1.
Bath, Somerset
–
Bath is a city in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, known for its Roman-built baths. In 2011, the population was 88,859, Bath is in the valley of the River Avon,97 miles west of London and 11 miles south-east of Bristol. The city became a World Heritage Site in 1987, the city became a spa with the Latin name Aquæ Sulis c. AD60 when the Romans built baths and a temple in the valley of the River Avon, Bath Abbey was founded in the 7th century and became a religious centre, the building was rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries. In the 17th century, claims were made for the properties of water from the springs. Many of the streets and squares were laid out by John Wood, the Elder, and in the 18th century the city became fashionable, Jane Austen lived in Bath in the early 19th century. Further building was undertaken in the 19th century and following the Bath Blitz in World War II, the city has software, publishing and service-oriented industries. Theatres, museums, and other cultural and sporting venues have helped make it a centre for tourism with more than one million staying visitors and 3.8 million day visitors to the city each year. There are several museums including the Museum of Bath Architecture, Victoria Art Gallery, Museum of East Asian Art, the city has two universities, the University of Bath and Bath Spa University, with Bath College providing further education. Sporting clubs include Bath Rugby and Bath City F. C. while TeamBath is the name for all of the University of Bath sports teams. Bath became part of the county of Avon in 1974, and, the hills in the locality such as Bathampton Down saw human activity from the Mesolithic period. Several Bronze Age round barrows were opened by John Skinner in the 18th century, solsbury Hill overlooking the current city was an Iron Age hill fort, and the adjacent Bathampton Camp may also have been one. A long barrow site believed to be from the Beaker people was flattened to make way for RAF Charmy Down, messages to her scratched onto metal, known as curse tablets, have been recovered from the sacred spring by archaeologists. The tablets were written in Latin, and cursed people whom the writers felt had wronged them, for example, if a citizen had his clothes stolen at the baths, he might write a curse, naming the suspects, on a tablet to be read by the goddess. A temple was constructed in AD 60–70, and a complex was built up over the next 300 years. Engineers drove oak piles into the mud to provide a stable foundation, in the 2nd century, the spring was enclosed within a wooden barrel-vaulted structure that housed the caldarium, tepidarium, and frigidarium. The town was given defensive walls, probably in the 3rd century. After the failure of Roman authority in the first decade of the 5th century, in March 2012 a hoard of 30,000 silver Roman coins, one of the largest discovered in Britain, was unearthed in an archaeological dig
2.
Thomas Barker (painter)
–
Thomas Barker, was a British painter of landscape and rural life. Barker was born in 1769, at Trosnant near the village of Pontypool and his father, Benjamin Barker, was the son of a barrister, and practiced as an artist, but never attempted more than the portraits of horses. He eventually took up employment as a Japanware decorator, from an early age Barker showed a remarkable talent for drawing figures and designing landscapes, although he never took a lesson in either drawing or painting and was entirely self-taught. When he was sixteen his family moved to Bath where the patronage of an opulent coach-builder named Spackman, during the first four years he employed himself in copying the works of the old Dutch and Flemish masters. At the age of twenty-one he was sent to Rome, with funds to maintain his position there as a gentleman. While there he painted little, contenting himself with society life. Barker was an exhibitor at the Royal Academy and the British Institution for almost fifty years. He was a prolific artist, and painted a range of subjects. Macklin for 500 guineas, the second, for the same amount, at one time he amassed considerable property by the sale of his works, and spent a large sum in building a mansion for his residence, enriching it with sculpture and other works of art. There are six paintings by Barker in the Tate Gallery, including A Woodman and his Dog in a Storm, three of Barkers paintings, Italian Landscape 1808, Landscape with a Waterfall and Landscape with Cattle are in Wolverhampton Art Gallery. As well as Thomas Barker, the Barker family produced several artists of note, as well as his fathers ability, Thomas younger brother Benjamin Barker II was also a talented artist known for his landscape work. Benjamin II exhibited at the Royal Academy and many of his works were engraved by Thales Fielding in aquatint, Barkers son, Thomas Jones Barker, followed his father and uncle into painting, studying at the studio of Horace Vernet in Paris. Many of Jones Barkers works were of a nature, including Lord Clives relief of Lucknow
3.
Horace Vernet
–
Émile Jean-Horace Vernet was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist Arab subjects. Vernet was born to Carle Vernet, another painter, who was himself a son of Claude Joseph Vernet. He was born in the Paris Louvre, while his parents were staying there during the French Revolution, Vernet quickly developed a disdain for the high-minded seriousness of academic French art influenced by Classicism, and decided to paint subjects taken mostly from contemporary culture. Therefore, he began depicting the French soldier in a familiar, vernacular manner rather than in an idealized. Some of his paintings that represent French soldiers in a direct, less idealizing style, include Dog of the Regiment, Trumpeters Horse. He gained recognition during the Bourbon Restoration for a series of paintings commissioned by the duc dOrleans. Critics marvelled at the speed with which he painted. Many of his paintings made during early phase of his career were noted for their historical accuracy as well as their charged landscapes. Examples of paintings in style include his Four Battles series, The Battle of Jemappes, The Battle of Montmirail, The Battle of Hanau. Over the course of his career, Horace Vernet was honoured with dozens of important commissions. King Louis-Philippe was one of his most prolific patrons and his depictions of Algerian battles, such as the Capture of the Smahla and the Capture of Constantine, were well-received, as they were vivid depictions of the French army in the heat of battle. After the fall of the July Monarchy during the Revolution of 1848 and he continued to paint representations of the heroic French army during the Second Empire and maintained his commitment to representing war in an accessible and realistic way. He accompanied the French Army during the Crimean War, producing paintings, including one of the Battle of the Alma. Vernet died in his hometown of Paris in 1863, in Arthur Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter Holmes claims to be related to Vernet, stating, My ancestors were country squires. Was the sister of Vernet, the French artist, without further clarifying whether this is Claude Joseph Vernet, Carle Vernet, or Horace Vernet. Harkett, Daniel and Katie Hornstein, eds, Horace Vernet and the Thresholds of Nineteenth-Century Visual Culture. Dartmouth College Press/University Press of New England Ruutz-Rees, Janet E. Horace Vernet, works by Horace Vernet at Open Library
4.
