1.
Spring 1945 offensive in Italy
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The Spring 1945 offensive in Italy, codenamed Operation Grapeshot, was the final Allied attack during the Italian Campaign in the final stages of the Second World War. The attack into the Lombardy Plain by the 15th Allied Army Group started on 6 April 1945, Fifth Army, led by Lieutenant General Mark Clark, attacking through the central Apennine Mountains. Although they managed to breach the formidable Gothic Line defences, they failed to break out into the Po Valley before the winter weather closed in. Their forward formations spent the rest of the winter in highly inhospitable conditions while preparations were made to renew the campaign when better conditions returned in the spring. When Field Marshal Sir John Dill, the head of the British Mission in Washington, died on 5 November, General Harold Alexander, having been promoted to Field Marshal, was in turn appointed to replace Wilson as Allied Supreme Commander Mediterranean on 12 December. Lieutenant General Mark Clark succeeded Alexander as commander of the Allied forces in Italy and he returned to Italy to assume command of U. S. Command changes also took place in the German army before the spring campaign, on 23 March Albert Kesselring was appointed Commander-in-Chief Army Group West, replacing General-Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt. Heinrich von Vietinghoff returned from the Baltic to take over from Kesselring while Traugott Herr, joachim Lemelsen, who had had temporary command of the 10th Army, returned to the command of the 14th Army. Looking ahead to the spring, the problems of manning continued, in early January 1945 the British 1st British Division was sent to Palestine. At the end of January 1945, I Canadian Corps and British 5th Infantry Division were ordered to North West Europe, two other divisions, both British, were to follow them to Europe, but Alexander argued for these to instead remain in Italy. S. Allied strength amounted to 17 divisions plus 8 independent brigades, an equivalent of just under 20 divisions. 15th Army Groups total headcount amounted to 1,334,000 men with Eighth Armys effective fighting strength totalling 632,980 men, against them were ranged 21 much weaker German divisions and 4 Italian ENR divisions, a total of 25. Clark set out his plan on 18 March. Its objective was. to destroy the maximum number of forces south of the Po, force crossings of the Po. An amphibious operation across the lake and parachute drop would bring pressure to bear on the flank, depending on the relative success of these actions a decision would be made on whether Eighth Armys prime objective would become Ferrara, on the Via Adriatica, or remain Budrio. Meanwhile, it was intended for U. S, Fifth Army to launch the Army Groups main effort at 24 hours notice from two days after Eighth Armys attack and break into the Po valley. The capture of Bologna was given as a secondary task, in Phase II, the Eighth Army was to drive north west to capture Ferrara and Bondeno, blocking routes of potential retreat across the Po. Fifth Army was to push past Bologna north to link with Eighth Army in the Bondeno region to complete an encirclement of German forces south of the Po
2.
Landing Vehicle Tracked
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The Landing Vehicle Tracked is an amphibious warfare vehicle and amphibious landing craft, introduced by the United States Navy. The Marine Corps and Army used several LVT models during World War II, originally intended solely as cargo carriers for ship to shore operations, they evolved into assault troop and fire support vehicles. The types were known as amphtrack, amtrak, amtrac etc. being portmanteaus of amphibious tractor, the LVT had its origins in a civilian rescue vehicle called the Alligator. Developed by Donald Roebling in 1935, the Alligator was intended to operate in swampy areas, two years later, Roebling built a redesigned vehicle with improved water speed. The Bureau of Ships requested a prototype with a more powerful engine. Another 200 units were ordered even before the first production units were delivered, after more improvements to meet requirements of the Navy, made difficult by Roeblings lack of blueprints for the initial designs, the vehicle was adopted as Landing Vehicle Tracked or LVT. The contract to build the first 200 LVTs was awarded to the Food Machinery Corporation, a manufacturer of insecticide spray pumps and other farm equipment, the initial 200 LVTs were built at FMCs Dunedin, Florida factory, where most of the improvement work had been done as well. The first production LVT rolled out of the plant in July,1941, the LVT-1 could carry 18 fully equipped men or 4,500 pounds of cargo. Originally intended to carry replenishment from ships to shore, they lacked armor protection and their tracks, however, the Marines soon recognized the potential of the LVT as an assault vehicle. A battalion of LVTs was ready for 1st Marine Division by 16 February 1942, the LVTs saw their first operational use in Guadalcanal, where they were used exclusively for landing supplies. About 128 LVTs were available for the landings, as early as January 1940, Roebling had prepared preliminary sketches of an LVT with a gun turret to provide fire support to the landing waves. The concept languished until June 1941, when USMC recommended development of an LVT armed with a 37mm gun, Development was slow and ultimately involved a complete redesign of the LVT, the LVT-2 Buffalo. Armored versions were introduced as well as fire support versions, dubbed Amtanks, among other upgrades were a new powerpack, also borrowed from the Stuarts, and a rubber torsilastic suspension which improved performance on land. After Borg-Warner evaluated the LVT-1, Borg-Warner and FMC began work on new designs, FMC was assisted by faculty from Caltech and the University of California and developed the designs that became the LVT-2 and the LVT-1. Interest in the LVT was enough that the Secretary of the Navy formed the Continued Board for the Development of the Landing Vehicle Tracked on 30 October 1943, production continued throughout the war, resulting in 18,621 LVTs delivered. 23 US Army and 11 USMC battalions were equipped in 1945 with LVTS, British and Australian armies also used LVTs in combat during World War two. In the late 1940s a series of prototypes were built and tested, realizing that acquisition of new vehicles was unlikely, the Marines modernized some of the LVT-3s and LVT-5s and kept them in service until the late 1950s. USMC LVT-1s were mainly used for support at Guadalcanal
3.
