1.
Half-track
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A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels at the front for steering and continuous tracks at the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. The purpose of this combination is to produce a vehicle with the capabilities of a tank. It is not difficult for someone who can drive a car to drive a half-track, half-tracks thus facilitate moving personnel and equipment successfully across varying terrain. The main disadvantage is the maintenance to maintain track tension. The French engineer Adolphe Kégresse converted a number of cars from the car pool of the Tsar of Russia to half-tracks in 1911. His system was named after him, the Kégresse track, which used a belt rather than interlocking metal segments. He applied it to vehicles in the imperial garage, including Rolls-Royce cars. The Russian army also fitted the system to a number of their Austin Armoured Cars, from 1916 onward, there was a Russian project by the Putilov plant to produce military half-tracks, along the same lines, using trucks and French track parts. After the Russian Revolution, Kégresse returned to his native France, the concept originated with the hauling of logs in the northeastern US, with the Lombard Steam Log Hauler built by Alvin Lombard of Waterville, Maine, from 1899 to 1917. The vehicle resembled a railway locomotive, with sled steering in front and at the rear. By 1907, dog and pony show operator H. H, by 1909 this was replaced by a smaller machine with two wheels at the front and a single track behind, since rural wooden bridges presented problems. Lombard attempted to follow but, for the most part, remained a pulling machine, linn would later register Haftrak and Catruk as trademarks, the latter for a halftrack meant to convert hydraulically from truck to crawler configuration. In the early days of bulldozers, Holt tractors had tricycle steering, owing to engineering difficulties with the tracks, the companys initial products focused on agricultural machinery and were distributed internationally. During World War I, its capacity became focused on military needs. Its tractors replaced horses and were used by the Allies as artillery tractors. The Holt tractor went on to become the basis for the Mark I, the Schneider CA1, the Holt would be renamed the Caterpillar 60, after merging with C. L. Best Company of California, in 1925, the Holt Manufacturing Company went on to form the company that would become known as Caterpillar. Tractors used to tow artillery and designs with front wheels and tracks at the rear began to appear prior to the outbreak of war, the basic half-track concept was originally showcased by the British during the war
2.
Armoured personnel carrier
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An armoured personnel carrier is a type of armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield. APCs are colloquially referred to as taxis or battle buses. Armoured personnel carriers are distinguished from infantry fighting vehicles by the weaponry they carry, by convention, they are not intended to take part in direct-fire battle, but are armed for self-defence and armoured to provide protection from shrapnel and small arms fire. Examples include the American M113, the French VAB, the Dutch-German GTK Boxer, the genesis of the armoured personnel carrier was on the Western Front of World War I. In the later stage of the war, Allied tanks could break through enemy lines, without infantry support, the tanks were isolated and more easily destroyed. In response, the British experimented with carrying machine-gun crews in the Mark V* tank, britain therefore designed the first purpose built armoured troop transport, the Mark IX, but the war ended before it could be put to use. During World War II, half-tracks like the American M3 and German SdKfz 251 played a similar to post-war APCs. British Commonwealth forces relied on the full-tracked Universal Carrier, over the course of the war, APCs evolved from simple armoured cars with transport capacity, to purpose built vehicles. Obsolete armoured vehicles were also repurposed as APCs, such as the various Kangaroos converted from M7 Priest self-propelled guns and from Churchill, M3 Stuart, during the Cold War, more specialized APCs were developed. Western nations have since retired most M113s, replacing them with newer APCs, the Soviet Union produced the BTR-40, BTR-152, BTR-60, BTR-70, BTR-80 in large numbers. The BTR-60 and BTR-80 remain in production, czechoslovakia and Poland together developed the universal amphibious OT-64 SKOT. A cold war example of a Kangaroo is the heavily armoured Israeli Achzarit, weight can vary from 6 to 40 tons or more, but 9 to 20 tons is typical. Most have a capacity of between 8 and 12 dismountable troops, although some can carry more than 20, in addition, it has a crew of at least one driver, many with a gunner and/or commander as well. An APC is either wheeled or tracked, or occasionally a combination of the two, as in a half-track, both systems have advantages and limitations. Tracked vehicles have more traction off-road and more maneuverability, including a turn radius. Wheeled APCs are faster on road, can cross long distances, and are expensive to develop, produce. However, wheeled vehicles have higher pressure than tracked vehicles with a comparable weight. The higher ground pressure increases the likelihood of becoming immobilized by soft terrains such as mud and their tracks can propel the APC in the water
3.
Nazi Germany
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Nazi Germany is the common English name for the period in German history from 1933 to 1945, when Germany was governed by a dictatorship under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Under Hitlers rule, Germany was transformed into a fascist state in which the Nazi Party took totalitarian control over all aspects of life. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich from 1933 to 1943, the period is also known under the names the Third Reich and the National Socialist Period. The Nazi regime came to an end after the Allied Powers defeated Germany in May 1945, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by the President of the Weimar Republic Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933. The Nazi Party then began to eliminate all opposition and consolidate its power. Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, and Hitler became dictator of Germany by merging the powers and offices of the Chancellery, a national referendum held 19 August 1934 confirmed Hitler as sole Führer of Germany. All power was centralised in Hitlers person, and his word became above all laws, the government was not a coordinated, co-operating body, but a collection of factions struggling for power and Hitlers favour. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazis restored economic stability and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending, extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of Autobahnen. The return to economic stability boosted the regimes popularity, racism, especially antisemitism, was a central feature of the regime. The Germanic peoples were considered by the Nazis to be the purest branch of the Aryan race, millions of Jews and other peoples deemed undesirable by the state were murdered in the Holocaust. Opposition to Hitlers rule was ruthlessly suppressed, members of the liberal, socialist, and communist opposition were killed, imprisoned, or exiled. The Christian churches were also oppressed, with many leaders imprisoned, education focused on racial biology, population policy, and fitness for military service. Career and educational opportunities for women were curtailed, recreation and tourism were organised via the Strength Through Joy program, and the 1936 Summer Olympics showcased the Third Reich on the international stage. Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels made effective use of film, mass rallies, the government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others. Beginning in the late 1930s, Nazi Germany made increasingly aggressive territorial demands and it seized Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939. Hitler made a pact with Joseph Stalin and invaded Poland in September 1939. In alliance with Italy and smaller Axis powers, Germany conquered most of Europe by 1940, reichskommissariats took control of conquered areas, and a German administration was established in what was left of Poland. Jews and others deemed undesirable were imprisoned, murdered in Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps, following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the tide gradually turned against the Nazis, who suffered major military defeats in 1943
4.
Kingdom of Romania
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The Kingdom of Romania was a constitutional monarchy which existed between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania. As such, it is distinct from the Romanian Old Kingdom. From 1859 to 1877, Romania evolved from a union of two vassal principalities under a single prince to a full-fledged independent kingdom with a Hohenzollern monarchy. During 1918-20, at the end of World War I, Transylvania, Eastern Moldavia, in 1947 King Michael was compelled to abdicate and a socialist republic ruled by the Romanian Communist Party replaced the monarchy. The 1859 ascendancy of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as prince of both Moldavia and Wallachia under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire united an identifiably Romanian nation under a single ruler. On 5 February 1862 the two principalities were united to form the Principality of Romania, with Bucharest as its capital. On 23 February 1866 a so-called Monstrous coalition, composed of Conservatives and radical Liberals, the German prince Charles of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was appointed as Prince of Romania, in a move to assure German backing to unity and future independence. He immediately adopted the Romanian spelling of his name, Carol, on 15 March 1881, as an assertion of full sovereignty, the Romanian parliament raised the country to the status of a kingdom, and Carol was crowned as king on 10 May. Abstaining from the Initial Balkan War against the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Romania entered the Second Balkan War in June 1913 against the Tsardom of Bulgaria,330,000 Romanian troops moved across the Danube and into Bulgaria. One army occupied Southern Dobrudja and another moved into northern Bulgaria to threaten Sofia, Romania thus acquired the ethnically-mixed territory of Southern Dobrudja, which it had desired for years. In 1916 Romania entered World War I on the Entente side, the term came into use after World War I, when the Old Kingdom was opposed to Greater Romania, which included Transylvania, Banat, Bessarabia, and Bukovina. Nowadays, the term mainly has a historical relevance, and is used as a common term for all regions in Romania included in both the Old Kingdom and present-day borders. Romania delayed in entering World War I, but ultimately declared war on the Central Powers in 1916, War with the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919 resulted in the occupation of Budapest by Romanian troops and the end of Béla Kuns Bolshevik regime. At the Paris Peace Conference, Romania received territories of Transylvania, part of Banat, Bessarabia, thus, Romania in 1920 was more than twice the size it had been in 1914. Although the country was satisfied and had no territorial claims, it aroused the enmity of Bulgaria, and especially Hungary. Greater Romania now encompassed a significant minority population, especially of Hungarians, by contrast, the prewar Romanian state had only one real minority, Jews, but nonetheless anti-Semitism was widespread. Transylvania had significant Hungarian and German population, and with a contemptuous attitude towards Romanians. Both groups were excluded from politics as the postwar Romanian regime passed an edict stating that all personnel employed by the state had to speak Romanian
5.
Kingdom of Hungary
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The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed from the Middle Ages into the twentieth century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen I at Esztergom in about the year 1000, by the 12th century, the kingdom became a European middle power within the Western world. The House of Habsburg held the Hungarian throne after the Battle of Mohács until 1918, from 1867 territories connected to the Hungarian crown were incorporated into Austria-Hungary under the name of Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen. The monarchy ended with the deposition of the last king Charles IV in 1918, the kingdom was nominally restored during the Regency of 1920–46, ending with the Soviet occupation in 1946. From 1102 it also included Croatia, being in union with it. Today, the feast day of the first king Stephen I is a holiday in Hungary. The Latin forms Regnum Hungariae or Ungarie, Regnum Marianum, or simply Hungaria, were the used in official documents in Latin from the beginning of the kingdom to the 1840s. The German name Königreich Ungarn was used officially from 1784 to 1790, the Hungarian name was used in the 1840s, and then again from the 1860s to 1946. The non-official Hungarian name of the kingdom was Magyarország, which is still the colloquial, in Austria-Hungary, the unofficial name Transleithania was sometimes used to denote the regions of the Kingdom of Hungary. Officially, the term Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen was included for the Hungarian part of Austria-Hungary, the Hungarians led by Árpád settled the Carpathian Basin in 895, established Principality of Hungary. The Hungarians led several successful incursions to Western Europe, until they were stopped by Otto I, the principality was succeeded by the Christian Kingdom of Hungary with the coronation of St Stephen I at Esztergom on Christmas Day 1000. The first kings of the kingdom were from the Árpád dynasty and he fought against Koppány and in 998, with Bavarian help, defeated him near Veszprém. The Catholic Church received powerful support from Stephen I, who with Christian Hungarians, Stephen I of Hungary was canonized as a Catholic saint in 1083 and an Orthodox saint in 2000. After his death, a period of revolts and conflict for supremacy ensued between the royalty and the nobles, in 1051 armies of the Holy Roman Empire tried to conquer Hungary, but they were defeated at Vértes Mountain. The armies of the Holy Roman Empire continued to suffer defeats, before 1052 Peter Orseolo, a supporter of the Holy Roman Empire, was overthrown by king Samuel Aba of Hungary. This period of revolts ended during the reign of Béla I, Hungarian chroniclers praised Béla I for introducing new currency, such as the silver denarius, and for his benevolence to the former followers of his nephew, Solomon. The second greatest Hungarian king, also from the dynasty, was Ladislaus I of Hungary. He was also canonized as a saint, however, kingship over all of Croatia would not be achieved until the reign of his successor Coloman
6.