Salon (Paris)
–
The Salon, or rarely Paris Salon, beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world, at the 1761 Salon, thirty-three painters, nine sculptors, and eleven engravers contributed. From 1881 onward, it has been managed by the Société des Artistes Français, in 1667, the royally sanctioned French institution of art patronage, the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, held its first semi-public art exhibit at the Salon Carré. The Salons original focus was the display of the work of recent graduates of the École des Beaux-Arts, exhibition at the Salon de Paris was essential for any artist to achieve success in France for at least the next 200 years. Exhibition in the Salon marked a sign of royal favor, in 1725, the Salon was held in the Palace of the Louvre, when it became known as Salon or Salon de Paris. In 1737, the exhibitions, held from 18 August 1737 to 5 September 1737 at the Grand Salon of the Louvre and they were held, at first, annually, and then biennially, in odd-numbered years. They would start on the feast day of St. Louis, once made regular and public, the Salons status was never seriously in doubt. In 1748 a jury of awarded artists was introduced, from this time forward, the influence of the Salon was undisputed. The Salon exhibited paintings floor-to-ceiling and on every inch of space. The jostling of artwork became the subject of other paintings. Printed catalogues of the Salons are primary documents for art historians, critical descriptions of the exhibitions published in the gazettes mark the beginning of the modern occupation of art critic. The French revolution opened the exhibition to foreign artists, the vernissage of opening night was a grand social occasion, and a crush that gave subject matter to newspaper caricaturists like Honoré Daumier. Charles Baudelaire, Denis Diderot and others wrote reviews of the Salons, the 1848 revolution liberalized the Salon. The amount of refused works was greatly reduced, the increasingly conservative and academic juries were not receptive to the Impressionist painters, whose works were usually rejected, or poorly placed if accepted. The Salon opposed the Impressionists shift away from traditional painting styles, in 1863 the Salon jury turned away an unusually high number of the submitted paintings. An uproar resulted, particularly from regular exhibitors who had been rejected, in order to prove that the Salons were democratic, Napoleon III instituted the Salon des Refusés, containing a selection of the works that the Salon had rejected that year. It opened on 17 May 1863, marking the birth of the avant-garde, the Impressionists held their own independent exhibitions in 1874,1876,1877,1879,1880,1881,1882 and 1886. In 1881, the government withdrew official sponsorship from the annual Salon, in December 1890, the leader of the Société des Artistes Français, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, propagated the idea that Salon should be an exhibition of young, not-yet awarded, artists
5.
Royal Academy of Arts
–
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. The Royal Academy of Arts was founded through an act of King George III on 10 December 1768 with a mission to promote the arts of design in Britain through education and exhibition. Supporters wanted to foster a national school of art and to encourage appreciation, fashionable taste in 18th-century Britain was based on continental and traditional art forms, providing contemporary British artists little opportunity to sell their works. From 1746 the Foundling Hospital, through the efforts of William Hogarth, the success of this venture led to the formation of the Society of Artists of Great Britain and the Free Society of Artists. Both these groups were primarily exhibiting societies, their success was marred by internal factions among the artists. The combined vision of education and exhibition to establish a school of art set the Royal Academy apart from the other exhibiting societies. It provided the foundation upon which the Royal Academy came to dominate the art scene of the 18th and 19th centuries, supplanting the earlier art societies. Sir William Chambers, a prominent architect, used his connections with George III to gain royal patronage and financial support of the Academy, the painter Joshua Reynolds was made its first president. Francis Milner Newton was elected the first secretary, a post he held for two decades until his resignation in 1788, the instrument of foundation, signed by George III on 10 December 1768, named 34 founder members and allowed for a total membership of 40. William Hoare and Johann Zoffany were added to this list later by the King and are known as nominated members, among the founder members were two women, a father and daughter, and two sets of brothers. The Royal Academy was initially housed in cramped quarters in Pall Mall, although in 1771 it was given temporary accommodation for its library and schools in Old Somerset House, then a royal palace. In 1780 it was installed in purpose-built apartments in the first completed wing of New Somerset House, located in the Strand and designed by Chambers, the Academy moved in 1837 to Trafalgar Square, where it occupied the east wing of the recently completed National Gallery. These premises soon proved too small to house both institutions, in 1868,100 years after the Academys foundation, it moved to Burlington House, Piccadilly, where it remains. Burlington House is owned by the British Government, and used rent-free by the Royal Academy, the first Royal Academy exhibition of contemporary art, open to all artists, opened on 25 April 1769 and ran until 27 May 1769. 136 works of art were shown and this exhibition, now known as the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, has been staged annually without interruption to the present day. In 1870 the Academy expanded its programme to include a temporary annual loan exhibition of Old Masters. The range and frequency of these exhibitions have grown enormously since that time. Britains first public lectures on art were staged by the Royal Academy, led by Reynolds, the first president, a program included lectures by Dr. William Hunter, John Flaxman, James Barry, Sir John Soane, and J. M. W. Turner
6.
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
–
His defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 put him in the top rank of Britains military heroes. Wellesley was born in Dublin, belonging to the Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland and he was commissioned as an ensign in the British Army in 1787, serving in Ireland as aide-de-camp to two successive Lords Lieutenant of Ireland. He was also elected as a Member of Parliament in the Irish House of Commons and he was a colonel by 1796, and saw action in the Netherlands and in India, where he fought in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War at the Battle of Seringapatam. He was appointed governor of Seringapatam and Mysore in 1799 and, as a newly appointed major-general, following Napoleons exile in 1814, he served as the ambassador to France and was granted a dukedom. During the Hundred Days in 1815, he commanded the army which defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. Wellesleys battle record is exemplary, he participated in some 60 battles during the course of his military career. Wellington is famous for his defensive style of warfare, resulting in several victories against numerically superior forces while minimising his own losses. He is regarded as one of the greatest defensive commanders of all time, after ending his active military career, Wellington returned to politics. He was twice British prime minister as part of the Tory party, from 1828 to 1830 and he oversaw the passage of the Catholic Relief Act 1829, but opposed the Reform Act 1832. He continued as one of the figures in the House of Lords until his retirement. As such, he belonged to the Protestant Ascendancy and his biographers mostly follow the contemporary newspaper evidence in saying that he was born 1 May 1769, the day that he was baptised. He was most likely born at his parents townhouse,24 Upper Merrion Street, Dublin, but his mother Anne, Countess of Mornington, recalled in 1815 that he had been born at 6 Merrion Street, Dublin. He spent most of his childhood at his familys two homes, the first a house in Dublin and the second Dangan Castle,3 miles north of Summerhill on the Trim Road in County Meath. In 1781, Arthurs father died and his eldest brother Richard inherited his fathers earldom and he went to the diocesan school in Trim when at Dangan, Mr Whytes Academy when in Dublin, and Browns School in Chelsea when in London. He then enrolled at Eton, where he studied from 1781 to 1784, moreover, Eton had no playing fields at the time. In 1785, a lack of success at Eton, combined with a shortage of funds due to his fathers death, forced the young Wellesley. Until his early twenties, Arthur showed little sign of distinction and his mother grew concerned at his idleness, stating. A year later, Arthur enrolled in the French Royal Academy of Equitation in Angers, where he progressed significantly, becoming a good horseman and learning French, upon returning to England in late 1786, he astonished his mother with his improvement
7.
