1.
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
2.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
3.
Line infantry
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Line infantry is the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the middle of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century. For both battle and parade drill it consisted of 2 to 4 ranks of soldiers drawn up side by side in rigid alignment. By extension, the term came to be applied to the regiments of the line as opposed to skirmishers, foot guards, militia. Line infantry mainly used three formations in its battles, the line, the square and the column, a line consisted of 2,3 or 4 ranks of soldiers. During the time period that line infantry were prevalent, the object was to cause the formation to rout, which was done by breaking it. The line was considered as the battle formation as it allowed for the largest deployment of firepower. Troops in skirmish formation, though able to cover and use initiative, were highly vulnerable to cavalry. Line infantry provided an anchor for skirmishers and cavalry to retreat to if threatened, against surrounding enemy cavalry, line infantry could swiftly adopt square formations to provide protection. Such squares were hollow, unlike the pikemen and old-style musketeers square, movement in line formation was very slow, and unless the battalion was superbly trained, a breakdown in cohesion was virtually assured, especially in any kind of uneven or wooded terrain. As a result, line was used as a stationary formation, with troops moving in column formations. Usually, columns would be adopted for movement and melee attacks, line infantry was trained in the manual of arms evolutions, the main objectives of which were fast deployment of a line, rapid shooting and manoeuvre. Line tactics required a strict discipline and simple movements, practiced to the point where they became second-nature, during training, the drill and corporal punishments were widely used. Line infantry quickly became the most common type of infantry in European countries, musketeers and grenadiers, formerly elite troops, gradually became part of the line infantry, switching to linear tactics. In the middle of the 17th century, the muskets of some line infantry were equipped with bayonets. Bayonets were attached to the muzzles of muskets and were used when line troops entered melee combat and they also helped to defend against cavalry. In many countries, the new fusils retained the name musket, both muskets and fusils were smoothbore, which lessened their accuracy and range, but made for faster loading, lesser amount of bore fouling and more robust, less complicated firearms. The bulk of the infantry had no protective equipment, as armor that could provide protection from musket fire were considered too expensive. Only the former elite troops could keep by tradition some elements of protection, for example, initially, soldiers equipped with firearms formed only a small part of the infantry branch of most armies, because of their vulnerability to hostile cavalry
4.
Mechanized infantry
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Mechanized infantry is infantry equipped with armored personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles for transport and combat. Mechanized infantry is distinguished from motorized infantry in that its vehicles provide a degree of protection from hostile fire, most APCs and IFVs are fully tracked or are all-wheel drive vehicles, for mobility across rough ground. Some nations distinguish between mechanized and armored infantry, designating troops carried by APCs as mechanized and those in IFVs as armored. The support weapons for mechanized infantry are also provided with motorized transport, compared with light truck-mobile infantry, mechanized infantry can maintain rapid tactical movement and, if mounted in IFVs, has more integral firepower. It requires more combat supplies and ordnance supplies, and a larger proportion of manpower is required to crew. For example, most APCs mount a section of seven or eight infantrymen but have a crew of two, most IFVs carry only six or seven infantry but require a crew of three. To be effective in the field, mechanized units also require many mechanics, with specialized maintenance and recovery vehicles, arguably, the first mechanized infantry were assault teams mounted on A7V tanks. The vehicles were extra-large to let them carry sizeable assault teams, all-machine gun armed A7V tanks carried two small flame throwers for their dismounts to use. A7V tank would often carry a second officer to lead the assault team, during the Battle of St. Quentin, A7Vs were accompanied by 20 stormtroopers from Rohr Assault Battalion, but it is unspecified if they were acting as dismounts or were accompanying the tanks on foot. During the battle, tank crews were reported to dismount and attack enemy positions with grenades, towards the end of World War I, all the armies involved were faced with the problem of maintaining the momentum of an attack. Tanks, artillery, or infiltration tactics could all be used to break through an enemy defense and it was widely acknowledged that cavalry was too vulnerable to be used on most European battlefields, but many armies continued to deploy them. Motorized infantry could maintain rapid movement, but their trucks required either a road network or firm open terrain. They were unable to traverse a battlefield obstructed by craters, barbed wire, tracked or all-wheel drive vehicles were to be the solution. Following the war, development of mechanized forces was largely theoretical for some time, although some proponents of mobile warfare, such as J. F. C. Fuller, advocated building tank fleets, other, such as Heinz Guderian in Germany, as the Germans rearmed in the 1930s, they equipped some infantry units in their new Panzer divisions with the half-track Sd. Kfz. 251, which could keep up with tanks on most terrain, the French Army also created Light Mechanized divisions in which some of the infantry units possessed small tracked carriers. Together with the motorization of the infantry and support units. The German doctrine was to use them to exploit breakthroughs in Blitzkrieg offensives, as World War II progressed, most major armies integrated tanks or assault guns with mechanized infantry, as well as other supporting arms, such as artillery and engineers, as combined arms units
5.
Army Reserve (United Kingdom)
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The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force and integrated element of the British Army. Most Volunteer infantry units had unique identities, but lost these in the reorganisation, only one infantry unit, the London Regiment, has maintained a separate identity. Reservists in the past also served as constables or bailiffs, even holding positions of civic duty as overseer of their parish, the more modern Yeomen of the 18th century were cavalry-based units, which were often used to suppress riots. Several units that are now part of the Army Reserve bear the title militia, after the Second World War, for example, the Army Reserve - or Territorial Army as it was known then - was not demobilised until 1947. All Army Reserve personnel have their jobs protected to a limited extent by law should they be compulsorily mobilised. There is, however, no protection against discrimination in employment for membership of the Army Reserve in the normal course of events. As part of the process, remaining units of militia were converted to the Special Reserve. The TF was formed on 1 April 1908 and contained fourteen infantry divisions and it had an overall strength of approximately 269,000. The individual units that made up each division or brigade were administered by County Associations, the other members of the association consisted of military members, representative members and co-opted members. Associations took over any property vested in the volunteers or yeomanry under their administration, each regiment or battalion had a Regular Army officer attached as full-time adjutant. In August 1914, after the outbreak of the First World War, territorial units were given the option of serving in France and, by 25 August, in excess of seventy battalions had volunteered. This question over the availability of territorial divisions for service was one of Lord Kitcheners motivations for raising the New Army separately. The first fully Territorial division to join the fighting on the Western Front was the 46th Division in March 1915, with divisions later serving in Gallipoli and elsewhere. As the war progressed, and casualties mounted, the character of territorial units was diluted by the inclusion of conscript. Following the Armistice all units of the Territorial Force were gradually disbanded, New recruiting started in early 1920, and the Territorial Force was reconstituted on 7 February 1920. On 1 October 1920, the Territorial Force was renamed the Territorial Army, the 1st Line divisions were reconstituted in that year. However, the composition of the divisions was altered, with a reduction in the number of infantry battalions required, there was also a reduced need for cavalry, and of the 55 yeomanry regiments, only the 14 most senior retained their horses. The remaining yeomanry were converted to artillery or armoured car units or disbanded, the amalgamation of 40 pairs of infantry battalions was announced in October 1921
6.
Battalion
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A battalion is a military unit. The use of the term varies by nationality and branch of service. Typically a battalion consists of 300 to 800 soldiers and is divided into a number of companies, a battalion is typically commanded by a lieutenant colonel. In some countries the word battalion is associated with the infantry, the term was first used in Italian as battaglione no later than the 16th century. It derived from the Italian word for battle, battaglia, the first use of battalion in English was in the 1580s, and the first use to mean part of a regiment is from 1708. The battalion must, of course, have a source of re-supply to enable it to sustain operations for more than a few days, the battalion is usually part of a regiment, brigade, or group, depending on the organizational model used by that service. The bulk of a battalions companies are often homogeneous with respect to type, a battalion includes a headquarters company and some sort of combat service support, typically organized within a combat support company. The term battalion is used in the British Army Infantry and some including the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. It was formerly used in the Royal Engineers, and was used in the now defunct Royal Army Ordnance Corps. Other corps usually use the term regiment instead, an infantry battalion is numbered ordinarily within its regiment. It normally has a company, support company, and three rifle companies. Each company is commanded by a major, the officer commanding, the HQ company contains signals, quartermaster, catering, intelligence, administration, pay, training, operations and medical elements. The support company usually contains anti-tank, machine gun, mortar, pioneer, mechanised units usually have an attached light aid detachment of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers to perform field repairs on vehicles and equipment. A British battalion in theatre during World War II had around 845 men in it, and, as of 2012, with successive rounds of cutbacks after the war, many infantry regiments were reduced to a single battalion. A battalion group or battlegroup consists of a battalion or armoured regiment with sub-units detached from other military units acting under the command of the battalion commander. In the Canadian Forces, most battalions are reserve units of between 100–200 soldiers that include an operationally ready, field-deployable component of approximately a half-company apiece, the nine regular force infantry battalions each contain three or four rifle companies and one or two support companies. Canadian battalions are generally commanded by lieutenant-colonels, though smaller reserve battalions may be commanded by majors, with the Dutch artillery units, the equivalent of a battalion is called an afdeling. Combat companies consist of infantry, combat engineers, or tanks, in the latter case, the unit is called an eskadron, which translates roughly to squadron
7.
Queen's Division
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The Queens Division is a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for the regiments from the east and south of England and the remaining regiment of Fusiliers. The Queens Division was formed in 1968 with the regimentation of the Home Counties Brigade, Fusilier Brigade and East Anglian Brigade, the depot was established at Bassingbourn Barracks in Cambridgeshire. The Queens Division also maintains a single Band of the Queens Division and this was formed in 2006 by the amalgamation of two former divisional bands, the Minden Band and the Normandy Band. The British Army, A Pocket Guide, 2012-2013
8.
Tower of London
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The Tower of London, officially Her Majestys Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was a resented symbol of oppression. The castle was used as a prison from 1100 until 1952, a grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, the general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site. The Tower of London has played a prominent role in English history and it was besieged several times, and controlling it has been important to controlling the country. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a record office. From the early 14th century until the reign of Charles II, in the absence of the monarch, the Constable of the Tower is in charge of the castle. This was a powerful and trusted position in the medieval period, in the late 15th century, the castle was the prison of the Princes in the Tower. Under the Tudors, the Tower became used less as a royal residence and this use has led to the phrase sent to the Tower. Executions were more commonly held on the notorious Tower Hill to the north of the castle, in the latter half of the 19th century, institutions such as the Royal Mint moved out of the castle to other locations, leaving many buildings empty. Anthony Salvin and John Taylor took the opportunity to restore the Tower to what was felt to be its medieval appearance, in the First and Second World Wars, the Tower was again used as a prison and witnessed the executions of 12 men for espionage. After the Second World War, damage caused during the Blitz was repaired, today, the Tower of London is one of the countrys most popular tourist attractions. Under the ceremonial charge of the Constable of the Tower, it is cared for by the charity Historic Royal Palaces and is protected as a World Heritage Site. The Tower was orientated with its strongest and most impressive defences overlooking Saxon London and it would have visually dominated the surrounding area and stood out to traffic on the River Thames. The castle is made up of three wards, or enclosures, the innermost ward contains the White Tower and is the earliest phase of the castle
9.