Italian Social Republic
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The Italian Social Republic, informally known as the Republic of Salò, was a state with limited recognition that was created during the later part of World War II, existing from 1943 until 1945. Mussolini had originally intended to call his new republic the “Italian ‘Socialist’ Republic. ”It was the second and last incarnation of the Fascist Italian state and was led by Duce Benito Mussolini and his reformed Republican Fascist Party. The state declared Rome its capital, but was de facto centered on Salò, a town on Lake Garda, near Brescia, where Mussolini. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern and central Italy, but was dependent on German troops to maintain control. The new government began peace negotiations with the Allied powers. When the Armistice of Cassibile was announced in September, Germany was prepared, Germany seized control of the northern half of Italy, freed Mussolini and brought him to the German-occupied area to establish a satellite regime. The RSI was proclaimed on 23 September 1943, although the RSI claimed most of the lands of Italy as rightfully belonging to it, it held political control over a vastly reduced portion of Italy. The RSI received diplomatic recognition from only Germany, Japan and their puppet states, around 25 April 1945, Mussolinis republic came to an end. In Italy, this day is known as Liberation Day, on this day a general partisan uprising alongside the efforts of Allied forces, during their final offensive in Italy, managed to oust the Germans from Italy almost entirely. At the point of its demise, the Italian Social Republic had existed for more than nineteen months. On 27 April partisans caught Mussolini, his mistress, several RSI ministers, on 28 April the partisans shot Mussolini and most of the other captives. The RSI Minister of Defense, Rodolfo Graziani, surrendered what was left of the RSI on 2 May when the German forces in Italy capitulated, this put a definitive end to the Italian Social Republic. On 24 July 1943, after the Allied landings in Sicily, the next day, King Victor Emmanuel III dismissed Mussolini from office and ordered him arrested. The failed war effort left Mussolini humiliated at home and abroad as a sawdust Caesar, the new government, under Marshal Pietro Badoglio, began secret negotiations with the Allied powers and made preparations for the capitulation of Italy. These surrender talks implied a commitment from Badoglio not only to leave the Axis alliance, while the Germans formally recognised the new status quo in Italian politics, they intervened by sending some of the best units of the Wehrmacht to Italy. This was done both to resist new Allied advances and to face the predictably imminent defection of Italy, on 8 September, Badoglio announced Italys armistice with the Allies. German Führer Adolf Hitler and his staff, long aware of the negotiations, acted immediately by ordering German troops to control of northern. The Germans disarmed the Italian troops and took all of the Italian Armys materials
7.
Independent State of Croatia
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The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Germany and Italy. It was established in parts of occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941 and its territory consisted of most of modern-day Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as some parts of modern-day Serbia and Slovenia. During its entire existence, the state was governed by the fascist Ustaše movement and its Poglavnik, the regime targeted Serbs, Jews and Roma as part of a large-scale genocide campaign, as well as anti-fascist or dissident Croats and Muslims. Between 1941–45,22 concentration camps existed inside the territory controlled by the Independent State of Croatia, the state was officially a monarchy after the signing of the Laws of the Crown of Zvonimir on 15 March 1941. He later accepted the throne due to pressure from Victor Emmanuel III and was titled Tomislav II of Croatia, but never moved from Italy to reside in Croatia. From the signing of the Treaties of Rome on 18 May 1941 until the Italian capitulation on 8 September 1943, the state was a condominium of Germany and Italy. In its judgement in the Hostages Trial, the Nuremberg Military Tribunal concluded that NDH was not a sovereign state, according to the Tribunal, Croatia was at all times here involved an occupied country. In 1942, Germany suggested Italy take military control of all of Croatia out of a desire to redirect German troops from Croatia to the Eastern Front, Italy however rejected the offer as it did not believe that it could handle the unstable situation in the Balkans alone. The NDH attempted to annex Zara, which had been a territory of Italy since 1919 but long an object of Croatian irredentism. Geographically, the NDH encompassed most of modern-day Croatia, all of Bosnia and Herzegovina, part of modern-day Serbia, and a small portion of modern-day Slovenia in the Municipality of Brežice. It bordered the Third Reich to the north-west, Kingdom of Hungary to the north-east, Serbian administration to the east, Montenegro to the south-east, the exact borders of the Independent State of Croatia were unclear when it was established. Approximately one month after its formation, significant areas of Croat-populated territory were ceded to its Axis allies, on 13 May 1941, the NDH government signed an agreement with Nazi Germany which demarcated their borders. On 19 May the Rome contracts were signed by diplomats of the NDH, on 7 June the NDH government issued a decree that demarcated its eastern border with Serbia. On 27 October the NDH and Italy reached an agreement on the Independent State of Croatias border with Montenegro. On 8 September 1943, Italy capitulated and the NDH officially considered the Rome contracts to be void, along with the Treaty of Rapallo of 1920 which had given Italy Istria, Fiume and Zara. German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop approved the NDH acquisition of the Dalmatian territories gained by Italy at the time of the Rome contracts, by now, most such territory was actually controlled by the Yugoslav Partisans, since the ceding of those areas had made them strongly anti-NDH. By 11 September 1943, NDH foreign minister Mladen Lorković received word from German consul Siegfried Kasche that the NDH should wait before moving on Istria, Germanys central government had already annexed Istria and Fiume into the Operational Zone Adriatic Coast a day earlier. Međimurje and southern Baranja were annexed by the Kingdom of Hungary, NDH disputed this and continued to lay claim to both, naming the administrative province centred in Osijek as Great Parish Baranja
8.
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
9.
Hanomag
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Hanomag was a German producer of steam locomotives, tractors, trucks and military vehicles in Hanover. Hanomag first achieved fame by delivering a large number of steam locomotives to Finland. In 1925 they added automobiles to their line, additionally moving in 1931 into the production of construction machinery, since 1989, the company has been part of the Komatsu company. The company dates back to 1835 when Georg Egestorff founded in Linden near Hanover a company called Eisen-Giesserey und Maschinenfabrik Georg Egestorff to build steam engines. They soon started making farm machinery and in 1846 built their first railway locomotive for the Royal Hanoverian State Railways, by 1870 they had made 500 locomotives and in 1871 changed their name to Hannoversche Maschinenbau Actien-Gesellschaft vorm. Road vehicles followed when in 1905 they received a contract for steam waggons for the German army, petrol engined vehicles followed in 1912 with a line of farm tractors. By the 1920s, the market for road vehicles was in terminal decline. In 1925, they launched the Hanomag 2/10, a 370 kg open two-seater with a rear-mounted 500cc single-cylinder water-cooled engine, named Zweisitzer Limousine by the company, its rounded front and rear gained it the nickname Kommissbrot for its resemblance to a loaf of Army bread. Although made in numbers,15,775 in total, it did not make much money for the company. A more conventional car, the 3/16PS, and the first diesel engined tractors, came in 1928, Hanomag were badly hurt by the drop in trade in 1929 and built a large stock of unsold vehicles. Things improved in 1930 and the company got 14 per cent of the car market, second place behind Opel. The factory was mortgaged to Hannover City and the Vereinigte Stahlwerke trust, a diesel Rekord was shown at the 1936 Berlin Motor Show. The Hanomag 1.3 liter was introduced in 1939 and had unitary body and it was studied by Volvo engineers and influenced the construction of the Volvo PV444 passenger car. During World War II, the car plant made military vehicle engines, a version of their heavy tractor renamed the SS-100. Hanomag 20 B, a 4-wheel-drive Small Unit-Personnel Carrier was produced 1937-1940 under the parentage of Stoewer, capacity problems by Stoewer resulted in co-production by both BMW and Hanomag. Together the three manufacturers made ca.10.000 units, the special 4-wheel-steering system was fitted on most models. Operating a lock-level between the front seats made the rear axle turn sideways to a certain angle. The single most important and iconic military vehicle to be designed,251 half-track with a total production numbering just over 15,000
10.
Horch
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Horch was a car brand manufactured in Germany by August Horch & Cie, at the beginning of the 20th century. The company was established by August Horch and his first business partner Salli Herz on November 14,1899 at Ehrenfeld, August Horch had previously been a production manager for Karl Benz. Three years later in 1902 he moved the company to Reichenbach im Vogtland, on May, 10th,1904 he founded the Horch & Cie. Motorwagenwerke AG, a joint-stock company in Zwickau. The city of Zwickau was the capital of the South Western Saxon County, after troubles with the Horch chief financial officer, August Horch founded a second company on 16 July 1909, the August Horch Automobilwerke GmbH in Zwickau. He had to rename the company because Horch was already a registered brand, on 25 April 1910 the name Audi Automobilwerke was entered in the companys register at the Zwickau registration court. Audi is the Latin translation of horch, from the German verb Horchen, the Audi name was proposed by a son of one of his business partners from Zwickau. In 1932 both companies from Zwickau were unified with Zschopauer Motorenwerke J. S. Rasmussen and the Wanderer car production facilities to become the Auto Union corporation of Saxony, the company initially began producing 5 hp and 10 hp twin-cylinder engine automobiles near Cologne in 1901. The first Horch had a 4.5 hp engine, with an alloy crankcase and it had an open-body design, with lighting provided by lanterns with candles in them. In contrast with the cars of later years, the first Horch could barely reach a top speed of 32 km/h. It was significant at that time because it used a friction clutch, the firm soon ran into financial troubles, not surprising considering the pioneering nature of the automobile business at that time. Horch had to seek new partners, in March 1902, August Horch produced a 20 hp four-cylinder car with a shaft drive in Reichenbach in Vogtland. Horch cars were considered advanced and superior to those being then built by Mercedes or Benz. By 1903, Horch had built a car with a four-cylinder engine, in March of the following year, he introduced his new car at the Frankfurt Fair. In 1904, August Horch developed the first six-cylinder engine, which appeared in 1907, in 1906 a Horch automobile driven by Dr. Rudolf Stöss from Zwickau won the Herkomer Competition. In the 1920s, Moritz Stauss, a cosmopolitan Berliner, was the principal stockholder of the Horch company and he succeeded in making the Horch brand highly desirable by introducing art into the advertising of their products. He recognized that only a brand emphasising Horchs unique characteristics would be successful, in 1923, Paul Daimler worked for Horch as the chief engineer for 8-cylinder engines. Horch vehicles were subsequently the first to introduce 8-cylinder engines in series production, in 1909, the supervisory board of the corporation forced out Horch. Horch went on to found Audi as Audiwerke GmbH, which became effective on 25 April 1910, the name was a solution to the legal dispute with his old company over use of the Horch brand and a clever play of words
11.
Borgward
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Borgward is an automobile manufacturer that was founded by Carl F. W. Borgward. The original company, based in Bremen in Germany, ceased operations in 1961, the Borgward group produced four brands of cars, Borgward, Hansa, Goliath and Lloyd. The marque was revived by Carl Borgwards grandson, Christian Borgward, with his partner Karlheinz L. Knöss and it unveiled the companys first new car in over 50 years, the BX7 at the 2015 International Motor Show. These two businesses merged in 1914 to form the Hansa-Lloyd-Werke A. G, after the war, in the troubled economic situation then confronting Germany, the business failed to prosper and by the late 1920s faced bankruptcy. The first automobile] Carl Borgward designed was the 1924 Blitzkarren, a sort of tiny three-wheeled van with 2 hp, traders with a small budget bought it for delivery. The Reichspost ordered many of them for postal service, in 1929, Borgward became the director of Hansa Lloyd AG having been able to merge his Goliath-Werke Borgward & Co. with Hansa-Lloyd. The small Goliath-Blitzkarren had by now evolved into the three wheeler timber framed synthetic leather bodied 5 or 7 hp Goliath Pioneer. Borgward turned his attention to the businesses and led the development of the Hansa Konsul. In February 1937, there came the new Hansa Borgward 2000, the 2000 model was followed by the Borgward 2300 that remained in production until 1942. After World War II, in 1946 Carl Borgward used some of the names from businesses he had acquired over the years to found three separate companies, Borgward, Goliath and Lloyd. This was intended to increase the quantity of steel allocated to his business at a time of austerity, in 1949 company presented the Borgward Hansa 1500. One of the top engineers at Borgward from 1938-1952 was Dipl, production of the Borgward Isabella began in 1954. The Isabella would become Borgwards most popular model and remained in production for the life of the company, in 1960 the Borgward P100 was introduced, equipped with pneumatic suspension. Borgward introduced a line of 1500 cc sports racers in the late 1950s, although Borgward pioneered technical novelties in the German market such as air suspension and automatic transmission, the company had trouble competing in the marketplace. Borgward suffered quality problems as well, the Lloyd Arabella was technically advanced as a water-cooled boxer with front wheel drive, but plagued with problems such as water leakage and gearbox glitches. Lloyd lost money on the car though it was more expensive than its direct competitors. In 1961, the company was forced into liquidation by creditors, Carl Borgward died in July 1963, still insisting the company had been technically solvent. This proved to be true in the sense that after the creditors were paid in full, reports of difficulties at Borgward surfaced in an article that appeared in Germanys leading news magazine, Der Spiegel” on 14 December 1960
12.