Franco-Prussian War
–
The conflict was caused by Prussian ambitions to extend German unification and French fears of the shift in the European balance of power that would result if the Prussians succeeded. On 16 July 1870, the French parliament voted to declare war on the German Kingdom of Prussia, the German coalition mobilised its troops much more quickly than the French and rapidly invaded northeastern France. The German forces were superior in numbers, had training and leadership and made more effective use of modern technology, particularly railroads. The German states proclaimed their union as the German Empire under the Prussian king Wilhelm I, the Treaty of Frankfurt of 10 May 1871 gave Germany most of Alsace and some parts of Lorraine, which became the Imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. French determination to regain Alsace-Lorraine and fear of another Franco-German war, along with British apprehension about the balance of power, the causes of the Franco-Prussian War are deeply rooted in the events surrounding the unification of Germany. In the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Prussia had annexed numerous territories and this new power destabilized the European balance of power established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars. France was strongly opposed to any further alliance of German states, in Prussia, some officials considered a war against France both inevitable and necessary to arouse German nationalism in those states that would allow the unification of a great German empire. Bismarck also knew that France should be the aggressor in the conflict to bring the southern German states to side with Prussia, many Germans also viewed the French as the traditional destabilizer of Europe, and sought to weaken France to prevent further breaches of the peace. The immediate cause of the war resided in the candidacy of Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, France feared encirclement by an alliance between Prussia and Spain. The Hohenzollern princes candidacy was withdrawn under French diplomatic pressure, releasing the Ems Dispatch to the public, Bismarck made it sound as if the king had treated the French envoy in a demeaning fashion, which inflamed public opinion in France. They also argue that he wanted a war to resolve growing domestic political problems, other historians, notably French historian Pierre Milza, dispute this. According to Milza, the Emperor had no need for a war to increase his popularity, the Ems telegram had exactly the effect on French public opinion that Bismarck had intended. This text produced the effect of a red flag on the Gallic bull, gramont, the French foreign minister, declared that he felt he had just received a slap. Napoleons new prime minister, Emile Ollivier, declared that France had done all that it could humanly and honorably do to prevent the war, a crowd of 15–20,000 people, carrying flags and patriotic banners, marched through the streets of Paris, demanding war. On 19 July 1870 a declaration of war was sent to the Prussian government, the southern German states immediately sided with Prussia. The French Army consisted in peacetime of approximately 400,000 soldiers, some of them were veterans of previous French campaigns in the Crimean War, Algeria, the Franco-Austrian War in Italy, and in the Mexican campaign. Under Marshal Adolphe Niel, urgent reforms were made, universal conscription and a shorter period of service gave increased numbers of reservists, who would swell the army to a planned strength of 800,000 on mobilisation. Those who for any reason were not conscripted were to be enrolled in the Garde Mobile, however, the Franco-Prussian War broke out before these reforms could be completely implemented
8.
Crimean War
–
The Crimean War was a military conflict fought from October 1853 to March 1856 in which the Russian Empire lost to an alliance of France, Britain, the Ottoman Empire, and Sardinia. The immediate cause involved the rights of Christian minorities in the Holy Land, the French promoted the rights of Roman Catholics, while Russia promoted those of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The longer-term causes involved the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the unwillingness of Britain and France to allow Russia to gain territory and power at Ottoman expense. While the churches eventually worked out their differences and came to an agreement, Nicholas I of Russia, Nicholas issued an ultimatum that the Orthodox subjects of the Empire be placed under his protection. Britain attempted to mediate and arranged a compromise that Nicholas agreed to, when the Ottomans demanded changes, Nicholas refused and prepared for war. Having obtained promises of support from France and Britain, the Ottomans declared war on Russia in October 1853. The war started in the Balkans, when Russian troops occupied the Danubian Principalities, until then under Ottoman suzerainty and now part of modern Romania, led by Omar Pasha, the Ottomans fought a strong defensive campaign and stopped the advance at Silistra. A separate action on the town of Kars in eastern Anatolia led to a siege. Fearing an Ottoman collapse, France and Britain rushed forces to Gallipoli and they then moved north to Varna in June, arriving just in time for the Russians to abandon Silistra. Aside from a skirmish at Köstence, there was little for the allies to do. Karl Marx quipped that there they are, the French doing nothing, after extended preparations, the forces landed on the peninsula in September 1854 and fought their way to a point south of Sevastopol after a series of successful battles. The Russians counterattacked on 25 October in what became the Battle of Balaclava and were repulsed, a second counterattack, ordered personally by Nicholas, was defeated by Omar Pasha. The front settled into a siege and led to conditions for troops on both sides. Smaller actions were carried out in the Baltic, the Caucasus, Sevastopol fell after eleven months, and neutral countries began to join the Allied cause. Isolated and facing a bleak prospect of invasion from the west if the war continued and this was welcomed by France and Britain, as their subjects were beginning to turn against their governments as the war dragged on. The war was ended by the Treaty of Paris, signed on 30 March 1856, Russia was forbidden from hosting warships in the Black Sea. The Ottoman vassal states of Wallachia and Moldavia became largely independent, Christians there were granted a degree of official equality, and the Orthodox Church regained control of the Christian churches in dispute. The Crimean War was one of the first conflicts to use technologies such as explosive naval shells, railways
9.
Lucknow
–
Lucknow is the capital of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and is also the administrative headquarters of the eponymous District and Division. It is the largest city in Uttar Pradesh, the eleventh most populous city, in North India, it is the third largest city after Delhi and Jaipur. Lucknow has always known as a multicultural city that flourished as a North Indian cultural and artistic hub. It continues to be an important centre of governance, administration, education, commerce, aerospace, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, culture, tourism, music, the city stands at an elevation of approximately 123 metres above sea level. Lucknow district covers an area of 2,528 square kilometres, bounded on the east by Barabanki, on the west by Unnao, on the south by Raebareli and in the north by Sitapur and Hardoi, Lucknow sits on the northwestern shore of the Gomti River. Hindi is the language of the city and Urdu is also widely spoken. Lucknow is the centre of Shia Islam in India with the highest Shia Muslim population in India, historically, the capital of Awadh was controlled by the Delhi Sultanate which then came under Mughal rule. It was later transferred to the Nawabs of Awadh, in 1856, the British East India Company abolished local rule and took complete control of the city along with the rest of Awadh and, in 1857, transferred it to the British Raj. Along with the rest of India, Lucknow became independent from Britain on 15 August 1947 and it has been listed the 17th fastest growing city in India and 74th in world. Lucknow, along with Agra and Varanasi, is in the Uttar Pradesh Heritage Arc, Lucknow is the anglicised spelling of the local pronunciation lakhnau. According to one legend, the city is named after Lakshmana, the legend states that Lakshmana had a palace or an estate in the area, which was called Lakshmanapuri. However the Dalit movement believes that Lakhan Pasi, a ruler, was the settler of the city and is named after him. The settlement came to be known as Lakhanpur by the 11th century, a similar theory states that the city was known as Lakshmanavati after Lakshmana. The name changed to Lakhanavati, then Lakhnauti and finally Lakhnau, yet another theory states that the citys name is connected with Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. Over time, the changed to Laksmanauti, Laksmnaut, Lakhsnaut, Lakhsnau and, finally. From 1350 onwards, Lucknow and parts of the Awadh region were ruled by the Delhi Sultanate, Sharqi Sultanate, Mughal Empire, Nawabs of Awadh, the British East India Company and the British Raj. Lucknow was one of the centres of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and actively participated in Indias independence movement. Until 1719, the subah of Awadh was a province of the Mughal Empire administered by a Governor appointed by the Emperor, persian adventurer Saadat Khan, also known as Burhan-ul-Mulk, was appointed nizam of Awadh in 1722 and established his court in Faizabad, near Lucknow
10.