Tidworth Camp
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Tidworth Camp is a military installation at Tidworth in Wiltshire. The Camp was established when the War Office acquired Tedworth House, southern Command was established at Tidworth Camp in 1905. Lucknow Barracks and Mooltan Barracks were completed in 1905, Tidworth Military Hospital was finished in 1907, aliwal Barracks, Assaye Barracks, Bhurtpore Barracks, Candahar Barracks, Delhi Barracks and Jellalabad Barracks were added later. A Royal Ordnance depot was established during the First World War, the names of the barracks evoke memories of battles in India and Afghanistan. In the Second World War, the Camp was home in 1944 to formations of the United States Army, first the 9th Armored Division, a branch from the Midland and South Western Junction Railway at Ludgershall was built in 1901 and opened to passengers in 1902. Goods tracks known as Tidworth Military Railway continued from Tidworth station into the military area, the branch returned to military control in 1955 and was closed in 1963. Tidworth Military Cemetery was set up to serve the barracks and it includes the war graves of 417 Commonwealth service personnel of the First World War and 106 of the Second World War. Southern Command left the Camp and moved to Erskine Barracks near Fugglestone St Peter in 1949, the Military Hospital closed in March 1977. The renovation of existing buildings and the construction of new buildings aims to improve the quality of life for living and working on Tidworth Camp. Extensive reconstruction at the Camp involving 160 new or refurbished buildings was carried out between 2006 and 2014
10.
Newcastle upon Tyne
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Newcastle is the most populous city in the North East and forms the core of the Tyneside conurbation, the eighth most populous urban area in the United Kingdom. Newcastle is a member of the English Core Cities Group and is a member of the Eurocities network of European cities. Newcastle was part of the county of Northumberland until 1400, when it became a county of itself, the regional nickname and dialect for people from Newcastle and the surrounding area is Geordie. Newcastle also houses Newcastle University, a member of the Russell Group, the city developed around the Roman settlement Pons Aelius and was named after the castle built in 1080 by Robert Curthose, William the Conquerors eldest son. The city grew as an important centre for the trade in the 14th century. The port developed in the 16th century and, along with the lower down the River Tyne, was amongst the worlds largest shipbuilding and ship-repairing centres. Newcastles economy includes corporate headquarters, learning, digital technology, retail, tourism and cultural centres, among its icons are Newcastle United football club and the Tyne Bridge. Since 1981 the city has hosted the Great North Run, a marathon which attracts over 57,000 runners each year. The first recorded settlement in what is now Newcastle was Pons Aelius and it was given the family name of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who founded it in the 2nd century AD. This rare honour suggests Hadrian may have visited the site and instituted the bridge on his tour of Britain, Pons Aelius population at this period was estimated at 2,000. Fragments of Hadrians Wall are visible in parts of Newcastle, particularly along the West Road, the course of the Roman Wall can be traced eastwards to the Segedunum Roman fort in Wallsend—the walls end—and to the supply fort Arbeia in South Shields. After the Roman departure from Britain, completed in 410, Newcastle became part of the powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, conflicts with the Danes in 876 left the river Tyne and its settlements in ruin. After the conflicts with the Danes, and following the 1088 rebellion against the Normans, Monkchester was all, because of its strategic position, Robert Curthose, son of William the Conqueror, erected a wooden castle there in the year 1080. The town was known as Novum Castellum or New Castle. The wooden structure was replaced by a castle in 1087. The castle was again in 1172 during the reign of Henry II. Much of the keep which can be seen in the city dates from this period. Throughout the Middle Ages, Newcastle was Englands northern fortress, incorporated first by Henry II, the city had a new charter granted by Elizabeth in 1589
11.
Honi soit qui mal y pense
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Honi soit qui mal y pense is an Anglo-Norman maxim that means, May he be shamed who thinks badly of it. Its translation from Old French is Shame be to him who thinks evil of it and it is sometimes re-interpreted as Evil be to him that evil thinks or shame on anyone who thinks ill of it. In contemporaneous French usage, it is used ironically, to insinuate the presence of hidden agendas or conflicts of interest. A more literal, word-by-word translation is Shamed be who evil of it thinks, the sayings most famous use is as the motto of the British chivalric Order of the Garter. It is also inscribed at the end of the manuscript of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, according to historian Elias Ashmole, the foundation of the Garter occurred when Edward III of England prepared for the Battle of Crécy and gave forth his own garter as the signal. Another theory suggests a trivial mishap at a function when King Edward III was dancing with Joan of Kent, his first cousin. Her garter slipped down to her ankle causing those around her to snigger at her humiliation, in an act of chivalry Edward placed the garter around his own leg saying, Honi soit qui mal y pense. Tel qui sen rit aujourdhui, shonorera de la porter, other translations include, Spurned be the one who evil thinks, Shame be to him who thinks ill of it, and Evil on him who thinks evil. The motto of the Order is a denunciation of those who think ill of some specific project, Shame be to him who thinks ill of it was probably directed against anyone who should oppose the Kings design on the French Crown. In English heraldry, the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense is used either as a stand-alone motto upon a motto scroll, knights and Ladies of the Garter are entitled to encircle the escutcheon of their arms with the garter and motto. The latter usage can also be seen in the coat of arms of the United Kingdom, with the motto of the royal arms, Dieu et mon droit. As part of the arms, the motto is displayed in many public buildings in Britain. Several military organisations in the Commonwealth incorporate the motto inscribed upon a garter of the order within their badges and some use Honi soit qui mal y pense as their motto. Corps and regiments using the motto in this fashion are, Also used on items, e. g. the baton, of the Society of High Constables of Edinburgh, new Zealand Army, the 6th Hauraki Infantry Regiment. It appears in the coat of arms of the United Kingdom, inscribed on the garter which surrounds the shield, itself supported by a lion. It appears in The Kings School, Grantham coat of arms and it appears on a 1612 map entitled Virginia by John Smith, on a design of the Royal Coat of Arms surrounded by the garter. The original is at the Newberry Library in Chicago and was displayed in an exhibit entitled Maps and it appears on several British military cap badges. The phrase is incorporated into the elaborate figurehead of the HMS Victory, bounty mutineer James Morrison had the motto with a garter tattooed around his left leg, according to William Blighs Notebook
12.
Rule, Britannia!
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Rule, Britannia. is a British patriotic song, originating from the poem Rule, Britannia by James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne in 1740. It is strongly associated with the Royal Navy, but also used by the British Army, Thomson was a Scottish poet and playwright, who spent most of his adult life in England and hoped to make his fortune at Court. He had an interest in helping foster a British identity, including and transcending the older English, Irish, Welsh and Scottish identities and this might have some bearing on the songs famous refrain Britons never will be slaves. Incidentally, Thomson wrote the word never only once, but it has been corrupted to never, never, never. The same theme was repeated in the Navys own Heart of Oak, in 1751 Mallet altered the lyrics, omitting three of the original six stanzas and adding three others, written by Lord Bolingbroke. This version known as Married to a Mermaid became extremely popular when Mallet produced his masque of Britannia at Drury Lane Theatre in 1755, the song soon developed an independent life of its own, separate from the masque of which it had formed a part. First heard in London in 1745, it achieved instant popularity and it quickly became so well known that Handel quoted it in his Occasional Oratorio in the following year. Handel used the first phrase as part of the Act II soprano aria, Prophetic visions strike my eye, similarly, Rule, Britannia. was seized upon by the Jacobites, who altered Thomsons words to a pro-Jacobite version. However, Thomsons original words remained best-known, Britain and France were at war for much of the century and hostile in between and the French Bourbons were undoubtedly the prime example of haughty tyrants, whose slaves Britons should never be. At the time it appeared the song was not a celebration of a state of naval affairs. The time was still to come when the Royal Navy would be a dominant force on the oceans. The jesting lyrics of the century would assume a material. The melody was the theme for a set of variations for piano by Ludwig van Beethoven and he used it in Wellingtons Victory. Richard Wagner wrote an overture in D major based on the theme in 1837. The French organist-composer Alexandre Guilmant included this tune in his Fantaisie sur deux mélodies anglaises for organ Op.43, arthur Sullivan, Britains leading composer during the reign of Queen Victoria, quoted from Rule, Britannia. On at least three occasions in music for his comic operas written with W. S. Gilbert and Bolton Rowe, in Utopia Limited, Sullivan used airs from Rule, Britannia. to highlight references to Great Britain. In The Zoo Sullivan applied the tune of Rule, Britannia. to an instance in which Rowes libretto quotes directly from the patriotic march. Finally, to celebrate the jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887, Sullivan added a chorus of Rule, Britannia. to the finale of HMS Pinafore, which was playing in revival at the Savoy Theatre
13.
Blackbuck
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The blackbuck, also known as the Indian antelope, is an antelope found in Pakistan, India and Nepal. The blackbuck is the sole extant member of the genus Antilope, the species was described and given its binomial name by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It stands up to 74 to 84 cm high at the shoulder, males weigh 20–57 kilograms, an average of 38 kilograms. Females are lighter, weighing 20–33 kilograms or 27 kilograms on an average, the long, ringed horns, 35–75 centimetres long, are generally present only on males, though females may develop horns as well. The white fur on the chin and around the eyes is in sharp contrast with the stripes on the face. The coat of males shows two-tone colouration, while the parts and outsides of the legs are dark brown to black, the underparts. On the other hand, females and juveniles are yellowish fawn to tan, the blackbuck is a diurnal antelope. Three kinds of groups, typically small, are the female, male, males often adopt lekking as a strategy to garner females for mating. While other males are not allowed into these territories, females often visit these places to forage, the male can thus attempt mating with her. Herbivores, blackbuck graze on low grasses, occasionally browsing as well, females become sexually mature at eight months, but mate no earlier than two years. Males mature later, at one-and-a-half years, mating takes place throughout the year. Gestation is typically six months long, after which a single calf is born, the lifespan is typically 10 to 15 years. The blackbuck inhabits grassy plains and slightly forested areas, due to their regular need of water, they prefer areas where water is perennially available. The antelope is native to and found mainly in India, while it is extinct in Bangladesh, formerly widespread, only small, scattered herds are seen today, largely confined to protected areas. During the 20th century, blackbuck numbers declined due to excessive hunting, deforestation. The blackbuck has been introduced in Argentina and the United States, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources lists the blackbuck as Near Threatened. In India, hunting of blackbuck is prohibited under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, the blackbuck has significance in Hinduism, Indian and Nepali villagers do not harm the antelope. The scientific name of the blackbuck is Antilope cervicapra and its generic name stems from the Latin word antalopus
14.