Tonne
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The SI symbol for the tonne is t, adopted at the same time as the unit itself in 1879. Its use is also official, for the metric ton, within the United States, having been adopted by the US National Institute of Standards and it is a symbol, not an abbreviation, and should not be followed by a period. Informal and non-approved symbols or abbreviations include T, mT, MT, in French and all English-speaking countries that are predominantly metric, tonne is the correct spelling. Before metrication in the UK the unit used for most purposes was the Imperial ton of 2,240 pounds avoirdupois, equivalent to 1,016 kg, differing by just 1. 6% from the tonne. Ton and tonne are both derived from a Germanic word in use in the North Sea area since the Middle Ages to designate a large cask. A full tun, standing about a high, could easily weigh a tonne. An English tun of wine weighs roughly a tonne,954 kg if full of water, in the United States, the unit was originally referred to using the French words millier or tonneau, but these terms are now obsolete. The Imperial and US customary units comparable to the tonne are both spelled ton in English, though they differ in mass, one tonne is equivalent to, Metric/SI,1 megagram. Equal to 1000000 grams or 1000 kilograms, megagram, Mg, is the official SI unit. Mg is distinct from mg, milligram, pounds, Exactly 1000/0. 453 592 37 lb, or approximately 2204.622622 lb. US/Short tons, Exactly 1/0. 907 184 74 short tons, or approximately 1.102311311 ST. One short ton is exactly 0.90718474 t, imperial/Long tons, Exactly 1/1. 016 046 9088 long tons, or approximately 0.9842065276 LT. One long ton is exactly 1.0160469088 t, for multiples of the tonne, it is more usual to speak of thousands or millions of tonnes. Kilotonne, megatonne, and gigatonne are more used for the energy of nuclear explosions and other events. When used in context, there is little need to distinguish between metric and other tons, and the unit is spelt either as ton or tonne with the relevant prefix attached. *The equivalent units columns use the short scale large-number naming system used in most English-language countries. †Values in the equivalent short and long tons columns are rounded to five significant figures, ǂThough non-standard, the symbol kt is also sometimes used for knot, a unit of speed for sea-going vessels, and should not be confused with kilotonne. A metric ton unit can mean 10 kilograms within metal trading and it traditionally referred to a metric ton of ore containing 1% of metal. In the case of uranium, the acronym MTU is sometimes considered to be metric ton of uranium, in the petroleum industry the tonne of oil equivalent is a unit of energy, the amount of energy released by burning one tonne of crude oil, approximately 42 GJ
13.
Vehicle armour
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Military vehicles are commonly armoured to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, missiles or shells, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include armoured fighting vehicles like tanks, aircraft and ships, civilian vehicles may also be armoured. These vehicles include cars used by reporters, officials and others in conflict zones or where violent crime is common, armoured cars are also routinely used by security firms to carry money or valuables to reduce the risk of highway robbery or the hijacking of the cargo. Armour may also be used in vehicles to protect from other than a deliberate attack. Some spacecraft are equipped with specialised armour to protect them against impacts from micrometeoroids or fragments of space junk, the design and purpose of the vehicle determines the amount of armour plating carried, as the plating is often very heavy and excessive amounts of armour restrict mobility. In order to decrease this problem, some new materials and material compositions are being researched which include buckypaper, rolled homogeneous armour is strong, hard, and tough. Steel with these characteristics is produced by processing cast steel billets of appropriate size, rolling and forging irons out the grain structure in the steel, removing imperfections which would reduce the strength of the steel. Aluminium is used when weight is a necessity. It is most commonly used on APCs and armoured cars, wrought iron was used on ironclad warships. Early European iron armour consisted of 10 to 13 cm of wrought iron backed by up to one meter of solid wood, titanium is roughly the weight of aluminium, but as strong as iron. So despite being rather expensive, it finds an application in areas where weight is a concern, such as personal armour, because of its high density, depleted uranium can also be used in tank armour, sandwiched between sheets of steel armour plate. Plastic metal was a type of vehicle armour originally developed for merchant ships by the British Admiralty in 1940, the original composition was described as 50% clean granite of half-inch size, 43% of limestone mineral, and 7% of bitumen. It was typically applied in a two inches thick and backed by half an inch of steel. Plastic armour could be applied by pouring it into a cavity formed by the backing plate. Bulletproof glass is a term for glass that is particularly resistant to being penetrated when struck by bullets. The industry generally refers to it as bullet-resistant glass or transparent armour, bullet-resistant glass is usually constructed using a strong but transparent material such as polycarbonate thermoplastic or by using layers of laminated glass. The desired result is a material with the appearance and light-transmitting behaviour of standard glass, the polycarbonate layer, usually consisting of products such as Armormax, Makroclear, Cyrolon, Lexan or Tuffak, is often sandwiched between layers of regular glass. The use of plastic in the laminate provides impact-resistance, such as physical assault with a hammer, the plastic provides little in the way of bullet-resistance
14.
MG 34
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The Maschinengewehr 34, or MG34, is a German recoil-operated air-cooled machine gun, first tested in 1929, introduced in 1934, and issued to units in 1936. It accepts the 7. 92×57mm Mauser cartridge, and is considered the worlds first general-purpose machine gun. The versatile MG34 was arguably the most advanced machine gun in the world at the time of its deployment and its combination of exceptional mobility – being light enough to be carried by one man – and high rate of fire was unmatched. It entered service in numbers following Hitlers repudiation of the Versailles Treaty in 1936. Nonetheless, the design proved too complex for production, and was supplemented by the cheaper and simpler MG42. The MG34 was based on a 1930 Rheinmetall design, the MG30, the Swiss and Austrian militaries had both licensed and produced the MG30 from Rheinmetall shortly after patent. The MG30 design was adapted and modified by Heinrich Vollmer of Mauser Industries, Vollmer modified the feed mechanism to accept either drum magazines or belt ammunition. He also increased the rate of fire, the MG 34s double crescent trigger dictated either semiautomatic or fully automatic firing modes. In the field, the weapon could operate in offensive or defensive applications, the offensive model, with a mobile soldier, used a drum magazine that could hold either 50 or 75 rounds of ammunition. In a stationary defensive role, the gun was mounted on a bipod or tripod, belts were carried in boxes of five. Belt lengths could be linked for sustained fire, during sustained fire, barrels would have to be changed at intervals due to the heat generated by the rapid rate of fire. If the barrels were not changed properly, the weapon would misfire, changing barrels was a rapid process for the trained operator and involved disengaging a latch and swinging the receiver to the right for the insertion of a new barrel. Accordingly, stationary defensive positions required more than one operator, the MG34 was the mainstay of German Army support weapons from the time of its first issue in 1935 until 1942, when it was supplanted by the next generation Maschinengewehr 42 or MG42. For its successor, the MG42, the Germans instead used mass production techniques similar to those that created the MP40 submachine gun, however, the Germans nevertheless continued widespread production of MG 34s until the end of the war. The MG34 was used as the primary machine gun during the 1930s. The MG34 was intended to replace the MG13 and other machine guns. It was designed primarily by Heinrich Vollmer from the Mauser Werke, changes to the operating mechanism improved the rate of fire to between 800 and 900 rpm. The new gun was accepted for service almost immediately and was liked by the troops
15.
MG 42
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The MG42 is a 7. 92×57mm Mauser general purpose machine gun designed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS during the second half of World War II. It was intended to replace the earlier MG34, which was expensive and took much longer to produce. The MG42 has a record of reliability, durability, simplicity, and ease of operation. It also spawned the Swiss MG51, Zastava M53, SIG MG 710-3, Austrian MG74, and the Spanish 5. 56×45mm NATO Ameli light machine gun, and lent many design elements to the American M60 and Belgian MAG. The MG42 was adopted by several armed organizations after the war, even prior to World War I the German army was already looking forward to replacing the heavy machine guns which proved to be such a success in that war. The MG13 was one of the first developments toward a goal of producing a weapon that could perform multiple roles, the MG13 was the result of reengineering the Dreyse Water cooled machine gun to fit the new requirement. The Gast gun was developed with the goal of providing a rate of fire weapon for anti-aircraft use which was reported to have reached rates of fire as high as 1600 rpm. The concept eventually led to the development of the MG34 which was envisaged and well developed to provide coverage, highly portable infantry coverage. The MG34 was developed to use the standard German rifle round of 7.92 x 57mm Mauser, the MG34 was issued with 6 additional interchangeable barrels. The three-man crew that each weapon was also issued asbestos gloves to use when changing the barrel. As a result, the rate of fire was very high. The MG34 was so accurate that it was mounted on a tripod with a telescopic sight for sniping at very long distances. It was chambered in the standard 7. 92×57mm Mauser cartridge, in German army tactics, the machinegun was supported by the entire squad. Each man would carry belts of 7. 92×57mm Mauser for the machine gun, US tactics put the machinegun and its crew largely alone with far less support or emphasis on use. A German squads purpose was to protect the gun, while a US squads purpose used the machine gun to support the men. In addition to the 6 barrels carried for the MG34, switching between a bipod and a tripod required no special tools, as the mounting latch was spring-loaded. However, it did have its drawbacks, such as sensitivity to dirt, one attempt at improvement was the MG 34S, an incremental improvement on the basic 34 design. In order to address issues, a contest was held for a true MG34 replacement
16.
Maybach
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Maybach Motorenbau was a German car manufacturer. The company was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach and his son, in 1960 Maybach was acquired by Daimler-Benz and remains nowadays as an ultra-luxury car brand of Mercedes-Benz, which is owned by Daimler AG. Daimler currently produces an ultra-luxury edition of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class under the Mercedes-Maybach brand, Wilhelm Maybach was technical director of the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft until he left in 1907. On 23 March 1909 he founded the new company, Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH, in 1912 they renamed it to Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH. The company originally developed and manufactured diesel and petrol engines for Zeppelins and its Maybach Mb. IVa was used in aircraft and airships of World War I. The company first built a car in 1919, introduced as a production model two years later at the Berlin Motor Show. Between 1921 and 1940, the company produced a variety of opulent vehicles, the company also continued to build heavy-duty diesel engines for marine and rail purposes. During the Second World War, Maybach produced the engines for Nazi Germanys medium and heavy tanks, as well as the light tank, the engine plant was one of several industries targeted at Friedrichshafen. After WW II the factory performed some work, but automotive production was never restarted, and some 20 years later. Daimler-Benz purchased the company in 1960, post-1960 the company was mainly used to make special editions of Mercedes cars in the W108 and W116 model range, which were virtually hand built. These cars however carried the Mercedes badge and serial numbers, Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG based in Friedrichshafen used to manufacture the commercial Maybach diesel engines under the MTU brand through its subsidiary MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH. Daimler presented a concept car at the 1997 Tokyo Motorshow. A production model based on it was introduced in two sizes – the Maybach 57 and the Maybach 62, reflecting the lengths of the automobiles in decimetres. In 2005, the 57S was added, powered by a 6.0 L V12 bi-turbo engine producing 450 kW and 1,000 N·m of torque, and featuring various cosmetic touches. To promote the new Maybach line, Mercedes-Benz engaged figures such as Maybach heir Ulrich Schmid-Maybach and golfer Nick Faldo, initially, Daimler-Chrysler predicted annual sales of 2,000 worldwide with 50 per cent coming from the United States, however, these expectations never materialized. In 2007, Mercedes bought back 29 US dealers, reducing the total from 71 to 42, in 2010, only 157 Maybachs were sold worldwide, compared to 2,711 similarly priced Rolls-Royces. Just 3,000 have been sold worldwide since the brand was revived in 2002, Daimler announced in November 2011 that Maybach would cease to be a brand by 2013 and manufactured the last Maybach vehicle in December 2012. This was because of poor sales, according to Automotive News, only 44 Maybachs had been sold in the U. S. through October 2011
17.