Valli di Comacchio
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They lie within the comuni of Comacchio and Argenta in the province of Ferrara and the comune of Ravenna in the province of Ravenna. It is also rated internationally important by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation, approximately ten kilometres to the north, also in the territory of Comacchio, is the Valle di Bertuzzi. The lagoon was formed around the century due to subsidence of the soil. At the time of formation, the area was flooded with water from the recurrent flooding of the rivers. From the sixteenth century on, they gradually were filled with sea water resulting in the appearance of brackish water-filled basins. The original extent of the Valli di Comacchio - covering about 73,000 hectares - was progressively reduced as a result of land reclamation projects. The current coverage of the wetlands is around 13,000 hectares, the Valli di Comacchio remain some of the largest wetlands in Italy. Some of the most common plants in the area are oaks, pine, beech in higher ground, and reeds, additionally, many types of flowers can be found, including several species of Limonium. In this region there are pine forests, most notably those of Cervia. The Valli di Comacchio are home to the greatest variety of birds of Italy, there are over 300 species of birds such as flamingos, black-winged stilts, egrets and other herons and kingfishers. In addition, there are such as bream, eels, sea bass, mullet. Fishing is an occupation, in fact there are still many fishing settlements in the area today. Typical of the area are fishing lodges mounted on poles in the water and these structures serve both as fishing stations and places to monitor for illegal fishing. Also common are eel-fishing basins called lavorieri, there are numerous salt-panning facilities in the area
4.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
5.
Nazi Germany
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Nazi Germany is the common English name for the period in German history from 1933 to 1945, when Germany was governed by a dictatorship under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Under Hitlers rule, Germany was transformed into a fascist state in which the Nazi Party took totalitarian control over all aspects of life. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich from 1933 to 1943, the period is also known under the names the Third Reich and the National Socialist Period. The Nazi regime came to an end after the Allied Powers defeated Germany in May 1945, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by the President of the Weimar Republic Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933. The Nazi Party then began to eliminate all opposition and consolidate its power. Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, and Hitler became dictator of Germany by merging the powers and offices of the Chancellery, a national referendum held 19 August 1934 confirmed Hitler as sole Führer of Germany. All power was centralised in Hitlers person, and his word became above all laws, the government was not a coordinated, co-operating body, but a collection of factions struggling for power and Hitlers favour. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazis restored economic stability and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending, extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of Autobahnen. The return to economic stability boosted the regimes popularity, racism, especially antisemitism, was a central feature of the regime. The Germanic peoples were considered by the Nazis to be the purest branch of the Aryan race, millions of Jews and other peoples deemed undesirable by the state were murdered in the Holocaust. Opposition to Hitlers rule was ruthlessly suppressed, members of the liberal, socialist, and communist opposition were killed, imprisoned, or exiled. The Christian churches were also oppressed, with many leaders imprisoned, education focused on racial biology, population policy, and fitness for military service. Career and educational opportunities for women were curtailed, recreation and tourism were organised via the Strength Through Joy program, and the 1936 Summer Olympics showcased the Third Reich on the international stage. Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels made effective use of film, mass rallies, the government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others. Beginning in the late 1930s, Nazi Germany made increasingly aggressive territorial demands and it seized Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939. Hitler made a pact with Joseph Stalin and invaded Poland in September 1939. In alliance with Italy and smaller Axis powers, Germany conquered most of Europe by 1940, reichskommissariats took control of conquered areas, and a German administration was established in what was left of Poland. Jews and others deemed undesirable were imprisoned, murdered in Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps, following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the tide gradually turned against the Nazis, who suffered major military defeats in 1943
6.
Operation Bowler
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Operation Bowler was an air attack on Venice harbour by Allied aircraft on 21 March 1945, as part of the Italian campaign of the Second World War. It was led by Acting Wing Commander, later Group Captain, by early 1945, northern Italys rail and road network had undergone severe damage, forcing the Germans to resort to shipping goods into Venice and then moving them from there along rivers and canals. Medals of wartime air ace who led Venice attack up for sale