Otterhound
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The Otterhound is an old British dog breed. It is a scent hound and is recognised by the Kennel Club as a Vulnerable Native Breed with around 600 animals worldwide. In the second half of the 19th century, French Griffons were outcrossed, in the early 20th century the Griffon Nivernais was crossed into the breed, and one particular dog, Boatman, a Grand Griffon Vendeen/Bloodhound cross became an ancestor for several kennels. The Otterhound is a large, rough-coated hound with an imposing head, originally bred for hunting, it has great strength and a strong body with long striding steps. This makes it able to perform prolonged hard work, the Otterhound hunts its quarry both on land and in water and it has a combination of characteristics unique among hounds, most notably an oily, rough, double coat and substantial webbed feet. They have a nose that can track in the mud and water for over 72 hours Otterhounds generally weigh between 80 and 115 pounds and they have extremely sensitive noses which make them inquisitive and perseverant in investigating scents. Consequently, they need particular supervision when outdoors and they are friendly dogs with a unique bass voice which they use frequently. Otter hunting dates back to the medieval period, with references it is found as early as 1360. The Otterhound, however, can only be traced back as a breed as far as the early 1800s. The otter is one of the largest and most intelligent carnivorous mammals in Europe, in 1978, due to the dramatic decline in otter numbers, the otter was placed on the list of protected species in Britain and otterhunting therefore ceased. By 1977, nine registered packs of otterhounds were still in existence, a few hunts switched to hunting mink or coypu, but many of the original otterhound packs hunts ceased to exist altogether. Hounds were often passed to newly founded minkhound packs, the Pembroke and Carmarthenshire Minkhounds are the only pack today with a pure otterhound pack. As the dogs had been bred for their hunting capabilities. The average lifespan of the breed is a little over 10 years, a quarter will live 12 to 15 years. At least one hound is known to have lived to be 16 years old, the Otterhound enjoys considerable exercise, but can also be a couch potato. They can be good family dogs but need to be kept in a secure property since they can jump fences up to 5 feet high, but rarely try. In spite of the gene pool, the Otterhound is generally a healthy breed. Common problems that can occur are elbow and hip dysplasia, a malformation of the elbow and these are not always painful, but can cause lameness and impair mobility, and result in arthritis
15.
Saint George's Day
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Saint Georges Day is the feast day of Saint George as celebrated by various Christian Churches and by the several nations, kingdoms, countries, and cities of which Saint George is the patron saint. Saint Georges Day is celebrated on 23 April, the accepted date of the saints death in Diocletianic Persecution of AD303. For those Eastern Orthodox Churches which use the Julian calendar, this date falls on the day of 6 May of the Gregorian calendar. In Turkic culture the day is known as Hıdırellez or Xıdır Nəbi and is symbolic of spring renewal, in the General Calendar of the Roman Rite, the feast of Saint George is on 23 April. In the Tridentine Calendar it was given the rank of Semidouble, in Pope Pius XIIs 1955 calendar this rank is reduced to Simple. In Pope John XXIIIs 1960 calendar the celebration to just a Commemoration, in Pope Paul VIs revision of the calendar, that came into force in the 1969 it was given the equivalent rank of a Memorial, of optional use. In some countries, such as England, the rank is higher, similarly, the Eastern Orthodox celebration of the feast moves accordingly to the first Monday after Easter or, as it is sometimes called, to the Monday of Bright Week. The church celebration may also be moved if the 23rd April falls on a Sunday, eg, in England, besides the 23 April feast, some Orthodox Churches have additional feasts dedicated to St George. The country of Georgia celebrates the feast of St. George on 23 April and, more prominently,10 November, which currently fall on 6 May and 23 November, respectively. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the dedication of the Church of St George in Kiev by Yaroslav the Wise in 1051 on 26 November, the earliest documented mention of St. George in England comes from the venerable Bede. His feast day is mentioned in the Durham Collectar, a ninth-century liturgical work. The will of Alfred the Great is said to refer to the saint, in a reference to the church of Fordington, at Fordington a stone over the south door records the miraculous appearance of St. George to lead crusaders into battle. Early dedications of churches to St. George are noted in England, for example at Fordingham, Dorset, at Thetford, Southwark and Doncaster. The declarations of the Province of Canterbury in 1415 and the Province of York in 1421 elevated the feast to a double major, Edward III put his Order of the Garter under the banner of St. George. This order is still the foremost order of knighthood in England and St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle was built by Edward IV, the badge of the Order shows Saint George on horseback slaying the dragon. Froissart observed the English invoking St. George as a battle cry on several occasions during the Hundred Years War, certain English soldiers also displayed the pennon of St George. At Agincourt many believed they saw him fighting on the English side, St Georges Day was a major feast and national holiday in England on a par with Christmas from the early 15th century. The Cross of St. George was flown in 1497 by John Cabot on his voyage to discover Newfoundland and later by Sir Francis Drake, in 1620 it was the flag that was flown on the foremast of the Mayflower when the Pilgrim Fathers arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts
16.
Gallipoli Campaign
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The peninsula forms the northern bank of the Dardanelles, a strait that provided a sea route to the Russian Empire, one of the Allied powers during the war. Intending to secure it, Russias allies Britain and France launched an attack followed by an amphibious landing on the peninsula. The naval attack was repelled and after eight months fighting, with casualties on both sides, the land campaign was abandoned and the invasion force was withdrawn to Egypt. The campaign was one of the greatest Ottoman victories during the war, in Turkey, it is regarded as a defining moment in the nations history, a final surge in the defence of the motherland as the Ottoman Empire crumbled. In 1908, a group of officers, known as the Young Turks. The new régime implemented a program of reform to modernise the political and economic system. An enthusiastic supporter, Germany provided significant investment, German diplomats subsequently found increasing influence, despite Britain previously being the predominant power in the region, while German officers assisted in training and re-equipping the army. Despite this support, the resources of the Ottoman Empire were depleted by the cost of the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913. In December 1913, the Germans sent a mission to Constantinople. The geographical position of the Ottoman Empire meant that Russia and her allies France, during the Sarajevo Crisis in 1914, German diplomats offered Turkey an anti-Russian alliance and territorial gains in Caucasia, north-west Iran and Trans-Caspia. The pro-British faction in the Cabinet was isolated due to the British ambassador taking leave until 18 August, as the crisis deepened in Europe, Ottoman policy was to obtain a guarantee of territorial integrity and potential advantages, unaware that the British might enter a European war. This action strained diplomatic relations between the two empires and the German government offered SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau to the Ottoman navy as replacements, by allowing the German ships to enter the Dardanelles, the Ottomans confirmed their links to Germany. In September, the British naval mission to the Ottomans, which had established in 1912 under Admiral Arthur Limpus, was recalled due to increasing concern that Turkey would soon enter the war. Rear Admiral Wilhelm Souchon of the Imperial German Navy took over command of the Ottoman navy, the German naval presence and the success of German armies on all fronts, gave the pro-German faction in the Ottoman government enough influence to declare war on Russia. On 27 October, Goeben and Breslau, having been renamed Yavûz Sultân Selîm and Midilli, sortied into the Black Sea, bombarded the Russian port of Odessa and sank several Russian ships. The Ottomans refused an Allied demand that they expel the German missions and on 31 October 1914, Russia declared war on Turkey on 2 November. The next day, the British ambassador left Constantinople and a British naval squadron off the Dardanelles bombarded the outer defensive forts at Kum Kale, a shell hit a magazine, knocked the guns off their mounts and killed 86 soldiers. Fighting also began in Mesopotamia, following a British landing to occupy the oil facilities in the Persian Gulf, the Ottomans prepared to attack Egypt in early 1915, aiming to occupy the Suez Canal and cut the Mediterranean route to India and the Far East
17.
Battle of Albuera
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The Battle of Albuera was a battle during the Peninsular War. Acting on Napoleons orders, in early 1811 Marshal Soult led a French expedition from Andalusia into Extremadura in a bid to draw Allied forces away from the Lines and ease Massénas plight. Napoleons information was outdated and Soults intervention came too late, starving and understrength, however, Soult left Badajoz strongly garrisoned. In April, following news of Massénas complete withdrawal from Portugal, the Allies drove most of the French from the surrounding area and began the Siege of Badajoz. Soult rapidly gathered a new army from the French forces in Andalusia and, joining with the troops retreating before Beresford, with intelligence of another approaching force—a Spanish army under Gen. Joaquín Blake—he planned to turn Beresfords flank and interpose his army between the two. The opposing armies met at the village of Albuera, both sides suffered heavily in the ensuing struggle and the French finally withdrew on 18 May. Beresfords army was too battered and exhausted to pursue, but was able to resume the investment of Badajoz, despite Soults failure to relieve the town, the battle had little strategic effect on the war. Just one month later, in June 1811, the Allies were forced to abandon their siege by the approach of the reconstituted French Armies of Portugal, by 10 October 1810 only the British light division and some cavalry patrols remained outside the Lines. Massénas Army of Portugal concentrated around Sobral, apparently in preparation to attack, however, after a fierce skirmish on 14 October in which the strength of the Lines became apparent, the French dug themselves in rather than launch a costly full-scale assault. They remained entrenched for a month before falling back to a position between Santarém and Rio Maior, the Emperors orders were based on outdated intelligence and called for only a small force, by the time Soult received them the situation had changed considerably. Along with V Corps, this venture also pulled both infantry and cavalry from Marshal Victors I Corps who were besieging Cádiz at the time, following a successful campaign in Extremadura, on 27 January 1811 Soult began his investment of Badajoz. Almost immediately the Spanish Army of Extremadura arrived in the vicinity with some 15,000 troops under the command of Gen. Mendizabal. Soults army, too small to surround Badajoz, was unable to prevent 3,000 of Mendizabals men from reinforcing the fortress and this posed a major threat to the French, so Soult moved at once to engage. In the ensuing Battle of the Gebora the French inflicted 1,000 casualties on the Spanish field army and took 4,000 prisoners, the remnants of Mendizabals defeated army fled towards Badajoz or into Portugal. The garrison of Badajoz, ably commanded by Gen. Rafael Menacho, initially put up strong resistance and by 3 March the French had made little progress against the powerful fortress. On that day, however, Menacho was killed on the ramparts by a shot, command of the garrison fell to Brig. Gen. José Imaz. The walls were breached on 10 March. Concerned that the British would now be free to send a contingent to relieve Badajoz, Imaz duly capitulated and the French took possession of the fortress on 11 March
18.
Normandy landings
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The Normandy landings were the landing operations on Tuesday,6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. The largest seaborne invasion in history, the operation began the liberation of German-occupied northwestern Europe from Nazi control, planning for the operation began in 1943. Adolf Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in command of German forces, the amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault—the landing of 24,000 American, British, and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight. Allied infantry and armoured divisions began landing on the coast of France at 06,30, the target 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors, Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Strong winds blew the landing craft east of their positions, particularly at Utah. Casualties were heaviest at Omaha, with its high cliffs, at Gold, Juno, and Sword, several fortified towns were cleared in house-to-house fighting, and two major gun emplacements at Gold were disabled, using specialised tanks. The Allies failed to any of their goals on the first day. Carentan, St. Lô, and Bayeux remained in German hands, and Caen, German casualties on D-Day have been estimated at 4,000 to 9,000 men. Allied casualties were at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead, museums, memorials, and war cemeteries in the area now host many visitors each year. Between 27 May and 4 June 1940, over 338,000 troops of the British Expeditionary Force, after the German Army invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin began pressing his allies for the creation of a second front in western Europe. In late May 1942 the Soviet Union and the United States made a joint announcement that a. full understanding was reached with regard to the urgent tasks of creating a front in Europe in 1942. Instead of a return to France, the Western Allies staged offensives in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations. By mid-1943 the campaign in North Africa had been won, the Allies then launched the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and subsequently invaded Italy in September the same year. By then, Soviet forces were on the offensive and had won a victory at the Battle of Stalingrad. The decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion within the year was taken at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. Initial planning was constrained by the number of landing craft, most of which were already committed in the Mediterranean. At the Tehran Conference in November 1943, Roosevelt and Churchill promised Stalin that they would open the second front in May 1944. Four sites were considered for the landings, Brittany, the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy, as Brittany and Cotentin are peninsulas, it would have been possible for the Germans to cut off the Allied advance at a relatively narrow isthmus, so these sites were rejected
19.