Torsion bar suspension
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A torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension, is a general term for any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight bearing spring. Vertical motion of the causes the bar to twist around its axis and is resisted by the bars torsion resistance. The effective spring rate of the bar is determined by its length, cross section, shape, material, manufacturers change the torsion bar or key to adjust the ride height, usually to compensate for heavier or lighter engines. Over-rotating the torsion bars can cause the suspension to hit the bump-stop prematurely. Aftermarket forged-metal torsion key kits use relocked adjuster keys to prevent over-rotation, the main advantages of a torsion bar suspension are durability, easy adjustability of ride height, and small profile along the width of the vehicle. It takes up less of the interior volume than coil springs. Torsion bars reached the height of their popularity on mass-production road cars in the middle of the 20th century at the time that unitary construction was being adopted. Using MacPherson struts to achieve independent front suspension with coil springs meant providing strong turrets in the structure of the car. A disadvantage is that torsion bars, unlike coil springs, usually provide a progressive spring rate. In most torsion bar systems, ride height may be changed by simply adjusting bolts that connect the torsion bars to the steering knuckles, in most cars with this type of suspension, swapping torsion bars for a different spring rate is usually an easy task. Some vehicles use torsion bars to provide automatic levelling, using a motor to pre-stress the bars to provide resistance to load and, in some cases. Height adjustable suspension has been used to implement a wheel-change mode where the vehicle is raised on three wheels so that the wheel is lifted off the ground without the aid of a jack. Before World War II, the front wheel drive Citroen Traction Avant had independent front torsion bar suspension, the flexibility of the axle beam provided wheel location features like a twist beam axle. The Czechoslovakian Tatra cars designed by Professor Hans Ledwinka in the mid-1930s used all round independent torsion bar suspension, also in the 1930s, prototypes of the first Volkswagen Beetle incorporated torsion bars—especially its transverse mounting style. The system first saw use in the Swedish Stridsvagn L-60 tank of 1934. It was used extensively in European cars Renault, Citroën and Volkswagen, the Packard used torsion bars at both front and rear, and interconnected the front and rear systems to improve ride quality. Morris Minor and Oxford from the late 1940s onwards used a front torsion bar system very similar to the Citroen, the single torsion bar was mounted through the frame sides behind the rear axle and then attached by arms and links to the front side of the spring U-bolt plates. Axle Flex was discontinued for the 1936 model year, the designer of these cars, Alec Issigonis was inspired by the Traction Avants suspension although the Morris cars were rear-wheel drive and used conventional leaf springs for their rear axles
18.
Armoured fighting vehicle
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An armoured fighting vehicle is a combat vehicle, protected by strong armour and generally armed with weapons, which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked and it is not uncommon for AFVs to be simply referred to as armour. Armoured fighting vehicles are classified according to their role on the battlefield. This classification is not absolute, at different times different countries will classify the vehicle in different roles. For example, armoured carriers were generally replaced by infantry fighting vehicles in a similar role. Modern armoured fighting vehicles are the realization of an ancient concept, War machines with rudimentary armour have been used in battle for millennia. These designs historically struggled between the paradox of exposed-mobility, effective-firepower and cumbersome-protection, Siege engines, such as battering rams and trebuchets, would often be armoured in order to protect the crews from the defenders. Very large movable siege towers, helepolis were developed by Polyidus of Thessaly, the idea of a vehicle with a tortoise like cover has been known since antiquity. Frequently cited is Leonardo da Vincis 15th century sketch of a mobile, protected gun platform, the machine was to be mounted on four wheels which would be turned by the crew through a system of hand cranks and cage gears. Leonardo quoted I will build armored wagons which will be safe, there will be no obstacle which it cannot overcome. Modern replicas have demonstrated that the crew would have been able to move it over only short distances. The war wagon were medieval weapon-platforms developmed during the Hussite Wars around 1420 by Hussite forces rebelling in Bohemia. These heavy wagon were given protective sides with firing slits and heavy firepower from either a cannon or a force of hand-gunners and crossbowmen, supported by infantry using pikes, heavy arquebuses mounted on wagons were called arquebus à croc. These carried a ball of about 3.5 ounces, the first modern AFVs were armed cars, dating back virtually to the invention of the motor car. The Motor Scout was designed and built by British inventor F. R. Simms in 1898 and it was the first armed petrol engine powered vehicle ever built. The vehicle was a De Dion-Bouton quadricycle with a mounted Maxim machine gun on the front bar, an iron shield offered some protection for the driver from the front, but it lacked all-around protective armour. The armoured car was the first modern fully armoured fighting vehicle, the first of these was the Simms Motor War Car, designed by Simms and built by Vickers, Sons & Maxim in 1899. The vehicle had Vickers armour 6 mm thick and was powered by a four-cylinder 3. 3-litre 16 hp Cannstatt Daimler engine giving it a speed of around 9 miles per hour
19.
Sd.Kfz. 11
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11 was a German half-track that saw very widespread use in World War II. Its main role was as a prime mover for medium towed guns ranging from the 3.7 cm FlaK43 anti-aircraft gun up to the 10.5 cm leFH18 field howitzer and it could carry eight troops in addition to towing a gun or trailer. Borgward was chosen to develop the second smallest of the German half-tracks, however development was taken over in 1938 by Hanomag who designed the main production version, H kl 6. The chassis formed the basis for the Sd. Kfz, approximately 9,000 were produced between 1938 and 1945, making it one of the more numerous German tactical vehicles of the war. It participated in the Invasion of Poland, the Battle of France,11 used a conventional ladder frame. Power was provided by a front-mounted Maybach six-cylinder, water-cooled,4.17 litres HL42 TRKM gasoline engine of 100 horsepower and it had a Hanomag U50 transmission with four forward and one reverse gears. Maximum speed was 52.5 km/h and it could ford water.5 metres deep, both tracks and wheels were powered as well as used for steering. The steering system was set up so that turns used only the wheels. The drive sprocket had rollers rather than the more common teeth, the rear suspension consisted of six double roadwheels, overlapping and interleaved in the Schachtellaufwerk system, mounted on swing arms sprung by torsion bars. An idler wheel, mounted at the rear of the vehicle, was used to control track tension, the front wheels, carried on the rigid front axle, had transversely mounted leaf springs and shock absorbers, the only ones on the vehicle, to dampen impacts. Two different upper bodies were built over the run of the Sd. Kfz. The artillery body had an ammunition compartment separating the drivers compartment from the crew compartment, the ammunition compartment had doors that opened on each side of the vehicle and could be configured for different sizes of ammunition. Bench seats on the sides of the vehicle, with under-seat storage, the crew entered from the rear of the vehicle. The windshield could fold forward and was also removable, a convertible canvas top was mounted above the ammunition compartment. It fastened to the windshield and to the rear of the compartment when erected. Side pieces could be mounted to protect the crew from the weather, the engineer body had three bench seats for the crew and a convertible canvas top was mounted at the upper part of the rear body. It fastened to the windshield when erected, side pieces could be mounted to protect the crew from the weather. There was a compartment at the rear of the vehicle
20.
Panzergrenadier
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Panzergrenadier is a German term for motorised or mechanized infantry – that is, infantry transported in combat vehicles specialized for such tasks – as introduced during World War II. It is used in the armies of Austria, Germany and Switzerland, however, in the German Army, Panzergrenadier is also the lowest rank of enlisted men in the Panzergrenadiertruppe, comparable to NATO OR-1. The term Panzergrenadier was not adopted until 1942, Infantry in panzer divisions from 1937 onwards were known as Schützen Regiments, they wore the same rose pink piping on their uniforms as the tank crews. Soldiers in special Motorized Infantry units wore the white piping of the Infantry. Their Waffenfarbe was also changed from white or rose pink to a meadow-green shade previously worn by motorcycle troops. Some units did not change over their designations and/or waffenfarbe accoutrements until 1943, the term Panzergrenadier had been introduced in 1942, and was applied equally to the infantry component of Panzer divisions as well as the new divisions known as Panzergrenadier Divisions. Divisions evolved via upgrades from ordinary infantry divisions, first to Motorized Infantry divisions, Divisions, retaining their numerical designation within the series for infantry divisions throughout the process. This included the 3rd, 10th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 20th, 25th, others, such as the Großdeutschland Division, were built up over the course of the war by repeatedly augmenting the size of an elite regiment or battalion. The Waffen-SS also created several PzGren, Divisions by the same methods, or by creating new divisions from scratch later in the war. Divisions in both the Heer and Waffen-SS were upgraded to Panzer divisions as the war progressed, all these support elements would also be mechanized in a PzGren. Division, though most of the artillery, anti-tank, and anti-aircraft elements were equipped with weapons towed by trucks rather than the relatively rare armored and self-propelled models. Divisions were often equipped with assault guns rather than tanks. A few elite units, on the hand, might have the tanks plus a battalion of heavy assault guns for their anti-tank element. Of 226 panzergrenadier battalions in the whole of the German Army, Luftwaffe and Waffen SS in September 1943, only 26 were equipped with armoured half tracks, the rest were equipped with trucks. The vast majority of Schützen/Panzergrenadier soldiers were mounted in trucks, additionally, vehicles in the early war period suffered from poor off-road performance. In 1944 a couple of Panzer Divisions based in France had more than the one battalion mounted in SdKfz 251 troop carriers. Panzer Lehrs infantry and engineers were entirely mounted in SdKfz 251 troop carriers, Panzer Division were half-equipped with armoured halftracks. In the German army, Panzergrenadiere act as mechanized infantry and escort of armored vehicles, some essential training courses, especially for urban warfare and fighting in forested terrain, are held at the Infanterieschule at Hammelburg
21.
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
22.
