, it consists of a main circuit board and breadboard, a plug–in BASIC Stamp microcontroller, two servo motors to drive the wheels, an aluminum chassis that the parts bolt onto. Students can use Erector set parts, Lego blocks, additional servos to build custom projects; the BOE-bot has been manufactured and sold by Parallax Inc since 1998. The green detachable main circuit, mounted on the top of the robot is called the Board of Education; the microcontroller which plugs into a socket on the green circuit board is called the BASIC Stamp. The BASIC Stamp is programmed in PBASIC; the rear wheel is a drilled polyethylene ball held in place with a cotter pin. Wheels are held in place with a screw; the BASIC Stamp is easy to program. The Boe–Bot is small four inches wide, runs on four AA batteries, it is well documented. The Boe–Bot can be adjusted to walk on six legs, sense objects, or pick up things by adding extra pieces sold by Parallax Inc.

These include additions like the PING ultrasonic distance sensor. There is no soldering required; the Boe–Bot is a robot that can be used in a variety of ways including combining Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio software with the Boe–Bot to control the robot's movements. The robot may be programmed to follow a line, solve a maze, follow light, or communicate with another robot. Input/output projects can be built on the breadboard, sufficient to hold anywhere from 2–4 components — LEDs, resistors, ICs etc.). Mounting holes and slots on the chassis may be used to add custom robotic equipment; the BOE–Bot is programmed using the PBASIC language. Dr. Estelle M. Eke is a proponent of the BOE–bot. Students in her classes at Sacramento State University use it as a starting point to build their class robotics projects; the Boe–Bot was developed by Professor Chuck Schoeffler of the University of Idaho Industrial Technology Education program. The Boe–Bot robot is marketed by Parallax, Inc. as an educational kit for their "Stamps In Class" program.

The Boe–Bot can be assembled by students as young as twelve and it teaches the PBASIC programming language. The Boe–Bot is used in universities including: the University at Buffalo's Mechatronics Program, the Louisiana Tech University College of Engineering and Science, the California State University, Sacramento's College of Continuing Education's Mechatronics Program; the California State University Fresno, uses the Boe–Bot in their Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering Laboratory course. The Game Institute uses the Boe–Bot Robot kit in their Introduction to Robotics course. Parallax has built custom kits for mechatronics courses and provided them for universities including California State University, Shasta College and Louisiana Tech University; the Boe–Bot is featured in Parallax workbooks and is Experiment #116 in the book "123 Robotics Experiments for the Evil Genius" by Michael Predko. The Boe–Bot and its separate add-ons and accessories are carried by electronics distributors including: RobotShop Distributors Inc.

RadioShack, Digi-Key, SparkFun Electronics. Parallax homepage Official Boe–Bot information page

Dullas Daham Kumara Alahapperuma is a Sri Lankan politician, current Cabinet Minister of Education and Sports and a Matara District member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Alahapperuma was born on 14 May 1959 in Dikwella, Matara to Carolis Alahapperuma and Aslin Alahapperuma, who were principals of local schools, he is married to Pradeepa Darmadasa, daughter of P. K and Hema Dharmadasa of Galle, has two children Mahima Induwara and Kaushika Nalanda. Cabinet of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Parliament profile ‘I appreciate him as a politician but prefer the journalist in him’

Dean Kalimniou is an Australian lawyer, writer of Greek descent. Dean Kalimniou was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1977, he studied law and arts. As spokesperson for the Panepirotic Federation of Australia, he has raised awareness of the plight of the Northern Epirot Greek minority in Southern Albania, traveling to Albania on many occasions to research the plight of the Northern Epirots; as a journalist, Dean Kalimniou is popular within the Greek community of Australia through his column in the Melbourne Greek newspaper Neos Kosmos, entitled Diatribe, running since 2001, as a regular columnist in OPA! magazine. Dean Kalimniou is a well-known poet and short story writer within the Greek community, he is noted as one of the few Australian born Greek poets who produce literature in the Greek language. He has published seven poetry collections: Kipos Esokleistos Κῆπος Ἐσώκλειστος, Alexipyrina Ἀλεξιπύρινα, Apteros Niki Ἄπτερος Νίκη, Anisixasmos Ἀνησυχασμός, "Plektani" Πλεκτάνη, "Kelyfospastis" Κελυφοσπάστης, "Motherlands" "Μητρίδες".

Poems of his appear in the Anthology of Northern Epirot Poetry His Essays have appeared in such publications as Etchings, Αιολικά Γράμματα and "Fathers from the Edge". In 2013, Professor Vrasidas Karalis stated that Dean Kalimniou is one of the most significant poets of the world-wide Greek diaspora. Dean Kalimniou has translated the following works of prominent Greek-Australian authors from Greek into English: Faye Mangos "A Cry of the Heart" Nikos Vournazos: "Dancing Solo" Dionysia Mousoura-Tsoukala: "Words and Memories in Melbourne" Vakina Panagiotidou: "The Triumph of Tragedy" Stratis Vakras: "Alisavo: Chasing the Dream" Thanassis Papastergiou: "The North Winds Arrived Early" and "Poems through the Looking Glass" Sotirios Manolopoulos: "A Migrant's Hopeful Dawn" Dimitrios Troaditis: "Tightrope Walking" He was a contributor translator of Alexandros Papadiamantis, “The Boundless Garden. Selected Short Stories. Volume II.” In November 2007, Dean Kalimniou was awarded a Government of Victoria Award for Excellence in Multicultural Affairs by the Governor of Victoria, Professor David de Kretser.

In 2009, Dean Kalimniou wrote the script of the Peter Stephanidis short film: The Message. Diatribe blog by Dean Kalimniou http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A105039?mainTabTemplate=agentWorksBy