Battle of Minden
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The Battle of Minden—or Thonhausen—was a decisive engagement during the Seven Years War, fought on 1 August 1759. An Anglo-German army under the command of Field Marshal Ferdinand of Brunswick defeated a French army commanded by Marshal of France. Two years prior, the French had launched an invasion of Hanover and attempted to impose an unpopular treaty of peace upon the allied nations of Britain, Hanover. After a Prussian victory at Rossbach, and under pressure from Frederick the Great and William Pitt, in 1758, the Allies launched a counter-offensive against the French forces and drove them back across the Rhine. After failing to defeat the French before reinforcements swelled their retreating army, believing Ferdinands forces to be over-extended, Contades abandoned his strong positions around the Weser and advanced to meet the Allied forces in battle. The Allied line advanced in the wake of the cavalry attack, sending the French army reeling from the field. In Britain, the victory was considered to constitute the Annus Mirabilis of 1759, the western German-speaking states of Europe had been a major theatre of the Seven Years War since 1757, when the French had launched an invasion of Hanover. This culminated in a victory for the French at the Battle of Hastenbeck. The Prussian port of Emden was also recaptured, securing supply from Britain, in an attempt to defeat the French before their reinforcements arrived, Ferdinand decided to launch a fresh counter-offensive, and quit his winter quarters early. In April, however, Victor-François, Duke de Broglie and the French withstood Ferdinands attack at the Battle of Bergen, Ferdinand was forced to retreat northwards in the face of the now reinforced French army. Contades, senior of the two French marshals, resumed the advance, occupying a number of towns and cities including the fortress at Minden. Ferdinand was criticised for his failure to check the French offensive and his celebrated brother-in-law, Frederick the Great, is reported as having suggested that, since his loss at Bergen, Ferdinand had come to believe the French to be invincible. Irrespective of any presumed crisis of confidence, however, Ferdinand did ultimately decide to confront the French, Contades had taken up a strong defensive position along the Weser around Minden, where he had paused to regroup before he continued his advance. He initially resisted the opportunity to abandon this position to attack Ferdinand. Ferdinand instead formulated a plan that involved splitting his force into several groups to threaten Contades lines of supply, perceiving Ferdinands forces to be over-extended, Contades thought he saw a chance for the desired decisive victory. He ordered his men to abandon their defensive encampments and advance into positions on the plain west of Minden during the night of 31 July and early morning of 1 August. In 1759, the city of Minden, now the Innenstadt of modern Minden, was situated at the confluence of the Weser, which flows from south to north, and the Bastau. The French under the marshal, de Broglie, were stationed astride the Weser
20.
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
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Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, KG, GCMG, GCVO, ADC is a grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary. He has held the title of Duke of Kent since the death of his father in 1942, the Duke of Kent carries out engagements on behalf of his first cousin, Elizabeth II. He is perhaps best known as president of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, presenting the trophies to the Wimbledon champion and he also served as the United Kingdoms Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, retiring in 2001. He is also the president of The Scout Association, the Royal United Services Institute, and the Royal Institution of Great Britain, and since 1967 Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England. The Duke of Kent is also patron of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, as of the birth of the Duke of Cambridges second child, the Queens fifth great-grandchild, on 2 May 2015, the Duke of Kent was 34th in line. As of the death of the 7th Earl of Harewood in 2011, he became the Queens oldest living paternal cousin, since his mother was a cousin of Prince Philip, he is also a second cousin to Prince Charles and his siblings. Prince Edward was born on 9 October 1935, at No.3 Belgrave Square, home Secretary Sir John Simon was present to verify the birth. Prince Edwards father was Prince George, Duke of Kent, the son of George V. His mother was Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, the daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and he was baptised in the Private Chapel of Buckingham Palace on 20 November 1935 by the Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Lang. Prince Edward began his schooling at Ludgrove, a school in Berkshire, before going on to Eton College. After school he entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst where he won the Sir James Moncrieff Grierson prize for foreign languages, on 25 August 1942, Prince Edwards father, the Duke of Kent, was killed when his plane crashed in bad weather in Caithness. Prince Edward, who was almost 7, succeeded his father as Duke of Kent, Earl of St Andrews and he later took his seat in the House of Lords in 1959. As a member of the family, he began performing engagements at an early age. In 1953, he attended the coronation of his cousin, Elizabeth II, the Duke of Kent graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 29 July 1955 as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Scots Greys, the beginning of a military career that would last over 20 years. He was promoted to captain on 29 July 1961, the Duke of Kent saw service in Hong Kong from 1962–63 and later served on the staff in Eastern Command. He was promoted to Major on 31 December 1967, during the early 70s, the Duke also served in Northern Ireland with his Regiment. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel on 30 June 1973, the Duke retired from the Army on 15 April 1976. He was subsequently promoted Major-General on 11 June 1983 and Field Marshal on 11 June 1993, the Duke of Kent married Katharine Worsley at York Minster on 8 June 1961
21.
Infantry
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Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice
22.
Regiment
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A regiment is a military unit. Their role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, in Medieval Europe, the term regiment denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted in one geographical area, by a leader who was often also the feudal lord of the soldiers. By the 17th century, a regiment was usually about a thousand personnel. In many armies, the first role has been assumed by independent battalions, battlegroups, task forces, brigades and other, similarly-sized operational units. By the beginning of the 18th century, regiments in most European continental armies had evolved into permanent units with distinctive titles and uniforms, when at full strength, an infantry regiment normally comprised two field battalions of about 800 men each or 8–10 companies. In some armies, an independent regiment with fewer companies was labelled a demi-regiment, a cavalry regiment numbered 600 to 900 troopers, making up a single entity. With the widespread adoption of conscription in European armies during the nineteenth century, the regimental system underwent modification. Prior to World War I, a regiment in the French, German, Russian. As far as possible, the battalions would be garrisoned in the same military district, so that the regiment could be mobilized. A cavalry regiment by contrast made up an entity of up to 1,000 troopers. Usually, the regiment is responsible for recruiting and administering all of a military career. Depending upon the country, regiments can be either combat units or administrative units or both and this is often contrasted to the continental system adopted by many armies. Generally, divisions are garrisoned together and share the same installations, thus, in divisional administration, soldiers and officers are transferred in and out of divisions as required. Some regiments recruited from specific areas, and usually incorporated the place name into the regimental name. In other cases, regiments would recruit from an age group within a nation. In other cases, new regiments were raised for new functions within an army, e. g. the Fusiliers, the Parachute Regiment, a key aspect of the regimental system is that the regiment or battalion is the fundamental tactical building block. This flows historically from the period, when battalions were widely dispersed and virtually autonomous. For example, a regiment might include different types of battalions of different origins, within the regimental system, soldiers, and usually officers, are always posted to a tactical unit of their own regiment whenever posted to field duty
23.
Wiltshire
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Wiltshire is a county in South West England with an area of 3,485 km2. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, the county town was originally Wilton, after which the county is named, but Wiltshire Council is now based in the new county town of Trowbridge. Wiltshire is characterised by its high downland and wide valleys, Salisbury Plain is noted for being the location of the Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles and other ancient landmarks, and as a training area for the British Army. The city of Salisbury is notable for its mediaeval cathedral, important country houses open to the public include Longleat, near Warminster, and the National Trusts Stourhead, near Mere. The county, in the 9th century written as Wiltunscir, later Wiltonshire, is named after the county town of Wilton. Wiltshire is notable for its pre-Roman archaeology, the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age people that occupied southern Britain built settlements on the hills and downland that cover Wiltshire. Stonehenge and Avebury are perhaps the most famous Neolithic sites in the UK, in the 6th and 7th centuries Wiltshire was at the western edge of Saxon Britain, as Cranborne Chase and the Somerset Levels prevented the advance to the west. The Battle of Bedwyn was fought in 675 between Escuin, a West Saxon nobleman who had seized the throne of Queen Saxburga, in 878 the Danes invaded the county. Following the Norman Conquest, large areas of the country came into the possession of the crown, at the time of the Domesday Survey the industry of Wiltshire was largely agricultural,390 mills are mentioned, and vineyards at Tollard and Lacock. In the 17th century English Civil War Wiltshire was largely Parliamentarian, the Battle of Roundway Down, a Royalist victory, was fought near Devizes. The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry currently lives on as Y Squadron, based in Swindon, around 1800 the Kennet and Avon Canal was built through Wiltshire, providing a route for transporting cargoes from Bristol to London until the development of the Great Western Railway. Information on the 261 civil parishes of Wiltshire is available on the Wiltshire Community History website, run by the Libraries and this site includes maps, demographic data, historic and modern pictures and short histories. The local nickname for Wiltshire natives is moonrakers and this originated from a story of smugglers who managed to foil the local Excise men by hiding their alcohol, possibly French brandy in barrels or kegs, in a village pond. The officials took them for simple yokels or mad and left them alone, many villages claim the tale for their own village pond, but the story is most commonly linked with The Crammer in Devizes. Two-thirds of Wiltshire, a rural county, lies on chalk. This chalk is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group, the largest area of chalk in Wiltshire is Salisbury Plain, which is used mainly for arable agriculture and by the British Army as training ranges. The highest point in the county is the Tan Hill–Milk Hill ridge in the Pewsey Vale, just to the north of Salisbury Plain, the chalk uplands run northeast into West Berkshire in the Marlborough Downs ridge, and southwest into Dorset as Cranborne Chase. Cranborne Chase, which straddles the border, has, like Salisbury Plain, yielded much Stone Age, the Marlborough Downs are part of the North Wessex Downs AONB, a 1,730 km2 conservation area
24.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
25.
