The Western Front was the main theatre of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium gaining military control of important industrial regions in France; the tide of the advance was turned with the Battle of the Marne. Following the Race to the Sea, both sides dug in along a meandering line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France, which changed little except during early 1917 and in 1918. Between 1915 and 1917 there were several offensives along this front; the attacks employed massive artillery massed infantry advances. Entrenchments, machine gun emplacements, barbed wire and artillery inflicted severe casualties during attacks and counter-attacks and no significant advances were made. Among the most costly of these offensives were the Battle of Verdun, in 1916, with a combined 700,000 casualties, the Battle of the Somme in 1916, with more than a million casualties, the Battle of Passchendaele, in 1917, with 487,000 casualties.

To break the deadlock of trench warfare on the Western Front, both sides tried new military technology, including poison gas and tanks. The adoption of better tactics and the cumulative weakening of the armies in the west led to the return of mobility in 1918; the German Spring Offensive of 1918 was made possible by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that ended the war of the Central Powers against Russia and Romania on the Eastern Front. Using short, intense "hurricane" bombardments and infiltration tactics, the German armies moved nearly 100 kilometres to the west, the deepest advance by either side since 1914, but the result was indecisive; the unstoppable advance of the Allied armies during the Hundred Days Offensive of 1918 caused a sudden collapse of the German armies and persuaded the German commanders that defeat was inevitable. The German government surrendered in the Armistice of 11 November 1918, the terms of peace were settled by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. At the outbreak of the First World War, the German Army, with seven field armies in the west and one in the east, executed a modified version of the Schlieffen Plan, moving through neutral Belgium to attack France, turning southwards to encircle the French Army and trap it on the German border.

The Western Front was the place where the most powerful military forces in Europe, the German and French armies and where the war was decided. Belgian neutrality had been guaranteed by Britain under the Treaty of London, 1839. Armies under German generals Alexander von Kluck and Karl von Bülow attacked Belgium on 4 August 1914. Luxembourg had been occupied without opposition on 2 August; the first battle in Belgium was the Siege of Liège. Liège was well surprised the German Army under Bülow with its level of resistance. German heavy artillery was able to demolish the main forts within a few days. Following the fall of Liège, most of the Belgian field army retreated to Antwerp, leaving the garrison of Namur isolated, with the Belgian capital, falling to the Germans on 20 August. Although the German army bypassed Antwerp, it remained a threat to their flank. Another siege followed at Namur; the French deployed five armies on the frontier. The French Plan XVII was intended to bring about the capture of Alsace-Lorraine.

On 7 August, the VII Corps attacked Alsace to capture Colmar. The main offensive was launched on 14 August with the First and Second Armies attacking toward Sarrebourg-Morhange in Lorraine. In keeping with the Schlieffen Plan, the Germans withdrew while inflicting severe losses upon the French; the French Third and Fourth Armies advanced toward the Saar River and attempted to capture Saarburg, attacking Briey and Neufchateau but were repulsed. The French VII Corps captured Mulhouse after a brief engagement on 7 August but German reserve forces engaged them in the Battle of Mulhouse and forced a French retreat; the German Army swept through Belgium, razing villages. The application of "collective responsibility" against a civilian population further galvanised the allies. Newspapers condemned the German invasion, violence against civilians and destruction of property, which became known as the "Rape of Belgium." After marching through Belgium and the Ardennes, the Germans advanced into northern France in late August, where they met the French Army, under Joseph Joffre, the divisions of the British Expeditionary Force under Field Marshal Sir John French.

A series of engagements known as the Battle of the Frontiers ensued, which included the Battle of Charleroi and the Battle of Mons. In the former battle the French Fifth Army was destroyed by the German 2nd and 3rd Armies and the latter delayed the German advance by a day. A general Allied retreat followed, resulting in more clashes at the Battle of Le Cateau, the Siege of Maubeuge and the Battle of St. Quentin; the German Army came within 70 km of Paris but at the First Battle of the Marne and British troops were able to force a German retreat by exploiting a gap which appeared between the 1st and 2nd Armies, ending the German advance into France. The German Army retreated north of the Aisne River and dug in there, establishing the beginnings of a static western front, to last for the next three years. Following this German retirement, the opposing forces made reciprocal outflanking manoeuvres, known as the Ra

Critical regionalism is an approach to architecture that strives to counter the placelessness and lack of identity of the International Style, but rejects the whimsical individualism and ornamentation of Postmodern architecture. The stylings of critical regionalism seek to provide an architecture rooted in the modern tradition, but tied to geographical and cultural context. Critical regionalism is not regionalism in the sense of vernacular architecture, it is a progressive approach to design that seeks to mediate between the global and the local languages of architecture. The phrase "critical regionalism" was first presented in 1981, in ‘The Grid and the Pathway,’ an essay published in Architecture in Greece, by the architectural theorists Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre and, with a different meaning, by the historian-theorist Kenneth Frampton. Sri Lankan Architect Minnette De Silva was one of the pioneers in practicing this architecture style in the 1950s and termed it'Regional Modernism'.