Squad
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In military terminology, a squad is a sub-subunit led by a non-commissioned officer that is subordinate to an infantry platoon. In countries following the British Army tradition, this organization is referred to as a section, in most armies, a squad consists of eight to fourteen soldiers, and may be further subdivided into fireteams. During World War 2 the German Wehrmacht infantry squad or Gruppe was mainly a general purpose machine gun based unit, the MG34 or MG42 GPMGs were normally used in the light machine gun role. An infantry Gruppe consisted of ten men, an officer or Unteroffizier squad leader, deputy squad leader. The riflemen carried additional ammunition, hand grenades, explosive charges or a machine gun tripod as required and provided security and covering fire for the machine gun team. Historically, a squad in the US Army was a sub-unit of a section, the smallest tactical sub-unit being the section, which was also known as a half-platoon. Depending upon the period, the squad leader could be a sergeant, a corporal, a lance corporal. In 1891, the US Army officially defined a rifle squad as consisting of seven privates, under the Triangular Division organization plan in 1939 rifle squads were no longer organized into sections. This soldier could serve as a either the squad leaders messenger to the commander or could be used to relay orders to other squad elements. However, the obvious weakness of so large a squad under one NCO rapidly became obvious in light of the pre-war mobilization and was corrected in 1940 when a second NCO was added to the squad. This adjustment raised the squad leader to a sergeant and the assistant squad leader to a corporal, the platoon leader now became a staff sergeant. This squad organization included two men serving as “scout, ” who along with the leader, formed the security element, designated as “Able. ”The second element was a three-man Browning Automatic Rifle team consisting of an automatic rifleman, an assistant automatic rifleman. This element formed the “base of fire” and was designated as “Baker. ”Lastly, there were five riflemen and the assistant squad leader, the BAR man and the senior rifleman of the Charlie element became corporals and de facto team leaders, even though not officially designated as such. After WWII, in 1948, the Army decided to downsize” the rifle squad to an organization, as post-war analysis had shown that the 12-man squad was too large. The five riflemen of the team, now led by the squad leader. In 1951 the pay grades were reversed, with master sergeant becoming E-7 and sergeant first class becoming E-6, so that the leader became a sergeant and the assistant squad leader. In the 1956 the Army began reorganizing into its Pentomic” plan under the ROCID TO&Es, the rifle squad was reorganized into an eleven-man organization with a sergeant as squad leader and two five-man fire teams. Each fire team consisted of a team leader, an automatic rifleman, an assistant automatic rifleman, a grenadier
23.
Small arms
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In international arms control, small arms include revolvers and pistols, rifles and carbines, assault rifles, submachine guns and light machine guns. Together with light weapons, they comprise the Small Arms and Light Weapons protocol, in the U. S. military, small arms are man portable, individual, and crew-served weapon systems used mainly against personnel and lightly armored or unarmored equipment. However, in regard to management, the U. S. Army says small arms/light weapons are, Handguns, shoulder-fired weapons, light automatic weapons up to. Much of the work to address the illegal arms trade is raised in the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms. In 2013, the Small Arms Survey said that of the 875 million small arms distributed globally,650 million — almost 75 percent — are in civilian hands, about 200 million are controlled by armed forces and about 26 million by law enforcement agencies. Gang members hold between 2 and 10 million small arms and armed, non-state actors hold about 1.4 million, together, the small-arms arsenals of non-state actors and gangs account for 0.4 to 1.3 percent of the global total. Arms trafficking Firearms Gun control Small arms trade SALW Dikshif, P. Proliferation of Small Arms and Minor Weapons, Strategic Analysis, Vol.17 May 1994. Gould, C. and Lamb, G. Hide & Seek, Taking Account of Small Arms in Southern Africa, Institute for Security Studies, federation of American Scientists Small Arms Monitoring page Small Arms Survey How Small Arms Work - Training Film on YouTube
24.
Machine gun
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A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm designed to fire bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or magazine, typically at a rate of 300 to 1800 rounds per minute. Note that not all fully automatic firearms are machine guns, submachine guns, rifles, assault rifles, shotguns, pistols or cannons may be capable of fully automatic fire, but are not designed for sustained fire. Many machine guns also use belt feeding and open bolt operation, unlike semi-automatic firearms, which require one trigger pull per round fired, a machine gun is designed to fire for as long as the trigger is held down. Nowadays the term is restricted to heavy weapons, able to provide continuous or frequent bursts of automatic fire for as long as ammunition lasts. Machine guns are used against personnel, aircraft and light vehicles, or to provide suppressive fire. Some machine guns have in practice sustained fire almost continuously for hours, because they become very hot, practically all machine guns fire from an open bolt, to permit air cooling from the breech between bursts. They also usually have either a barrel cooling system, slow-heating heavyweight barrel, although subdivided into light, medium, heavy or general-purpose, even the lightest machine guns tend to be substantially larger and heavier than standard infantry arms. Medium and heavy guns are either mounted on a tripod or on a vehicle, when carried on foot. Medium machine guns use full-sized rifle rounds and are designed to be used from fixed positions mounted on a tripod. 50in, the M249 automatic rifle is operated by an automatic rifleman, but its ammunition may be carried by other Soldiers within the squad or unit. The M249 machine gun is a crew-served weapon, Machine guns usually have simple iron sights, though the use of optics is becoming more common. Many heavy machine guns, such as the Browning M2.50 caliber machine gun, are enough to engage targets at great distances. During the Vietnam War, Carlos Hathcock set the record for a shot at 7382 ft with a.50 caliber heavy machine gun he had equipped with a telescopic sight. This led to the introduction of.50 caliber anti-materiel sniper rifles, selective fire rifles firing a full-power rifle cartridge from a closed bolt are called automatic rifles or battle rifles, while rifles that fire an intermediate cartridge are called assault rifles. Unlocking and removing the spent case from the chamber and ejecting it out of the weapon as bolt is moving rearward Loading the next round into the firing chamber. Usually the recoil spring tension pushes bolt back into battery and a cam strips the new round from a feeding device, cycle is repeated as long as the trigger is activated by operator. Releasing the trigger resets the trigger mechanism by engaging a sear so the weapon stops firing with bolt carrier fully at the rear, the operation is basically the same for all autoloading firearms, regardless of the means of activating these mechanisms. Most modern machine guns use gas-operated reloading, a recoil actuated machine gun uses the recoil to first unlock and then operate the action. Machine guns such as the M2 Browning and MG42, are of this type, a cam, lever or actuator demultiplicates the energy of the recoil to operate the bolt
25.
Suppressive fire
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In military science, suppressive fire is fire that degrades the performance of an enemy force below the level needed to fulfill its mission. Suppression is usually effective for the duration of the fire. It is one of three types of support, which is defined by NATO as the application of fire, coordinated with the manoeuvre of forces, to destroy. Before NATO defined the term, the British and Commonwealth armies generally used neutralisation with the definition as suppression. NATO now defines neutralization as fire delivered to render a target temporarily ineffective or unusable, suppressive fire usually achieves its effect by threatening casualties to individuals who expose themselves to it. Willingness to expose themselves varies depending on the morale, motivation, suppressive fire is often used as covering fire, defined by NATO as Fire used to protect troops when they are within range of enemy small arms. This is sometimes called winning the firefight in an infantry-only action, using smoke to blind enemy observation is a form of non-lethal suppression and at night illuminating may be used to suppress enemy activities by denying them the cover of darkness. Suppression can be delivered by any weapon or group of weapons capable of delivering the required intensity of fire for the period of suppression. However, the suppressive fire capabilities vary widely because the effect area varies widely. In contrast, artillery can suppress an area for an extended period, the purpose of suppression is to stop or prevent the enemy from observing, shooting, moving or carrying out other military tasks that interfere with the activities of friendly forces. An important feature of fire is that it is only effective while it lasts. Suppressive fire requires sufficient intensity over the area, intensity being the suppressive effect per unit of target area per unit of suppression time. Weapons vary widely in their capabilities, which are the threat signaled by the noise of projectiles in flight. Suppressive fire is a tactic to reduce casualties to friendly forces, for example, a suppressed target will be unable to engage vulnerable forces that are moving without cover. This enables forces to advance to new positions or to close with the enemy, for example, a US Marines article notes that communication and suppressive fire are what enables movement on the battlefield, giving Marines the upper hand. Suppressive fire may be used to enable a helicopter or boat to land or extract soldiers from a battle zone, the primary intended effect of suppressive fire is psychological. Rather than directly trying to kill soldiers, it makes the enemy soldiers feel unable to safely perform any actions other than seeking cover. Colloquially, this goal is expressed as it makes them keep their heads down or it keeps them pinned down, however, depending on factors including the type of ammunition and the targets protection, suppressive fire may cause casualties and/or damage to enemy equipment
26.
Cover (military)
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In military combat, the concept of cover refers to anything which is capable of physically protecting an individual from enemy fire. An example of cover vs. concealment would be sandbags vs. tall grass, cover may be a naturally occurring feature, such as a rock or a tree stump, or it may be a constructed feature, such as a foxhole or a trench. In some military services, a hat is sometimes referred to officially as a cover, as in Hey soldier. Or Youre not in uniform without your cover and it is a convention in the U. S. Army that an armed soldier must wear cover while indoors to indicate that they are under arms. Many first and third-person shooter video games encourage the player to utilize cover and this gameplay mechanic is often referred to as a cover system
27.
Plunging fire
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Plunging fire is a form of indirect fire, gunfire fired at a trajectory such as to fall on its target from above. It is normal at the high trajectories used to long range. In naval warfare plunging shellfire was often used to penetrate an enemy ships deck armor rather than firing directly at a warships heavily-armored side. Plunging fire in terrestrial warfare allows attacking a target not in line of sight. Artillery weapons such as howitzers and mortars are designed for this purpose, machine guns and belt-fed grenade launchers may also use plunging fire
28.
Indirect fire
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Indirect fire is aiming and firing a projectile without relying on a direct line of sight between the gun and its target, as in the case of direct fire. Aiming is performed by calculating azimuth and elevation angles, and may include correcting aim by observing the fall of shot and calculating new angles. There are two dimensions in aiming a weapon, In the horizontal plane, and In the vertical plane, which is governed by the distance to the target and the energy of the propelling charge. The projectile trajectory is affected by conditions, the velocity of the projectile. Direct fire sights may include mechanisms to compensate for some of these, handguns and rifles, machine guns, anti-tank guns, tank main guns, many types of unguided rockets, and guns mounted in aircraft are examples of weapons primarily designed for direct fire. NATO defines indirect fire as Fire delivered at a target which cannot be seen by the aimer, the implication is that azimuth and/or elevation aiming is done using instrumental methods. Hence indirect fire means applying firing data to azimuth and elevation sights, indirect fire can be used when the target is visible from the firing position. However, it is used when the target is at longer range. Longer range uses a higher trajectory, and in maximum range is achieved with an elevation angle of 45 degrees. Indirect fire is most commonly associated with field artillery and it is also used with mortars and naval guns against shore targets, sometimes with machine guns, and has been used with tank and anti-tank guns and by anti-aircraft guns against surface targets. It is reasonable to assume that original purpose of fire was to enable fire from a ‘covered position’, one where gunners can not be seen. The concealment aspect remains important, but from World War I equally important was the capability to concentrate the fire of many batteries at the target or set of targets. The physical laws of ballistics means that guns firing larger and heavier projectile can send them further than smaller-calibre guns firing lighter shells. By the end of the 20th century, the maximum range for the most common guns was about 24 to 30 km. During World War I, covered positions moved further back and indirect fire evolved to allow any point within range to be attacked, firepower mobility, without moving the firers. If the target cannot be seen from the gun position, there has to be a means of identifying targets, the position of some targets may be identified by a headquarters from various sources of information, observers on the ground, in aircraft, or in observation balloons. The development of electrical communication immensely simplified reporting, and enabled many widely dispersed firers to concentrate their fire on one target, until the introduction of smart munitions the trajectory of the projectile could not be altered once fired. For several centuries Coehorn mortars were fired indirectly because their fixed elevation meant range was determined by the amount of propelling powder
29.