Queen Victoria
–
Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she adopted the title of Empress of India. Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, both the Duke of Kent and King George III died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She inherited the throne aged 18, after her fathers three brothers had all died, leaving no surviving legitimate children. The United Kingdom was already a constitutional monarchy, in which the sovereign held relatively little direct political power. Privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments, publicly, Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together, after Alberts death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, republicanism temporarily gained strength and her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration. Her reign of 63 years and seven months is known as the Victorian era and it was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover and her son and successor, Edward VII, belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the line of his father. Victorias father was Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, until 1817, Edwards niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales, was the only legitimate grandchild of George III. Her death in 1817 precipitated a crisis that brought pressure on the Duke of Kent. In 1818 he married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a widowed German princess with two children—Carl and Feodora —by her first marriage to the Prince of Leiningen and her brother Leopold was Princess Charlottes widower. The Duke and Duchess of Kents only child, Victoria, was born at 4.15 a. m. on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in London. Victoria was christened privately by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton, on 24 June 1819 in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace and she was baptised Alexandrina, after one of her godparents, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria, after her mother. Additional names proposed by her parents—Georgina, Charlotte, and Augusta—were dropped on the instructions of the Dukes eldest brother, George, the Duke of Clarence and the Duke of Kent married on the same day in 1818, but both of Clarences daughters died as infants. Victorias father died in January 1820, when Victoria was less than a year old, a week later her grandfather died and was succeeded by his eldest son, George IV. The Duke of York died in 1827, when George IV died in 1830, he was succeeded by his next surviving brother, William IV, and Victoria became heir presumptive
11.
India
–
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
12.
Pyrenees
–
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain. For the most part, the main crest forms a divide between France and Spain, with the microstate of Andorra sandwiched in between. The Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre have historically extended on both sides of the range, with smaller northern portions now in France and larger southern parts now in Spain. The demonym for the noun Pyrenees in English is Pyrenean, in Greek mythology, Pyrene is a princess who gave her name to the Pyrenees. The Greek historian Herodotus says Pyrene is the name of a town in Celtic Europe, Hercules, characteristically drunk and lustful, violates the sacred code of hospitality and rapes his hosts daughter. Pyrene gives birth to a serpent and runs away to the woods, alone, she pours out her story to the trees, attracting the attention of wild beasts who tear her to pieces. After his victory over Geryon, Hercules passes through the kingdom of Bebryx again, and all the rock-cliffs and wild-beast haunts echo back Pyrene. … The mountains hold on to the name through the ages. Pliny the Elder connects the story of Hercules and Pyrene to Lusitania, the Spanish Pyrenees are part of the following provinces, from east to west, Girona, Barcelona, Lleida, Huesca, Navarra and Gipuzkoa. The French Pyrenees are part of the following départements, from east to west, Pyrénées-Orientales, Aude, Ariège, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, the independent principality of Andorra is sandwiched in the eastern portion of the mountain range between the Spanish Pyrenees and French Pyrenees. Physiographically, the Pyrenees may be divided into three sections, the Atlantic, the Central, and the Eastern Pyrenees, together, they form a distinct physiographic province of the larger Alpine System division. In the Western Pyrenees, from the Basque mountains near the Bay of Biscay of the Atlantic Ocean, at the eastern end on the southern side lies a distinct area known as the Sub-Pyrenees. On the French side the slopes of the range descend abruptly. The Pyrenees are older than the Alps, their sediments were first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras, the intense pressure and uplifting of the Earths crust first affected the eastern part and moved progressively to the entire chain, culminating in the Eocene Epoch. The eastern part of the Pyrenees consists largely of granite and gneissose rocks, the massive and unworn character of the chain comes from its abundance of granite, which is particularly resistant to erosion, as well as weak glacial development. Low passes are lacking, and the roads and the railroads between France and Spain run only in the lowlands at the western and eastern ends of the Pyrenees. A notable visual feature of mountain range is La Brèche de Roland, a gap in the ridge line. Coal deposits capable of being profitably worked are situated chiefly on the Spanish slopes, the open pit of Trimoun close to the commune of Luzenac is one of the greatest sources of talc in Europe
13.
Cuirass
–
A cuirass is a piece of armour, formed of a single or multiple pieces of metal or other rigid material which covers the front of the torso. In a suit of armour, the cuirass was generally connected to a back piece, cuirass could also refer to the complete torso-protecting armour. As parts of the military equipment of classic antiquity, cuirasses and corsets of bronze, iron. Secondary protection for the breast was worn in earlier times by men-at-arms in addition to mail hauberks and it was not until the 14th century that the plate armour became an established part of medieval armour. The Roman emperor Galba donned a cuirass just before he went to his death. Suetonius records in 12 Caesars that, As was offering sacrifice on the morning before he was killed and he did however put on a linen cuirass, though he openly declared that it would afford little protection against so many swords. The cuirass was almost universally worn throughout its lifespan as a form of armour, the cuirass was always made long enough to rest on the hips. If it had been suspended by the shoulders, its weight would have exhausted its wearer. In the second half of the 15th century, the cuirass was occasionally superseded by the brigandine jacket, in essence, the brigandine jacket was constructed of metal plates sewn into a fabric jacket. About 1550, the breast-piece of the cuirass was characterized by a central ridge, called the tapul. Somewhat later, the tapul was moved lower on the breast, eventually, the profile of the plate began to resemble a pea pod and, as such, was referred to as the peascod cuirass. Corslets provided with both breast and back pieces were worn by foot-soldiers in the 17th century, while their comrades were equipped in heavier and stronger cuirasses. These defenses continued in use longer than any single piece of armour. Both the French and German heavy cavalry wore cuirasses in parade leading up to World War I, in the early part of that conflict, they painted their cuirasses black and wore canvas protection covers over the neo-Roman style helmets. Some years after Waterloo, certain historical cuirasses were taken from their repose in the Tower of London and adapted for service by the Life Guards, for parade purposes, the Prussian Gardes du Corps and other corps wore cuirasses of richly decorated leather. During the Heian period, Japanese armourers started to use leather as a material, by the end of the Heian period, the Japanese cuirass had arrived at the shape recognized as part of iconic samurai armor. Scales of iron and leather, bound together by silk lace, were used to construct samurai armours, the introduction of firearms to Japan in 1543 resulted in the development of a cuirass constructed of solid iron plates. The use of the samurai cuirass lasted until the 1860s when an army using conventional uniforms was established
14.