Critical Regionalists thus hold that both modern and post-modern architecture are "deeply problematic". In "Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six points for an architecture of resistance", Frampton recalls Paul Ricoeur's "how to become modern and to return to sources. According to Frampton's proposal, critical regionalism should adopt modern architecture, for its universal progressive qualities but at the same time value should be placed on the geographical context of the building. Emphasis, Frampton says, should be on topography, light. Frampton draws on phenomenology for his argument. Two examples Frampton discusses are Jørn Utzon and Alvar Aalto. In Frampton's view, Utzon's Bagsværd Church, near Copenhagen is a self-conscious synthesis between universal civilization and world culture; this is revealed by the rational, modular and economic prefabricated concrete outer shell versus the specially-designed,'uneconomic', reinforced concrete shell of the interior, signifying with its manipulation of light sacred space and'multiple cross-cultural references', which Frampton sees no precedent for in Western culture, but rather in the Chinese pagoda roof.

In the case of Aalto, Frampton discusses the red brick Säynätsalo Town Hall, where, he argues, there is a resistance to universal technology and vision, affected by using the tactile qualities of the building's materials. He notes, for instance, feeling the contrast between the friction of the brick surface of the stairs and the springy wooden floor of the council chamber. In addition to his own writings on the topic, Frampton has furthered the intellectual reach of these ideas through contributions, in the form of introductions and forewords, written for publications on architects and architectural practices that conform with the ethics of critical regionalism. There have been two different perceptions of Regionalism in architecture. One of, of Western writers, like Curtis, whose definitions are not encompassing enough to analyse architectural styles in the last two centuries in the Islamic countries, like Iran. However, Ozkan's definition of Regionalism is more objective. According to Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre, critical regionalism need not directly draw from the context.

Here the aim is to make evident a disruption and loss of place, a fait accompli, through reflection and self-evaluation. In addition to Aalto and Utzon, the following architects have used Critical Regionalism in their work: Studio Granda, Mario Botta, Eduardo Souto de Moura, Mahesh Naik, Sahil Ahmed, Mazharul Islam, B. V. Doshi, Charles Correa, Christopher Benninger, Alvaro Siza, Jorge Ferreira Chaves, Rafael Moneo, Geoffrey Bawa, Raj Rewal, Dharmesh Vadavala, Ashok "Bihari" Lall Neelkanth Chhaya, Soumitro Ghosh, Nisha Mathew Ghosh, Ngô Viết Thụ, Tadao Ando, Mack Scogin / Merrill Elam, Glenn Murcutt, Johnsen Schmaling Architects, Ken Yeang, Philippe Madec, William S. W. Lim, Tay Kheng Soon, WOHA Architects, Juhani Pallasmaa, Wang Shu, Juha Leiviskä, Peter Zumthor, Carlo Scarpa, Miller | Hull, Tan Hock Beng. Peter Stutchbury, Lake Flato, Rick Joy, Tom Kundig, Sverre Fehn. Dimitris & Suzana Antonakakis are the two Greek architects for whom the term was first used by Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre.

Critical regionalism has developed into unique sub-styles across the world. Glenn Murcutt's simple vernacular architectural style is representative of an Australian variant to critical regionalism. In Singapore, WOHA has developed a unique architectural vocabulary based on an appreciation of the local climate and culture. Subsequently, the phrase "critical regionalism" has been used in cultural studies, literary studies, political theory in the work of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. In her 2007 work "Who Sings the Nation-State?", co-authored with Judith Butler, Spivak proposes a deconstructive alternative to nationalism, predicated on the deconstruction of borders and rigid national identity. Douglas Reichert Powell's book Critical Regionalism: Connecting Politics and Culture in the American Landscape traces the trajectory of the term critical regionalism from its original use in architectural theory to its inclusion in literary and political studies and proposes a methodology based on the intersection of those fields.