Future of the British Army (Army 2020 Refine)
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Army 2020, formerly known as Future Army Structure or FAS, is the name given to an ongoing review of the structure of the British Army, and in particular its fighting brigades. This report indicated that the existing 16 Air Assault Brigade would be retained as a rapid reaction force. In 2010, the Strategic Defence and Security Review was published. As part of the plans, the British Army will be reduced by 23 regular units, the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 upgraded the number of reservists to 35,000, an increase of 5,000 on top of the then planned-for 30,000 reservists. On 7 June 2012, the Secretary of State for Defence set out some key considerations for the future of the British Army, refinements to the plans following the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review became known as Army 2020 Refine. Further changes were announced in a statement in December 2016. The originally envisaged future structure was announced on 19 July 2011 in a paper entitled Defence Basing Review. This structure involved five identical multi-role brigades, each of around 6,500 personnel, however, in June 2012 a significantly different structure known as Army 2020 was announced. The divisional headquarters of 2nd, 4th and 5th Divisions were disbanded in 2012, up until June 2012, it was envisaged that FAS would results in five large multi-role Brigades. It was envisaged that 19th Light Brigade, which is part of 3rd Mechanised Division. The new structure was confirmed by the then Secretary of State for Defence, Philip Hammond and this will deliver a very high readiness Lead Air Assault Task Force, with the rest of the brigade ready to move at longer notice. The 3rd Mechanised Division, renamed the 3rd Division, comprising three armoured brigades, 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade, 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade and 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade. These three brigades will rotate, with one being the lead brigade, an involved in training. The lead brigade will deliver a Lead Battlegroup at very high readiness, each armoured infantry brigade will be made up of,1 Type 56 armoured regiment comprising,3 sabre squadrons, each of 18 Challenger 2 main battle tanks,1 command and reconnaissance squadron. 1 armoured cavalry regiment comprising,3 sabre squadrons, each of 16 CVR vehicles,1 command,2 armoured infantry battalions, each comprising,3 rifle companies each with 14 upgraded Warrior infantry fighting vehicles,1 support company. 1 heavy protected mobility infantry battalion comprising,3 rifle companies, each with 14 Mastiff infantry mobility vehicles,1 support company, Royal Wessex Yeomanry providing replacement crews to the three Challenger 2 regiments. The complete air assault brigade and a full mechanised brigade will be available for deployment within three months, all three brigades HQs are to be based in the Salisbury Plain Training area. These infantry brigades will be suited to U. K. operations or overseas commitments or, with sufficient notice, several light role infantry battalions, each comprising,3 rifle companies
26.
Fusilier
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Fusiliers is a name given to various kinds of soldiers, its meaning depends on the historical context. Flintlock small arms were first used militarily during the early 17th century, flintlocks, at the time, were more reliable and safer to use than matchlock muskets, which required a match to be lit near the breech before the weapon could be triggered. By contrast, flintlocks were fired by flint, by the time of the English Civil War, one flintlock musket, the snaphance, was in common use in Britain. The term fusiliers was first used officially by the French Army in 1670, the following year the Fusiliers du Roi, the first regiment composed primarily of soldiers with flintlocks, was formed by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban. At the time, artillery also required guards to maintain discipline amongst civilian draymen. During the 18th century, as became the main weapon used by infantry. The French Army no longer uses the term fusiliers, although a number of its infantry regiments descend from fusilier regiments, the term fusiliers is still used in the navy and air force. They are protection forces of riflemen assuring security and policing on land bases, the commandos are selected from their ranks. The commandos are special forces units and this subsequently became The Royal Fusiliers. The original purpose of unit was to act as escort to artillery guns. In 1865 a distinctive head-dress was authorised for British Army fusilier regiments, originally a sealskin cap for other ranks, this was replaced by a black raccoon skin cap of nine inches in height, according to the 1874 Dress Regulations. Attached to the types of fusilier headdress, including the modern beret, is the hackle. This is a short cut feather plume, the colour or colours of which varied according to the regiment, initially, the only regiment authorised to wear a plume or hackle were the 5th of Foot. The Fifth were designated Fusiliers in 1836, following the Second Boer War plumes were added to the headgear of all fusilier regiments in recognition of their service in South Africa. Due to the creation of the Irish Free State, the Royal Munster Fusilers, in 1935 the Northumberland Fusiliers was awarded the title Royal. Under the Defence Review of 1957 the number of regiments was reduced. The Royal Scots Fusiliers was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry on 20 January 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers, the new regiment wore the white hackle of the RSF, with a flaming grenade badge bearing the monogram of the HLI. Under the same review, the three English fusilier regiments were grouped as the Fusilier Brigade in 1958, while retaining their individual identities, a single cap badge was adopted
27.
Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
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The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment adopted the title Northumberland Fusiliers when regimental numbers were abolished under the Childers Reforms of 1881, the regiment was originally part of the Dutch service and known as the Irish Regiment, or Viscount Clares Regiment, under the command of Daniel OBrien, 3rd Viscount Clare. In the following year the colonelcy passed to John Fenwick and the Irish designation was discontinued, the regiment was transferred to the British Service on 5 June 1685, establishing its order of precedence as the 5th Regiment of the Line. Like most other regiments, it was known by the names of the colonels who commanded it at the time until it became the 5th Regiment of Foot in 1751. The regiment took part in the Irish campaign of 1690–1691, and was present at the Battle of the Boyne, the Second Siege of Athlone, in 1692 the unit sailed for Flanders where they were to remain for five years. In 1695 they were part of the forces that recaptured Namur. With the ending of the war by the Treaty of Ryswick they returned to England in 1697, the regiment spent the years 1707–1713 in Spain. They were one of four English regiments who fought an action with their Portuguese allies at Campo Maior in 1709. During the Anglo-Spanish War of 1727, the regiment formed part of the garrison of Gibraltar which withheld the Spanish during the four-month-long siege. On 1 July 1751 a royal warrant provided that in future regiments would not be known by their colonels names, accordingly, Lieutenant-General Irvines Regiment was redesignated as the 5th Regiment of Foot. The next major conflict in which the 5th foot was involved was the Seven Years War, the regiment took part in the Raid on Cherbourg in 1758, the Battle of Warburg in 1760, the Battle of Kirch Denkern in 1761 and the Battle of Wilhelmsthal in 1762. The 5th left Monkstown, Ireland on 7 May 1774, for Boston and their presence was necessary because of strong civil unrest in the area. Arriving in July,1774 the 5th camped near the town, on 19 April 1775, the Light Infantry and Grenadier Companies participated in the march to Concord, and the resulting fighting at Lexington, Concord, and the march back to Boston. Casualties were five men killed, three officers and 15 men wounded, and one man captured, on 17 June 1775, after being under siege by American forces for two months, the regiment participated in the attack on the fortifications at Breeds Hill. After spending two months on board ship in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the 5th sailed to New York to participate in the effort to capture the city from the Americans. They took part in the Battle of Long Island and the Battle of White Plains, the capture of Fort Washington, New York and they then spent the winter of 1776-1777 quartered near New York City and were involved in skirmishes with the American forces. They were then part of Howes campaign to capture Philadelphia, being engaged in the Battle of Brandywine Creek, on the retreat through New Jersey, on 28 June 1778, the regiment was involved in the fighting at Monmouth Court House. While in New York, the 5th participated in raids and skirmishes, including a raid on Little Egg Harbor
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Royal Warwickshire Regiment
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The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War. On 1 May 1963, the regiment was re-titled, for the time, as the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers. The regiment traces its origins to the 17th century, in the Netherlands in 1674, the government retained two regiments of English troops, two of Scots and one Irish. In 1685, when James II requested their services during the Duke of Monmouths rebellion, after Monmouths defeat, they returned to the Netherlands. However, when William III became king of England in 1688, they accompanied him, the 6th was nicknamed the Dutch Guards by William. Service in Ireland followed and the regiment was present at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, campaigning in Flanders during 1692-1695 followed, with the Battle of Steenkerque in August 1692 and the Siege of Namur in July 1695, which was the 6ths first battle honour. During the War of the Spanish Succession, the 6th was in Spain and Portugal fighting the armies of Spain, the regiment fought at Barcelona in 1706 and suffered heavy casualties at Almanza in 1707. In 1710, the 6th played a part in the victory of Almenar and won undying fame at Saragossa. The regiments next conflict was the Jacobite rising of 1745, the 6th was sent to secure the highland forts between Inverness and Fort William. Two companies were with the army under General Sir John Cope at the Battle of Prestonpans. The 6th also defended Fort William, beating off every attack as all the highland forts surrendered. The regiment went to Gibraltar in 1753 before moving on to the West Indies on garrison duty in 1772. On the outbreak of the American War of Independence, detachments from the 6th arrived in New York in 1776 and saw action, but were of insufficient strength and were sent home. When, as an aid to recruiting, territorial links of infantry regiments were first established in 1782, the 1st Battalion went from Gibraltar to the Iberian Peninsula and was at Roliça and Vimeiro in 1808. The battalion took part in the Corunna, losing 400 men during the march, the men were then shipped to UK before taking part in the Walcheren Campaign before returning to the Peninsula in 1812. The regiment was present at Vitoria in 1813 and heavily engaged at the action at Roncesvalles. The regiment was held in reserve at the Nive and was heavily engaged at Orthez in 1814
29.
Royal Fusiliers
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The Royal Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881, the Royal Fusiliers Monument, a memorial dedicated to the Royal Fusiliers who died during the First World War, stands on Holborn in the City of London. Throughout its long existence, the regiment served in wars and conflicts, including the Second Boer War, the First World War. It was formed as a regiment in 1685 by George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth. Most regiments were equipped with matchlock muskets at the time, and this was because their task was to be an escort for the artillery, for which matchlocks would have carried the risk of igniting the open-topped barrels of gunpowder. The regiment went to Holland in February 1689 for service in the Nine Years War and fought at the Battle of Walcourt in August 1689 before returning home in 1690. It embarked for Flanders later that year and fought at the Battle of Steenkerque in August 1692 and the Battle of Landen in July 1693 and the Siege of Namur in summer 1695 before returning home. The regiment took part in an expedition captured the town of Rota in Spain in spring 1702. The regiment became the 7th Regiment of Foot in 1751, although a variety of spellings of the word fusilier persisted until the 1780s, the Royal Fusiliers was sent to Canada in April 1773. The regiment was broken up into detachments that served at Montreal, Quebec, Fort Chambly, in the face of the American invasion of Canada in 1775/76, most of the regiment was forced to surrender. The 80 man garrison of Fort Chambly attempted to resist a 400-man Rebel force and this is where the regiment lost its first set of colours. Captain Owens company of the 7th, along with a handful of recruits, the men taken prisoner during the defence of Canada were exchanged in British held New York City in late 1776. Here, the regiment was rebuilt and garrisoned New York and New Jersey, in October 1777, the 7th participated in the successful assaults on Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery. In December 1777, the regiment reinforced the garrison of Philadelphia, during the British evacuation back to New York City, the regiment participated in the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778. The 7th participated in Tryons raid in July 1779, in April 1780, the Royal Fusiliers took part in the capture of Charleston. Once Charleston fell, the regiment helped garrison the city, the Royal Fusiliers was in the first line during the battle, Tarleton was defeated and the regiments colours were lost in the heat of the battle. A contingent from the regiment fought through North Carolina participating in the Battle of Guilford Court House in March 1781, the regiment returned to England in 1783. The regiment embarked for Holland and saw action at the Battle of Copenhagen in August 1807 during the Gunboat War and it was then sent to the West Indies and took part in the capture of Martinique in 1809
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Lancashire Fusiliers
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By a commission dated 20 November 1688 the regiment was formed in Torbay, Devon under Sir Richard Peyton as Peytons Regiment of Foot. The regiment served in the Glorious Revolution under King William III and at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690, during the War of the Spanish Succession, it aided in the capture of Spanish galleons at Battle of Vigo Bay in 1702. The regiment distinguished itself at the Battle of Dettingen in June 1743 and it also served at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746 during the Jacobite rising of 1745. In 1751, the regiment became the 20th Regiment of Foot, during the Seven Years War the regiment earned honour at the Battle of Minden on 1 August 1759, when, as an infantry formation, they stood up to and broke a French cavalry charge. During the American Revolutionary War the regiment was sent to Quebec in April 1776, serving under General John Burgoyne for the remainder of the Canadian campaign, they later surrendered along with General Burgoyne at Saratoga. The 20th Regiment of Foot was designated the 20th Regiment of Foot in 1782 and it next departed for Egypt in spring 1801 and saw action at the Battle of Alexandria in March 1801 during the French Revolutionary Wars. After moving to Calabria it took part in the Battle of Maida in July 1806 during the War of the Third Coalition, the regiment embarked for Portugal in 1808 for service in the Peninsular War. It saw action at the Battle of Vimeiro in August 1808, the regiment returned to the Peninsula and fought at the Battle of Vitoria in June 1813, where it formed part of the backbone of the Duke of Wellingtons forces. During the Crimean War, the regiment took part in the Battle of Alma in September 1854, the 2nd Battalion was raised in 1858. Under the reforms the regiment became The Lancashire Fusiliers on 1 July 1881 and this formed the 3rd and 4th Battalions of the Lancashire Fusiliers. In addition, Rifle Volunteer Corps were attached to their local regiments, in 1883 the 8th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers became the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, and the 12th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers became the 2nd Volunteer Battalion. In 1886 the 56th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers was transferred from the Manchester Regiment to become the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, in common with other regiments recruited from populous urban areas, the Lancashire Fusiliers raised two further regular battalions, the 3rd in 1898, and the 4th in 1900. This necessitated adjustments to the numbers of the Militia battalions, which became the 5th and 6th battalions, however, the 3rd and 4th Regular battalions were disbanded in 1906. In 1898 the 2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers took part in Kitcheners campaign to reconquer the Sudan, during the Second Boer War, the 2nd Battalion saw action at the Battle of Spion Kop in January 1900 and the Relief of Ladysmith in February 1900. The 6th Battalion also served in the war, leaving for South Africa with 650 men on 10 February 1900, all three Volunteer Battalions also found service companies of volunteers who served alongside the Regulars, and gained the battle honour South Afrca 1900–1902 for their battalions. Under the Haldane Reforms of 1908, the Militia were redesignated Special Reserve, with the wartime role of Home Defence. The Lancashire Fusiliers militia became 3rd Battalion and 4th Battalion, both based at Bury, the volunteers now became the Territorial Force, with battalions numbered in sequence after the militia. These four battalions formed the Lancashire Fusiliers Brigade, in the East Lancashire Division of the TF, the 1st Battalion, which was based in Karachi in the early months of the war, returned to the United Kingdom in January 1915
31.