Chasseur
–
Chasseur, a French term for hunter, is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry or light cavalry to denote troops trained for rapid action. During the remainder of the 18th century various types of troops were employed within the French army. The chasseurs à pied were the light infantrymen of the French Imperial army and they were armed the same as their counterparts in the regular line infantry battalions, but were trained to excel in marksmanship and in executing manoeuvres at high speed. From 1840, they wore a frock coat. After 1850, however the chasseurs adopted a uniform consisting of a frock coat with slits in the sides on the bottom edge to allow for better freedom of movement than the previous design. They also wore light blue baggy trousers tucked into jambières, the other light infantry unit type, the voltigeurs, specialised as skirmishers and for advance screening of the main force. The chasseurs could also be called upon to form advance guards, following the Napoleonic Wars the chasseurs à pied continued to exist as a separate corps within the infantry. Initially a specially trained elite, their tactical role eventually came to match that of the ordinary lignards, by the late 19th century the differences between the two branches were confined to uniform and insignia, although the chasseurs retained a strong esprit de corps. However public opinion, influenced by the occasions on which the chasseurs had distinguished themselves during the war was opposed to the disbanding of this distinctive corps, under the Third Republic the chasseurs à pied were increased from 20 to 30 battalions. Of these, four saw service in Tunisia, one in Indochina. Twelve of the battalions were re-designated as mountain infantry. The remaining chasseur battalions were deployed near the frontier with Germany as part of the troupes de couverture, during World War I the French Army maintained 31 battalions of infantry chasseurs plus a varying number of reserve and territorial units. Each infantry division was expected to include at least one battalion of either chasseurs à pied or chasseurs alpine, each battalion had an establishment of 1300 to 1500 men. They were reportedly nicknamed schwarze Teufel by their German opponents, in reference to their dark colored uniforms, the chasseurs served mainly on the Western Front but detachments were sent to reinforce the Italian front in 1917. Originally a mixed corps of infantry and horsemen, this force proved sufficiently effective to warrant the creation of a single corps. In 1779 these squadrons were amalgamated into six regiments, each of which was given a regional title, in 1788 six dragoon regiments were converted to chasseurs à cheval and during the period of the Revolutionary Wars the number was again increased, to twenty-five. During their earlier history these regiments lacked the higher profile of the identically-armed hussars, distinguished by dark green uniforms and a bugle-horn badge, they were frequently used as advance scouting units providing valuable information on enemy movements. Both Napoleons Imperial Guard and the Royal Guard of the Restoration each included a regiment of chasseurs à cheval, in addition Napoleon added a further five line regiments to those inherited from the Revolutionary period
15.
Battle of Balaclava
–
The Allies decided against an immediate assault on Sevastopol and instead prepared for a protracted siege. However, this committed the British to the defence of the right flank of the Allied siege operations. The battle began with a Russian artillery and infantry attack on the Ottoman redoubts that formed Balaclavas first line of defence, the Ottoman forces initially resisted the Russian assaults, but lacking support they were eventually forced to retreat. When the redoubts fell, the Russian cavalry moved to engage the second defensive line held by the Ottoman, the British and French fleets departed from the Bulgarian port of Varna on 5 September 1854, heading towards Kalamita Bay in the Crimea. By the 14th, the troops began to land, within four days the Allied force of 61,400 infantry,1,200 cavalry and 137 guns, was ashore. News of Menshikovs defeat was met with disbelief by Tsar Nicholas I in St. Petersburg – it seemed it would only be a matter of time before Sevastopol fell. It is frightful to think what might have happened, wrote Vice-Admiral Kornilov, had it not been for this error of the enemys. John Burgoyne, the British Armys most experienced engineer, advocated an attack on Sevastopol from the south which and this was a view shared by Saint-Arnaud who, having received his own intelligence of Russian reinforcements, had refused to agree to an attack from the north. Burgoynes proposed flank march required the Allies to go round the city to the east in order to attack the harbour from the south where the defences were weakest. Whilst Menshikov moved east, the Anglo-French-Turkish army, with the British in the vanguard, the heat was oppressive, the water sparse, and cholera rife, taking a heavy toll on the men including Saint-Arnaud who was already ill with cancer. The march had been a trial and was not without incident. By the 26th, however, Raglan had reached the village of Kadikoi and that same day Saint-Arnaud, now critically ill, surrendered his command to General Canrobert. The harbour at Balaclava was too small for both Allied armies to use, by rights the French, who had claimed the honour of holding the right of the line, should have occupied Balaclava whilst the British should have moved west to the ports of Kazatch and Kamiesh. The decision by Raglan was a bad mistake, and one for which the British Army was to pay a terrible price, for many, the only justification for the flank march was an immediate assault upon Sevastopol. George Cathcart, commander of the British 4th Division, pleaded with Raglan for instant action, I am sure I could walk into it, with scarcely the loss of a man, wrote Cathcart to Raglan on 28 September from the heights above the eastern approach to the city. We could leave our packs, and run into it even in open day … We see people walking about the streets in great consternation, but caution prevailed, and plans by Burgoyne for a formal siege, backed by Canrobert, were prepared. When Raglan told Cathcart that nothing would happen until the Allied siege trains had been landed, Cathcart could not hide his irritation, but my dear Lord Raglan, what the devil is there to knock down. Having decided upon which port they would occupy the Allies set about deploying their forces on the Chersonese Peninsula, the peninsula is bounded to the north by Sevastopol Harbour, at the head of which the River Chernaya flows from the south-east
16.