Mortar (weapon)
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A mortar is a device that fires projectiles at low velocities and short ranges. The mortar has traditionally used as a weapon to propel explosive mortar bombs in high-arcing ballistic trajectories. The weapon is typically muzzle-loading with a short, often smooth-bore barrel, Modern mortars are light and easily portable. They can be used for fire support with a variety of ammunition. Mortars have been used for hundreds of years, originally in siege warfare, many historians consider the first mortars to have been used at the 1453 siege of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror. A European account of the 1456 siege of Belgrade by Giovanni da Tagliacozzo said that the Ottoman Turks used seven mortars that fired stone shots one Italian mile high. The time of flight of these was long enough that casualties could be avoided by posting observers to give warning of their trajectories. However, earlier mortars were used in Korea in a 1413 naval battle when Korean gunsmiths developed the Wangu, the earliest version of the Wangu dates back to 1407. Choe Hae-san, the son of Choe Mu-seon, is credited with inventing the first Wangu. Early mortars, such as the Pumhart von Steyr, were large and heavy. Simply made, these weapons were no more than iron bowls reminiscent of the kitchen, an early transportable mortar was invented by Baron Menno van Coehoorn. This mortar fired a shell, which had a fuse lit by the hot gases when fired. This innovation was taken up, necessitating a new form of naval ship. Mortars played a significant role in the Venetian conquest of Morea, an early use of these more mobile mortars as field weapons was by British forces in the suppression of the 1719 Jacobite rising at the Battle of Glen Shiel. High angle trajectory mortars held an advantage over standard field guns in the rough terrain of the West Highlands of Scotland. Coehorn-type mortars of approximately 180 pounds weight were used by both sides during the American Civil War and these answered as coehorns, and shells were successfully thrown from them into the trenches of the enemy. The mortar had fallen out of use by the Napoleonic era. The German Army studied the Siege of Port Arthur, where heavy artillery had been unable to destroy defensive structures like barbed wire, the solution they developed was a short-barrelled rifled muzzle-loading mortar called the Minenwerfer, and was built in three sizes
30.
Field artillery
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Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, long range, short range and this was in contrast to horse artillery, whose emphasis on speed while supporting cavalry units necessitated lighter guns and crews riding on horseback. Modern artillery has also advanced to rapidly deployable wheeled and tracked vehicles, thus, their role was limited to such functions as breaking sieges. Following the beginning of the era, the first field artillery came into being as metallurgy allowed thinner cannon barrels to withstand the explosive forces without bursting. However, there was still a risk of the constant changes of the battlefield conspiring to leave behind slow-moving artillery units - either on the advance, or more dangerously. Artillery units were particularly vulnerable to assault by light cavalry, which were used in this role. Only with a number of inventions, did the concept of field artillery really take off. One of the earliest documented uses of field artillery is found in the 14th-century Ming Dynasty treatise Huolongjing, the text describes a Chinese cannon called a thousand ball thunder cannon, manufactured of bronze and fastened with wheels. The book also describes another mobile form of artillery called a barbarian attacking cannon consisting of an attached to a two-wheel carriage. Before World War I, field artillery batteries fired directly at visible targets measured in distances of meters. Today, modern field batteries measure targets in kilometers and miles, most field artillery situations require indirect fire due to weather, terrain, night-time conditions, distance or other obstacles. Modern field artillery has three sections, All batteries have a Fire Support Man, Fire Direction Control. The FOs are forward with the infantry where they can see the targets and they call the FDC on the radio and transmit a request for fire in the format of CFF. The FDC calculates the CFF and send a deflection and elevation to the gun line, the gun line cranks the specified elevation and deflection on the howitzers, punch the artillery shell followed by the bag. Depending on the CFF, the gunline will fire the round when they are ready or when the FO calls and tells them to fire, the FO spots the round and sends a correction back to the FDC and the process starts all over again until its done. The batteries are many kilometres behind the FLOT and they plan a location where they can be Fire Capability for some certain amount of time and do multiple fire missions before needing to displace. In normal operations the FOs locate targets and transmits the CFF to the FDCs and they can also calculate defensive fire tasks. Because the calculations have already been done, the fire can be called down very quickly when it is needed, the advance party consists of the battery commander, his driver, first sergeant, gunnery sergeant, FDC guide, gun guides, and communications representatives
31.
Grenade
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A grenade is a small bomb typically thrown by hand. A variety of hand grenades exist, the most common being explosive grenades designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time, Grenadiers were originally soldiers who specialized in throwing grenades. The word grenade derives from the French word for an explosive shell. Its first use in English dates from the 1590s and it is likely derived from Old French pomegranate and influenced by Spanish granada, as the fragmenting bomb is reminiscent of the many-seeded fruit. Rudimentary incendiary grenades appeared in the Eastern Roman Empire, not long after the reign of Leo III. Byzantine soldiers learned that Greek fire, a Byzantine invention of the century, could not only be thrown by flamethrowers at the enemy. The use of Greek fire spread to Muslim armies in the Near East, in China, during the Song Dynasty, weapons known as Zhen Tian Lei were created when Chinese soldiers packed gunpowder into ceramic or metal containers. In 1044, a military book Wujing Zongyao described various gunpowder recipes in which one can find, according to Joseph Needham, the Chinese also discovered the explosive potential of packing hollowed-out cannonball shells with gunpowder. The mid-14th-century book Huolongjing, written by Jiao Yu, recorded an earlier Song-era cast iron cannon known as the flying-cloud thunderclap cannon, the manuscript stated that, The shells are made of cast iron, as large as a bowl and shaped like a ball. Inside they contain half a pound of divine fire and they are sent flying towards the enemy camp from an eruptor, and when they get there a sound like a thunder-clap is heard, and flashes of light appear. If ten of these shells are fired successfully into the enemy camp, the first cast iron bombshells and grenades did not appear in Europe until 1467. A hoard of several hundred ceramic greandes were discovered during building works in front of a bastion of the Bavarian City of Ingolstadt. Lots of the grenades obtained their original blackpowder loads and igniters, most probably the grenades were intentially dumped the moat of the bastion before the year 1723. In 1643, it is possible that Grenados were thrown amongst the Welsh at Holt Bridge during the English Civil War and these grenades were not very effective and, as a result, saw little use. Improvised grenades were used from the mid-19th century, being especially useful in trench warfare. In the American Civil War, both sides used hand grenades equipped with a plunger that detonated the device on impact, the Union relied on experimental Ketchum Grenades, which had a tail to ensure that the nose would strike the target and start the fuse. The Confederacy used spherical hand grenades that weighed about six pounds and they also used Rains and Adams grenades, which were similar to the Ketchum in appearance and mechanism. Improvised hand grenades were used to great effect by the Russian defenders of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War
32.
Molotov cocktail
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A Molotov cocktail, also known as a petrol bomb, bottle bomb, poor mans grenade, fire bomb or just Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of bottle-based improvised incendiary weapons. They are primarily intended to set targets ablaze rather than obliterate them, the name Molotov cocktail was coined by the Finns during the Winter War. The name was a reference to Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov. The Finns sarcastically dubbed the Soviet cluster bombs Molotov bread baskets in reference to Molotovs propaganda broadcasts, when the hand-held bottle firebomb was developed to attack Soviet tanks, the Finns called it the Molotov cocktail, as a drink to go with the food. The wick is soaked in alcohol or kerosene, rather than petrol. In action, the wick is lit and the bottle hurled at a target such as a vehicle or fortification. When the bottle smashes on impact, the cloud of petrol droplets and vapour ignites. Other flammable liquids such as fuel, methanol, turpentine, jet fuel. Improvised incendiary devices were used for the first time in the Spanish Civil War between July 1936 and April 1939, before they became known as Molotov cocktails, after that, both sides used simple petrol bombs or petrol-soaked blankets with some success. Tom Wintringham, a veteran of the International Brigades, later publicised his recommended method of using them, We made use of petrol bombs roughly as follows, take a heavy curtain, half a blanket, or some other heavy material. Wrap this over the mouth of the jar, tie it round the neck with string, when you want to use it have somebody standing by with a light. Put a corner of the material down in front of you, turn the bottle over so that petrol soaks out round the mouth of the bottle and drips on to this corner of the material. Turn the bottle right way up again, hold it in right hand, most of the blanket bunched beneath the bottle. When near enough, your pal lights the petrol soaked corner of the blanket, throw the bottle and blanket as soon as this corner is flaring. See that it drops in front of the tank, the blanket should catch in the tracks or in a cog-wheel, or wind itself round an axle. Do not play with these things, the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, a border conflict of 1939 ostensibly between Mongolia and Manchukuo, saw heavy fighting between Japanese and Soviet forces. Short of anti-tank equipment, Japanese infantry attacked Soviet tanks with gasoline-filled bottles, Japanese infantrymen claimed that several hundred Soviet tanks had been destroyed this way, though Soviet loss records do not support this assessment. On 30 November 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Finland, starting what came to be known as the Winter War, the Finns perfected the design and tactical use of the petrol bomb
33.
Strafing
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Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons ranging from machine guns to autocannons or rotary cannons. This means that, although ground attack using automatic weapons fire is often accompanied with bombing or rocket fire. The term strafing can cover either fixed guns, or aimable guns, some fixed wing aircraft, like fighter-bombers, are capable of flying either air-combat missions or ground attack missions, while others are dedicated ground-attack types. Less commonly, the term can be used—by extension—to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft using smaller-caliber weapons, the word is an adaptation of German strafen, to punish, specifically from the humorous adaptation of the World War I German catchphrase Gott strafe England. While the earliest use of aircraft was for observation and directing of artillery. Trenches and supply columns were attacked from the air in the second half of the war. Strafing with machine guns was used when precision was needed, but non-strafing attack methods were preferred for targets, area targets. The German army was the first to introduce a class of aircraft designed for strafing. Planes built specifically for strafing include the German World War I Junkers J. I, the Junkers J. I. had two downward-facing machine guns that were used for strafing. The Luftwaffes best strafing plane was the Junkers Ju-87 Stuka, the Ju-87 G variant had two Rheinmetall-Borsig 37mm Flak 18 guns each mounted under the wing. For the RAF the best ground attack plane was the Hawker Hurricane II and it was armed with four 20 mm wing-mounted cannon. The Hawker Typhoon was used in the stages of the war. It had four 60 lb RP-3 rockets, for the US, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was one of the key ground attack planes. It was armed with eight.50 calibre machine guns, another aircraft that was important in that role was the North American B-25 Mitchell. It was used for strafing runs in the Pacific War. The Russian Ilyushin IL-2 Sturmovik was one of the key Russian ground attack planes and it had heavy armour around the engine, underside and canopy. It was armed with 20mm to 23mm to 37mm cannons depending on the model, in the Vietnam War, this was found to be a deficiency, and improvised gunships had to be used in strafing missions. The A-10 was built to attack tanks, armored vehicles, the A-10 was designed around the GAU-8 Avenger, a 30 mm rotary cannon that is the airplanes primary armament and the heaviest such automatic cannon mounted on an aircraft
34.
Anti-aircraft warfare
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Anti-aircraft warfare or counter-air defence is defined by NATO as all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action. They include ground-and air-based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and it may be used to protect naval, ground, and air forces in any location. However, for most countries the main effort has tended to be homeland defence, NATO refers to airborne air defence as counter-air and naval air defence as anti-aircraft warfare. Missile defence is an extension of air defence as are initiatives to adapt air defence to the task of intercepting any projectile in flight, a surface-based air defence capability can also be deployed offensively to deny the use of airspace to an opponent. Until the 1950s, guns firing ballistic munitions ranging from 20 mm to 150 mm were the weapons, guided missiles then became dominant. The term air defence was probably first used by Britain when Air Defence of Great Britain was created as a Royal Air Force command in 1925. However, arrangements in the UK were also called anti-aircraft, abbreviated as AA, after the First World War it was sometimes prefixed by Light or Heavy to classify a type of gun or unit. Nicknames for anti-aircraft guns include AA, AAA or triple-A, an abbreviation of anti-aircraft artillery, ack-ack, NATO defines anti-aircraft warfare as measures taken to defend a maritime force against attacks by airborne weapons launched from aircraft, ships, submarines and land-based sites. In some armies the term All-Arms Air Defence is used for air defence by nonspecialist troops, other terms from the late 20th century include GBAD with related terms SHORAD and MANPADS. Anti-aircraft missiles are variously called surface-to-air missile, abbreviated and pronounced SAM, non-English terms for air defence include the German FlaK, whence English flak, and the Russian term Protivovozdushnaya oborona, a literal translation of anti-air defence, abbreviated as PVO. In Russian the AA systems are called zenitnye systems, in French, air defence is called DCA. The maximum distance at which a gun or missile can engage an aircraft is an important figure, however, many different definitions are used but unless the same definition is used, performance of different guns or missiles cannot be compared. For AA guns only the part of the trajectory can be usefully used. By the late 1930s the British definition was that height at which an approaching target at 400 mph can be engaged for 20 seconds before the gun reaches 70 degrees elevation. However, effective ceiling for heavy AA guns was affected by nonballistic factors, The maximum running time of the fuse, the capability of fire control instruments to determine target height at long range. The essence of air defence is to detect aircraft and destroy them. The critical issue is to hit a target moving in three-dimensional space, Air defence evolution covered the areas of sensors and technical fire control, weapons, and command and control. At the start of the 20th century these were very primitive or non-existent
35.