Contextual architecture Critical theory Neo-Historicism Vincent B. Canizaro," Architectural Re

Tomita Tsunejirō, born Yamada Tsunejirō, was the earliest disciple of judo. His name appears in the first line of the enrollment book of the Kōdōkan. Tomita, together with Saigō Shirō, became the first in the history of judo to be awarded the rank of Shodan by the founder of judo, Kanō Jigorō, who established the ranking system, now used in various martial arts around the world. Tomita was known as one of the "Four Kings" of Kōdōkan judo for his victorious efforts in competing against jujitsu schools, he was awarded 7th dan upon his death on January 13, 1937. As the earliest student at the Kodokan, Tomita was known as Tsunejiro Yamada, he was adopted by a family named Tomita and his name was therefore changed. He entered the Kodokan in June 1882 as an uchi deshi or live-in student at the recommendation of Jigoro Kano's father, he became Kano's usual training partner. Although he was the least physically gifted of Kano's earlier students, he was dedicated and strong-willed. Tomita had his first match on behalf of Kodokan in 1884, when Tomita was challenged by Hansuke Nakamura of Ryoi Shinto-ryu during a Tenjin Shinyo-ryu dojo opening in which they were both guests.

A police instructor and a man of large size, Nakamura was nicknamed the "Demon Slayer" and considered the toughest man in Japan. As he was much heavier and more experimented than Tomita, Nakamura dared him to fight, believing himself to be superior. However, as soon as the match started, Tomita scored a tomoe nage, he repeated the technique two more times before his still shocked opponent managed to block it. Nakamura further blocked an ouchi gari and attempted to counterattack, but Tomita performed a hiza guruma and locked a juji-jime on the ground, making Nakamura pass out. Tomita was heralded as a hero due to his victory; when Kanō Jigorō began to develop judo from jujutsu, his efforts met with opposition from jujutsu practitioners. However, Kano drew a loyal following. Hence the term "Four Guardians of the Kōdōkan" came into existence referring to Tsunejiro Tomita along with Yamashita Yoshitsugu, Yokoyama Sakujiro, Saigō Shirō. Inspired by Yamashita Yoshitsugu's success in the United States, the 39-year-old Tomita decided to move to New York City.

Like Yamashita, Tomita brought a young assistant with him as an exhibition partner. The young man was Maeda Mitsuyo, 26-year-old judoka who became fundamental to the development of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Tomita and Soshihiro Satake arrived in New York City on December 8, 1904, just one year after Yamashita came to the States. February 3, 1905: Tomita and Maeda gave an exhibition at the Harlem branch of YMCA. February 7, 1905: Six hundred spectators in the Columbia University gymnasium watched an exhibition of judo and "two-handed sword fighting" by six Japanese experts. According to New-York Daily Tribune, industrialist Edward Henry Harriman brought the experts to America after he became interested in "this type of fighting" on his trip to Asia. Tomita had Maeda take a vicious swing. Tomita would grab Maeda by the arm or throat and swing him to the mat. February 16, 1905: Tomita and Maeda gave a demonstration "before 1000 Princeton students". Maeda threw N. B. Tooker, a Princeton football player, while Tomita threw Samuel Feagles, the Princeton gymnasium instructor.

February 21, 1905: Tomita and Maeda gave a judo demonstration at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, where Tomita and Maeda performed kata —nage-no, koshiki, ju-no, so on. At the request of the crowd, Maeda threw him easily; because Tomita had been the thrower in the kata, the cadets wanted to wrestle him too. Tomita threw the first without any trouble. However, Tomita twice failed to throw another football player named Tipton using tomoe-nage. Tomita was much smaller, so the Japanese claimed a moral victory. March 8, 1905: Tomita and Maeda did better at the New York Athletic Club. "Their best throw was a sort of flying cartwheel," said an article in the New York Times, describing Maeda's match with heavyweight wrestler John Naething. "Because of the difference in methods the two men rolled about the mat like schoolboys in a rough-and-tumble fight. After fifteen minutes of wrestling, Maeda secured the first fall. However, Naething was awarded the match by pin fall." March 21, 1905: Tomita and Maeda gave another judo demonstration at Columbia University, this time to about 200 students and instructors in the gymnasium.

Following introductions by Prof. Bashford Dean, the first part of the demonstration involved showing exercises to "obtain control of the muscles." Tomita showed some grips and holds first with "lightning speed on his unfortunate assistant." Tomita and Maeda tried "a number of wrestling tricks" on the university's wrestling instructor, "who was chocked to the suffocating point by one of them." According to Columbia Spectator, "Another interesting feature was the exhibition of some of the obsolete jiu jitsu tricks for defense with a fan against an opponent armed with the curved Japanese sword." April 5, 1905: Tomita held an exhibition match at the gymnasium on Broadway for the benefit of the press. During the event, Tomita stated that an erroneous impression existed in the United States as to jiu-jitsu being a self-defense martial art:July 6, 1905: Tomita and Maeda gave a judo exhibition at YMCA in Newport, Rhode Island. September 30, 1905: Tomita and Maeda gave a demonstration at another YMCA, in Lockport, New York.

In Lockport, the local opponent was Mason Shimer, who wrestled Tomita unsuccessf