Kars
–
Kars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. With a population of 73,836, it is the largest city on the Turkish side of the border with Armenia. For a brief period of time, it served as the capital of the medieval Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia. Its significance increased in the 19th century, when Kars was contested between the Ottoman and Russian empires, with the latter gaining control of the city as a result of the 1877-78 war, during the Turkish–Armenian War in late 1920, Turkish revolutionaries captured Kars for the last time. As Chorzene, the town appears in Roman historiography as part of ancient Armenia, the Turkish etymology offered by M. Fahrettin Kırzıoğlu, has been dismissed as unsustainable by scholars. Little is known of the history of Kars beyond the fact that it had its own dynasty of Armenian rulers and was the capital of a region known as Vanand. Medieval Armenian historians referred to the city by a variety of names, including Karuts Kaghak, Karuts Berd, Amrotsn Karuts, at some point in the ninth century it became part of the territory of the Armenian Bagratunis. Kars was the capital of Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia between 928 and 961, during this period the towns cathedral, later known as the Church of the Holy Apostles, was built. In 963, shortly after the Bagratuni seat was transferred to Ani, Kars became the capital of an independent kingdom. In 1064, just after the capture of Ani by Alp Arslan, in 1065 Gagik-Abas ceded his kingdom to the Byzantine Empire, but soon after Kars was taken by the Seljuk Turks. The Kars emirate was a vassal of the Saltukids in Erzurum, thus, it was only in 1206 that Zakare of the Zakarids-Mkhargrzeli succeeded in capturing Kars, joining it to their fiefdom of Ani. In 1387 the city surrendered to Timur and its fortifications were damaged, anatolian beyliks followed for some time after that, until it firstly fell into the hands of the Kara Koyunlu and subsequent Ak Koyunlu. After the Ak Koyunlu, as it went naturally for almost all their former territories, following the Peace of Amasya of 1555 that followed through the Ottoman-Safavid War of 1533-1555, the city was declared neutral, and its existing fortress was destroyed. In 1585, during the Ottoman-Safavid War of 1579-1590, the Ottomans took the city alongside Tabriz, on June 8,1604, during the next bout of hostilities between the two archrivals, the Ottoman-Safavid War of 1603-1618, Safavid ruler Abbas I retook the city from the Ottomans. The fortifications of the city were rebuilt by the Ottoman Sultan Murad III and were enough to withstand a siege by Nader Shah of Persia. It became the head of a sanjak in the Ottoman Erzurum Vilayet, in Augsust 1745, a huge Ottoman army was routed at Kars by Nader Shah during the Ottoman-Persian War of 1743-1746. As a result, the Turks fled westwards, raiding their own lands as they went, in 1807 Kars successfully resisted an attack by the Russian Empire. After another Russian siege in 1828 the city was surrendered by the Ottomans on June 23,1828 to the Russian general Count Ivan Paskevich,11,000 men becoming prisoners of war
17.
Battle of Sedan
–
The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco–Prussian War on 1 September 1870. Marshal MacMahon was wounded during the attacks and command passed to General Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot, after its defeat at Gravelotte, Marshal Bazaines Army of the Rhine retreated to Metz where it was besieged by over 150,000 Prussian troops of the First and Second Armies. Emperor Napoleon III, along with Marshal MacMahon, formed the new French Army of Châlons to march on to Metz to rescue Bazaine. The Prussians had repeatedly outmaneuvered the French in the string of victories through August 1870, the Prussians, under the command of von Moltke, took advantage of this maneuver to catch the French in a pincer grip. After a hard-fought battle with the French losing 5,000 men and 40 cannons in a sharp fight, the French withdrew towards Sedan. Their intention was to rest the army, which had involved in a long series of marches, resupply them with ammunition and then retreat. Having reformed in Sedan, the Army of Châlons deployed the First Corps to check the Prussian advance and they could not retreat owing to the exhaustion of their troops, and they were short on ammunition. The French rear was protected by the Fortress of Sedan, and offered a position at Calvaire dIlly. Moltke divided his forces into three groups, one to detain the French where they were, another to race forward and catch them if they retreated, the French were unable to move and had to fight where they stood. The Prussians thus encircled the French, Napoleon had ordered MacMahon to break out of the encirclement, and the only point where that seemed possible was La Moncelle, whose flank was protected by a fortified town. The Prussians also picked La Moncelle as one point where they would mount a breakthrough, prince George of Saxony and the Prussian XI Corps was assigned to the task, and General Baron von der Tann were ordered to attack Bazeilles on the right flank. This was the engagement, as the French First Corps had barricaded the streets. Von der Tann sent a brigade across pontoon bridges at 0400 hours, the combat drew new forces, as French brigades from the First, Fifth, and Twelfth Corps arrived. At 0800 the Prussian 8th Infantry Division arrived, and von der Tann decided it was time for a decisive attack. He had not been able to bring artillery to bear from long range, so he committed his last brigade to storm the town and his artillery reached Bazeilles at 0900 hours. Fighting began in earnest at 0600, and the wounded MacMahon had appointed General Auguste Ducrot to command, Wimpffen then threw his forces against the Saxons at La Moncelle. This led to a rally for the French, who drove back the artillery around La Moncelle and pressed the Bavarians. However, with the taking of Bazeilles, and the arrival of waves of Prussian troops
18.
Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington
–
Brigadier Arthur Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, KG, LVO, OBE, MC, styled Marquess of Douro between 1943 and 1972, was a senior British peer and a brigadier in the British Army. His main residence was Stratfield Saye House in Hampshire and he was a member of the House of Lords from 1972 until 1999, losing his seat by the House of Lords Act. Wellington was born in Rome, Italy, on 2 July 1915, the son of Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington and he was known by the courtesy title Marquess of Douro from 1943 when his father succeeded in the dukedom on the death of his nephew. He attended Eton before going up to New College, Oxford, Wellington was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Territorial Army in 1936, and was commissioned with the same rank in the British Army Reserve in 1939. In 1940, he was given a commission as a second lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards Regiment. He received successive promotions to major in 1951, and to lieutenant colonel in 1954, seeing service in Cyprus between 1956 and 1958, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1958. He then moved to the Household Cavalry Regiment, which he began commanding in 1959 and he retired from the Army in 1968 and was granted the honorary rank of brigadier. Wellington was appointed the Colonel-in-Chief of the Duke of Wellingtons Regiment in 1974, after its absorption into the Yorkshire Regiment, he was appointed Deputy Colonel-in-Chief of the new regiment. He was also Deputy Colonel of The Blues and Royals and an Honorary Colonel of the 2nd Battalion, Wellington was involved in business as a Director of Massey Ferguson Holdings Ltd from 1967 to 1989 and of Motor Iberica SA from 1967 to 1999. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire on 18 April 1975, through his final year, the Duke continued to conduct public engagements, most recently at the Order of the Garter investiture,16 June 2014. Wellington was twice engaged to Lady Rose Paget, the daughter of Charles Paget, 6th Marquess of Anglesey, who eventually married the Hon. John Francis McLaren. On 28 January 1944 he married Diana Ruth McConnel, only daughter of Major-General Douglas McConnel CB, CBE, of Knockdolian, Colmonell, Ayr, at St. Georges Cathedral in Jerusalem. Lord Richard Gerald Wellesley, who lives on his grandfathers estate Knockdolian, he married Joanna Sumner on 14 July 1973. Natasha Doone Wellesley she married Tom Halliday on 20 October 2007 and they have one son, Samuel George Halliday Davinia Chloe Wellesley Lady Jane Wellesley Lord John Henry Wellesley he married Corinne Vaes, daughter of a Belgian diplomat, on 7 May 1977. They have two children, Gerald Valerian Wellesley Alexandrina Sofia Wellesley she married James Blunt on 6 September 2014, Lord James Christopher Douglas Wellesley he married Laura Wedge in 1994 and they were divorced in 2005. He remarried Emma Nethercott on 26 July 2005,2 July 1915 –16 September 1943, Valerian Wellesley, Esq. He was the 9th Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo of the Kingdom of Spain, in accordance with Spanish procedure, Lord Douro petitioned formal claim to the title with the Spanish authorities. King Juan Carlos of Spain, through his Minister, granted the succession of the dukedom to Douro on 21 May 2010, Wellington was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order on 15 March 1952
19.
FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan
–
Field Marshal FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan, GCB, PC, known before 1852 as Lord FitzRoy Somerset, was a British Army officer. As a junior officer he served in the Peninsular War and the Hundred Days and he also took part in politics as Tory Member of Parliament for Truro before becoming Master-General of the Ordnance. He became commander of the British troops sent to the Crimea in 1854, after an early success at the Battle of Alma, a failure to deliver orders with sufficient clarity caused the fateful Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava. Despite further success at the Battle of Inkerman, an allied assault on Sevastopol in June 1855 was a complete failure. Raglan died later that month from a mixture of dysentery and clinical depression, promoted to lieutenant on 1 June 1805, Somerset accompanied Sir Arthur Paget on his visit to Sultan Selim III of the Ottoman Empire, who had been aligning himself too closely with France, in 1807. He became a captain in the 43rd Regiment of Foot on 5 May 1808 shortly before his appointment as aide-de-camp to Sir Arthur Wellesley in July 1808, Somerset accompanied Wellesleys Army when it was sent to Portugal later that month. Somerset fought at the Second Battle of Porto in May 1809, the Battle of Talavera in July 1809, promoted to brevet major on 9 June 1811, he also took part in the Battle of El Bodón in September 1811. They also fought together at the Battle of the Nive in December 1813, the Battle of Orthez in February 1814, following Wellingtons appointment as British Ambassador during the short period of Bourbon restoration, Somerset assumed a role as his secretary at the Embassy on 5 July 1814. Somerset transferred to the 1st Guards on 25 July 1814 and was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 2 January 1815. Somerset also saw action during the Hundred Days, he served on Wellingtons staff at the Battle of Quatre Bras on 16 June 1815 and at the Battle of Waterloo two days later. Promoted to colonel and appointed an aide-de-camp to the Prince Regent on 28 August 1815 and he remained with the Army of Occupation in France until May 1816 when he returned to the post of secretary at the British Embassy in Paris. Somerset was elected Tory Member of Parliament for Truro in 1818, Somerset lost his seat at the general election in 1820 but, having been promoted to major-general on 27 May 1825, regained his seat in Parliament in 1826. Following Wellingtons appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in January 1827 Somerset became Military Secretary in August 1827 and he stood down from Parliament in 1829 and was promoted to lieutenant-general on 28 June 1838. Raglan became commander of the British troops sent to the Crimea with the rank of full general on 21 February 1854 and was promoted to the substantive rank of full general on 20 June 1854. An Anglo-French force under the joint command of Somerset and General Jacques St. Arnaud defeated General Alexander Menshikovs Russian army at the Battle of Alma in September 1854 and he was also awarded the Ottoman Empire Order of the Medjidie, 1st Class on 15 May 1855. A piecemeal allied assault on Sevastopol on 18 June 1855 was a complete failure, the anxieties of the siege began to seriously undermine Raglans health and he died from a mixture of dysentery and clinical depression on 29 June 1855. His body was brought home and interred at St Michael and All Angels Church, Raglan had also served as honorary colonel of the 53rd Regiment of Foot and then as honorary colonel of the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards. A blue plaque was erected outside Raglans house at Stanhope Gate in London in 1911, on 6 August 1814 Somerset married Lady Emily Harriet Wellesley-Pole
20.
National Army Museum
–
The National Army Museum is the British Armys central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the museum is a non-departmental public body. The National Army Museum is usually open to the every day of the year from 10. 00am to 5. 30pm, except on 24–26 December and 1 January. Though the National Army Museum does hold a number of early objects. It also differs from the matter of the Imperial War Museum, another national museum in London. The National Army Museum was first conceived in the late 1950s, and owes its existence to the persistent hard work of Field Marshal Sir Gerald Templer and it was initially established in 1960 in temporary accommodation at the former No.1 Riding School at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. The new building was completed ten years later and opened by the Queen on 11 November 1971, a large site was chosen near Marne Barracks, beside the A1, and in 2002 Simon Pierce of Austin-Smith, Lord was chosen as the new museums architect. However, funding and planning issues later led to the cancellation of the plan in 2003 and this redisplay concluded with the opening of the new permanent National Service gallery in October 2010, though a further phase of redevelopment followed from 2011 onwards. From 1 May 2014 until 30 March 2017 the museum was closed to the public for a major Heritage Lottery Fund-funded rebuilding programme, in early March 2017, the Queen reopened the Museum, marking the completion of the three-year renovation. The National Army Museum achieved devolved status as a public body in 1983 under terms of the National Heritage Act. The annual Grant-in-Aid from the Ministry of Defence, is administered by the Director of the Museum on behalf of the governing body and these previously included Butterflies and Bayonets, The Soldier as Collector Helmand, The Soldiers Story and War Boy, The Michael Foreman Exhibition. The 2010–2011 exhibition in this space was The Road to Kabul, British Armies in Afghanistan,1838 –1919 about the First, Second and Third Afghan Wars. These were replaced in May 2011 by a new gallery, again entitled Making of Britain 1066–1783, the Changing the World gallery told the story of the French Revolutionary Wars, Napoleonic Wars and British involvement in India from 1794 to 1904. This gallery was divided into two halves, the first half covered the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, the War of 1812 and the Mysore Wars. Its exhibits included the helmet of Tipu Sultan and this half concluded with the Battle of Waterloo, illustrated by the Siborne model, the skeleton of Marengo and a diorama figure of Charles Ewart capturing a French eagle. The second half began with a Victorian Soldier Action Zone, a hands-on, interactive area for children, dealing with weapons and conditions of service for soldiers in the Victorian era. It then continued onto the British Army and British Indian Armys involvement in the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, the Zulu War, the display then concluded with a display on the Boer War on the corridor between the first and second floors. The gallery showed the part played in the First World War and Second World War by the armies of the United Kingdom and her empire and it began with recruitment for the First World War and ends with a display on the Partition of India
21.