Rocket artillery
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Rocket artillery is a type of artillery equipped with rocket launchers instead of conventional guns or mortars. Types of rocket artillery pieces include multiple rocket launchers, the use of rockets as some form of artillery dates back to medieval China where devices such as fire arrows were used. Fire arrows were used in multiple launch systems and transported via carts. Devices such as the Korean hwacha were able to fire hundreds of fire arrows simultaneously, the use of medieval rocket artillery was picked up by the invading Mongols and spread to the Ottoman Turks who in turn used them on the European battlefield. The use of war-rockets is well documented in Medieval Europe, in 1408 Duke John the Fearless of Burgundy used 300 incendiary rockets in the siege of Liège. The city dwellers coped with this tactic by covering their roofs with dirt, the earliest successful utilization of rocket artillery is associated with Tipu Sultan of Mysore. Tipu Sultans father Hyder Ali successfully established the powerful Sultanate of Mysore, Tipu Sultan used them against the larger forces of the British East India Company during the Anglo-Mysore Wars especially during the Battle of Pollilur. Although the rockets were quite primitive, they had an effect on the enemy due to the noise. Although the hammered soft iron he used was crude, the strength of the container of black powder was much higher than the earlier paper construction. Thus a greater pressure was possible, with a resultant greater thrust of the propulsive jet. The rocket body was lashed with leather thongs to a bamboo stick. Range was perhaps up to three-quarters of a mile, although individually these rockets were not accurate, dispersion error became less important when large numbers were fired rapidly in mass attacks. They were particularly effective against cavalry and were hurled into the air, after lighting, or skimmed along the hard dry ground. Hyder Alis son, Tipu Sultan, continued to develop and expand the use of rocket weapons, in battles at Seringapatam in 1792 and 1799 these rockets were used with considerable effect against the British. The Indian rocket experiences, including Munros book of 1789, eventually led to the Royal Arsenal beginning a military rocket R&D program in 1801, several rocket cases were collected from Mysore and sent to Britain for analysis. The development was chiefly the work of Col and he was told that the British at Seringapatam had suffered more from the rockets than from the shells or any other weapon used by the enemy. In at least one instance, an eye-witness told Congreve, a rocket had killed three men and badly wounded others. In the Battle of Pollilur and in the battles at Seringapatam in 1792 and 1799 these rockets were used with effect against the British
36.
Infrared
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It extends from the nominal red edge of the visible spectrum at 700 nanometers, to 1000000 nm. Most of the radiation emitted by objects near room temperature is infrared. Like all EMR, IR carries radiant energy, and behaves both like a wave and like its quantum particle, the photon, slightly more than half of the total energy from the Sun was eventually found to arrive on Earth in the form of infrared. The balance between absorbed and emitted infrared radiation has an effect on Earths climate. Infrared radiation is emitted or absorbed by molecules when they change their rotational-vibrational movements and it excites vibrational modes in a molecule through a change in the dipole moment, making it a useful frequency range for study of these energy states for molecules of the proper symmetry. Infrared spectroscopy examines absorption and transmission of photons in the infrared range, Infrared radiation is used in industrial, scientific, and medical applications. Night-vision devices using active near-infrared illumination allow people or animals to be observed without the observer being detected, Infrared thermal-imaging cameras are used to detect heat loss in insulated systems, to observe changing blood flow in the skin, and to detect overheating of electrical apparatuses. Thermal-infrared imaging is used extensively for military and civilian purposes, military applications include target acquisition, surveillance, night vision, homing, and tracking. Humans at normal body temperature radiate chiefly at wavelengths around 10 μm, Infrared radiation extends from the nominal red edge of the visible spectrum at 700 nanometers to 1 mm. This range of wavelengths corresponds to a range of approximately 430 THz down to 300 GHz. Below infrared is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Sunlight, at a temperature of 5,780 kelvins, is composed of near thermal-spectrum radiation that is slightly more than half infrared. At zenith, sunlight provides an irradiance of just over 1 kilowatt per square meter at sea level, of this energy,527 watts is infrared radiation,445 watts is visible light, and 32 watts is ultraviolet radiation. Nearly all the radiation in sunlight is near infrared, shorter than 4 micrometers. On the surface of Earth, at far lower temperatures than the surface of the Sun, almost all thermal radiation consists of infrared in mid-infrared region, much longer than in sunlight. Of these natural thermal radiation processes only lightning and natural fires are hot enough to produce much visible energy, thermal infrared radiation also has a maximum emission wavelength, which is inversely proportional to the absolute temperature of object, in accordance with Wiens displacement law. Therefore, the band is often subdivided into smaller sections. Due to the nature of the blackbody radiation curves, typical hot objects, such as exhaust pipes, the three regions are used for observation of different temperature ranges, and hence different environments in space
37.
Panther tank
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The Panther was a German medium tank deployed during World War II on the Eastern and Western Fronts in Europe from mid-1943 to its end in 1945. It had the ordnance inventory designation of Sd. Kfz, until 27 February 1944, it was designated as the Panzerkampfwagen V Panther when Hitler ordered that the Roman numeral V be deleted. Contemporary English language reports sometimes refer to it as the Mark V, the Panther was intended to counter the Soviet T-34 and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV. Nevertheless, it served alongside the Panzer IV and the heavier Tiger I until the end of the war and it is considered one of the best tanks of World War II for its excellent firepower and protection. The trade-off was weaker side armour, which made it vulnerable to flanking fire, the Panther proved to be effective in open country and long range engagements, but did not provide enough high explosive firepower against infantry. The Panther was far cheaper to produce than the Tiger I, key elements of the Panther design, such as its armour, transmission, and final drive, were simplifications made to improve production rates and address raw material shortages. The overall design remained somewhat over-engineered, the Panther was rushed into combat at the Battle of Kursk despite numerous unresolved technical problems, leading to high losses due to mechanical failure. The Panther was born out of a project started in 1938 to replace the Panzer III, the initial requirements of the VK20 series called for a fully tracked vehicle weighing 20 tonnes and design proposals by Krupp, Daimler Benz and MAN ensued. The T-34 outclassed the existing models of the Panzer III and IV, at the insistence of General Heinz Guderian, a special tank commission was created to assess the T-34.2 mm gun, which had good armour penetration and fired an effective high explosive round. The DB design resembled the T-34 in its hull and turret and was also to be powered by a diesel engine and it was also driven from the rear drive sprocket with the turret situated forward. The incorporation of a diesel engine promised increased operational range, reduced flammability, Hitler himself considered a diesel engine imperative for the new tank. DBs proposal used an external leaf spring suspension, in contrast to the MAN proposal of twin torsion bars, wa Pruef 6s opinion was that the leaf spring suspension was a disadvantage and that using torsion bars would allow greater internal hull width. It also opposed the rear drive because of the potential for track fouling, Daimler Benz still preferred the leaf springs over a torsion bar suspension as it resulted in a silhouette about 200 mm shorter and rendered complex shock absorbers unnecessary. The MAN design embodied more a conventional configuration, with the transmission and drive sprocket in the front and it had a petrol engine and eight torsion-bar suspension axles per side. Because of the torsion bar suspension and the shaft running under the turret basket. These multiple large, rubber-rimmed steel wheels distributed ground pressure more evenly across the track, the two designs were reviewed from January to March 1942. Reichminister Todt, and later, his replacement Albert Speer, both recommended the DB design to Hitler because of its advantages over the initial MAN design, on 5 March 1942, Albert Speer reported that Hitler considered the Daimler-Benz design to be superior to MANs design. A review by a commission appointed by Hitler in May 1942 selected the MAN design
38.
Tiger I
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The Tiger I listen was a German heavy tank of World War II deployed from 1942 in Africa and Europe usually in independent heavy tank battalions. Its final designation was Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf, the Tiger I gave the Wehrmacht its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted the 8.8 cm KwK36 gun. 1,347 were built between August 1942 and August 1944, after August 1944, production of the Tiger I was phased out in favour of the Tiger II. While the Tiger I has been called a design for its time, it was over-engineered, using expensive materials. The Tiger was prone to types of track failures and breakdowns. It was expensive to maintain, but generally mechanically reliable and this was a problem on the Eastern Front in the muddy rasputitsa season and during extreme periods of cold. The tank was given its nickname Tiger by Ferdinand Porsche, the initial designation was Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausführung H where H denoted Henschel as the designer/manufacturer. It was classified with ordnance inventory designation SdKfz 182, the tank was later re-designated as PzKpfw VI Ausf. E in March 1943, with ordnance inventory designation SdKfz 181, today, only a handful of Tigers survive in museums and exhibitions worldwide. The Bovington Tank Museums Tiger 131 is currently the only one restored to running order, Henschel & Sohn began development of a large tank design in January 1937 when the Waffenamt requested Henschel to develop a Durchbruchwagen in the 30–33 tonne range. Only one prototype hull was built and it was never fitted with a turret. The Durchbruchwagen Is general shape and suspension resembled the Panzer III while the turret resembled the early Panzer IV C turret with the short-barrelled 7.5 cm L/24 cannon.5 cm L/24 gun, overall weight would have been 36 tonnes. Only one hull was built and no turret was fitted, further development of the Durchbruchwagen was dropped in 1938 in favour of the larger and better-armoured VK30.01 and VK36.01 designs. Both the Durchbruchwagen I and II prototype hulls were used as test vehicles until 1941, the VK30.01 medium tank and the VK36.01 heavy tank designs pioneered the Schachtellaufwerk, the overlapping and interleaved main road wheels for tank use. This concept was common on German half-tracks such as the SdKfz 7. The VK30.01 was intended to mount a low-velocity 7.5 cm L/24 infantry support gun, overall weight was to be 33 tonnes. The armour was designed to be 50 mm on frontal surfaces and 30 mm on the side surfaces, four prototype hulls were completed for testing. Two of these were modified to build the Sturer Emil self-propelled anti-tank gun
39.
Rasputitsa
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Rasputitsa is a season when travel on unpaved roads becomes difficult, owing to muddy conditions, either from autumnal rains or spring thaw. It also refers to the condition of the roads, during those seasons, the term is applied to muddy road conditions in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, which are caused by the poor drainage of underlying clay-laden soils found in the region. Roads are subject to limitations and closures during the period in certain districts of the Russian Federation. The phenomenon was a hindrance in the part of the 20th Century in the Soviet Union. Rasputitsa seasons of Russia are well known as a defensive advantage in wartime. Common nicknames in such context are General Mud or Marshal Mud, during the French invasion of Russia in 1812, Napoleon found the mud to be a great hindrance. During the Second World War, the month-long muddy period slowed down the German advance during the Battle of Moscow, cold-weather warfare Russian Winter Mud season
40.