Helmand Province
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Helmand or Hillmand The ancient names of of Helmand were is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering 58,584 square kilometres area, the province contains 13 districts, encompassing over 1,000 villages, and roughly 879,500 settled people. Lashkar Gah serves as the provincial capital, Helmand was part of the Greater Kandahar region until made into a separate province by the Afghan government in the 20th century. The province has an airport, in the city of Lashkar Gah. The British Camp Bastion and U. S, Camp Leatherneck are a short distance southwest of Lashkar Gah. The Helmand River flows through the desert region of the province. The Kajaki Dam, which is one of Afghanistans major reservoirs, is located in the Kajaki district, Helmand is believed to be one of the worlds largest opium-producing regions, responsible for around 42% of the worlds total production. This is believed to be more than the whole of Burma, which is the second largest producing nation after Afghanistan. The region also produces tobacco, sugar beets, cotton, sesame, wheat, mung beans, maize, nuts, sunflowers, onions, potato, tomato, cauliflower, peanut, apricot, grape, and melon. Helmand culture of western Afghanistan was a Bronze Age culture of the 3rd millennium BC and it is exemplified by such major sites as Shahr-i Sokhta, Mundigak, and Bampur. The term Helmand civilization was proposed by M. Tosi and this civilization flourished between 2500 BC and 1900 BC, and may have coincided with the great flourishing of the Indus Valley Civilisation. This was also the phase of Periods III and IV of Shahr-i Sokhta. Jiroft culture is related to Helmand culture. Jiroft culture flourished in the eastern Iran, and the Helmand culture in western Afghanistan at the same time, in fact, they may represent the same cultural area. Mehrgarh culture, on the hand, is far earlier. Some Vedic scholars also believe the Helmand valley corresponds to the Sarasvati area mentioned in the Rig Veda as the homeland for the Indo-Aryan migrations into India, helmland was inhabited by ancient peoples and governed by the Medes before falling to the Achaemenids. Later, the area was part of the ancient Arachosia polity, and a frequent target for conquest because of its location in Asia. The Helmand river valley is mentioned by name in the Avesta as Haetumant, one of the centers of the Zoroastrian faith
32.
Northumberland
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Northumberland is a county in North East England. The northernmost county of England, it borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham and Tyne and Wear to the south, to the east is the North Sea coastline with a 64-mile long distance path. The county town is Alnwick although the county council is in Morpeth, the northernmost point of Northumberland and England is at Marshall Meadows Bay. The county of Northumberland included Newcastle upon Tyne until 1400, when the city became a county of itself, Northumberland expanded greatly in the Tudor period, annexing Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1482, Tynedale in 1495, Tynemouth in 1536, Redesdale around 1542 and Hexhamshire in 1572. Islandshire, Bedlingtonshire and Norhamshire were incorporated into Northumberland in 1844, Tynemouth and other settlements in North Tyneside were transferred to Tyne and Wear in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. Lying on the Anglo-Scottish border, Northumberland has been the site of a number of battles, the county is noted for its undeveloped landscape of high moorland, now largely protected as the Northumberland National Park. Northumberland is the most sparsely populated county in England, with only 62 people per square kilometre, Northumberland originally meant the land of the people living north of the River Humber. The present county is the core of that land, and has long been a frontier zone between England and Scotland. During Roman occupation of Britain, most of the present county lay north of Hadrians Wall, the Roman road Dere Street crosses the county from Corbridge over high moorland west of the Cheviot Hills into present Scotland to Trimontium. Northumberland has a rich prehistory with many instances of art, hillforts such as Yeavering Bell and stone circles like the Goatstones. Most of the area was occupied by the Brythonic-Celtic Votadini people, with another large tribe, later, the region of present-day Northumberland formed the core of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia, which united with Deira to form the kingdom of Northumbria in the 7th century. Lindisfarne saw the production of the Lindisfarne Gospels and it became the home of St Cuthbert, bamburgh is the historic capital of Northumberland, the royal castle from before the unification of the Kingdoms of England under the monarchs of the House of Wessex in the 10th century. The Earldom of Northumberland was briefly held by the Scottish royal family by marriage between 1139–1157 and 1215–1217, Scotland relinquished all claims to the region as part of the Treaty of York. The Earls of Northumberland once wielded significant power in English affairs because, as powerful and militaristic Marcher Lords, Northumberland has a history of revolt and rebellion against the government, as seen in the Rising of the North against Elizabeth I of England. These revolts were led by the Earls of Northumberland, the Percy family. Shakespeare makes one of the Percys, the dashing Harry Hotspur, after the Restoration of 1660, the county was a centre for Roman Catholicism in England, as well as a focus of Jacobite support. Northumberland was long a wild county, where outlaws and Border Reivers hid from the law, however, the frequent cross-border skirmishes and accompanying local lawlessness largely subsided after the Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England under King James I and VI in 1603. Northumberland played a key role in the Industrial Revolution from the 18th century on, many coal mines operated in Northumberland until the widespread closures in the 1970s and 1980s
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Warwickshire
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Warwickshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton, the county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Commonly used abbreviations for the county are Warks or Warwicks, the county is divided into five districts of North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Rugby, Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon. The current county boundaries were set in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, the historic county boundaries also included Coventry and Solihull, as well as much of Birmingham. The northern tip of the county is only 3 miles from the Derbyshire border, an average-sized English county covering an area of almost 2,000 km2, it runs some 60 miles north to south. Equivalently it extends as far north as Shrewsbury in Shropshire and as far south as Banbury in north Oxfordshire, the majority of Warwickshires population live in the north and centre of the county. The market towns of northern and eastern Warwickshire were industrialised in the 19th century, and include Atherstone, Bedworth, Nuneaton, of these, Atherstone has retained most of its original character. Major industries included coal mining, textiles, engineering and cement production, of the northern and eastern towns, only Nuneaton and Rugby are well-known outside of Warwickshire. The south of the county is rural and sparsely populated. The only town in the south of Warwickshire is Shipston-on-Stour, the highest point in the county, at 261 m, is Ebrington Hill, again on the border with Gloucestershire, grid reference SP187426 at the countys southwest extremity. There are no cities in Warwickshire since both Coventry and Birmingham were incorporated into the West Midlands county in 1974 and are now metropolitan authorities in themselves, the largest towns in Warwickshire in 2011 were, Nuneaton, Rugby, Leamington Spa, Bedworth, Warwick, Stratford and Kenilworth. Much of western Warwickshire, including that area now forming part of Coventry, Solihull, thus the names of a number of places in the central-western part of Warwickshire end with the phrase -in-Arden, such as Henley-in-Arden, Hampton-in-Arden and Tanworth-in-Arden. The remaining area, not part of the forest, was called the Felden – from fielden, areas historically part of Warwickshire include Coventry, Solihull, Sutton Coldfield, Erdington, and some of Birmingham including Aston and Edgbaston. These became part of the county of West Midlands following local government re-organisation in 1974. Some organisations, such as Warwickshire County Cricket Club, which is based in Edgbaston, in Birmingham, Coventry is effectively in the centre of the Warwickshire area, and still has strong ties with the county. Coventry and Warwickshire are sometimes treated as an area and share a single Chamber of Commerce. Coventry has been a part of Warwickshire for only some of its history, in 1451 Coventry was separated from Warwickshire and made a county corporate in its own right, called the County of the City of Coventry. In 1842 the county of Coventry was abolished and Coventry was remerged with Warwickshire, in recent times, there have been calls to formally re-introduce Coventry into Warwickshire, although nothing has yet come of this
34.