Staff College, Camberley
–
Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the Presidency armies of British India. It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe founded in 1799, in 1858 the name of the Senior Department was changed to Staff College, and in 1870 this was separated from the Royal Military College. Apart from periods of closure during major wars, the Staff College continued to operate until 1997, the equivalent in the Royal Navy was the Royal Naval Staff College, Greenwich and the equivalent in the Royal Air Force was the RAF Staff College, Bracknell. In 1799 Colonel John Le Marchant submitted a proposal to the Duke of York and this facility was officially recognised by royal warrant in 1801 as the senior department of the Royal Military College which was to open at a large house in 1802 in Great Marlow. Le Marchant was now appointed as Lieutenant-Governor and Superintendent-General of the College, the course lasted for two years and in 1808 was specifically stated as intended to train future commanding officers and staff officers. Until 1858, students were required to pay to attend, the senior department of the Royal Military College moved to a building in West Street in Farnham in Surrey in 1813 and in 1820 joined the junior department at Sandhurst. The College underwent a decline and by 1857 the annual admissions had fallen to just six, in 1858 the name was changed to the Staff College and it was made independent of the Royal Military College in 1870. It now had its own Commandant and Adjutant, although continued to be administered by Sandhurst until 1911, proper entry and final examinations had been introduced for the primarily military subjects taught. Purpose-built premises were approved in 1858 and built between 1859 and 1863 to a design by James Pennethorne, adjacent to the Royal Military College, during the 1870s there were just 40 students although numbers increased to 60 students in the 1880s. In 1903, officers of the Colonial forces first joined the college and in 1905 naval officers were introduced
22.
Napoleonic Wars
–
The wars resulted from the unresolved disputes associated with the French Revolution and the Revolutionary Wars, which had raged on for years before concluding with the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. Napoleon became the First Consul of France in 1799, then Emperor five years later, inheriting the political and military struggles of the Revolution, he created a state with stable finances, a strong central bureaucracy, and a well-trained army. The British frequently financed the European coalitions intended to thwart French ambitions, by 1805, they had managed to convince the Austrians and the Russians to wage another war against France. At sea, the Royal Navy destroyed a combined Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar in October 1805, Prussian worries about increasing French power led to the formation of the Fourth Coalition in 1806. France then forced the defeated nations of the Fourth Coalition to sign the Treaties of Tilsit in July, although Tilsit signified the high watermark of the French Empire, it did not bring a lasting peace for Europe. Hoping to extend the Continental System and choke off British trade with the European mainland, Napoleon invaded Iberia, the Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support. The Peninsular War lasted six years, featured extensive guerrilla warfare, the Continental System caused recurring diplomatic conflicts between France and its client states, especially Russia. Unwilling to bear the consequences of reduced trade, the Russians routinely violated the Continental System. The French launched an invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812. The resulting campaign witnessed the collapse and retreat of the Grand Army along with the destruction of Russian lands. In 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in a Sixth Coalition against France, a lengthy military campaign culminated in a large Allied army defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813. The Allies then invaded France and captured Paris in the spring of 1814 and he was exiled to the island of Elba near Rome and the Bourbons were restored to power. However, Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France once again, the Allies responded by forming a Seventh Coalition, which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in June. The Congress of Vienna, which started in 1814 and concluded in 1815, established the new borders of Europe and laid out the terms, Napoleon seized power in 1799, creating a de facto military dictatorship. The Napoleonic Wars began with the War of the Third Coalition, Kagan argues that Britain was irritated in particular by Napoleons assertion of control over Switzerland. Furthermore, Britons felt insulted when Napoleon stated that their country deserved no voice in European affairs, for its part, Russia decided that the intervention in Switzerland indicated that Napoleon was not looking toward a peaceful resolution of his differences with the other European powers. The British quickly enforced a blockade of France to starve it of resources. Napoleon responded with economic embargoes against Britain, and sought to eliminate Britains Continental allies to break the coalitions arrayed against him, the so-called Continental System formed a league of armed neutrality to disrupt the blockade and enforce free trade with France
23.
Louis Nolan
–
Louis Edward Nolan was a British Army officer and cavalry tactician best known for his role and death in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. Born to a diplomatic official and his wife, Nolan was educated at the Austrian Inhaber Pioneer School at Tulln. Due to the nepotism inherent in the Austro-Hungarian armed forces, Nolan succeeded in transferring to the British Army as a Cornet in the 15th Light Dragoons. A trusted voice on cavalry matters, Nolan was dispatched to the Middle East in the days of the Crimean War to hunt for appropriate mounts. After returning he was attached to the staff of General Richard Airey,40 percent of the Light Brigades soldiers were killed, wounded, captured or rendered unfit for service, including Nolan, who was the first casualty of the Charge. Nolan was born on 4 January 1818 to Babington and Elizabeth Nolan, in York County and his fathers desire to see him given a chance to enter a prestigious branch of the armed forces meant that Nolan was regularly transferred to other cadet schools to learn more about the military. Enthusiastic about the cavalry, he was noted as an excellent horseman and student of military theory, with the multi-lingual nature of Austro-Hungary, he also studied languages, including Hungarian. Other subjects studied there included fortification, water engineering, mathematics, Nolan graduated from the Pioneer School a year early in May 1835, probably following a recommendation from Prince Liechtenstein, and was made a subaltern in the 10th Austrian Hussar regiment. Nolan served in Austria, Hungary and on the Polish frontier and his confidential report from 1838 commended his great zeal and application, and he was highly popular within the regiment, rising to become the senior lieutenant. Despite this, his status as a foreigner and a commoner limited his opportunities for promotion, although promotions in the Austrian Army theoretically were merit-based, in practise the gentry exchanged favours and money unofficially to secure them. Nolans father attempted to get him a commission with the British Army, while there, he secured an interview with Lord Fitzroy Somerset while his father negotiated with the Austrian General Clam-Gallas to permit Nolan to leave the Austrian armed forces. Eventually, following the payment of £450, Nolan was granted a commission as a Cornet in the 15th Light Dragoons of the British Army on 23 April 1839. His resignation from the Austrian army was never accepted. Despite the negative associations with service there, Nolan had deliberately transferred to a regiment operating in India and he initially travelled to Maidstone, where the 15th maintained a troop to train new recruits, under the command of Captain George Key. He then caught a troopship to Bombay, the Malabar, which arrived on 9 November, soon after arrival he fell ill and was granted two years of sick leave, starting from 26 March 1840, and returned to Britain. He returned to service in June 1841, again to the Maidstone depot. He went on again in August to take the riding masters course and exam. By 1842 his time at Maidstone had ended, and he departed for India in October, the 15th Light Dragoons were stationed in Bangalore, a relatively peaceful area, and Nolan did not see action during his time there
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "article name needed". New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the 
_by_Thomas_Jones_Barker.jpg){kind=link}