1st Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)
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The 1st Panzer Division was an elite armoured division in the German Army, the Wehrmacht, during World War II. The division was one of the three tank divisions established by Germany in 1935. It took part in pre-war occupations of Austria and Czechoslovakia and the invasions of Poland in 1939 and Belgium, from 1941 to 1945 it fought on the Eastern Front, except for a period in 1943 when it was sent for refitting to France and Greece. At the end of the war the division surrendered to US forces in Bavaria, the 1st Panzer Division was formed on 15 October 1935 from the 3rd Cavalry Division, and was headquartered in Weimar. It was one of three tank divisions created at the time, the two being the 2nd and 3rd Panzer Division. Initially the division was equipped with the sub-standard light Panzer I, despite this the division was also equipped with obsolete Panzer IIs up until 1941. In 1938 the division participated in the Anschluss of Austria and the occupation of the Sudetenland in 1938, in September 1939 the 1st Panzer Division took part in the invasion of Poland, reaching the outskirts of Warsaw after eight days. After Warsaw the division was moved to support the 18th Infantry Division before returning to Germany in November 1939, in May 1940 the 1st Panzer Division was part of the invasion of France, Luxembourg and Belgium. It took part in the battles of Sedan and Dunkirk before swinging south to participate in the attack on the Weygand Line and it advanced towards the Swiss border and occupied Belfort before the surrender of France. During the battle of France the division suffered relatively low casualties, the 1st Panzer Division remained in France until September 1940 when it was moved to East Prussia. It supplied a substantial amount of units to the new 16th and 18th Panzer Divisions, from 22 June 1941 it took part of Operation Barbarossa, crossing the former German-Lithuanian frontier as part of the Army Group North and the 4th Panzer Group. The division was involved in fighting and, by mid-August, had only 44 of the 155 tanks it had started out less than two month earlier left in serviceable condition. It continued to advance towards Leningrad until early October when it was transferred to the Army Group Centre to take part in the advance on Moscow, the division advanced within 32 kilometres on Moscow before being forced to retreat during the Soviet counterattack. The division was part of the defence of the Rzhev Salient during early 1942, initially being very short on tanks, the 1st Panzer Division was engaged in the defence of the supply lines of the 9th Army in the centre of the Eastern Front. It suffered heavy casualties during the defence against repeated Soviet attacks in the Winter of 1942–43 before eventually being transferred back to France in January 1943 for refitting. After month in northern France the division was sent to occupied Greece in June 1943 because of the threat of an Allied landing there. Instead the landing place in Sicily and the division participated in the disarming of Italian forces in Greece when the former defected from the Axis in September 1943. The 1st Panzer Division was brought up to strength again in October when it received a substantial number of Panther and Tiger I tanks
41.
Home Army
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The Home Army was the dominant Polish resistance movement in Poland occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej, over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces. Its allegiance was to the Polish Government-in-Exile, and it constituted the armed wing of what became known as the Polish Underground State, estimates of the Home Armys 1944 strength range between 200,000 and 600,000, the most commonly cited number being 400,000. This last number would make the Home Army not only the largest Polish underground resistance movement, the Home Army was disbanded on 19 January 1945, after the Soviet Red Army had largely cleared Polish territory of German forces. The Home Army sabotaged German operations such as transports headed for the Eastern Front in the Soviet Union and it also fought several full-scale battles against the Germans, particularly in 1943 and in Operation Tempest in 1944. The Home Army, in support of the Soviet military effort, tied down substantial German forces, the most widely known Home Army operation was the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. The Army also defended Polish civilians against atrocities perpetrated by German, because the Home Army was loyal to the Polish Government-in-Exile, the Soviet Union saw it as an obstacle to a Soviet takeover of Poland. Consequently, over the course of the war, conflict grew between the Home Army and Soviet forces, all the while, however, many other resistance organizations remained active in Poland. Most of them merged with the Armed Resistance or with its successor. The Polish Government in Exile envisioned the Home Army as an apolitical, Home Army plans envisioned, at wars end, the seizure of power in Poland by the Government Delegation for Poland and by the Government in Exile itself, which expected to return to Poland. In addition to the Polish government in London, an organization operated in Poland itself - a deliberative body of the resistance. The Political Consultative Committee formed in 1940 pursuant to an agreement between several political parties, the Socialist Party, Peoples Party, National Party and Labor Party. In 1943 it was renamed to Home Political Representation and in 1944 to Council of National Unity, after Germany started its invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, the Soviet Union joined the Allies and signed an Anglo-Soviet Agreement on 12 July 1941. This put the Polish Government in a position, since it had previously pursued a policy of two enemies. Though a Polish-Soviet agreement was signed in August 1941, cooperation continued to be difficult, until the major rising in 1944, the Home Army concentrated on self-defense and on attacks against German forces. The Home Army supplied valuable intelligence to the Allies, 43% of all received by the British secret services from continental Europe in between 1939 and 1945 came from Polish sources. Until 1942 most British intelligence on Germany came from Home Army reports, until the end of the war, the Home Army remained Britains main source of news from Central and Eastern Europe. Home Army intelligence provided the Allies with information on German concentration camps and on the V-1 flying bomb,242, photographs, eight key V-2 parts, and drawings of the wreckage
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Warsaw Uprising
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The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. The uprising was timed to coincide with the Soviet Unions Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces. However, the Soviet advance stopped short, enabling the Germans to regroup and demolish the city while defeating the Polish resistance, the Uprising was the largest single military effort taken by any European resistance movement during World War II. The Uprising began on 1 August 1944, as part of a plan, Operation Tempest. The main Polish objectives were to drive the Germans from the city and help with the fight against Nazi Germany. Also, short-term causes included the threat of a German round-up of able-bodied Poles, initially, the Poles established control over most of central Warsaw, but the Soviets ignored Polish attempts to establish radio contact and did not advance beyond the city limits. Intense street fighting between the Germans and Poles continued, arthur Koestler called the Soviet attitude one of the major infamies of this war which will rank for the future historian on the same ethical level with Lidice. Winston Churchill pleaded with Stalin and Franklin D. Roosevelt to help Britains Polish allies, then, without Soviet air clearance, Churchill sent over 200 low-level supply drops by the Royal Air Force, the South African Air Force, and the Polish Air Force under British High Command. Later, after gaining Soviet air clearance, the U. S. Army Air Force sent one high-level mass airdrop as part of Operation Frantic, the Soviet Union refused to allow American bombers from Western Europe to land on Soviet airfields after dropping supplies to the Poles. Although the exact number of remains unknown, it is estimated that about 16,000 members of the Polish resistance were killed. In addition, between 150,000 and 200,000 Polish civilians died, mostly from mass executions, Jews being harboured by Poles were exposed by German house-to-house clearances and mass evictions of entire neighbourhoods. German casualties totalled over 8,000 soldiers killed and missing, during the urban combat approximately 25% of Warsaws buildings were destroyed. Following the surrender of Polish forces, German troops systematically levelled another 35% of the city block by block, by July 1944, Poland had been occupied by the forces of Nazi Germany for almost five years. The Polish Home Army, which was loyal to the Polish government-in-exile, had planned some form of insurrection against the occupiers. Germany was fighting a coalition of Allied powers, led by the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the initial plan of the Home Army was to link up with the invading forces of the Western Allies as they liberated Europe from the Nazis. However, in 1943 it became apparent that the Soviets, rather than the Western Allies, in this country, we have one point from which every evil emanates. If we didnt have Warsaw in the General Government, we wouldnt have four-fifths of the difficulties with which we must contend and it became obvious that the advancing Soviet Red Army might not come to Poland as an ally but rather only as the ally of an ally. The Soviets and the Poles distrusted each other, and Soviet partisans in Poland often clashed with Polish resistance increasingly united under the Home Armys front, afterwards, Stalin created the Rudenko Commission, whose goal was to blame the Germans for the war crime at all costs
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Sd.Kfz. 251
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251 half-track was a WW2 German armored fighting vehicle designed by the Hanomag company, based on its earlier, unarmored Sd. Kfz. 251 was designed to transport the panzergrenadiers into battle, there were four main model modifications, which formed the basis for at least 22 variants. In addition, the mounting of at least one MG34 or MG42 machine gun allowed the vehicle to provide suppressive fire for the rifle squad both while they dismounted and in combat. The armour plates were designed to provide protection against standard rifle/ machine gun bullets, the front-facing plates were 14. 5mm thick, the sides were steeply angled, V-shape 8mm thick plates. This level of armour provided protection against normal rifle AP round, the first two models were produced in small numbers from 1939. Ausf A and B models can be identified by the structure of the nose armor, the B model, which began production in 1940, eliminated the fighting compartments side vision slits. The C model, which started production in mid-1942, featured a simplified hexagonal-shaped forward armored plate for the engine, models A through C had rear doors that bulged out. The C model had a production run, but was quite complex to build. From early 1943, the D model was developed with the purpose of halving the number of angled body plates, simplifying the design, D models can be easily recognized by their single piece sloping rear, with flat doors. The standard personnel carrier version was equipped with a 7.92 mm MG34 or MG42 machine gun mounted at the front of the compartment, above. A second machine gun could be mounted at the rear on an anti-aircraft mount, a strong design feature of the Sd. Kfz.251 was the large track area, with the characteristic slack track design with no return rollers for the upper run of track. The SdKfz 251 also had the Schachtellaufwerk system of overlapping and interleaved road wheels common to virtually all German halftracks of the period. This lowered the pressure and provided better traction, at the cost of much greater complexity in maintenance. The 251 also had tank steering, whereby the steering wheel moved the front wheels, but after more turning of the steering wheel. The early production models of this vehicle were issued to the 1st Panzer Division in 1939 and these vehicles were meant to enable panzergrenadiers to accompany panzers and provide infantry support as required. In practice, there were never enough of them to go around, there were 23 official variants, and sundry unofficial variants. Each variant is identified by a suffix to the number, however. Made with plain steel 5mm plates instead of armour, to make up numbers due to slow initial 251 production, around 350 made up to mid 1940
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Slovakia
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Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Slovakias territory spans about 49,000 square kilometres and is mostly mountainous. The population is over 5 million and comprises mostly ethnic Slovaks, the capital and largest city is Bratislava. The Slavs arrived in the territory of present-day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries, in the 7th century, they played a significant role in the creation of Samos Empire and in the 9th century established the Principality of Nitra. In the 10th century, the territory was integrated into the Kingdom of Hungary, which became part of the Habsburg Empire. After World War I and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a separate Slovak Republic existed in World War II as a client state of Nazi Germany. In 1945, Czechoslovakia was reëstablished under Communist rule as a Soviet satellite, in 1989 the Velvet Revolution ended authoritarian Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The country maintains a combination of economy with universal health care. The country joined the European Union in 2004 and the Eurozone on 1 January 2009, Slovakia is also a member of the Schengen Area, NATO, the United Nations, the OECD, the WTO, CERN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group. The Slovak economy is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and its legal tender, the Euro, is the worlds 2nd most traded currency. Although regional income inequality is high, 90% of citizens own their homes, in 2016, Slovak citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 165 countries and territories, ranking the Slovak passport 11th in the world. Slovakia is the world’s biggest per-capita car producer with a total of 1,040,000 cars manufactured in the country in 2016 alone, the car industry represents 43 percent of Slovakia’s industrial output, and a quarter of its exports. Radiocarbon datingputs the oldest surviving archaeological artefacts from Slovakia – found near Nové Mesto nad Váhom – at 270,000 BC and these ancient tools, made by the Clactonian technique, bear witness to the ancient habitation of Slovakia. Other stone tools from the Middle Paleolithic era come from the Prévôt cave near Bojnice, the most important discovery from that era is a Neanderthal cranium, discovered near Gánovce, a village in northern Slovakia. The most well-known finds include the oldest female statue made of mammoth-bone, the statue was found in the 1940s in Moravany nad Váhom near Piešťany. Numerous necklaces made of shells from Cypraca thermophile gastropods of the Tertiary period have come from the sites of Zákovská, Podkovice, Hubina and these findings provide the most ancient evidence of commercial exchanges carried out between the Mediterranean and Central Europe. The Bronze Age in the territory of modern-day Slovakia went through three stages of development, stretching from 2000 to 800 BC
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