Greater London
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London, or Greater London, is a region of England which forms the administrative boundaries of London. It is organised into 33 local government districts, the 32 London boroughs, the Greater London Authority, based in Southwark, is responsible for strategic local government across the region and consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The county of Greater London was created on 1 April 1965 through the London Government Act 1963, administratively, Greater London was first established as a sui generis council area under the Greater London Council between 1963 and 1986. The area was re-established as a region in 1994, and the Greater London Authority formed in 2000, the region covers 1,572 km2 and had a population of 8,174,000 at the 2011 census. In 2012, it had the highest GVA per capita in the United Kingdom at £37,232, the Greater London Built-up Area—used in some national statistics—is a measure of the continuous urban area of London, and therefore includes areas outside of the administrative region. The term Greater London has been and still is used to different areas in governance, statistics, history. In terms of ceremonial counties, London is divided into the small City of London, outside the limited boundaries of the City, a variety of arrangements has governed the wider area since 1855, culminating in the creation of the Greater London administrative area in 1965. The Greater London Arterial Road Programme was devised between 1913 and 1916, one of the larger early forms was the Greater London Planning Region, devised in 1927, which occupied 1,856 square miles and included 9 million people. The LCC pressed for an alteration in its boundaries soon after the end of the First World War, noting that within the Metropolitan, a Royal Commission on London Government was set up to consider the issue. The LCC proposed a vast new area for Greater London, with a boundary somewhere between the Metropolitan Police District and the home counties, protests were made at the possibility of including Windsor, Slough and Eton in the authority. The Commission made its report in 1923, rejecting the LCCs scheme, two minority reports favoured change beyond the amalgamation of smaller urban districts, including both smaller borough councils and a central authority for strategic functions. The London Traffic Act 1924 was a result of the Commission, Greater London originally had a two-tier system of local government, with the Greater London Council sharing power with the City of London Corporation and the 32 London Borough councils. The GLC was abolished in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985 and its functions were devolved to the City Corporation and the London Boroughs, with some functions transferred to central government and joint boards. Greater London was used to form the London region of England in 1994, a referendum held in 1998 established a public will to recreate an upper tier of government to cover the region. The Greater London Authority, London Assembly and the directly elected Mayor of London were created in 2000 by the Greater London Authority Act 1999, in 2000, the outer boundary of the Metropolitan Police District was re-aligned to the Greater London boundary. The 2000 and 2004 mayoral elections were won by Ken Livingstone, the 2008 and 2012 elections were won by Boris Johnson. The 2016 election was won by Sadiq Khan, Greater London continues to include the most closely associated parts of the Greater London Urban Area and their historic buffers. Thus it includes, in five boroughs, significant parts of the Metropolitan Green Belt which protects designated greenfield land in a way to the citys parks
35.
Lancashire
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Lancashire is a non-metropolitan ceremonial county in north west England. The county town is Lancaster although the administrative centre is Preston. The county has a population of 1,449,300, people from Lancashire are known as Lancastrians. The history of Lancashire begins with its founding in the 12th century, in the Domesday Book of 1086, some of its lands were treated as part of Yorkshire. The land that lay between the Ribble and Mersey, Inter Ripam et Mersam, was included in the returns for Cheshire, when its boundaries were established, it bordered Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire, and Cheshire. Lancashire emerged as a commercial and industrial region during the Industrial Revolution. Liverpool and Manchester grew into its largest cities, dominating global trade, the county contained several mill towns and the collieries of the Lancashire Coalfield. By the 1830s, approximately 85% of all cotton manufactured worldwide was processed in Lancashire, Accrington, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Bury, Chorley, Colne, Darwen, Manchester, Nelson, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale and Wigan were major cotton mill towns during this time. Blackpool was a centre for tourism for the inhabitants of Lancashires mill towns, the detached northern part of Lancashire in the Lake District, including the Furness Peninsula and Cartmel, was merged with Cumberland and Westmorland to form Cumbria. Lancashire lost 709 square miles of land to other counties, about two fifths of its area, although it did gain some land from the West Riding of Yorkshire. Today the county borders Cumbria to the north, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south and North and West Yorkshire to the east, with a coastline on the Irish Sea to the west. The county palatine boundaries remain the same with the Duke of Lancaster exercising sovereignty rights, including the appointment of lords lieutenant in Greater Manchester, the county was established in 1182, later than many other counties. During Roman times the area was part of the Brigantes tribal area in the zone of Roman Britain. The towns of Manchester, Lancaster, Ribchester, Burrow, Elslack, in the centuries after the Roman withdrawal in 410AD the northern parts of the county probably formed part of the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged, a successor entity to the Brigantes tribe. During the mid-8th century, the area was incorporated into the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria, in the Domesday Book, land between the Ribble and Mersey were known as Inter Ripam et Mersam and included in the returns for Cheshire. Although some historians consider this to mean south Lancashire was then part of Cheshire and it is also claimed that the territory to the north formed part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It bordered on Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire, and Cheshire, the county was divided into hundreds, Amounderness, Blackburn, Leyland, Lonsdale, Salford and West Derby. Lonsdale was further partitioned into Lonsdale North, the part north of the sands of Morecambe Bay including Furness and Cartmel
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Rochdale
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Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, population 211,699. Rochdale is the largest settlement and administrative centre, with a population of 107,926. Historically a part of Lancashire, Rochdales recorded history begins with an entry in the Domesday Book of 1086 under Recedham Manor, the ancient parish of Rochdale was a division of the hundred of Salford and one of the largest ecclesiastical parishes in England comprising several townships. By 1251, Rochdale had become important enough to have granted a Royal charter. Subsequently, Rochdale flourished into a centre of northern Englands woollen trade, Rochdale rose to prominence during the 19th century as a major mill town and centre for textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution. It was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and amongst the first ever industrialised towns. The Rochdale Canal—one of the major navigable broad canals of the United Kingdom—was a highway of commerce during this time used for the haulage of cotton, wool and coal to and from the area. The socioeconomic change brought by the success of Rochdales textile industry in the 19th century led to its rise to borough status, however, during the 20th century Rochdales spinning capacity declined towards an eventual halt. Rochdale is commonly cited as the birthplace of the modern Co-operative Movement, the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society was founded in 1844 by 28 local residents as a response to the high cost and frequent adulteration of basic foodstuffs by shopkeepers at the time. The Pioneers were notable for combining the notion of the patronage dividend alongside investing trading surplus for member benefit, the Rochdale Principles, the set of ideals which underpinned the society, are still used, in updated form, by the International Co-operative Alliance to this day. The Rochdale Pioneers shop was the precursor to The Co-operative Group, Rochdale today is a predominantly residential town. Rochdale Town Hall—a Grade I listed building—dates from 1871 and is one of the United Kingdoms finest examples of Victorian Gothic revival architecture, Rochdale seems to be named from its position on the River Roch but is recorded as Recedham in the Domesday Book. The name is derived from Old English reced meaning hall, and ham, over time, the name changed to Rachedale and eventually Rochdale. The rivers name is a back-formation from the Old English name, its name is /ˈroʊtʃ/, Rochdale however, is pronounced /ˈrɒtʃdeɪl/, with a short o. A Roman road, leading from Mamucium to Eboracum, crossed the moors at Blackstone Edge, during the time of the Danelaw, Rochdale was subjected to incursions by the Danes on the Saxons. Rochdale appears in the Domesday Book as Recedham, at the time of the Norman Conquest the manor was held by a Saxon thegn, Gamel. John Byron bought the manor in 1638 and it was sold by the poet, Lord Byron, in 1823, to the Deardens, who hold the title. Rochdale had no manor house but the Orchard built in 1702 and it was described as a red-brick building of no architectural distinction, on the north side of the river opposite the town hall and sometimes referred to as the Manor House
37.
Iraq
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The capital, and largest city, is Baghdad. The main ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds, others include Assyrians, Turkmen, Shabakis, Yazidis, Armenians, Mandeans, Circassians, around 95% of the countrys 36 million citizens are Muslims, with Christianity, Yarsan, Yezidism, and Mandeanism also present. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish, two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land, the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, historically known as Mesopotamia, is often referred to as the cradle of civilisation. It was here that mankind first began to read, write, create laws, the area has been home to successive civilisations since the 6th millennium BC. Iraq was the centre of the Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian and it was also part of the Median, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Ayyubid, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires. Iraqs modern borders were mostly demarcated in 1920 by the League of Nations when the Ottoman Empire was divided by the Treaty of Sèvres, Iraq was placed under the authority of the United Kingdom as the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. A monarchy was established in 1921 and the Kingdom of Iraq gained independence from Britain in 1932, in 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Iraqi Republic created. Iraq was controlled by the Arab Socialist Baath Party from 1968 until 2003, after an invasion by the United States and its allies in 2003, Saddam Husseins Baath Party was removed from power and multi-party parliamentary elections were held in 2005. The American presence in Iraq ended in 2011, but the Iraqi insurgency continued and intensified as fighters from the Syrian Civil War spilled into the country, the Arabic name العراق al-ʿIrāq has been in use since before the 6th century. There are several suggested origins for the name, one dates to the Sumerian city of Uruk and is thus ultimately of Sumerian origin, as Uruk was the Akkadian name for the Sumerian city of Urug, containing the Sumerian word for city, UR. An Arabic folk etymology for the name is rooted, well-watered. During the medieval period, there was a region called ʿIrāq ʿArabī for Lower Mesopotamia and ʿIrāq ʿajamī, for the region now situated in Central and Western Iran. The term historically included the south of the Hamrin Mountains. The term Sawad was also used in early Islamic times for the region of the plain of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. In English, it is either /ɪˈrɑːk/ or /ɪˈræk/, the American Heritage Dictionary, the pronunciation /aɪˈræk/ is frequently heard in U. S. media. Since approximately 10,000 BC, Iraq was one of centres of a Caucasoid Neolithic culture where agriculture, the following Neolithic period is represented by rectangular houses. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gypsum, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations
38.
Gulf War
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The Iraqi Armys occupation of Kuwait that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. US President George H. W. Bush deployed US forces into Saudi Arabia, an array of nations joined the coalition, the largest military alliance since World War II. The great majority of the military forces were from the US, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia paid around US$32 billion of the US$60 billion cost, the war was marked by the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the US network CNN. The war has also earned the nickname Video Game War after the daily broadcast of images from cameras on board US bombers during Operation Desert Storm. The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on 17 January 1991 and this was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait. The coalition ceased its advance, and declared a ceasefire 100 hours after the campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel. The following names have been used to describe the conflict itself, Gulf War, a problem with these terms is that the usage is ambiguous, having now been applied to at least three conflicts, see Gulf War. The use of the term Persian Gulf is also disputed, see Persian Gulf naming dispute, with no consensus of naming, various publications have attempted to refine the name. Other language terms include French, la Guerre du Golfe and German, Golfkrieg, German, Zweiter Golfkrieg, French, most of the coalition states used various names for their operations and the wars operational phases. Operation Desert Storm was the US name of the conflict from 17 January 1991. Operation Desert Sabre was the US name for the offensive against the Iraqi Army in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations from 24–28 February 1991, in itself. Operation Desert Farewell was the given to the return of US units and equipment to the US in 1991 after Kuwaits liberation. Operation Granby was the British name for British military activities during the operations, Opération Daguet was the French name for French military activities in the conflict. Operation Friction was the name of the Canadian operations Operazione Locusta was the Italian name for the operations, in addition, various phases of each operation may have a unique operational name. The US divided the conflict into three campaigns, Defense of Saudi Arabian country for the period 2 August 1990, through 16 January 1991
39.
Northern Ireland
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Northern Ireland is a constituent unit of the United Kingdom in the north-east of Ireland. It is variously described as a country, province, region, or part of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland. In 2011, its population was 1,810,863, constituting about 30% of the total population. Northern Ireland was created in 1921, when Ireland was partitioned between Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland by an act of the British parliament, Northern Ireland has historically been the most industrialised region of Ireland. After declining as a result of the political and social turmoil of the Troubles, its economy has grown significantly since the late 1990s. Unemployment in Northern Ireland peaked at 17. 2% in 1986, dropping to 6. 1% for June–August 2014,58. 2% of those unemployed had been unemployed for over a year. Prominent artists and sports persons from Northern Ireland include Van Morrison, Rory McIlroy, Joey Dunlop, Wayne McCullough, some people from Northern Ireland prefer to identify as Irish while others prefer to identify as British. Cultural links between Northern Ireland, the rest of Ireland, and the rest of the UK are complex, in many sports, the island of Ireland fields a single team, a notable exception being association football. Northern Ireland competes separately at the Commonwealth Games, and people from Northern Ireland may compete for either Great Britain or Ireland at the Olympic Games. The region that is now Northern Ireland was the bedrock of the Irish war of resistance against English programmes of colonialism in the late 16th century, the English-controlled Kingdom of Ireland had been declared by the English king Henry VIII in 1542, but Irish resistance made English control fragmentary. Victories by English forces in war and further Protestant victories in the Williamite War in Ireland toward the close of the 17th century solidified Anglican rule in Ireland. In Northern Ireland, the victories of the Siege of Derry and their intention was to materially disadvantage the Catholic community and, to a lesser extent, the Presbyterian community. In the context of open institutional discrimination, the 18th century saw secret, militant societies develop in communities in the region and act on sectarian tensions in violent attacks. Following this, in an attempt to quell sectarianism and force the removal of discriminatory laws, the new state, formed in 1801, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, was governed from a single government and parliament based in London. Between 1717 and 1775 some 250,000 people from Ulster emigrated to the British North American colonies and it is estimated that there are more than 27 million Scotch-Irish Americans now living in the US. By the close of the century, autonomy for Ireland within the United Kingdom, in 1912, after decades of obstruction from the House of Lords, Home Rule became a near-certainty. A clash between the House of Commons and House of Lords over a controversial budget produced the Parliament Act 1911, which enabled the veto of the Lords to be overturned. The House of Lords veto had been the unionists main guarantee that Home Rule would not be enacted, in 1914, they smuggled thousands of rifles and rounds of ammunition from Imperial Germany for use by the Ulster Volunteers, a paramilitary organisation opposed to the implementation of Home Rule
40.
Iraq War
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The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces. An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3–4 years of conflict and it became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition, the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue. The invasion began on 20 March 2003, with the U. S. joined by the United Kingdom and several allies, launching a shock. Iraqi forces were overwhelmed as U. S. forces swept through the country. The invasion led to the collapse of the Baathist government, President Hussein was captured during Operation Red Dawn in December of that same year, the United States responded with a troop surge in 2007. The winding down of U. S. involvement in Iraq accelerated under President Barack Obama, the U. S. formally withdrew all combat troops from Iraq by December 2011. Select U. S. officials accused Saddam of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, while others cited the desire to end a repressive dictatorship, after the invasion, no substantial evidence was found to verify the initial claims about WMDs. The rationale and misrepresentation of pre-war intelligence faced heavy criticism within the U. S. in the aftermath of the invasion, Iraq held multi-party elections in 2005. Nouri al-Maliki became Prime Minister in 2006 and remained in office until 2014, the al-Maliki government enacted policies that were widely seen as having the effect of alienating the countrys Sunni minority and worsening sectarian tensions. The Iraq War caused hundreds of thousands of civilian, and thousands of military casualties, the majority of casualties occurred as a result of the insurgency and civil conflicts between 2004 and 2007. A1990 Frontline report on The arming of Iraq said, Officially, most Western nations participated in an arms embargo against Iraq during the 1980s. Western companies, primarily in Germany and Great Britain, but also in the United States, sold Iraq the key technology for its chemical, missile, any Western governments seemed remarkably indifferent, if not enthusiastic, about those deals. N Washington, the government consistently followed a policy which allowed and perhaps encouraged the growth of Saddam Husseins arsenal. The Western arming of Iraq took place in the context of the Iran-Iraq War, prior to September 2002, the CIA was the George W. Bush administrations main provider of intelligence on Iraq. The agency was out to disprove linkage between Iraq and terrorism the Pentagon adviser told me, the U. N. had prohibited Iraq from developing or possessing such weapons after the Gulf War and required Iraq to permit inspections confirming compliance. This was confirmed by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, during 2002, Bush repeatedly warned of military action against Iraq unless inspections were allowed to progress unfettered. In accordance with U. N. Security Council Resolution 1441, Iraq agreed to new inspections under United Nations Monitoring, as part of its weapons inspection obligations, Iraq was required to supply a full declaration of its current weapons capabilities and manufacturing
41.
Basra
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Basra, also al-Baṣrah, is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab between Kuwait and Iran. It had an population of 1.5 million in 2012. Basra is also Iraqs main port, although it not have deep water access. The city is part of the location of Sumer, one of the ports from which Sinbad the Sailor journeyed. It played an important role in early Islamic history and was built in 636, Basra is consistently one of the hottest cities in Iraq, with summer temperatures regularly exceeding 50 °C. The city was called by many throughout its history, Basrah being the most common. In Arabic the word means the overwatcher, which might have been an allusion to the citys origin as an Arab military base against the Sassanids. Some sources claim that the name is derived from the Persian word Bas-rah, others have argued that the name is derived from the Aramaic word basratha, meaning place of huts, settlement. During the pre-Islamic era, the area was known to the Arabs as al-Khariba due to the existence of an ancient city called al-Kharba. After the present city was built, it was called by names, including the mother of Iraq, the reservoir of Arabs, the prosperous city. The name Al-Basrah, which in Arabic means the over watching or the seeing everything, was given to it because of its role as a base against the Sassanid Empire. However, other sources claim the name originates from the Persian word Bas-rāh or Bassorāh meaning where many ways come together, in 639 Umar established this encampment as a city with five districts, and appointed Abu Musa al-Ashari as its first governor. Abu Musa led the conquest of Khuzestan from 639 to 642 and was ordered by Umar to aid Uthman ibn Abu al-ʿAs, then fighting Iran from a new, more easterly miṣr at Tawwaj. In 650, the Rashidun Caliph Uthman reorganised the Persian frontier, installed ʿAbdullah ibn Amir as Basras governor, Ibn Amir led his forces to their final victory over Yazdegerd III, the Sassanid King of Kings. In 656, Uthman was murdered and Ali was appointed Caliph, Ali first installed Uthman ibn Hanif as Basras governor, who was followed by ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAbbas. These men held the city for Ali until the death in 661. The Sufyanids held Basra until Yazid Is death in 683, the Sufyanids first governor was Umayyad ʿAbdullah, a renowned military leader, commanding fealty and financial demands from Karballah, but poor governor. In 664, Muʿawiyah I replaced him with Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan, often called ibn Abihi, on Ziyads death in 673, his son ʿUbaydullah ibn Ziyad became governor
42.
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
43.
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
44.
Nawzad, Afghanistan
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Nawzad is a small town, the centre of Nawzad District in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It is located at 32. 4000°N64. 4667°E /32.4000,64.4667 at an altitude of 1221 metres ASL, with an influence from the local steppe climate, Nawzad features a cold semi-arid climate under the Köppen climate classification. The average temperature in Nawzad is 16.0 °C, while the precipitation averages 162 mm. July is the warmest month of the year with a temperature of 28.8 °C. The coldest month January has a temperature of 2.9 °C. During the early years, the town thrived, helped by irrigation from the Helmand. People came for miles to its bazaar, the United Nations even began building a school, but by early 2007, the estimated 10,000 civilian population, including Nawzads police force, had fled, driven out by violence from returning Taliban insurgents. In the years following, Nawzad became a ghost town and British, Gurkha, Now Zad became one of the most bitterly contested districts since British forces first moved into Helmand in 2006. The task was to provide a diversion for the upcoming Operation Mar Karadad and this was done by mounting a deliberate attack on Nipple Compound, a Taliban compound to the south of Now Zad. Marines arrived to replace the British and Estonian contingents, however, as of June 2009, the Marines seemed to have come to a similar standstill with the Taliban insurgents. Much of this battle is highlighted in the book 15 Years of War, Marines launched a new assault with 1,000 troops and several 70-ton assault breacher vehicles. They reported to have pressed into a remote Taliban stronghold during the joint American-British Operation Cobras Anger, Battle of Now Zad Battle of Musa Qala Siege of Sangin Helmand Province campaign – ongoing ISAF campaign in Helmand Province, Afghanistan
45.
Taliban
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Until his death in 2013, Mullah Mohammed Omar was the supreme commander and spiritual leader of the Taliban. Mullah Akhtar Mansour was elected as his replacement in 2015, and following Mansours killing in a May 2016 U. S. drone strike, Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada became the groups leader. The Taliban emerged in 1994 as one of the prominent factions in the Afghan Civil War, under the leadership of Mohammed Omar, the movement spread throughout most of Afghanistan, sequestering power from the Mujahideen warlords, whose corruption and despotism Afghans had tired of. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was established in 1996 and the Afghan capital transferred to Kandahar and it held control of most of the country until being overthrown by the American-led invasion of Afghanistan in December 2001 following the September 11 attacks. At its peak, formal recognition of the Talibans government was acknowledged by only three nations, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The group later regrouped as a movement to fight the American-backed Karzai administration. The Taliban have been condemned internationally for the enforcement of their interpretation of Islamic Sharia law. In its post-9/11 insurgency, the group has accused of using terrorism as a specific tactic to further their ideological and political goals. According to the United Nations, the Taliban and their allies were responsible for 76% of Afghan civilian casualties in 2010, 80% in 2011, Pakistan states that it dropped all support for the group after the September 11 attacks. Al-Qaeda also supported the Taliban with fighters from Arab countries and Central Asia, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee to United Front-controlled territory, Pakistan, and Iran. The word Taliban is Pashto, طالبان ṭālibān, meaning students and this is a loanword from Arabic طالب ṭālib, using the Persian plural ending -ān ان. In Arabic طالبان ṭālibān means not students but two students, as it is a form, the Arabic plural being طلاب ṭullāb—occasionally causing some confusion to Arabic speakers. Since becoming a loanword in English, Taliban, besides a plural noun referring to the group, has also used as a singular noun referring to an individual. For example, John Walker Lindh has been referred to as an American Taliban, in the English language newspapers of Pakistan, the word Talibans is often used when referring to more than one Taliban. The spelling Taliban has come to be predominant over Taleban in English, in the meantime, the United States and Saudi Arabia joined the struggle against the Soviet Union by providing all the funds. Zia-ul-Haq aligned himself with Pakistans Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and later picked General Akhtar Abdur Rahman to lead the insurgency against the Soviet Union inside Afghanistan, about 90,000 Afghans, including Mohammed Omar, were trained by Pakistans ISI during the 1980s. After the fall of the Soviet-backed regime of Mohammad Najibullah in 1992, several Afghan political parties agreed on a peace and power-sharing agreement, the accord created the Islamic State of Afghanistan and appointed an interim government for a transitional period. With the exception of Gulbuddin Hekmatyars Hezb-e Islami, all of the parties, were ostensibly unified under this government in April 1992
46.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
United Kingdom
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RAF - No. 13 Squadron RAF
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New Zealand - The Hauraki Regiment
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